SNAFFLES. 137 



A plain snaffle is the very lightest description of 

 bit there is ; and a horse which will go well, and 

 Avhat is termed 'wear' himself well, in a snaffle, 

 must be possessed of a perfect mouth ; and it is the 

 best and safest bit to use for hunting, especially in 

 a bank country, where it is essential that a horse 

 should not have his mouth interfered with unduly, 

 and be able to extend himself as fully as he finds it 

 necessary. It has been remarked by one of the 

 best horsemen the world has known, that but few 

 horses are well mouthed and mannered enough to 

 be ridden in a snaffle, and but fewer men possessed 

 of hands sfood enough to use a bit. If that 

 were the case, most people would have to give 

 up riding altogether — but his meaning is of course 

 apparent. 



Where one single snaffle is not sufficient for a 

 horse, and he is ' dead' on it, two may (what is 

 termed) advantageously be used. In which case one 

 of them may be twisted, and the other plain, and, 

 of course, in this case there would be but a single 

 rein attached to each. By the use of two snaffles, 

 as thus described, all ' deadness' of the mouth is 

 avoided, for if a horse bears on the one, the other 

 can always be brought into play, and thus a 

 constant change kept going, and without damaging 

 his mouth. It is in fact a good movable mouth- 



