BITS AXD BITTING. 135 



to " execution." How often does it happen that the light 

 hand of a woman softens and controls, with a kind of magic 

 touch, the temper of the most fretful steed, when, the moment 

 a man gets on his back, the same horse becomes an un- 

 governable brute ? 



The best bit and bridle for a horse is, of course, that 

 which is best adapted to the particular work he is required 

 to perform. The Bedaween Arab sets little store by speed, 

 but places a very high value on what the Scotch term "jink- 

 ing," and coursing men " wrenching " — his life depending 

 on this ability of his mettlesome mount. And yet he, like 

 the warlike Persians of old, frequently has no bit, but guides 

 his horse by the shaft of his long lance and restrains him 

 by a chain nose-band. In the frieze of the Temple of 

 Minerva, in the Acropohs of Athens, the horses are repre- 

 sented as ridden without bridle or saddle. 



Allan INIcDonogh, whose name as one of the finest steeple- 

 chase riders of all time will be handed down hand-in-hand 

 with the charming Brunette, steered Sailor to victory over a 

 very severe course at Bandon, having, for the last mile and 

 a half, nothing but his whip to guide with. The " chaser" 

 had breasted a high bank and, in rising, broke the throat 

 lash, the bridle coming off in his prostrate pilot's hand. 

 McDonogh, a good faller, was in the saddle before the horse 

 had righted himself, was soon in pursuit, and crowded on so 

 much sail that Sailor actually took a "boreen" — a narrow 

 lane between two stiff banks — in his stride. The riders of 

 the other horses, seeing him bridleless, tried to run him out 

 at the turn, but the masterful jockey was equal to the occa- 

 sion, and, almost climbing out onto the fast speeding Sailor's 

 neck, clasped his nose, so guided him round the post, and, 

 with a straight course in front of him, made all the rest of 

 the running — winning easily. 



