BITTING. 75 



deal better to have it too wide than too narrow, and I give 

 you the advice in case you do not go on the principle of 

 measurements, which some ridicule. Let your mouthpiece 

 be at all events not less than five inches inside (and even 

 this will be found narrow for many horses), with cheeks 

 rather short, and set otctivardly. If a port is used it will 

 be much better to have it opening laterally, from two to 

 two and a-half inches. 



The unsightly habit of lolling out the tongue arises from 

 the pressure to which it is, or has been, subjected, by the 

 whimsical shapes of many of 

 the mouthpieces in general use, .n'0'^^<tff!^- 



the ports of which, instead of 

 being fashioned according to the 

 form of the tongue and mouth, 

 are so constructed that the first- 

 named is either pinched severely 



in the hollow, or pressed between \^f^ y^'*] 



the cannons of the mouthpiece _ _ 



^ MOUTH OF TORTURED HORSE. 



and the bars of the mouth. The 



horse, then, in order to relieve himself from the torture, 

 either hangs out his tongue, or draws it up above the 

 mouthpiece : an action which compels him to open his 

 mouth in an unsightly manner. This latter defect is 

 likewise frequently attributable to the extreme height of 

 the ports of some mouthpieces ; these act, most improperly, 

 on the palate, and when the reins are pulled, cause such 

 excessive agony that the sufferer gapes, in order to ease 

 his pain. 



