BITS AND BiniNG. 137" 



inch in iliuiueter. A lioiso Avitli liij^li, sharp bars, 

 aucl a fiuo tongue (tho cliaracteri.stic of well-bred 

 horses), rtHjuires a vcri/ H(jht iiioiitlipiece, viz : llirce- 

 •[uarters of au inch iu iliamctor. Thus the thicker 

 the mouthpiece, the lighter the bit. 



St)metimes wo meet with tho erroneous iilia that; 

 it is the actual weight of tho bit iu pounds anil 

 ounces which constitutes a light or a sharp bit, aucl 

 that the lighter ones are : " Ladies' bits." A light 

 bit, under these suppositions, in a lady's hand, might 

 prove tho cause of serious misunderstandings be- 

 tween the fair rider and her horse. It is the horse 

 and not the rider, that carries tho bit, and a few 

 ounces more or less, do not make the slightest 

 difference. Nothing but the conformation of th& 

 horse's mouth should guide rxs in selecting a bit. 



Some bits have movahle moidhjiieccfi, which to a 

 certain extent, make horses light iu hand, as they 

 play with the mouthpiece, but the mouthpieces 

 cannot prevent the horse from putting his tongue 

 over tho bit, and through tho constant friction, the 

 mouthpiece soon becomes loose at tho sides where 

 it is inseited in the side branches, aud the horse's 

 lips grow sore from being pinched aud chafed. 



Some horses acquire the bad habit of placing the 

 tongue over the hit aud lollying it out in front, or to 

 one side. It generally originates from bad and se- 



