CHAPTER XXV. 



FITTING THE COLLAR TO THE HORSE. 



The liarness service of the horse is largely done by the shoulders, 

 then from the vast amount of work he docs for us, all will agree that he 

 justly deserves a perfect fitting collar, and nothing short of this should 

 satisfy any horse owner, and like a bridle-bit, perfectly adapted to the 

 mouth of the horse, is a perfectly fitting collar to the neck and shoulders 

 of the animal. 



THE COLLAR MANUFACTURER SOAKS THE LEATHER 

 BEFORE STUFFING THE COLLAR. 



The collar manufacturer stuffs and shapes the collar over an inanimate 

 form, intended to represent the shape cf the horse's neck in breadth and 

 thickness, the material being thoroughly soaked, and as limp as a rag. 

 It is then left to dry. When dry the collar is so firm and stiff, that in 

 many cases it is impossible to buckle the hames tight enough to bring 

 the collar to the shape of the horse's neck, and the shoulders are often 

 compelled to adapt themselves to the collar, rather than the latter to the 

 former. 



THE COLLAR SHOULD FIT THE NECK AND SHOULDERS 

 CLOSELY. 



The necks and shoulders of no two horses are alike, and it is very 

 seldom indeed that the shoulders of any one horse are exactly the same 

 in size and form. The collar that will fit a horse in the early spring, 

 when he is fat, will generally be found too large at harvest time, and the 

 shoulder of the fat horse is different in form from what it is when he is 

 thin in flesh; consequently, the importance of watching the adaptation of 

 the collar to the shoulders. 



EVERY HORSE SHOULD HAVE HIS OWN COLLAR. 



Every horse should have his own collar, and it should always fit close 

 up to the neck along its entire v/idth; never tight at the points of the 

 shoulder and loose towards the top of the neck, nor the reverse. Al- 

 ways have the hame-straps properly adjusted to suit the form of the 

 horse's neck at the top and bottom, and always be absolutely sure that 

 the lower hame-strap is buckled as tight as the thickness of the neck of 

 the horse will permit, every time he is harnessed. 



