THE LEVEB, THE BIT AND CURB, ETC. 185 



of this sets you at ease, and that is a great point. 

 If you want a little help with a young horse, here 

 and there, or with one whose neck is turned upside 

 down or the like, you have only to apply the running- 

 rein or a martingale ; or, if you prefer it, the same 

 qualities of seat, hand, and heart will enable you to put 

 a well-proportioned light unjointed bit into your horse's 

 mouth. But the great majority of riders do not belong 

 to the class we have described above, and having neither 

 the steady seat nor the confidence that arises from it, 

 therefore seek after something more powerful than the 

 common snaffle. Indeed, as a general rule, one finds 

 the bitting severe and the tackle complicated in the 

 inverse proportion of the qualities of the rider ; and as 

 to a light hand it is altogether out of the question 

 with people who " stick " on their horses after the 

 fashion of a monkey mounted on a poodle, and derive 

 their chief support from the reins. To such persons we 

 would say, Improve your seat in the first place : until 

 you learn to keep it with ease, altogether independent 

 of the reins, you will be always looking out for something 

 Pelhamy that will afford you a gripe to hold on by ; just 

 the very reason you can't master your horses with a 

 snaffle, and, at a pinch, something with the action of 

 a curb-bit, which you are afraid of, because it affords 

 little or nothing to hold on by. If your judgment were 

 only equal to your pluck, you would soon become 

 independent of these hybrid instruments that pretend 

 to combine the action of snaffle and bit, and, like most 

 other makeshifts, answer neither purpose perfectly and 

 reliably. 



We do not, however, mean to say that a Pelham 

 should never be used; as a matter of fancy, fashion, 



