TRAINING FOR DRAUGHT. 255 



arising from the inequalities of the ground, are greatly 

 diminished. This horse-saver has precisely the same 

 effect and there seems to be no doubt, that by the use 

 of both combined the work of- the horse can be done 

 with a minimum of inconvenience, and that w^here 

 springs can not be used, as in very heavy waggons, the 

 horse-saver will go far to supply the want of them. 



There is some difficulty about the bitting, as it is 

 scarcely safe to trust to a very light bit with a young 

 horse the first time in harness, and anything that acts 

 very sharply or even decidedly is very likely to make 

 the animal aj^pear to refuse the collar, when in reality 

 it is the bit he is afraid of. This proves how very im- 

 portant it is, not only to pay great attention to the 

 bitting of draught-horses — making it under the saddle 

 as painless as possible — but also to accustom them to 

 the action of the bit they are to be driven in before 

 putting them into harness ; and we fear that all this is 

 very much neglected, or very clumsily attempted. 



Shortly after the appearance of the first edition of 

 this book the author received a very polite letter, in- 

 quiring whether Seeger's running-reins could not be 

 used with harness, and especially for training young 

 horses. This is a very valuable suggestion, and ap- 

 pears to afl:brd a remedy for the difficulty we have 

 just been debating. In fixct, by using a training-halter 

 and the running-reins combined, we can put a common 

 snaffle into a young horse's mouth w^ithout incurring 

 the least risk of his running away, as the halter pre- 

 vents the animal opening his jaws and getting the 

 snaffle on to his tongue, whilst the running-reins afford 

 a perfect command over the head. When, therefore, 

 the young horse makes his first plunge into the collar, 

 the driver may give him his head safely; and the 



