VOILE AND REIN 159 



rein tied in a half hitch, and, holding the knot 

 between thumb and finger, to slap the rein on 

 the side of the neck to show which way one is 

 going. 



Only if the horse needs handling one rides 

 him on the rein with the utmost possible 

 gentleness of the hand. But if the bitt comes 

 into serious use it is better to have one which 

 will lock on the lower jaw. I find my broken- 

 bar snaflle pulls up a bolting horse in about five 

 jumps, but so far only one or two out of many 

 horses have needed so much severity. The 

 range horse rarely pulls, and I scarcely re- 

 member seeing a double rein in use among 

 range horsemen. 



The greatest disadvantage of the rein is that 

 it serves like a telegraph wire to carry the 

 vibrations of fear. I prefer to use a voice which 

 I can control rather than a hand which is apt 

 to betray me. A low-pitched, quiet voice is 

 very useful if one's hands are rough ; and the 

 training of hands is a grace limited to civilized 

 horsemanship. 



There is a certain pattern of headstall which 

 has the cheek strap coming down to a piece of 

 brass which is best described as a D or squared 

 ring. The nose band ends at the front side of 

 the squared ring. The chin piece ends at the 



