170 



BITS AND BITTING. 



effect than to pull it downwards, and out of the horse's 

 mouth, if the head-piece of the bridle did not prevent 

 this taking place ; and if the pull were made in the 

 direction b, it would only lift the bit up till the angles 

 of the mouth stopped it. In neither case would there 

 be the slightest lever-action ; and the nearer any- 

 other direction, g or h, approached these perfectly in- 

 operative ones, b or c, the less 

 would be its value ; and it is 

 therefore evident that the direc- 

 tion a, which is equally remote 

 from both, must be the most 

 efficient which is, however r 

 precisely the right angle. 



Now a very long lower cheek, 

 or a very low carriage of the 

 horse's head a la Baucher, or a 

 very high pack in the front of 

 the saddle/' 1 ' will always have 

 the effect of bringing the rein 

 to act on the bit at an unfavour- 

 able angle ; and when we come 

 to look at the bits that served 

 as models for old equestrian 



statues, we find that the im- 

 Fig. 13. Angle formed by , , , t ? -i 



rein with bit. mense long lower cheeks of these 



were bent backwards so as to 



form an angle with the upper cheeks for the purpose 

 of securing the action of the rein at a right-angle, 

 or nearly so which, however, did not and could not 

 answer the purpose intended. If the inventors of these 

 frightful bits had had any real knowledge of the laws 

 * See Plates VI. and VII., top figures. 



