294 CONFESSIONS OF A HOBSE EEALEB* 



the rider having his feet in the stirrups far in advance 

 of his seat in the saddle, so that at each vertical motion 

 of the horse (which a good horseman avoids hy rising a 

 little and lightly pressing the stirrups) he is obliged to 

 shift the body forward to a corresponding extent, at the 

 cost of much tiresome and unseemly exertion^ 



After the pupil has had a few lessons without stirrups, 

 and being competent to keep his hands steady and his 

 heels down, he may be permitted to ride with stirrups, 

 spurs, and whip (it being customary to carry a whip, 

 but not necessarily to use it when the horse is ridden 

 with spurs). 



CHAPTEK XXII. 



EABLY WOKKING OF CART COLTS. 



MANY, very many, capital cart colts are spoiled in tem- 

 per, ruined in constitution, and rendered infirm and un- 

 sound before they have attained the age of five years, 

 that being the age at which the laws of nature have or- 

 dained and common sense suggested they should first be 

 put to work, nevertheless the penny- wise and pound- 

 foolish system of working them at two years old, which, 

 I am sorry to say, has been more or less practised by 

 small farmers for ages, in England as well as the sister 



