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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/39501-8.txt b/39501-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ba75481 --- /dev/null +++ b/39501-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7123 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ladies on Horseback, by Nannie Lambert + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Ladies on Horseback + Learning, Park-Riding, and Hunting, with Hints upon Costume, + and Numerous Anecdotes + +Author: Nannie Lambert + +Release Date: April 21, 2012 [EBook #39501] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADIES ON HORSEBACK *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +[Illustration: A woman dressed in riding clothes] + + + +LADIES ON HORSEBACK. + +LEARNING, PARK-RIDING, AND HUNTING, WITH HINTS UPON COSTUME, AND +NUMEROUS ANECDOTES. + + +BY + +MRS. POWER O'DONOGHUE +(NANNIE LAMBERT). + +AUTHORESS OF "THE KNAVE OF CLUBS," "HORSES AND HORSEMEN," +"GRANDFATHER'S HUNTER," "ONE IN TEN THOUSAND," "SPRING LEAVES," +"THOUGHTS ON THE TALMUD," ETC., ETC. + + +LONDON: +W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. + +1881. + +[_All rights reserved._] + +LONDON: +PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. + + + + + TO MY FRIEND + ALFRED E. T. WATSON, ESQ., + AUTHOR OF "SKETCHES IN THE HUNTING FIELD," ETC., + TO WHOM I OWE + MUCH OF MY SUCCESS AS A WRITER, + THESE PAGES + ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. + + + + +Transcriber's Note: The 15 pages of advertisements preceding the title +page have been moved to the end of this book. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +In preparing this work for the press, I may state that it is composed +chiefly of a series of papers on horses and their riders, which +appeared a short time since in the columns of _The Illustrated Sporting +and Dramatic News_. How they originally came to be written and +published may not prove uninteresting. + +One day, in the middle of February 1880, a goodly company, comprising +many thousands of persons, assembled upon the lawn of a nobleman's +residence in the vicinity of Dublin; ostensibly for the purpose of +hunting, but in reality to gaze at and chronicle the doings of a very +distinguished foreign lady, who had lately come to our shores. I was +there, of course; and whilst we waited for the Imperial party, I amused +myself by watching the moving panorama, and taking notes of costume and +effect. Everybody who could procure anything upon which to ride, from a +racehorse to a donkey, was there that day, and vehicles of all +descriptions blocked up every available inch of the lordly avenues and +well-kept carriage-drives. + +There is for me so great an attraction in a number of "ladies on +horseback" that I looked at them, and at them alone. One sees gentlemen +riders every hour in the day, but ladies comparatively seldom; every +hunting morning finds about a hundred and fifty mounted males ready for +the start, and only on an average about six mounted females, of whom +probably not more than the half will ride to hounds. This being the +case, I always look most particularly at that which is the greater +novelty, nor am I by any means singular in doing so. + +On the day of which I write, however, ladies on horseback were by no +means uncommon: I should say there were at least two hundred present +upon the lawn. Some rode so well, and were so beautifully turned +out, that the most hypercritical could find no fault; but of the +majority--what can I say? Alas! nothing that would sound at all +favourable. Such horses, such saddles, such rusty bridles, such +riding-habits, such hats, whips, and gloves; and, above all, such +_coiffures_! My very soul was sorry. I could not laugh, as some others +were doing. I felt too melancholy for mirth. It seemed to me most +grievous that my own sex (many of them so young and beautiful) should +be thus held up to ridicule. I asked myself was it thus in other +places; and I came to London in the spring, and walked in the Row, and +gazed, and took notes, and was not satisfied. Perhaps I was too +critical. There was very much to praise, certainly, but there was also +much wherewith to find fault. The style of riding was bad; the style of +dressing was incomparably worse. The well-got-up only threw into darker +shadow the notable defects visible in the forms and trappings of their +less fortunate sisterhood. I questioned myself as to how this could be +best remedied. Remonstrance was impossible--advice equally so. Why +could not somebody write a book for lady equestrians, or a series of +papers which might appear in the pages of some fashionable magazine or +journal, patronised and read by them? The idea seemed a good one, but I +lacked time to carry it out, and so it rested in embryo for many +months. Last June, whilst recovering from serious illness, my cherished +project returned to my mind. Forbidden to write, and too weak to hold a +pen, I strove feebly with a pencil to trace my thoughts upon odd scraps +of paper, which I thrust away in my desk without any definite idea as +to what should eventually become of them. In July, whilst staying at a +country house near Shrewsbury, I one day came upon these shorthand +jottings, and, having leisure-time upon my hands, set to work and put +them into form. A line to the Editor of _The Illustrated Sporting +and Dramatic News_, with whom, I may state, I had had no previous +acquaintance, brought an immediate reply, to send my work for +consideration. I did so; called upon him by appointment when I came a +few days later to London; made all arrangements in a three-minutes +interview; and the first of my series of papers appeared shortly after. +That they were successful, far beyond their deserts, is to me a proud +boast. On their conclusion numerous firms negotiated with me for the +copyright: with what result is known; and here to my publishers I +tender my best thanks. + +In arranging now these writings--put together and brought before the +public at a time when I had apparently many years of active life before +me--it is to me a melancholy reflection that the things of which they +treat are gone from my eyes,--for alas! I can ride no more. Never again +may my heart be gladdened with the music of the hounds, or my frame +invigorated by the exercise which I so dearly loved. An accident, +sudden and unexpected, has deprived me of my strength, and left me to +speak in mournful whispers of what was for long my happiest theme. Yet +why repine where so much is left? It is but another chapter in our +life's history! We love and cling to one pursuit--and it passes from +us; then another absorbs our attention,--it, too, vanishes; and so +on--perhaps midway to the end--until the "looking back" becomes so +filled with saddened memories, that the "looking forward" is alone +left. And so we turn our wistful eyes where they might never have been +directed, had the prospect behind us been less dark. + +A few more words, and I close my preliminary observations and commence +my subject. I cannot but be aware, from the nature of the correspondence +which has flowed in upon me, that although far the greater number of my +readers have agreed with me and entirely coincided in my views, not a +few have been found to cavil. Let not such think that I am oblivious of +their good intentions because I remain unconvinced by their arguments, +and still prefer to maintain my own opinions, which I have not ventured +to set forth without mature deliberation, and the most substantial +reasons for holding them in fixity of tenure. I have spent some +considerable time in turning over in my mind the advisability, or +otherwise, of publishing, as a sort of appendix to this volume, a +selection from the letters which were printed in _The Illustrated +Sporting and Dramatic News_ with reference to my writings in that +journal. After much deliberation I have decided upon suffering the +entire number, with a few trifling exceptions, to appear. They only +form a very small proportion of the voluminous correspondence with +which the Editor and myself were favoured; but, such as they are, I +give them--together with my replies,--not merely because they set forth +the views and impressions of various persons upon topics of universal +interest, but because I conceive that a large amount of useful +information may be gleaned from them, and they may also serve to amuse +my lady readers, who will doubtless be interested in the numerous +queries which I was called upon to answer. Whether or not I have been +able to fight my battles and maintain my cause, must be for others to +determine. + +I likewise subjoin a little paper on "Hunting in Ireland"--also already +published--which brought me many letters: some of them from persons +whose word should carry undoubted weight, fully coinciding in and +substantiating my views with regard to the cutting up of grass-lands; +whilst further on will be found my article entitled "Hunting in +America," originally published in _Life_, and copied from that journal +into so many papers throughout the kingdom, and abroad, that it is +now universally known, and cannot be here presented in the form of +a novelty,--but is given for the benefit of those who may not have +chanced to meet with it, and for whom the subject of American sports +and pastimes may happen to possess interest. + +N. P. O'D. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +PART I. + +LEARNING. + + +CHAPTER I. + +A Popular Error.--Excellence in Riding attainable without any +Youthful Knowledge of the Art.--The Empress of Austria.--Her +Proficiency.--Her Palace.--Her Occupations.--Her Disposition. +--Her Thoughts and Opinions.--The Age at which to learn.-- +Courage indispensable.--Taste a Necessity 1 + + +CHAPTER II. + +Learner's Costume.--The Best Teacher.--Your Bridle.--Your +Saddle.--Your Stirrup.--Danger from "Safety-stirrup."--A Terrible +Situation.--Learning to Ride without any support for the Foot 11 + + +CHAPTER III. + +Mounting.--Holding the Reins.--Position in the Saddle.--Use of +the Whip.--Trotting.--Cantering.--Riding from Balance.--Use of +the Stirrup. Leaping.--Whyte Melville's opinion 23 + + +PART II. + +PARK AND ROAD RIDING. + + +CHAPTER IV. + +How to Dress.--A Country-girl's ideas upon the subject.--How +to put on your Riding-gear.--How to preserve it.--First +Road-ride.--Backing.--Rearing, and how to prevent it 44 + + +CHAPTER V. + +Running away.--Three Dangerous Adventures.--How to act when +placed in Circumstances of Peril.--How to Ride a Puller.-- +Through the City.--To a Meet of Hounds.--Boastful Ladies.--A +Braggart's Resource 62 + + +PART III. + +HUNTING. + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Hunting-Gear.--Necessary Regard for Safe Shoeing.--Drive to the +Meet.--Scene on arriving.--A Word with the Huntsman.--A Good +Pilot.--The Covert-side.--Disappointment.--A Long Trot 81 + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Hounds in Covert.--The First Fence.--Follow your Pilot.--A +River-bath.--A Wise Precaution.--A Label advisable.--Wall and +Water Jumping.--Advice to Fallen Riders.--Hogging.--More Tail 98 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Holding on to a Prostrate Horse.--Is it Wise or otherwise?--An +Indiscreet Jump.--A Difficult Finish.--The Dangers of Marshy +Grounds.--Encourage Humanity.--A Reclaimed Cabby! 111 + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Selfishness in the Field.--Fording a River.--Shirking a Fence. +--Over-riding the Hounds.--Treatment of Tired Hunters.--Bigwig +and the Major.--Naughty Bigwig.--Hapless Major 120 + + +CHAPTER X. + +Feeding Horses.--Forage-biscuits.--Irish Peasantry.--A Cunning +Idiot.--A Cabin Supper.--The Roguish Mule.--A Day at Courtown. +--Paddy's Opinion of the Empress 131 + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Double-rise.--Pointing out the Right Foot.--The force of +Habit.--Various kinds of Fault-finding.--Mr. Sturgess' +Pictures.--An English Harvest-home.--A Jealous Shrew.--A Shy +Blacksmith.--How Irishmen get Partners at a Dance 144 + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Subject of Feeding resumed.--Cooked Food recommended.--Effects of +Raw Oats upon "Pleader."--Servants' Objections.--Snaffle-bridle, +and Bit-and-Bridoon.--Kindness to the Poor.--An Unsympathetic +Lady.--An Ungallant Captain.--What is a Gentleman?--_Au +Revoir!_ 159 + + +PART IV. + +HUNTING IN IRELAND 173 + + +PART V. + +HUNTING IN AMERICA 183 + + +CORRESPONDENCE 192 + + + + +LADIES ON HORSEBACK. + + + + +PART I. + +LEARNING. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +A POPULAR ERROR.--EXCELLENCE IN RIDING ATTAINABLE WITHOUT ANY YOUTHFUL +KNOWLEDGE OF THE ART.--THE EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA.--HER PROFICIENCY.--HER +PALACE.--HER OCCUPATIONS.--HER DISPOSITION.--HER THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS. +--THE AGE AT WHICH TO LEARN.--COURAGE INDISPENSABLE.--TASTE A NECESSITY. + + +It is my belief that hints to ladies from a lady, upon a subject which +now so universally occupies the female mind--hints, not offered in any +cavilling nor carping spirit, but with an affectionate and sisterly +regard for the interests of those addressed--cannot fail to be +appreciated, and must become popular. Men write very well for men, but +in writing for us ladies they cannot, however willing, enter into all +the little delicacies and minutiĉ of our tastes and feelings, and so +half the effect is lost. + +I do not purpose entering upon any discussion, nor, indeed, touching +more than very lightly upon the treatment and management of the horse. +A subject so exhaustive lies totally outside the limits of my pen, +and has, moreover, been so ably treated by men of knowledge and +experience, as to render one word further respecting the matter almost +superfluous. I shall therefore content myself with surmising that +the horses with which we may have to do throughout these remarks--be +they school-horses, roadsters, or hunters--are at least sound, +good-tempered, and properly trained. Their beauty and other attributes +we shall take for granted, and not trouble ourselves about. + +And now, in addressing my readers, I shall endeavour to do so as +though I spoke to each separately, and so shall adopt the term "you," +as being at once friendly and concise. + +My subject shall be divided into three heads. First the acquirement of +the equestrian art; second, road and park riding; third, hunting; with +a few hints upon the costume, &c. required for each, and a slight +sprinkling of anecdote here and there to enliven the whole. + +I shall commence by saying that it is a mistake to imagine that +riding, in order to be properly learnt, must be begun in youth: that +nobody can excel as a horsewoman who has not accustomed herself to +the saddle from a mere child. On the contrary some of the finest +_équestriennes_ the world has ever produced have known little or +nothing of the art until the spring-time of their life was past. Her +Imperial Majesty the Empress of Austria, and likewise her sister the +ex-Queen of Naples, cared nothing about riding until comparatively +late in life. I know little, except through hearsay, of the last-named +lady's proficiency in the saddle, but having frequently witnessed +that of the former, and having also been favoured with a personal +introduction at the gracious request of the Empress, I can unhesitatingly +say that anything more superb than her style of riding it would be +impossible to conceive. The manner in which she mounts her horse, sits +him, manages him, and bears him safely through a difficult run, is +something which must be seen to be understood. Her courage is amazing. +Indeed, I have been informed that she finds as little difficulty in +standing upon a bare-backed steed and driving four others in long +reins, as in sitting quietly in one of Kreutzman's saddles. In the +circus attached to her palace at Vienna she almost daily performs +these feats, and encourages by prizes and evidences of personal favour +many of the Viennese ladies who seek to emulate her example. There has +been considerable discussion respecting the question of the Empress's +womanliness, and the reverse. Ladies have averred--oh, jealous +ladies!--that she is _not_ womanly; that her style of dressing is +objectionable, and that she has "no business to ride without her +husband!" These sayings are all open to but one interpretation; ladies +are ever envious of each other, more especially of those who excel. +The Empress is not only a perfect woman, but an angel of light and +goodness. Nor do I say this from any toadyism, nor yet from the +gratitude which I must feel for her kindly favour toward myself. I +speak as I think and believe. Blessed with a beauty rarely given to +mortal, she combines with it a sweetness of character and disposition, +a womanly tenderness, and a thoughtful and untiring charity, which +deserve to gain for her--as they have gained--the hearts as well as +the loving respect and reverence of all with whom she has come in +contact. + +I was pleased to find, whilst conversing with her, that many of my +views about riding were hers also, and that she considered it a +pity--as I likewise do--that so many lady riders are utterly spoilt by +pernicious and ignorant teaching. I myself am of opinion that childhood +is not the best time to acquire the art of riding. The muscles are too +young, and the back too weak. The spine is apt to grow crooked, unless +a second saddle be adopted, which enables the learner to sit on +alternate days upon the off-side of the horse; and to this there are +many objections. The best time to learn to ride is about the age of +sixteen. All the delicacy to which the female frame is subject during +the period from the thirteenth to the fifteenth year has then passed +away, and the form is vigorous and strong, and capable of enduring +fatigue. + +I know it to be a generally accepted idea that riding is like music and +literature--the earlier it is learnt the better for the learner, and +the more certain the proficiency desired to be attained. This is an +entirely erroneous opinion, and one which should be at once discarded. +I object, as a rule, to children riding. They cannot do so with any +safety, unless put upon horses and ponies which are sheep-like in their +demeanour; and from being accustomed to such, and to none other, they +are nervous and frightened when mounted upon spirited animals which +they feel they have not the strength nor the art to manage, and, being +unused to the science of controlling, they suffer themselves to be +controlled, and thus extinguish their chance of becoming accomplished +horsewomen. I know ladies, certainly, who ride with a great show of +boldness, and tear wildly across country after hounds, averring that +they never knew what fear meant: why should they--having ridden from +the time they were five years old? Very probably, but the bravery of +the few is nothing by which to judge of a system which is, on the +whole, pernicious. It is less objectionable for boys, because their +shoulders are not apt to grow awry by sitting sideways, as little +girls' do; nor are they liable to hang over upon one side; nor have +they such delicate frames and weakly fingers to bring to the front. +Moreover, if they tumble off, what matter? It does them all the good in +the world. A little sticking-plaister and shaking together, and they +are all right again. But I confess I _don't like_ to see a girl come +off. Less than a year ago a sweet little blue-eyed damsel who was +prattling by my side as she rode her grey pony along with me, was +thrown suddenly and without warning upon the road. The animal +stumbled--her tiny hands lacked the strength to pull him together--she +was too childish and inexperienced to know the art of retaining her +seat. She fell! and the remembrance of uplifting her, and carrying her +little hurt form before me upon my saddle to her parents' house, is not +amongst the brightest of my memories. + +We will assume, then, that you are a young lady in your sixteenth +year, possessed of the desire to acquire the art of riding, and the +necessary amount of courage to enable you to do so. This latter +attribute is an absolute and positive necessity, for a coward will +_never_ make a horsewoman. If you are a coward, your horse will soon +find it out, and will laugh at you; for horses can and do laugh when +they what is usually termed "gammon" their riders. Nobody who does not +possess unlimited confidence and a determination to know no fear, has +any business aspiring to the art. Courage is indispensable, and must +be there from the outset. All other difficulties may be got over, but +a natural timidity is an insurmountable obstacle. + +A cowardly rider labours under a two-fold disadvantage, for she not +only suffers from her own cowardice, but actually imparts it to her +horse. An animal's keen instinct tells him at once whether his master +or his servant is upon his back. The moment your hands touch the reins +the horse knows what your courage is, and usually acts accordingly. + +No girl should be taught to ride who has not a taste, and a most +decided one, for the art. Yet I preach this doctrine in vain; for, all +over the world, young persons are forced by injudicious guardians to +acquire various accomplishments for which they have no calling, and at +which they can never excel. It is just as unwise to compel a girl to +mount and manage a horse against her inclination, as it is to force +young persons who have no taste for music to sit for hours daily at a +piano, or thrust pencils and brushes into hands unwilling to use them. +A love for horses, and an earnest desire to acquire the art of riding, +are alike necessary to success. An unwilling learner will have a bad +seat, a bad method, and clumsy hands upon the reins; whereas an +enthusiast will seem to have an innate facility and power to conquer +difficulties, and will possess that magic sense of _touch_, and facile +delicacy of manipulation, which go so far toward making what are +termed "good hands,"--a necessity without which nobody can claim to be +a rider. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +LEARNER'S COSTUME.--THE BEST TEACHER.--YOUR BRIDLE.--YOUR SADDLE.-- +YOUR STIRRUP.--DANGER FROM "SAFETY-STIRRUP."