BRIDLES. 287 
to open his mouth wide, this pressure cannot be made, and the port is 
useless ; but the addition of a noseband of leather, buckled tightly round 
the jaw, closes the mouth, and keeps the roof in apposition with the port. 
Thus, in estimating the power of all curb-bits, we must take into consider- 
ation—Ist, the length of the lever; 2d, the tightness of the curb-chain, 
which may be adjusted at pleasure ; 3d, the height of the port; and 4th, 
whether used with a noseband or not. 
The varieties of curb-bits in common use are as follows :— 
1. The ordinary curb-bit. 
2. The Pelham. 
3. The Hanoverian Pelham, 
4, The Chifney. 
1. The ordinary curb-bit does not differ from the general type which I 
have already described ; and I need not, therefore, allude to it further 
than to caution the inexperienced horseman against leaning heavily upon 
it. The pain occasioned in this way is at first excessive; but, in course of 
time, the parts pressed upon become callous, and the mouth is irretrievably 
spoiled. Thus, a rider with a heavy hand may begin with a mouth which 
is too light, and in a month or two he may find it so dull as to be quite 
unpleasant, in spite of a tight curb-chain and noseband, a high port, and a 
long lever. All these should be as easy as will suffice to control the horse 
for which they are adapted, and no more use should be made of them 
than is absolutely necessary. 
2. The plain Pelham combines the snaffle and curb, and requires no 
addition of the former to make it a double-remed bridle. The mouth- 
piece is jointed in the middle, just like a snaffle; and, like this, it may be 
smooth or twisted. There is a ring opposite this for the one rein, and the 
other is attached to the end of the lever, as in the ordinary curb-bit. This 
is an extremely useful bit for general purposes. 
3. The Hanoverian Pelham is similar in principle to the plain one; but 
it has two joints in the mouthpiece, united by a high port, and the sides 
of the mouthpiece are covered with rollers, which prevent the horse from 
grasping them with his teeth, and thus interfering with the action of the 
port and curb-chain. For hard-pulling horses this bit is very useful, but 
it is a very severe one. 
4, The Chifney bit is provided with a joint at the junction of the lever 
and mouthpiece, so that the action of the former is not confined by the 
head of the bridle. But though in theory this is all very pretty, in prac- 
tice it is found to be of no service whatever. 
There are many other kinds of curb-bits, but those which I have 
described comprehend all in general use. 
THe BucEPHALUS NOSEBAND is a great addition to the curb-bridle in- 
tended for a pulling horse. It is merely a stitched leather strap, long 
enough to encircle the jaw, and cross behind it to be attached to the hook 
of the curb-chain. I prefer it made of a chain in the part which lies 
behind the bit, so that it may be taken up shorter, or let out, just like an 
ordinary curb-chain, which is not wanted to be used with it. This nose- 
band is not really more powerful than the ordinary one when tightly 
buckled, the whole of its efficiency depending upon its keeping the mouth 
closed, and thus allowing the port to have its full power on the roof of the 
mouth. The advantage is, that when the rein is not pulled, the noseband 
slackens, and the mouth may then be relieved, which it cannot be with an 
ordinary tight noseband. 
