RIDING RECOLLECTIONS 



a horse, and the tenth is often the most unwilHng 

 to administer so severe a punishment. 



Ladies, however, are not so merciful. Perhaps 

 because they have but one, they use this stimulant 

 liberally, and without compunction. From their 

 seat, and shortness of stirrup, every kick tells 

 home. Concealed under a riding-habit, these 

 vigorous applications are unsuspected by lookers- 

 on ; and the unwary wonder why, in the streets 

 of London or the Park, a ladies' horse always 

 appears to go in a lighter and livelier form than 

 that of her male companion. "It's a woman's 

 hand," says the admiring pedestrian. " Not a 

 bit of it," answers the cynic who knows; "it's a 

 woman's heel." 



But, however sparing you may be of the spurs 

 in lane or bridle-road, you are tempted to ply 

 them far too freely in the anxiety and excitement 

 of the hunting-field. Have you ever noticed the 

 appearance of a white horse at the conclusion of 

 some merry gallop over a strongly fenced country ? 

 The pure conspicuous colour tells sad tales, and 

 the smooth, thin-skinned flanks are too often 

 stained and plastered with red. Many bad horse- 

 men spur their horses without meaning it ; many 

 worse, mean to spur their horses at every fence, 

 and do. 



A Leicestershire notability, of the last genera- 

 tion, once dubbed a rival with the expressive title 



60 



