248 



CHECKING AND BLINDERS. 



Fig. 298.— One Position of Head of 

 the Horse Referred to in Text. 



High Checking. 



Soon after the inauguration of trot- 

 ting, it was found that horses of certain 

 temperament and form could be made 

 to trot more reliably and faster by 

 holding the head checked high, and 

 soon considerable ingenuity was dis- 

 played in the development of the best 

 methods of doing this. This was re- 

 sorted to with the same object with 

 which toe weights and other means 

 are now used, to hold and force more 

 reliably in the trotting gait. 



Down to about fifteen years ago, the check in general use con- 

 sisted of a simple strap, the ends of which were attached to the 

 rings of the bit,, passed through the lugs 

 on each 1 side attached to the throat- 

 latch, and back to the saddle-hook. The 

 shorter the strap, and the higher these 

 lugs were placed, the higher the head 

 was necessarily drawn up and back. A 

 good illustration of the extreme of such 

 checking is shown in Fig. 151. 



Various improvements were made on 

 this method, based mainly, now, in ad- 

 dition to the points explained, in raising 

 the lugs, or in attaching them well up 



near the head-piece of the bridle ; next 

 in passipg the strap fhrough the rings of 

 the bit, and attaching to the cheek-pieces 

 of the bridle, making the purchase 

 straighter up on the head, and giving 

 considerable pulley purchase up and baclt 

 upon the bit. Various modifications have 

 been made of this form, in connection 

 with powerful curb bits, with the object 

 of elevating the heads of fancy carriage 



teams in the principal cities of this coun- 

 Fig. 300. — Throwing the Head up , ■*? , , . 



to Obtain Relief from the Check. ^ and En g* and - 



3. 299.— The Horse Trying to Re- 

 lieve himself from the Torture 

 of the Overdraw Check. 



