A double bar can easily be improvised by sewing a piece of leather, like a lip-strap, only larger, across the top of an ordinary bit, just below the end of the headpiece.
An inveterate puller may in time get used to any bit, in which case frequent change is the only remedy.
|Every horse’s mouth has a key.| In fact there is a key to almost every horse’s mouth if it can only be found, and it is well worth taking considerable trouble to find it; though frequently much patience and many experiments will be required before a successful result is obtained, and the man who has to drive many horses must have a large assortment of bits.
|Martingale.| A martingale is excellent for a horse that carries his head in the air, and also very effective for one that rears. It should be so adjusted as to keep the nose about in line with the withers, and is generally fixed to the nose-band, but may be attached to the bit, and when so attached it is better to use a half-moon snaffle, or one without a joint in it, as this greatly reduces the chances of the corners of the horse’s mouth getting sore.
Circular pieces of leather, called cheek leathers, are also very useful in this respect with ordinary bits, as they keep the corners |Corners of mouth sore.| of the horse’s mouth from being pinched by the cheeks, and also prevent to a certain extent his getting hold of them with his lips.
For a horse that has only one side to |One-sided mouth.| his mouth, it often answers to have a few tacks put on the inside of the piece of leather, which effectually stops him from leaning his head out to that side.
These pieces have a round hole in the middle, which fits the bar of the bit, and a slit from this hole to the outside, so that they can be put on and taken off quite easily.
|Kicking-strap.| Kicking-straps can be used either in single or double harness. In the former the strap passes up from one of the shafts through a loop in the crupper, and down to the other shaft. In double harness two straps are required. These are fixed to the pad, from which they run parallel to the crupper down to the splinter bar. They are connected by a short strap across the loins. Kicking-straps should be so adjusted that there should be plenty of room for the movement of the horse’s quarters, as if he breaks into a canter they are liable to catch his quarters and so make him kick. A good rule is to allow a hand’s breadth between the horse’s back and this strap.
|Fitting of breeching.| A breeching is a necessity in a hilly country, more especially with a two-wheeled cart, when a brake is of no use. It should hang about a foot below the upper part of the dock, and have about four to six inches’ play when the horse is in the collar.
|Three kinds of breeching.| There are three kinds of breechings for a dog-cart.