252 DRAUGHT AND HARNESS 



animal opening his jaws and getting the snaffle on to 

 his tongue, whilst the running - reins afford a perfect 

 command over the head. When, therefore, the young 

 horse makes his first plunge into the collar, the driver 

 may give him his head safely ; and the probability is 

 that there will be no recoil, or at least that it will be 

 then quite clear where the difficulty lies, and therefore 

 the remedy easier to find. In a subsequent letter the 

 writer of that letter mentions having tried the running- 

 rein successfully, but he does not say anything of the 

 training-halter, which we consider to be of equal im- 

 portance. An Irish friend of ours has also tried it 

 successfully in single draught. Not having had an 

 opportunity of trying this arrangement ourselves for it 

 is altogether our correspondent's idea we cannot say 

 positively that it must succeed ; but we have not the 

 slightest doubt of its being a very valuable aid in 

 training young horses to draught. 



The running-rein can be very easily lengthened by 

 buckling on a piece of rein to it, and when there is a 

 hame-martingale strap, an ivory ring attached to this 

 above the ring for the pole-straps (or chains) and the 

 leather curb carrying the smaller ring under the horse's 

 chin will be all that is required. For double harness, 

 and when used for both horses, the ends of the running- 

 rein might be led through the inner terrets of each, and 

 come into the driver's hand like the leaders' reins in 

 four-hand draught, for it is only for riding that it is 

 more convenient to bring the end of the rein to the right 

 or off side. In case of necessity, the driver could then 

 with his whip-hand bring his team up most effectually. 

 For ladies or invalids driving spirited horses or ponies, 

 the two running-reins might be buckled into one 



