the best plan to prevent any further damage is to have a large piece of sheepskin sewn round the strap, with the hair next the horse.
Crupper.
The crupper ought to be fitted so that there is room for the breadth of the hand, or about four inches, between it and the horse’s back, when the pad is in the right place. Great care should be taken that all the hairs of the tail are passed through the crupper.
Breast harness.
Breast harness can very often be substituted for collars with great advantage, especially when the horses’ necks get wrung by the latter.
This method of draught also obviates the necessity of keeping a large number of collars to fit all sorts of horses, while another advantage is, that you are able to use breechings to the best advantage in double harness.
The breast strap should be made of a strong leather strap, about three inches wide, and padded inside so that the hard edges do not touch the skin.
For double harness a ring must be sewn into the middle for the purpose of attaching the pole chains.
The breast strap is held up by a light strap passing over the horse’s withers, and the breeching, by a similar strap, passing over the croup. A crupper can be used, but is not necessary.
The breast straps should lie flat, and be kept well above the point of the shoulders. They must be carefully adjusted, the usual fault being that they are placed too low. Each end of the breast strap has a buckle, into which both the trace and the end of the breeching are fastened. Of course it is impossible to get as much work out of a horse with breast harness as with collars.
Whip.
Always hang whip up.
The whip should be as light as possible, and well balanced, the thong being about half the length of the stick. The points should always be of leather, as these are much the best in wet weather. A whip should never be allowed to stand in a corner or up against a wall, as it will very quickly warp in that position. It should always be kept hung up, either on a reel or by a string to a nail in the wall.
Before leaving the subject of harness, a word on the general appearance and neatness of turn-out will not be out of place. Straps ought to be shortened to fit the horse, and be no longer than absolutely necessary.
To prevent any ends flapping about, keepers must be tight, and fitted so as to be within an inch or two of the points of the straps. Nothing catches the eye more quickly, or looks more slovenly, than the ends of the traces sticking out a foot beyond the keepers, or a belly-band strap dangling loose underneath the horse.
When buying harness go to a really good maker: cheap clumsy harness never pays.
CHAPTER II.
DRIVING—SINGLE HARNESS.
The start.
Getting into dog-cart.
How to hold reins.
BEFORE starting, always have a good look round, and see that all the harness is put on correctly; then go to the off side of the horse and take the reins in the right hand, the near rein under the forefinger and the off rein under the third finger. Get up into the cart and sit down immediately; now transfer the reins into the left hand, the near rein over the forefinger, and the off rein under the middle finger. Thus you have two fingers between the reins (fig. 2). The reason for this is that it gives much more scope for play of the wrist on the horse’s mouth than if you only have one finger between the reins. The thumb should point straight to the right, and the forefinger be held well out, pointing to the right rear. This will keep the near rein close up to the knuckle, and the horse may easily be moved across the road to either the left or right by turning the back of the hand up or down respectively.
FIG. 2.—SINGLE HARNESS—POSITION OF THE HANDS.
Sit well up.
Sit well up; nothing looks so bad as to see the driver leaning forward over the reins.
How to start.
Finally, take the whip in the right hand at the place where it balances most comfortably, and you are ready to start. Then give the horse the office to start by feeling his mouth gently and speaking to him; if he does not respond touch him gently with the whip.
The moment he starts drop the hand slightly; jibbing is often caused by neglect of the latter precaution.
Elbows must be close to sides.
Keep your elbows close to your sides, with the points almost touching the hips. The wrists should be well bent, as by this means you are enabled to keep a perfectly steady bearing on the horse’s mouth without any jerking. This is a very important point.
Fore arm horizontal.
The fore arm should be horizontal, and the fingers from two to four inches from the centre of the body, with the knuckles to the front.
Lower fingers to grip the reins.
How to turn.
The thumb must not be pressed down on the rein, exeept when a loop is taken up to turn a corner to the right or left (see fig. 23), when the right hand is available for shortening the other rein to prevent the horse turning too rapidly, or else to use the whip to bring him round.
The fingers which should grip the reins, (so tightly that they should never slip), are the three lower ones. The forefinger should be held as in fig. 2.
Whip not to be used when hand on reins.
Never keep a large amount of slack of the off rein in your right hand (fig. 3) as then you cannot use the whip; and remember never to hit the horse while the right hand is holding a rein.
The reason for this is obvious, because if you do try to hit him when you have the off rein in the right hand, you must slack that rein off, and the horse immediately dashes away to the left.
FIG. 3.—SINGLE HARNESS—RIGHT HAND IN WRONG POSITION.
Never move reins in left hand.
It cannot be too strongly impressed on the beginner, that whether the right hand is on the reins or not, they should always be of the same length in the hand, and never be allowed to slip.
The right hand should never on any account take the off rein out of the left hand. It is the first and most important law of driving, that the reins, as held in the left hand, should be of such a length as to keep the horse straight, and should remain at that length, whether the right hand is being used on one or other of them or not.
No coachman who drives with a rein in each hand can be said to know
