44 



BITS AND BRIDLE GEAR. 



the " loose ring " in the middle of the curb-chain, and is con- 

 nected with the chin-strap rings. 



The following are varieties of curb bits : 



1. The ordinary curb (Fig. 48). 



2. The Ward Union curb (Fig. 49). Of all curbs in 

 common use, this is certainly the best, as I shall try to show 

 further on (p. 86). Fig. 50 shows a Ward Union curb with 

 sliding mouth-piece. 



Fig. 47. Chin-strap unbuckled. 



Fig. 48. Chin-strap buckled. 



3. The sliding mouth-piece curb (Figs. 50 and 51), the 

 mouth-piece of which can slide up and down on its cheeks 

 for a short distance. 



4. The Ben Morgan bit (Fig. 52) has a mouth-piece which 

 is in the form of the segment of a circle, and which has 

 its convex surface lower in the mouth than the concave one. 

 The chief objection to its use is, that it prompts the horse 

 to get his tongue over it. Ben Morgan, the inventor of 

 this bit, was first whip to Sir Richard Sutton, when he hunted 

 the Quorn country (1847-56). 



