126 LADIES ON HORSEBACK. 



upon them. Over-riding hounds is a piece 

 of unpardonable caddishness of which no 

 gentleman, and certainly no lady, would be 

 guilty ; yet it is done ; and then, when the 

 master's wrath is aroused, the innocent suffer 

 with the guilty, for many who are not abso- 

 lutely offenders, ride too close in their zeal for 

 the pleasures of the chase. 



When your day's sport is over, and you are 

 riding back to the place at which you expect 

 to meet your trap, remember that the easiest 

 way to bring your horse in is in a quiet jog- 

 trot. It is nonsense to walk him, for he will 

 only stiffen, and will be the longer away from 

 his stable and his needed rest. If you chance 

 to come across a piece of water, ride him to 

 it and let him have a few ^^ go downs," — six 

 or eight, but not more. When you get off his 

 back, see that his girths are loosed at once, 

 and, if very tired, a little water thrown over 

 his feet. He should then be taken quietly 

 home — if by road, in the same easy trot — and 

 just washed over and turned into a loose box, 

 where he can tumble and luxuriate without 

 submitting to any of the worries of profes- 



