102 WOUNDS AND BRUISES. 



over the fact that however " square " a lady's seat may be, it is im- 

 possible for her to avoid, at all times, putting more weight on the 

 near side than on the off; hence the great nece<ssity of having her 

 saddle accurately fitted. 



In a side-saddle, the nearer the leaping head is to the near head 

 (upper crutch), the less near-side drag will there be, especially at a 

 trot. 



Pressure from imperfectly-stuffed rollers is not an unfrequent 

 cause of sore withers. 



The use of too short a saddle occasionally gives rise to a sore 

 back, just behind the cantle, upon which spot an undue proportion 

 of the weight is in such cases liable to be thrown. With a saddle of 

 this kind, if the horse be made to go fast or to jump, the skin imme- 

 diately behind the cantle being pressed downwards and backwards, 

 will become wrinkled at each stride the animal takes ; the result 

 being that inflammation is set up, and a tumour appears. A repe- 

 tition or two of this process increases the evil ; pus is formed ; and 

 the horse may be laid up for a month or more with an abscess which 

 usually turns into either a sac of soft matter, or an unhealthy sore 

 with a hard margin of skin round it (a " sit-fast "). I have seen 

 so many cases of these injuries having been produced by the saddles 

 in question, even after they had been stufted and restuffed, that I 

 am confident I am right in laying the blame on the shortness of 

 the tree, in the majority of cases of saddle galls behind the cantle. 

 We should bear in mind that the correct length of the tree depends 

 principally on the length of the thigh of the horseman The 

 tendency to such an injury is naturally increased by the unwork- 

 manlike practice some riders affect of sitting far back in the saddle, 

 aud of sticking their toes out in front of the horse's shoulders ; the 

 consequence being that the weight is thrown on the cantle at each ■ 

 stride, instead of on the centre of the saddle. Inferior saddlers often 

 allow the head of the nail which attaches the panel to the tree 

 under the cantle, to project, so that the horse upon which the saddle 

 is put, can hardly escape becoming hurt. 



Want of condition is a strong predisposing cause of saddle and 

 harness galls. 



After a case of sore back, a horse will often flinch for months, 

 or even years, if the part be suddenly touched. If the flinching 

 be simply due to the remembrance of former pain, the animal will 

 allow the part to bo handled, if the operator begins by gently 

 rubbing the skin some distance away from it, and then gradually 

 works up to it. From this cause, a horse often contracts the habit 

 of crouching down when being mounted, and for a short time after 

 the rider is in the saddle. Memory is certainly one of the strongest 

 faculties in the mind of a horse. 



