330 RIDING FOR LADIES. 



strained up to the last extremity of tightness. The cruelty 

 of ordinaiy bearing-reins is unspeakably great, and to 

 the use of them may be attributed the loss of sight in 

 many fine young horses — undue pressure on the glands that 

 lie just under the angles of the jaws being the fruitful cause 

 of this melancholy evil. 



Nagging at a horse's mouth when driving him is a most 

 objectionable practice, and one that is, unfortunately, too 

 generally indulged in. If an animal appears sluggish, the 

 driver finds it easier to rouse him temporarily by means of 

 chucking at his mouth, than by either a suitable use of the 

 whip, or an investigation into the general state of his 

 health : a low or disordered condition of which is far more 

 frequently th^ cause of sluggishness than the " roguishness," 

 of which helpless animals are often wrongfully accused. 



In Driving a Pair the arrangement of the coupling- 

 reins is a matter of vast importance ; for, should one horse 

 be naturally faster in pace than his fellow, the whole com- 

 fort of the drive will depend upon being able to regulate 

 the two animals to the same rate of going. To do this the 

 coupling-rein of the fast horse must be shortened by bring- 

 ing the buckle closer to the driver's hands, so that a pull 

 will act on him before checking in any degree the speed of 

 the other horse. Coupling-reins should come to within six 

 inches of the driver's fingers. I have seen a pair of run- 

 aways stopped in a short time by laying a firm hold upon 

 the two inside reins, and dropping the outer ones. 



Cantering in Harness is a very common fault, and can 



