8-20 YETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



insure this, if she sees the off side of the saddle pressing 

 against the withers, she should know at once that her 

 weight is not properly adjusted. 



Side saddles are most troublesome to fit, but the principle 

 to adopt is that if the woman cannot sit up straight, increase 

 the stuffing in the near side of the saddle so as to give it a 

 cant to the off side, while a ' chamber ' may be made in the 

 pannel opposite to the injured wither, so as to keep it off 

 the part ; but the matter lies more with the horsewoman 

 than the saddler. 



Chamhering Saddles. — A ' chamber ' just alluded to is 

 made by pressing the hair out of the pannel opposite to the 

 injury, stitching it so as to keep the stuffing out, and so 

 make a concavity over the wound and take the pressure off. 

 A chamber must be in the exact spot required, which sounds 

 rather a truism ; unless there is blood on the pannel to 

 guide the saddler, it is most likely he will put the chamber 

 at some spot where it is not required. 



The way to mark the site for a chamber is to make a 

 mixture of a little lamp-black and vaseline, touch the place 

 requiring protection, then put the saddle on. The black 

 mark on the lining is an infallible guide as to the required 

 position. A chamber should always be larger than the 

 part it is desired to protect. 



For sanitary reasons the lining of a saddle should never 

 come in contact with the skin, there should always be 

 something between the two, in order to prevent the sweat 

 getting into the stuffing. A carefully dressed piece of 

 leather answers very well, but preferably an absorbent 

 surface like felt, which is both soft, porous, and easily 

 cleaned. 



As far as possible there should be a current of air along 

 the spine ; the object of this is not to keep the back cool, 

 but to insure the existence of a channel above the spine. 



Girth galls are very common in horses out of condition, 

 and those whose saddles work forward owing to the thick- 

 ness of the shoulders. "Where condition is at fault the 

 matter is easily rectified, time and exercise will give the 



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