--A TERRIBLE SITUATION. +--LEARNING TO RIDE WITHOUT ANY SUPPORT FOR THE FOOT. + + +Having now discussed your age, your nerve, and your taste, we shall say +a few words about your costume as a learner. Put on a pair of strong +well-made boots; heels are not objectionable, but buttons are decidedly +so, as they are apt to catch in the stirrup and cause trouble. Strong +chamois riding-trousers, cloth from the hip down, with straps to fasten +under the boots, and soft padding under the right knee and over the +left, to prevent the friction of the pommels, which, to a beginner, +generally causes much pain and uneasiness. A plain skirt of brown +holland, and any sort of dark jacket, will suit your purpose quite +well, for you are only going to learn; not to show off--yet. Your +hat--any kind will do--must be securely fastened on, and your hair left +flowing, for no matter how well you may fancy you have it fastened, the +motion of the horse will shake it and make it feel unsteady, and the +very first hairpin that drops out, up will go your hand to replace it, +and your reins will be forgotten. As soon as you have put on a pair of +strong loose gloves, and taken a little switch in your hand, you are +ready to mount. + +The nicest place in which you can learn is a well-tanned riding-school +or large green paddock, and the nicest person to teach you is a lady or +gentleman friend, who will have the knowledge and the patience to +instruct you. Heaven help the learner who is handed over to the tender +mercies of John, the coachman, or Jem, the groom! Servants are rarely +able to ride a yard themselves, and their attempt at teaching is +proportionately lame. Your horse having been led out, your attendant +looks to his girthing, &c., as stable servants are not always too +particular respecting these necessary matters. + +The pleasantest bridle in which to ride is a plain ring-snaffle. Few +horses will go in it; but, remember, I am surmising that yours has been +properly trained. By riding in this bridle you have complete control +over the movements of your horse--can, in fact, manage him with one +hand, and you have the additional advantage of having fewer leathers to +encumber and embarrass your fingers. A beginner is frequently puzzled +to distinguish between the curb and the snaffle when riding with a +double rein, and mistaking one for the other, or pulling equally at +both, is apt to cause the horse much unnecessary irritation. It is +lamentable to see the manner in which grown men and women, who ought to +know so much better, tug and strain at their horses' mouths with an +equal pull upon both reins, when riding, as is the custom, in a bit and +bridoon. Perhaps of the two they draw the curb the tighter. It is not +meant for cruelty--they do not appear to be aware that it _is_ cruel: +but there is no greater sign of utter ignorance. Horses are not +naturally vicious, and very few of them who have had any sort of +fair-play in training, really require a curb, or will go as well or +pleasantly upon it as if ridden in a snaffle-bridle. + +Your saddle is another most important point. Never commence, be your +age ever so tender, by riding upon a pad. Accustom yourself from the +beginning to the use of a properly constructed saddle, made as straight +as a board, seat perfectly level, and scarcely any appearance of a +pommel upon the off-side. A leaping-head, or what is commonly termed a +third crutch, is, in my opinion, indispensable. To procure a saddle +such as I describe you must have it made to order, for those of the +present day are all made with something of a dip, which is most +objectionable. I do not like the appearance of much stitching about a +saddle. It has always appeared to me absurd to see the amount of +elaborate embroidery which every old-fashioned saddle carries upon the +near flap. Nothing could be more unnecessary than an outlay of labour +upon a portion of the article which is always concealed beneath the +rider's right leg. There might be some sense, although very little, in +decorating the off-side and imparting to it something of an ornamental +appearance; but in my opinion there cannot be too much simplicity about +everything connected with riding appointments. A plainness, amounting +even to severity, is to be preferred before any outward show. Ribbons, +and coloured veils, and yellow gloves, and showy flowers are alike +objectionable. A gaudy "get up" (to make use of an expressive +common-place) is highly to be condemned, and at once stamps the wearer +as a person of inferior taste. Therefore avoid it. Let your saddle be, +like your personal attire, remarkable only for its perfect freedom from +ornament or display. Have it made to suit yourself--neither too +weighty, nor yet too small--and if you want to ride with grace and +comfort, desire that it be constructed without one particle of the +objectionable dip. There is a very old-established and world-noted firm +in Piccadilly--Peat & Co.--where you can obtain an article such as I +describe, properly made, and of durable materials, at quite a moderate +cost. I can say, speaking from experience, that no trouble will be +spared to afford you satisfaction, and that the workmanship will be not +only lasting, but characterised by that neatness for which I am so +strong an advocate. You should ride _on_ your saddle, not _in_ it, and +you must learn to ride from balance or you will never excel, and this +you can only do by the use of the level seat. A small pocket on the +off-side, and a neat cross strap to support a waterproof, are of course +necessary items. + +Your stirrup is the next important matter. I strongly disapprove of the +old-fashioned slipper, as also of the so-called "safety" stirrup, which +is, in my opinion, the fruitful source of many accidents. Half the +lamentable mischances with which our ears are from time to time +shocked, are due to the pertinacity with which ladies will cling to +this murderous safety stirrup. So long as they will persist in doing +so, casualties must be looked for and must occur. The padding over the +instep causes the foot to become firmly imbedded, and in the event of +an accident the consequences are dire, for the mechanism of the stirrup +is almost invariably stiff or out of order, or otherwise refuses to +act. Mr. Oldacre was, I believe, the inventor of the padded stirrup, +and for this we owe him or his memory little thanks, although the +gratitude of all lady riders is undoubtedly due to him for his +admirable invention and patenting of the third crutch, without which +our seat in the saddle would be far less comfortable and less secure. + +I dare say that I shall have a large section of aggrieved stirrup-makers +coming down upon me with the phials of their wrath for giving publicity +to this opinion, but in writing as I have done I merely state my own +views, which I deem we are all at liberty to do; and looking upon my +readers as friends, I warn them against an article of which I myself +have had woful experience. I once purchased a safety stirrup at one of +the best houses, and made by one of the best makers. The shopman showed +it off to me in gallant style, expatiating upon its many excellencies, +and adroitly managing the stiff machinery with his deft fingers, until +I was fairly deceived, and gave him a handful of money for what +subsequently proved a cause of trouble. I lost more than one good run +with hounds through the breaking of this dearly-bought stirrup, having +upon one occasion to ride quite a long distance away from the hunt to +seek out a forge at which I might undergo repairs. Nor was this the +worst, for one day, having incautiously plunged into a bog in my +anxiety to be in at the death, my horse got stuck and began to sink, +and of course I sought to release myself from him at once; but no, my +foot was locked fast in that terrible stirrup, and I could not stir. My +position was dreadful, for I had outridden my pilot, my struggling +steed was momentarily sinking lower, and the shades of evening were +fast closing in. I shudder to think what might have been my fate and +that of my gallant horse had not the fox happily turned and led the +hunt back along the skirts of the bog, thus enabling my cries for help +to be heard by one or two brave spirits who came gallantly to my +rescue. I have more than once since then been caught in a treacherous +bog when following the chase, but never have I found any difficulty in +jumping from my horse's back and helping him to struggle gamely on to +the dry land, for I have never since ridden in a safety-stirrup, nor +shall I ever be likely to do so again. It may be said, and probably +with truth, that my servant had neglected to clean it properly from day +to day, and that consequently the spring had got rusted and refused to +act. Such may possibly have been the case, but might not the same thing +occur to anyone, or at any time? Servants are the same all over the +world, and yet you must either trust to them or spend half your time +overlooking them in the stable and harness-room, which for a lady is +neither agreeable nor correct. + +There is nothing so pleasant to ride in as a plain little racing-stirrup, +from which the foot is in an instant freed. I have not for a long while +back used anything else myself, nor has my foot ever remained caught, +even in the most dangerous falls. + +I conceive it to be an admirable plan to learn to ride without a +stirrup at all. Of course I do not mean by this that a lady should +_ever_ go out park-riding or hunting _sans_ the aid of such +an appendage, but she should be taught the necessity of dispensing with +it in case of emergency. The benefits arising from such training are +manifold. First, it imparts a freedom and independence which cannot +otherwise be acquired; secondly, it gives an admirable and sure seat +over fences; thirdly, it is an excellent means of learning how to ride +from balance; and fourthly, in spite of its apparent difficulties, it +is in the end a mighty simplifier, inasmuch as, when the use of the +stirrup is again permitted, all seems such marvellously plain sailing, +that every obstacle appears to vanish from the learner's path. In +short, a lady who can ride fairly well without a support for her foot, +must, when such is added, be indeed an accomplished horsewoman. I knew +a lady who never made use of a stirrup throughout the whole course of +an unusually long life, and who rode most brilliantly to hounds. Few, +however, could do this, nor is it by any means advisable, but to be +able occasionally to dispense with the support is doubtless of decided +benefit. + +I have often found my training in this respect stand me in good stead, +for it has more than once happened that in jumping a stiff fence, or +struggling in a heavy fall, my stirrup-leather has given way, and I +have had not alone to finish the run without it, but to ride many miles +of a journey homeward. + +Nothing could be more wearisome to an untutored horsewoman than a long +ride without a stirrup. The weight of her suspended limb becomes after +a moment or two most inconvenient and even painful, whilst the trot of +the horse occasions her to bump continuously in the saddle,--for the +power of rising without artificial aid would appear a sheer impossibility +to an ordinary rider whose teaching had been entrusted to an ordinary +teacher. I would have you then bear in mind that although I advocate +_practising_ without the assistance of a stirrup, I am totally +against your setting out beyond the limits of your own lawn or paddock +without this necessary support. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +MOUNTING.--HOLDING THE REINS.--POSITION IN THE SADDLE.--USE OF THE +WHIP.--TROTTING.--CANTERING.--RIDING FROM BALANCE.--USE OF THE STIRRUP. +--LEAPING.--WHYTE MELVILLE'S OPINION. + + +Having now seen that your bridle, saddle, and stirrup are in proper +order, you prepare to mount, and this will probably take you some time +and practice to accomplish gracefully, being quite an art in itself. +Nothing is more atrocious than to see a lady require a chair to mount +her animal, or hang midway against the side of the saddle when her +cavalier gives her the helping hand. Lay your right hand firmly upon +the pommel of your saddle, and the left upon the shoulder of your +attendant, in whose hand you place your left foot. Have ready some +signal sentence, as "Make ready, go!" or "one, two, three!" Immediately +upon pronouncing the last syllable make your spring, and if your +attendant does his duty properly you will find yourself seated deftly +upon your saddle. + +As I have already stated, this requires practice, and you must not be +disappointed if a week or so of failure ensues between trial and +success. + +As soon as you are firmly seated, take your rein (which, as I have +said, should be a single one) and adjust it thus. Place the near side +under the little finger of your left hand, and the off one between your +first and second fingers, bringing both in front toward the right hand, +and holding them securely in their place with the pressure of your +thumb. This is merely a hint as to the simplest method for a beginner +to adopt, for there is really no fixed rule for holding reins, nor must +you at all times hold them in one hand only, but frequently--and always +when hunting--put both hands firmly to your bridle. Anything stiff or +stereotyped is to be avoided. A good rider, such as we hope you will +soon become, will change her reins about, and move her position upon +the saddle, so as to be able to watch the surrounding scenery--always +moving gracefully, and without any abrupt or spasmodic jerkings, which +are just as objectionable as the poker-like rigidity which I wish you +to avoid. How common it is to see ladies on horseback sitting as though +they were afraid to budge a hair, with pinioned elbows and +straightly-staring eyes. This is most objectionable; in fact, nothing +can be more unsightly. A graceful, easy seat, is a good horsewoman's +chief characteristic. She is not afraid of tumbling off, and so she +does not look as though she were so; moreover, she has been properly +taught in the commencement, and all such defects have been rectified by +a careful supervision. + +With regard to your whip, it must be held point downwards, and if you +have occasion to touch your horse, give it to him down the shoulder, +but always with temperance and kindly judgment. I once had a +riding-master who desired me to hold my whip balanced in three fingers +of my right hand, point upwards, the hand itself being absurdly bowed +and the little finger stuck straight out like a wooden projection. My +natural good sense induced me to rebel against anything so completely +ridiculous, and I quietly asked my teacher why I was to carry my whip +in that particular position. His answer was--"Oh, that you may have it +ready _to strike your horse on the neck_." Shades of Diana! this +is the way our daughters are taught in schools, and we marvel that they +show so little for the heaps of money which we hopefully expend upon +them. + +Being then fairly seated upon your saddle, your skirt drawn down and +arranged by your attendant, your reins in your hand and your whip +arranged, you must proceed to walk your horse quietly around the +enclosure, having first gently drawn your bridle through his mouth. You +will feel very strange at first: much as though you were on the back of +a dromedary and were completely at his mercy. Sit perfectly straight +and erect, but without stiffness. Be careful not to hang over upon +either side, and, above all things, avoid the pernicious habit of +clutching nervously with the right hand at the off pommel to save +yourself from some imaginary danger. So much does this unsightly habit +grow upon beginners, that, unless checked, it will follow them through +life. I know grown women who ride every day, and the very moment their +horse breaks into a canter or a trot they lay a grim grip upon the +pommel, and hold firmly on to it until the animal again lapses into a +walk. And this they do unconsciously. The habit, given way to in +childhood, has grown so much into second nature that to tell them of it +would amaze them. I once ventured to offer a gentle remonstrance upon +the subject to a lady with whom I was extremely intimate, and she was +not only astonished, but so displeased with me for noticing it, that +she was never quite the same to me afterwards; and so salutary was the +lesson which I then received that I have since gone upon the principle +of complete non-interference, and if I saw my fellow _équestriennes_ +riding gravely upon their horses' heads I would not suggest the +rationality of transferring their weight to the saddle. And this +theory is a good one, or at least a wise one; for humanity is so +inordinately conceited that it will never take a hint kindly, unless +asked for; and not always even then. + +To sit erect upon your saddle is a point of great importance; if you +acquire a habit of stooping it will grow upon you, and it is not only a +great disfigurement, but not unfrequently a cause of serious accident, +for if your horse suddenly throws up his head, he hits you upon the +nose, and deprives you of more blood than you may be able to replace in +a good while. + +As soon as you can feel yourself quite at home upon your mount, and +have become accustomed to its walking motion, your attendant will urge +him into a gentle trot. And now prepare yourself for the beginning of +sorrows. Your first sensation will be that of being shaken to pieces. +You are, of course, yet quite ignorant of the art of rising in your +saddle, and the trot of the horse fairly churns you. Your hat shakes, +your hair flaps, your elbows bang to your sides, you are altogether +miserable. Still, you hold on bravely, though you are ready to cry from +the horrors of the situation. + +Your attendant, by way of relieving you, changes the trot to a canter, +and then you are suddenly transported to Elysium. The motion is +heavenly. You have nothing to do but sit close to your saddle, and you +are borne delightfully along. It is too ecstatic to last. Alas! it will +never teach you to ride, and so you return to the trot and the shaking +and the jogging, the horrors of which are worse than anything you have +ever previously experienced. You try vainly to give yourself some ease, +but fail utterly, and at length dismount--hot, tired, and disheartened. + +But against this latter you must resolutely fight. Remember that +nothing can be learned without trouble, and by-and-by you will be +repaid. It is not everybody who has the gift of perseverance, and it is +an invaluable attribute. It is a fact frequently commented upon, not +alone by me but by many others also, that if you go for the hiring of a +horse to any London livery-stable you will be sent a good-looking beast +enough, but he will not be able to trot a yard. Canter, canter, is all +that he can do. And why? He is kept for the express purpose of carrying +young ladies in the Row, and these young ladies have never learnt to +trot. They can dress themselves as vanity suggests in fashionably-cut +habits, suffer themselves to be lifted to the saddle, and sit there, +looking elegant and pretty, whilst their horse canters gaily down the +long ride; but were the animal to break into a trot (which he is far +too well tutored to attempt to do), they would soon present the same +shaken, dilapidated, dishevelled, and utterly miserable appearance +which you yourself do after your first experience of the difficulties +which a learner has to encounter. + +The art of rising in the saddle is said to have been invented by one +Dan Seffert, a very famous steeplechase jockey, who had, I believe, +been a riding-master in the days of his youth. If this be true--which +there is no reason to doubt--we have certainly to thank him, for it is +a vast improvement upon the jog-trot adopted by the cavalry, which, +however well it may suit them and impart uniformity of motion to their +"line-riding," is not by any means suited to a lady, either for +appearances or for purposes of health. + +You come up for your next day's lesson in a very solemn mood. You are, +in fact, considerably sobered. You had thought it was all plain +sailing: it _looked_ so easy. You had seen hundreds of persons +riding, trotting, and even setting off to hunt, and had never dreamed +that there had been any trouble in learning. Now you know the +difficulties and what is before you. + +You recall your sufferings during your first days upon the ice, or on +the rink. How utterly impossible it seemed that you could ever excel; +how you tumbled about; how miserably helpless you felt, and how many +heavy falls you got! Yet you conquered in the end, and so you will +again. + +You take courage and mount your steed. First you walk him a little, as +yesterday; and then the jolting begins again. How are you ever to get +into that rise and fall which you have seen with others, and so much +covet? How are you to accomplish it? Only by doing as I tell you, and +persevering in it. As your horse throws out his near foreleg press your +foot upon your stirrup, in time to lift yourself slightly as his off +foreleg is next thrown out. Watch the motion of his legs, press your +foot, and at the same time slightly lift yourself from your saddle. For +a long while, many days perhaps, it will seem to be all wrong; you have +not got into it one bit; you are just as far from it apparently as when +you commenced. You are hot and vexed, and you, perhaps, cry with +mortification and disappointment, as I have seen many a young beginner +do; bitterly worried and disheartened you are, and ready to give up, +when, lo! quite suddenly, as though it had come to you by magic and not +through your own steady perseverance, you find yourself rising and +falling _with_ the trot of the horse, and your labours are +rewarded. + +After this your lessons are a source of delight. You no longer come +from them flushed and worried, but joyous and exultant and impatient +for the next. You have begun to feel quite brave, and to throw out +hints that you are longing for a good ride on the road. You now know +how to make your horse trot and canter; the first by a light touch of +your whip and a gentle movement of your bridle through his mouth; the +second by a slight bearing of the rein upon the near side of his mouth, +so as to make him go off upon the right leg, and a little warning touch +of your heel. You fancy, in fact, that you are quite a horsewoman, and +have already rolled up your hair into a neat knot, and hinted to papa +that you should greatly like a habit. But, alas! you have plenty of +trouble yet before you, plenty to learn, plenty of falls to get and to +bear. At present you can ride fairly well on the straight; but you know +nothing of keeping your balance in time of danger. Your horse is very +quiet, but if he chanced to put back his ears you would be off. + +You are taught to maintain your balance in the following way:-- + +Your attendant waits until your horse is cantering pretty briskly in a +circle from left to right, when he suddenly cracks his whip close to +the animal's heels, who immediately swerves and turns the other way. +You have had no warning