234 THE COMPLETE HORSEMAN 



road hogs and aeroplanes and other horrors but 

 still an approximation to perfection should be 

 insisted upon. Personally I do not think a lady's 

 horse should be under 15 hands 3 inches ; if 

 she is tall 16 hands is a better height. But in 

 these days of tall horses there is no necessity 

 to insist upon height, the horse is sure to be tall 

 enough, and if ever3^hing else is as satisfactory 

 in proportion as his height is likely to be the 

 lady will not have much to find fault with in 

 her horse. 



I do not like to see ladies' horses with hogged 

 manes, indeed I do not like a hogged mane under 

 any circumstances, and I do not like to see 

 ladies' horses docked short like hackneys. Indeed 

 if I were a lady I would not ride one. Many 

 years ago Dr. Fleming in pungent words called 

 attention to ladies in the Row riding almost 

 tailless horses and no doubt Voltaire's Epigram 

 will occur to the memory of some of my readers : — 



Vous fiers Anglois 



Barbare que vous etes 



Coupez la tete aux-rois 

 Et la queue a vos betes ; 



Mais les Fran9ois 



Polls et droits, 



Aiment les lois, 

 Laisse la queue aux betes 



Et la tete a leurs rois. 



Ladies' horses frequently suffer from sore 

 backs. Many ladies acquire a habit of leaning 

 over to the near side, swaying over perhaps it 

 would be more correct to call it. One cause of 



