218 NO FALLS. 



that he had, with frequent short rides, learned to feel little 

 anxiety about his own seat, and to keep his arms moderately 

 still, 



511. — You now want a well broken pony (240 to 255), and 

 if you have got that the rest of the business is very simple. Once 

 more, we must guard against the most common mistake in this 

 matter. "We have frequently seen parents purchase horses or 

 ponies that were very quiet with constant regular hard work, and 

 then put them to high keep and idleness, .and expect them to be 

 quiet still. This is unreasonable. Unless very regularly worked 

 the child's pony should be kept, not in a stable, but in a paddock, 

 and get little or no corn. Until the child is able to exercise it 

 himself it must be exercised for him, Most of the accidents 

 from horses result from half broken animals, and next to that 

 from corn and idleness. Neither you nor fifty servants can make 

 the child safe if the pony is not well broken, moderately fed, and 

 sufficiently exercised. The more you coddle the child the more 

 certain he will be to get amongst the pony's legs, or do some- 

 thing dangerous. It is the pony and not the attendants that you 

 can be sure to make and keep trustworthy. 



512. — Put on a small saddle, securely girthed. Tightly roll 

 up a very small blanket, in a roll about twenty inches long, and 

 three or four inches in diameter, and strap it securely on to 

 the front of the saddle. This will prevent any falls, and help the 

 child to feel at home and confident. 



513. — Give the child stirrups, and teach him the use of 

 them, whilst you have him and his pony in hand. The time to 

 go w^ithout stirrups will be when you first trust him out of your 

 sight. Let the stirrups be a comfortable useful length. Not so 

 long that they are constantly swinging away from the child's 

 foot, nor so short as to send him back out of the centre of the 

 saddle. 



514. — The best kind of stirrup irons for a child are those 

 of the modern form used on ladies' saddles. Tliese look perfectly 

 safe, but it is remarkable how every kind of safety stirrup and 

 stirrup iron has sometimes failed in time of need. It is unsafe 

 to rely on any one of them. The only reliable thing is a horse 



