The Horsewoman: A Practical Guide to Side-Saddle Riding, 2nd. Ed. Alice M. Hayes

forehead, and has a loop at each end, for the crown-piece to pass through. “Front” is the trade name for this strap.

      The head-stall or head, which is the trade term, is the name given to all this leather work.

VARIETIES OF BITS.

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      Bits may be divided into snaffles, curbs and Pelhams.

SNAFFLES.

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      A snaffle is a bit which acts on a horse’s mouth by direct pressure, and not by leverage.

Fig. 40.—Ward Union Curb Bridle with Half-moon Snaffle.

      A bridoon is the term applied to the snaffle of a double bridle, which is a bridle that has a curb and a snaffle. A double bridle is often called a “bit and bridoon.”

Fig. 41.—Curb Chain covered with India-rubber Tube.

Fig. 42.—Chin-strap unbuckled.

Fig. 43.—Chin-strap buckled.

      The best kinds of snaffles are the half-moon snaffle which has an unjointed and slightly curved mouth-piece (Fig. 33); and the chain snaffle (Fig. 34). The objection to the jointed snaffle (Fig. 35), which is the kind generally used, is that it has a nut-cracker action on the animal’s mouth, instead of exerting a direct pressure, as shown respectively in Figs. 36 and 37. A chain snaffle should always have a Hancock’s “curl bit mouth cover,” which is a roll of india-rubber that curls round the mouth-piece, and prevents it hurting the mouth. In the absence of this india-rubber arrangement, we may cover the mouth-piece with two or three turns of wash-leather, which can be kept in its place by sewing.

Fig. 44.—Curb reversed by horse throwing up his head, in the absence of a chin strap.

      In all cases a snaffle should be thick and smooth, so that it may not hurt the horse’s mouth.

CURBS.

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      A curb is a bit which acts as a lever, by means of the curb-chain that passes under the animal’s lower jaw (Fig. 38). Fig. 39 shows a properly constructed curb for a horse with an ordinary sized mouth. The best curb which is in general use is the Ward Union (Fig. 40). The curb-chain should have broad and thick links, so that it may not hurt the lower jaw. This precaution can be supplemented by a leather guard or by passing the curb-chain through a rubber tube (Fig. 41). A chin-strap (Figs. 42 and 43) is necessary to keep the curb in its place (Fig. 44).

PELHAMS.

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      A Pelham is a bit which can act either as a curb or a snaffle, according to the reins which are taken up. Unless a lady thoroughly understands the handling of the reins, she should not use a Pelham, because her tendency when riding will be to feel both reins, in which case the snaffle reins will pull the mouth-piece high up in the mouth, which, as we shall see further on, is the wrong position for the action of the curb. Hence, only one pair of reins (either those of the snaffle or those of the curb) should be brought into play when using a Pelham.

NOSE-BANDS.

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      The use of a nose-band is to keep the horse’s mouth shut, in the event of his holding his jaws wide apart, so as to resist the action of the bit. To be effective, it should be fixed low down. The cavasson nose-band (Fig. 45) is neat and serviceable.

Fig. 45.—Cavasson Nose-band.

REINS.

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      Reins should be fairly broad (say, 7/8 inch) and moderately thin, so that they may be handled with efficiency and ease. With a double bridle, the curb reins are sometimes made a little narrower than the snaffle reins, which is an arrangement I like, because it greatly helps the rider to distinguish one pair of reins from the other. With the same object, I like the snaffle reins to be connected by a buckle, and the curb reins by sewing.

Fig 46.—Standing Martingale attached to rings of the Snaffle.

Fig. 47.—Lord Lonsdale’s registered Running Martingale.

MARTINGALES.

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      The only kinds of martingales which we need consider are the standing martingale which is buckled on to the rings of the snaffle (Fig. 46) and the running martingale (Fig. 47). Following in the footsteps of that high priest of Irish horsemanship, Mr. John Hubert Moore, I pin my faith to the standing martingale, as it has enabled me on many occasions to ride, in peace and quietness, horses which without it would have been most dangerous “handfuls.” Its great virtue, when properly put on, is to prevent the animal getting his head too high. If he be allowed to do this and is unruly,