124 



Bits and Bittiiig. 



ent purpose to point out two extreme cases, the one of 

 form — the ewe-neck ; the other of want of stabiHty — the 

 long, straight, thin neck, scantily clothed with flabby 

 muscles. The annexed figure shows how the direction 

 of the pull of the reins is modified in each instance, and 

 how this in its turn changes the direction in which the 

 neck acts on the back. We see that with the exagge- 

 rated ewe-neck the lever action goes downward under 

 the withers immediately on to the fore legs ; with the 



Fig. 6. 



long, thin neck that bends throughout like a fishing-rod 

 (as also with all horses broken and bitted on Baucher's 

 principle), it goes upward through the withers into the 

 air, in both of these cases missing altogether the centre 

 of motion ; while the intermediate position, combined 

 with the requisite degree of stability, affords a pull in 

 the desired direction, and, coupled with the weight of 

 the rider, meets directly the action of the hind legs, the 

 source of all propelling power. 



