ii8 THE COMPLETE HORSEMAN 



rest. I do not like this plan. The horse should 

 have his clothing changed and be fed like the 

 other horses. This will do him more good than 

 the very small amount of extra rest which he 

 will get under what I cannot help calling the laz^' 

 plan. 



But to return to ordinary exercising. One 

 good and sufficient reason for insisting upon a 

 saddle being used is that the quietest horses may 

 play up sometimes and that when they do if 

 a man is riding without a saddle he is almost 

 certain to be pulled off his horse in the scrimmage. 

 This will probably mean a lam.ed servant and 

 lame horses, involving considerable expense. 



Another ver}^ important thing is never to 

 allow horses to be led on the same side two 

 mornings running. A horse that is always led 

 on one side is liable to have a one-sided mouth 

 and there is nothing more uncomfortable than 

 to have to ride a horse that has this failing. And 

 if you do not insist upon your groom changing 

 his horses about every morning they will never 

 be changed. A good plan is to ride A on the 

 first morning, leading B on the near and C on the 

 far side. On the second morning ride B with C 

 on the near and A on the far side, and on the 

 third morning ride C with A on the near and B 

 on the far side. Then the horses will get an 

 equal share of riding and leading. It is advisable 

 to give the groom a card with these arrangements 

 written out, as I have found grooms very fre- 

 quently possessed of a ' convenient ' memory. 



