The Horse's Clothes 289 



roughly jammed down upon sensitive brows and 

 ears by " main strength and stupidity," as Paddy 

 sawed the wood. Once over them, it is to be quietly 

 turned, placed in position, the mane carefully drawn 

 from beneath it (a few locks should always be cut 

 away just where its top rests upon the neck), and 

 the hames replaced and buckled snugly. Be sure 

 that the collar is close fitting, thickly padded, and 

 true shaped. A new collar should be soaked in a 

 tub for a few minutes before putting it on for the 

 first time, and then the strain at work, and the pres- 

 sure of the shoulders will cause it to yield and to 

 dry into an exact fit. Every horse should have his 

 own collar, and no other should ever wear it. The 

 outlay is trifling, and the practical results worth 

 many times the cost. Many collars are made shaped 

 with a curve at the top, but there are but few ani- 

 mals good-shouldered enough to wear them, and the 

 nearly straight pattern is the most generally useful. 

 The fingers of the hames, /. e. the brass arms to 

 which the traces attach, must spring well, that the 

 traces may not chafe the shoulders and sides, and 



