204 BITS AND BITTING. 



disturbing the rod g h ; we then read off the height 

 of the bar on the lower Hnib of e f, and have all the 

 necessary dimensions. 



It would be quite possible to take another measure- 

 ment — namely, that of the thickness of the tongue — by 

 placing the bar a b over that organ ; but it has been 

 already shown that it is its relative and not absolute 

 thickness we want to know ; and that, moreover, we 

 must take into account the temperament and " build" 

 of the whole animal when we set about determining 

 what degree of relative pressure should be borne by the 

 bars of the mouth and the tongue respectively ; so that 

 this proceeding would lead to no useful result. 



Even those who have had most experience will 

 sometimes find themselves at fault if they rely merely 

 on measurement ; and Lieutenant Klatte, a Prussian 

 instructor in equitation at Berlin, many years ago 

 invented for this very reason what is known as the 

 "trial-bit" (fig. 16, B). This affords us at once the 

 means of ascertaining the proper bit for every horse 

 practically. There are a certain number of spare mouth- 

 pieces which may be fixed in succession into the side- 

 pieces of the bit, their width being easily adjusted by 

 means of a number of small plates, p j), of one-tenth 

 of an inch thickness, removable at pleasure from the 

 inside to the outside of the side-piece ; and having 

 once ascertained the width of the mouth, we may 

 then, having also ascertained the height of the bars of 

 the mouth with the gauge described in a preceding 

 paragraph, proceed to shift the sliding ringpieces r r 

 till the upper cheek has attained the prescribed length, 

 after which the curb with its hooks are fitted, and 

 then there only remains to slide the rein-rings s s up or 



