HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP 113 



BITTING 



The horse having been taught to go through all the foregoing 

 lessons steadily on the snaffle, may now be bitted ; and the 

 first thing here to do is to select the easiest bit that can be 

 found, the lower the port the better, in fact it should have no port 

 at all, but the mouthpiece be just a little arched in the centre 

 so that the horse's tongue lies nearly under it. Care should 

 be taken that the bit is wide enough in the mouthpiece, so 

 that it does not press against the sides of the mouth or pinch 

 the lips ; at the same time it must not be too wide, for if it 

 should be the mouthpiece will not have a fair equal bearing 

 on the bars of the horse's mouth on both sides at the same 

 moment, but will be constantly shifting from one side to the 

 other, and thus render the rider's aid uncertain. It should also 

 be remembered that the longer the cheek- pieces or branches of 

 the bit are the more severe it is, so that when selecting a bit for 

 a young horse it is desirable to choose one with shortish cheek- 

 pieces. The bridoon, which is exactly on the same principle as- 

 the snaffle, should be fitted in the same manner as the snaffle, 

 and before placing it in the horse's mouth the bridoon should 

 be placed over the mouthpiece of the bit. There is no- 

 better general guide for fitting the bit than that laid down 

 in the Cavalry Regulations, which is, ' that the mouthpiece 

 should be one inch above the lower tush in a horse's mouth, 

 and in a mare's two inches above the corner tooth.' Some 

 horses of peculiar conformation of the mouth require the 

 mouthpiece of the bit to be placed a little higher or lower,, 

 and in the case of horses that are inclined to star-gazing, 

 the bit should be fitted a little lower than here laid down, 

 but it should also be borne in mind that by dropping the bit 

 lower you make it more severe, thereby requiring a lighter 

 hand to ride on it. 



No bridle is better suited to the first bitting of a young 

 horse that has been properly prepared on the snaffle than the 



