BIDING. 219 



badness of seat. No man can have a fine or delicate 

 hand on his horse unless his seat is firm and steady. 

 As well might a watchmaker attempt to set a watch 

 while seated in an American rocking-chair in full 

 motion. 



As the subject of this article is not one of my own 

 choosing, but is written at the suggestion of another, 

 I must be excused if I treat more on hands than 

 bridles — my object being to show that they will 

 neutralise the efi'ects of the most appropriate bit, 

 while at the same time they would ruin the finest 

 mouth. 



I should say I could mention at least twenty 

 different sorts of bridles, all, or most of them, good 

 for certain horses ; but if I did, cui bono ! The 

 horseman knows them as well as I do ; he also knows 



*he kind of mouth each would suit. The man who is 

 not a horseman would be no wiser from my mention- 

 ing Chifney's jointed mouth-pieces, gag-snaffles, 

 &c. — names he never heard of ; and their uses he of 

 course cannot understand. The man with bad hands 

 could not make use of such bridles, consequently he 



