THE ART OF DRIVING 139 



horse's leg will often serve the purpose — the string to 

 be removed before it becomes painful. 



DRIVING ON A JOURNEY 



With these general remarks, let us suppose the 

 driver about to start on a day's work or journey. He 

 will, of course, make sure that he has his blankets 

 with him, and his pail or nose bag, and that his axles 

 are clean and well-oiled, and, if he is not his own 

 groom, he will glance over the harness. Does the bit 

 hang rightly in the horse's mouth? Is the throat- 

 latch too tight? With a check rein the throat-latch 

 is really unnecessary. A check rein is, as a rule, out 

 of place on a work-horse or on an all-day roadster, 

 but some few horses need a check rein to balance and 

 steady them. This is especially the case with horses 

 that are low in front and have straight shoulders. But 

 in such cases, the check rein should be only tight enough 

 to keep the head in the natural position, and it should 

 be unfastened whenever a steep hill is encountered. 



Are the reins buckled aright? Of course if one 

 of a pair is more " free " than the other, the driver will 

 shorten the outside rein of that horse, and lengthen 

 the inside rein going from him to the other. Such a 

 pair should wear blinders, and then the driver can 

 quietly " touch up " the lazy horse, without letting the 

 free one see the whip. 



The position of the breeching and the length of the 

 hold-back straps should also be regarded; but all these 

 matters are treated above, in the chapter entitled " Har- 

 ness," and need not be repeated here. 



