RO.VD -RIDING. 241 



tion. So distressing, indeed, is a swaggering un- 

 steady seat, that it is a well-established, though 

 not a universally known fact, that horses will carry 

 some persons of considerably greater weight than 

 others, long distances on the road, or over a coun- 

 try in hunting, with less fatigue to themselves, 

 solely because they ride them with a firm seat and 

 an easy hand. In a long day's journey on the 

 road, great relief is given to a horse by now and 

 then dismounting from his back, and leading him 

 a few hundred yards ; as also by frequent sips of 

 water, particularly if the weather be hot. As to 

 frequent baiting of a hackney in a day's journey, 

 the practice is not recommended. In a journey of 

 sixty miles, he should only be stopped once, but 

 then it should be for at least two hours, during 

 one hour of which time he should, if possible, be 

 shut up in a plentifully littered stall. It is well 

 known that a horse in good condition would per- 

 form this distance without hurting him, if he were 

 not baited at all, but we are far from recommending 

 the practice. Short stops, however, on the road 

 are injurious rather than beneficial, and teach horses 

 to hang towards every public-house they pass by 

 in their journey. 



Most horses should be ridden lons^ distances on 

 the road, in double-reined bridles, and all should 

 be ridden with spurs. Should they flag, or become 

 leg-weary towards the end of a day, the use of the 

 curb may be the means of avoiding falls ; and, by 

 the gentle application of the spur, a sort of false, 