of the movement, and consequently you tumble +off, and are put up again, feeling a little shaken and a good deal +crestfallen. Most likely you will fall again and again, until you have +thoroughly mastered the art of riding from balance. + +This is a method I have seen adopted, especially in schools, with +considerable success, but it is certainly attended with inconvenience +to the learner, and with a goodly portion of the risk from falls which +all who ride _must_ of necessity run. To ride well from balance is +not a thing which can be accomplished in a day, nor a month, nor +perhaps a year. Many pass a life-time without practically comprehending +the meaning of the term. They ride every day, hold on to the bridle, +guide their horses, and trust to chance for the rest; but this is not +true horsemanship. It could no more be called _riding_ than could +a piece of mechanical pianoforte-playing be termed music. When you +have, after much difficulty and delay, mastered the obstacles which +marred your progress, you will then have the happy consciousness of +feeling that however your horse may shy or swerve, or otherwise depart +from his good manners, you can sit him with the ease and closeness of a +young centaur. + +This art of riding from balance is not half sufficiently known. It is +one most difficult to acquire, but the study is worth the labour. +Nine-tenths of the lady equestrians, and perhaps even a greater number +of gentlemen, ride from the horse's head; a detestable practice which +cannot be too highly condemned. I must also warn you against placing +too much stress upon the stirrup when your horse is trotting. You must +bear in mind that the stirrup is intended for a support for the +foot--not to be ridden from. By placing your right leg firmly around +the up-pommel, and pressing the left knee against the leaping-head, you +can accomplish the rise in your saddle with slight assistance from the +stirrup; and this is the proper way to ride. The lazy, careless habit +into which many women fall, of resting the entire weight of the body +upon the stirrup, not only frequently causes the leathers to snap at +most inconvenient times, but is the lamentable cause of half the sore +backs and ugly galls from which poor horses suffer so severely. + +Having at length perfected yourself in walking, trotting, cantering, +and riding from balance, you have only to acquire the art of +leaping--and then you will be finished, so far as teaching can make you +so. Experience must do the rest. + +It is a good thing, when learning, to mount as many different horses as +you possibly can; always, of course, taking care that they are +sufficiently trained not to endeavour to master you. Horses vary +immensely in their action and gait of going: so much so, that if you do +not accustom yourself to a variety you will take your ideas from one +alone, and will, when put upon a strange animal, find yourself +completely at sea. + +Do not suffer anything to induce you to take your first leap over a bar +or pole similar to those used in schools. The horse sees the daylight +under it, knows well that it is a sham, goes at it unwillingly, does +not half rise to it, drops his heels when in the air, and knocks it +down with a crash,--only to do the same thing a second time, and a +third, and a fourth also, if urged to do that which he despises. + +Choose a nice little hurdle about two feet high, well interwoven with +gorse; trot your horse gently up to it, and let him see what it is; +then, turn him back and send him at it, sitting close glued to your +saddle, with a firm but gentle grip of your reins, and your hands held +low. To throw up the hands is a habit with all beginners, and should at +once be checked. Fifty to one you will stick on all right, and, if you +come off, why it's many a good man's case, and you must regard it as +one of the chances of war. + +The next day you may have the gorse raised another half-foot above the +hurdle, and so on by degrees, until you can sit with ease over a jump +of five feet. Always bear in mind to keep your hands quite down upon +your horse's withers, and never interfere with his mouth. Sit well +back, leave him his head, and he will not make a mistake. Of course, I +am again surmising that he has been properly trained, and that you +alone are the novice. To put a learner upon an untrained animal would +be a piece of folly, not to say of wickedness, of which we hope nobody +in this age of enlightenment would dream of being guilty. In jumping a +fence or hurdle do not leave your reins quite slack; hold them lightly +but firmly, as your horse should jump against his bridle, but do not +pull him. A gentle support is alone necessary. + +That absurd and vulgar theory about "lifting a horse at his fences," so +freely affected by the ignorant youth of the present day, cannot be too +strongly deprecated. That same "lifting" has broken more horses' +shoulders and more _asses'_ necks than anything else on record. A +good hunter with a bad rider upon his back will actually shake his head +free on coming up to a fence. He knows that he cannot do what is +expected of him if his mouth is to be chucked and worried, any more +than you or I could under similar circumstances, and so he asserts his +liberty. How often, in a steeplechase, one horse early deprived of his +rider will voluntarily go the whole course and jump every obstacle in +perfect safety, even with the reins dangling about his legs, yet never +make a mistake; whilst a score or so of compeers will be tumbling at +every fence. And why? The answer is plain and simple. The free horse +has his head, and his instinct tells him where to put his feet; whereas +the animals with riders upon their backs are dragged and pulled and +sawn at, until irritation deprives them of sense and sight, and, +rushing wildly at their fences (probably getting another tug at the +moment of rising), they fall, and so extinguish their chance of a win. + +I do not, of course, in saying this, mean for a moment to question the +judgment and horsemanship of very many excellent jockeys, whose ability +is beyond comment and their riding without reproach. I speak of the +rule, not of the few exceptions. + +Half the horses who fall in the hunting-field are thrown down by their +riders; this is a fact too obvious to be contradicted. Men over-riding +their horses, treating them with needless cruelty, riding them when +already beaten: these are the fruitful causes of falls in the field, +together with that most objectionable practice of striving to "lift" +an animal who knows his duties far better than the man upon his back. +It is a pity, and my heart has often bled to see how the noblest of +God's created things is ill-treated and abused by the human brute who +styles himself the master. It is, indeed, a disgrace to our humanity +that this priceless creature, given to a man with a mind highly +wrought, sensitive, yearning for kindness, and capable of appreciating +each word and look of the being whose willing slave it is, should be +treated with cruelty, and in too many cases regarded but as a sort of +machine to do the master's bidding. Who has not seen, and mourned to +see, the tired, patient horse, spurred and dragged at by a remorseless +rider, struggling gamely forward in the hunting-field, with bleeding +mouth and heaving, bloody flanks, to enable a cruel task-master to see +the end of a second run, and even of a third, after having carried him +gallantly through a long and intricate first? It is a piece of +inhumanity which all humane riders see and deplore every day +throughout the hunting season. We cannot stop it, but we can speak +against it and write it down, and discountenance it in every possible +way, as we are all bound to do. Why will not men be brought to see +that in abusing their horses they are compassing their own loss? that +in taxing the powers of a beaten animal they are riding for a fall, +and are consequently endangering the life which God has given them? + +There is much to be learnt in the art of fencing besides hurdle-leaping. +A good timber-jumper will often take a ditch or drain in a very +indifferent manner. I have seen a horse jump a five-barred gate in +magnificent style, yet fall short into a comparatively narrow ditch; +and _vice versâ_; therefore, various kinds of jumps must be kept +up, persevered in, and kept constantly in practice. Two things must +always be preserved in view; never sit loosely in your saddle, and +always ride well from balance, never from your horse's head. In taking +an up jump leave him abundance of head-room, and sit _well_ back, +lest in his effort he knock you in the face. If the jump is a down +one--what is known as an "ugly drop"--follow the same rules; but, when +your horse is landing, give him good support from the bridle, as, +should the ground be at all soft or marshy, he might be apt to peck, +and so give you an ugly fall. + +It is a disputed point whether or not horses like jumping. I am +inclined to coincide in poor Whyte-Melville's opinion that they do not. +He was a good authority upon most subjects connected with equine +matters, and so he ought to know; but of one thing I am positively +certain: they abhor schooling. However a horse may tolerate or even +enjoy a good fast scurry with hounds, there can be no doubt that he +greatly dislikes being brought to his fences in cold blood. He has not, +when schooling, the impetus which sends him along, nor the example or +excitement to be met with in the hunting-field. The horse is naturally +a timid animal, and this is why he so frequently stops short at his +fences when schooling. He mistrusts his own powers. When running with +hounds he is borne along by speed and by excitement, and so goes skying +over obstacles which appal him when trotted quietly to them on a +schooling day. It is just the difference which an actor feels between a +chilling rehearsal and the night performance, when the theatre is +crowded and the clapping of hands and the shouting of approving voices +lend life and spirit to the part he plays. + +You will probably get more falls whilst schooling than ever you will +get in the hunting-field, but a few weeks' steady practice over good +artificial fences or a nice natural country, will give you a firm seat +and an amount of confidence which will stand to you as friends. + + + + +PART II. + +PARK AND ROAD RIDING. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +HOW TO DRESS.--A COUNTRY-GIRL'S IDEAS UPON THE SUBJECT.--HOW TO PUT +ON YOUR RIDING-GEAR.--HOW TO PRESERVE IT.--FIRST ROAD-RIDE.--BACKING. +--REARING, AND HOW TO PREVENT IT. + + +Having now mastered the art of riding, you will of course be desirous +of appearing in the parks and on the public roadways, and exhibiting +the prowess which it has cost you so much to gain. + +For your outfit you will require, in addition to the articles already +in your possession, a nice well-made habit of dark cloth. If you are a +very young girl, grey will be the most suitable; if not, dark blue. If +you live in London, pay a visit to Mayfair, and get Mr. Wolmershausen +to make it for you; if in Dublin, Mr. Scott, of Sackville Street, will +do equally well; indeed, for any sort of riding-gear, ladies' or +gentlemen's, he is not to be excelled. If you are not within easy +distance of a city, go to the best tailor you can, and give him +directions, which he must not be above taking. Skirt to reach six +inches below the foot, well shaped for the knee, and neatly shotted at +end of hem just below the right foot; elastic band upon inner side, to +catch the left toe, and to retain the skirt in its place. It should be +made tight and spare, without _one inch_ of superfluous cloth; +jacket close-fitting, but sufficiently easy to avoid even the suspicion +of being squeezed; sleeves perfectly tight, except at the setting on, +where a slight puffiness over the shoulder should give the appearance +of increased width of chest. No braiding nor ornamentation of any sort +to appear. A small neat linen collar, upright shape, with cuffs to +correspond, should be worn with the habit, no frilling nor fancy work +being admissible--the collar to be fastened with a plain gold or silver +stud. + +The nicest hat to ride in is an ordinary silk one, much lower than they +are usually made, and generally requiring to be manufactured purposely +to fit and suit the head. Of course, if you are a young girl, the melon +shape will not be unsuitable, but the other is more in keeping, more +becoming, and vastly more economical in the end, although few can be +induced to believe this. It is the custom in many households to +purchase articles for their cheapness, without any regard to quality or +durability, and this you should endeavour to avoid. Speaking from +experience, the best things are always the cheapest. I pay from a +guinea to a guinea and a half for a good silk hat, and find that it +wears out four felt ones of the quality usually sold at ten and +sixpence. There is no London house at which you can procure better +articles or better value than at Lincoln, Bennett, & Co., Sackville +Street, Piccadilly. For nearly half a century they have been the +possessors of an admirable contrivance, which should be seen to be +appreciated, by which not alone is the size of the head ascertained, +but its precise shape is definitely marked and suited, thus avoiding +all possibility of that distressing pressure upon the temples, which is +a fruitful source of headache and discomfort to so many riders. Hats +made at this firm require no elastics--if it be considered desirable to +dispense with such--as the fit is guaranteed. Never wear a veil on +horseback, except it be a black one, and nothing with a border looks +well. A plain band of spotted net, just reaching below the nostrils, +and gathered away into a neat knot behind, is the most _distingué_. Do +not wear anything sufficiently long to cover the mouth, or it will +cause you inconvenience on wet and frosty days. For dusty roads a +black gauze veil will be found useful, but avoid, as you would poison, +every temptation to wear even the faintest scrap of colour on +horseback. All such atrocities as blue and green veils have happily +long since vanished, but, even still, a red bow, a gaudy flower stuck +in the button-hole, and, oh, horror of horrors! a pocket handkerchief +appearing at an opening in the bosom, looking like a miniature +fomentation--these still occasionally shock the eyes of sensitive +persons, and cause us to marvel at the wearer's bad taste. + +I was once asked to take a young lady with me for a ride in the park, +to witness a field-day, or polo match, or something or another of +especial interest which happened to be going forward. I would generally +prefer being asked to face a battery of Zulus rather than act as +_chaperone_ to young lady _équestriennes_, who are usually +ignorant of riding, and insufferably badly turned out. However, upon +this occasion I could not refuse. The lady's parents were kind, amiable +country folks, who had invested a portion of their wealth in sending +their daughter up to town to get lessons from a fashionable +riding-master, and to ride out with whomsoever might be induced to take +her. + +Well, the young lady's horse was the first arrival: a hired hack--usual +style; bones protruding--knees well over--rusty bridle--greasy +reins--dirty girths--and dilapidated saddle, indifferently polished up +for the occasion. + +The young lady herself came next, stepping daintily out of a cab, as +though she were quite mistress of the situation. Ye gods! What a get +up! I was positively electrified. Her habit--certainly well made--was +of bright blue cloth, with worked frills at the throat and wrists. She +wore a brilliant knot of scarlet ribbon at her neck, and a huge bouquet +in her button-hole. Her hat was a silk one, set right on the back of +her head, with a velvet rosettte and steel buckle in front, and a long +veil of grey gauze streaming out behind. When we add orange gloves, and +a riding-whip with a gaudy tassel appended to it, you have the details +of a costume at once singular and unique. + +I did not at first know whether to get a sudden attack of the measles +or the toothache, and send her out with my groom to escort her, but +discarding the thought as ill-natured, I compromised matters by +bringing her to my own room, and effecting alterations in her toilet +which soon gave her a more civilised appearance. I set the hat straight +upon her head, and bound it securely in its place, removed from it the +gauze and buckle, and tied on one of my own plain black veils of simple +spotted net. I could not do away with the frillings, for they were +stitched on as though they were never meant to come off; but the red +bow I replaced with a silver arrow, threw away the flowers, removed the +whip-tassel, and substituted a pair of my own gloves for the cherished +orange kid. Then we set out. + +I wanted to go a quiet way to the park, so as to avoid the streets of +the town, but she would not have it. Nothing would do that girl but to +go bang through the most crowded parts of the city, the hired hack +sliding over the asphalte, and the rider (all unconscious of her +danger) bowing delightedly to her acquaintances as she passed along. +Poor girl! that first day out of the riding-school was a gala day for +her. + +The nicest gloves for riding are pale cream leather, worked thickly on +the backs with black. A few pairs of these will keep you going, for +they clean beautifully. A plain riding-whip _without_ a tassel, +and a second habit of dark holland if you live in the country, will +complete your necessary outfit. + +I shall now give you a few hints as to the best method of putting on +your riding gear, and of preserving the same after rain or hard +weather. Your habit-maker will, of course, put large hooks around the +waist of your bodice, and eyes of corresponding size attached to the +skirt, so that both may be kept in their place, but if you have been +obliged to entrust your cloth to a country practitioner, who has +neglected these minor necessaries, be sure you look to them yourself, +or you will some day find that the opening of your skirt is right at +your back, and that the place shaped out for your knee has twisted +round until it hangs in unsightly crookedness in front of the buttons +of your bodice. + +Let it be a rule with you to avoid using any pins. Put two or three +neat stitches in the back of your collar, so as to affix it to your +jacket, having first measured to see that the ends shall meet exactly +evenly in front, where you will fasten them neatly with a stud. The +ordinary system of placing one pin at the back of the collar and one at +either end is much to be deprecated. Frequently one of these pins +becomes undone, and then the discomfort is incalculable, especially if, +as often occurs, you are out for a long day, and nobody happens to be +able to accommodate you with another. + +Pinning cuffs is also a reprehensible habit, for the reason just +stated. Two or three little stitches where they will not show, upon the +inner side of the sleeve, will hold the cuff securely in its place and +prevent it turning round or slipping up or down, any of which will be +calculated to cause discomfort to the rider. + +It is not a bad method, either, to stitch a small button at the back of +the neck of the jacket, upon the inner side, upon which the collar can +be secured, fastening the cuffs in the same manner to buttons attached +to the inner portion of each sleeve. In short, anything in the shape of +a device which will check the unseemly habit of using a multiplicity of +pins, may be regarded as a welcome innovation, and at once adopted. + +It is a good plan, when you undress from your ride, to ascertain +whether your collar and cuffs are sufficiently clean to serve you +another day, and if they are not, replace them at once by fresh ones; +for it may happen that when you go to attire yourself for your next +ride, you may he too hurried to look after what should always be a +positive necessity, namely, perfectly spotless linen. + +There is a material, invented in America and as yet but little known +amongst us here, which is invaluable to all who ride. It is called +Celluloid, and from it collars, cuffs, and shirt-fronts are +manufactured which resemble the finest and whitest linen, yet which +never spot, never crush, never become limp, and never require washing, +save as one would wash a china saucer, in a basin of clear water, using +a fine soft towel for the drying process. I do not know the nature of +the composition, but I can certainly bear testimony to its worth, and +being inexpensive as well as convenient, it cannot fail, when known, to +become highly popular. + +The adjusting of your hat is another important item. Stitch a piece of +black elastic (the single-cord round kind is the best) from one +side--the inner one of course--to the other, of just sufficient length +to catch well beneath your hair. This elastic you can stretch over the +leaf of your hat at the back, and then, when the hat is on and nicely +adjusted to your taste in front, you have only to put back your hand +and bring the band of elastic deftly under your hair. The hat will then +be immovable, and the elastic will not show. In fastening your veil, a +short steel pin with a round black head is the best. The steel slips +easily through the leaf of the hat, and the head, being glossy and +large, is easily found without groping or delay, whenever you may +desire to divest yourself of it. + +I shall now tell you how to proceed with the various items of your +toilet on coming home, after being overtaken by stress of weather. No +matter how wealthy you may be, or how many servants you may be entitled +to keep, always look after these things yourself. + +Hang the skirt of your habit upon a clothes-horse, with a stick placed +across inside to extend it fully. Leave it until thoroughly dry, and +then brush carefully. The bodice must be hung in a cool dry place, but +never placed near the fire, or the cloth will shrink, and probably +discolour. + +Dip your veil into clear cold water, give it one or two gentle squeezes, +shake it out, and hang it on a line, spreading it neatly with your +fingers, so that it may take no fold in the drying. + +Your hat comes next. Dip a fine small Turkey sponge, kept for the +purpose and freed from sand, into a basin of lukewarm water, and draw +it carefully around the hat. Repeat the process, going over every +portion of it, until crown, leaf, and all are thoroughly cleansed; then +hang in a cool, airy place to dry. In the morning take a soft brush, +which use gently over the entire surface, and you will have a perfectly +new hat. No matter how shabby may have been your headpiece, it will be +quite restored, and will look all the better for its washing. This is +one of the chief advantages of silk hats. Do not omit to brush after +the washing and drying process, or your hat will have that unsightly +appearance of having been ironed, which is so frequently seen in the +hunting-field, because gentlemen who are valeted on returning from +their sport care nothing about the management of their gear, but leave +it all to the valet, who gives the hat the necessary washing, but is +too lazy or too careless to brush it next day, and his master takes it +from his hand and puts it on without ever noticing its unsightliness. +Sometimes it is the master himself whose clumsy handiwork is to blame; +but be it master or servant, the result is too often the same. + +Should your gloves be thoroughly, or even slightly wetted, stretch them +upon a pair of wooden hands kept for the purpose, and if they are the +kind which I have recommended to you--I mean the best quality of +double-stitched cream leather--they will be little the worse. + +Having now, I think, exhausted the subject of your clothing, and given +you all the friendly hints in my power, I am ready to accompany you +upon your first road ride. + +Go out with every confidence, accompanied of course by a companion or +attendant, and make up your mind never to be caught napping, but to be +ever on the alert. You must not lose sight of the fact that a bird +flitting suddenly across, a donkey's head laid without warning against +a gate, a goat's horns appearing over a wall, or even a piece of paper +blown along upon the ground, may cause your horse to shy, and if you +are not sitting close at the time, woe betide you! Always remember the +rule of the road, keep to your left-hand side, and if you have to pass +a vehicle going your way, do so on the right of it. Never neglect this +axiom, no matter how lonely and deserted the highway may appear, for +recollect that if you fail to comply with it, and that any accident +chances to occur, you will get all the blame, and receive no +compensation. + +Never trot your horse upon a hard road when you have a bit of grass at +the side on which you can canter him. Even if there are only a few +blades it will be sufficient to take the jar off his feet. + +If you meet with a hill or high bridge, trot him up and walk him +quietly down the other side. If going down a steep decline, sit well +back and leave him his head, at the same time keeping a watchful hand +upon the rein for fear he should chance to make a false step, that you +may be able to pull him up; but do not hold him tightly in, as many +timid riders are apt to do, thus hobbling his movements and preventing +him seeing where he is to put his feet. If he has to clamber a steep +hill with you, leave him unlimited head-room, for it is a great ease to +a horse to be able to stretch his neck, instead of being held tightly +in by nervous hands, which is frequently the occasion of his stumbling. + +Should your horse show temper and attempt to back with you, leave him +the rein, touch him lightly with your heel, and speak encouragingly to +him; should he persist, your attendant must look to the matter; but a +horse who possesses this dangerous vice should never be ridden by a +lady. I have surmised that yours has been properly trained, and +doubtless you might ride for the greater portion of a lifetime without +having to encounter a decided jibber, but it is as well to be prepared +for all emergencies. Should a horse at any time rear with you, throw +the rein loose, sit close, and bring your whip sharply across his +flank. If this is not effectual, you may give him the butt-end of it +between the ears, which will be pretty sure to bring him down. This is +a point, however, upon which I write with considerable reserve, for +many really excellent riders find fault with the theory set forth and +adopted by me. One old sportsman in particular shows practically how +seriously he objects to it by suffering himself to be tumbled back upon +almost daily by a vicious animal, in preference to adopting coercive +measures for his own safety. + +My reasons for striking a rearing horse are set forth with tolerable +clearness in one of the letters which form an appendix to this volume; +but, although I do it myself, I do not undertake the responsibility of +advising others to do likewise, especially if a nervous timidity form a +portion of their nature. I am strongly of opinion, however, that +decisive measures are at times an absolute necessity, and that the most +effectual remedy for an evil is invariably the best to adopt. I have +heard it said by two very eminent horsemen that to break a bottle of +water between the ears of a rearing animal is an excellent and +effectual cure. Perhaps it may be--and, on such authority, we must +suppose that it is--but I should not care to be the one to try it, +although I consider no preventive measure too strong to adopt when +dealing with so dangerous a vice. A horse may be guilty of jibbing, +bolting, kicking, or almost any other fault, through nervousness or +timidity, but rearing is a vicious trick, and must be treated with +prompt determination. It would be useless to speak encouragingly to a +rearer; he is vexing you from vice, not from nervousness, and so he +needs no reassurance--do not waste words upon him, but bring him to his +senses with promptitude, or whilst you are dallying he may tumble back +upon you, and put remonstrance out of your power for some time to come, +if not for ever. In striking him, if you do so, do not indulge in the +belief that you are safe because he drops quickly upon his fore-legs, +but on the contrary, be fully prepared for the kick or buck which will +be pretty sure to follow, and which (unless watched for) will be likely +to unseat even a most skilful rider. Both rearing and plunging may, +however, be effectually prevented by using the circular bit and +martingale, procurable at Messrs. Davis, saddlers, 14, Strand, London. +This admirable contrivance should be fitted above the mouthpiece of an +ordinary snaffle or Pelham bridle. It is infinitely before any other +which I have seen used for the same purpose, has quite a separate +headstall, and should be put on and arranged before the addition of the +customary bridle. Being secured to the breastplate by a standing +martingale, it requires no reins. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +RUNNING AWAY.--THREE DANGEROUS ADVENTURES.--HOW TO ACT WHEN PLACED +IN CIRCUMSTANCES OF PERIL.--HOW TO RIDE A PULLER.--THROUGH THE +CITY.--TO A MEET OF HOUNDS.--BOASTFUL LADIES.--A BRAGGART'S RESOURCE. + + +In the event of a horse running away, you must of course be guided by +circumstances and surroundings, but my advice always is, if you have a +fair road before you, let him go. Do not attempt to hold him in, for +the support which you afford him with the bridle only helps the +mischief. Leave his head quite loose, and when you feel him beginning +to tire--which he will soon do without the support of the rein--flog +him until he is ready to stand still. I warrant that a horse treated +thus, especially if you can breast him up hill, will rarely run away a +second time. He never forgets his punishment, nor seeks to put himself +in for a repetition of it. + +I have been run away with three times in my life, but never a second +time by the same horse. It may amuse you to hear how I escaped upon +each occasion. + +The first time, I was riding a beautiful little thoroughbred mare, +which a dear lady friend--now, alas! dead--had asked me to try for her. +The mare had been a flat-racer, and, having broken down in one of her +trials, had been purchased at a cheap rate, being still possessed of +beauty and a considerable turn of speed. + +Well, we got on splendidly together for an hour or so on the fifteen +acres, Phoenix Park, but, when returning homewards, some boys who +were playing close by struck her with a ball on the leg. In a second +she was off like the wind, tearing down the long road which leads from +the Phoenix to the gates. She had the bit between her teeth, and held +it like a vice. My only fear was lest she should lose her footing and +fall, for the roadway was covered from edge to edge with new shingle. +On she went in her mad career, amidst the shrieks of thousands, for the +day was Easter Monday, and the park was crowded. Soldiers, civilians, +lines of policemen strove to form a barrier for her arrest. In vain! +She knocked down some, fled past others, and continued her headlong +course. + +All this time I was sitting as if glued to my saddle. At the mare's +first starting I had endeavoured to pull her up, but finding that this +was hopeless, I left the rein loose upon her neck. Having then no +support for her head, she soon tired, and the instant I felt her speed +relaxing I took up my whip and punished her within an inch of her life. +I _made_ her go when she wanted to stop, and only suffered her to +pull up just within the gates, where she stood covered with foam and +trembling in every limb. + +Her owner subsequently told me that during the three years which she +afterwards kept her she never rode so biddable a mare. + +I must not forget to mention the comic side of the adventure as well as +the more serious. It struck me as being particularly ludicrous upon +that memorable occasion that an old gentleman, crimson with wrath, +actually attacked my servant in the most irate manner because he had +not clattered after me during the progress of the mare's wild career. +"How dare you, sir," cried this irascible old gentleman, "how dare you +attempt to neglect your young lady in this cowardly manner?" Nor was +his anger at all appeased when informed that I as a matron was my own +care-taker, and that my attendant had strict injunctions _not_ to +follow me in the event of my horse being startled or running away. + +My next adventure was much more serious, and occurred also within the +gates of the Phoenix Park. + +Some troops were going through a variety of manoeuvres preparing for +a field-day, and a knot of them had been posted behind and around a +large tree with fixed bayonets in their hands. Suddenly they got the +order to move, and at the same instant the sun shone out and glinted +brilliantly upon the glittering steel. I was riding a horse which had +lately been given me; a fine, raking chestnut, with a temper of his own +to manage. He turned like a shot, and sped away at untold speed. I had +no open space before me; therefore I durst not let him go. It was an +enclosed portion of the park, thickly studded with knots of trees, and +I knew that if he bore me through one of these my earthly career would +most probably be ended. I strove with all the strength and all the art +which I possessed to pull him up. It was of no use. I might as well +have been pulling at an oak-tree; it only made him go the faster. + +Happily my presence of mind remained. I saw at once that my only chance +was to breast him against the rails of the cricket-ground, and for +these I made straight, prepared for the shock and for the turn over +which I knew must inevitably follow. He dashed up to the rails, and +when within a couple of inches of them he swerved with an awful +suddenness, which, only that I was accustomed to ride from balance, +must have at once unseated me, and darted away at greater speed than +ever. Right before me was a tree, one heavy bough of which hung very +low--and straight for this he made, nor could I turn his course. I knew +my fate, and bent on a level with my saddle, but not low enough, for +the branch caught me in the forehead and sent me reeling senseless to +the ground. + +I soon got over the shock, although my arm (which was badly torn by a +projecting branch) gave me some trouble after; but the bough was cut +down the next day by order of the Lord Lieutenant, and the park-rangers +still point out the spot as the place where "the lady was nearly +killed." + +My third runaway was a hunting adventure, and occurred only a few +months since. + +I had a letter one morning from an old friend, informing me that a +drag-hunt was to take place about thirty miles from Dublin to finish +the season with the county harriers, and that he, my friend, wished +very much that I would come down in my habit by the mid-day train and +ride a big bay horse of his, respecting which he was desirous of +obtaining my opinion. I never take long to make up my mind, so, after a +glance at my tablets, which showed me that I was free for the day, I +donned my habit, and caught the specified train. + +At the station at the end of my journey I found the big bay saddled and +awaiting me, and having mounted him I set off for the kennels, from a +field near which the drag was to be run. I took the huntsman for a +pilot, knowing that the servant, who was my attendant, was rather a +duffer at the chase. + +The instant that the hounds were laid on and the hunt started, my big +mount commenced to pull hard, and by the time the first fence was +reached his superior strength had completely mastered mine. He was +pulling like a steam-engine, head down, ears laid backward, neck set +like iron. My blistered hands were powerless to hold him. He rushed +wildly at the fence, and striking the horse of a lady who was just +landing over it, turned him and his rider a complete somersault! I +subsequently learned that the lady escaped unhurt, but I could not at +the moment pause to inquire, for my huge mount, clearing the jump and +ten feet beyond it, completely took head, and bore me away from the +field + + Over park, over pale, + Through bush, through briar, + +until my head fairly reeled, and I felt that some terrible calamity +must ensue. + +Happily he was a glorious fencer, or I must have perished, for he +jumped every obstacle with a rush; staked fences, wide ditches--so wide +that he landed over them on his belly--tangled gorse, and branches of +rivers swollen by recent rains; he flew them all. At length, when my +strength was quite exhausted and my dizzy brain utterly powerless and +confused, I beheld before me a stone wall, a high one, with heavy +coping-stones upon the top. At this I resolved to breast him, and run +my chance for life or death in the turn over, which, from the pace at +which we were approaching it, I knew must be a mighty one. In a moment +we were up to it and, with a cry to heaven for mercy, I dug him with my +spur and sent him at it. To my utter astonishment, for the wall was six +and a half feet high, he put down his head, rushed at it, cleared it +without ever laying a shoe upon the topmost stones, and landed with a +frightful slip and clatter, but still safely on his feet--where? in the +midst of a farm-yard. + +Were it not that this adventure actually occurred to myself, I should +be strongly tempted to question its authenticity. That there are +horses--especially Irish ones--quite capable of compassing such a jump, +there cannot be the slightest doubt; but I have never before or since +seen one who could do it without being steadied as he approached the +obstacle. In the ordinary course of events a runaway steed would strike +it with his head and turn over,--which was what I expected and +desired--but no such thing occurred, and to the latest hour of my life +it must remain a mystery to me that upon the momentous occasion in +question neither horse nor rider was injured, nor did any accident +ensue. Nothing more disastrous than a considerable disturbance in the +farm-yard actually occurred; but it was indeed a mighty one. + +Such a commotion amongst fowls was surely never witnessed; the ducks +quacked, the turkeys screeched, the hens ran hither and thither; two +pigs, eating from a trough close by, set up a most terrific squalling, +dogs barked, and two or three women, who were spreading clothes upon a +line, added to the general confusion by flinging down the garments +with which they had been busy and taking to their heels, shrieking +vociferously. In the meantime the big bay, perceiving that he had run +to the end of his tether, stood snorting and foaming, looking hither +and thither in helpless amazement and dismay; whilst I, relieved at +length of my anxiety, burst first into tears, and then into shouts of +hearty laughter, as I fully took in the absurdity of the situation. + +After a considerable delay one of the women was induced to come forward +and listen to a recital of my adventure; and the others, being assured +that "the baste" would not actually devour them, came near me also, and +we held an amicable council as to the possibility of my ever getting +out, for the gates were locked, and the owner of the property was away +at a fair in the neighbouring town and had the key stowed away in his +pocket. To jump the wall again was impracticable. No horse that ever +was foaled could do it in cool blood; nor was I willing to risk the +experiment, even if my steed made no objection. + +At length we decided upon the only plan. I dismounted, and, taking the +rein over my arm, led my mighty hunter across the yard, induced him to +stoop his head to enter by a back door through a passage in the +farmhouse, and from thence through the kitchen and front door, out on +to the road. I have a cheerful recollection of an old woman, who was +knitting in the chimney-corner, going off into screams and hysterics as +I and my big steed walked in upon her solitude, a loose shoe and a very +audible blowing making the entrance of my equine companion even more +_prononcé_ than it would otherwise have been. The poor old +creature flung down her needles, together with the cat which had been +quietly reposing in her lap, and kicking up her feet yelled and +bellowed at the top of a very discordant voice. It took the combined +efforts of all four women to pacify her, and she was still shrieking +long after I had mounted the big bay and ridden him back to inform his +owner of how charmingly he had behaved. + +I have now told you three anecdotes, partly for your amusement and +partly for your instruction; but I would not have you think that it +would be at all times and under all circumstances a wise thing to ride +a runaway horse against so formidable an obstacle as a stone wall. Mine +was, I hope, an exceptional case. When the animal was led down to meet +me at the station, I saw, not without misgiving, that I was destined to +ride in a so-called "safety-stirrup," and at the time when he took head +with me my foot was fixed as in a vice in this dangerous and horrible +trap, from which I could not succeed in releasing it. Feeling that my +brain was whirling, and that I could not longer maintain my seat in the +saddle, I rode for an overthrow, which I deemed infinitely better than +being dragged by the foot over an intricate country, and most probably +having my brains scattered by a pair of crashing heels. If a horse +should at any time run away with you, keep your seat whilst you +_can_ do so, and whilst you have anything of a fair road before +you; but if there is any danger of your being thrown or losing your +seat whilst your foot is caught, then by all means ride for a fall; put +your horse at something that will bring him down, and when he _is_ +down struggle on to his head, that he may not rise until somebody has +come to your assistance. Of course the experiment is fraught with +excessive danger, but it is not _certain_ death, as the other +alternative must undoubtedly be. I cannot, however, wish you better +than to hope most fervently that you may never be placed in a position +which would necessitate your making a choice between two such mighty +evils. Avoid riding strange horses. No matter how accomplished a +horsewoman you may become, do not be too ready to comply with the +request to try this or that unknown mount. I have done it myself, +often, and probably shall again;[1] but my experience prompts me to +warn others against a practice which is frequently fraught with danger +to a lady. A horse knows quite well when a strange or timid rider gets +upon his back, and if he does not kill you outright, he will probably +make such a "hare" of you as will not be at all agreeable, either for +yourself or for the lookers-on. + + [1] This was written previous to the accident which has + disabled me. + +Whenever you take a young horse upon grass, whether he be a stranger to +you or otherwise, be prepared for a certain show of friskiness which he +does not usually exhibit upon the road. The soft springy turf beneath +his feet imbues him with feelings of hilarity which he finds himself +powerless to resist, and so you, his rider, must prepare for his little +vagaries. He will, most probably, in the first place try a succession +of bucks, and for these you must prepare by sitting very close to your +saddle, your knee well pressed against the leaping-head, and your +figure erect, but not thrown back, as the shock, or shocks to your +spine would in such a case be not only painful but positively +dangerous, and should therefore be carefully avoided. He will next be +likely to romp away, pulling you much harder than is at all agreeable, +and seemingly inclined to take head with you altogether. As a remedy +against this you must neither yield to him nor pull against him. I have +heard fairly good riders advocate by turns both systems of management, +especially the former; indeed, the expression, "Drop your hands to +him," has become so general amongst teachers of the equestrian art, +that it has almost passed into a proverb. I do not advocate it, nor do +I deem it advisable ever to pull against a pulling horse. When an +animal tries to forereach you, you should neither give up to him nor +yet pull one ounce against him. Close your fingers firmly upon the +reins and keep your arms perfectly motionless, your hands well down, +without giving or taking one quarter of an inch. In a stride or two he +will be sure to yield to your hand, at which moment you should +immediately yield to him, and his wondrous powers of intelligence will +soon enable him to discern that you are not to be trifled with. Were +you to give up to him when he rushes away or romps with his head he +would very soon be going all abroad, and would give you a vast amount +of trouble to pull him into proper form. Above all things, keep clear +of trees, of which I myself have an unbounded dread. Should you have +occasion to ride through a city, give your eyes and attention to your +horse, and not to passing acquaintances, for in the present dangerous +tangle of tramlines, slippery pavements, and ill-driven vehicles, it +will require all your energies to bring you safely through. Never trot +your horse through a town or city: walk him quietly through such +portion of it as you have to pass, and leave him abundant head-room, +that his intelligence may pick out a way for his own steps. + +A very nice ride for a lady is to a meet of the hounds, if such should +occur within reasonable distance, say from four to eight miles. The +sight is a very pretty one, and there is not any reason why you should +not thoroughly enjoy it; but having only ridden to see the meet, you +must be careful not to interfere with, nor get in the way of those +about to ride the run. Nothing is more charming than to see three or +four ladies, nicely turned out, arrive to grace the meet with their +presence, but nothing is more abominable than the same number of +amazons coming galloping up in full hunting toggery, although without +the least idea of hunting, and rushing hither and thither, frightening +the hounds and getting in everybody's way, as though they were +personages of the vastest possible importance, and meant to ride with a +skill not second to that of the Nazares. Such women are the horror and +spoliation of every hunting-field. They dash off with the hounds the +moment the fox is found, but happily the first fence stops them, and a +fervent thankfulness is felt by every true lover of the chase as they +pause discomfited, look dismally at the yawning chasm, and jog +crestfallen away to the road. + +There are many ladies, and estimable ladies, too, who take out their +horses every hunting-day, and by keeping upon the roadways see all that +they can of the hounds. Sometimes they are fortunate, sometimes not; it +depends upon the line of country taken. Their position is, in my +opinion, a most miserable one; yet they must derive enjoyment from it, +else why do they come? They surely cannot imagine that they are +participating in the hunt; yet it affords them amusement to keep +pottering about, and enables them to make their little harmless boast +to credulous friends of their "hunting days," and the "runs" they have +seen throughout the season. Indeed, so far does this passion for +boasting carry the fair sex, that I myself know two young ladies who +never saw a hound in their lives, except from the inside of a shabby +waggonette, yet who brag in so audacious a manner that they have been +heard to declare to gentlemen at evening dances, "Really we cawn't +dawnce; we are so tired! Out all day with the Wards--and had _such a +clipping run_!" + +This sort of thing only makes us smile when we hear it amongst ladies, +but when men resort to it we become inspired with sufficient contempt +to feel a longing desire to offer them severer chastisement than our +derision. + +I once asked a little mannikin, who had given himself the name and airs +of a great rider, if he would be kind enough to pilot me over an +intricate piece of country with which I was unacquainted. The creature +pulled his little moustaches, and sniffed, and hemmed and hawed, and +finally said, "Aw, I'm sure I should be delighted, but you see I ride +_so deuced hard_, I should not expect a lady to be able to keep up +with me." I said nothing, but acted as my own pilot, and took +opportunity to watch my hard-riding friend during the course of the +run. He positively never jumped a fence, but worked rampantly at locks +of gates, and bribed country-folks to let him pass through. The last I +saw of him he was whipping his horse over a narrow ditch, preparatory +to scrambling it himself on foot. + +And this man was only one of many, for the really accomplished rider +never boasts. + + + + +PART III. + +HUNTING. