Saddles. 191 



on account of his not being able to retain his foothold, and 

 becoming thus more or less seriously injured. On such un- 

 fortunate occasions, the horse will almost invariably become 

 dreadfully frightened, and in his frantic efforts to escape, will 

 dash himself about wholly regardless of the fearful injuries 

 which he may inflict upon himself. With respect to the loss 

 of Ossory and Prince lo, I read in The Spirit of the Times that 

 Mr Brett (I wonder if he was any relation of my Newmarket 

 acquaintance, Joshua, of that name, who got into trouble for 

 running over a country as a maiden, an old steeple-chaser and 

 well-known winner?) who had charge of these horses, said 

 that he could not keep either straw or sawdust under them ; 

 as it got washed away by the water which was shipped. I need 

 hardly say that no amount of washing would have been able 

 to have removed the coir matting. Besides, straw from its 

 slippery nature, is one of the worst things which could be put 

 under a horse during bad weather at sea. When horses get 

 killed in this outrageous manner, any insurance company 

 which had taken the risk on them, would be right to resist 

 all claim for compensation on account of the fact that pro- 

 per precautions had not been taken for their safety. 



I cannot let the subject of saddles pass, without saying 

 that comfort is the first thing I look for in a saddle. To have 

 ' good hands,' we must, I need hardly say, have a firm seat. 

 In the riding of raw and skittish horses, at which game I am 

 as good as most of my neighbours, I find that, at times, I re- 

 quire all the ' gum ' at my command, and more if I could get 

 it, to avoid ' hanging on ' to the reins. Hence, I go in for a 

 comfortable saddle in which I can get a good grip. For this 

 work, I do not believe in a plain flap saddle, unless it has 

 ' false rolls,' or unless some extra stuffing is put into the 

 panel at the front part of the flaps ; for if this be not done, 

 the rider's knees will have a tendency to go forward, on ac- 

 count of all well-made saddle horses being broader at the 

 spot where the knees grip the flaps, than they are towards the 

 shoulders. This is an anatomical fact which we must not 



