NECESSARY, IF NOT QUITE JUST. 107 



namely, having horses kept on a tight gagging or 

 bearing rein till their necks ache to that degree that 

 they are fain to throw their heads up to gain a tem- 

 porary relief from an unnatural and consequently 

 painful position. This habit having been attained, no 

 matter from what cause, we must endeavour to cure 

 him of it, which it will require a little justifiable 

 severity to effect. The rearing-bit will do this in a 

 very few days ; first of course taking off or easing the 

 bearing-rein, then put on the rearing-bit, but loose, 

 so as in no way to restrain or inconvenience him so 

 long as he carries his head at any reasonable or 

 allowable height. But the moment he tosses it up, he 

 gets a rap on his jaw ; and this occurring as often as 

 he repeats the offence, a few hints will suffice. This 

 is better than constantly using a nose martingal, even 

 in harness. 



I may be asked why I so decidedly object to the 

 nose-martingal for general use in riding, while, as 

 will be shortly seen, I as strongly advocate the use 

 of the racing-martingal when it is in the slightest 

 degree required? My objection to the nose-martin- 

 gal then is this : if a horse makes a blunder, whether 

 a trifling one, or one likely to end in a pair of broken 

 knees, up goes his head ; now, though this is by no 

 means necessary to enable him to recover himself, but 

 on the contrary prevents the rider helping him to do 

 so, still, from the very sudden violence with which he 

 generally chucks his head up, the nose-band gives him 

 virtually a sharp blow on his nose. It would be 

 rather a curious experiment, if we saw a horse falling, 

 to give him a blow with a stick on the front of his 

 nose to induce him to exert himself to raise his fore- 

 quarters. I should say it would rather help him to fall 



