CHAPTER III.

THE SUPPLINGS.

This work being an exposition of a method which upsets most of the old principles of horsemanship, it is understood that I only address men already conversant with the art, and who join to an assured seat a sufficiently great familiarity with the horse, to understand all that concerns his mechanism. I will not, then, revert to the elementary processes; it is for the instructor to judge if his pupil possesses a proper degree of solidity of seat, and is sufficiently a part of the horse; for at the same time that a good seat produces this identification, it favors the easy and regular play of the rider's extremities.

My present object is to treat principally of the education of the horse; but this education is too intimately bound up in that of the rider, for him to make much progress in one without the other. In explaining the processes which should produce perfection in the animal, I will necessarily teach the horseman to apply them himself; he will only have to practise tomorrow what I teach him today. Nevertheless, there is one thing that no precept can give; that is, a fineness of touch, a delicacy of equestrian feeling that belongs only to certain privileged organizations, and without which, we seek in vain to pass certain limits. Having said this, we will return to our subject.

We now know which are the parts of the horse that contract the most in resistances, and we feel the necessity of suppling them. Shall we then seek to attack, exercise and conquer them all at once? No; this would be to fall back into the old error, of the inefficiency of which we are convinced. The animal's muscular power is infinitely superior to ours; his instinctive forces, moreover, being able to sustain themselves the one by the others, we will inevitably be conquered if we set them in motion all at once. Since the contractions have their seat in separate parts, let us profit by this division to combat them separately, as a skillful general destroys, in detail, forces which, when together, he would be unable to resist.

For the rest, whatever the age, the disposition, and the structure of my pupil, my course of proceeding at the start will be always the same. The results will only be more or less prompt and easy, according to the degree of perfection in his nature, and the influence of the hand to which he has been previously subjected. The suppling, which will have no other object in the case of a well-made horse than that of preparing his forces to yield to our impulsions, will re-establish calm and confidence in a horse that has been badly handled, and in a defective formation will make those contractions disappear, which are the causes of resistances, and the only obstacles to a perfect equilibrium. The difficulties to be surmounted will be in proportion to this complication of obstacles, and will quickly disappear with a little perseverance on our part. In the progression we are about to pursue in order to subject the different parts of the animal to suppling, we will naturally commence with the most important parts, that is to say, with the jaw and neck.

The head and neck of the horse are at once the rudder and compass of the rider. By them he directs the animal; by them, also, he can judge of the regularity and precision of his movements. The equilibrium of the whole body is perfect, its lightness complete, when the head and neck remain of themselves easy, pliable and graceful. On the contrary, there can be no elegance, no ease of the whole, when these two parts are stiff. Preceding the body of the horse in all its impulsions, they ought to give warning, and show by their attitude the positions to be taken, and the movements to be executed. The rider has no power so long as they remain contracted and rebellious; he disposes of the animal at will, when once they are flexible and easily handled. If the head and neck do not first commence the changes of direction, if in circular movements they are not inclined in a curved line, if in backing they do not bend back upon themselves, and if their lightness is not always in harmony with the different paces at which we wish to go, the horse will be free to execute these movements or not, since he will remain master of the employment of his own forces.

From the time I first noticed the powerful influence that the stiffness of the neck exercises on the whole mechanism of the horse, I attentively sought the means to remedy it. The resistances to the hand are always either sideways, upward or downward. I at first considered the neck alone as the source of these resistances, and exercised myself in suppling the animal by flexions, repeated in every direction. The result was immense; but, although, at the end of a certain time, the supplings of the neck rendered me perfectly master of the forces of the fore-parts of the horse, I still felt a slight resistance which I could not at first account for. At last I discovered that it proceeded from the jaw. The flexibility I had communicated to the neck even aided this stiffness of the muscles of the lower jaw, by permitting the horse in certain cases to escape the action of the bit. I then bethought me of the means of combating these resistances in this, their last stronghold; and, from that time, it is there I always commence my work of suppling.

_First exercise on foot._--Means of making the horse come to the man, of making him steady to mount, etc., etc.

Before commencing the exercises of flexions, it is essential to give the horse a first lesson of subjection, and teach him to recognize the power of man. This first act of submission, which might appear unimportant, will have the effect of quickly rendering him calm, of giving him confidence, and of repressing all those movements which might distract his attention, and mar the success of the commencement of his education.

