194 BITS AND BITTING. 



hitch of this kind, lift up the horse's upper lip gently 

 with your left thumb so as to get a view of the interior 

 of his mouth, whilst you draw the reins with the right 

 hand so as to see how the mouth-piece lies, whether 

 too much or too little of its pressure falls on the tongue 

 in fact, whether the mouth-piece is not in fault ; but 

 this requires some experience, and perhaps the help of 

 an instrument, of which we shall have to speak in the 

 next chapter. 



And now a word as to the bridoon. This is, in the 

 first place, an aid in the early stages of training to 

 facilitate the transition from the snaffle to the curbed 

 bit ; and in proportion as the young horse becomes 

 familiar with .the latter it is gradually laid aside, and 

 then becomes a " second string to the bow " in case of 

 any accident happening to the bit or its reins. Nothing 

 is, however, commoner than to see amongst ourselves 

 these, its well-understood uses, completely reversed, and 

 people riding about our streets and parks holding on 

 like grim death by the bridoon-reins, whilst those 

 belonging to the bit dangle about the horse's neck, to 

 be caught up all of a sudden if the horse makes a bolt. 

 Now this simply proves that the bit is either so mon- 

 strous in itself, or so absurdly placed in the horse's 

 mouth, that the rider is afraid to use it ; in many cases, 

 too, his own seat is so unsteady, and he depends so 

 much on the reins for support, that the best-fitting bit 

 in the world would be useless or dangerous in his 

 hands. If those who really can ride would only bit 

 their horses properly, they might take the bit-rein in 

 their hands without any difficulty nay, with great 

 advantage to themselves and we should see fewer 

 broken knees than at present ; for it is frequently owing 



