CHAPTER II 



SADDLE AND BRIDLE 



" Considering that equitation is an art, one should not 

 attach too much importance to the efficacy of the instru- 

 ments employed ; practical results depend upon the rider's 

 hand. One tries too much nowadays to replace address, 

 patience and apropos by mechanical appliances." — Pellier. 



" The best remedy for a bolter or puller is a very carefully 

 and well-adjusted bit, a perfectly painless curb, a light hand, 

 long rein, and a firm seat." — Major Dwyer. 



When first commencing to train a horse, it is 

 essential that the canons of the bit used should 

 be thick, the port moderate and the cheeks 

 short. The width of the mouthpiece should 

 be the same as that of the mouth ; if it is too 

 narrow the lips get pinched by the branches ; 

 if it is too wide, the horse, either in play or to 

 relieve himself, moves it about from side to 

 side, so that only one of the canons rests on a 

 bar, the other projecting beyond the mouth and 

 being replaced on the bar by the commence- 

 ment of the port, producing marked inequality 

 in the effect produced by the hand ; under these 

 circumstances, too, the horse nearly always 



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