HARNESS. 199 



statement is illustrated with a figure of a ' properly 

 harnessed ' horse. To my very unprofessional eye 

 the horse would have been a much finer sight with- 

 out the harness, which, in fact, becomes in the 

 illustration the primary object, the horse enclosed 

 within it being of secondary consideration. 



There are blinkers to prevent the horse from 

 using its eyes. There is a ' gag ' bearing-rein to 

 prevent the animal from putting its head down, 

 and a martingale to prevent it from throwing its 

 head back, and there is a long-cheeked curb bit, 

 together with its corresponding chain. Every one 

 of these appliances is not only useless, but actually 

 injurious to the horse, lessening its powers of work, 

 and wearing it out long before its time. By way 

 of a contrast, I here give two figures, copied (with 

 a few slight additions), by permission from the late 

 Mr. E. Fordham Flower's valuable pamphlet entitled 

 ' Bits and Bearing-reins.' The reader would hardly 

 imagine I did not do so until told by Mr. Flower 

 himself that the figures are facsimiles of the photo- 

 graphs of the same horse ! One represents the 

 animal as it appeared when purchased by Mr. Flower, 

 and hampered by improper harness, and the other 

 represents it as it appeared when driven by Mr. 

 Flower a few weeks after purchase. 



Of this animal Mr. Flower writes as follows : 



