Taking JSIeasure for the Bit^ etc, 195 



cure except careful bitting and good riding, which may 

 and often does by degrees lessen the evil, if not wholly 

 remedy it ; and these means will more frequently suc- 

 ceed with young than with old horses, yc»r it is almost 

 always a consequence of bad bitting in the frst in- 

 stance. Our advice would be to ride the horse for a 

 certain time on a snaffle, and then a very carefully fitted 

 bit may be put into its mouth with a fair chance of suc- 

 cess ; but there are some horses that never forget this 

 trick when once acquired. 



There is another trick which is not so inconvenient, 

 although it is very unsightly — namely, when the horse 

 lolls out its tongue either directly in front or, as more 

 usually happens, to one side. This, too, is usually a 

 consequence of bad, that is, too severe, bitting, and, with 

 carriage-horses, of the bearing-rein being too short. In 

 many cases a suitable bit will suffice, combined with a 

 loose bearing-rein, where that has been the cause, and 

 the horse will be immediately lighter in the hand. 

 Sometimes, however, this fails, and the only remedy 

 that remains is to attach a " fringe" to the mouthpiece, 

 which, hanging down on the tongue, produces a tick- 

 ling sensation that makes the animal draw back its 

 tongue. However, we should be deceiving our readers 

 in leading them to suppose that all cases are curable ; 

 for some horses will persist in this ugly trick despite of 

 everything one can do. Any attempt to tie the tongue 

 in this or the former cases will be found useless and 

 probably dangerous. 



Nothing is more certain than that every horse will go 

 much better with a well-fitting bit properly placed than 

 with the contrary ; further, that many otherwise dan- 

 gerous horses become perfectly tractable if properly 

 bitted ; and, finally, that inattention to this subject is 

 one of the most frequent causes of restiveness. It, how- 

 ever, by no means follows that every rider should neces- 



