THE COLLAR AND BRIDLE. 



407 



Fig. 81.— The Breast or Dutch Collar. 



or plate, as well as 

 •under that which pas- 

 ses over the neck. The 

 plate should be so 

 long as to bring the 

 trace buckles over the 

 ^■j line of the back part 

 " of the fore leg. The 

 plate, in front,- should 

 be furnished with a 

 loop, to hold the mar- 

 tingale in its proper 

 position. 



The TpvACES should 

 be of a size propor- 

 tioned to the weight 

 to be drawn. Square 

 traces look unwieldy, and round ones are apt to rip. The 

 best form is oval, — that is, a narrow, flattened trace, thick 

 in the centre, and rounded at the edges. Coach traces are 

 cut seven feet long, and are usually supplied with an ar- 

 rangement by which they are secured around the end of 

 the whiffle-tree, while the traces of buggy harness are six 

 feet three inches long, and are fastered by a slit at the end, 

 to an iron in the end of the whiffle-tree. 



The Bridle may be, with propriety, more ornamented 

 or more highly finished than the rest of the harness (except 

 perhaps the saddle) ; for a neat, plain harness, the bridle 

 should be especially neat, with some slight ornament, as a 

 rosette, or with a very little modest stitching ; for a more 

 highly ornamented harness, it may be covered with a pro- 

 fusion of fine work, and have a fair allowance of plated 

 ornaments and buckles. In its general construction, it 

 consists of a head strap, cheek pieces, throat-lash, and bit- 