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +HUNTING-GEAR.--NECESSARY REGARD FOR SAFE SHOEING.--DRIVE TO THE +MEET.--SCENE ON ARRIVING.--A WORD WITH THE HUNTSMAN.--A GOOD +PILOT.--THE COVERT SIDE.--DISAPPOINTMENT.--A LONG TROT. + + +Now that you are thoroughly at home on your saddle--in the park, on the +road, and over the country--you are doubtless longing to display your +prowess in the hunting-field, and thither we shall have much pleasure +in accompanying you. + +Your outfit will be the first thing to consider; and do not be alarmed +when I tell you that it will require a little more generosity on the +part of papa than you have hitherto called upon him to exercise. + +To commence with your feet--which I know is contrary to custom--you +will need two pairs of patent Wellington boots. These are three guineas +per pair, but are a beautiful article, and will last a long time with +care. Woollen stockings of light texture, with a pair of silk ones +drawn over, are the most comfortable for winter wear. A small steel +spur to affix to your left heel will be the next item required. The +nicest kind are those with a strap attached, which crosses the instep, +and buckles securely at the side. Of course, all ladies' spurs are +spring ones, displaying no rowels which could tear the habit, but +simply one steel projection with spring probe within, which, when +pressed to the horse's side, acts most efficiently as an instigator. +Latchford's patent is the best. + +Two pairs of chamois riding-trousers, cloth from the hip down, and +buttoning quite close at the ankle to allow of the boot going over, +will be the next necessary; and you must also provide yourself with two +riding corsets of superior shape and make. + +Three habits of strong dark cloth, one of them thoroughly waterproof, +will be required--the skirts to be made so short as barely to cover the +foot, and so spare as to fit like glove, without fold or wrinkle. If a +hunting-habit be properly cut it will require no shotting, which will +be an advantage to your horse in diminishing the weight which he would +otherwise have to carry. An elastic band nicely placed upon the inside +in position to catch around the toe of the right foot will be +sufficient to answer all purposes. You cannot do better, to procure an +article such as I describe, than entrust your order to Wolmershausen +(whom I believe I have already named in a former chapter), corner of +Curzon Street, Mayfair, where you will not fail to find your +instructions intelligently carried out. This firm has a speciality for +skirt-cutting,--is, indeed, unapproachable in this particular branch, +of what is in reality an ART; and even in these days of eager +competition the old-established house suffers from no rivalry, and +holds its own in the widely-contested field. + +A very neatly-made waterproof jacket will be an addition to your +wardrobe, as also a cape with an elastic band from the back to fasten +around the waist, and hold the front ends securely down. This latter is +an almost indispensable article. It is so light that it can be carried +with ease in your saddle-strap, and in case of an unexpected shower can +be adjusted in a single instant and without assistance, which is not +the case with a jacket. It should be made with a collar, which can be +arranged to stand up close around the neck, and thus prevent the +possibility of damp or wet causing you cold or inconvenience. I approve +of the jacket for decidedly wet days, when it should be donned on going +out, but for a showery day the cape is preferable, as it can be much +more easily taken off and again put on. + +Two silk hats, with the addition of a melon-shape if you desire it--a +long-lashed hunting-whip, and a plentiful supply of collars, cuffs, +gloves, veils, and handkerchiefs, will complete your outfit. I, hunting +four days a week, find the above quite sufficient, and if you care your +things (having got them in the first instance of the best quality) it +is surprising how long they may be made to serve. I have told you +_how_ to take care of them, but believe me, if you leave the task +to servants the end will prove disappointing. You will never be +one-half so well turned out, and your outlay will be continual. + +It is an excellent precaution for a hunting-day, to look the previous +morning at your horse's shoes; and do this yourself, for it not +unfrequently happens that a careless groom will suffer him to go out +with a loose shoe which gradually becomes looser, and finally drops +off, perhaps in the middle of an exciting run, and obliges you to leave +your place with the hounds and seek the nearest forge. All this sort of +thing could, in nine cases out of ten, be obviated by a little care and +forethought, but the majority of riders are too grand, or too careless, +or too absurdly squeamish about the "propriety" of entering a stable, +and not unfrequently too ignorant of things they ought to know, to see +to such matters themselves, and so they are passed over and neglected. +A groom is too often utterly careless. He is bound to send your horse +from the yard looking shiny, and sleek, and clean. Any deviation from +this would at once attract your attention, and arouse your displeasure. +The groom knows this, and acts accordingly; but he also knows what you +do not--that one of the shoes is three-parts loose; it will probably +hold very well until you begin to go, and then it will drop off and +leave you in a fix, perhaps miles away from a village where the damage +could be repaired. The groom knew all about it, very likely, the day +before, but he saw that you were not troubling yourself, and why should +he? You never made any inquiry about such matters, nor seemed to +interest yourself in them, and why should he be troubled concerning +them? A loose shoe is nothing to him: it does not cause _him_ any +inconvenience, not it; then why worry himself? He does not want to +bring the horse down to the forge through mud and rain, and stand there +awaiting the smith's convenience; not a bit of it. He is much more +comfortable lolling against the stable-door and smoking a pipe with +Tom, Dick, or Harry. + +It frequently occurs in the hunting-field that a horse loses a shoe in +going through heavy ground, or in jumping a fence where he brings his +hind feet too close upon the front ones, and, catching the toe of the +hind shoe in the heel of the front, drags the latter forcibly off, and +leaves it either on the ground behind him or carries it for a field or +two hanging by one or two nails to his hoof, before it finally drops +off. + +The moment you are made aware that your horse has cast a shoe, which +will generally be by somebody informing you of the fact, ascertain at +once which of the animal's feet has been left unprotected. If the lost +shoe happens to be a hinder one, the matter is less serious, but if a +front one should be cast, do not lose any time in inquiring your road +to the nearest smithy, and, whilst wending your way thither, be careful +to keep as much as possible upon the grass by the roadside, that the +shoeless foot may not become worn, nor suffer from concussion by coming +in contact with the hard road. + +It is a good plan to send your horse early to the meet: quite in the +morning; or, should the distance be a long one, despatch him the +previous evening in charge of a careful servant, and stable him for the +night as near as possible to the point at which you may require him +upon the following day. If you are fortunate enough to have a friend's +house to send him to, so much the better a great deal; but under any +circumstances it is pleasanter both for you and your animal that he +should be fresh and lively from his stable, and not that you should get +upon him when he is half-jaded and covered with mud, after a long and +tiresome road journey. + +To drive to the meet or go by train yourself is the most agreeable way. +Some ladies ride hacks to covert, and then have their hunters to +replace them, but this is tiresome, and not to be advocated for various +reasons. If the morning is fine the drive will be pleasant, and you can +then send your conveyance to whatever point you deem it most likely the +hunt will leave off. You must, of course, exercise your judgment in the +endeavour to decide this, but you may assist it considerably by asking +the Master or the huntsman to be kind enough to give you a hint as to +the direction in which they will most probably draw. + +We will, then, surmise that you drive to the meet. It is an excellent +plan, whether you drive or go by train, to take with you a small bag +containing a change of clothing; leave this in charge of your servant, +with directions where he is to meet you in the evening, and then, +should you come to grief in a dyke or river you can console yourself +with the knowledge that dry garments are awaiting you, and that you +will not have to encounter the risk of cold and rheumatism by sitting +in drenched habiliments in a train or vehicle. You will also, if wise, +take with you a foot-pick and a few yards of strong twine. Even if you +should not require them yourself you may be able to oblige others, +which is always a pleasure to a right-minded and unselfish huntress. +Take, likewise, a few shillings in your pocket to reward, if necessary, +the wreckers, whose tasks are at all times difficult and laborious, and +too often thankless. + +Arrived at the meet, your horse and servant are waiting for you in good +time and order; but it is a little early yet, and so you look about +you. + +What a pretty sight it is! How full of healthful interest and charming +variety! The day is bright and breezy--a little bit cloudy, perhaps, +but no sign of rain. A glorious hunting morning altogether. Numbers of +vehicles are drawn up, filled with happy-looking occupants, mostly +ladies and children. There are a good many dog-carts, polo-carts, and a +few tandems, from which gentlemen in ulsters and long white +saving-aprons are preparing to alight. It is nice to see their steeds, +so beautifully groomed and turned out, led up to the trap-wheels for +them to mount, without the risk of soiling their boots. Very particular +are these gentlemen. The day is muddy, and they know they must be +splashed and spattered as they ride to the covert-side, but they will +not leave the meet with a speck upon horse or rider. There is a +military-looking man--long, tawny moustache, and most perfect +get-up--divesting himself of his apron, and frowning because his +snow-white breeches are disfigured by just one speck of dirt; probably +it would be unobservable to anybody but himself, yet he is not the less +annoyed. A dapper little gentleman, in drab shorts and gaiters, is +covertly combing his horse's mane; and a hoary old fox-hunter, who has +just mounted, has drawn over close to the hedge, and extends first one +foot and then the other for his servant to remove the blemishes which +mounting has put upon his boots. This extreme fastidiousness is carried +by some to an absurd excess. I remember upon one occasion seeing a +gentleman actually re-enter his dog-cart and drive sulkily away from +the meet because he considered himself too much splashed to join the +cavalcade which was moving away to the covert, although he was fully +aware that a trot of a few hundred yards upon the muddy road in company +with numerous other horses would, under any circumstances, have +speedily reduced him to the condition which he was then lamenting. + +A few ladies come upon the scene, and many more gentlemen; and then +comes the huntsman in proud charge of the beauties. The whips and +second horsemen come also, and the Master drives up about the same +time, and loses not a moment in mounting his hunter. The pack looks +superb, and many are the glances and words of commendation which it +receives. + +Always have a smile and pleasant word for the huntsman and whips. They +deserve it, and they value it. I always make it a point to have a +little conversation with them before we leave the meet--in fact, I know +many of the hounds in the various packs by name, and I love to notice +them. Nothing pleases the huntsman more than to commend his charge: it +makes him your friend at once. Many a time when I have been holding +good place in a run, we have come across some dangerous fence which it +would be death to ride in a crowd, and the huntsman's shout of "Let the +lady first!" has secured me a safe jump, and a maintenance of my +foremost position. + +All being now ready, you mount your horse. It would be well if some +gentleman friend or relative would look first to his girths, &c.; but, +should such not be available, do not be above doing it yourself. +Servants, even the best, are, as aforesaid, often careless, and a horse +may be sent out with girths too loose, throat-lash too tight, runners +out, or any of the thousand and one little deficiencies which an +interested and careful eye will at once detect. + +Of course you have not come to hunt without having secured a good +pilot. You have, I hope, selected somebody who rides well and +straight--boldly, and yet with judgment--for, believe me, a display of +silly recklessness does not constitute good riding, however it may be +thought to do so by ignorant or silly persons. Your pilot will ride a +few yards in advance of you, and it will be your duty to keep him well +in view, and not to get separated from him. This latter you may at +times find difficult, as others may ride in between, but you must learn +smartness, and be prepared for all emergencies. Moreover, if your pilot +be a good one, he will see that you keep close to him, and, by glancing +over his shoulder after clearing each obstacle, will satisfy himself +that you also are safely over, and that no mischance has befallen you. +Any man who will not take this trouble is unfit to pilot a lady, for +whilst he is careering onward in all the glories of perfect safety, she +may be down in some ugly dyke, perhaps ridden on, or otherwise hurt; +and, therefore, it is his bounden duty to see that no evil befals her. +I cannot say that I consider the position of a trusty pilot at all an +enviable one, and few men care to occupy it in relation to a beginner +or timorous rider, although they are ever anxious to place their +services at the disposal of a lady who is known to "go straight." + +In selecting a pilot, do so with judgment. Choose one who knows the +country, and who will not be too selfish nor too grand to take care of +you; for, remember, you are only a beginner, and will need to be taken +care of. If, then, you have secured the right sort of man, and your own +heart is in the right place, you may prepare to enjoy yourself, for a +real good day's hunting is the keenest enjoyment in which man or woman +can hope to participate in this life. + +The trot to the covert-side is usually very pleasant. You and your +horse are quite fresh. You meet and chat with your friends. The two, +three, or four miles, as the case may be, seem to glide away very fast. +Then comes the anxious moment when the beauties are thrown in, and +all wait in eager suspense for the whimper which shall proclaim Reynard +at home. But not a hound gives tongue this morning. You can see +them--heads down, sterns up, beating here and there through the +gorse--but, alas! in silence; and, after a while, someone says, "No fox +here!" and presently your ear catches the sound of the huntsman's horn, +and the hounds come trooping out, almost as disappointed as the field. + +Then the master gives the order for the next or nearest covert, and +there is a rush, and a move, and a long cavalcade forms upon the road, +headed, of course, by the hounds. Get well in front, if you can, so as +to be quite up when they reach their next try, for sometimes they find +as soon as ever they are thrown in, and are far away over the country +before the stragglers come up, and great, then, are the lamentations, +for hunting a stern-chase is, to say the least of it, not cheerful. You +will have another advantage, also, in being well forward, for your +horse will get the benefit of a temporary rest, whilst those who, by +lagging, have lost time at the start, are obliged to follow as best +they can upon the track, bucketing their horses, and thus depriving +them of the chance of catching their wind--which is, in a lengthened +run, of very material consequence. + +One especial difference you observe between road-riding and hunting: +you are obliged to trot at a fast swinging pace such long tiresome +distances from covert to covert, without pause or rest, and you feel +already half tired out. Hitherto, when riding on the road, or in the +park, if you felt fatigued you have only had to pull up and walk; but +on hunting days there is no walking. The time is too precious, these +short, dark, wintry days, to allow of such "sweet restings." The +evening closes in so rapidly that we cannot afford to lose a moment of +our time, and so we go along at a sweeping pace. Nobody who is unable +to trot long distances without rest has any business hunting. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +HOUNDS IN COVERT.--THE FIRST FENCE.--FOLLOW YOUR PILOT.--A RIVER-BATH. +--A WISE PRECAUTION.--A LABEL ADVISABLE.--WALL AND WATER JUMPING. +--ADVICE TO FALLEN RIDERS.--HOGGING.