154 BITS AND BITTING. 



cept on military bridles or harness, at least in this 

 country. 



The chief reason given for abolishing the noseband 

 was, that it was supposed to interfere with the horse's 

 breathing, especially during the long-continued gallops 

 of the hunting-field, <fcc. ; and it was on the same 

 account considered to be, a fortiori, wholly unfit for 

 racing purposes. This was, perhaps, not a good reason 

 for rejecting it altogether during the first handling of 

 young horses, as it would have been easy to lay it aside 

 afterwards when they came to their field work ; but 

 the truth is, that the noseband was placed so high up 

 above the angles of the horse's mouth that it could not 

 prevent the animal opening its mouth and doing what 

 it pleased with the bit, unless it was buckled so tight 

 as really to interfere seriously with the respiration, 

 even at the more moderate pace of a trot or walk — 

 besides other imperfections, to which allusion shall be 

 made lower down. This was long a stumbling-block 

 in the way of the rational treatment of colts and fillies, 

 and was probably what led indirectly to the invention 

 of various instruments of torture known by the name 

 of " capital mouthpieces ;" but this difficulty has been 

 at length got over, and we are in possession of a con- 

 trivance which enables us to effect what the old- 

 fashioned noseband never could. 



This is the training-halter (Reithalfter), invented, we 

 believe, by Lieutenant-Colonel von Oeynhausen, of the 

 Austrian cavalry, or at least introduced by him into 

 the Central School of Equitation at Vienna several 

 years since. To understand perfectly the great value 

 of this halter, it is necessary to allude to one more dis- 

 advantage of the old-fashioned noseband, in addition 



