BEARING-REINS. 161 



use is alleged to be a cruelty. Such doubtless is 

 the case when they are improperly fitted, but where 

 the reverse, I must say, I fail to see any more 

 cruelty than there is in a bit. When a horse 

 bores in harness they are almost a necessity, and 

 are the greatest help to a coachman, especially when 

 driving' in a crowded thorouo-hfare. Of course, 

 when a horse does not require a bearing-rein, it is 

 as senseless to use one as it would be to use an 

 umbrella in fine weather. It is not the use of the 

 bearing-rein which is cruel, but rather its 'abuse.' 

 All harness is cruel if it is badly fitted, and I 

 venture to assert, judging from my own observa- 

 tion, that horses, as a general rule, suffer far more 

 by reason of their throat-lashes being too tight than 

 they would by even a somewhat over-tight bearino-- 

 rein. True, they should not suffer at all, nor can 

 they from a bearing-rein which is properly fitted. 

 From many years' experience in coach-driving, 

 I can vouch for the assistance they offer to an 

 aching arm at the end of a long stage with a heavy 

 load and a boring wheeler. It has not been the 

 fashion to use them in a coach for several years 

 past ; but I have often regretted the necessity of 

 being obliged to eschew their use. So long as a 

 horse can stretch his neck out sufficiently to draw 

 his load, there can be no cruelty in their use, and 



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