--MORE TAIL. + + +You have now arrived at the next covert, and have seen the hounds +thrown in. In an instant there is a whimper, taken up presently by one +and another, until the air rings with the joyous music of the entire +pack, as they rattle their game about, endeavouring to force him to +face the open. The whips are standing warily on the watch, the +huntsman's cheery voice is heard encouraging the hounds, the Master is +galloping from point to point, warning off idlers whose uninvited +presence would be sure to send the "varmint" back into his lair. Your +pilot, knowing that a run from here is a certainty, selects his vantage +ground. Being a shrewd man, he knows that no fox will face a keen +nor'-easter, nor will he be likely to brave the crowd of country +bumpkins, who, despite the Master's entreaties, are clustering about +yonder hedge. In short, there is only one point from which he +_can_ well break, and so your pilot prepares accordingly. + +Another anxious moment ere the "Gone away! Tally-ho!" rings out upon +the keen air; and then follows that glorious burst which is worth +giving up a whole year of one's life to see. Hounds running breast +high, fairly flying, in fact; huntsmen, whips, horsemen, all in +magnificent flight, each riding hard for the foremost place, amid such +a chorus of delicious music as is never heard from any save canine +throats; and then, when the first big fence is reached, such hurry and +scurry! such tumbling and picking up again! such scrambling of dogs and +shouting of men! such cold baths for horses and riders! and oh, such +glory amongst the wreckers, as they stand tantalizingly at the edge of +the chasm in which so many are hopelessly struggling, whilst their +audacious cries of "What'll you give me, sir?" "Pull you out for a +sovereign, captain!" are heard and laughed at by the fortunate ones who +are safe upon the other side. + +Your pilot has been a wise man. He selected his starting-point at the +sound of the very first opening out, and when the general scrimmage +took place he had his line chosen, and so has led you wide of the ruck, +yet in the wake of the hounds. + +And here suffer me to advise you, if you should ever chance to be left +without a leader, do not fall into the mistake of following the others, +for my experience of hunting is that nine-tenths of those out do not +know _where_ they are going, nor where fox or hounds have gone +before them. Cut out a line for yourself, and follow the pack. A pilot +is, of course, a great acquisition, if he be a _good_ one, but +throughout some of my best runs I have performed the office for myself, +and have succeeded in being in at the death. But then I am not a +beginner, and I am surmising that _you_ are. Keep about six yards +behind your leader; follow him unswervingly, and jump after him, but +not on him. Always wait till he is well out of the way before you take +the fence in his wake. Your horse will jump more readily having the +example of his before him, but I cannot too well impress upon you the +necessity of allowing him to get well over before you attempt to +follow. One of the ugliest falls I ever got in my life was through +riding too close upon my leader. The run was a very hot one, and only +four of us were going at the time. None, in fact, but those who had +first-rate horses had been able to live through it. We came to a wide +branch of a river, swollen by recent rains. My pilot, going a rare +pace, jumped it safely; I came too fast upon him. My horse's nose +struck his animal's quarters, which, of course, threw my gallant little +mount off his balance, and prevented his landing. He staggered and fell +back, and we both got a drowning! I was dragged up with a boat-hook, +the horse swam on until he found a place to scramble up the bank, and +then galloped off over the country. I recollect standing dismally by +that river, my pilot and two wreckers scraping the mud from me, and +wringing my drenched garments, whilst two or three more were scouring +the adjacent lands in search of my truant steed. When, at length, he +was caught, I had eleven miles to ride to the place at which I had left +my trap, and was obliged on arriving to change every atom of my +clothing, and wash off the superabundant mud in a horse-bucket, kindly +lent for the occasion. + +The fall involved the loss of the run, the loss of a habit, the loss of +many odd shillings to wreckers, the loss of my temper, a wound from the +boat-hook, and a heavy cold, the result of immersion on a perishing +winter day. All these disasters were the punishments consequent upon my +impetuosity in coming too close upon my leader; therefore, having thus +myself suffered, I warn you, from woful experience, never to tread upon +the horse jumping in advance of you. Allowing, even, that you do not +cannon against him, there is another casualty which may not improbably +occur. Supposing that he falls and throws his rider, your horse may in +alighting just chance to plant a foot upon the empty saddle of the +prostrate animal, the slippery nature of which throws him off his +balance, and you and he roll upon the earth together--perhaps receiving +a kick from your pilot's struggling mount. From this species of +accident many evils have from time to time arisen, and therefore I +dutifully endeavour to put you well upon your guard. I would also again +remind you that if you really mean to ride an intricate country, you +should never under any circumstances neglect to bring a change of +clothing, for you may at any moment be dyked, and to remain in wet +garments is highly dangerous,--not so long as you are exercising, but +during the journey to your home. It is not in the saddle, but in +vehicles and railway carriages that colds are contracted and the seeds +of disease are sown. It may not be out of place here to offer you a +piece of wholesome advice. Should you at any time have the ill-fortune +to be riding a kicking horse in the midst of a crowd, always put back +your hand when the cavalcade pauses, to warn those behind not to come +too close to the heels of your unquiet steed. By so doing you may save +an accident, and may, moreover, guard yourself from more than one +anathema. I once saw the horse of a fiery old General kicked by the +mount of a young nobleman, who thought it not worth his while to offer +an apology. "See here, young man," said the irate officer, riding up to +the offender's side, "whenever you come out to hunt on brutes like that +you should paste a danger-card upon your back, and not run the risk of +breaking valuable bones. I have said my say," he added, "and now _you +may go to the devil_!" + +A few hints next as to jumping. + +If, in the course of a run, you meet with stone walls, do not ride too +fast at them. Always steady your horse at such obstacles, and follow my +oft-repeated advice of leaving him abundant head-room. If you have to +cross a river or very wide ditch, come fast at it, in order that the +impetus may swing you safely over; few horses can cross a wide jump +without having what is called a "run at it." Never expect your animal +to take such obstacles at a stand, or under the disadvantages +consequent upon coming at them at a slow pace. Should the leap be a +river or wide water-jump, suffer your horse to _stretch forward his +head and neck_ when coming up to it. If you fail to do so, you will +most probably go in, for an animal who accomplishes his work requires +his liberty as an absolute necessity, and, if denied it, will teach +you, at the cost of a good wetting, to treat him next time with greater +consideration. You will frequently see men ride pretty boldly up to +some yawning chasm or ugly bullfinch--stop and look at it, hesitate an +instant, and then, by cruel spurring, urge an exhausted animal to take +it at a stand. This is truly bad horsemanship, and leads to many +direful results. A good rider will, on perceiving that the obstacle is +a formidable one, turn his horse round, take him some little distance +from it, and then, again turning, come fast at it--quick gallop, hands +down, horse's head held straight and well in hand, but without any +pulling or nervous reining in. Such a one will be pretty sure to get +safely over. + +Should your horse, in jumping a fence, land badly, and slip his hind +legs into a gripe or ditch, do not wait more than an instant to see if +he can recover himself; you will know in that time whether he will be +likely to do so. The best advice I can give you is to kick your foot +free of the stirrup and jump off before he goes back. You will thus +keep your own skin dry; and, if you have been fortunate enough to +retain a light hold of the rein, you can rescue your horse without much +difficulty; for an animal, when immersed, makes such intelligent +efforts to release himself, that a very trifling assistance upon your +part will enable him to struggle safely to your side, when you can +remount him and try your chances of again picking up the hounds. Be +cautious, however, in pulling him up, that you do so over smooth +ground. I had a valuable young horse badly staked last season through +being dragged up over a clump of brushwood after a fall into the Lara +river. + +Should your steed peck on landing over a fence you will be pretty +certain to come over his head, for this is an ugly accident, and one +very likely to occur over recently-scoured drains. You _may_, +however, save both yourself and him, if you are _smart_ in using +your hands in assisting him to recover his lost equilibrium. + +In the event of your horse jumping short with you, either from having +taken off too soon or from any other cause, and falling upon you into a +gripe, you may (when you gain a little experience) be able to stick to +him without leaving the saddle. The first effort a fallen animal makes +is to try to get up; therefore, if you are not quite thrown, hold on to +his mane, and as he struggles to right himself make your effort to +regain your seat. Be guided, however, in doing this by observing with a +quick glance whether there are thorns or brambles overgrowing the +place, for if there are, and your horse on recovering himself strides +onward in the ditch, seeking a place at which he may get out, your face +will undoubtedly suffer. This sort of thing once occurred to me in the +course of a day's hunting. I held on to my animal when he fell, and +regained my seat without very much difficulty, but before I could +recover my hold of the bridle he had rushed forward, and my face was +terribly punished by the overhanging brambles. + +Be very careful, in this matter of holding on to a fallen animal, not +to confound the mane with the rein. By clinging to the former you +assist yourself without in the smallest degree impeding the movements +of your horse; by clinging to the latter you seriously interfere with +his efforts at recovery, and most probably pull him back upon you. + +And this brings me to the subject of hogging horses' manes. Never, +under any circumstances, allow an animal of yours to be thus +maltreated. Not only is it a vile disfigurement, depriving the horse of +Nature's loveliest ornament, but it also deprives the rider of a very +chief means of support in case of accident. Many a bad fall have I been +saved by clutching firmly at the mane, which an ignorant groom had oft +implored me to sacrifice; and many a good man and true have I seen +recover himself by a like action, when a hog-maned animal would +undoubtedly have brought him to grief. Grooms are especially fond of +this system of "hogging," and many a beauteous adjunct of Nature's +forming has been ruthlessly sacrificed to their ceaseless importunities +to be permitted to "smarten the baste." Tails, too, are remorselessly +clocked by these gentlemen of the stable; not that they really think it +an improvement, any more than they veritably admire the hogging +process, but it saves them trouble, it lightens their labours, they +have less combing and grooming to attend to. Tails were sent by Nature, +not merely as an ornament, but to enable the animal to whisk away the +flies, which in hot weather render its life a burthen. Man, the +ruthless master, by a cruel process of cutting and searing, deprives +his helpless slave of one of its most valued and most necessary +possessions. I do not myself advocate long switch tails, which are +rarely an ornament, being usually covered with mud; but I maintain that +"docking" is cruel and unnecessary, keeping the hairs closely and +evenly cut being quite sufficient for purposes of cleanliness, without +in any way interfering with the flesh; therefore, do not reject my +oft-repeated plea for "a little more tail." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +HOLDING ON TO A PROSTRATE HORSE.--IS IT WISE OR OTHERWISE?--AN +INDISCREET JUMP.--A DIFFICULT FINISH.--THE DANGERS OF MARSHY +GROUNDS.--ENCOURAGE HUMANITY.--A RECLAIMED CABBY! + + +To return to the subject of jumping. + +In the event of an ordinary fall in landing over a fence, it is a vexed +question whether or not it is advisable to hold on by the rein whilst +your horse is on the ground. I do not now mean when he is sunk in a +ditch, but when he is prostrate upon even grass-land or upon smooth +earth. Many first-rate riders affirm that it is a highly dangerous +practice, therefore I am afraid to advocate it, and must speak with +reserve--as I did respecting the management of a rearing animal--but +for my own part I always do it. My experience is, that when a horse +struggles to his feet his movement is almost invariably retrograde. He +tries to get away, consequently his heels are turned from me; and so +long as I keep my hold of the bridle his head will be nearest me and +his feet furthest. He will not think of turning to kick me, unless he +be a vilely vicious brute, not worth his keep; and so I can hold him +with safety until I am up myself and ready to remount him. When my +horse falls with me on the flat, I roll clear of him without letting go +the rein, and as the only danger of a kick is whilst he is getting up, +I shield my head with one arm and slip the rein to its fullest length +with the other, thus allowing the animal so much head-room that he is +enabled to make that retrograde movement, or "dragging away," which is +natural to him, and which saves me from the possible contact of his +heels. + +This is, in my opinion (which I cannot, of course, pretend to think +infallible), the best course to pursue. It is the one which I always +adopt, and I have never yet, except in one trifling instance, received +a kick from a fallen horse. + +I remember one day, a couple of seasons ago, I was riding hard against +a very beautiful Imperial lady, who dearly loves a little bit of +rivalry. Neck and neck we had jumped most of the fences for forty +minutes or so, and both our steeds were pretty well beaten, for +the running had been continuous, without a check. We came to an +awful obstacle--a high thick-set hedge, so impenetrable that there +was no chance of knowing what might be on the other side. There was +but one little apology for a gap, and at this the Empress's pilot +rode--immediately putting up his hand as a warning to us not to follow, +and pointing lower down. I knew that when Bay Middleton thought there +was danger, it did, indeed, exist; but I was too much excited to stop. +We had the hunt all to ourselves, the hounds running right in front +of us, and not a soul with them. I came at the fence with whip, spur, +and a shout! My horse--than which a better never was saddled--rose to +the leap, and landing upon his head after a terrific drop, rolled +completely over. I was not much hurt, and whilst he was on his knees +getting up, I scrambled back to the saddle, and went on; but, oh! under +what dire disadvantages! My rein had caught upon a stake in the fence +and was broken clean off, and I fancy it was this chuck to my animal's +mouth which had thrown him out of his stride and caused him to blunder, +for it was the first and last mistake he ever made with me, nor could +I, in the hurry of regaining my seat unassisted, get my foot into the +stirrup; so I finished the run as if by a miracle, and astonished +myself even more than anybody else by bringing home the fox's brush as +a trophy that I was in at the death. + +Always bear in mind when hunting that you are bound to save your horse +as much as possible. Jump no unnecessary fences; look out for a +friendly gate whenever you can find one at hand; and in going up hill +or over ploughed land, ease your animal and take your time. By acting +thus judiciously you will be able to keep going when others are +standing still. Always avoid bogs and heavy bottoms; they are most +treacherous, and swamp many an unwary hunter in their dangerous depths. +If you should ever have the bad fortune to be caught in one, dismount +at once, and lead your horse. It is not a pleasant thing to have to do, +but if you remain upon him, your weight, added to his own, will +probably sink him up to his saddle-girths, and there he will stick. + +I would desire particularly to impress upon you that if your horse +carries you safely and brilliantly through one good run, you ought to +be contented with that, and not attempt to ride him a second. It is +through the unwise and cruel habit of riding beaten animals that half +the serious accidents occur. Also remember that if you are waiting at a +covert-side where there seems likely to be a delay, after your steed +has had a gallop or a long trot, you should get off his back and shift +your saddle an inch one way or the other, generally backwards, as +servants are usually apt in the first instance to place the saddle too +close upon the withers. By adopting this plan you will, when you again +get upon him, find him a new animal. If you or I were carrying a heavy +burthen upon our shoulders for a certain number of hours in precisely +the same position, would it not make a new being of us to have it eased +and shifted? And exactly so it is with the horse. A selfish man will +sit all day upon his beast, rather than take the trouble of getting off +his back; but against himself does it tell, for his animal is fagged +and jaded when that of a merciful man is able to keep its place in the +run. + +There is nothing which should more fully engross the thoughts of the +humane hunter than kindly consideration towards the noble and beautiful +creature which God has sent to be the help of man. Your horse should be +your companion, your friend, your loved and valued associate, but never +your wronged and over-tasked slave. Humanity cries out with ready +uproar against the long list of grievances which animals have to +endure, yet how few of us exert ourselves to lighten the burthen by so +much as one of our fingers! There is not one of us who may not, if he +choose, be daily and hourly striving to curtail the load of misery +which the equine race is called upon to bear. We may not be fortunate +enough to possess horses ourselves upon which to exercise our humanity, +but can we not do something--yea, much--for others? Surely we can, if +we only possess the courage and the will. Even a word judiciously +spoken will often effect more than we could have hoped or supposed. Two +years ago I saw a cabman in Dublin cruelly ill-treating his horse. The +poor animal was resting its worn and tired body upon the stand, ready +for the wrench which its jaw would receive as soon as the next prospect +of a "fare" should excite the cupidity of its owner. One would have +thought that the sight of so much patient misery would have moved the +stoniest heart to suffer the hapless creature to enjoy its few moments +of needed repose. But no; the driver wanted some amusement, he was +weary of standing by himself, without some sort of employment to divert +his ignoble mind, and so he found such out. How? By beating upon the +front legs and otherwise cruelly worrying with the whip the poor +ill-used slave which he should have felt bound to protect. I saw it +first from a distance--more fully as I came near--and with a heart +bursting with sorrow and indignation, I crossed over and remonstrated +with the man. I said very little; only what I have tried to inculcate +in these pages--that humanity to quadrupeds is not only a duty which we +owe to their Creator, but will in time repay ourselves. I expected +nothing but abuse, and, indeed, the man's angry face and half-raised +whip seemed to augur me no good; but, suddenly, as something that I +said came home to him, his countenance softened, and, laying his hand +quite gently upon the poor beaten side of the animal which he had been +ill-treating, he said: "Well, if there was more like _you_, there +'ud be less like me! _that's_ the thruth, at all events." And then +he said no more, for he was satisfied that I knew I had not spoken in +vain. For two years that man has been my constant driver. He is almost +daily at my door: he drives me to and from the trains when going to and +returning from the hunts, and dearly loves to hear something of the +runs; nor is there a more humane driver nor a better cared horse in any +city of the empire. + +I have related this true incident, not from any egotism--God is my +witness--but merely to show you how good is "a word in season." You may +speak many which may be, or may seem to be, of none effect, but, like +the "bread upon the waters," you know not when it may return unto you +blessed. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +SELFISHNESS IN THE FIELD.--FORDING A RIVER.--SHIRKING A FENCE.-- +OVER-RIDING THE HOUNDS.--TREATMENT OF TIRED HUNTERS.--BIGWIG +AND THE MAJOR.--NAUGHTY BIGWIG.