i88 PINK AND SCARLET 



Plate X. This gives the man who is leading him 

 much more command over him than if the rope 

 merely came straight away from the bottom ring of 

 the gullet-piece, and he can always stop any antics 

 on the part of the horse by giving the rope a few 

 jerks. 



"All right, he's sound ; put his bridle on." This 

 sounds very simple, and yet how often do we see it 

 bungled most horribly ! Perhaps the chief offenders 

 in this respect are the so-called ostlers at way-side 

 inns and the inexperienced soldier grooms. There 

 are, however, many horse-owners who are just 

 as bad. 



Some horses will not have a bridle put on at all 

 by a bungler, and they are quite right. It must be 

 most unpleasant to have a heavy-fisted biped trying 

 to force a handful of cold steel between your 

 clenched teeth, scraping your gums as he does so, 

 and at the same time endeavouring to pull the head- 

 piece of the bridle (which, of course, is too short until 

 the bit is between the teeth) roughly up over your 

 sensitive ears. 



Fig. I, Plate XVII. shows a bridle being 

 put on in a way that a horse readily yields to, 

 simply because he understands it, and it does not 

 hurt him. 



The bits having been arranged properly, and the 

 curb-chain unhooked on the near side, the reins are 

 put over the horse's head, the right hand holds the 

 top of the head-piece, and the fingers of the left hand 

 hold the bits, as shown in the photograph. The 



