J. Sturgess del. et lith.
M&N. Hanhart imp.
ONCE MORE RUNNING A STEEPLE CHASE.
Occasionally a wheel horse will make himself exceedingly objectionable to the one in front of him by tossing his head, and I once had a case of this sort so bad that the leader's mouth had no peace. I ran the rein direct from his pad to the wheel hame territ, and concord was at once established.
Before leaving the subject of the ribbons, perhaps I may as well touch upon the subject of "pinning them." Shall they be pinned or shall they not be pinned? It is not a subject of so much interest now as it used to be, since, whether on a private drag or a modern coach, there is generally time enough to buckle and unbuckle; but in former days this was not always the case, for in very fast work there was not a moment to spare. Is then the practice of going without the buckle dangerous or not? Nimrod, in his article in the Quarterly Review denounced it, calling it a "mere piece of affectation." A Postmaster-General also denounced the practice as being the cause of accidents. Of course, if the reins are short, which they ought not to be, there is the danger of their being drawn through the hand, but the plan I have adopted in such a case has been to tie a knot in the end of the rein, so that it was impossible for it to slip out of my hand.
And now, having quoted two high authorities in favour of pinning, I will cite the same number of instances which tend to favour the other side of the question. The first occurred to the Gloucester and Aberystwith mail about forty years ago when on its down-journey, and was a rather curious incident. When the mail changed horses at Torrington, just as it was starting, the leaders, both old steeplechasers, named Blue Bonnet and Cleanthus, sprang off with such force as to break the pole-hook, and, of course, took the swinging bars with them, and the leading reins went through the coachman's hand with the rapidity of lightning. Fortunately, however, these were not buckled, and the horses got off clear, perhaps indulging in the idea that they were once more running a steeplechase, and so they continued their career till they arrived at the toll-gate at Stoke Edith, which, trying to jump, they broke into atoms, at the same time clearing themselves of most of the harness, indeed, all except the bridles and collars, and were found some time afterwards grazing quietly by the side of the road. Now if the reins had been buckled it would have been impossible for the coachman to unbuckle them quick enough to allow the horses to get clear off, and an accident of a very serious nature would most likely have happened, as, it being an election day, the mail was very heavily loaded with passengers and luggage.
J. Sturgess del. et lith.
M&N. Hanhart imp.
MET THE LOOSE HORSE TEARING DOWN THE HILL.