7 THE BIT. [CHAP. 



headstall from going forward, and so impedes the true 

 action of the bit. To close the horse's mouth, in order 

 that a high porte may act against the roof of the 

 mouth, is a monstrous notion. I had the honour to 

 abolish nosebands in the 2nd Life Guards. 

 Defence The horse employs his tongue as a defence against the 



against the 



torque* 116 kit* passively as a cushion to protect the more tender 

 parts on which the bit is intended to work, and actively 

 he uses the muscles of the tongue, in resistance to it : 

 this may be proved by using a straight mouthpiece, or 

 one arched upward or downward, but without a porte. 

 From under these a horse will never withdraw his tongue, 

 and he will go with a dead bearing on the hand, though 

 equal, that is, not more on one side of the mouth than on 



Effect of the other. Even a very narrow porte, not a quarter the 



the porte. 



width of the tongue, will suffice, when pressure is used, to 

 defeat this defence, and completely to engage the tongue 

 within the porte. But being then much compressed, it 

 will sustain a -great part of the leverage, and the horse 

 will endeavour still more to make his tongue the fulcrum 



