Morning journal and courier., 1891-09-29
HOW TO DRIVE WELL.
A Few Simple Rule. That Owners of
 Carriage Horses should K now.

Carriage Horses should K now.
 To properly drive the light harness horse, or, as he is known all over the world, "the American trotter," there are, at sording to the Philadelphia Record, four things which are essential for the driver to know aud which not ten per cent of the drivers of the present day know, viz: l. How to harness the horse. 2. How to hitch him to the wagon. 3. How to sit to look well and st the same time ride com fortsbly. 1. How to hold the lines. Of those who are masters of the situation, know fast trotting horse and how to ham dle him, the Russians come nearer to it than these of any other country, but were we to educate and train the Orloff horse they would have to take back seat, as England had to do with the thorough bred
 The harness must be kept clean, which will greatly remove the danger of chafng, and particularly the saddle, which if prop erly cared for and the back of the horse | well washed with clean, cold water when | it is removed there will be no danger of soreness there. The bridle is the hardest part to be made to fit nicely, and when | that is accomplished one great and often fatal mistake is very often made of draw | ing the throat latch too tight. It crosses | the windpipe, and as the horse moves along he drops his nose little, thus expanding the throat, breathing shorter at every stride, and finally choking completely, | stsggers and falls. Leave the strap loose enough for you to place your hand between | it and the throat without touching either. | There will be no danger of the bridls com | ing of, as the draught is always backward | on it from the check and lines, and the bit and browband prevent it from coming back over the head. If you desire to stop and tie the animal to post, and he is in clined to rub his bridle of, it is little trou- ble to draw up the buckle hole or two, letting it out again when starting. The breast collar, also, should not be drawn up too high, as that will likewise affect the breathing. Let it come up just to the low CT point of the neck and have the hip straps of length that will bring the breeching about on 6 line with it. The thill loops should also be on about the same line.
 In hitching to the wagon another serious | mistake is often made with the breeching. How many times you will see driver try ing to get little speed out of his horse | along, simply because he is tied up so tight that he cannot spread himself. When standing and the traces are strengthened, there should be about room enough for 8 small boy to crawl through between the horse and breeching strap. He will then carry you further and faster, and do it with less effort, there being nothing to fret him.
 In taking your seat in the wagon do not try to lie down, like lady in Victoria, but sit erect, allowing the small of your back to rest against the cushion, and bend a trife forward. Place the feet out against the rest and do not crawl under the seat, causing the knees to come in contact with the chin. Wrap the lap robe neatly about | you and see that no part of it is hanging out of the wagon. When the lines are tsut have the hands out to carry the elbow about three inches from the body, not up under your chin, where you could not shorten your hold instantly, neither have them extended at arms length, as, should your horse take little hold, you cannot pull ss hard or as long. Rigged in this manner, your horse is comfortable, you are ready for any emergency and comfort able yourself, besides making a good ap- pearance, which should be taken into Consideration, in this as well as in other things.