90 BITS AND BRIDLE GEAR. 



article of gear. This combination conforms to the sound 

 principle that the simpler the gear, the better it looks on 

 a horse. 



The chief objects of a standing martingale are to prevent 

 a horse from raising his head too high, and from stretching 

 it out too far. Consequently it may be usefully employed 

 with animals that rear, star-gaze, throw their heads up and 

 down, pull and are difficult to turn. We find that the higher 

 a horse holds his head, the less power we have to alter the 

 direction in which he is going ; hence the standing martingale, 

 by preventing him from getting his head up, will help us in 

 keeping him straight, as for instance, if he tries to run out at 

 a fence. Bringing in the head of a hard puller by means of 

 a standing martingale, aids in control, by the fact of the 

 martingale taking more or less of the pull which would other- 

 wise fall on the rider's hands. 



In almost all cases when a horse raises his head in defence 

 against the snaffle, he does so wqth the object of transferring 

 the pressure of the mouth-piece from the bars of the mouth 

 to the less sensitive corners of the mouth. With a curb, the 

 attempt is usually made in order to escape from the painful 

 pressure of the curb-chain. 



The presence of a standing martingale which is fixed to the 

 rings of the snaffle, not only prevents a horse from holding his 

 head too high, but it also proves to him that he will hurt his 

 mouth against the mouth-piece of the snaffle if he tries to 

 raise his head beyond the limit allowed him by the martingale, 

 and that he will relieve his mouth of painful pressure, the 

 moment he bends his neck and lowers his head. Conse- 

 quently, the action of the standing martingale which is con- 

 nected to the snaffle, is instructive as w^ell as preventive ; 

 because it shows the horse that he gets punished for dis- 

 obeying our wishes, and is rewarded for carrying them out. 



I have always found in hunting, chasing, flat-racing, 



