THE SADDLE AND BRIDLE. 87 



ure for the upper one the other is frequently 

 made too long. Major Dwyer states that the 

 mouth - piece, for any horse of ordinary size, 

 should be one and three fourths inches for the 

 upper bar, and three and a half inches for the 

 lower one. This makes five and one fourth 

 inches for the entire length of the two bars, 

 from the point at which the curb-hook acts 

 above to that where the lower ring acts below. 

 (Fig. 15.) For ordinary ponies the upper bar 

 may be one and a half inches, and the lower 

 one three, making a total length of four and a 

 half inches. 



Every lady rider should know that the longer 

 the lower bar, the thinner the mouth-piece, and 

 the higher the ^' port," the more severe and 

 painful w^ill be the action of the bit upon the 

 horse's mouth. For a horse of ordinary size, 

 the w^idth of the port should be one and one 

 third inches ; for a pony, one inch. The height 

 will vary according to the degree of severity 

 required. 



The curb-chain, for a horse that has a chin- 

 groove of medium size, should be about four 

 fifths of an inch wide, as a chain that is rather 

 broad and flat is less painful for the horse than 

 a thin, sharp one. If the chin-groove be very 

 narrow^ a curb-chain of less width will have to 



