well-cleaned saddle and bridle should not soil
a lady's glove, or a pair of white trousers,
and should be as supple as silk. Soft soap
is the only thing that will make it so.

Horses in England have their harness on
generally a great deal too tight, and even the
best grooms want looking after to prevent
this. Horses are very often cut by their curb
chains in a cruel manner, half throttled by the
throat-strap, and stifled by their girths. The
two former make them carry their heads
awkwardly, and spoil the natural curve of the
crest, I have seen a strong man six feet
high straining at the girths of a pony he
could push over with one hand, till he was
black in the face; and then the poor little
wretch would hobble out of his stable like a
trussed fowl. The girths should not be too
forward. If any one wish to prove the
justice of this maxim let him buckle a strap
tight round his own chest, and try to run
with it. He can bear it round the waist
well enough, but the chest expands with
exercise, and to confine it must be very severe
punishment.

Many horses have a trick of swelling
themselves out when first saddled; it is,
therefore, a good plan to saddle them about
half an hour before they are wanted, and
girth up a hole or two just before mounting.
if a saddle is really well made, the girths
will want no straining at to make it sit
safely. With thorough-bred horses, or those
having flat sides and bad barrels, a false
collar and a couple of straps will keep the
saddle from slipping too far back. I object
strongly to martingales, except with young
horses, and to teach them to carry their heads
properly. A horse should never be put at a
jump with a martingale on, or he is almost
certain to fall into it or over it. A gentleman
named Singleton was killed some years ago
by his horse jumping the turnpike gate near
Woodstock, with a martingale on. I remember
seeing a horse break his neck at a hurdle
not five feet high from the same cause. A
martingale is still more dangerous, jumping
lengths. The severest fall I ever had was
jumping a brook with a martingale. With
a gag snaffle, or a very severe bit of any kind,
a horse with a martingale is extremely apt
to get into mischief; and if he does so, it
must be a light hand indeed to get him
out of it. The rings of a martingale should
never be put over the curb rein, and leather
sliding-stops should be always put before
them to prevent them slipping over the
buckles, a mischance often followed by a
pair of broken knees. Great care should
be taken that the martingale is not shorter
than absolutely necessary, and a rider
should so play with his reins as never to
keep a dead pull upon a horse's mouth, and
let his head have as easy play as possible. A
martingale will ruin a horse's temper if this
rule is not followed.

There are few things more misunderstood
than bits. I heard one of the best trainers in
England say, " If you can't hold a horse with
a snaffle, you can't with any thing else," and I
am almost of the same opinion: a thin twisted
snaffle is one of the severest bits made. I
hold the gag and the Chiffney in abomination.
I have seen scores of horses' mouths spoiled
by them, and never saw any good come of
either. If a horse does not go well and easily
with a man who knows how to ride him, the
fact most likely is, that he is not in his proper
work. I had a little chestnut mare more
vicious than enough to ride, yet she would go
like clockwork in harness. Many horses, too,
who never bear a collar, are the best of hacks.
A horse I am now driving in a team, pulls
my gloves nearly off as a wheeler, though if
put in as a leader he does not hang an ounce.
Most hard pulling horses make good leaders.
In pairs, the smallest horses go better and look
better on the off-side.

But to return to bits. They are, generally,
a great deal too heavy; while the mouthpiece
should still be left of a moderate size,
the rest can hardly be too slight consistent
with strength. The best bit for the road is,
undeniably, a snaffle; but for park riding or
anywhere in a crowd, horses will perhaps go
cleverer with a curb, managed by a light
band. No grooms or horse-breakers have ever
light hands, therefore they should be made,
invariably, to ride with a good strong plain
snaffle and a broad rein. A groom will spoil
a well-broken hack in a week, and often ruin
a hunter for any man's riding but his own.
A bit I have found very efficacious for very
high-couraged horses with bad mouths, is a
Pelham, with rollers. It prevents a horse
getting the bit in his mouth; they want,
however, a very light hand. If you are
surprised by a very hard puller and have
only a snaffle bridle, get off and cross your
reins—that will stop him. If you find he
still gets along too fast, pull up again, let
him wet his mouth, or crop a bit of grass, and
then start very gently until you master his
head entirely; keep your hand low and steady,
give and take; humour him, and he will go
pleasantly. Many horses pull from fear, and
want coaxing much more than a Chiffhey: a
thirsty horse with his tongue hanging out of
his mouth, black and swollen, will always
pull—such a horse should have something
to play with in his mouth; rollers and pointed
bits are best. With a mere stubborn, wrong-
headed pony, who bores away like a wooden
thing, a ragged curb may teach him to keep
his head up and go decorously. Spurs are
bad and cruel things, except on very cautious
heels and with young horses.

Stables should be much better ventilated
than they are, and should be always
scrupulously well drained. Horses, too, are very
often lamed by inequalities in the ground
they stand on; it should therefore be perfectly
level, and well perforated with holes to
carry off wet and keep the stall dry.