104 WOUNDS AND BEUISES. 



pad for the withers may be made as follows: — Take six or eight 

 pieces of felt, each being about four inches broad and six or seven 

 inches long. Arrange them so as to form two pads of equal thick- 

 ness, about four inches apart, on a piece of cricketing flannel thirteen 

 or fourteen inches broad and seven or eight inches long. Place 

 over the whole a similar piece of flannel, and sew them together so 

 as to form one pad, the centre and thin part of which will lie over 

 the withers, while the padded sides will raise up the pommel. A 

 folded handkerchief or towel placed on the withers is of little benefit, 

 for, as a rule, it will simply prevent them being cut by the iron 

 gullet plate, but will not relieve them from pressure. 



If a numdah be used, it should consist of one entire piece of felt, 

 and should not have a longitudinal strip cut out of its centre, as is 

 sometimes done; for the edges of this opening can hardly fail, 

 during a long ride, to injuriously affect the- distribution of weight, 

 with the result of a more or less sore back. 



Riders should remember that during a long ride, as out hunting, 

 relief to the horse's back by occasionally dismounting will greatly 

 lessen the chances of saddle galls occurring. On similar occasions 

 it is well to see to the girths of a lady's saddle and to tighten them 

 if necessary, after the rider has been on it, say, for half an hour, 

 with the object of preventing the saddle from shifting by reason of 

 the girths becoming slack. When a lady dismounts for some time, 

 and when it is not convenient to remove the saddle from her horse's 

 back, we might with advantage slacken the girths, even for a few 

 minutes, so as to obviate any ill effects which might accrue from 

 impeded circulation of blood. 



If that part of the back on which the saddle has rested, be tho- 

 roughly and quickly dried by brisk friction, jDreferably with the 

 hand, on returning from work, no harm will result from the gear 

 being removed while the animal is still warm. But if the rubbing 

 down be neglected, the result may be a tumour which might de- 

 velop into an abscess. 



If it be not convenient to groom without delay a horse which 

 returns hot from a ride, the girths should be loosened, the saddle 

 raised off the back, instantly replaced, and then kept on for at least 

 twenty minutes, during which time it would be all the better for 

 the horse to be walked about. 



The girths often cut a horse, from the groom having neglected, 

 when girthing up, to pass a finger or two of each hand (Fig. 42), 

 and draw them from above downwards between the girths and the 

 skin, so as to smooth out any wrinkles. Girths of raw hide or of cord 

 which allow of ventilation, are often useful for avoiding galls. The 

 girth which I have found to be least liable to gall a horse, is one of 

 broad webbing attached to two buckles on each side, with or without 



