STIRRUP LEATHERS. Ill 



the leads equally divided on both sides. If there be an 

 odd piece, it may be put in one of the off-side pockets, 

 if the race be on a right-handed course, and vice versa* 



Weight Jackets. Instead of a weight cloth, a weight 

 jacket may be used, in case the trainer wants to keep 

 a trial " dark." The jacket should be made to fit tight 

 and should have pockets around the body to contain leads. 

 In this way, a stone or more may be carried. For a 

 race, and particularly so for a steeple chase, a weight 

 cloth is much to be preferred to a weight jacket, as the 

 latter impedes and often hurts the rider. 



Stirrup Leathers and Webs.-^ With racing saddles, the 

 upper part of the eyes of the stirrup irons should be 

 covered with leather, in order to prevent the iron cutting 

 the webs. 



For steeple-chasing, stirrup leathers are to be preferred 

 to webs, as they are less liable to break. Besides this, 

 with webs, if the rider loses his stirrup, he will find it 

 more difficult to pick up, than if he had leathers, on 

 account of the former's greater tendency to twist on 

 itself. 



With webs, or with light leathers, the part, through 

 which the holes are punched, should be strengthened by 

 an extra thickness of leather, as the fracture, when 

 it takes place, almost always occurs at the hole through 

 which the tongue of the buckle passes. 



For cross country riding, it is safest to use none but 

 saddles with locks and not bars for the stirrup lea- 

 thers. These locks should be left open, or, at least, 

 should be well oiled before mounting. 



The following is a very useful method for causing a 



