102 DRIVING AS I FOUND IT. 



ing reins is decidedly a relief to most jhorses, but I 

 strongly recommend coaclimen wlio drive big borses in 

 town to use them. Tbey will find it much easier for 

 themselves. There is no possible reason that, because a 

 pony looks well without them, a horse should also. 

 There is la vast diiference in the use that each animal is 

 put to. It became fashionable some years since to dock 

 ponies' tails very short and hogg their manes; but how 

 absurd to do the same with their big brother, the horse. 

 I remembei* once a few years since attending a sale at 

 the American Horse Exchange. There were a number 

 of horses, ranging from 15 1-2 to 16 hands. They had 

 previoush' l>een bought by a gentleman dealer as an ex- 

 periment and Avere advertised as having undergone a 

 special preparation, were all supposed to be in h'gh con- 

 dition, well broken to harness and docked and trimmed, 

 fit to go into immediate work. According to my idea, 

 however, they were just fit to be turned out for a few 

 months until their tails grew. They were not only 

 docked jtoo short, but their tails, being cut as close 

 to the dock as they could be, were trimmed up each 

 side, giving them the appearance of a worn-out shaving 

 brush. Horses' tails should be cut according to their 

 size and height, and left as square as possible. In fact, 

 carriage horses 16 hands and over should bave their 

 tails reach within a few inches of their hocks. Particu- 



