THE ANGLE OF TliACTION, ETC. 239 



his work ; although it is, on the other hand, equally 

 true that the shorter and tighter you have him trussed 

 up between the traces and the pole-chains the more 

 you have him in command, Imt you take a deal more 

 out of him, and wear out his legs sooner. It is, there- 

 fore, quite impossible to lay down any general rule in 

 these matters — the manner in which the work must or 

 may be done is the safest guide. 



There is, however, one point more to which our 

 attention has been called by a paragraph in a letter 

 received a few days ago from a gentleman whose 

 opinion is of great value, and to whom our best thanks 

 are due; it is this : Very many people find it their con- 

 venience to use a horse alternately in light draught and 

 under the saddle, but the animal is never so pleasant 

 nor so safe for the latter purpose after having been 

 used for the former. Is this inevitable % and if not, 

 where does the fault lie 1 — in our method of harnessinq- 

 or in our mode of training and riding ] Let us clear 

 away the ground a little. In the first place, before we 

 endeavour to give an answer to these questions, it must 

 be understood that the horse in question is really 

 fi.t for the saddle ; and, secondly, that it is neither put 

 to very heavy draught nor overworked. Then, again, 

 it"will make a great difierence whether the work is to 

 be changed daily or at least frequently, or, on the other 

 hand, only at longer intervals. We may say, then, that 

 it is by no means inevitable that a horse should be 

 spoiled for the saddle by having been put into draught, 

 either occasionally or for stated periods ; and with re- 

 gard to the second part of the question, there can be 

 no doubt that the fault lies partly in our method of 

 harnessing, and partly in our mode of training and 