--HAPLESS MAJOR. + + +You must be particularly cautious in the hunting-field to avoid being +cannoned against. There is no other place in the whole world where +there is so little ceremony; and so very, very little politeness. It is +verily a case of "Every man for himself, and the devil take the +hindmost!" There is scarcely one man in the entire field who will not +in his heart of hearts resent your presence, and so he will pay you no +court. The crowding at gaps, and at certain negotiable places in +different well-known fences is simply disgraceful; and persons--I +cannot call them gentlemen--ride each other down like dogs. At such +places you will be fortunate if you can enlist a friend to ride behind +you, and thus prevent your being jumped upon in the event of a fall. + +I must not omit to remind you that in crossing a ford your horse will +be very apt to lose his footing. You will know when he does so by his +making a kind of plunge, and an endeavour to swim, which he only does +when he feels himself out of his depth. If at such a time you interfere +with his mouth, he will _inevitably_ roll over. Your only chance +is to throw him the reins, and let him scramble or swim as he finds +easiest. If the latter, lift your left leg (with foot still in the +stirrup) completely over the third crutch, that he may not strike your +heel with his near hind foot, or become in any way entangled with the +stirrup or in your skirt. At the same time grasp the up-pommel firmly +with your hand, that you may not be unseated when he makes his second +struggle, which he will do as soon as he recovers his footing at the +bottom of the water. + +A horse who shirks his fences is a terrible infliction to have to +ride. Of course the first refusal condemns you to lose your place, for +it is the etiquette of the hunting-field that if your horse refuses +you must at once draw aside and let the whole field go by before you +again essay it. But, provoked though you may be, do not allow yourself +to be vanquished. If you do not now gain the victory your horse will +always be your conqueror. Bring him again to the leap, keeping his +head straight and your hands low and firm. If he refuses a second +time, bring him round again and again, always turning him from right +to left--that is, with the pressure upon you right rein--and not +suffering him to have his own way. Remember that if you suffer him to +conquer you or bring him to any other part of the fence than that +which he is refusing, you will thoroughly spoil him. Do not, however, +treat him with harshness. Coax him and speak gently to him. It may be +nervousness, not temper; and if so, you will soon get him over by +kindly encouragement. The horse is essentially a timid creature. He is +oftentimes subjected to cruelties for his "obstinacy," where a little +kindness and a few reassuring words would be infinitely more +effectual. Every glance of your eye, every look upon your countenance +is noted by your horse whilst he can see you, and, when you are upon +his back, your words fall upon highly sensitive ears. A horse's soul +is full of affection for his owner. He _yearns_ to please him. +He would yield his life to serve him. Alas! how is such nobility +requited? Man's cruelty converts a peerless and incomparable companion +into a terrified and trembling slave. Young limbs are heavily weighted +before they have had time to grow; dark, wretched, solitary +confinement too early takes the place of the open air and free +pasturage to which the creature would fain a little longer cling; +young heads, pining for freedom, are tied or chained up in melancholy +imprisonment. The numerous little devices with which the captive +strives to while away the tedium of its captivity are punished as +"vices" by heartless and ignorant grooms. Nervousness is called bad +temper, and timidity regarded as a punishable offence. All the horrors +of the modern stable are brought to bear upon the priceless creature +who is born to freedom, and whose fettered limbs he is scarce +permitted to stretch. A rack of dry, and oftentimes vitiated hay is +placed _above_ the head which was created to stoop to gather the +juicy grasses of the earth. A measure of hard dry corn, or a bucket of +water, is periodically brought and thrust before the prisoner, who +eats and drinks for mere pastime, often without appetite, and whose +frequent rejection of the offered dainties is regarded as "sulkiness" +or "vice." The whole system of modern stable management is lamentably +at fault. I cannot hope to remedy it. I cannot persuade obstinate +humanity that the expenditure of a few shillings will turn in as many +pounds: that by the bestowal of proper care, proper housing, light, +and exercise, and proper clothing, food, and drink, the slave will +repay by longer life and more active service the care and kindness +which Christianity should deem a pleasure and privilege, instead of, +as now, a compulsory and doled-out gift. I cannot expect to remedy +these wide and universal evils, nor yet can you; but we are bound--you +and I--to guard against such things in our own management. If your +horse oppose you through nervousness, you can conquer him by kindness; +if through obstinacy, which is occasional but not frequent, you must +adopt a different plan. Use your spur and whip, and show that you will +not be mastered, though you stay there till the stars come out. You +will be sure to conquer ere long, unless your horse is one of those +inveterate brutes which are, fortunately, rarely to be met with, and +when you succeed in getting him over the obstacle at which he has +sulked, put him at it again, making him take it backwards and +forwards, and he will not be likely to trouble you by a repetition of +his pranks. + +You must be very cautious in the hunting-field not to leave yourself +open to any suspicion of over-riding the hounds; keep close to them, +but never so near as to be upon them. Over-riding hounds is a piece of +unpardonable caddishness of which no gentleman, and certainly no lady, +would be guilty; yet it is done; and then, when the master's wrath is +aroused, the innocent suffer with the guilty, for many who are not +absolutely offenders, ride too close in their zeal for the pleasures of +the chase. + +When your day's sport is over, and you are riding back to the place at +which you expect to meet your trap, remember that the easiest way to +bring your horse in is in a quiet jog-trot. It is nonsense to walk him, +for he will only stiffen, and will be the longer away from his stable +and his needed rest. If you chance to come across a piece of water, +ride him to it and let him have a few "go downs,"--six or eight, but +not more. When you get off his back, see that his girths are loosed at +once, and, if very tired, a little water thrown over his feet. He +should then be taken quietly home--if by road, in the same easy +trot--and just washed over and turned into a loose box, where he can +tumble and luxuriate without submitting to any of the worries of +professional grooming. Fifteen minutes after my return from hunting, +my horse--sheeted and comfortable--is feeding quietly in his stall, +enjoying his food and rest; instead of standing in some wet corner of a +cold yard, with his unhappy head tied up by an unsympathizing rope, and +a fussy groom worrying his tired body with a noisy display of most +unnecessary zeal. And this is as it ought to be. Horses are like human +beings,--they like to _rest_ when wearied, and their chief +desire--if we would only believe it--is to be left alone. But we are +incredulous, and so we hang about them, and fuss and worry the fagged +and patient creatures who would fain appeal to us for a cessation of +our attentions. + +There are few things more truly delightful than a mutual understanding +and affection between horse and rider, and this can easily be arrived +at by kindness and care. I have a hunter--Bigwig, son of The +Lawyer--who follows me all over the place, knows my voice from any +distance, rubs his nose down my dress, puts it into my pocket to look +for apples, and licks my hands and face like a dog; yet I have done +nothing to induce all this, except treating him with uniform justice +and kindness. He has carried me most brilliantly through three +successive seasons without one single display of sulk or bad temper. He +knows not the _touch_ of a whip. I carry one, that the long lash, +passed through his bridle, may assist him when necessary in getting +over a trappy fence, at which I may deem it prudent to dismount, but +the sight of it never inspires him with fear; if I showed it to him, he +would probably lick it, and then gaze inquiringly at me to see if I +were pleased with the novel performance. To me, this noble and +beautiful creature is a priceless companion; yet, strange to say, +nobody else (not even the most accomplished rider) can obtain any good +of him. It is not that he displays vice, but he simply will not allow +himself to be ridden. I once happened to mention this fact at our +private dinner-table, in presence of a distinguished major, who had +been boasting largely of his prowess in the saddle, and who at once +offered to lay me ten to one that he would master the animal in +question within five minutes. "I do not bet," I said, "but I will +venture to assert that you will not be able to ride him out of the yard +within as many hours." He took me up at once, and, as a good many +sporting men were dining with us, who evidently enjoyed the prospect of +a little excitement, I quietly called a servant, and sent orders to the +groom to saddle Bigwig without delay. It was a lovely evening in +summer, and we all adjourned to the yard to view the performance. + +The moment my beautiful pet saw me he whinnied joyously and strove to +approach me, but I dared not go near him, in case it should be thought +that by any sort of "Freemasonry" I induced him to carry out my words. +The sight was most amusing; the gentlemen all standing about, smoking +and laughing; the horse suspicious, and not at ease, quietly held by +the groom, whose face was in a grin of expectation, for none knew +better than he what was likely to ensue. The major prepared to mount, +and Bigwig stood with the utmost placidity; although I must confess he +was naughty enough to cast back an eye, which augured no good to the +gallant representative of Her Majesty's service. He mounted without +difficulty, took up the reins, and evidently prepared for a struggle; +but none such ensued. Bigwig tucked his tail very tight to his body, +walked quietly forward for a yard or two, and then, suddenly standing +up as straight as a whip, the defeated major slid over his tail upon +the hard ground, whilst the horse trotted back to his box. + +I have related for you this anecdote, not merely for your amusement, +but to teach you never to boast. A braggart is ever the first to fall, +and nobody sympathizes with him. If you become ever so successful in +your management of horses, do not exert yourself to proclaim it. Suffer +others to find it out if they will; but do not tell them of it, lest +some day you share the fate of the prostrate and discomfited major. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +FEEDING HORSES.--FORAGE-BISCUITS.--IRISH PEASANTRY.--A CUNNING +IDIOT.--A CABIN SUPPER.--THE ROGUISH MULE.--A DAY AT COURTOWN.-- +PADDY'S OPINION OF THE EMPRESS. + + +I said at the commencement of these pages that I should offer little or +no discourse upon the general management of horses; yet, in one +reserved instance, I may be permitted to break through my rule. If you +want your hunters to thrive, do not let them have a single grain of raw +oats. People have laughed at me when I said this, and have scarcely +waited for the turning of my back to call me a mad woman; but a few of +the scoffers have since come to thank me, and if you adopt my plan you +will think that this little volume would have been cheap at a ten-pound +note. There are, of course, times when raw oats must be given, for your +horse may not always be in your own stable. At such times it is a good +plan to mix chopped clover or grass through the feeding, taking care +that grain and clover be thoroughly mingled. The judicious mixture of +green meat will go far towards counteracting the binding effects which +raw oats will be likely to have upon a horse not accustomed to it, and +will also induce him to masticate his food, which an animal inured to +softer feeding will otherwise be apt to neglect, wasting the corn by +dropping it from his mouth in a slobbering fashion, making no use +whatever of his grinders, and swallowing a certain portion without +chewing it at all. I am, for various tried reasons, a thorough advocate +for Mayhew's and Shingler's style of feeding upon cooked food, mingled, +of course, with good sweet hay, or an admixture of the juicy grasses +upon which the animal in its unfettered state would be prone to live. + +In my stable-yard are a large boiler and an unlimited supply of good +water. The groom boils sufficient oats to do for two or three days, +and, when cool, mixes through it a small proportion of bruised Indian +corn. On this the horses are fed as with ordinary oats three times +daily, and so enjoy the feeding that not one grain is left in the +mangers, which are placed _low upon the ground_. The surest proof +of the efficacy of this excellent and economical feeding is that my +horses never sweat, never blow, never tire. When other hunters are +standing still, mine have not turned a hair; and, as prize-winners and +brilliant goers, they cannot be excelled. + +The principle I go on is this:--If I eat a cupful of raw rice, it +certainly does me no good; but if I boil it, it makes three or four +times the quantity of good, wholesome, digestible food, every grain of +which goes to the nourishment of my body. And it is precisely so with +the oats and the horse. In addition to this feeding, I give abundance +of good, sweet, _moist_ hay, varied by green food in summer, +substituting carrots in the winter-time, of which vegetable they are +particularly fond. The carrots are given whole, either from my hand or +put loosely in the manger. I never suffer them to be cut up, unless it +be done _very finely_, either by myself or under my supervision, to +induce a delicate feeder to taste his food through which the chopped +carrots are rubbed. Grooms, with their accustomed ignorance, are almost +always in favour of the "cutting up," but I regard it as a most +dangerous practice. If the carrot be left whole the horse will nibble +at it, and will bite off just such pieces as he knows he can chew and +swallow, but there is more than one instance upon record of horses +choking themselves with pieces of cut carrot, and very many who have +nearly done so. I can feed my horses upon this system for very little +more than half the sum which my neighbours are expending, with +advantages which are certainly fourfold. I consider it an excellent +plan to vary horses' feeding, as it tells quite as beneficially upon +animals as upon ourselves;--and for this purpose there cannot, in my +opinion, be anything better than the forage-biscuits, manufactured +by Spratt & Co., Henry Street, London, ten of which are equal to one +good feed of oats, and are so relished that not so much as a crumb +is suffered to go to waste. They combine all the most nutritious of +grains, with dates and linseed added in such proportions as experience +has pointed out to the inventor to be the best. They are then baked, +and thoroughly dried, so that they are entirely deprived of moisture, +and will consequently keep good for any length of time. The baking +process being complete, they are, when eaten, practically +half-digested,--or, as I may say, they present the materials to the +horse in the most digestible form in which it is possible to give them. +There are certain chemicals used in very minute quantities in the +manufacture of these biscuits, which are productive of highly +beneficial effects upon animals thus fed,--improving their muscular +development, and imparting to their coats a peculiarly healthy and +brilliant appearance. One feed of the forage-biscuits three or four +times weekly is the proper allowance,--and they should be given whole, +as the same objection applies to the breaking of them as I have set +forth in my dissertation upon the cutting up of carrots. + +I now desire to warn you that if you hunt in Ireland you must be +prepared for the laughable and most ingenious frauds which the poor +people--alas! _how_ poor--will certainly endeavour to practise upon +you. I can, and do most fully, commiserate their poverty, but with +their attempts at imposition I have long since lost patience. Doubtless +they think that everybody who hunts is of necessity a rich person, and +conceive the idea that by fleecing the wealthy they will aid in +blotting out the poverty of the land. Nothing delights the old +cottage-woman more than to kill an ancient hen or duck on a +hunting-morning, and then, when the hunt comes sweeping past her door, +out rushes the beldame with the bird concealed beneath her apron, and +throwing it deftly--positively by a species of sleight of hand--beneath +your horse's hoofs, kicks up a mighty whining, and declares that you +have "kilt her beauty-ful fowl!" I was so taken aback upon the first of +these occasions that I actually stopped and paid the price demanded; +but, finding that the same thing occurred the following week in a +different locality, I ascertained that it was a trick and declined to +be farther hocussed. + +It is likewise a common thing for a man to accost you, demanding a +shilling, and declaring that it was he who pulled your ladyship's horse +out of the ditch or quagmire on such and such a day. You do not +remember ever having seen his face before; but if you are a hard-riding +lady you will be so frequently assisted out of difficulties that you +cannot undertake to say who nor how many may have helped you +unrewarded, and, being unwilling that any should so suffer, you bestow +the coin, most likely in many instances, until you find that your +generosity has become known and is consequently being traded upon. + +I remember one day, a couple of winters ago, when returning from +hunting, I lost my way, and being desirous of speedily re-finding it, I +accosted a ragged being whom I saw standing at a corner where four +roads met, and inquired of him the most direct route to the point which +I was desirous of reaching. The creature hitched his shoulders, +scratched his collarless neck, pushed the hat from his sunburnt +forehead, and, finally, looking down and rubbing the fore-finger of his +right hand upon the palm of his left, thus delivered himself: + +"I axed him for a ha'penny, and he wouldn't give it to me; but he put +his hand into his pocket and pulled out a pinny, and gave it to me, and +I took it in--ho, ho! and he gave me a letter to take up to Mrs. +Johnston, and when I took it to her, she opened it and read it. Now, +didn't I give her the letter?" + +"Really," said I, "I know nothing about Mrs. Johnston nor her letter. I +want to know the nearest way to Dunboyne station." + +"I axed him for a ha'penny," began the man again. And then I had the +whole story of the "pinny" and "Mrs. Johnston" repeated for me over and +over, without a smile or any variation, until my vexation vanished, and +I fairly roared with laughter. Guessing at once how the land lay, I +produced a little coin with which I presented him, and which he +immediately pocketed, and, touching his ragged feather, pointed down +one of the roads, and said quite sensibly, "That's the right road, my +lady." And so I found it. This man, I was subsequently informed, made +quite a respectable maintenance by stationing himself at the +cross-roads on daily duty, and informing every passer-by that he "axed +for a ha'penny" but was generously treated to a "pinny," together with +the story of Mrs. Johnston and her letter, accompanied by all the +shruggings, and scratchings, and sniffings, which never failed to +provoke the laughter of the hearer and to elicit the coveted coin. + +The Irish, with all their little failings, are a hospitable people, and +full of pungent wit. I was one evening wending my way to Sallins +station, after a long and wearisome day's hunting. My tired horse was +suffering from an over-reach, and I was taking him as quietly as I +could, consistently with my anxiety to be in time to catch the train by +which I desired to return to town. So utterly jaded were we both--I and +my steed--that the way appeared very long indeed, and I asked the first +countryman whom I met how far it was to Sallins. "Three miles," he told +me, and I jogged on again. When we had traversed quite a long distance, +and I thought I must be very near my journey's end, I ventured upon +asking the same question of a farmer whom I met riding a big horse in +an opposite direction to that in which I was myself going. It was a +matter of about two miles, he told me, or mayhap three, but not more he +thought, and I was certainly not going wrong; I was on the right road, +and no mistake. I took out my watch. No hope for me now. I was +undoubtedly late for the train which I had hoped to catch, and must +wait two long hours for the next. A poor-looking little cottage was +close at hand; to it I trotted, and looked in at the door. The family +were at supper, all gathered about a narrow table, in the middle of +which lay a pile of unpeeled potatoes and a little salt. The mule, upon +which much of their fortune depended, was supping with them; thrusting +his poor attenuated nose over the shoulders of the children, and +occasionally snatching a potato, always receiving a box for so doing, +to which, however, he paid no sort of heed. I was at once invited to +enter, and gladly accepted the invitation, for I was cold and tired, +pleased to ease my horse and get him a draught of meal and water. I sat +down in the chimney-corner, thankful for the rest, but determined to +withstand all entreaties to share the family supper, and my risible +faculties were sorely put to the test, when my host, balancing a potato +upon his fork and dipping it in the salt, presented it to me, saying, +"Arrah! take it my lady, just _for the jig o' the thing_!" Of +course I took it; and never have I enjoyed the richest luxury of an +_à la Russe_ dinner more than that simple potato in a poor man's +cabin, in company with the mule and the pigs. When I stood up to go I +carefully inquired the distance, for it was dark, and I had long since +lost the remainder of my party. The man offered to accompany me to the +station, and I believe he was actuated solely by civility, and not by +any hope of gain. My horse was sadly done up; he had stiffened on the +over-reach, and limped painfully. We proceeded but slowly, and, sighing +for the patient suffering of my dearly-loved steed, I made the +observation that the miles were very long indeed. "They _are_ +long, my lady," said the man, who was walking before me with a +lanthorn; "but, shure and faith, if they're long they're narra'!" And +with this most intelligent observation he closed his mouth, and left me +to ponder upon it undisturbed until we arrived at the station. + +One more anecdote, and I have done with them. + +On one of last season's hunting-days the hounds met at Courtown, and +great excitement was abroad, for the Imperial lady was expected to join +the chase. She was, however, prevented through indisposition from +attending, but Prince Liechtenstein and a very distinguished company +came over from Summerhill. As we were trotting to the covert the +country-folks were all on the alert, for not having heard of the +disappointment respecting the Empress they were anxiously expecting +her, and many were the surmises respecting her identity. I was riding +close to the front, escorted by Lord Cloncurry, and as we swept past +one of the wayside cottages, two men and a woman rushed out to stare at +us and to give their opinions upon the "Impress." "Which is she?" cried +the female, shading her eyes to have a good look,--"That must be +_her_ in front, with his lordship. Oh! isn't she lovely? A quane, +every inch!" + +"Arrah! shut up, woman," said one of the men, testily interrupting her. +"That's not her at all, nor a taste like her! _The Impress is a +good-lookin' woman._" I need not say that this genuinely-uttered +remark took the wind completely out of my sails, and that I have never +since dreamed of comparing my personal appearance with that of any +woman whom an Irishman would call "good-lookin'." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE DOUBLE-RISE.--POINTING OUT THE RIGHT FOOT.--THE FORCE OF HABIT. +--VARIOUS KINDS OF FAULT-FINDING.--MR. STURGESS' PICTURES.--AN +ENGLISH HARVEST-HOME.--A JEALOUS SHREW.--A SHY BLACKSMITH.--HOW +IRISHMEN GET PARTNERS AT A DANCE. + + +I shall now touch very briefly upon one or two points which I have not +before mentioned, but which may, nevertheless, prove interesting to +some lady riders. + +Firstly, then, I shall speak of the annoyance--sometimes a serious +one--which ladies experience from what is known as the _double +rise_ in the trot. I have been asked is it preventible. Before +suggesting a remedy for anything--be it ailment or habit--we must +endeavour to get at the _cause_ of the evil complained of. The +most successful medical men are those who first take time and pains to +ascertain the wherefore, and then seek to effect the cure. + +The extremely ungraceful and unpleasant motion known as the "double +rise" is attributable to two distinct causes. It is due either to the +horse or to the rider, and to the one quite as frequently as to the +other. A large, heavy animal, with slow and clumsy action will, if +ridden by a lady, be almost certain to necessitate the double rise. +This I know by the certainty derived from experience. I was staying +some time ago at a house in the midst of our finest hunting county in +Ireland, namely, royal Meath. The owner was a great hunting-man in both +senses of the word, for he was a superb cross-country rider, and, if +put in the scales, would pull down sixteen stone. Being a top-weight he +always rode immense horses--elephants I used to call them, greatly to +his indignation. Very good he was about lending me one of these huge +creatures whenever I felt desirous of joining the chase, which I +confess was but seldom, for the first day upon which I accepted a mount +we left off eighteen miles from home, and I was so exhausted by the +time we arrived there, that I fairly fainted before reaching my own +chamber. It was not the distance which tired me, although it was a +pretty good one, but the fact that I was troubled with the double-rise +all the way. I strove in vain to remedy it by urging my gigantic steed +to a faster trot, and making him go up to his bridle; but the moment I +began to experience a little relief, my companion--dear old man, now in +heaven!