58 LADIES 5 MARTINGALS. 



and of a good quality, breadth and thickness 

 so as to fill the hand, but not clumsy, nor yet 

 strips which slip through the feminine grasp; on 

 this account tape-reins are insufficient and dan- 

 gerous ; the curb-rein should have a " runner/ 5 

 Ladies' bridles certainly appear more handsome 

 and suitable when ornamented with shells, pearls, 

 &c., than if plain, like those of gentlemen. 

 Ladies may also require martingals to assist 

 their strength, by exercising a continual re- 

 straint upon the horse ; which martingals (as 

 for gentlemen) must have a separate headstall 

 and noseband, and operate independently of 

 the bridle ; because, as has been before ex- 

 plained, the martingal must never be hooked 

 to either of the reins, or any part of the bridle, 

 as this renders the bridle inefficient.* (Page 

 20.) 



* A lady, a good horsewoman, was run away with by her 

 horse, notwithstanding curb-bit, bridoon, and martingal, and 

 her using all her strength; because the martingal was 

 hooked to the reins of the curb-bit, and therefore the more 

 she pulled, the more the horse's mouth was relieved from the 

 gripe of the curb-chain, by the angle the martingal caused in 

 the reins, the bit drawing downwards. This would likewise 

 be the result if the martingal were fixed to the bit. 



