Curb

“ Concrete combined curb and gutter is suitable for use on the great majority of residence streets, and others where the travel is not excessive, or where it will not be subjected to specially severe use, as on business streets where heavy vehicles are likely to be often backed against the curb. ”

“ If the rider uses a curb, he should make it a rule to hook on the chain himself; for the quietest horse may bring his rider into danger, if the curb hurt him. The curb-chain must pass under the snaffle. The rider should, therefore, put his right hand under the snaffle reins to take hold of the curb-chain, and introducing two fingers of his left within the cheek of the bit, and aiding these with his thumb, take hold of the curb hook. ”

“ Other horses, again, go better with a jointed curb, and old horses, whose mouths are so hard that they cannot be brought back to their original condition, may require the use of a heavy port or other device which will cause them pain when the curb rein is tightened. ”

“ The curb-bit gives more power to restrain the horse, applies the pressure of the mouthpiece upon the proper place, which the snaffle does not always do, and by it the rider may more readily keep the nose of the horse down so that the face of the animal shall be vertical and thereby insure the right power upon the right place. ”

“ With trained horses I seldom draw the curb-reins, for the animals are so drilled and so sensitive that the snaffle is nearly always sufficient but the curb-bit is ever ready to enforce its peculiar powers should there be failure on the part of the snaffle, as, for example, where the horse throws forward its nose so that the snaffle takes a bearing in the corners of the mouth and so loses much of its power. ”

“ The teacher should explain that, as the curb is a much more severe bit than the snaffle, its effects must be used with delicacy, and he should give his pupils plenty of practice in taking up, separating, and reuniting the reins, in order that they may learn to handle them quickly and with precision at any gait. ”

“ If the horse is being ridden, as he usually will be, either with the pressure on all four reins about even or with the curb reins somewhat looser than the snaffle, and he starts to pull, or there is some other occasion for using the curb, the right hand may be brought over in front of the left and the curb reins taken in the right from two to six inches in front of the left hand, separated by the third finger, passing out between the thumb and forefinger. ”

“ The reins should be held in both hands, and after the horse has been collected with the curb, as may very likely be necessary, the curb should be relaxed, so that on approaching the leap he may feel only the gentle pressure of the snaffle, which will not make him fear to thrust forward his head, a fear which would possibly result in bringing him down on all fours at once, or even with the hind-feet first. ”

“ The man, having mounted, will take in his left hand the reins of the curb-bit divided by the little finger, the reins of the snaffle divided by the long finger, the loose ends of both pairs of reins carried through his hand and held by the thumb against the forefinger, and draw the curb-reins until he can feel the mouth of the horse. ”

“ Should you happen to be mounted upon a horse which, from bad handling or his own faulty conformation, is disposed to "bore," or bear on his bit, you will ride with the curb, taking its reins in one hand, but in the other hand taking the snaffle, with the left rein drawn much tighter than the right. ”

“ Southwesterly, and westerly, parallel to and 25.0 feet northwesterly and at right angles from the face of the curb on Fourth of July Avenue and northerly and at right angles from the face of the curb of Balboa Road. ”

“ Get the horse "light in hand" by the usual play of the bit, first the curb, then the snaffle, tapping him on the right side, just forward of the girth, if he fails to respond or offers to back.
Now press him just back of the girth with your left heel, at the same time relaxing the rein a little. If he steps forward, pat and praise him, but if not, press him more firmly, at the same time touching him as before with the whip. When he moves forward praise him, and after a few seconds stop him, leaning back a little and laying your whip by a turn of the wrist on his back just behind the saddle. ”

“ After a little rest begin again, asking and allowing only one step at a time, and persevering until he will move the croup one step over to each tap of the whip, pivoting on the left fore-foot and walking the right foot by little steps around it.
MOVING THE CROUP ONE STEP TO THE RIGHT.
When he is perfect with the snaffle, repeat the process with the curb, keeping his hind-legs well under him, and holding him "light in hand," while maintaining his left fore-foot immovable, with a delicate touch, to resemble as much as possible the action of the rein when drawn from the saddle. ”

