DRIVING FOR PLEASURE.
pole piece (strap) and buckles it in the point hole, which should be within six or eight inches of the point.
When the final poling-up is done the hole is, orb should be, concealed by the carrier loops. (Nothing looks worse than to see the point of any strap sticking out some distance beyond the billet or loop which is intended as a guard for it ; besides which, it is really dangerous in some cases. A projecting back strap on a four-in-hand lead harness is apt to catch the couplings, and trouble is quite likely to ensue.)
The off horse being thus loosely poled up, he fastens the traces, the outside one first, then the inside, re
peating this with the near horse.
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The outside trace is fastened first to avoid acci=
dent, for when the opposite is done a spirited horse is quite liable to whip around suddenly, and, with his inside trace fastened, may make things awkward.
For a somewhat similar reason the pole pieces are fastened loosely before the traces. Many consider this an unnecessary precaution, but let them think a moment.
Suppose that the last trace has just been fastened, and the pole pieces not even caught up. The off horse chancing to take a step forward brings the splinter bar in contact with his mate's haunches.