Two lessons, of a half hour each, will suffice to obtain the preparatory obedience of every horse. The pleasure we experience in thus playing with him will naturally lead the rider to continue this exercise for a few moments each day, and make it both instructive to the horse and useful to himself. The mode of proceeding is as follows: the rider will approach the horse, his whip under his arm, without roughness or timidity; he will speak to him without raising the voice too much, and will pat him on the face and neck; then with the left hand will lay hold of the curb-reins, about six or seven inches from the branches of the bit, keeping his wrist stiff, so as to present as much force as possible when the horse resists. The whip will be held firmly in the right hand, the point towards the ground, then slowly raised as high as his chest, in order to tap it at intervals of a second. The first natural movement of the horse will be to withdraw from the direction in which the pain comes; it is by backing that he will endeavor to do this. The rider will follow this backward movement without discontinuing the firm tension of the reins, nor the little taps with the whip on the breast, applying them all the time with the same degree of intensity. The rider should be perfectly self-possessed, that there may be no indication of anger or weakness in his motions or looks. Becoming tired of this constraint, the horse will soon seek by another movement to avoid the infliction, and it is by coming forward that he will arrive at it; the rider will seize this second instinctive movement to stop and caress the animal with his hand and voice. The repetition of this exercise will give the most surprising results, even in the first lesson. The horse having discovered and understood the means by which he can avoid the pain, will not wait till the whip touches him, he will anticipate it by rushing forward at the least gesture. The rider will take advantage of this to effect, by a downward force of the bridle hand, the depression of the neck, and the getting him in hand; he will thus early dispose the horse for the exercises that are to follow.

This training, besides being a great recreation, will serve to make the horse steady to mount, will greatly abridge his education and accelerate the development of his intelligence. Should the horse, by reason of his restless or wild nature, become very unruly, we should have recourse to the cavesson, as a means of repressing his disorderly movements, and use it with little jerks. I would add that it requires great prudence and discernment to use it with tact and moderation.

_Flexion of the jaw._--The flexions of the jaw, as well as the two flexions of the neck which follow, are executed standing still, the man on foot. The horse will be led on the ground saddled and bridled, the reins on his neck. The man will first see that the bit is properly placed in the horse's mouth, and that the curb-chain is fastened so that he can introduce his finger between the links and the horse's chin. Then looking the animal good-naturedly in the eyes, he will place himself before him near his head, holding his body straight and firm, his feet a little apart to steady himself, and dispose himself to struggle with advantage against all resistances.[B]

[B] I have divided all the flexions into two parts, and, in order to facilitate the understanding of the text, I have added to it plates representing the position of the horse at the moment the flexion is about to commence, and at the moment it is terminated.

1st. In order to execute the flexion to the right, the man will take hold of the right curb-rein with the right hand, at about six inches from the branch of the bit, and the left rein with the left hand, at only three inches from the left branch. He will then draw his right hand towards his body, pushing out his left hand so as to turn the bit in the horse's mouth. The force employed ought to be entirely determined by and proportioned to the resistance of the jaw and neck only, in order not to affect the _aplomb_, which keeps his body still. If the horse backs to avoid the flexion, the opposition of the hands should still be continued. If the preceding exercise has been completely and carefully practised, it will be easy by the aid of the whip to prevent this retrograde movement, which is a great obstacle to all kinds of flexions of the jaw and neck. (Plate I.)

2d. As soon as the flexion is obtained, the left hand will let the left rein slip to the same length as the right, then drawing the two reins equally will bring the head near to the breast, in order to hold it there oblique and perpendicular, until it sustains itself without assistance in this position. The horse by champing the bit will show his being in hand as well as his perfect submission. The man, to reward him, will cease drawing on the reins immediately, and after some seconds will allow him to resume his natural position. (Plate II.)

The flexion of the jaw to the left is executed upon the same principles and by inverse means to the flexion to the right, the man being careful to pass alternately from one to the other.

The importance of these flexions of the jaw is easily understood. The result of them is to prepare the horse to yield instantly to the lightest pressure of the bit, and to supple directly the muscles that join the head to the neck. As the head ought to precede and determine the different attitudes of the neck, it is indispensable that the latter part be always in subjection to the other, and respond to its impulsions. That would be only partially the case with the flexibility of the neck alone, which would then make the head obey it, by drawing it along in its movements. You see, then, why at first I experienced resistances, in spite of the pliability of the neck, of which I could not imagine the cause. The followers of my method to whom I have not yet had an opportunity of making known the new means just explained, will learn with pleasure that this process not only brings the flexibility of the neck to a greater degree of perfection, but saves much time in finishing the suppling. The exercise of the jaw, while fashioning the mouth and head, brings along with it the flexion of the neck, and accelerates the getting the horse in hand.

