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THE BARB AND THE BRIDLE. 25- 



(neceesary sometimes). But the less leather about the horse, where- 

 it can be dispensed with, the better he will look. 



As to bridles, as a rule, I maintain that a lady's horse properly 

 broken should ride right into an ordinary double bridle, bit, and 

 bridoon, the port of the bit proportioned to the contour and 

 setting on of the horse's head and neck, as should also be the length 

 of the cheek piece and jaw of the bit ; while the question of a 

 j)lain or twisted bridoon or snaffle must be regulated by the hand 

 of the rider and the mouth of the horse. For park or promenade 

 riding, fashion of late years inclines to a single rein bridle or 

 " Hanoverian," or hard and sharp. 'No doubt they are very sightly 

 and neat in appearance ; but with a high-couraged horse they 

 require very nice and finished hands, and in the majority of cases, 

 in my hmiible opinion, are safe only for the most accomplished 

 female riders. 



I leave the question of bridle -fronts, bound with ribbon of pink,. 

 blue, or yellow, to the taste of my readers ; when neatly put on and 

 fresh, they look gay in the park. But either there or in the hunting 

 field, I beheve more in the plain leather front, as having, if I may so- 

 express it, a more workmanlike appearance. 



Having now endeavoured to describe the best preparations on 

 foot for the pupil, the style of dress most suitable for her first 

 lessons in equitation, the stamp of horse a lady should ride, the- 

 training he should undergo for the special service required of him, 

 and the kind of saddlery and equipment he will travel best in, in 

 my next chapter I will attempt briefly, but minutely, to detail the 

 first step in the riding lesson proper, namely, the form in which 

 the pupil should approach her horse in order to be assisted into 

 the saddle, and the mounting motions, all of which are of great 

 importance, as each motion should be executed gracefully, without 

 hurry, and in a well defined and finished manner. Nothing con- 

 nected with riding stamps the style and tournure of a lady more 

 than the fashion in which she mounts her horse and arranges her 

 habit ; it ought, in fact, to be a matter as carefully looked to by the 

 instructor as her mode of entering a room would be to a master of 

 deportment. 



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