Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-03-26
WELL-DRESSED HORSES.
LAWS WHICH GOVERN IN MATTERS
OF EQUINE GOOD TASTE.

| DrCuRI86t Il lies NOC 10 bC
To those who deplore the extremes
to which it is pretty generally con-
ceded the Independent American citl-
zen goes in matters of dress, it may
be comforting to know that the Amer
lean horse, at least, is coming to be
! looked upon as one of the best and
at The same time one of the most
properly" dressed horses in the world,
says the New York Post. And. when
| it understood that horse without
The least difficulty on its owners part
may appear in the park and on tne
boulevards in attire as shocking as
diamonds at breakfast, it will be the
better realized what this means. That
there are still fragrant violations OF
the laws which govern matters OF
equine good taste goes without saying,
but they merely serve to furnish the
| contrast by which the general i'm
provement is made more marked.
To the horse-show associations,
more than to anything else, may oe
dtIlluutSu ILLS dufeASSLuSllI IA 1AAS
proper housings of the American horse
of fashion and the correct appoint
ments for park traps and road turn
cuts. In establishing classes in which
the appointments Of the entries must
| betaken into consideration blythe judg-
es in making their awards, the associa-
ton has set a definite standard of
| fashion. An owner, for example,
whose pair of brougham horses are
turned down CATER the judge has
weeded out the entire class down to
| his pair and one other), because his
! brass-mounted harness is equipped
with steel instead Of brass kidney
links, learns next time to understand
the Importance of these little niceties
| of detail And it Is the attention to
or the ignoring of these apparently
insignificant details that make park
horse either smart" or ridiculous.
The black rosettes, for instance,
when used on the bride as emblems
of mourning, are considered improper,
unless a plain black brow band is
substituted for the ornament one orig
inally on the harness. The saddle
housings, if in color, should likewise
be changed. In this city it has become
an unwritten law that the rosettes
snail be Of the same shade with the
carriage trimmings, but i'll London and
in Paris this rule is not observed. In
those cities vioiets AMI other flowers
are frequently substituted for the
orthodox silk rosette.
AS in matters to masculine attire.
London likewise sets the styles in
fashionable harnesses. There Is o
well-known importer Of horse-furnish-
ings who has successfully introduced
several new fashions into this country
by first making them popular in Lon
don, where he has another store. Pos
| sibly the most conspicuous case of this
kind was that Of the Swiss collar
which he offered as substitute for
the English collar, which had original
ly supplanted former Swiss importa-
tions. The new collar was made with
an extremely broad breast-plate and
two heavy brass terrets. AS light
runabout harness, it has now almost
entirely succeeded the old one.
The French quarterblanket made
of leather has likewise largely taken
the place of the English broadcloth
blanket. 1t is cut shorter than the
English affair, and is intended to
protect only the horses loins, and
thus in no way impede the movements
O.. his hips. Harnesses, according to
this Broadway importer, are divided,
like mems garments, into two classes
dress and understand to appear in
! the park with victoria and an un-
| dress harness-which becomes ur-
dress If the kidney links are of steel
when the other mounting is brass, or
| when the bearing reins do not COM
| form to the general ensembles rs
unpardonable as appearing on the
street in an evening coat and russet
shoes.
strangely enough" said the impor-
ter, 81 find that the tendency here Is
towards ultra conservatism. There Is
not the same latitude permitted here
today that you will find in London.
This is especially true Of the brough-
ans and heavy park vehicles. There
almost any color is permissible in the
trimmings of victoria or landau.
Here no one seems to dare employ
any color other than black; and the
same thing holds true of the housings.
The use of pole chains here when a
servant is driving is an offence which
is objectionable in any civilized coun-
try. Pole-straps with polished huc'-les
are alone permissible. '7he pole
chains were made with view of
| adding smartness to the turnout, and
they should only be used to a trap in
which a gentleman may do the driv-
ing. It is not good form either to
have quarter-blankets of one color and
| housings OF another, nor is it any lon
ger the thing to use large monograms
On them. We cannot revolutionize
the styles in harnesses as tailor may
with his wares. We are fortunate if
We can change with every four or five
years"
In four-in-hand turnouts-no doubt
from the character of its patrons it
is probably easier to offend the pro-
prieties than in any other department
in which the horse plays part. There
are little niceties in appointment and
department, so finely drawn that to
observe Or tc ignore them either
makes old friends enemies or strang-
ers friends. There is one school that
believes in driving with the left hand
held on a level with the chest. The
other school drives with a low hand,
sneers at the former method and calls
it driving in front of your scarf pin"
The scarf pin advocates answer that
to work four after this manner is