BITTING. II 



the use of a rather severe curb. This is a generally accepted 

 fact which has been amply proved. We can find the best 

 curb for a horse only by trial. But there are always certain 

 general principles to help us in making our experunents, 

 which we may sum up as follows : 



The curb which is used at the beginning of the breaking 

 should have a thick mouth-piece, low port, and short cheek- 

 pieces, so that it may be easy to the mouth. Its width 

 should be proportionate to that of the mouth of the horse. If 

 it is too narrow, the lips will be compressed by the cheek- 

 pieces. If it is too wide, the horse, either in play or to relieve 

 the bars of his mouth from pressure, will bring it too much 

 over on one side of his mouth, so that a part of the port will 

 rest on one of the bars, and consequently the mouth-piece 

 will exert an uneven pressure, which will almost always cause 

 the horse to carry his head sideways. 



In order that the curb may fit properly, it should be wide 

 enough for the cheeks to keep clear of the lips on each side. 

 The mouth-piece should have an even feeling on both sides of 

 the mouth, and should be mid-way between the tushes and 

 the corners of the lips, and consequently it will be lower iti 

 the mouth than the snaffle in the case of a double bridle. 

 Later on I shall point out some exceptions to this rule. The 

 lower ends of the cheek-pieces, yielding to the pull of the 

 reins, cause the upper ends to revolve forward, and thus to 

 produce pressure on the bars of the mouth. The curb-chain, 

 which prevents the upper ends of the cheeks from revolving 

 forward, increases the pressure on the bars proportionately 

 to its shortness. Hence, the length of the curb-chain should 

 be proportionate to the lightness of the horse's mouth, which 

 we are unable to estimate in the case of a perfectly " green " 

 horse. With such an animal, we should at first leave the 

 curb-chain very loose, as there will always be time to take it 

 up. It would not, on the contrary, be right to say that there 



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