328 RIDING FOR LADIES. 



chafe and irritate — unless properly put on. A strap that is 

 either too light or the reverse, or that passes in a direct 

 line from shaft to shaft, had better not be used at all. It 

 ought to be just loose enough, nothing more, to allow of 

 the horse travelling without feeling chafed by it, and should 

 be fastened at least two inches behind the hip-bones, as a 

 loin-strap would be. 



Fitting the Bit to the Horse's Mouth. — This, 

 as I have already stated, is an advisable plan. A Buxton 

 or Liverpool bit is commonly employed in harness, but 

 if a horse has a light mouth, he may travel well in a 

 snaffle. Buxton bits are made without ports. Experience 

 will tell whether the reins ought to be buckled to the 

 cheek or to the bars. In my opinion, almost all horses 

 go well in properly fitting bits. I altogether disap- 

 prove of the enormous affairs with cheeks eleven inches 

 long, and weighing quite two pounds, which ignorance 

 sometimes makes use of. I believe that comparatively few 

 animals require bits of larger dimensions than one and 

 three-quarter inches for the upper cheek, and three and a- 

 half for the lower. This latter ought never to be more 

 than double the length of the upper portion. Even when 

 the reins are fastened to a ring below the cheek, the weight 

 of the projecting arm will effect the leverage of the entire 

 affair. 



Horses addicted to Running away frequently lay 

 hold of the cheek of the bit ; it is a fault in large measure 

 cultivated by using bits that are too broad for the mouth. 



