ENGLISH VS. IRISH RIDING. 



51 



on the snaffle. One rein that is always in Land works 

 the snaffle and the martingale, while the other rein, 

 which is narrow, works the curb bit and curb when nec- 

 essary. With the young racer the curb rein must be 

 fingered very tenderly, and be taken up to gather the 

 horse's head or check him in his speed should he try to 

 bolt, run away or exceed his time. If this bit has been 

 well tested, and suits the horse, it is a nice one for a 

 woman to use if she knows her horse. 



The Pelham is a favorite with jockies and is essentially 

 ft racing bit, for the above reasons ; besides, its being 

 single, there is less annoying iron in the horse's mouth 



Fig. 16. — PELHAM BIT. 



to irritate him, or interfere with his wind on the home- 

 stretch, than with the bit-and-bridoon. To the unneces- 

 sary or bad handling of the curb rein may be attributed 

 many defeats on the turf. The young horse, in particu- 

 lar, is annoyed and fretted by its injudicious use by 

 novices in the art of riding races or handling young, 

 fretful horses. The unsteadiness of the horse, and con- 

 sequently numerous false starts on race courses, may 

 often be attributed to the use of both bits at the same 

 time — the unmistakable evidence of bad horsemanship. 

 Owners of race horses should see to this. 



