THE SADDLE AND BRIDLE. 81 



and is so arranged that, when a rider is thrown, 



the inner stirrup springs 



open and releases the foot. 



(Fig. 12.) Either of these 



stirrups can be procured in 



London, England, or from 



the best saddle-makers in 



this country. 



A stirrup-iron should never 

 be made of cast metal, but in- 

 variably Of the best Wrought F ig. 12. -Latchford's safety 



steel : it should be adapted to stirrup * 



the size of the rider's foot, and should, if possible, 

 have an instep pad at the top, while the bottom 

 platform, upon which the foot rests, should be 

 broad, and roughened on its upper surface. 



The stirrup-leather should be of the very 

 best material, and should have neither fissures 

 nor cracks in any part of it. It is very impor- 

 tant to examine this leather frequently, and see 

 that it is neither wearing thin, nor breaking at 

 its upper part at the bar, nor at the lower part 

 where it is fastened to the stirrup. 



A novel arrangement of the stirrup-leather, 

 by means of the so-called " balance- strap," has 

 of late years been used by some riders. The 

 stirrup is, in this case, fastened to the balance- 

 strap, which consists of a single strap passing up 



