114 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 2 



der the seat of tUe latter secure, easy, and plea- 1 

 Eaiit I 



The fitting of the saJtlle contributes greatly to 

 the ease of both the horse and his rider; and tor a 

 saddle to fit well, the bearing should be equal 

 where it is intended it should; and the closer it 

 comes down, so that neither the weight oi'lhe rider 

 nor the settling of the pannel, can bring it to in- 

 jure the withers or chine, the better. 



Cruppers have, generally speakinsr, been laid 

 aside, and very properly so, except m breaking, 

 where they are necessary: breast-plates are ren- 

 dered necessary' in hunting, as well as on the 

 course. Deep chested horses, in high condition, 

 require breast-plates, particularly in clirni)uig hills. 



The Stirrup. — I shall merely remark in this 

 place, that the spring or drop-siirrup renders it im- 

 possible I'ur the loot to be entangled in it m case 

 of a tall, is ecjually pleasant i'or general use, and 

 theretbre prelerable. 



The Martingale is used Cor the purpose of pre- 

 venting the horse from carrying his head too high. 

 The head of the horse may be pulled down b}' 

 means of the martingale; but, take it off, and the 

 horse throws his head up immediately. To be of 

 any use in this respect, the horse must be con- 

 stantly ridden in it; and shouKi he trip or stumble 

 if the rider attempts to assist him, as in ordinary 

 cases, he can scarcely liul to throw him down, 

 since he thus deprives the animal of the power 

 of recovering himsell". In hunting, 1 consider tlie 

 use of the martinjrale as pregnant with danger. 

 If a horse he deprived of the free and natural use 

 of the head, he cannot <to throujrh heavy ground 

 without extraordinary distress, nor can he take his 

 jumps with ease and I'reedom. 



A lady's saddle should be fitted to the horse 

 with the greatest exactness possible, as the man- 

 ner in which a lemale sits on horseback cannot 

 liiii to give the saddle an inclination to the near 

 side, and the horse must conseciuently suU'er if 

 there be not a correspouilence in the saddle. The 

 pommel should come down as close to the withers 

 as possible, so as not to touch when pressed by 

 the weight of the rider; and ladies' saddles, when 

 properly made and properly fitted to the horse, 

 will not require cruppers; but the girths should be 

 crossed from the hind part of the saddle to the 

 Iront, by which the saddle will be kejit more stea- 

 dy: or a strap from the hind |)art of the saddle to 

 the fore girth on the ofl'side, may prevent the sad- 

 dle from twisting to the near side. 



General observations on horses. 



I have repeatedly observed, that the horse is 

 the most elegant quadruped in nature; with equal 

 truth, it may be further remarked, that he is the 

 most useful also: and although infinitely inferior 

 to the dog in point of sagacity, yet like that ani- 

 mal, he possesses the extraordinary faculty of find- 

 ing his home through a thousand intricate turn- 

 ings and windings. Ride a horse a hundred miles 

 from home, on a road which he has never seen 

 before, and he will not fail to find his road home, 

 without a single mistake, if allowed to obey the 

 dictates of his own sagacity. Some years ago, I 

 rode from Bowes in Yorkshire to the villai;e of 

 Weardale, in Durham, the distance about thirty 

 miles, and a considerable part of the way across 

 moorlands where the road or path was very ill- 



defined, to say nothing of the endless turnings 

 and twistings of the by-lanes along which we 

 passed, and which rendered almost continual in- 

 quiry indispensably necesssary, the road being 

 perfectly unknowi> to me as well as to the animal 

 which carried me. I was accompanied by a 

 J'riend, like mysell, entirely unacquainted with the 

 road, and both of us mounteil on ponies. 



Utterly strangers to the road, we luid to inquire 

 of almost every person we met, and consequently 

 proceeded slowly: but we thus never mistook our 

 course. 



After remaining lor several days at Weardale, 

 we set out on our return lor Bowes; and trusting 

 to the guidance of our ponies, continued our route 

 without the least interruption, till we had accom- 

 plished about half the distance, when we came to 

 a crossing where several roads were presented, 

 one of which was unhesitatingly taken by our 

 ponies, which we conceived must be wn>ng; and 

 we therelbre turned them about, and took another 

 direction. The ponies testified reluctance, and it 

 so happened that we had not gone three-quarters of 

 a mile before we had an opportunity ot making 

 the requisite inquiry — when to our regret we 

 found that we must retrace our steps, and take 

 the very road along which the ponies would liave 

 proceeded ! 



Whence the horse derives the faculty of finding 

 his way home through ail intricacies, is not known, 

 though it, is evident it must result from a sort of 

 memoVy — a species of recognition which phreno- 

 logists would perhaps denominate ^'■individuality)'^ 

 and which in liict is common to quadrupeds; but 

 unknown to, or not possessed by, human nature — 

 at least in a stale of civilization; although some- 

 thing of the kind seems to be demonstrated by 

 savages, and particularly by the Indians of North 

 America. 



It will be generally found that horses with large 

 wide foreheads are good tempered; on the contrary, 

 where the forehead happens to be narrrow and 

 small, the animal will manifest a vicious disposi- 

 tion. 



Some horses are alarmed at passing over wood- 

 en bridges, pasticularly those which swing across 

 canals; on which occasions they should be sooth- 

 ed and coaxed; and if they still refuse to jjo over, 

 the rider should dismount and lead the anitnal, as 

 the horse will probably follow him; if there be an- 

 other horse in company that will pass over, the 

 alarmed horse will selilom fail to follow. On oc- 

 casions like these, the whip and spur should not 

 be used: coaxing will allay the fears of the horse, 

 and by a little practice his alarm will subside alto- 

 gether. 



In cases of fire, horses become so alarmed that 

 it is dilncult to get them out of the stable; and it 

 has sometimes happened that horses have been 

 burnt to death under such circumstances. The 

 best plan on such occasions, is to place a bandage 

 over their eyes and back them out, if they will 

 not lead. If the horse happens to be in a loose 

 box, or in such a situation as will allow of his be- 

 ing turned about, if, after the bandage be placed 

 over his eyes, he be turned several times round, 

 he will be easily led away. Where there is not 

 time or opportunity for bandaging the horse's eyes 

 let two men place eacla a hand over his eyes, and 

 back him out. 



A horse would seem to possess a sort of super- 



