MOUNTED INSTRUCTION 145 



horse's shoulder. The extra piessure phiced upon the saddle by this 

 strap has never been known to produce sore backs and the pressure is 

 only exerted when the lead and svvinj;" ])airs are in draft. With breast 

 collars no "holding down strains" are needed, and the direction of the 

 pull of the trace takes care of itself. 



Neck Yokes: In the wheel pair holding' uj) straps are needed and 

 should be so adjusted that the chain from the trace to the breast collar 

 pulls in a horizontal direction. This prevents any downward pull on 

 the neck and prevents the breaking' down of the breast collar which 

 otherwise will occur. 



The breast straps should be so adjusted that the pole is carried hori- 

 zontally. If too low, the pole has more tendency to thrash, if too high 

 the martingale rubs between the forelegs and produces sores. 



Side Straps : The length of the martingale and side straps should be 

 such that when the wheelers are in draft and at an extended trot, the 

 breeching does not interfere with the movement of the hind legs. It 

 should be as tight as possible under these conditions. The position of 

 the safe above the ring in the martingale must be so adjusted that when 

 the horse is holding back, it will not come in contact with the loop on 

 the cincha. This can be accomplished by the combined adjustment of 

 the side straps and the martingale cincha strap. If not adjusted in this 

 manner it will pull the girth forward and will also often catch in the 

 cincha loop and cause constant pressure on the body strap of the 

 breeching. 



To test the FITTING OF BRFECHING, stand behind the horse 

 and pull the breeching so that the breast collar comes against the 

 horse's shoulders as in draft ; if you can get the breadth of your hand 

 JUST round between the breeching and horse you will find the fitting 

 for tightness just right. 



Bridle, (Snaffle Bit) : The crown piece and brow band should be 

 long enough to prevent chafing of the ears. It is often found that with 

 large headed horses these two pieces are not long enough and in that 

 case new ones should be made. The cheek pieces should be so adjusted 

 that the snaffle bit comes up in the corners of the horse's mouth, but 

 does not wrinkle the lips. The throat-latch should always be loose so 

 that there is no danger of choking the horse. The coupling rein should 

 be long enough so that when turning to the right, when the off horse is 

 ahead of the near horse, there will be no tendency to pull the head side- 

 ways. An even bearing on the horse's mouth with the LEADING 

 REIN is important both for driver and for the comfort of the horse : 

 let the off horse's head be straight, it is more comfortable for him and 

 avoid uneven draft. 



Traces, Length: There is no adjustment for length of wheel traces. 

 The lead and swing traces allow of adjustment in length, but in order 

 to prevent traces of different lengths being used on the same horse, it 

 is found the best results are obtained by shortening all traces as much 

 as possible, so as to fit length of horse. 



TRACES must be horizontal Tto allow "even" draft). 



