436 RIDING DIFFICULT HORSES. 



usurp the reins of authority and refuse to obey her 

 tremulous exhortations. She should always bear in 

 mind that horses, young or old, nervous or bold, 

 require as much keeping in their place as do domestic 

 servants. Therefore, in all critical situations in which 

 our ability to govern is directly challenged, we should 

 assume the virtue of power if we have it not, and hang 

 our banners on the outer walls, even though we may 

 not have a shot in the locker. 



STUMBLING. 



Stumbling is not a vice, and therefore it would be 

 as unjust to hit a horse for accidentally tripping, as it 

 would be to strike a human being for making a false 

 step and possibly spraining an ankle. Its chief 

 causes may, I think, be traced to weakness ; and, in 

 the case of young horses, to bad shoeing and dirty 

 stables. The subject of horse-shoeing is one which 

 does not appeal to ordinary riders, so I may refer any 

 lady who desires to study it, to my husband's chapter 

 on it, in his new edition of Veterinaiy Notes foi' Horse 

 Owners. The feet of horses should not be washed, 

 because this practice renders horses liable to cracked 

 heels and thrush, both of which ailments diminish the 

 sure-footedness of an affected animal. If the feet are 

 carefully picked out and brushed they can be kept in a 

 hard, healthy condition, such as we find in the feet of 

 young and unbroken horses which have never been 

 shod. The stable should be kept clean and dry, for it 

 is useless to expect a horse's feet to remain in a sound 



