BITTING. 481 



the matter of appointments, all of the owner's judgment and 

 good taste in the selection of the various parts will only 

 tend to emphasize the neglect or incompetency of his 

 servant. A person using a victoria must turn out such a 

 vehicle with more regard to quality and neatness than a 

 bucolic who merely employs a wagon as a means of con- 

 veyance. The matter of appointments is very much like 

 that of dress ; the greater the pretensions assumed the more 

 care must be observed to have the apparel suit the hour 

 and the man. With the exception of the ridiculous sight 

 of the owner of a tandem or coach being driven by his 

 servant on either of these vehicles, there is nothing which 

 opens a person to so much just criticism as his ignorance or 

 indifference regarding the appearance of his equipage. It 

 is not necessary that the carriage, harness, etc., should be 

 elaborate, but, taken as a whole or in part, they should be 

 correct. 



BITTING. 



In whatever manner a horse is used, the rider's or driver's 

 control over the animal is primarily determined by two 

 factors: first, the use of a suitable bit; and, second, the 

 proper fitting of it in the horse's mouth. Although ex- 

 tremely severe bits are not advised, the use of curb bits, when 

 properly employed, are recommended to the private horse 

 owner. The writer's reasons for such advice are as follows : 

 the pressure of the ordinary snaffle or straight mouth-piece 

 is not sufficiently sharp to prevent the majority of horses 

 from learning to "bore" against it; the consequence is that 

 the rider or driver is compelled to exert an opposing press- 

 ure of equal force, so that all delicacy of feeling is lost in 

 the horse's mouth and to the rider's or driver's hands. With 



