CHAPTER II 



SADDLE AND BRIDLE 



" Considering that equitation is an art, we should not attach 

 too much importance to the efficacy of the instrimaents employed ; 

 practical results depends upon the rider's hand. One tries too 

 much nowadays to replace address, patience and apropos by 

 mechanical appliances."— Pellier. 



" The best remedy for a bolter or puller is a very carefully 

 and well-adjusted bit, a perfectly painless curb, a light hand, long 

 rein, and a firm seat."— Major Dwyer. 



When first commencing to train a horse, it is essential 

 that the canons of the bit used should be thick, the 

 port moderate, and the cheeks short. The width of 

 the mouthpiece should be the same as that of the mouth ; 

 if it is too narrow the lips get pinched by the branches : 

 if it is too wide, the horse, either in play or to relieve 

 himself, moves it about from side to side, so that only 

 one of the canons rests on a bar, the other, projecting 

 beyond the mouth and being replaced on the bar by 

 the commencement of the port, gives rise to marked 

 inequality in the effect produced by the hand ; under 

 these circumstances, too, the horse nearl}^ always 

 carries his head to one side. The length of the curb 

 chain should depend on the sensibility of the bars ; 

 we should act at first as if the sensibility was great, and 

 have the curb chain loose. Some horses bend the neck 

 best when the bit is low in the mouth, and yet like the 



