A BUDGET OF " TIPSy r^j 



appears all right when the horse is standing still. Set him 

 going at a good pace, and then judge of it. If he be a high- 

 crested animal, he will probably need a collar quite two 

 inches longer than seemed necessary when he stood at 

 ease. If the traces are attached too low to the hames, they 

 will draw the collar away from the upper part of the 

 shoulder. This can only be remedied by shifting the point 

 of the draught, till a proper bearing has been obtained. 



Bencraft Hames. — There is sometimes immense diffi- 

 culty in fitting horses that are peculiarly shaped with 

 collars that will not gall them ; in such cases the above 

 may be tried, as by using them the draught can be shifted 

 to suit the shoulders or the height of the wheels. They 

 have an awkward appearance, but nevertheless serve their 

 purpose admirably. 



Shaft-tugs should be of a length to suspend the shafts 

 at exactly the correct height, by which I mean the centre of 

 the swell of the pad-flaps, measured both ways. When the 

 shafts are much bent, the tugs must be shorter than if 

 ordinarily straight. The traces must be of proper length, 

 otherwise the correct horizontal position of the shaft-tugs 

 cannot possibly be maintained. When too short the motion 

 of the horse forces tugs and pad forward, thus drawing the 

 crupper uncomfortably tight — and when too long, the 

 vehicle is drawn by the tugs instead of by the traces. It is 

 rare to sit behind a horse that one can pronounce properly 

 harnessed in every particular. 



A KiCKING-STRAP will be worse than useless — it will 



