SADDLES AND BRIDLES 225 



rule, the severer the bit the more it excites the horse, 

 and the less well he goes. The Chifney bit, invented 

 by the jockey, Sam Chifney, in which the headstall 

 is attached to short arms that revolve on the mouth- 

 piece and are quite independent of the bit, if properly 

 used, may be useful on pullers, but it belongs more or 

 less in the category of bits which are interesting as a 

 study — such as the Gridiron. Tongue or ladder bits 

 have been invented with varying degrees of success, to 

 prevent a horse lolling his tongue out over his bit.* 



Lieutenant-Colonel McTaggart rightly says: "It 

 is not the bit that matters, it is the riding. If we find 

 a horse too big and strong for us, or too keen or too 

 fretful, let us admit it and dispose of him to some one 

 who may like him better. But, for heaven's sake, do 

 not go on trying one severe bit after another in the hope 

 that by sheer cruelty we shall be able to force him to 

 do our will, or that we shall be able to alter his char- 

 acter through the agency of pain. If we train our- 

 selves, as well as our horses, we shall find that all these 

 various devices are unnecessary, and that the proper 

 place for these wonderful bits is not in the stable but 

 in the museum." 



Martingales are of two general types: the standing 

 martingale and the ring or running martingale. f 



The standing martingale may consist of either a 

 long strap which attaches to the nose-band, or a strap 



* Tying a string over the animal's tongue is often very effective. 

 Some people use burrs and leather disks in order to prevent a horse 

 pulhng only on one side of the bit, but even in such cases this sort of 

 trouble can usually be more effectively corrected by having the animal's 

 teeth examined and treated by a dentist. 



t An Irish martingale (called "spectacles") is formed by passing the 

 reins through two rings attached together by a small strap. Although 

 it may be useful in keeping a horse's neck straight it hampers the free 

 use of the reins and is therefore defective in its action. 



