408 HARNESS. 



Blinkers, or Blinders, (as they are very appropriately 

 termed,) are, fortunately, growing more and more un- 

 popular. There is no earthly reason why they should be 

 generally used, except that they afford a good field for 

 the display of initial letters and family crests. They are 

 a frequent cause of blindness, resulting from an undue 

 pressure against the eye ; they cause horses to be frightened 

 by the sudden appearance before them of objects which, 

 without blinkers, they would have seen slowly approach- 

 ing ; and their use for the mere purpose of ornament is as 

 unfortunate as is the use of green spectacles by fine-eyed 

 men. It is not, of course, to be recommended that they 

 be at once discarded in the case of horses on which they 

 have always been used, though many such would go better 

 without them : it is on young horses that their use is espe- 

 cially to be deprecated. 



There are, now and then, to be found cunning horses, 

 who regulate their pace to the indications of danger from 

 behind. They will watch the driver, and go fast or slow, 

 according to the probability of his using the whip. Such 

 animals should wear blinkers, to prevent their looking 

 back to the carriage. Even in these cases it would be 

 better to substitute the "half-blinker," which consists of a 

 narrow piece back of the eye, preventing the horse from 

 looking back, while it allows him to see directly to the side. 



Where it is considered necessary to use blinkers of the 

 ordinary form, great care should be paid to their shape, 

 and their position on the bridle. They sl^ould be very 

 much hollowed out over the eye, and should be so placed 

 that the greatest concavity will come directly over it. If 

 placed a little too high or too low, their edges are liable to 

 bruise and chafe the parts. 



The Check, or Bearing Rein, is another unaccountable 

 mistake in harness invention. While it holds the horse's 



