6 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 



saw him thus oddly accoutred. Well for him that 

 his burden did not amount to the liberal weight 

 allowed by the Roman emperor ! 



Side-saddles for ladies were an invention of com- 

 paratively recent date. The first seen in England 

 was made for Anne of Bohemia, Richard the Second's 

 queen. It was, probably, more like a pillion than 

 the side-saddle of our day ; and if any of our young 

 readers do not know what is meant by the word 

 " pillion," their grandmammas may, perhaps, be able 

 to describe the thing to them from recollection, for it 

 was in high fashion not a great many years ago. It 

 was a sort of very low-backed arm-chair, which was 

 fastened on the horse's croup, behind the saddle, on 

 which a man rode who had all the care of managing 

 the horse, while the lady sat at her ease, supporting 

 herself by grasping a belt which he wore, or by 

 passing her arm round his body if the gentleman 

 was not too ticklish. 



Horse-shoeing was not practised for many centu- 

 ries after the horse himself was in very general use ; 

 nor were hoof-protectors essentially necessary until 

 paved tracts and hard roads became more frequent 

 than they were in old times. The first foot defence 

 of the horse seems to have been copied from that of 

 his master. It was a sort of sandal, commonly made 

 of matting, rope, or leather. The Emperor Nero, in 

 his profusion, had his horses and mules shod with 



