CHAPTER XII
BREAKING TO HARNESS.
|Accustom horse to harness in stable.| In conclusion, a few hints as to breaking a horse to harness may be useful to those who have had no experience in giving a young horse his first lessons. In the first place, it is a good plan to put the harness on in the stable, and let the horse stand with it on for a time, with his head on the pillar reins.
In India I found that with Australian horses, even those trained to military draught, it was absolutely necessary to accustom them to blinkers before attempting to drive them. They should be made to stand in their stables, fed and taken out to water, and exercised with blinkers on, previously to their being driven for the first time, otherwise they will almost invariably jib.
|Longeing with long reins.| After the pupil is accustomed to his harness, he should be taken out and longed with two long reins (fig. 39), never with one only. These can be conveniently made of webbing, like a common single longeing rein, but the lead reins of a tandem will also answer the purpose. The horse should have a body roller on with two rings or loops about half way down each side, though an ordinary single-harness driving pad with the tugs on, or a saddle with the stirrup irons fixed up for loops, can be substituted. In all cases a crupper should be used.
|Use snaffle and martingale.| It is always advisable to have a fairly loose standing martingale on the bit, which should be a large smooth snaffle, the martingale being so adjusted that it will keep the bit on the bars of the mouth, and will not allow the horse to get his head up sufficiently high to cause the bit to press only on the corners of his lips.
|Bearing-straps.| It is also advisable to put on bearing-straps like those of a tandem leader, in order to keep up the reins. The long reins should be passed through the loops of the bearing-straps, then through the rings on the roller, the tugs on the pad, or the stirrup irons of the saddle, as the case may be, and then buckled on to the bit.
|Use whip when longeing.| The horse can now be driven about and be kept up to his bit with the whip, which the operator should always have in his hand.
Keep him circling with the outer rein round his quarters above his hocks. This will teach him to go collectedly, and enable the driver to keep his quarters well in towards the centre, preventing him from passing off sideways like a crab. It is impossible to attain this object with a single rein, which also would have the effect of teaching him to go on his shoulders.
Another point about having the rein against the horse’s quarters is that it teaches him not to kick at the trace or breeching.