MOUNTED INSTRUCTION 237 



rear of the horse, unbuckles the crupper and removes it from under the 

 horse's tail; in the case of wheel drivers removing the breeching body 

 to the outside of the horse's tail. 



He then goes to the off side of the horse and passes over the off stir- 

 rup and the cincha, taking the off" stirrup in the left hand and the cincha 

 in the right, in order to save time. IJe then goes back to the near side 

 of the horse and when opposite the horse's left hip, grasps the back 

 strap where the crupper joins, with the right hand ; in the case of 

 wheel drivers, picking up the center of the breeching body with his 

 right hand, as he passes in rear of the horse, and then grasping the back 

 strap with the same hand, as explained for other drivers. Without 

 stopping, he grasps the cincha strap with left hand as he steps forward 

 on the near side of the horse and folds over the cincha strap with the 

 left hand and the back strap with the right. Next he unhooks the collar 

 strap and removes the saddle. 



Unharnessing in the Field: The order of unharnessing as stated in 

 Par. 411 is changed to suit the disposition of the harness. For example, 

 after unyoking, the neck yoke with the martingales is placed on the 

 foot board of the limber. 



The traces instead of the bridle are next removed and after being 

 removed are laid on the ground, there being no other place to put them. 

 The wheel traces are released from the hame tugs only and are turned 

 back on the foot board of the limber, still attached to the single trees. 



The saddle is next removed and placed on the limber pole. The 

 traces are then picked up, folded, and placed across the blankets over 

 the saddle. 



The bridles are next removed and placed over the traces. The collars 

 are removed and placed across the saddle with the bridles. 

 If care is taken both the collar and bridle can be placed on the seat 

 of the saddle over the blankets, which will permit the bridles to be 

 moved without disturbing the collar. It is often necessary to remove 

 the bridle, as when leading to water and so on. 



Adjustment and Fitting of Harness: The adjustment and fitting of 

 harness is carefully laid down in Par. 420. 



Before attempting to adjust the harness, holes of the proper size and 

 the normal distance apart, should be punched in the following straps : 

 back straps, loin straps, hip straps and side straps, using a leather 

 punch. Under no condition should they be cut with a knife or punched 

 through with any other instrument. By doing this any set of harnesF 

 can be fitted to any horse for draft purposes by simply taking up, or 

 letting out the strap without having to stop to punch holes. 



Common faults in fitting harness are as follows: The back strap is 

 usually left too long and the crupper taken up too short, this draws 

 the hip strap, particularly with the wheel horses, too near the horse's 

 tail and does not pull the breeching body up in its proper place. 



While the drill regulations require that the hip straps be so adjusted 

 as to enable the breeching body to bear flat against the thighs and to 

 rest from twelve to fifteen inches below the dock, it is better to shorten 



