COACHING.   21

out and put together, so that when the coach starts the proprietors are quite familiar with their cattle, and everything will run smoothly. The work of breaking in the horses will be of benefit to the coachman too, for very few men can tool a loaded coach sixty or seventy miles, with several changes, when they themselves are not in condition.

About three weeks before the coach is to start, the horses should be measured for their collars, and each horse should have his collar numbered to correspond with his hoof brand (the number assigned to him and branded on his hoof). This collar should be left on the horse when he is cooling out, to avoid sore shoulders, and should be worn together with his harness-bridle, and bit whenever he is shifted from one stage to another. One can not dwell too urgently on the collar question, for sore shoulders are the dread of the coachman's existence, and anything that can be done to prevent them is labor well expended. And as to the bridle and bit, the comfort of driving a horse in the bit that suits him is very considerable.

It will be well for the strappers to bathe each horse's shoulder daily with a weak solution of alum water and vinegar or a strong solution of salt and water when the collar is removed ; this contracts and hardens the skin, and tends to prevent chafing or gallii,. Collars put on in the morning should remain on