13G HOW TO JTOGE A HOKSE. 



viilue as a prop, but the lever action will be too 

 great. It will be now easily understood Low it 

 ■comes that people, in order to prevent a bit with 

 Terj short tipper branches, from falling through, 

 are driven to use a verj' tight curb, the result being 

 that the whole action of the bit is transferred from 

 the interior of the mouth to the chin. In order to 

 prevent a bit, with very long upper branches, from 

 standing stiff, they use a very loose curb, which has 

 the effect of making the bit fall through ; or, what 

 is very common, a bit, with very long upper 

 branches, is pulled up as high as it will go into the 

 Lorse's mouth, and then, either a loose curb iu 

 attached, in which case ihis great ])iece of iron- 

 mongery, of course, falls tlirougli, and has not the 

 expected effect; or, they put tlie curb- chain very 

 tight, in which case the chain rests above the chin- 

 groove, hurting the horse considerably with tho 

 result that it will bore in the rider's hand, and 

 try to run away. Whereas, a much smaller and 

 lighter bit, if adapted to the month, would bo much 

 more efficient. 



Tho structui-e and size of the horse's bars and 

 tongue must also bG"considered, as those factors de- 

 termine the thickness of tho mouthpiece. A horse, 

 with fleshy bars 'and a thick tongue, needs what is 

 called a sharjJ hit, viz : a thin mouthpiece, one-half 



