DRIVING. 67 



should be made to replace the reins while they are con- 

 fined ; but a very light lash of the whip on the leg will 

 engage the attention of the animal, and while the tail 

 is switched up on the touch of the lash, the reins may 

 be released. Horses should always be kept well in hand, 

 unless that, upon a long and tiresome journey, some 

 consideration may be shown for what they have to go 

 through. Under such circumstances, attention may well 

 be directed to the manner the billets are placed in the 

 bit (page 62). 



On the level a fair pace can be maintained, but up 

 hill no merciful man will ever press his beasts. When 

 a heavy load has to be drawn up a sharp short hill, it 

 is not a bad plan to cheat the horse out of the first half 

 of it by going at it with an impetus, suffering the pace 

 to merge into a walk without further pressure as the 

 first impetus declines. 



When the ascent is long and gradual, horses should 

 be allowed to walk " the whole way, which can always 

 be admitted of on ordinary roads, where the pace is not 

 intended to exceed eight miles an hour, as the speed 

 may be accelerated when the fall of ground is reached, 

 without distressing the animals. 



Let a man suppose himself to be obliged to wheel 

 a hand-cart with a heavy burden for a given distance 

 within a given time, on an undulating roadway, and he 

 will soon discover the course he would pursue to effect 

 his object ; he would certainly save himself by going 

 very slowly up the hills, and make up the time and dis- 

 tance with most ease by rolling the vehicle at a rapid 

 rate down the declivities. Let the principle of working 

 thus exemplified be always applied to the usage of 

 horses in harness. 



