232 THE COMPLETE HORSEMAN 



quently carry a lady more smoothly than they 

 do a man, and I have seen on occasion this 

 happen when the gentleman had excellent hands 

 and the lady decidedly bad ones. The reason 

 for this, I think, is to be found in the lady's seat 

 on the side saddle rather than in her handling, 

 though of course the latter depends on the former 

 to a considerable extent. A lady sits much 

 farther back than a man, and consequently rides 

 with a much longer rein. That I believe is the 

 real secret why horses carry ladies so much better 

 than they do men. So much then in favour of the 

 side saddle. Against it, it has been urged that the 

 risk of being dragged is greater in a side saddle 

 than in a cross saddle. I do not subscribe to this 

 opinion myself, and I see no reason why a lady 

 in the modern habit, should be ' hung up ' if she 

 uses safety bars or safety stirrups which I have 

 already said should always be used on a side 

 saddle. So I advocate the side saddle for 

 beginners ; when a lady has had some experience 

 she can please herself — as indeed she probably 

 will in any case. I at once hasten to say that 

 everything about a lady's horse, from the horse 

 himself to the most unimportant item of tackle, 

 should be of the best. But is this always the 

 case ? I am afraid it too seldom is ; at any rate 

 I know of one case in which it was not. I asked 

 a friend at a show what Mrs. X's chestnut was 

 that was entered in the Lady's Hack Class. 

 *' Oh, a three-cornered flashy brute not good 

 enough for a hunter," was the reply. " X 



