VI] 



DRIVING AND HARNESS 



75 



dumb-jockey is used to "place" a horse's head 

 and neck, there must on no account be any 

 elastic or springs in the reins, because such 

 will teach a horse to pull and to stretch out 

 his neck and will never make him light in the 

 mouth. 



291. The horse, when he has become accus- 

 tomed to wearing the harness, should be driven 

 with the ordinary reins, without being attached 

 to a vehicle, for a week or two. He can then 

 be attached to a two-wheeled breaking-cart or 

 other vehicle that cannot be damaged by a little 

 kicking. It is safer to use a kicking-strap, 

 because if a horse once gets his hind-quarters up 

 he will always remember that he can do so, and 

 at some inopportune moment, through fear or 

 otherwise, he may do it again. Prevention is 

 better than cure, and in this case far more easy. 

 It is not wise to put a young horse into a sleigh 

 before it is used to a wheeled vehicle, because 

 a sleigh runs so differently from a wheeled 

 vehicle, and horses, as a rule, do not take so 

 readily to the former. 



When approaching a horse in the stall 

 previous to harnessing, saddling, etc., the hand 

 should not be poked out to him, as it will either 

 frighten him or else teach him to snap at it, and 

 perhaps to become a crib-biter. It is also most 

 foolish to approach a horse in the open, whether 

 in harness or not, with an outstretched hand. 

 This is commonly done, and people wonder why 

 the horse shies and backs up, or perhaps turns 

 and runs away. The correct way to approach a 

 nervous horse is to approach his side ; his head 

 can then be taken hold of after he has become 

 accustomed to the person's presence. 



292. Care of Harness (see " Impurities," Sec. 

 368). Harness must be kept clean for two 

 reasons : firstly, because, if it is not, the horse 

 will suffer from sores caused by the dirt and 

 the caked dandruff, causing severe irritation ; 

 and, secondly, because the harness will deterior- 

 ate. The inside of harness, which is more often 

 neglected than the outside, is the part that 

 requires the most careful attention. It must be 

 cleaned every day after use by being rubbed 

 firmly with a wet sponge, and then well soaked 

 over with a good saddle-soap or harness-soap. 

 All hairs, dandruff and dirt must be removed 

 before the soap is applied. Half-hearted 

 measures in cleaning harness, as in grooming 

 horses, are useless. The outside must also be 

 cleaned and dressed with suitable dressing. 

 Dressings containing a large amount of methy- 

 lated spirit, as so many do, ruin the harness. 

 Cloth and felt linings must be dried in the sun 

 and well brushed every day. Blankets and 

 numnahs must be similarly dried and brushed. 

 Perspiration that has become badly caked on 

 can be removed with a weak solution of 

 ammonia. Great care must be taken with 



insides of collars, saddles, girths and cruppers. 

 After using ammonia, good saddle-soap must 

 be well rubbed in. Steel-work should be greased 

 except when being used for special occasions, 

 when it should be rubbed free of oil, cleaned 

 with bath brick, and burnished. Highly bur- 

 nished steel can be dipped into water and 

 immediately rubbed dry without causing it to 

 rust. The practice of dipping into water bits 

 that have the reins sewn to them must not be 

 allowed, as this will rot the ends of the reins. 

 Brass- and nickel-work should be cleaned with 

 a metal polish. Nickel bits and stirrup-irons, 

 although commonly used, are not very safe, 

 because nickel cannot be forged, but only cast. 

 A casting of such a small size cannot be so 

 entirely depended upon to be free from air-blows 

 as forgings can. Harness and saddlery must be 

 hung up on large pegs well above the ground, 

 and, if possible, not in the stable, as the 

 ammonia, etc., rot the leather very rapidly. 

 Grease and saddle-soap preserve leather from 

 ammonia vapour. Dampness destroys leather, 

 so harness must be hung in a dry place. It is 

 better if covered up with a sheet, to keep dust 

 and poisonous gases from it. Glass-door harness 

 cupboards afford the best protection to harness 

 and saddle. Care must be taken that the mis- 

 chievous moth is not allowed to get at the pad- 

 dings in harness. The free use of Keating's 

 powder and oil of cedar will keep the moth 

 away. A saddle must be kept on a saddle-rack 

 that supports the side bars of the saddle only. 

 Harness and saddlery must never be thrown 

 about or dropped. A good hunting saddle may 

 be ruined by being dropped. 



293. All saddlery and harness should be 

 given three days' rest at least once a year, during 

 which time it should be "put in oil," i.e. well 

 greased with dubbin, neat's-foot oil, Mars oil, 

 etc. Pigskin leather (seats of hunting saddles, 

 etc.) must not be greased with the above 

 greases ; it should only be greased very lightly, 

 or it will stretch and become cockled. Griffin's 

 saddle-paste is the best preparation I know for 

 pigskin leather. Leather buckets and other 

 articles that should remain stiff must be only 

 lightly greased. The advantage of Griffin's paste 

 is that the leather can be used the following day 

 without soiling the clothes, any superfluous 

 grease being rubbed off with a duster. 



Hot water must never be used on leather ; 

 cold water, a good sponge, and a little energy 

 are all that should be allowed. But if leather 

 has been very badly neglected, it may be as 

 well to rub it with lukewarm water, and im- 

 mediately to apply saddle-soap or grease. 

 Leather must not be left soaking in water. 

 Soda, or soft soap, which contains a large 

 amount of soda (soda carbonate), must never be 

 used on leather. 



