RIDING ON HORSEBACK. 89 



CHAPTEE VII. 

 RIDING ON HORSEBACK. 



In the colonial days the family horse rendered more service 

 under the saddle and the pillion than in harness. When the mill 

 was to be visited, the good man started on horseback, having behind 

 him a bag with the grist in one end and a stone in the other, to 

 preserve the balance. On Sunday he went to meeting in the same 

 style, save that it was the good wife mounted behind him on a 

 pillion. Perchance it was one of the younger men with his Priscilla 

 on the pillion ; and it is highly probable that neither would have 

 exchanged their double mount for the best pair of ; park hacks that 

 ever looked through bridles. But as railroads and passable wagon- 

 roads came in, saddles went out, until they could scarcely be found 

 on the farm, unless it was among the forgotten rubbish of some 

 dusty corner. Riding continued longer in the South than in the 

 North, but even there it became more and more neglected. 



But during the life of the present generation there has been a 

 great revival of interest in equestri- 

 anism. Much of this was doubtless 

 caused by the war, in which over 

 500,000 horses were employed in the 

 cavalry on both sides, in addition to 

 those ridden by mounted officers. 

 Thousands of men learned to ride, 

 who would have never sat in a sad- 

 dle but for the war, and at its close 

 these men carried home with them 

 a taste for riding, which diffused 

 itself, and has continued ever since. 

 There is no more healthful, ani- Fig. 53.— plain snaffle bit. 

 mating or invigorating exercise for men or women, than riding. 



THE EQUIPMENTS. 



The first consideration in preparing for equestrian exercise is 

 the outfit. The bridle should be of plain russet leather, free from 

 all frippery in the way of useless ornaments. The bit is a matter of 

 great importance. There is an infinite variety of bits, and whole 

 volumes have been written on the subject. The simplest form is 



