158 BOkSEMA^SHIP. 



inventors in this direction, I am happy to be in a position 

 now to say that I consider they have at length arrived at 

 exactly what is required. Their patent bar will release a 

 rider in any direction, when caught by either the stirrup or its 

 strap, but so long as he is in the saddle (or within several 

 inches of it) the action of the bar is rendered impossible by 

 means of a small lever in the upper saddle-flap, the stirrups 

 will only come out in case of a fall, and even then not by 

 their own weight. The Fates gave me very recently the oppor- 

 tunity of experimenting much too closely on the working of 

 the safety-bar in question, with the result that I untwisted 

 my stirrup leather from my bent spur and refitted it to the 

 saddle with a very strong sense of gratitude to Messrs. 

 Champion and Wilton." To this I add that it is not in 

 the hunting-field alone that the rider is liable to be thrown. 

 The stirrups most generally in use are the solid bottom, 

 the Melton, the two-barred, the three-barred, the wide and 

 narrow oval, and the solid bottom with Foljambe or Prussian 

 sides. The selection is a mere matter of fancy. Many advo- 

 cate the open-barred varieties as presenting less surface of 

 metal to the sole, and, therefore, in winter, not striking so cold 

 to the foot. Some prefer broad bottoms, others those narrow 

 in the tread, and the majority like a heavy iron as, on the foot 

 being thrown out of the stirrup, a weighty one more readily 

 swings back to it. Personally speaking, I prefer a light stirrup, 

 but then I ride with a comparatively thin sole to my boot, 

 one that will bend slightly. I like to be able to feel my 

 stirrup even when not bearing on it, and am convinced that 

 a strong unyielding sole predisposes to loss of stirrups. 

 There is one important point connected with the make of 

 stirrups which the reader should bear in mind^ and that is 

 the construction of the eye, which should be flat, parallel 

 to the bottom (barrel-eyed) so that the leather bears evenly. 



