BITS AND BITTING. 183 



lie will eitlier poke out liis nose or creep back behind 

 tlie bit, sometimes with very serious consequences 

 as : rearing, bolting, plunging, etc. If the mouth- 

 piece is too narrow it compresses and chafes the 

 lips, and by displacing them so that the folds 

 cover the bars, the direct action of the bit on the 

 lattc-r is neutralized, and the horse becomes numb 

 in the mouth. 



The width of the 2^0Ttj which in most bits we see 

 is from one-half to one inch too wide, must corre- 

 spond exactly with the width of the tongue-channel 

 at the point opposite the chin groove, and which is 

 exactly one and a third inches. This being the 

 proper place where the mouthpiece should rest in 

 the horse's mouth, the width of the port, therefore, 

 should be the same, viz : one and one-third inches, 

 or, even slightly less, say : one and one-quarter in- 

 ches, to avoid bruising the bars as mentioned above. 

 The sole purpose of the port beiug to make room 

 for the tongue, its height should not exceed five- 

 eighths of an inch, as being sufficient for any horse. 

 The higher the port, the greater the danger of 

 injuring the roof of the mouth when pressure is 

 brought upon the reins, and of making the horse 

 restive. 



Horses' mouths are very different in formation 

 and size, but the heighth of a horse's bars is nearly 



