A ROUGH CUSTOMER. 271 



that the owner had been most particularly anxious 

 should go in harness from his being a perfect match 

 for another he had. This horse was so determined a 

 kicker, that he had gone on from kicking in harness 

 to refuse being put in, and from that to being so 

 vicious that he would not allow the harness to be put 

 on. I had no inclination to experimentalise with so 

 hardened a pupil, fond as I always was of such things ; 

 but a little bantering on the owner's part in having 

 produced a subject that set at nought my general 

 opinion that patience or contrivance of some sort 

 would beat almost every horse, gave me all but a 

 determination to see what could be done here. A 

 champagne dinner from the owner for twelve against 

 a chop and a bottle of port settled it, I merely en- 

 gaging to put him in single harness, and make him 

 draw the vehicle and myself in it. I must add that 

 I was told he did not refuse to go when in, but would 

 kick till he got himself out by breaking every thing to 

 pieces if possible : but the great difficulty was to get 

 him m, for he kicked as furiously at the harness as 

 when in the vehicle. 



I got the winker-bridle on, then the collar : even 

 this he did not relish, and his tail beo-an o-oino;. I 

 got him out of the stable, and put a false martingal 

 to the collar ; fastened this by a surcingle to prevent 

 the collar rising ; then made a smith turn the ends of 

 the grains or prongs of a stable-fork into two eyes, 

 measured the length wanted, cut the handle to that 

 length, and made a hole through it to allow some 

 strong cord to pass. The horse's jaw was placed 

 between the prongs, a strap passed through the two 

 eyes, and buckled over his nose : each prong was 

 then tied to the cheeks of the bridle, I made two 



