ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 77 



"In order that the curb may fit properly, it should be wide 

 enough for the cheeks to keep clear of the lips on each side. The 

 mouthpiece should have an even feeling on each side of the 

 mouth and should be midway between the tushes and the corners 

 of the lips, and consequently it will be lower in the mouth than 

 the snaffle, in the case of a double bridle. Later on I shall point 

 out some exceptions to this rule. The lower ends of the cheek- 

 pieces, yielding to the pull of the reins, cause the upper ends to 

 revolve forward, and thus to produce pressure on the bars of 

 the mouth. The curb-chain, which prevents the upper ends of 

 the cheeks from revolving forward, increases the pressure on the 

 bars proportionately to its shortness. Hence, the length of the 

 curb-chain should be proportionate to the lightness of the horse's 

 mouth, which we are unable to estimate in the crse of a per- 

 fectly green horse. With such an animal, we shcuM at first 

 leave the curb-chain very loose, as there will always be time to 

 take it up. It would not, on the contrary, be right to say that 

 there is always time to slacken a tight curb-chain, which causes 

 pain that will continue to be felt by the horse after the curb- 

 chain has been let out. If, however, we begin with a loose curb- 

 chain and gradually shorten it to the desired extent, we shall 

 avoid hurting the bars of the mouth and irritating the horse to 

 resistance, and we gain time. But if, at the beginning of the 

 work, we hurt or even irritate the bars by undue pressure, we 

 shall fail to obtain any of the required indications. By arti- 

 ficially increasing the sensitiveness of the bars, we fail to es- 

 timate it correctly, and work on a wrong method from the be- 

 ginning. The bruising or even the mere irritation of the bars 

 does not disappear as soon as\he work is finished and the bridle 

 taken off, but continues for a more or less long period. Conse- 

 quently, when the next lesson is given, the bars are congested and 

 painful. The rider will then be apt to form an opinion of the 

 effects he produces on the mouth of the horse without taking 

 into consideration that it is in an abnormal condition, and he will 



