130 THE BRIDLE BITS. 



of a brilliant and costly home are well enough in an indoor, 

 narrow sphere, but in i^assiug in review before the outer 

 world she must be mistress of a carriage drawn by hand- 

 some horses, chosen and kept in a style and condition 

 commensurate with her character and rank. To cater to 

 this demand is, therefore, the duty of the breeder. The 

 equestrian sports, pleasures, necessities and fancies pecu- 

 liar to every nation have developed horses to suit their 

 respective demands. In England and Ireland hunting 

 developed the breeds of horses that have supplied this 

 country, the Continent and the colonies with the best 

 saddle-horses the world can produce. And although the 

 the Tartar and the Arab can justly claim a share in the 

 production of the great steeple-chaser, they furnished 

 only a minimum of the ingredients while other nations 

 contributed their respective shares ; but the Britain j^ut 

 them together, and the steeple-chaser is the production 

 of this master-hand in the science of breeding from rough 

 materials to the highest degree of perfection. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



THE USE OF BLINDS ON HORSES. 



The custom of putting blinds on horses indiscrimi- 

 nately is a great error. Carriage horses look well in 

 showy head-gear, and handsome blinds are a great im- 

 provement to the style and general appearance of real, 

 well set up carriage horses. But for buggy, cart, car, 

 stage, wagon, truck and general travel they are wholly 

 unnecessary, and as regards safety they are a detriment 

 rather than an advantage. What do surface car horses 

 want with blinds ? Horses, like ourselves, want to see 

 where they are going, and the horse that shies proves that 



