l6o Bits and Bitting. 



purely mechanical sense of the expression — it is a ques- 

 tion of the infliction of a certain amount of pain from 

 which the horse shrinks ; and if the curb act more 

 painfully than the mouthpiece, in consequence of its 

 construction or position, we obtain the action of a lever 

 of the first order, which we should never desire. Some 

 people are indeed regardless of the amount of pain they 

 inflict on a horse, and go on increasing this painful 

 action in both directions, without, of course, obtaining 

 any real advantage, which is precisely what we would 

 desire to see put a stop to ; and in order to this let us 

 examine into the action of another kind of lever. 



In a lever of the second order the power and prop 

 act or are placed at the opposite extremities of the lever, 

 the weight being between the two ; the mechanical ad- 

 vantage is proportioned to the relative distances of the 

 power and weight from the prop. For instance, if P F"^ 

 fig. 8 ((5), be equal three, and W F equal one, these 

 numbers will express the relative amount of power 

 gained ; and it is to be observed that the power and the 

 weight move in the same direction in rotatmg round the 

 fulcrum. This is what we want for bitting ; the weight 

 in this case is represented by the pressure on the bars 

 of the mouth ; the curb acting thus merely as a fulcrum, 

 the horse's head follows immediately the pressure on 

 the bar in the direction of the rider's hand. 



It is very evident that the direction in which the bit 

 acts depending altogether on the relative amount of 

 painful pressure exercised by the bit and the curb, the 

 horse's head will follow the rider's hand, even though 

 the curb lacerate his chin, if only a greater amount of 

 torture be applied to the bars of his mouth, the poor 

 animal being left to deduce from the balance of pain 

 what the rider's will may be. This is the system of 

 bitting employed by the Arabs and other Orientals at 

 the present day ; our Crusader forefathers borrowed it 



