316 SOME GENERAL REMARKS. 



curb on him," you sometimes hear it said 

 of a nice-mouthed horse, but I do not see 

 this. If the rider has decent hands he will 

 not abuse his power because the curb is 

 on, while it is there for immediate use if 

 required. That very celebrated maker of 

 hunters, Dick Christian, tells us he always 

 put on a double bridle from the first. 

 Horses should, I think, be accustomed to 

 different kinds of bits during the process 

 of breaking ; it helps to make their mouths. 

 A very well-broken horse with a good 

 carriage of the head and neck will hardly 

 need a bit at all for hacking. I remember 

 once riding a big, strong four-year-old for 

 miles, without knowing it, on the nose-band 

 of her bridle, the bit having slipped out 

 of her mouth through the cheek straps 

 having been buckled too long. The addition 

 of a nose-band to the bridle, by the way, 

 helps to control a puller, and sometimes a 

 net used to be put over the nose and mouth 



