is always time to slacken a tight curb-chain, which causes pain that will continue to be felt by the horse after the curb-chain has been let out. If, however, we begin with a loose curb-chain, and gradually shorten it to the desired extent, we shall avoid hurting the bars of the mouth and irritating the horse to resistance, and we gain time. But if, at the beginning of the work, we hurt or even irritate the bars by undue pressure, we shall fail to obtain any of the required indications. By artificially increasing the sensitiveness of the bars, we fail to estimate it correctly, and work on a wrong method from the beginning. The bruising or even the mere irritation of the bars does not disappear as soon as the work is finished and the bridle taken off, but continues for a more or less long period. Consequently, when the next lesson is given, the bars are congested and painful. The rider will then be apt to form an opinion of the effects he produces on the mouth of the horse without taking into consideration that it is in an abnormal condition, and he will increase the evil which has been done, and he will become more and more unable to correctly estimate what is the natural condition of the mouth. In a word, he will do the very things he ought not to do. From the foregoing observations we can see that, at the beginning of the breaking, the curb-chain should be loose. In fact, it is better to take it off.

The knowledge of the mouth of a "green" horse is an important and delicate matter. In order to gently feel the mouth without spoiling it, we must begin with great lightness of hand, and gradually increase the pressure up to the point of making the horse feel it, which sensitiveness varies in degree according to the animal. If a horse yields to the light pressure of a curb which has no curb-chain, of what use is the curb-chain, and what is the good of seeking for a more powerful means of restraint ?

I have thoroughly broken horses, not only for the manège,