THE BLANKET 153 



sweat pad. The third purpose is to keep the 

 blanket perfectty clean for the man's use at 

 night. With saddle and pack horses the 

 horseman gets two blankets, a canvas pack 

 cover and his rain coat, enough material for 

 a luxurious bed. 



The Blanket. Because the numnah makes 

 poor bedding one prefers a blanket. If one 

 cuts a hole in a numnah to ease an incipient 

 blister on the horse, the edges of the felt are 

 apt to cause more blisters. Another advant- 

 age of a blanket is that it can be folded in a 

 great many ways to make the saddle fit more 

 perfectly, or to relieve some part of the back 

 which shows signs of galHng. The usual size of 

 blanket folds once lengthways, then once, or a 

 fold of three crossways. Take care to have a 

 fold, and not edges of blanket to the front, lest 

 it ruck under the saddle. 



The American Stock Saddle. As the 

 Mexican wooden tree was never strong enough, 

 the American has rivetted to the fore ends of 

 the bars a fork of wrought steel which is sur- 

 mounted by the horn which takes the strain 

 in roping. In the twentieth century this arch 

 has widened to make a larger opening clear of the 

 withers, and it gives heavy shoulders to the 

 saddle. To save weight the old square skirts 



