274 



THE HORSE IN SERVICE 



shortening the chain or strap or roughing the chain by twisting 

 its links. The action of the curb bit is also made more severe by 

 the U-shaped mouth-piece (Fig. 141) which ^^rovides a port, into 

 which the tongue passes when the bit is in operation, thus throw- 

 ing all the pressure upon the bars of the mouth. Without the 

 port in the bit, the pressure is cushioned on the tongue before 

 being borne by the bars. 



The plain bit is usually corrugated on one side, if of the 

 reversible Liverpool pattern, which makes it a little more severe 

 than if the smooth side is used. 



There are four standard styles of curb bits : The Liverpool, 

 the elbow, the Buxton, and the Pelham. The Liverpool (Fig. 

 142) has a straight shank. The elbow (Fig. 143) has an angle 



Fig. 141.— Port of curb bit. 



Fig. 142.— The 

 Liverpool bit. 



in the shank to prevent the horse from catching it in his lips and 

 preventing the operation of the bit. The Buxton (Fig. 144) 

 has a long S-shaped shank serving the same purpose as the 

 elbow, the lower extremities being united by a cross-bar to pre- 

 vent their becoming caught in parts of the harness. The Pelham 

 (Fig. 145) is the style of bit commonly used in riding bridles. 



The special class of bits includes all those designed to meet 

 extraordinary requirements, and tliey are too numerous to men- 

 tion. The majority of them are a modification or corruption of 

 the snaffle type, causing such distortion of the horse's mouth as 

 to make any hold of the bit impossible. Many are ruinous to 

 a good mouth and aggravating to a bad one. 



The Bitless Bridle. — There has recently been put on the 

 market a bitless bridle, in which a metal nose band is equipped 



