MAETINaALS. 235 



stoutly affirm that they are dangerous, from confin- 

 ing the animal's head. It does this ; but, used pro- 

 perly, it merely confines it so far as to prevent the 

 horse getting it into a position in which it never 

 ought to be ; and this restraint is under the iu- 

 jQiuence of the rider's hand : relax the pressure on 

 the bit, and the horse can place his head in any po- 

 sition and in any elevation he likes, or on an emer- 

 gency may find necessary or convenient. It would 

 be dangerous if the martingal was a fixed appui ; 

 but it is not. As applied to the reins only, these 

 running freely through its rings (or, in preference, 

 two little articles made for the purpose, very like a 

 stirrup) relax all tendancy to confining the head, 

 that is, if the hands, in technical terms, "give and 

 take'* with the motions of the horse. 



Many persons would not, figuratively speaking, 

 for worlds ride a horse at a fence with a martingal 

 on. Now some horses, on seeing a fence before 

 them, immediately throw up their heads. There 

 can be no good result from the permitting such 

 habit to be practised without control — it is, in fact 



