HORSEMANSHIP. 15 



But this mode, applauded by many able 

 horsemen, and censured by others, demands 

 on the part of him who gives the lesson, much 

 tact, experience, and a great habit of using 

 the chambriere judiciously ; for without these 

 qualities, the lesson of the pillars would serve 

 to injure the intelligence of the horse, or to 

 confirm him in faults that ought to be cor- 

 rected. 



Of the Bridle and Bit, and of their differ- 

 ent effects. 



The bridle should be, in the hand of an able 

 horseman, not an instrument of constraint, but 

 one of assistance, and a means of warning. It 

 is composed of four principal parts, which are : 

 the bit, the branches, the curb, and the reins. 

 French bridles have, besides, a nose-band, a 

 throat-band, a frontal, and a head-stall. 

 English bridles have four reins, instead of 

 two, a snaffle, independently of the bit, and 

 no nose-band. 



The bit, or mouth-piece, is a bit of iron, 

 sometimes straight, crooked or jointed, which 

 is put into the mouth of the horse. This 

 piece is called the canon ; the two extremities. 



