272 ILLUSTRATED HORSE-BREAKING. 



CHAPTER XX. 



ON IMPROVISED GEAR. 



ALTHOUGH I have described in the foregoing 

 pages, a variety of special appliances ; still it is 

 well to draw attention to the fact that the whole 

 system of breaking can be carried out with gear 

 which can be improvised without difficulty. We 

 can make a standing martingale with a piece of 

 doubled cord, knotted near the centre to form a 

 loop for the girth to pass through ; while the 

 free ends are connected to the rings of the 

 snaffle : or the cord, or strap may be attached to 

 the ring of the breast-plate, in front of the 

 chest; or, as mentioned on page 182, a cord may 

 connect the rings of the standing martingale to 

 those of the snaffle. A stirrup-leather will serve 

 as a leg-strap (see Figs. 14 and 16, pages 101 



