DRAUGHT WORK 55 



cart, let down the prop under the shaft whenever 

 you stop, either on a hill or otherwise, to take the 

 weight off his back. Never flourish your whip, and 

 give a good final cut either over or under him when 

 you intend to stop. So many do this. It is one 

 of the grossest abuses of the whip. In starting 

 again, where possible, start across the road, which 

 is much easier than going straight up the hill, and, 

 whenever you can, take a zigzag course. It is often 

 good, where you are able, to draw up across the road 

 when you rest, when a stone is not needed at the 

 back. (N.B. — Do not leave the loose stone lying in 

 the middle of the road for the next carriage-horse to 

 stumble over or get wedged in his foot.) 



At the Top. — It is a mistake when drivers of traps 

 as well as carts in their impatience quicken their 

 pace as soon as the worst of the hill is passed, but 

 before they are yet fairly on the level. It is a much 

 better economy of horseflesh to let him have a few 

 minutes' breathing-space when he gets to the top, 

 or at any rate to get quite on to the level before 

 quickening up again. 



In a High Wind. — Remember that the strain is 

 very great, especially in the case of a van or an 

 omnibus, where a large surface is exposed to the 

 wind. If it were floating on the water, a sail that 

 size would be enough to carry the whole along at a 

 fair pace, and if the wind be against them the horses 

 have to overcome this extra force in addition to the 

 weight of the load. Any cyclist can tell you what a 

 terrible strain it is to ride against the wind for any 

 length of time, and he has only the small surface of 

 his body exposed to the wind. How much worse 

 must it be for a horse with a large van behind him. 

 This should always be borne, in mind in regulating 

 the pace. 



Creaking Wheels. — It is a mistake not to look care- 



