104 THE FIGHT. 



bit with a plunger or rearer is, that it makes him 

 practically feel that whenever he attempts to do 

 wrong he hurts himself; and he also finds he is so 

 completely baffled in every attempt at violence, that 

 he gives it up, or in recent slang, cuts it. The way 

 it acts is simply this : before a horse plunges or rears, 

 he is sure to begin by flinging his head about, and 

 this he generally does suddenly: the moment he 

 does so, or flings it up, the bit acts on the bars of his 

 mouth, and being firmly held by the strap to the 

 girths, no elasticity or yielding can take place ; con- 

 sequently he gets a positive sharp blow on the bars 

 every time he calls the bit into action. He soon 

 finds this out; finds also he cannot break it, and 

 submits : in short, is completely subdued. I do not 

 mean to say it would be impossible for a horse to 

 rear with this bit on, inasmuch as we see a goat do 

 so, with his nose between his forelegs ; but the goat 

 has been practising this all his life ; the horse has 

 not, nor did I ever see one attempt the feat. The 

 same thing holds good with plunging : he cannot well 

 plunge and keep his head quiet ; and if he does not 

 keep it so with this bit on, I wish him joy. 



I had a horse which had sense enough to be quite 

 aware that though a canter with light summer clothes 

 on, and six stone on his back was rather a pleasant 

 recreation, a four-mile sweat with heavy sweaters and 

 eight stone over them, was toute une autre chose : in 

 short, he knew as well when he was to sweat as I did. 

 His usual exercise-lad could not get him along at 

 any pace at all, and when a stronger and consequently 

 heavier lad was put up, though by dint of a good 

 ash-plant and rating he could hustle him along for 

 a couple of miles, more or less, before he had got him 



