484 ADJUSTING THE BIT AND THE CURB-CHAIN. 



ADJUSTINCx THE BIT. 



The position of the bit in the horse's mouth will be regu- 

 lated by the reader's preference for one of two arguments 

 advanced by authorities. The first, that there is one and 

 only one position at which point the bit can be made to act 

 most effectively ; the other theory is that the bit should be 

 shifted from time to time within a limited range, with the 

 object of retaining the natural sensitiveness of the mouth. 

 The writer's preference is in favor of the former principle, 

 as the shifting of the angle of the horse's head changes the 

 point of bearing sufificiently to keep the mouth " alive," and 

 having instructed the servants as to the exact position the 

 bit shall occupy, any failure to comply with such orders is 

 at once apparent. 



A bit with a solid mouth-piece or a jointed snafifle when 

 used alone should be adjusted so that the canons of the bit 

 fall within half or three-quarters of an inch of the tushes of 

 a gelding and within an inch or an inch and a quarter above 

 the end nippers of a mare. When a bridoon is used it 

 should be })laced so that it touches the corners of the lips, 

 but does not wrinkle them. 



"The mouth-piece of a ciiib, as directed by Colonel (ireenwood in his 

 excellent book, ' Hints on Horsemanship,' should be placed so that it may 

 be just clear of the tushes of the horse, or about one inch above the corner 

 nippers of a mare ; in fact as low as possible without involving the danger 

 of the curb-chain slipping over the animal's chin." — Captain Hayes, 

 " Riding,'' p. 2jg. 



THE CURB-CHAIN. 



The end link of the chain on the off side should be 

 fastened to the hook, the other end of the chain should not 

 be fastened until after the bit has been placed in the horse's 



