H0R8E TRAIKING MADE EASY. 11 



possible, to ride them over yourself. Plenty of 

 good, free jumpers are so roug-h that they would 

 jolt nine men in ten out of the saddle. Should 

 you by chance ht ppen on such a one, be not dis- 

 mayed; nearly every case is curable v^rith a little 

 patience and courage, and most horses will come 

 quiet after awhile. 



A horse for harness purposes should, to my 

 mind, undergo a severer trial than any other. A 

 horse has far more power over you when draw- 

 ing you behind him, than when you are perched 

 comfortably upon his back. In the latter case 

 you have got him, whilst in the former he has 

 got you! If he has the least suspicion of jibbing, 

 backing, etc., decline him instanter; it is so sim- 

 ple to say— in print— what to do with one of 

 these animals, but having deliberately chosen 

 the sharpest part of a stiff hill, your horse be- 

 gins an Irish progression in the direction of a 

 plate glass front! Shying is also a nasty fault 

 in a harness horse, and kicking worse; the for- 

 mer vice, however, "comes lighter" in a two- 

 wheeler than in a four, as there is no under car- 

 riage to get locked, and thus bring about disas- 

 ter. Another important point to look to is the 

 mouth. Although equally unpleasant, it is not 

 equally dangerous, to have a horse with a bad 

 mouth in the saddle as it is in harness; one that 

 is not readily "steerable" will prove a terrible 

 nuisance, if nothing worse, in driving. There 

 are dozens of other things, which experience 

 alone will teach, to be looked to in the choice 

 and selection of horses, and I have only attempt- 

 ed the roughest outline in these hints, feeling 

 that it would be courting failure to go into «"«^h 

 a matter at any greater length. 



