256 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



snaffle. Almost the only bits that have been used 

 in the writer's stable for many years, for hunters, 

 or steeplechase horses, have been roller, smooth, 

 and gag snaffles, and there has been no necessity 

 to employ anything else. There is indeed a 

 double bridle in the saddle-room, regarded rather 

 as an antique relic ! It has been very seldom 

 used indeed ! 



It has been mentioned previously that some- 

 times a horse learns the trick of getting his 

 tongue over the bit, when the rider is powerless 

 to control the animal if it chooses to go its own 

 way. Some thirty years ago the famous Allen 

 Macdonough, as fine a horseman and steeplechase 

 rider as Ireland ever produced, invented, and 

 gave to the writer, a " tongue-bit " which has 

 proved most successful ; but it requires a nicety 

 of adjustment an ordinary groom would hardly 

 be likely always to attend to, and as otherwise 

 the bit would not answer its intended purpose, 

 and might easily be discredited, the particulars of 

 it are not here stated. 



Q, Should a rider let his body swing back as 

 a horse rises at a fence ? 



A. Certainly, and when exact time is kept it 

 is much easier for the horse, as there is then no 

 shock on his back when alighting. The rider 

 should never rise a hair's breadth from his saddle 

 the whole time, and the familiar " daylight " 

 should never be visible. The hands also should 

 be kept very low, and scarcely rise above the 

 pommel of the saddle, moving forward as is 

 required when the horse stretches his neck in 

 taking the leap. The horse then gets the full 

 benefit of his pace and spring, and is set going 



