2oo ANNALS OF THE ROAD. 



can be applied, as so many circumstances must be con- 

 sulted. For London streets, and for the roads in the 

 neighbourhood of London, horses may be poled-up as 

 tight as you please — and for gentlemen's pair-horse work, 

 the tighter the better, as the stoppages are so frequent 

 and so sudden : but for general road work, the case is 

 very different. In the first place, the state of the road 

 must be considered — for if rough and full of chucks, 1 

 it would shake a horse to pieces to pole him up tight. 

 Also on many roads where Mr. M'Adam has not been 

 at work, there are ruts, and, consequently, quarters. In 

 this case, a wheel-horse, must have some length of pole- 

 piece, or he cannot take the quarter, and would be always 

 rlounderincr in the rut. A horse that is tender on his 

 feet must not be poled-up tight, or he will feel the ill 

 effects of it ; neither must those whose shoulders are 

 tender be too much confined in this respect. A blind 

 horse likes to have his pole-piece rather short, as he feels 

 a support in it ; and it is better that he should hang on 

 that than on his coupling-rein. If a horse is clumsy on 

 his legs, a short pole-piece is useful ; as in case of his 

 dropping it will catch him, and help him to save himself. 

 I have seen a horse dragged on his side by his pole-chain 

 for twenty yards in slippery weather, and nothing much 

 the matter. 



There is no part of putting horses together in which 

 it is more necessary to attend to circumstances, than in 

 their pole-pieces. Some, whose tempers are easily 

 ruffled, will not suffer themselves to be poled-up tight, 



1 A word of our own. 



