288 Our Noblest Friend, The Horse 



rein and slid from under it. but this we are in too 

 much of a hurry to attempt. The breeching answers 

 every purpose for holding back a load, and for keep- 

 ing the back-strap in place, and the crupper is as 

 useless on the single (or double) harness as upon 

 the riding saddle, where, thirty years ago, it was 

 also deemed essential. The pad must be thickly 

 stuffed, and never allowed to rest upon the top of 

 the backbone, and its stuffing should not be per- 

 mitted to become thoroughly caked and inelastic, but 

 dried and worked up soft every week or so. 



The breeching should, as a rule, hang about upon 

 a level with the stifles, and should allow ample play 

 for the quarters at any pace. There is no excuse for 

 any abrasion of the hair upon the quarters, and, if 

 any is evident, it is plain that the owner is careless 

 and indifferent, and that his man does not know the 

 merest rudiments of his business. 



If collar and hames are worn, they should never 

 be donned as one piece, but the hames taken off, 

 the collar well sprung by pressure acixiss the knee, 

 and then placed gently over the head and ears, not 



