84 



NOTES FOR HUNTING-MEN 



V- 



stirrups 



for the exercising saddles. A very good sportsman, 

 a heavy weight, well known in the hunting and polo 

 world, tells me he avoids a broken stirrup leather 

 by having a thin strip of leather sewn 

 on to the stirrup leather in the middle, 

 over the holes, as shown in the accom- 

 panying sketch. 



Many practical men have a keeper 

 on their stirrup leathers to prevent the 

 risk of a spur getting caught in them. 



Have your stirrups wide enough to 

 let your feet go easily in and out, but 

 of course not large enough to 

 allow any risk of your foot 

 going right through. Nothing looks smarter than 

 white web girths, and probably they are as comfor- 

 table for the horse as any. They have, however, to 

 be cleaned with pipe-clay, which soon rots 

 them, so that they are not as workman- 

 like nor so economical as split leather girths, w^hich 

 answer every purpose, and should never hurt a 

 horse if kept clean and soft by occasional dubbing 

 oil the inside. 



I am not a believer in a lot of fancy bits. Bit 

 collecting has a fascination for most of us at some 

 period of our hunting career, but like most 

 collections it is somewhat expensive, as I 

 don't think we often use our fancy varieties. The 



Girths 



Bridle 



