THE LEVER, THE BIT AND CURB, ETC. 173 



it is, however, not only perishable, but also subject to 

 stretch or contract when exposed to moisture ; and after 

 having been once or twice thoroughly soaked, becom- 

 ing hard and inflexible, it is more likely to injure the 

 horse's chin than a well-made chain. 



It is very clear that the narrower the chain is made 

 the more likely is it to cause pain, which is just what 

 we want to avoid, and we should therefore endeavour 

 to make it as broad as possible. The vulgar notion of a 

 sharp curb is, as the reader perceives, a monstrous ab- 

 surdity. But there is a limit to this : if it be so broad 

 as to fill up the chin-groove completely, there will be 

 always a danger of its upper edge coming in contact 

 with the sharp cheek-bones at every, even the slightest, 

 pull on the reins, and getting up a sore which imme- 

 diately interferes with the action of the bit ; we must 

 therefore select a curb that does not altogether fill up 

 the groove. It is not easy to give any special dimen- 

 sion for the width of the curb-chain : eight-tenths of 

 an inch will be found to answer the purpose very 

 generally, but if we can use a broader curb without 

 injuring the chin-groove, so much the better ; it is more 

 likely to be flat and painless. Curbs are frequently 

 made to taper off a little towards the ends : there is no 

 objection to this, except that, being more difficult to 

 manufacture with precision, they are seldom so well 

 made as the curb that is equally broad throughout. 

 Single-chain curbs made of flat links may be good, if 

 not too broad or sharp-edged ; the plain double chain 

 will be probably better made, and therefore preferable : 

 the great thing is to avoid the infliction of pain ; and if 

 we are sometimes compelled to use a very narrow curb 

 on account of the chin-groove being sharp and narrow, 



