486 PREPARATIONS FOR TURNING OUT A VEHICLE. 



a misconception of the true use of this part of the harness, 

 and has caused a general condemnation of the bearing-rein. 

 In the first place, a bearing-rein should never be employed 

 to hold a horse's head higher than he naturally carries 

 it; second, the horse should not be abruptly deprived of the 

 opportunities of relaxing the muscles, such as are afforded 

 by dropping the head from time to time. The angle at 

 which the horse naturally carries his head should be noted, 

 and when the bearing-rein is put on it should be adjusted 

 so that there will be some slack in the rein. If one of a 

 pair carries his head lower than his mate, the former should 

 not have his head drawn up by the bearing-rein to a corre- 

 sponding height. For the first week or ten days' train- 

 ing the bearing-rein should not be kept hooked up for 

 more than ten or fifteen minutes during the early part of 

 the time, but later it may be kept on from fifteen minutes 

 to half an hour. 



PREPARATIONS FOR TURNING OUT A VEHICLE. 



As a preface to the following remarks it may not be out 

 of place to state that when a stable servant receives an order 

 for a carriage at a certain hour he should carefully note the 

 time, the carriage desired, whether for two men on the box, 

 and the address if the owner is to be called for at some 

 house other than his own. Should a servant be liable to 

 forget or become confused, he should fortify himself against 

 making an error by jotting the order down on a slate or a 

 pad. The pleasure of having a private turn-out is largely 

 due to the ability the owner has of commanding it when and 

 how it pleases his fancy ; and if the stable servant, through 

 constant mistakes, converts a luxury into a source of annoy- 



