Rural School Leaflet tiSg 



against the lips and the teeth and moved a Httle ]:)ack and forth, the horse 

 will usually o])cn its mouth and take the bit. Sometimes a horse is stub- 

 bom about taking the bit, and in this case, if the fingers of the left hand, 

 holding the bit, are inserted in the openings between the horse's front and 

 back teeth and the roof of the mouth tickled, the horse will instantly open 

 its mouth and take the bit. After the bit is inserted, the bridle should be 

 adjusted over the horse's ears, and the throatlatch fastened. The horse can 

 then be led from the stall. Before hitching the horse to the vehicle, the lines 

 shovild hie fastened to the bit, and ])laccd where they can be easily reached. 

 If the horse is taken from the stall and its harness put on in a shed or a 

 barn, the bridle is usually adjusted first. After the horse is led out the 

 collar and the back pad are put on in the order described. 



In hitching a horse into a pair of shafts, the shafts should always be 

 raised, and the animal backed under them, or the vehicle should be drawn 

 forward, because the horse is likely to step on the shafts and break them 

 if backed in while the shafts are on the ground. When the shafts are 

 properly adjusted in the shaft tugs, the traces should be fastened to the 

 vehicle; then the holdback straps should be fastened to the shafts, pref- 

 erably with the trace between the straps instead of over both of them. • 

 Lastly the second girth, or the straps on the first girth that are to hold 

 the shafts down, should be fastened. This is important because other- 

 wise in going down hill or in backing, the shafts are likely to fly up and 

 frighten the horse. : 



In unhitching the order is reversed. Care should be taken to have the 

 horse entirely free from the vehicle before he is led away ; the lines should 

 be the last part unfastened. 



In hitching a pair of horses each harness should be put on from the left 

 side; then the horses should be fastened together by the cross lines and the 

 neck yoke, which holds up the tongue of the wagon and is used in backing. 

 In this case the strain of backing is placed on the collar instead of on the 

 breeching. 



Tying.— A horse should be tied by a strong rope or a strap about the 

 neck. The strap should be passed through the ring of the bit and tied 

 to the post. A horse should always be tied short; otherwise he may get 

 his foot over the strap, be unable to disengage it, break the strap or the 

 checkrein, become frightened, and cause an accident. 



Editors' note. — Almost every boy and girl in the country learns to 

 harness and drive a horse, but they are not always thoughtful to be sure 

 each time that the harness is comfortably adjusted, and in driving they 

 are likely to let their enthusiasm lead them into bad habits. Best results 

 are obtained by treating a horse gently but firmly, and in the simplest 

 and most direct way. 



