40 THE HOESE AND HIS KIDEK. 



to lift them about half a dozen times a few inches into the 

 air, and then, as a tallow-chandler dips his candles, lower 

 them gently, easily, and perpendicularly to their saddles, 

 they would find themselves promoted in the world to a seat 

 on horseback which they would never wish to abandon. 



As, however, our readers, we fear, must have become 

 very tired of the saddle, we will now relieve them from 

 hogskin, to submit to them a very few practical obser- 

 vations on the management of the bridle, the ordinary 

 uses of which, as everybody knows, are twofold, namely, 

 first to guide a horse, and secondly to restrain, or, when 

 requisite, to stop him. 



As it is the disposition of a horse, when mounted, to 

 go fast, and as it is the disposition of a man to pull at any 

 thing in this world as little as possible, curb-bits and 

 curb-chains (as their names truly denote) have been in- 

 vented, by which the animal in all his movements on 

 parade or on the road is slightly thrown on his haunches, 

 with his head raised more or less above its natural level. 

 In this position his eyes are of course proportionally 

 elevated, and as there exists no obstruction on the maca- 

 damized roads, &c., on which he travels, he soon ceases to 

 look downwards ; and although, if he then happens to 

 pass over a little hole, he may put a foot into it, or may 

 slightly blunder over half a shovelfull of loose stones which 



