THE NECK, THE HEAD, ETC. 147 



flat surface to the bars and thick fleshy lips, we may 

 forthwith set this down as a case in which an ordinary 

 mouth-piece will exert its pressure mainly on the tongue 

 and lips, conveying to the rider's hand the dull feeling 

 of pulling against lead. 



As a general rule, well-bred horses have the first- 

 named conformation of mouth, and common brutes 

 the contrary one ; but it by no means follows from 

 this that the former are all light and the latter all 

 heavy in the hand : for the most aristocratic animal 

 of all, the English race-horse, has generally a good 

 tough mouth of its own, because it is taught from 

 earliest infancy to lean on the bridle, and seek a fifth 

 foot in the rider's hand ; whereas, on the contrary, we 

 often find a perfectly plebeian brute, with a tongue that 

 overfills its mouth, and everything else in proportion, 

 not only extremely sensitive to the action of the bit, 

 but in fact totally averse to its contact that is to say, 

 " behind the hand," because it has miserably flabby 

 muscles, unstrung tendons, and weak hind quarters. * 



All this tends to show that it requires a considerable 

 deal of judgment, practical knowledge of horses, and 

 perfect understanding of what is required in each 

 especial case, to enable one to undertake the task of 

 selecting and fitting bits with any chance of success ; 

 w r hereas it is a matter that is most usually intrusted 

 to certain classes of individuals who possess no other 

 qualification than the habit of wearing green baize 

 aprons or nether garments of a very peculiar description 

 viz., saddlers and grooms. 



* A dishonest horse-dealer that really possesses talent will always 

 avoid showing you a horse with an incipient spavin or other defect 

 of the hind legs otherwise than on the lightest possible bridle : 

 three-fourths of these arising from " savage bitting." 



