CHAPTER VII 



CARRIAGES 



The selection of a vehicle is of course a matter for 

 the purchaser to decide upon for himself, but when 

 he has procured the conveyance of his choice, many 

 a horse owner has no idea at all how to keep the 

 same in order. A few short directions upon the 

 housing and management of carriages may therefore 

 be useful to the amateur, though anything in the 

 nature of an elaborate treatise on the subject would 

 be out of place. 



Assuming that the carriages are, as usual, painted 

 and varnished, they should be kept in an absolutely 

 dry and fairly warm coach-house, which is all the 

 better for being kept nearly dark. The varnish, in 

 fact, is likely to suffer if exposed to cold, and damp 

 is certain to injure the vehicle and the cushions. It 

 is desirable also that a properly constructed sheet 

 should be kept over the carriage or other vehicle 

 when it is not in use, and it should not be put away 

 for the night until it has been properly dried if it 

 can possibly be avoided. 



Many carriage washers are far too fond of using 

 spoke brushes to remove the mud from the wheels, 

 but a leather performs the duty equally well, although 

 giving more trouble, and is consequently to be pre- 

 ferred, as by its adoption in preference to the spoke 

 brush the paint and varnish does not get knocked 

 about. Of course all mud and dust should be 