“ The hill started off gently; suddenly, with a dip, increased its slope; and after a curve, and a splendid bump over a culvert, merged with the level roadway. Difficult enough to ascend in muddy spring, in dusty summer, and even in hard fall, when with the winter it came into its own and was polished by two hundred runners, horse and man usually sought another route. ”

“ Some streets and roads are flat and level. Others slope like hills. Can you name a street which is level, and one that slants or slopes? Which road is easier to walk on? Why? Do you prefer the level or the sloping street when roller-skating? Why? Which is the best when you are coasting?
You may have noticed that some of the fields in the park or in the country are nearly flat. Other fields lie on slopes or hills. We call the flat part of the land a plain, whether it is in the city or in the country. The sloping part of the land forms a hill. ”

“ The clang of the hoofs on the hard road, or the boom as we cross a culvert or bridge, echoes from cliff to cliff, and the crack of the driver's whip is multiplied, and reverberates amid the gorges and precipices on both sides of the pass. ”

“ The slope on which it stands is so steep that the main road is on a level with the roofs on one side, and if you were absentminded, you might walk on to a roof and fall down a chimney before you became aware that you had strayed from the street. ”

“ One place we passed this morning is rather dangerous, almost like walking on the ridge of a high building, the descent on one side however being a sheer precipice of 1,500 feet, and the other side is steep; but there are a few bushes near, which give one confidence. ”

“ Days, months, or even years, will sometimes elapse between the first bending of the pavement and the time of its reaching the roof. Where the movement has been most rapid, the curvature of the beds is most regular, and the reunion of the fractured ends most complete; whereas the signs of displacement or violence are greatest in those creeps which have required months or years for their entire accomplishment. ”

“ See how they stretch their shoulders up the slope toward the bridge, with all the more energy because they are so near home. Look at their grand shaggy feet that seem to grasp the firm earth, at the patient strength of their necks, bowed under the heavy collar, at the mighty muscles of their struggling haunches! ”

“ In one place the pathway, which was not more than two or three feet wide, wound round the corner of a precipitous crag in such a manner that a horseman riding along the giddy way showed so clearly against the sky, that it seemed as if a puff of wind would blow horse and man into the ravine beneath. ”

“ The roads and paths not being covered with gravel, are as slippery as a mât de cocagne at a French fair; at every one hundred yards your nag kneels down, or diverts himself by reclining upon his side, with your leg between him and the mud. ”

“ One sloping hillside followed another; fields stretched endlessly upon fields; bushes seemed to spring up out of the earth under my very nose. I kept walking and was just making up my mind to lie down somewhere till morning, when suddenly I found myself on the edge of a horrible precipice. ”

“ We keep the rope on unless we are certain that the breaking of a step or a slip will lead to no worse results. If there is a long, steep wall of ice or snow below, or the suggestion of crevasses or a bergschrund, or a rock cliff, or even a section of the slope which we cannot see and which may contain a cliff, we may take no chance, and the rope must be retained. ”

“ The road, which ascended rapidly, was rather too dangerous to be agreeable, being a narrow path cut on the side of a very steep mountain; at one time the track lay across a steep slope of blue marl, which afforded the most insecure footing for our horses: all mountain-travellers are aware how much more dangerous this kind of road is than a firm ledge of rock, however narrow. ”

“ Theoretically, I think, in the ideal game of curling, which we shall never see on this side of the grave, the leads should have laid down four stones a little in front of the house, or perhaps each lead should first have put down a stone in front of the house, and then delivered their second stones with in-handle or out-handle, round their first stones, which thus become guards of their second stones, which should lie, say, in the four-foot circle. ”

