FOR MOTHERS AND CHILDREN. 



meant to come right up under the armpits, and by this 

 means avert all possibility of a fall. It had apparently 

 never struck this intelligent inventor of curiosities that the 

 pony might fall as well as the boy, and that if it did, the 

 little rider could scarcely fail to be seriously if not fatally 

 injured, owing to the impossibility of his falling clear of the 

 prostrate animal. 



If a child of tender years must ride, by order of an ill- 

 judging parent or caretaker, let it do so upon a safety-pad, 

 fitted with a well-stuffed back, in order to prevent that of 

 the child from becoming fatigued by remaining too long 

 unsupported. 



The pad-pony should be a light, elastic walker, and of 

 necessity perfectly docile and quiet. He must, of course, 

 be led : his paces being properly regulated, and his head 

 kept quite straight. A good contrivance for this — and 

 indeed for leading any description of horse — is a stout 

 bamboo cane, fitted with a swivel snaphook. 



The pad-pony should be ridden with a mild snaffle 

 bridle, with loops somewhat large — and I am a great 

 advocate iox flap-reins : by which I mean a straight but not 

 over-tightened band, extending from the flap of the saddle 

 to the loop or ring of the bit, on either side — an admirable 

 contrivance, which keeps the pony's head in position, and 

 also serves as a check against restiveness or starting. The 

 girths should be broad and strong, and not too slack, and 

 the pad should be made without a tree, and be composed of 

 some soft roughened material, ornamented or not — according 

 to fancy, and the outlay to be involved in the matter. 



