222 HACKS AND HUNTERS 



upper eye, into which the headstall passes) is usually 

 about one and three-quarters to two inches. If shorter 

 than this, it gives less lever action, and if longer there 

 is more downward pull on the headstall, and the curb- 

 chain, instead of lying in the chin groove, works up 

 and presses on the sensitive bony portion of the horse's 

 jaw. 



The lower portion of the cheek* averages about 

 four to four and one-half inches in length, but it may 

 be lengthened, to increase the severity of the bit, to five 

 and one-quarter inches. That expert horseman, Mr. 

 Thomas Hitchcock, hunts nearly all of his horses with 

 extremely long cheeks. However, owing to its severity, 

 this should never be attempted except by an experi- 

 enced horseman. 



For horses with excessively light mouths, or those 

 horses unaccustomed to a double bridle, a Tom Thumb 

 bit is very efficient. The bridle is in all respects just 

 like an ordinary Weymouth, but in miniature. 



All curb bits should be provided with a " lip-strap," 

 which is attached to the Up-strap eyelets on the curb, 

 and passes through the pendant ring on the curb-chain. 

 The purpose of this strap is threefold: to prevent the 

 bit being reversed upside down by the animal throw- 

 ing its head; to keep the curb-chain from shifting 

 upward out of the chin groove and pressing on the 

 sharp edges of the jaw; and to make it impossible 

 for a tricky horse to catch the bit with his lower lip. 



Curb-chains, which serve the purpose of bringing 

 part of the pressure exerted on the reins, to bear on the 

 groove in the lower chin, are necessary on all double 



* The loose rings at the bottom of the cheek should be made suffi- 

 ciently large to prevent the martingale rings going over and catching 

 on them. 