“ When, however, the foot is allowed to hang free, the curvature of the arch is increased. At every step in walking, also, when the foot is raised from the ground, the curvature immediately becomes greater through the action of the muscles. ”

“ A road much rounded is dangerous, particularly if the cross section approaches towards the segment of a circle, the slope in the case not being uniform, but increasing rapidly from the nature of the curve, as we depart from the middle or vertical line. ”

“ It is a suggestive circumstance that gaps, other than valleys, are almost invariably found either in the north or south walls, or in both, and seldom in other positions. The buttress, or long-extending spur, is a feature frequently associated with the ring- plain rampart, as are also numbers of what, for the lack of a better name, must be termed little hillocks, which generally radiate in long rows from the outer foot of the slope. ”

“ It's a simple matter to plan things and to apply strategy to the proposed movements. By the time I had climbed up that perpendicular cliff to the side of the road, through a thicket of last year's blackberry bushes, that were apparently growing out of a stone quarry, I was so done out that I had to sit down on the ground awhile to get my second wind. I had expended sufficient strength and nerve in making that climb to have carried me miles past the house, if I had only made the dash on the straight road. ”

“ Along the whole road he has raised a footpath, beautifully gravelled. Oh! how I wish our walks had one inch off the surface of this footpath, or that the African magician, or the English equally potent magician of steam, could convey to my mother's elbow in the Dingle one yard of one bank of the gravel which here wastes its pebbles on the mountain side! ”

“ Also it is evident that when the curvature falls into a vertical cliff, as often happens, the maximum of curvature must be somewhere above the brow of the cliff, as in the cliff itself it has again died into a straight line. ”

“ To cross the gap it was necessary to lie down flat upon the ledge on the one side with face to the rock, stretch your feet to the rock on the other, your body thus spanning the gap, then draw yourself through the hole and gradually swing yourself into an upright position by the help of the rope and the handholds in the further wall of rock. ”

“ A small branch of the Aar has been turned into this street, and being confined to a narrow channel in the middle, which has a considerable slope, it runs with great rapidity; and, without being a disagreeable object of itself, is of great service in keeping the street clean. ”

“ The road from hence to the pavement is one mile and a half, the soil a brick clay, so that, when there has been heavy rain, or a thaw, you must wallow to the city through a bed of mortar without a bottom, the horses sinking to their knees. ”

“ Our only entrance will be a hole, about the size of a man’s body, low down, on the river side; and to use it, everybody will have to crawl in or out on his stomach, and cross the big ditch by means of a plank. ”

“ The direction of the resolution of these forces is towards a slope, therefore, the farther the surface of a slope is from the line of action and reaction, the greater is its distance from the disturbing force and the lateral resistance it receives from the mass. ”

“ Curig’s shrine. Great mountains are all around you, but there is a sense of space and freedom, with wild slopes of grass and rock stretching up and back to the higher ridges that lie behind. One is not oppressed, as so often in mountain districts, by the nearness of the overhanging heights.
By climbing one of the low hills that border the junction of the streams, you may learn the general features of the place at a glance. ”

“ The passage of the corner is a matter of stride and balance, as there is no positive hold for the hands. There is a bad drop into the chimney behind, and a slip in rounding the corner would end in broken limbs, if not a battered skull. ”

“ Every step is a labour: each leg is pulled out of one hole, even in the harder plots, and placed on the edge of another into which it slips down by aid of the lubricating mud upon the surface; and in many instances the poor animal rests upon its chest or its belly, the hole being too deep for its legs to fathom. ”

“ By the time they reached the shoulder of the hill on the farther side, with a long stretch of down slope before, they had placed a large handicap between them and the danger of pursuit, but still they were not at ease. ”

“ This morning we took a carriage for the first eight miles up the valley of the Raven’s Crag, and walked on to the Kuhl-stuhl. In the very top of the hill the rock has made a huge natural arch, which leads to an otherwise inaccessible platform overhanging the valleys. ”