This exercise is the first of our attempts to accustom the forces of the horse to yield to ours. It is necessary, then, to manage it very nicely, so as not to discourage him at first. To enter on the flexion roughly would be to shock the animal's intelligence, who would not have had time to comprehend what was required of him. The opposition of the hands will be commenced gently but firmly, not to cease until perfect obedience is obtained, except, indeed, the horse backs against a wall, or into a corner; but it will diminish or increase its effect in proportion to the resistance, in a way always to govern it, but not with too great violence. The horse that at first will, perhaps, submit with difficulty, will end by regarding the man's hand as an irresistible regulator, and will become so used to obeying it, that he will soon obtain, by a simple pressure of the rein, what at first required the whole strength of our arms.

At each renewal of the lateral flexions some progress will be made in the obedience of the horse. As soon as his first resistances are a little diminished, we will pass to the perpendicular flexions or depression of the neck.

_Depression of the neck by the direct flexion of the jaw._--

1. The man will place himself as for the lateral flexions of the jaw; he will take hold of the reins of the snaffle with the left hand, at six inches from the rings, and the curb-reins at about two inches from the bit. He will oppose the two hands by effecting the depression with the left and the proper position with the right. (Plate III.)

2. As soon as the horse's head shall fall of its own accord and by its own weight, the man will instantly cease all kind of force, and allow the animal to resume his natural position. (Plate IV.)

This exercise being often repeated, will soon bring about the suppling of the elevating muscles of the neck, which play a prominent part in the resistances of the horse, and will besides facilitate the direct flexions and the getting the head in position, which should follow the lateral flexions. The man can execute this, as well as the preceding exercise, by himself; yet it would be well to put a second person in the saddle, in order to accustom the horse to the exercise of the supplings with a rider. This rider should just hold the snaffle-reins, without drawing on them, in his right hand, the nails downward.

The flexions of the jaw have already communicated suppleness to the upper part of the neck, but we have obtained it by means of a powerful and direct motive power, and we must accustom the horse to yield to a less direct regulating force. Besides, it is important that the pliability and flexibility, especially necessary in the upper part of the neck, should be transmitted throughout its whole extent, so as to destroy its stiffness entirely.

The force from above downward, practised with the snaffle, acting only by the headstall on the top of the head, often takes too long to make the horse lower his head. In this case, we must cross the two snaffle-reins by taking the left rein in the right, and the right rein in the left hand, about six or seven inches from the horse's mouth, in such a way as to cause a pretty strong pressure upon the chin. This force, like all the others, must be continued until the horse yields. The flexions being repeated with this more powerful agent, will put him in a condition to respond to the means previously indicated. If the horse responded to the first flexions represented by Plate IV., it would be unnecessary to make use of this one. (Plate V.)

We can act directly on the jaw so as to render it prompt in moving. To do this, we take the left curb-rein about six inches from the horse's mouth and draw it straight towards the left shoulder; at the same time draw the left rein of the snaffle forward, in such a way that the wrists of the person holding the two reins shall be opposite and on a level with each other. The two opposed forces will soon cause a separation of the jaws and end all resistance. The force ought to be always proportioned to that of the horse, whether in his resistance, or in his lightness. Thus, by means of this direct force a few lessons will be sufficient to give a pliability to the part in question that could not have been obtained by any other means. (Plate VI.)

_Lateral flexions of the neck._--

1. The man will place himself near the horse's shoulder as for the flexions of the jaw; he will take hold of the right snaffle-rein, which he will draw upon across the neck, in order to establish an intermediate point between the impulsion that comes from him and the resistance the horse presents; he will hold up the left rein with the left hand about a foot from the bit. As soon as the horse endeavors to avoid the constant tension of the right rein by inclining his head to the right, he will let the left rein slip so as to offer no opposition to the flexion of the neck. Whenever the horse endeavors to escape the constraint of the right rein by bringing his croup around, he will be brought into place again by slight pulls of the left rein. (Plate VII.)

