28 HORSE PACKING 



termine the amount — and the ease with which more 

 may be added or some taken away makes this a matter 

 of less importance than were the paddings to be sewn 

 in — but after the hay has been well settled in place by 

 a little actual use the thickness throughout the body 

 of the aparejo should be about 2 inches. 



The aparejo should have a rather thin appearanc 

 and not appear fat with padding. 



The thickness of the padding at the boots is 4 

 inches, from this it decreases to the hand holes to 

 about 2 inches. At the top or center the normal thick- 

 ness extends to within about 4 inches of the center 

 stitch line and then gradually decreasing to the middle 

 seam where it is practically nothing. 



This is the basic padding. Additional padding for 

 the aparejo is now added in order to conform to the 

 shape of the animal. 



Each front boot is now dressed or faced, as it is 

 called. Extra padding is inserted in the front corner 

 to a distance of about 7 inches from the corner. The 

 original bed of padding must not be disturbed in this 

 process; it can be avoided by introducing the addi- 

 tional padding with the palm of the hand up. For 

 the next 4 inches the padding rapidly decreases in 

 thickness tow^ard the hand hole. 



The front boot should be better padded than the 

 rear; for ordinary mules the difference is about 1 inch 

 in thickness. This is a matter of judgment and experi- 

 ence and will vary with the conformation of the mule; 

 the larger the girth the more padding is need to make 

 the aparejo sit well on the animal. 



Under the collar of the aparejo should now be placed 

 padding to fit the withers of the animal. Insert the 

 hay with the back of the hand down so as not to dis- 

 turb the previous layer and carry the hay well into 

 the corners of the front. Increase the width and depth 

 of the padding as you get away from the corners. 

 Then decrease the thickness of the padding as the cen- 

 ter and hand hole is approached. The thickness of 

 padding is governed by the height to the animal's 

 withers. 



These paddings should be of such thickness and ad- 

 justment that when the aparejo is cinched the top 



