ii6 BITS AND BITTING 



his mouth. The "Champion" snaffle, named 

 after its inventor, the well-known saddler, is a 

 very useful bit for some pullers in harness. The 

 checks of the bridle are buckled to the two inner 

 rings, and the reins to the two outer rings. The 

 sliding action caused by this adjustment allows 

 very considerable power to be exercised over 

 the horse. 



The " Bucephalus nose-band" is often usefully 

 employed in conjunction with a bit of good 

 leverage ; the nose-net is said to give good 

 results with a puller, but only for a time, the 

 restraining effect of the contrivance seeming to 

 wear off more or less rapidly. The star-gazer 

 may be made to carry his head properly by 

 buckling the rings of a snaffle to a martingale 

 of suitable length or shortness, but this plan is 

 open to the objection that the dead strain may 

 teach the horse to pull. Perhaps the better 

 system is to take a long pair of reins, pass the 

 buckle ends through the rings of the snaffle and 

 carry them down to the breastplate, thus com- 

 bining martingale and reins in one: "piped" 

 reins answer best for this purpose, as they run 

 more freely. With this arrangement of gear 

 a rider with good hands may overcome the star- 

 gazing trick. In very bad cases an Irish martin- 

 gale, a six-inch strap with a ring at each end, 

 placed on the reins under the jaw, or a single 

 ring through which both reins are passed before 

 being brought, one on either side of the neck, 

 to the rider's hand, prevents all risk of the star- 

 gazer throwing the reins over his head. 



