MO HORSEMANSHIP. 



of the mouth, externally and internally, observing precisely 

 where and how the various bits exercised their control, 

 where and why they produced irritation and soreness, and 

 where, by exercising an excess of pressure, they by degrees 

 deadened and hardened the bars. His aim was the maxi- 

 mum of power to the horseman with the minimum of pres- 

 sure on the bars and chin. At the same time means had to 

 be devised by which to do away with the aptness of the 

 tongue to interpose itself, as a sort of cushion, between the 

 bars and the mouth-piece of the bit. 



The mouth, so far as it is affected by bitting, consists of 

 the lips, the bars, the channel, the palate, and the tongue. 

 The bars — that toothless portion of the gum of the lower 

 jaw, which is between the molars and the tush in the case 

 of the horse, and between the molars and incisors in that 

 of the mare, and on which the cannons of the bit rest — 

 vary in shape considerably. If fleshy, round, and low, the 

 mouth, unless tenderly handled, is almost certain in time 

 to become dead. When moderately sharp and thin they 

 constitute what goes towards making a good mouth, but 

 if lean and very sharp, especially in the case of a hot 

 or high-couraged horse, they are almost certain to form a 

 very tender mouth, best suited to the give-and-take handhng 

 of a lady. These remarks also apply to the chin. A large 

 tongue is objectionable from its already stated aptitude 

 to prevent the free and exclusive action of the mouth-piece 

 on the bars, by which, while defecting the controlling 

 power of the bit, it is itself often severely injured. We 

 know how sensitive this organ is, and what agony a wound 

 of it entails. It became, therefore, necessary that the liberty 

 or port intended for it should surround it horizontally, 

 besides being of sufficient capacity for it to be lodged 

 with ease. 



