184 THE HAME-TUG. 



groove in the other end and fills up the opening. (See 

 Fig. 69.) As originally made it was in one piece with the 

 ends welded together after having been passed through the 

 eyes of the hames. As this form did not permit the chang- 

 ing of the link for a longer or shorter one, the hinged pat- 

 tern was introduced. The closed or hinged kidney-link is 

 the one generally used for pair-horse harness in appointment 

 classes at horse shows, and is advocated for road-coach 

 work because the billet of the breast-plate can be buckled 

 around the inside of the collar and through the kidney-link, 

 thus securing the two together. 



THE HAME-TUG consists of a heavy piece of leather, 

 carrying the trace-buckle and loops, which is attached to the 

 hames by a piece of iron shaped somewhat like a hasp. The 

 metal is rounded at the point where it is bent over and 

 forms an eye which fits into the draft eye of the hames. 

 The clips are usually placed over the outside piece of leather 

 in front and under the leather at the back. They are held 

 in place by rivets, the heads of which are either exposed or 

 covered by the leather. When the clips or rivets are placed 

 on the outside they should be plated to match the other fur- 

 niture. The clip on the hame-tug of single harness is about 

 three inches long, half an inch wide and is fastened with 

 two rivets. For pair-horse harness the clip is about four 

 inches and a half long, half an inch wide and fastened with 

 three rivets. The leather part of the hame-tug carries the 

 trace-buckle and the keepers which retain the point of the 

 trace in place. For single harness there are three keepers 

 and for pair-horse harness there are four. Under the hame- 

 tug there is a leather guard extending a quarter of an inch 

 beyond the three sides of the buckle, and under the buckle 



