78 



MODERN HORSE MANAGEMENT 



[CHAP. 



means that the horse is a safer saddle horse. 

 These are sometimes found with hollow backs, 

 and are not suitable for carrying weight. 

 Low withers are generally wide, and are very 

 liable to be pinched ; they are generally signs 

 of a clumsy action in front. Roach backs, the 

 opposite to hollow backs, are strong, but un- 

 comfortable for long riding. Hollow backs, 

 though weak and unsuitable, are very comfort- 

 able to ride upon. A wide-backed horse is the 

 right kind for saddle work of long duration, as 

 the bearing surface is large and the lung capacity 

 is large. If too wide, the saddle may tend to 

 work over the withers on to the narrow 

 shoulders. A narrow back is unsuitable to bear 

 weight, and indicates a flat-sided horse, whose 

 stamina is generally deficient. 



303. The weight of a horse is carried mostly 

 on the forelegs ; the chief function of the hind- 

 legs is to propel the body forwards, as in 

 draught or jumping. About two-thirds of the 

 weight of the saddle and rider is borne on the 

 horse's forelegs. Now, the weight of the horse 

 on his forelegs is decreased as his head is raised 

 and neck arched. Therefore, the ideal saddle 

 horse should carry his head high and neck 

 arched, so as to save his forelegs. And, again, 

 the rider should not sit forward on the withers, 

 as was formerly done with the old straight- 

 legged seat. The correct seat on a horse will 

 place the rider's weight almost over the middle 

 of the back. (See P. 58.) The weight is thrown 

 farther back the more sloping the shoulder is, 

 hence the necessity of a sloping shoulder for 

 saddle horses to lighten the weight on the fore- 

 hand as well as to decrease the liability of the 

 horse's stumbling. The placing of the head and 

 the correct seat are dealt with in Sees. 321, 330, 

 347 and 476, et seq. 



304. Pressure. As stated above, most saddle 

 troubles are caused by pressure, hence great care 

 must be taken to see that the pressure of the 

 rider is distributed evenly over every square 

 inch of the bearing portion of the saddle. 

 Uneven stuffing, uneven folding of the blanket, 

 nails and other foreign substances in the stuffing 

 or numnah (not an uncommon occurrence), 

 wrinkles in the blanket, etc., must never be 

 allowed to exist. The greatest care must be paid 

 to these points when saddling up. Pressure 

 causes death to the bones ; it also causes death 

 to all living tissue (gangrene) by arresting 

 the supply of blood to the tissue. Without 

 blood, life in the cells ceases, and gangrene 

 sets in immediately. Directly a cell dies, 

 as explained in Chapter XVII., bacteria com- 

 mence to devour the dead cell, splitting it up 

 into the various gases and solids of which it 

 is composed. 



If one presses his finger against the back of 

 the hand for a few seconds and removes it, the 

 part pressed is devoid of colour ; the pressure 



has driven the blood away. If a finger is tied 

 tightly with a cord for a few hours, it will die. 

 The same happens if a certain part of the 

 horse's back is unduly pressed upon for a long 

 time ; it dies, and is marked afterwards by a 

 white patch, so common on the backs of saddle 

 horses. When a rider mounts a horse, the blood 

 in the subcutaneous blood-vessels is driven out, 

 and these vessels remain empty. If only for an 

 hour or so, no permanent damage is done, but 

 if for many hours damage may result. Hence it 

 is advisable that a rider should never remain in 

 the saddle for more than an hour or two without 

 dismounting, even if only for a few minutes. On 

 the other hand, if a saddle is suddenly taken off 

 after the horse has been ridden for some time, 

 the blood will rush back suddenly into these 

 vessels and may rupture them, causing small 

 lumps to appear on the back. This is not un- 

 common with thoroughbred horses that have 

 thin skins. My advice is to leave the saddle on 

 for fifteen minutes or more after the girths have 

 been loosened. If, however, the saddle is re- 

 moved suddenly, the back must be energetically 

 hand-massaged for at least ten minutes, prefer- 

 ably by a man on each side. This should be 

 done against the direction of the hair. A rider 

 should never remain mounted unless it is 

 necessary. 



305. Saddling. In placing a saddle upon a 

 horse's back it should not be dropped on, but 

 be placed on gently from the near side, the 

 girths having been crossed over the seat so as 

 not to swing against the horse as the saddle is 

 lifted over the back. After ascertaining that the 

 pads, numnah or blanket are perfectly smooth 

 on the horse's back, the girths should be done 

 up loosely. They should never be done up 

 tightly at first. After the horse is bridled, and 

 just before he is going to be mounted, the girths 

 should be done up to their proper tightness, but 

 they must be tightened slowly, and never by 

 jerks. Great ignorance is displayed by grooms 

 in girthing up, causing both pain to the horse 

 and waste of energy to themselves. Directly a 

 rider dismounts at the end of a ride he should 

 loosen the girths, leaving the saddle on for, say, 

 fifteen minutes, as already advised. 



306. If the back is still wet when the saddle 

 is removed, it must be dried, which is best done 

 by hand-rubbing against the coat. If a saddle is 

 taken off in the field to ease the horse's back for 

 a few moments, the back must be energetically 

 hand-rubbed. 



The utmost care must be taken that blankets, 

 saddle-pads, saddle-linings and numnahs are 

 perfectly dry and not cold when placed on the 

 horse's back. If kept in a cold place, they 

 should be warmed first. Damp or cold saddles 

 are uncomfortable to the horse, and cause some 

 mares to kick. They also cause many horses to 

 roach their backs until the saddle has become 



