Another bridle injury

The letter from the lady whose horse swallowed a Chicago screw from his broken bridle (“Don’t Let This Happen to You,” Letters, EQUUS 441) caught my attention. I had an even worse experience with an English bridle and curb bit.

I was out riding my newly acquired Spanish Mustang when we came to a very large and heavy metal gate that we needed to pass through to get back to our barn. I dismounted and started to wrestle with the gate. Unfortunately, some fool had fastened this monster to the gatepost with just a few strands of thin wire; the gate crashed to the ground and I went down with it. My horse spooked and galloped off with the reins trailing on the ground. He stepped on them and came to an immediate halt.

I left the gate where it was, remounted and started for the barn, worrying the whole way because the horse kept shaking his head. I kept looking at his head but couldn’t see anything wrong---no blood even. What happened became apparent the minute I went to untack him at the barn.

Evidently, when he stepped on the reins, he pulled the bit to one side, and the hook that holds the curb chain caught on his tongue and sliced through it like a freshly sharpened knife. I almost threw up! The wound was closed with sutures, but my horse’s tongue still has a huge scar across it. Kathy Ouellette Prescott, Arizona