^4 THE BRIDLE BITS. 



of an ordinary ridin^-liorse, should have all the above 

 qualities, which, although undeveloped, give him the 

 moral and physical aptitude for pleasure and general ser- 

 vice under the saddle, as well as the usual desire for the 

 companionship of his rider and ready obedience to his 

 will. The saddle-horse is different from the racer, which 

 is bred, kept and used as a racer alone, the only object in 

 breeding and training him being speed. The latter is 

 earning his living under the pig-skin before the saddle- 

 horse is taken in hand to mouth and train, or is even 

 backed. If forty years ago our fancy time was '^2:40," 

 and by mere breeding and training for trotting alone we 

 have come down to 2:8y^, what wonderful feats are pos- 

 sible for the saddle-horse which has all the necessary 

 qualities and all required advantages in training for 

 both the trotter and steeple-chaser, if he be properly 

 bitted, mouthed, trained and ridden. For if the six- 

 teenth of a second makes the difference between victory 

 and defeat in trotting, what a difference there must be 

 between the certainty and uncertainty of the perform- 

 ance of a hunter that is properly and one that is im- 

 properly handled, when the future of a man's neck de- 

 pends on that difference ! The few accidents that occur 

 in a winter's hunting in the British Isles, with one h un- 

 dred and twenty-four (124) packs of hounds, bear amjDle 

 evidence of the perfection of the system adopted in breed- 

 ing, training, and the principles and skill practiced in 

 riding, which is the greatest and most perfect of all the 

 different kinds of horsemansliip throughout the world; 

 for the horse and his rider must be of one mind in tak- 

 ing the chances that, under the most favorable circum- 

 stances, attend the strain that is forced upon both in 

 taking a leap that, in cool blood, would seem like mad- 

 ness. 



It is an interesting coincidence, that during the last 

 forty years the reduction of trotting time has kept pace 