2. When the head and neck have entirely yielded to the right, the man will draw equally on both reins to place the head perpendicularly. Suppleness and lightness will soon follow this position, and as soon as the horse evinces, by champing the bit, entire freedom from stiffness, the man will cease the tension of the reins, being careful that the head does not take advantage of this moment of freedom to displace itself suddenly. In this case, it will be sufficient to restrain it by a slight support of the right rein. After having kept the horse in this position for some seconds, he will make him resume his former position by drawing on the left rein. It is most important that the animal in all his movements should do nothing of his own accord. (Plate VIII.)

The flexion of the neck to the left is executed after the same principles, but by inverse means. The man can repeat with the curb what he has previously done with the snaffle-reins; but the snaffle should always be employed first, its effect being less powerful and more direct.

When the horse submits without resistance to the preceding exercises, it will prove that the suppling of the neck has already made a great step. The rider can, henceforward, continue his work by operating with a less direct motive power, and without the animal's being impressed by the sight of him. He will place himself in the saddle, and commence by repeating with the full length of the reins, the lateral flexions, in which he has already exercised his horse.

_Lateral flexions of the neck, the man on horseback._--

1. To execute the flexion to the right, the rider will take one snaffle-rein in each hand, the left scarcely feeling the bit; the right, on the contrary, giving a moderate impression at first, but which will increase in proportion to the resistance of the horse, and in a way always to govern him. The animal, soon tired of a struggle which, being prolonged, only makes the pain proceeding from the bit more acute, will understand that the only way to avoid it is to incline the head in the direction the pressure is felt. (Plate IX.)

2. As soon as the horse's head is brought round to the right, the left rein will form opposition, to prevent the nose from passing beyond the perpendicular. Great stress should be laid on the head's remaining always in this position, without which the flexion would be imperfect and the suppleness incomplete. The movement being regularly accomplished, the horse will be made to resume his natural position by a slight tension of the left rein. (Plate X.)

The flexion to the left is executed in the same way, the rider employing alternately the snaffle and curb-reins.

I have already mentioned that it is of great importance to supple the upper part of the neck. After mounting, and having obtained the lateral flexions without resistance, the rider will often content himself with executing them half-way, the head and upper part of the neck pivoting upon the lower part, which will serve as a base or axis. This exercise must be frequently repeated, even after the horse's education is completed, in order to keep up the pliability, and facilitate the getting him in hand.

It now remains for us, in order to complete the suppling of the head and neck, to combat the contractions which occasion the direct resistances, and prevent your getting the horse's head in a perpendicular position.

_Direct flexions of the head and neck, or ramener.[C]_--

[C] _Ramener_ means to place the horse's head in a perpendicular position.--TRANSLATOR.

1. The rider will first use the snaffle-reins, which he will hold together in the left hand as he would the curb-reins. He will rest the outer edge of the right hand (see Plate XI.) on the reins in front of the left hand in order to increase the power of the right hand; after which he will gradually bear on the snaffle-bit. As soon as the horse yields, it would suffice to raise the right hand to diminish the tension of the reins and reward the animal. As the hand must only present a force proportioned to the resistance of the neck, it will only be necessary to hold the legs rather close to prevent backing. When the horse obeys the action of the snaffle, he will yield much more quickly to that of the curb, the effect of which is so much more powerful. The curb, of course, needs more care in the use of it than the snaffle. (Plate XI.)

2. The horse will have completely yielded to the action of the hand, when his head is carried in a position perfectly perpendicular to the ground; from that time the contraction will cease, which the animal will show, as in every other case, by champing his bit. The rider must be careful not to be deceived by the feints of the horse--feints which consist in yielding one-fourth or one-third of the way, and then hesitating. If, for example, the nose of the horse having to pass over a curve of ten degrees to attain the perpendicular position (Plate XI.), should stop at the fourth or sixth and again resist, the hand should follow the movement and then remain firm and immovable, for a concession on its part would encourage resistance and increase the difficulties. When the nose shall descend to No. 10, the perpendicular position will be complete and the lightness perfect. The rider can then cease the tension of the reins, but so as to keep the head in this position, if it should offer to leave it. If he lets it return at all to its natural situation, it should be to draw it in over again, and to make the animal understand that the perpendicular position of the head is the only one allowed when under the rider's hand. He should, at the outset, accustom the horse to cease backing at the pressure of the legs, as all backward movements would enable him to avoid the effects of the hand or create new means of resistance. (Plate XII.)

