10 LOSS OF STIRRUP-LEATHER 



on the horse's back, and the greatest care should 

 be taken to see that the saddle is suitable and not too 

 long, especially in the case of a man who is inclined to 

 rely unduly on his stirrups. Indeed, any man who is 

 given to place too much reliance on the support 

 afforded him by his stirrups is not fit to hunt in any 

 flying country. When once this habit has been con- 

 tracted, there is well-nigh no cure for it ; at least, I 

 never knew of such a case being cured. It stands to 

 reason that if the weight is on the leathers it must be 

 too near the shoulder, save in the case of some 

 exceptionally well-shaped horses. Again, there is the 

 danger of a leather breaking (and leathers so constantly 

 strained must be more apt to break), in which case the 

 rider must come down a real ' burster.' 



On the other hand, with a firm grip from thighs and 

 knees, the stirrup is no more than a support for the 

 feet alone. I have myself often lost a leather and 

 finished a long run without it, and such occurrences 

 are by no means uncommon in racing. No reliance 

 should be placed on the leathers when jumping, for the 

 reasons I have quoted ; the weight of the rider being in 

 the proper place, the horse is never unduly distressed, 

 as would be the case if it were otherwise. I regard 

 leathers as a necessary rest, but not as the only 

 support to trust to when going fast or fencing. Thus, 

 in a quick fall, if the pressure is on the saddle-flaps and 

 not on the irons, a clear fall is almost a certainty, 

 whereas if the pressure is on the irons, if a horse goes 

 headforemost into a fence, the rider must sink with the 

 fall and often be dragged, for the weight on the iron 

 alone prevents his freeing his feet, and, as I have 

 before observed, a second's delay may be fatal. 



