PRINCIPLES OF BITTING. 25 



object of a bridle needs some explanation. Were the 

 rider to sit like a " dead weight " with the reins loose ; 

 his body being free to move by the hip joints, and having 

 its centre of gravity above the saddle, would be liable to 

 be jerked backwards and forwards by the motion of the 

 horse ; and consequently the animal's rate of progression 

 would be materially checked. The skilful rider, on the 

 contrary, by the feeling he has on the reins and by the 

 grip of his legs, will be able to accommodate the weight 

 of his body to the movements of his mount, so as to 

 reduce its retarding influence to a minimum. For this 

 accommodation of weight by means of the reins, it is 

 essential that the horse shall bear on his mouth a fair amount 

 of pressure from the bit, without resenting it, or without 

 altering his pace. It is evident that such indifference to 

 pressure must not be carried to the extent of rendering 

 the animal heedless of legitimate indications which the rider 

 may want to convey to him by the reins and without any 

 undue exertion of muscular power. Besides the accommo- 

 dation of weight, stability of seat will often demand a certain 

 degree of callousness in the mouth of the horse. Hence, 

 the worse the horseman and the more uneven the ground, the 

 less severe should the bit be. 



If an animal is afraid to " go up to his bridle," he will 

 refrain from straightening his head and neck, and conse- 

 quently the forward reach of his fore legs will become more 

 or less checked ; because the muscles of his neck are the 

 agents by which the fore limbs are drawn forward. The re- 

 sult of this constrained carriage of the body will be, that the 

 horse will keep his hind legs too much under him, and will 

 raise his fore legs too high ; in fact, he will be " over-col- 

 lected." Fashionable harness horses which are driven with 

 severe bits they are afraid to " go up to," and whose heads 

 are drawn back by gag bearing-reins, furnish us with an 