This is the most important flexion of all; the others tended principally to pave the way for it. As soon as it is executed with ease and promptness, as soon as a slight touch is sufficient to place and keep the head in a perpendicular position, it will prove that the suppling is complete, contraction destroyed, lightness and equilibrium established in the fore-hand. The direction of this part of the animal will, henceforward, be as easy as it is natural, since we have put it in a condition to receive all our impressions, and instantly to yield to them without effort.

As to the functions of the legs, they must support the hind-parts of the horse, in order to obtain the _ramener_, in such a way that he may not be able to avoid the effect of the hand by a retrograde movement of his body. This complete getting in hand is necessary to drive the hind-legs under the centre. In the first case, we act upon the fore-hand; in the second, upon the hind-parts; the first serves for the _ramener_, the second for the _rassembler_, or gathering the horse.[D]

[D] The full meaning of the word _rassembler_ will be understood after reading the chapter, further on in this work, under that head. With regard to the other word, _ramener_, to avoid the constant circumlocution of saying, "placing the horse's head in a perpendicular position," it will be used in future wherever it occurs.--TRANSLATOR.

_Combination of effects._--I published four editions of my Method, without devoting a special article to the combination of effects. Although I myself made a very frequent use of it, I had not attached sufficient importance to the great necessity of this principle in the case of teaching; later experiments have taught me to consider it of more consequence.

The combination of effects means the continued and exactly opposed force of the hand and legs. Its object should be to bring back again into a position of equilibrium all the parts of the horse which leave it, in order to prevent him from going ahead, without backing him, and _vice versâ_: finally, it serves to stop any movement from the right to the left, or the left to the right. By this means, also, we distribute the weight of the mass equally on the four legs, and produce temporary immobility. This combination of effects ought to precede and follow each exercise within the graduated limit assigned to it. It is essential when we employ the aids (i.e. the hand and legs), in this, that the action of the legs should precede the other, in order to prevent the horse from backing against any place, for he might find, in this movement, points of support that would enable him to increase his resistance. Thus, all motion of the extremities, proceeding from the horse himself, should be stopped by a combination of effects; finally, whenever his forces get scattered, and act inharmoniously, the rider will find in this a powerful and infallible corrective.

It is by disposing all the parts of the horse in the most exact order, that we will easily transmit to him the impulsion that should cause the regular movements of his extremities; it is then also that we will address his comprehension, and that he will appreciate what we demand of him; then will follow caresses of the hand and voice as a moral effect; they should not be used, though, until after he has done what is demanded of him by the rider's hand and legs.

_The horse's resting his chin on his breast._--Although few horses are disposed by nature to do this, it is not the less necessary, when it does occur, to practise on them all the flexions, even the one which bends down the neck. In this position, the horse's chin comes back near the breast and rests in contact with the lower part of the neck; too high a croup, joined to a permanent contraction of the muscles that lower the neck, is generally the cause of it. These muscles must then be suppled in order to destroy their intensity, and thereby give to the muscles that raise the neck, their antagonists, the predominance which will make the neck rest in a graceful and useful position. This first accomplished, the horse will be accustomed to go forward freely at the pressure of the legs, and to respond, without abruptness or excitement, to the touch of the spurs (_attaques_); the object of these last is to bring the hind legs near the centre, and to lower the croup. The rider will then endeavor to raise the horse's head by the aid of the curb-reins; in this case, the hand will be held some distance above the saddle, and far from the body[E]; the force it transmits to the horse ought to be continued until he yields by elevating his head. As these sorts of horses have generally little action, we must take care to avoid letting the hand produce an effect from the front to the rear, in which case it would take away from the impulse necessary for movement. The pace commencing with the walk, must be kept up at the same rate, while the hand is producing an elevating effect upon the neck. This precept is applicable to all the changes of position that the hand makes in the head and neck; but is particularly essential in the case of a horse disposed to depress his neck.

[E] This position of the hand at a distance from the saddle and the body will be criticised; but let the rider be reassured, eight or ten lessons will suffice to make the horse change the position of his head, and allow the hand to resume its normal position.

