I96 WINKERS 



CH. XI 



round winkers, with or without metal edges, belong 

 to dress harness. They should be much hollowed or 

 cupped, so as to stand away from the eye. Winkers 

 are unquestionably necessary in driving-harness ; a 

 saddle-horse is ridden without winkers, but the rider 

 is on the back of the animal, where he has good 

 control over him ; driving-horses have the coachman 

 and the whip behind them, and without winkers 

 they will be nervously watchful of whatever hap- 

 pens there. 



Were all horses driven from the first, without 

 winkers, they would probably work well enough ; 

 but, in using horses which have been broken to 

 harness with winkers, it is dangerous to omit them. 

 They should not be close enough to the eyes to 

 heat them, but they should be high enough to 

 prevent the horse from seeing backward over them. 

 The split strap connecting the winkers with the 

 crown-piece, should be exactly of the right length 

 to make the winkers set properly, neither too close 

 to the eyes, nor spread apart. Care must be taken 

 that in the harness-room, the bridle is not hung on 

 a sino-le hook, since this hook must come on one 

 side or the other of the buckle of the crown-piece, 

 and the bridle will get a crooked set, and not fit 

 squarely on the head. Attention to details like 

 these makes the difference between a well turned- 

 out team and a slovenly one. The centre of the 

 winker is a proper place for any crest, monogram, or 

 device that may be used. In drag-harness, there is 



