THE 'BEN MORGAN' BIT 145 



but he was such a rare good-looking horse, and 

 such a wonderful worker, that we could not afford 

 to part with him. We bought him as being a 

 notorious puller, and we bought his bit with him 

 too — such a bit as it was, with a port like a fire- 

 shovel, added to which we were obliged to put a 

 roughed curb-chain inside his mouth, and another 

 one, also roughed, under his jaw, and this state of 

 things we endured for a long time. 



One St. Leger meeting I chanced to come 

 across an old schoolfellow who, like myself, was 

 also driving his regimental coach, and we fell to 

 talking- over coaching matters. I knew his team 

 (which, by the way, were as good a lot of horses as 

 could be got together) were a bit hard-mouthed, 

 and wondered that he, having met with a severe 

 accident to his left arm, could hold them ; and then 

 he told me that he always used ' Ben Morgan ' bits 

 on the pullers, and advised me to get one for our 

 headstrong wheeler. I followed his advice, and 

 discarded all the former instruments of torture, 

 and from that time forward was able to drive in 

 comfort. I may also add that I have for some 

 years past used it on a pony which I have, 

 and which I bought as being quite impossible 

 to hold ; and she was quite so, until I ordered a 

 ' Ben Morgan ' bit for her. Since then she has given 



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