THE ANGLE OF TRACTION, ETC. 225 



arrow T with the short trace a much more decidedly 

 than with the longer one b b ; and this not only involves 

 a proportionate loss of power, to counteract which the 

 horse is compelled to bore down still more heavily on 

 his fore legs than would be otherwise necessary, but it 

 also tends directly, from the obliquity of the pressure of 

 the collar on the shoulder, to wrinkle up the skin and 

 produce injuries. The ill effect of these acute angles 

 becomes still more strikingly apparent when we contrast 

 with them the dotted line x y, which represents the 

 position of a trace attached to the centre of the collar 

 and at right-angles with it, and therefore lying nearly 

 in the direction in which the effort made by the hind 

 legs is brought to bear on the collar. 



This is perhaps the best opportunity for saying a 

 word about the dimensions of the collar, because it is 

 quite clear that if the angle of traction be in a wrong 

 direction either way, and tend to pull the collar up- 

 wards or downwards, one might go on indefinitely 

 lengthening it without being ever able to counteract the 

 evil effects on the horse's neck or shoulder. And it is 

 so much the more important to keep this steadily in 

 view, because it is a well-known practical rule that a 

 somewhat too small especially too tight collar is much 

 less likely to do serious mischief than one that is too 

 large, especially too long, for it will then slip about 

 from place to place, and wound in all directions. 



We now come to the shape of the collar. The great 

 mistake commonly made by harness-makers is, that 

 they think more of producing a symmetrical oval figure 

 that pleases the eye, than of keeping the lines of a 

 horse's neck and shoulders in view ; and the con- 

 sequence is very frequently that the collar is much too 



Q 



