THE HORSE. 39 



learns his duty and receives his education chiefly 

 from his partners. I have elsewhere, and often, en- 

 deavoured to inculcate the utility of accustoming the 

 colt to take his turn in any part of the draught, either 

 before or in the shafts ; and, at all events, to teach 

 him to back at command, and the signal of holding 

 up the whip in his front. This last very important 

 point seems to be too generally neglected, if we are to 

 judge from the trouble and abuse daily and every 

 where witnessed in the case. 



To the short plug tails of former days, by w r hich our 

 cart horses were left without their natural defence 

 against the flies, a far better and more rational 

 fashion has succeeded. Draught horses are now 

 allowed a somewhat long switch, which we also see 

 upon many of the fashionable coach horses of the 

 metropolis. The coach horse is trained in a carriage 

 termed a break, too well known to need description, 

 as also is the mode of his training. Horses are broke 

 to this work at any age, and with respect to those 

 purchased for the public road work, the only training 

 they receive, with few exceptions, is being put at 

 once into harness to run their stage. We see, more 

 often than formerly, horses of different colours in 

 gentlemen's carriages. A good match in size and 

 action is certainly of more consequence than an ex- 

 act match in colour. 



To return to the saddle horse, his furniture has 

 scarcely undergone any essential change within the 

 last half century, amid various alterations of minor 

 consequence and attempts at improvement. At about 

 that period the old single and inconvenient flap of the 

 saddle was laid aside, and the two flaps introduced, 



