THE BAR BIT. 



103 



and available instincts accorded him in many passages in 

 the scriptures — for he is spoken of in Holy Writ as being 

 a necessary figure in St. John's description of the glories 

 of another world, while he continues to hold his own in 

 this. 



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CHAPTER XIV. 



THE BAR BIT. 



The plain bar bit has a history of its own. In the 

 early days of our trotting record of "2:40," handed down 

 in both prose and song, it was used with strong pullers. 



Fig. 41.— BAR BIT. 



purposely trained to pull the buggy or the driver out of 

 it by the bit. For this purpose it was preferred for its 

 strength, and according to the disposition of the horse to 

 pull and have his own way, it was rendered all the more 

 severe by having several spiral twists with sharp ridges 

 from end to end of the bar, so that by sawing it the 

 horse should let go. In those days the trotting horse 

 was trained to pull the buggy by the bit more than by the 

 traces — Avhich would not be much of a pull now-a-days, 

 when the weight and size of the buggy, and comfort of 

 sitting in it, have been reduced in proportion. The buggy 

 of the present time is so narrow that, when we see two 



