DRIVING-PAD. 173 



the horse, will have to take the rein out of the ring in which 

 it is, and place the other rein in the other ring. Thus, 

 when circling to the right, the left rein will pass through 

 the left ring, and vice versa. In no case will the inner 

 rein be passed through either of the rings ; for unless it is 

 kept well away from the pad, the operator will be unable 

 to obtain full control over the horse. The ends of the 

 iron plate fit into the pockets of a suitably stuffed panel, 



Fig. 81. Horse with bearing-rein. 



and the girth-straps, on each side, are riveted to the iron 

 plate. Before I invented this pad, I used to employ 

 crosstrees (see Fig. 84) ; on each side of which was placed 

 a leather strap for the rein to run over. The iron pad is 

 less cumbersome than the crosstrees, serves its purpose 

 better, and is practically indestructible. I generally 

 dispense with a crupper, unless the horse has thick low 

 withers, and is particularly wild. As will be seen in 

 Fig. 85, I used to have rein-bearers (about three and a 



