FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE 



and advancing decrepitude as they would be 

 beneficial to his welfare. To such an one, as to 

 those in the flush of youth and vigor, any and 

 all methods and means of securing outdoor exer- 

 cise should be welcome, and would be so did they 

 but realize the possibilities at their hands in this 

 great country of ours. " The man on horseback 

 rules," as some wise tactician has sensibly re- 

 marked ; and what is true of nations applies as 

 well to individuals. " There is something about 

 the outside of a horse that is good for the inside 

 of a man," as Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes so 

 wittily and pithily put it, and he who takes the 

 prescription will surely endorse it. To the nov- 

 ice — and these articles are meant to interest the 

 " new hand " — and the neophyte who is recom- 

 mended horseback exercise ; or to the faddist who 

 takes it up as a caprice, the humdrum monotony 

 of riding-school and bridle-path equestrianism is 

 as dull as a sermon with fourteen sub-heads. 

 Once enlisted at this branch of sport, the recruit 

 must be kept interested, or he returns quickly to 

 his shell, never again to be tempted forth. To 

 such, as to the adept, drag hunting over a coun- 

 try that is fair, and rideable for the moderate per- 

 former, affords a mode of delightful enjoyment 



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