BONES OF THE MOUTH. 217 



we could not- appeal : — ' As to tlie universal disuse of the bearing- rein 

 witli English horses, it can never take place. The charge against it of 

 cruelty at once falls to the ground, because to make a team work together 

 in fast work, every horse's head must be as much restrained by the 

 coupling-rein as it would be and is by the bearing-rein. Its excellence 

 consists in keeping horses' mouths fresh — in enabling a coachman to in- 

 dulge a horse with liberty of rein, without letting him be all abroad, which 

 he would be with his head quite loose, and of additional safety to the 

 coach-horse, as proved by the fact of either that or the crupper always 

 giving way when he falls down. There are, however, teams in which it 

 may be dispensed with, and the horses have an advantage in their working 

 against hills. As to the comparison of the road coach-horses on the Con- 

 tinent and our own, let any one examine the knees of the French diligence 

 and post-horses, which are allowed perfect liberty of head, and he will 

 be convinced that the use of the bearing-rein does not keep them on their 

 legs.' The teams in which it may be dispensed with are those in which 

 the horses naturally carry their heads well ; that is, much in the same 

 position in which the bearing-rein would place them. 



The mouth is injured much oftener than the careless owner suspects by 

 the pressure of a sharp bit. Not only are the bars wounded and deeply 

 ulcerated, but the lower jaw, between the tush and the grinders, is some- 

 times worn even to the bone, and the bone itself affected, and portions of it 

 exfoliate away. It may be necessary to have a sharp bit for the headstrong 

 and obstinate beast ; yet if that bit is severely and unjustifiably called into 

 exercise, the animal may rear, and endanger himself and his rider. There 

 can, however, be no occasion for a thousandth part of the torment wliich 

 the trappings of the mouth often inflict on a willing and docile servant, 

 and which either render the mouth hard, and destroy all the j)leasui'c of 

 riding, or cause the horse to become fretful or vicious. 



Small ulcers are sometimes found in various parts of the mouth, said to 

 be produced by rusty bits, but oftener arising from contusions inflicted by 

 the bit, or from inflammation of the mouth. If the curb-bit is in fault, a 

 snaflie or Pelham-bit should be used. If there is inflammation of the 

 mouth, a little cooling medicine may be administered ; and to the ulcers 

 themselves, tincture of myrrh, diluted mth water, or alum dissolved iu 

 water, may be appHed with advantage. 



THE BONES OP THE MOUTH. 



The bones constituting and giving form to the mouth are the superior 

 maxillary or upper jaw (6, p. 140, and Z, p. 145), containing the upper 

 grinders and tushes ; the anterior maxillary, or lower part of the upper 

 jaw (/, p. 140, 11, p. 145), containing the upper-nippers or cutting-teeth ; 

 the palatine bone (c, p. 197) and the posterior maxillary or under jaw (a, 

 p. 140), containing all the under teeth. 



The superior maxillary is, with the exception of the lower jaw, the 

 largest bone in the face. It unites above with the lachrymal bone, and 

 more on the side, with the malar or cheek bone, and a portion of it, con- 

 tinued upward, and underneath, enters into the orbit. Above, and on the 

 front of the face, it unites with the bones of the nose, and below, ivith 

 the inferior maxillary. That which most deserves notice in it externally 

 is the ridge or spine, continued from the base of the zygomatic arch, and 

 across the malar bone. It and the surface beneath serve to give attach- 

 ment to the masseter muscle, concerned, almost as much as the temporal 

 one, in the act of chewing. On the anterior surface is a foramen or hole, 

 through Avhich a branch of the fifth pair of nerves proceeds to give sensi- 

 bility to the lower part of the face. As it approaches the teeth, this bone 



