104 HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA. 



cloth be used, bring, with his finger, the front part of 

 it well up into the arch of the gullet plate, in order 

 to prevent it being pressed down on to the withers. 



One should avoid tight girthing, and should try to 

 hit off the happy medium between the girths being so 

 loose as to allow of the chance of the saddle slipping, 

 and so tight that it would interfere with the horse's 

 breathing. To lessen the chance of the latter contin- 

 gency, the girths should be placed well back from under 

 the animal's elbows when the horse is being girthed up. 

 The groom, when he has drawn the girths tight, should 

 run his finger between them and the skin, from the near 

 side to the off, so as to smooth out any wrinkles. 



Some horses swell themselves out on being saddled, 

 and consequently require to be walked about for a short 

 time, and the girths taken up, before the rider can 

 mount without incurring the chance of the saddle 

 shifting its position. 



For a parade or ordinary saddle, a neat method with 

 the martingale, is to pass the first girth through its loop, 

 and the second one over it, so that it may not hang 

 down. 



When a girth is too long, it may be shortened by 

 making a fold of the webbing near one end, passing the 

 tongue of the buckle through this fold, and then attach- 

 ing the buckle to one of the off girth tugs. This 

 should be only a temporary measure, as it is apt to 

 spoil the webbing. 



A stirrup leather looks neatest on a saddle when the 

 loose end is passed to the rear between the flap and the 

 leather, and immediately beneath the spring bar. 



