Sp/^/a'G Bars — Leather! Girths. 305 



mented by " the kid," a blanket rolled in a cylinder (like the cloak of a horse patrol) affords 

 a sort of fulcrum to resist the dislodging effects of a " bush jumper." 



A practical horseman says on the question of saddles : " Formerly pommels and 

 cantles were made of much greater height than in more modern saddles ; even now they might 

 be improved by being made much flatter than they are. Half-cut pommels look as if half the 

 pommel had been cut off, and are commonly made ; but whole-cut pommels are rarely seen, and 

 are the best of all." 



" They will fit any horse without hurting his withers because the part of the tree which 

 generally comes down on the withers in these (without pommel) saddles falls not across the 

 withers but across the broad part of the back."* 



" You are not so likely to be hurt by being thrown forward, as the best horsemen some- 

 times are, on a saddle without a pommel as on a saddle with one. The cantle ought to 

 be flat, like a lady's modern saddle, and the inside of the saddle ought to press on the horse's back 

 from end to end, so that the weight is distributed over a large surface." f 



Stirrups for country use should be large, not too high, and of a size proportioned to the 

 foot. The spring bars which attach the stirrup leathers to the saddle should always be open. 

 The stirrup-leathers of a man who rides daily, whether he hunts or not, should be either 

 renewed or shortened every year by cutting off the buckle and sewing it on again, thus 

 shifting the spot where the iron loop of the stirrup wears into the leather. 



The holes of the stirrup-leathers should be not more than half an inch apart, and 

 punched on the inside of the leather where the tongue of the buckle enters, instead of the 

 outside ; stirrup-leathers so arranged will enable a horseman to alter the length with one hand 

 and while in motion ;■ the holes are usually made too small and too far apart. 



The position of the spring bar to which the stirrup-leathers are attached is a subject on 

 which very first-rate horsemen differ. Probably for military and parade purposes the centre 

 of the saddle is the best place ; hunting men with short legs and round thighs will find it 

 convenient to have the bars fixed an inch nearer the centre than in the hunting saddles of 

 the best makers; some men with long flat legs like them placed still further forward, almost 

 parallel under the pommel. I have tried both kinds of saddles, and, being one of the short 

 ones, find myself firmer when galloping a well-bred full-sized horse over a rough country if the 

 stirrup-leathers fall Just in front of my knees when I am sitting as I desire in the middle of 

 the saddle, then I am not obliged to push my foot far beyond my knee to catch hold of the 

 stirrup. A man who can afford it will do well, if he is not one who can ride on anything, to 

 be measured for two or three saddles. 



The best kind of woollen girth is that called the "Melton," consisting of one broad girth 

 with two buckles, and a narrow one drawn over it. 



Of late colonial girths, made of raw hide plaited or stamped into net-work, have been 

 used and praised by hunting men. They never slip, may be drawn less tight than a woollen 

 girth, and require no washing. 



On this question Squire Froude Bellew, Master of the Dulverton Hounds, writes : " As to 

 girths, I prefer and use the open stamped leather girths, a great improvement on non-ventilating 

 woollen girths. Instead of felt or other saddle-cloths, I use a plain light leather pannel well 

 saturated with tallow, which keeps the horse's back cool, fastened on the horse's back with a 

 surcingle, and put the saddle over it. I never have sore backs in my stable, either with our horses 

 or Mrs. Bellew's, and you know what a rough country I hunt and what long days I have." 



* " [lorse Riding." By George Nevile, M.A. f Saddles without pommels, made by Messrs. Urch, Long Acre. 



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