ALL SHOULD TAKE THEIR SHARE OF WORK. 319 



pulled, as a severe bit often makes a horse pull, when 

 with a mild one he would go perfectly easily and 

 quietly. When in a team of four horses there is a 

 refractory animal, the best thing is to bit the other 

 three horses, so that you may keep them well in hand, 

 whilst you let the pulling horse take charge of the 

 coach ; he will soon get tired of this, and a few miles 

 along a stiffish road will bring him to his senses, and 

 make him trot quietly with the rest of the team. This 

 can easily be done by loosening the traces of the three 

 temperate horses you have under perfect control, and 

 either tightening the traces of the pulling horse, or 

 allowing them to remain as they are ; in either case, 

 the labour of drawing the coach will come almost 

 entirely upon him alone, and no horse in the world, 

 however much he wishes to run away, can do so with 

 a ton weight tied to his heels. 



Very often with an indifferently driven coach, it 

 may be observed that with light-mouthed horses on 

 level ground, or up a very slight incline, the leaders 

 are in hand — that is, they are not let out to the full 

 extent of their traces — consequently they are not con- 

 tributing their proper share of labour to the drawing 

 of the coach. When this is the case, it is the two 

 wheel-horses who are dragging the coach along ; con- 

 sequently those persons who complain that a heavy 

 four-horse coach is too great a load for four horses, 

 would be still further distressed were they to consider 

 how many amateur coaches, driven by inexperienced 

 coachmen, are actually drawn over the greater part 

 of their journey by the two wheel-horses, whilst the 

 leaders do not contribute in any way to the progress 

 of the vehicle. 



Amateur coaching is not altogether a thing of the 



