28 HORSE AND MAN. 



liable to fall out or hurt the wearer. I strongly advise that 

 she should wear socks instead of stockings ; because a garter 

 is always inconvenient and may cause serious wounds. The 

 socks should be furnished with a close-fitting collar of some 

 soft and elastic material, such as knitting or jersey, lined with 

 silk, or, still better, very fine doeskin. The trousers should 

 be strapped with india-rubber and should fit rather closely, 

 so that they may not wrinkle. The boots should have elastic 

 sides and not buttons, which might cause wounds. I prefer 

 ordinary boots to long boots, which are too hard, and are 

 consequently apt to cut the wearer under the knee, and to 

 prevent her feeling the horse with her leg. The corset should 

 be very short and low. A long busk is not only inconvenient, 

 but is also dangerous. I would not have touched on these 

 details but for the fact that the dress of the horsewoman is 

 closely connected with her strength of seat and ease in the 

 saddle. I have seen so many ladies returning from a ride in 

 pain, and condemned to spend many days in a long chair, 

 that I am certain the points to which I have drawn attention 

 are important. 



The head-dress of the lady should be firmly arranged, so 

 that it may not occupy her attention, in which case she will 

 think too little of her horse. Then, if she loses her hat, she 

 will probably lose her head. 



The choice of a saddle is of great importance, both for the 

 rider and for the horse. Its seat should be quite level, so that 

 the knees of the rider may not be higher than her seat, and 

 it should have but little stuffing, so that it may fit close to the 

 horse, and may not become shifted. The smallest displace- 

 ment of the saddle may seriously injure the animal's withers. 

 If the cantle of the saddle is too short, it will certainly hurt 

 the rider, and if too long, it will hurt the horse's loins. 



A lady's horse should have high withers, so as to prevent 

 the saddle turning round. Great care should be taken that 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



