498 ''PUTTING TO'' A PAIR. 



the pole-pieces or chains should correspond, and both should 

 be somewhat slack when the traces are taut, so that the 

 collar fits snugly against the shoulders. 



The majority of stable servants fasten the pole-pieces or 

 chains too tight or too loose, and twist the former and 

 leave a few links of the latter dangling. The kidney-link 

 ring should be held at right angles with the kidney-link, 

 and the point of the pole-piece brought through the rino- 

 from the inside so that the buckle lies parallel with the eye 

 of the pole top or crab. (See Fig. 228.) In fastening pole- 

 chains one end of the chain should be attached by the snap 

 hook to the ring of the pole-top snap outward ; and the other 

 end carried through the kidney-link ring from the inside, 

 and if not long enough to allow the snap hook to extend to 

 the pole-top ring, the hook may be caught in one of the 

 links, or if too long the end of the chain should be run 

 through the pole-top ring from the outside, and the hook 

 fastened into one of the links. The dropping of one or 

 more links so that they rattle about when the horses are in 

 motion is indicative of ignorance or vulgarity, or of both. 

 When a neck-yoke is used on a light country trap the kid- 

 ney-link ring should be omitted and the point of the neck- 

 yoke strap, after being run through the metal loop on the 

 neck-yoke toward the collar, carried around the kidney-link 

 from the under side, so that when ihe point is fastened in 

 the buckle the latter lies parallel with the ground. 



In single harness the reins should be left in the position 

 described under " harnessing." In pair-horse harness the 

 coupling-reins should be unbuckled from the nose-band and 

 the rein of the near horse crossed over and fastened into 

 the bit of the off horse and vice versa. When a coupling- 



