SADDLES AND BRIDLES 215 



to use numnahs in hunting or on long rides. With 

 their use, sore backs are almost an unknown thing. 



Numnahs are usually made of felt, and should be as 

 thin as is consistent with their doing the double duty 

 of soaking up sweat and of protecting the horse's back. 

 They should be sufficiently long to extend about two 

 inches beyond all the bearing surfaces of the saddle, 

 in order to prevent the edge of the cloth from pressing 

 into the skin and rubbing it.* Care must be taken 

 that the straps which fasten the numnah to the saddle 

 are properly adjusted, so as to prevent the numnah 

 from slipping about. 



Leather numnahs (which do not absorb sweat), 

 although smart-looking, are not as capable of pro- 

 tecting the horse's back as felt ones, and, unless well 

 taken care of, soon become hard and stiff. On the 

 whole the thick white numnahs called Scriven's Patent 

 Wilson numnahs are perhaps the best, for they do not 

 shrink as do ordinary ones.f 



Sheepskins are much used in South America, in 

 Mexico, and in the West, and are placed with the woolly 

 side next to the animal's back. Although a bit untidy- 

 looking, unless very closely fitted to the saddle, they 

 are excellent for use on horses with excessively tender 



skins.J 



Knitted pommel pads are useful in helping to make 



a saddle fit without rubbing a horse's withers. 



When out hunting, an oblong leather case, contain- 



* For this same reason it is usually inadvisable to cut holes in a 

 numnah in order, for example, to take the weight off a sore spot. As 

 a rule, in such cases the edge of the hole presses into the horse's skin 

 and makes bad matters worse. 



t A white numnah should always be used on a gray horse, for a col- 

 ored one looks untidy and stains the animal's coat. 



% Numnahs lined with sponge are only satisfactory if great care is 

 taken to keep them soft by constant dampening. 



