56 RIDING FOR LADIES. 



The reference to these latter re-introduces the subject of 

 boots : one on which I have already lightly touched. 

 Never wear them tight — adopt the very plainest fashion— 

 and let the soles be moderately thick. If you prefer Wel- 

 lingtons — which many do — have your trousers cut away at 

 the instep and buttoned close at the ankle, with a small 

 strap to pass under the foot when in its stocking ; or have 

 the boots drawn over the trousers, a la militaire, so that 

 you can get into both at the same time. Captain Horace 

 Hayes pointed out to me the utility of this plan, and I hav0 

 found it answer excellently for myself— but it is not every 

 lady who can be brought to see the wisdom of wearing 

 boots large enough to admit of it. 



If a spur be required, select a Sewarrow ; but I am 

 against the indiscriminate use of such an appliance, and 

 always maintain that if a lady is riding a properly broken 

 horse she can have no possible need of a spur for ordinary 

 road or park riding. When hunting, it is, in my opinion, 

 an absolutely necessary adjunct, as also when training young 

 or vicious horses — but such employment is altogether dis- 

 tinct from quiet, everyday exercise, and requires, in fact, 

 an entirely different equipment, of which the spur forms 

 only a part. 



Stockings for riding should always, even in summer, be 

 of a heavier and warmer description than those worn when 

 walking, or in the house. I would have you remember, 

 also, that to garter them will have a tendency to make your 

 feet cold — a thing by no means pleasant or desirable, — 

 therefore use suspenders to keep them up. 



