RIDING FOR LADIES. 



tell his master so by all the means that lie within his 

 power. He exhibits restlessness when the bridle is put on : 

 gapes, mouths, flings his head about, and carries it (when 

 urged into motion) either on one side, or unduly high or low. 

 There is by nature very little so called " vice " in horses. 

 Comparatively few of them are born unruly, but many 

 are made so by improper treatment on the part of those 

 in whose charge they are at times unfortunately placed. 



There should be one established law in bitting : never 

 use any bridle that your horse after a trial will not face. 

 Were this advice attended to there would be fewer 

 accidents, and far fewer unsightly exhibitions of danger 

 and discomfort than we are at present accustomed to see. 

 A well-placed bit will just clear the tusks in a horse's 

 mouth, and in that of a mare will lie one-inch above the 

 corner teeth. A considerate rider will always look to these 

 things himself before mounting ; will see, for instance, that 

 the throat-lash is not drawn too tight, and that the pressure 

 of the bit lies exactly on the bars of the mouth. These 

 bars are formed much like the tibia, or human shin-bone, 

 the minor edge being sharper and more salient than the 

 outer, where it rounds off. Their shape varies in different 

 horses. In hard-mouthed animals they are round, low, 

 and furnished abundantly with fleshy substance ; in a 

 tender mouth they are very lean and sharp ; and in what 

 may be styled a good mouth, they are moderately so, 

 without exhibiting too great an inclination to either of the 

 first-named conditions. 



I like to see a good wide mouthpiece used ; it is a vast 



