310 THE AMERICAN HORSEWOMAN. 



suitable horse, she will present a decidedly better appear- 

 ance than one who, although having the slender, elegant 

 figure so well adapted to the saddle, yet rides in a crooked, 

 awkward attitude, or on a rough moving horse. 



To become a complete horsewoman it is not necessary to 

 begin the exercise in childhood. The first lessons may be 

 taken in the twelfth year, though many of our best horse- 

 women did not begin to practice until they were eighteen 

 years old, and some not until after they were married. Rid- 

 ing-teachers state that persons past their first youth who have 

 never ridden learn much more readily, and become better 

 riders than those who, though younger, have been riding 

 without instruction, and in an incorrect manner, and, conse- 

 quently, have contracted habits very difficult to eradicate. 



Before closing this part of the work, there is one subject 

 to which the author would earnestly invite attention. When 

 a lady possesses a horse which has been long in her service, 

 and been treated with the kindest and most loving care, and 

 she finds that this faithful servant is becoming old and stiff, 

 or that, from some accident, he has become almost useless to 

 her, she should not part with him by selling him, for the ones 

 to buy him will be those who have no sympathy for a horse 

 and do not know how to treat him properly, but purchase 

 him for hard and severe labor; their poverty compelling 

 them to this course, as they cannot afford to buy any but old 

 and maimed horses of very little value. To a well-treated 

 and trained animal, the change from caresses to harsh treat- 

 ment, from the pleasant task of carrying the light form of 

 his mistress to the hardest of drudgery, must be acutely felt. 

 The horse which has been kindly and intelligently managed 

 is one of the most sensitive of living creatures, and has 

 been known to refuse all feed and die from starvation, when 

 placed under the charge of a cruel and ignorant master. 



When the lady finds her favorite steed permanently use- 



