ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



carries his head to one side. The length of 

 the curb chain should depend on the sensibility 

 of the bars ; one should act at first as if the 

 sensibility was great, and have the curb chain 

 loose. Some horses bend the neck best when 

 the bit is low in the mouth, and yet like the 

 curb chain so loose that when the reins are 

 slack it slips over the chin : to prevent this, 

 fasten one end of an ordinary lip strap to the 

 throat lash, and the other end to the centre 

 drop link of the curb, the strap being of such a 

 length that when the reins are tight, the curb 

 lies nicely in the chin groove. One should 

 obtain the desirable effect from the bit by having 

 the curb chain just sufficiently tight to bring 

 the branches of the bit to an angle of 45 degrees 

 with lower jaw when the reins are tight. The 

 lighter the mouth the higher should the bit be 

 placed ; the greater the resistance the lower it 

 should be placed. 



Baucher, who worked entirely in the school, 

 lays it down as a principle that there is no such 

 thing as a difference of sensibility in the mouths 

 of horses ; he maintains that they all present 

 the same lightness when the horse is properly 

 balanced, and the same resistance when he 

 quits this important position. He adds that 

 there are horses heavy in hand, but this resist- 



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