HINTS ON RIDING 115 



thereby tearing instead of merely pricking his skin. 

 Owing to the fact that her habit conceals the bleeding 

 sides of the animal, the damage cannot be seen by the 

 onlookers, or by the rider herself. 



On the other hand, the touch of a blunt spur is 

 quite painless and amply fulfils all requirements. Al- 

 though on a jumper it should be used with great dis- 

 cretion, and on a particularly sensitive animal not at 

 all; on a sluggish animal it is of assistance in urging 

 him into his jumps, and on a hack it is invaluable in 

 making him go into his bridle or change leads, etc. 

 The touch of an unspurred heel would be both ineffec- 

 tive and tiring to the rider. It comes in extremely 

 handy in the show ring, where the use of a whip is never 

 a pretty sight, while in the hunting field, among a crowd 

 of horses, a spur can be applied noiselessly without 

 startling other horses. Some horses, indeed, seem to 

 know full well when their rider is spurred, and will 

 misbehave whenever she has left off her boot orna- 

 ment. 



The proper spot in which to spur a horse is that 

 most sensitive portion of his anatomy, immediately 

 behind the girths, and nowhere else. For a woman 

 to apply a spur here, however, would necessitate her 

 turning her foot at almost right angles to the animal's 

 sides, thus bringing her knee away from the saddle 

 and rendering her seat very insecure. She should, 

 therefore, reserve this more correct method for show- 

 ing, haute ecole, or possibly for pushing a horse up to 

 a gate, etc., but content herself, in general riding, in 

 jumping or hunting, with applying the spur a little 

 farther up on the horse's side. Although less effective, 

 it will make no material difference if it slides along 

 the animal's skin on a line more or less parallel with 



