Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1894 — Cold Iron Bits. [ARTICLE]

Cold Iron Bits.

One of the most careless forms of cruelty in winter is the use of a cold bit. A writer in the Kentucky Live Stock Record thus calls attention to the evil, which is as common in its practice in other places as in the blue grass region: “Let any one who has the care of a horse these cold, frosty mornings, deliberately grasp in his hand a piece of iron; indeed, let him touch it to the tip of his tongue, and then let him thrust the bit into the mouth of the horse if he has the heart to do it. The horse is an animal of nervous organization. His mouth is formed of delicate glands and tissues. Th* temperature of the blood is the same as in the human being, and, as in man, the mouth is the warmest part of the body. Imagine, we repeat, the irritation that would be to the human, and, if not the satne degree, still the suffering to the animal is very great. And it is not a momentary pain. Food is eaten with difficulty, and the irritation repeated day after day causes loss of appetite and strength. Many a horse has become worthless from no other cause but this. Before India-rubber bits were to be had, I myself used a bit covered with leather, and on no account would have dispensed with it in freezing weather.”