74 HORSES AND RIDIXa. 



CHAPTEE XII. 



BRIDLING. 



After shoeing and feeding, saddling and bridling 

 your horse have to be considered. I will endeavour 

 to give my readers a clear idea under this heading, 

 what sort of bridles to us^, and how they ought to 

 be made ; what sort of saddles to use, and why I 

 consider them preferable to the ordinary saddles in 

 points where they differ from them. 



To begin with, there are four sorts of bridles in 

 ordinary use — first, a plain snaffle ; second, a plain 

 or, as it is generally called, a single curb ; third, a 

 double-reined bridle, formed of a snaffle and curb 

 combined ; and fourth, a Pelham, which consists of a 

 curb and snaffle in one piece, forming a double-reined 

 bridle, with two sets of reins and one bit. 



There are numerous ways of making, and patterns, 

 and modifications, of each of these bridles, but they 

 all come under one of the four headings I have given. 

 Of these four the double-reined bridle is the most 



