RIDING AND HUNTING. Ill 



horses that are incorrigible as hacks and hunters, in spite of 

 all the skill and efforts that it is possible to apply in the way 

 of bits and hands, and it is useless to keep horses of this kind. 

 A friend had a horse at the beginning of last season that he 

 was obliged to get rid of for vice ; the animal bored and pulled 

 so hard as soon as hounds began to run, and galloped so blindly, 

 that he gave his rider three falls in one day in a run of not 

 more than ten minutes' duration ; this was the first day on 

 him. The next day he was ridden in a chain snaffle, with 

 which his pace could be regulated to any extent ; but when he 

 found this out he suddenly stopped and would do nothing but 

 rear j he was never hunted again, but sent to a dealer to be 

 sold. 



The saddle should, as a rule, be about four or five inches 

 behind the highest point of the horse's withers ; the girths 

 fairly tight. And when the rider is in the saddle, he should 

 have room enough to put at least two fingers between the 

 gullet arch of the saddle and the top of the withers ; otherwise 

 there is a danger of the saddle coming down on the withers 

 and giving the horse a sore back. The stirrup leathers should 

 be simply buckled, and left out of the keeper part of the 

 buckle, so as to be convenient for altering the length of the 

 stirrup- if required ; while the spring latches of the stirrup bars 

 should be left down, so that in the event of an accident the 

 leather is almost sure to slip off the bar, and thus prevent the 

 rider from being dragged more than a very short distance. 



Breast plates (shoulder straps) are required for some 

 horses, especially towards the end of the hunting season, when 

 they get light in condition, and the girths, as well as the saddle, 

 slip back ; it is therefore most important that this article of 

 equipment should always be at hand. The experience of many 

 hunting men goes to show that not unfrequently they have 

 lost a good day's sport through neglecting to have one put 

 on. It is surprising what a hard and long day's hunting will 



