212 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 
antly than the tongue of a horseman under such cir- 
cumstances. I discovered accidentally one day that 
the very color of the horses is a source of pleasure 
to him. It was in winter, and the streets were heavy 
with snow and slush. The team pulled a big load of 
coal so neatly out of the slough, that a bystander 
was moved to express his admiration at their prow- 
ess. “Huh!” exclaimed the colored man, grinning 
from ear to ear, “you see, Mistah, them horses is 
black!” 
The arched neck of the cart horse is a thing not 
only of beauty, but also of utility. Unless he arches 
his neck, he cannot be “collected,” so as to pull with 
an economy of strength. Anybody who has ridden 
much on the front platform of a horse car must have 
noticed a great difference in the action of differ- 
ent teams — according to the ability of the driver — 
when a heavily loaded car is to be started. Some 
horses throw up their heads, and strike out wildly 
with their fore feet, making a violent effort, and slip- 
ping on the pavement. Others, better trained, start 
more slowly, stepping shortly on their toes, their legs 
well under them, their necks arched, —and this is 
the true way. 
Here, also, as in the case of road horses, I think 
that a proper check rein may be beneficial. The 
check rein of a cart horse, as commonly used, is at- 
tached neither to the headstall nor to the saddle, but 
is simply a bridle rein, buckling on the bit, and pass- 
ing around the top of the hames. It does not pull 
the horse’s head up, but rather pulls it in, thus tend- 
ing to arch the neck and to steady the animal. In 
going up hill even this form of check would be out 
