50 HOESE-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS. 



one pair for over ten years), and, from their being in open 

 strands, horses naturally do not get nearly so hot underneath 

 them as they do with the ordinary webbing. One more im- 

 portant thing I must mention with regard to raw-hide girths. 

 I never heard of one breaking under any strain whatever; 

 and how many "good men and true," I wonder, have I seen at 

 different times measuring their length on the green sward 

 through the bursting of their webbing girths ? 



As to ladies' saddles, first, they should always be made by 

 an artist. You ma}' pay a little more for them at the time 

 of purchase, but, believe me, it is cheaper to do so in the 

 end. Ladies should always be measured for their saddles, 

 unless they wish to ride in positive misery. The right-hand 

 flap should always be absolutely plain — pockets, buckles, 

 quilting, and *' fal lals " generally, being rigidly dispensed 

 with. The adjustment of the third pommel should be an 

 affair of the greatest nicety ; on this the rider's comfort 

 mainly depends. 



I cannot too strongly impress upon " the superior part of 

 creation " the necessity for using a safety stirrup-iron — i.e., one 

 that, in the event of an upset, releases the rider's foot, and averts 

 the horrible process of "dragging." I have been at great pains 

 to examine the different inventions now in use for this purpose, 

 and have come to the conclusion that one stands out as pre- 

 eminently the best and most sensible. In this particular iron, the 

 place where the foot rests is made on a kind of swivel, so that, 

 as the rider falls, the inner iron turns over, and not one little 

 part only, as in most of these devices, but the whole, opens 

 naturally by being turned upside down. There are absolutely 

 no springs at all, and nothing that can possibly get out of 

 order — nothing that can possibly hold the foot. Did I know 

 the maker's name I would give it, and chance my readers 

 suspecting me of pufiSng. 



Ten or fifteen years ago it was customary for the fair sex 

 to ride with an atrocity called a "lady's bridle." This ap- 

 paratus was " fearfully and wonderfully made," with rounded 

 leather everywhere except just the hand pieces of the reins, 

 which were flat. The throat-lash was the most awful piece 

 of machinery, however, of the whole, and consisted of this 

 same rounded leather, fastened with a leather tassel! There 

 was also a sort of leather fly-catcher, for the purpose, ap- 

 parently, of irritating the horse's nose- Thank goodness, ail 



