RELATION BETWEEN HORSE AND MASTER 225 



forms with the hames. With a properly fitted collar, the pull 

 should be as near as possible at right angles to the line of resist- 

 ance, the hames, in order that tlie collar may bear directly 

 ag-ainst the shoulder, and not be borne down upon the withers 

 nor up against the trachea. Furthermore, the height on the 

 hames at which the attachment of tlie traces is made should be 

 such as to distribute the bearing proportionately over the collar- 

 bed, and allow the greatest freedom of shoulder motion. If 

 attached too high the greatest weight is borne on that part of 

 the collar-bed which is least capable of sustaining it, while if 

 attached too low, as is more commonly the case, the point of the 

 shoulder is overworked as well as being seriously hampered in 

 its movement (Fig. 126). 



9. The fit of the collar. Wliile not directly influencing the 

 degree of traction required to move a load, it has much to do 

 with the application of the power by which the load is pulled. 

 A horse's draft capacity is very often seriously impaired by his 

 inability to exert himself to the limit against an ill-fitting collar. 

 It is far easier to keep shoulders right than to restore them to 

 that condition once they have gone vsrrong. The collar should be 

 so well made as to retaiq its shape in use; it should be perfectly 

 smooth and quite hard on its bearing surface, sweat pads more 

 often inducing than correcting shoulder ills ; it should conform 

 to tlie general shape of the forehand of the horse, draft horses, 

 with their comparatively low but muscular withers, requiring 

 ample width at this point ; and it should fit in such a way as 

 to insure the best relation between the collar itself and those 

 structures constituting the collar-bed with which it comes in 

 contact (Fig. 127). A properly fitted collar should admit the 

 thickness of the fingers between it and the shoulder all around, 

 with sufiicient room for the hand or even the "wrist, over the 

 trachea and the withers. Made-to-measure collars are a good 

 investment, and, needless to say, tlie fitting should be made with 

 the horse in working condition. 



Dutch or breast collars should be so adjusted as to just miss 

 the point of the shoulder below, yet not compress the mndpipe 

 above (Fig. 128). 



The Rate at which the Load is Moved — The pace at which 

 15 



