238 DRAUGHT AND HARNESS. 



not the way to give the animal free action under the 

 saddle ; secondly, a trace that forms an inverted angle 

 downwards, like a or 6, Fig. 17, must make the horse 

 throw himself more and more on his forehand ; thirdly, 

 trussing up a horse as tightly as possible between short 

 traces and short pole-chains making it, in fact, a piece 

 of the machine is not the way to make it handy and 

 light in its action under the saddle ; fourthly and lastly, 

 putting an uncouth piece of ironmongery, nearly as big 

 .as the front of a kitchen-stove, into the wrong part of a 

 horse's mouth, and with a torturing curb-chain attached 

 to it, will scarcely conduce to lightness in the hand 

 under either a gentleman's or a lady's saddle. 



Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, all who wish to keep 

 horses " a double usage," the thing is quite practicable 

 and pleasant, and only requires that the gentleman 

 should sit on the proper part of the horse's back the 

 ladies do so mostly ; that the horses should be properly 

 harnessed and left some room in their traces, instead 

 of being trussed up ; and, finally, that the same, or 

 nearly the same, mouth-piece, whether snaffle or curbed 

 bit, should be used in both cases, always taking care 

 that it fits accurately, and that the curb-chain does 

 not wound the poor chin.* 



The Height of the Wheel. We began this chapter with 

 an extract from the ' Handy Horse-Book ' to the effect 

 that draught would be easiest if the axles of a carriage 

 were placed on a level with the trace-hooks or point 

 of traction, the trace itself being also horizontal. This 

 principle, although mathematically correct, requires 

 certain limitations in practice, some of which have 

 been already alluded to. Let us now take a horse of 

 * See ' Bits for Harness,' p. 198. 