It should be remembered that the horse has two ways of responding to the pressure of the bit; by one, he yields but withdraws himself at the same time by shrinking and coming back to his former position; this kind of yielding is only injurious to his education, for if the hand is held too forcibly, if he does not wait till the horse changes of his own accord the position of his head, the backward movement of his body would precede and be accompanied by a shifting of the weight backwards. In this case, the contraction of his neck remains all the while the same. The second kind of yielding, which contributes so greatly to the rapid and certain education of the horse, consists in giving a half or three-quarter tension to the reins, then to sustain the hand as forcibly as possible without bringing it near the body. In a short time the force of the hand, seconded by the continued pressure of the legs, will make the horse avoid this slight but constant pressure of the bit, but by means of his head and neck only. Then the rider will only make use of the force necessary to displace the head. It is by this means that he will be able to place the horse's body on a level, and will obtain that equilibrium,[F] the perfect balance of which has not hitherto been appreciated.

[F] The word equilibrium, so often repeated in the course of this work, must be categorically explained. People have never rightly understood what it means, this true equilibrium of a horse, which serves as the basis of his education, and by which he takes instantly, at the rider's will, such a pace, or such a change or direction.

It is not here a question of the equilibrium which prevents the horse from falling down, but of that upon which depends his performance, when it is prompt, graceful and regular, and by means of which his paces are either measured or extended at will.

_Equilibrium of Baucher._ _Croup_------------------------------------------------_Head._

Here the weight and the forces are equally distributed. By means of this just distribution the different positions, the different paces, and the equilibriums that belong to them, are obtained without effort on the part of man or horse.

Resuming what we have just explained in the case of a horse who rests his chin on his breast, we repeat that it is by producing one force from the rear to the front with the legs, and another from below upwards with the hand, that we will soon be enabled to improve the position and movements of the horse. So that whatever may be his disposition at first, it is by first causing the depression of the neck that we will quickly gain a masterly and perfect elevation of it.

I will close this chapter by some reflections on the supposed difference of sensibility in horses' mouths, and the kind of bit which ought to be used.

_Of the horse's mouth and the bit._--I have already treated this subject at length in my Comprehensive Dictionary of Equitation; but as in this work I make a complete exposition of my method, I think it necessary to repeat it in a few words.

I cannot imagine how people have been able so long to attribute to the mere difference of formation of the bars,[G] those contrary dispositions of horses which render them so light or so hard to the hand. How can we believe that, according as a horse has one or two lines of flesh, more or less, between the bit and the bone of the lower jaw, he should yield to the lightest impulse of the hand, or become unmanageable in spite of all the efforts of two vigorous arms? Nevertheless, it is from remaining in this inconceiveable error, that people have forged bits of so strange and various forms, real instruments of torture, the effect of which is to increase the difficulties they sought to remove.

[G] The bars are the continuations of the two bones of the lower jaw between the masticating and the front teeth. It is on these that the bit rests.

Had they gone back a little further to the source of the resistances, they would have discovered that this one, like all the rest, does not proceed from the difference of formation of a feeble organ, like the bars, but from a contraction communicated to the different parts of the body, and, above all, to the neck, by some serious fault of constitution. It is, then, in vain that we attach to the reins, and place in the horse's mouth a more or less murderous instrument; he will remain insensible to our efforts as long as we do not communicate suppleness to him, which alone can enable him to yield.

In the first place, then, I lay down as a fact, that there is no difference of sensibility in the mouths of horses; that all present the same lightness when in the position called _ramener_, and the same resistances in proportion as they recede from this position. There are horses hard to the hand; but this hardness proceeds from the length or weakness of their loins, from a narrow croup, from short haunches, thin thighs, straight hocks, or (a most important point) from a croup too high or too low in proportion to the withers; such are the true causes of resistances; the contractions of the neck, the closing of the jaws are only the effects; as to the bars, they are only there to show the ignorance of self-styled equestrian theoricians. By suppling the neck and the jaw, this hardness completely disappears. Experiments a hundred times repeated give me the right to advance this principle boldly; perhaps it may, at first, appear too arbitrary, but it is none the less true.

Consequently, I only allow one kind of bit, and this is the form and the dimensions I give it, to make it as simple as it is easy.

The branches straight and six inches long, measuring from the eye of the bit to the extremity of the branch; circumference of the canon,[H] two inches and a half; port, about two inches wide at the bottom, and one inch at the top. The only variation to be in the width of the bit, according to the horse's mouth.

[H] The mouth-piece of the bit consists of three parts: the port, to give freedom to the tongue, and the two canons, which are the parts that come in contact with the bars.--TRANSLATOR.

I insist that such a bit is sufficient to render passively obedient all horses that have been prepared by supplings; and I need not add that, as I deny the utility of severe bits, I reject all means not coming directly from the rider, such as martingales, piliers, etc.