172 ON CLOTHING, ETC. 



along in either his gallop, sweat, or race, as well as 

 to pull him up at the conclusion of either of them. 



And such reins are found very useful to the very 

 small boys, when riding young ones in their exercise, 

 or when those light weights are put up to ride horses 

 which may have delicate fore legs, (which is not a very 

 uncommon occurrence,) and which may require pretty 

 strong work. Although some such horses may pull 

 fair, and with their heads in a good place, yet they 

 may pull much too strong for small light boys to hold 

 them in their gallops and sweats. To have a horse of 

 this sort break away, and make too free with himself 

 in his work, would not be well, nor would it perhaps 

 answer to put a curb or a Pelham bridle on, to hold 

 such a horse with. Being rode in either of these, he 

 may get to bend his knees too much, go high and 

 clamber in his work, which would be a loss of time, 

 and an inexperienced groom would be very loth, on 

 account of his delicacy of the horse's legs, to put up a 

 lad of a size and power that could hold such a horse 

 in a plain snaffle, which is the sort of bridle he should 

 •be rode in. The groom, therefore, in order to have as 

 little weight as possible on the horse's legs, puts up a 

 small light boy to ride him, and to give this little boy 

 sufficient power to hold the horse, the groom orders 

 one of the reins above described to be put on, which 

 he thinks will answer the purpose ; at the same time, 

 giving the boy orders how he is to use the rein so as 

 to be enabled to hold or pull the horse up. The bits 

 generally used for race- horses to run in, vary according 



