730 Reading-Course for Farmers. 



demand a certain amount of unnecessary fixtures to worry and annoy 

 the horse, the use of such cannot be too strongly condemned. 



The check-rein. — The check-rein should be properly adjusted. In 

 common practice there are two methods of checking the horse's head — 

 by means of the side-rein and by the over-check rein. The former 

 is used more often on work horses, the latter on driving horses. The 

 side-rein is used with and without check hooks at the throat -latch. 

 This rein is not so effective in compelling the animal to hold his head 

 up but is much more comfortable to the horse and enables him to handle 

 himself more efficiently. Horses checked with the side-rein are not so 

 likely to stumble as those with the over-check rein, and will pull a much 

 heavier load. This is because they have more liberty with the head, 

 thereby enabling them to see the ground immediately in front and to 

 lower the head and thus throw more power into the collar. 



The over-check rein was devised for trotting horses but has become 

 so popular that it is used almost exclusively for driving horses. Origi- 

 nally it was used on the track where the surface is as smooth as a floor, 

 and was employed only for short periods of time. To-day it is used on 

 roads of all sorts and for indefinite periods of time. There are many 

 strong objections to its use if drawn too tightly. It holds the horse's 

 head in such position that he is unable to see the ground immediately 

 in front of him, so that he is very likely to stumble on obstacles in the 

 road. It holds the horse's head in such position that he cannot pull 

 efficiently. This is particularly true in ascending a steep grade. The 

 animal is unable to lower his head and hence can put little power into 

 the collar. An animal that is stalled when thus reined can usually pull 

 the load if unreined or if the driver will ride him, thus bringing for- 

 ward the center of gravity and enabHng the animal to get a firmer hold 

 on the ground and to put more power into the collar. The over-check 

 rein is also very hard on the animal's back and front limbs in descend- 

 ing a grade. Again, it holds the head and neck in such an unnatural 

 position that they soon become numbed, and the horse is seen to toss 

 his head from side to side and to take other characteristic attitudes 

 in search of relief. 



The horse should always be reined mildly. Without the rein he is 

 likely to become careless in his habits, shambling in his gait, and to 

 yield to the temptation to eat grass when standing. When the animal 

 lowers his head and neck the lines, collar and breast-harness slip down 

 and he is likely to become tangled in the harness and may get into 

 difficulty. 



