814 HOW TO DRIVE A HORSE. 



These directions apply to all sorts of teaming, -whetlier with 

 drays or trucks in towns, or with farmers or manufacturers' 

 wagons on country roads. 



The proper driving of stage and omnibus horses is a 

 combination of the essential points of pleasure and team- 

 driving. The team should still be kept cool and resolute, 

 and very free from impatience, and they should at the 

 same time be held so well in hand that they can, at a 

 moment's warning, be either stopped or turned suddenly 

 out of their coarse. They should also be able to start 

 from a halt steadily, and without loss of time. As it is 

 important that their pace should seldom degenerate into a 

 walk, their trot should be uniform, and not excessively 

 fast; and unless the horses are only required to go very 

 short stages, they should not travel faster than from six to 

 eight miles per hour, according to their load. 



Plowing. — Plowing on rough ground, with horses which 

 are fit for anything else, is, at best, a painful necessity. 

 There is occasionally to be found a stylish carriage team, 

 or a pair of fast trotters which will work like oxen at the 

 plow; bat generally horses of spirit will become impatient 

 under the frequent interruption caused by stones, or by 

 the frequent turning necessary in small fields, while the 

 harness generally used for this work is neither comfortable 

 nor complete. In large fields, free from obstructions, 

 horses may very properly be used, as thej'' are more pleasant 

 to work with than oxen ; but in rough work the latter are 

 [)!-eferable, being by temper and structure much better 

 adapted to such work than horses. 



Horses are frequently driven to the plow with the sin- 

 gle line, or with a pair of lines fastened to the outer rings 

 of each horse's bit, the inside rings being connected by a 

 short line passing from one to the other. This will do 

 very well for quiet, well-trained animals, in good ground ; 



