244 HOESE POKTBAITUEE. 



PBECEPTOE You are in great luck in the tobacconists 

 of your acquaintance ; and I hope, when sending your ac- 

 knowledgments for this liberal present, you will also em- 

 body my thanks in the epistle. These cigars are, if any- 

 thing, superior to your first consignment, and would tran- 

 quilize the perturbed spirit of a man who had just lost a 

 race. 



Before we return to the stable, we will resume the con- 

 sideration of the harness. The martingale we will com- 

 mence with, in relation to its use in the training of trot- 

 ters. The general idea has been that it could not be done 

 away with in their education, or its future services be dis- 

 pensed with. With saddle horses, it has long been a 

 mooted question, whether it is advantageous or not. In 

 this country, in the region where the best saddle horses 

 are found, it is rare to see it forming a part of their equip- 

 ment. Those who have written on the subject are divided 

 in their opinion, and while one questions its advantages, 

 another will not admit that it can be prejudicial. I have 

 embodied most of my ideas regarding it in the conversa- 

 tion this morning, adding that there are very few cases in 

 which I would decline using it, but still less frequently 

 can I see any benefit in having it very short. Harry 

 Hieover, in alluding to martingales, says : " They are use- 

 ful in two ways. With the good rider, they bring and 

 keep the horse's head in its proper place ; and with the* 

 bad one, they prevent the badness of his hands pulling it 

 into an improper one." He further recommends their use 

 in all cases, even on a horse that has to jump high, or a 

 distance, as crossing a stream. -Carl Benson, commenting 

 on this article of Mr. Brindley's, writes: "As to long 

 jumping, I have not the slightest doubt that the martin- 

 gale is a hindrance to it, especially with green horses. I 

 have seen the experiment tried too often ; over and over 

 again I have seen a horse baulking at a ditch, and clear- 



