114 THE HORSE 



With roadsters the breeching is often omitted, and 

 in that case the crupper really takes its place. This 

 arrangement is all right for level ground, provided that 

 the crupper is a comfortable one, but in going down 

 hill the horse needs breeching. 



BREECHING 



The best form of breeching for a well-made work- 

 horse is the basket or hammock breeching, so-called, 

 which is shown in the illustration facing this page of 

 a horse wearing the model harness. It has a broad 

 strap, almost in the form of a semi-circle, which fits the 

 rump, just above the tail. This does away with the 

 use of the crupper and also does away with the strap 

 that passes over the apex of the rump and is a fre- 

 quent cause of galls and sores. When holding back 

 with this kind of breeching, the horse sits down in it, so 

 to say, and the strain is well distributed. But this form 

 of breeching should fit the horse perfectly, otherwise 

 it is likely both to gall the horse and to break. It is 

 therefore not suitable when one harness is to be used on 

 two or more different horses, and, moreover, it is not 

 suitable for a thin horse, or a slim-quartered horse. It 

 is indeed almost impossible to make it fit any horse that 

 has not full, well-developed hind quarters. 



There is another form of breeching, like the basket 

 breeching, except that the hip strap has free play, run- 

 ning through from side to side, so that it adjusts itself 

 to the movements of the horse. This is a good form 

 of work-horse breeching. For driving horses the ordi- 

 nary form is the best. 



