THE SADDLE-HORSE 



ent, the arms too long. Look at the tender skin 

 on which these weapons must rest ; oh, reader ! 

 figure to yourself the agony easily inflicted, and 

 buy the largest, easiest bits you can find, seeing 

 that they lie always well below the angles of your 

 patient servant's mouth. The saddle, well pad- 

 ded everywhere, should be well clear of the 

 shoulder blades, and, if you are a heavy man, be 

 sure your tree is long and wide, that the pressure 

 may be well distributed. If a woman, a thick 

 felt, girthed separately about the horse, will afford 

 a surface for your saddle to move on, while the 

 affixing of your stirrup-strap to a billet on the 

 ofF-cantle (after going around the body) will re- 

 duce all shifting and consequent chafing to a 

 minimum. 



If you will remember, after you have been out 

 about thirty minutes, to have your girths tight- 

 ened one or two holes, you will do well by your 

 beast, and save a possible fall. Upon return, if 

 saddles are left on for a while, the girths should 

 be tightened to compensate for the weight re- 

 moved, not loosened as is the custom ; but if 

 plenty of cold water is well applied the pores of 

 the skin Vill be closed, no injury or swelling 

 result, and the saddle may be removed at once. 



^53 



