170 THE COMPLETE HORSEMAN 



readers, who may be sure that as a rule it depends 

 much more on what is at the other end of the 

 bridle than on what is in his mouth, as to how a 

 horse carries himself. The Gridiron bit is how- 

 ever sometimes very useful as some horses have 

 a nasty habit of getting their tongues over the bit, 

 and the Gridiron prevents that. There is how- 

 ever an American tongue lolling bit of which 

 I have seen an illustration, which seems to me 

 likely to answer the same purpose and which does 

 not seem so severe. 



Simplicity is the thing to aim at when bitting 

 horses ; and the owner who is fitting up his 

 saddle room will do well to bear in mind the wise 

 creed of a Yorkshireman who was master of the 

 Old Surrey. '' I believe in hands, not iron- 

 mongery," said this fine sportsman. The short- 

 cheeked curb with a good thick bridoon will be 

 found quite sufficient for the ordinary hunter or 

 saddle horse. The mouthpiece of the bit and 

 also the bridoon should be thick, but avoid a 

 high port hke the plague. It may safely be said 

 that there is not one man in a score whose hands 

 are light enough for him to use a bit with a high 

 port to advantage. A good nieasurement for 

 an ordinary hunting bridle is from the lower end 

 of the mouthpiece to the top eye, if to i^ inches, 

 and from the mouthpiece to the bottom of the 

 cheek 3 inches to 3 J inches. Some horses that 

 have not a very light mouth will require a longer 

 cheek, but there is a place to stop at in the length 

 of the cheeks of curbs, as if they are too long 