--would say, "Well, that is the worst of ladies riding: they +must always either creep in a walk, or bucket their horses along at an +unnecessary pace. _Why_ can't you jog on quietly, as I do?" He +was clearly not suffering from the annoyance which was vexing and +fatiguing me. I looked at him closely, watched his motion in the +saddle--that slow, slow rise and fall--I compared it with mine, our +pace being the same, and the mystery was at once solved. Both horses +were trotting exactly together, keeping step, as the saying goes, yet +my companion was at ease whilst I was in torment. Why was this? Because +he had a leg at either side of his mount, his weight equally +distributed, and an equal support upon both sides; in fact, he had, as +all male riders have, the advantage of a _double_ support in the +rise; consequently, at the moment when his weight was removed from the +saddle, it was thrown upon both feet, and this equal distribution +enabled him to accomplish without fatigue that slow rise and fall which +is so tiring to a lady, whose weight when she is out of the saddle is +thrown entirely upon one delicate limb, thus inducing her to fall +again as soon as possible, which, if riding a clumsy animal, she is +constrained to do _at variance_, as it were, with his tedious and +heavy motion, and hence the inconvenience of the double rise. + +To illustrate my meaning, and explain more fully how it happens that +men never complain of this particular evil: a man will be able to stand +in his stirrups for a considerable time, even to ride a gallop so +doing, because he transfers his weight _equally_ to this feet; but +how rarely do we see a lady balanced upon one leg! Never, except it be +for a single instant whilst arranging her skirt or trying her stirrup. +The sensation is not agreeable, and would be, moreover, unpleasantly +productive of wrung backs. + +A heavy horse is never in any way suitable to a lady. It _looks_ +amiss. The trot is invariably laboured, and if the animal should chance +to fall, he gives his rider what we know in the hunting-field as "a +mighty crusher!" It is, indeed, a rare thing to meet a perfect "lady's +horse." In all my wide experience I have met but two. Breeding is +necessary for stability and speed--two things most essential to a +hunter; but good _light_ action is, for a roadster, positively +indispensable, and a horse who does not possess it is a burden to his +rider, and is, moreover, exceedingly unsafe, as he is apt to stumble at +every rut and stone. + +The double rise may also, as I said, be quite attributable to the +rider. A careless way of riding may occasion it, sitting loosely in the +saddle, and allowing your horse to go asleep over his work. Pull you +mount together, so as to throw his weight upon his haunches, not upon +his shoulders. Keep your reins close in hand. Rise, so that you shall +be out of the saddle when his off fore-leg is thrown out, and I do not +think you will have much to complain of from the annoyance occasioned +by the double rise. + +I have dwelt upon this subject because so many have asked me privately +for a cure for it, and I have surmised that numerous others, who have +not had opportunity--nor perhaps courage--to ask, will nevertheless be +pleased to receive a hint. + +It has also been inquired of me whether there is any remedy for that +excessively unsightly practice of sticking out the right foot when in +the saddle, as we have seen so many ladies do, until the toe is +positively almost resting upon the horse's neck. There is, of course, a +remedy; a most effectual one. _Don't do it._ It is quite possible +and even easy to keep the right leg as close to the saddle as the left, +the toe pointing downward, and the knee well bent. I know, however, +that in some cases the position objected to is consequent upon the +up-pommel of the saddle being placed too near the off one, thus there +is not sufficient space for the leg to lie easily, and consequently it +sticks out in the ungraceful manner so often seen and deplored. + +In many instances, also, it is habit; a bad practice, indulged in at +first without notice, and then, when confirmed, most difficult to +eradicate. These pernicious habits are extremely apt to grow upon all +of us, unless most carefully watched, I have seen ladies utterly +disfigure their appearance in the saddle by placing a hand upon their +side, or, worse again, behind their back, and riding along in this +jaunty style with an air as though they thought themselves the most +elegant creatures in creation. Others keep their elbows a-kimbo, and +fairly churn themselves in the saddle with every rise and fall. Others, +again, acquire a habit of tipping their horse with the whip in an +altogether unnecessary manner. It is not actually enough to hurt the +animal, but is amply sufficient to worry and ruffle his temper. No +horse fit to carry a lady requires to be constantly reminded of his +work. A whip in a woman's hand should be more for show, and to give +completeness to the picture, than for purposes of castigation. Nothing +looks worse nor more ungentle than to see it wantonly applied. It has +been said, "Spare the rod and spoil the child," but I cannot agree with +the theory. Rod and whip may be alike useful in (happily) isolated +cases, but I do not envy the disposition of child or animal who cannot +be made amenable by less ungentle means. Practices which are the result +of habit may be checked, and quite effectually, by the bestowal of a +little care. We want first some kindly friend to tell us of them; we +next require the common sense and good feeling not to be offended at +the telling; and, finally, we need the patience and perseverance which +are born of the _determination_ to overcome the fault. With regard +to the telling, how few of us know how to tell! There are just the two +ways, or perhaps I should say three. There is the cold, carping, +disagreeable fault-finding manner, which picks holes for the mere +pleasure of picking them, and the unworthy delight of seeing how the +victim writhes beneath the torture. There is the snake-like, insidious +fault-finding--the worst and most dangerous of all--which invariably +commences with the words, "You know, my dear, I am only telling you for +your own good." This species of fault-finding is peculiar to the +_female_ friend, and is invariably served up with an admixture of +honey and gall, so skilfully compounded that the very soul of the +listener is exercised and deceived. "Her words were smoother than oil, +yet were they drawn swords." Lastly, there is the genuine, honest, +open-hearted, fault-finding, which bears no malice, and is too true to +clothe itself with the garment of deceit. By this alone we should be +influenced or seek to influence others; but, for my own part, as I have +already said, I have found the world so inordinately self-opinionated +and determined _not_ to be advised, that I have long since ceased +to offer counsel, and only give it when requested. Long ago, when I +first began to write, I was jealous of all interference, and invariably +prefaced my letters to my Editors with, "Please do not alter anything +in my MS." Poor blind child I was then, groping about in the dark, and +sadly needing the helping hand which I was so obstinately rejecting. +Well, we gain sense with years, and wisdom with experience. Now that I +have got on in the world, in every sense of the word, I am only too +anxious for advice, and ready to grasp at every friendly hint. + +And so it should be with riding as with writing. Take all kindly +counsel in good part, and if given advice ask for more. Bad habits grow +upon us with giant force; they strengthen with our strength, because we +know not of them, or blindly refuse to be controlled. I dare say a good +many of us are acquainted with a very famous queen of song who always +holds her hands crossed and her thumbs turned stiffly up whilst she is +singing. I do not believe she is at all aware of the peculiarity of her +attitude, and perhaps she could not sing half so well nor sweetly if +she altered it. In like manner I told you, in the earlier portion of +this volume, of a young lady who could not ride a yard without laying a +firm grip upon the off-pommel of her saddle. These things are habit; +we do them without consciousness; we are not aware of anything unusual +in ourselves, but when the knowledge comes to us (which it soon will if +we are known to possess sufficient sweetness to take a hint) we should +turn it to advantage, and so improve with time. + +I recollect that when these writings of mine were first issued in the +journal to which they originally owed their appearance, a dear lady +wrote to me all the way from Rhode Island, U.S.A., asking me for hints +upon various subjects, and likewise offering me a few such, with so +much sweetness that I not alone accepted, but welcomed and adopted +them. She asked me many questions relative to the pictures with which +my various subjects were illustrated, and admired very warmly the +spirited drawings which Mr. Sturgess had made of my leap into the +farmyard and also of "The first fence." Many of my readers may +recollect them; and as there was, at the time, much discussion +respecting the position of my feet as portrayed in the former picture, +I take this opportunity of ranging myself upon the artist's side, for, +after much thoughtful inspection of the picture, I arrived at the +conclusion that he was perfectly correct, and the position quite such +as must of necessity be, in the event of a runaway steed clearing such +an obstacle with a wearied and startled rider scarce able to retain her +seat upon his back. Even had the artist been mistaken--which I am bound +to say he was not--the matter need scarcely have evoked criticism, for +his strong point is his delineation of horses, and as he has no equal +in this particular branch of art, he may well be forgiven if such +trifles as a lady's feet occasionally puzzle him a little! Moreover, he +draws with a view to producing effect as much as ensuring stereotyped +correctness. I recollect when I saw that picture I sounded my protest +against the flowing skirt and flying veil: two things quite foreign to +my style of riding-dress, which is always severely close-fitting and +_curtailed_. His answer certainly carried weight. The skirt and +veil were necessary to impart an appearance of rapid motion, or flying +through the air. He was quite right, and I was decidedly wrong. I felt +ashamed of myself, begged his pardon mentally, and atoned for my +audacity by henceforward believing blindly in his judgment. + +I recollect laughing much at the time at a grave suggestion made to me +by a dear old lady, who thought there might be a particular reason why +Mr. Sturgess was (in her opinion) less successful in depicting lady +equestrians than when pursuing any other branch of his enchanting art. +Neither she nor I had or have, unfortunately, the pleasure of his +personal acquaintance, but we thought there might possibly be somebody +in authority who strongly objected to his studying the details of the +fair creatures whom he has occasionally to draw. To show that such +things may be, and actually are, in real life, I recollect that when I +was staying some two or three years ago at a famous house in the north +of England, a gay harvest-home took place, and the servants and +labourers had a dance in the barn. I and my husband, our host and +hostess, and numerous guests staying at the castle, went out to see the +fun, and greatly was I struck with the gallant appearance of the old +barn, so gaily decorated with corn, and the fiddler fiddling away upon +a beer-barrel! A mighty cheer was raised for us when we all, in full +evening dress, joined the motley company of revellers, and the lord of +the soil led off a country dance with a blushing mountain-lass, +followed by her ladyship with an equally humble partner. The blacksmith +was an Irishman, and looked very shy, as Irishmen invariably do in +presence of the fair sex(?) I knew him as a workman upon the estate--I +knew also that his wife, a very ugly woman, was a terribly jealous +shrew--and, actuated by a spirit of mischief, I went and asked him to +dance; but he only grinned, blushed, and said, "No, thank you, ma'am; +_I'm a married man!_" My husband, who was standing by, said +laughingly, "Why, Brian, you ought to feel flattered to be asked. Give +Mrs. O'Donoghue your arm, and take your place for the dance." "O, +faix," said Brian, hastening to obey, "if _you_ have no objection, +I'm sure _I_ have none. _Let her come on!_ Only," he added, +pausing and scratching his head, "begorrah, _I hope my wife won't see +me!_" + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +SUBJECT OF FEEDING RESUMED.--COOKED FOOD RECOMMENDED.--EFFECTS OF +RAW OATS UPON "PLEADER."--SERVANTS' OBJECTIONS.--SNAFFLE-BRIDLE, AND +BIT-AND-BRIDOON.--KINDNESS TO THE POOR.--AN UNSYMPATHETIC LADY.--AN +UNGALLANT CAPTAIN.--WHAT IS A GENTLEMAN?--_AU REVOIR!_ + + +My remarks upon the subject of feeding horses, having gained publicity +through the columns of the press, have called forth much comment and +adverse criticism. Some have evidently considered--and have not +hesitated to say--that I have written the veriest twaddle; but happily +there is a reverse side to the picture, and many (including one very +august personage indeed) have expressed a determination to adopt my +system. Beans are such excellent feeding that I cannot object to an +admixture of them, and to most English horses they are almost a +necessity; but in Ireland we care little about them. It is unwise to +give too much hay. I said "abundance" on a former page, but the word, +as I used it, did not signify a large quantity. For horses fed three +times daily upon a plentiful measure of oats, crushed Indian corn, and +beans if desired, a few handfuls of hay will be amply sufficient, and +this should be placed where the horse can stoop to it, but never above +him, as in the effort to disengage it from the rack the seeds fall in +his eyes and produce irritation, and sometimes permanent disease. + +A bran-mash on a Saturday night, or after a hard day, forms an +admirable variety to the ordinary feeding routine. Let the bran be +thoroughly well steeped and mixed, and a portion of cooked oats or +chopped carrots intermingled with it. This will induce almost any +animal to partake of the bran, from which otherwise many delicate +feeders will resolutely turn. + +I have strongly recommended cooked feeding, even against the uproar of +a general outcry against it, because I have seen and proved its +efficacy. Last November, on the first Tuesday in the month--the opening +day with the Kildare hounds--we had a splendid run, during which, +however, I was amazed to find that my great horse, Pleader, sweated +heavily--a thing which had never previously been the case. In fact, it +had always been my boast that when other horses were thoroughly done, +mine had not turned a hair; but, on the day in question, he was in a +white lather, and I thought appeared distressed. Upon coming home, and +speaking about it in my stable, I was informed that the boiler was in +some way out of order, and the horses had, unknown to me, been fed upon +uncooked oats during the preceding three days. Had I required any +confirmation of my theory, this circumstance would certainly have +furnished it, and entirely defeats the general supposition that cooked +food renders horses soft. + +I have now given the best advice I can upon the subject of feeding, and +I shall not again refer to it, nor to anything connected with the +treatment or stable management of horses, as the subject is an endless +one, everybody entertaining an opinion of his own, which it shall not +be my ambition to upset. What I have said has been in kindness, and +with a view to benefiting both man and beast; but I do not by any means +expect the majority of my readers to coincide in my views. There is a +stolid determination general throughout the world to stick to old +customs and old-fashioned ways and habits, no matter how excellent the +modern ones may be, and so the "horse and mill" go daily round. Masters +object to my system because it involves an outlay in the erecting of a +proper boiler and other necessary adjuncts; servants object to it +because it gives them a little additional trouble. It is far easier to +lounge to the oat-bin, fill a measure from it, and thrust it before the +animal, not caring whether it is rejected or otherwise, than to fetch +the water and fill the boiler and go through the labours of a process +which, in itself exceedingly simple, is made to appear complicated and +laborious by the amount of fuss and discontent which are brought to +bear upon the work. There is an old saying, "If you want a thing well +done, do it yourself"; but, unfortunately, there are some things--and +this is one--which ladies and gentlemen cannot do, and there is no +doubt whatever that servants accustomed to the old style of management +will never willingly adopt the new--unless they belong to that rare and +select and most exclusive _few_ who have their masters' interest +at heart. + +Much information has been asked of me relative to the subject of +holding reins. How often shall I say that there is no fixed rule, and +that a method which may look well for park-riding will be totally out +of place in the hunting-field. I have been asked how I hold my own +bridle, and I shall answer that I almost invariably ride with a single +rein, and you can understand my method readily if you will follow me +whilst I endeavour to explain. Take your pocket-handkerchief, pass it +through the back of any ordinary chair, and bring the ends evenly +towards you, holding them for an instant with your right hand, which +must, _pro tem._, represent the buckle. Place your left hand +within the loop thus formed, the little finger resting firmly against +the near-side, about four inches above the right hand; grasp the +opposite side between the forefinger and thumb, left hand (the two +sides of the handkerchief representing the reins); press the off-side +slightly inward with the pressure of your thumb, slipping it entirely +away from the control of the right hand; then bring the near-side, +which still is held loosely by the right, under the thumb of the left, +and hold it firmly. You will thus see that you establish a sort of +"cross rein," and that you have, and are able to maintain, a secure +grip upon either side. By an outward movement or slight turning of the +wrist, accompanied by pressure of the little finger, you will control +your horse upon the near-side of his mouth, whilst by an inward +movement and pressure of the forefinger you will be able to command him +upon the other or off-side. It must be borne in mind that these +movements should be from the wrist _only_, and not from the arm or +shoulder. A good rider will keep the elbows close to the sides, just +drawing the line finely between that pinioned look which is so +disfiguring, and the detestable flapping, like the wings of an unquiet +bird, in which so many riders, both male and female, so frequently +indulge. I have seen ladies, who wished to have an appearance of hard +riding, leaning forward in the saddle and working their elbows in an +unsightly manner, the hands (influenced by the elbows) sawing also, and +the poor horse, with open mouth and straining jaws, staggering along in +distress, fighting his bridle, and presenting altogether a melancholy +spectacle. A firm even seat, elbows close, head erect, and strong +steady hands held _low_--these are the characteristics of a good +and lady-like rider. In going across country put _both_ hands to +your bridle, and keep your horse's head straight and well in hand, but +do not attempt to pull him nor interfere with him at his fences, or you +will undoubtedly come to grief. If you ride with a bit and bridoon my +advice is, ride your horse--even though he be a puller--upon the +snaffle, and keep the curb rein looped over your little finger, hanging +quite loose, yet in such a position that you can if necessary take it +up at a second's notice. + +I cannot too often impress upon you the advisability of being +conciliatory and kind in your manner to everybody with whom you may +come in contact. No matter how exalted your rank may be, you can all +the better afford to be courteous to those beneath you. Kind words cost +nothing, and are as balm to the hearer. Many of the lower orders are +quite as much gentry at heart, and far more so, than those who hide +their unworthiness beneath the convenient shadow of a "family tree." I +have been more than once pained upon hunting days by the extreme +contempt and rudeness with which ladies have treated the poor, who have +asked nothing from them save the innocent and inexpensive privilege of +seeing them mount and canter away with the field. It is all very well +to say, "I do not like to be stared at," but even to those who +_most_ dislike it, surely it is worth a little self-sacrifice to +see the undisguised enjoyment and listen to the original observations +of the Irish peasantry, to whom a sight of the hounds--especially when +followed by ladies--is a treat they never care to miss. + +I was riding last winter in company with a lady, very noble, very +handsome, very proud. We came up to a branch of a river, upon the brink +of which some country folk had gathered, with the innocent desire of +seeing it jumped. A poor man, very quiet-looking and harmless, was +actually knocked down and immersed in the water by a reckless young +officer, who galloped over him, and went on without even glancing back +at the spot where the poor half-drowned creature stood wringing his +dripping clothing, yet not uttering a syllable of reproach. My +companion roared with laughter, first at the catastrophe, and then at +me for sympathising with the sufferer. "Apologise!" she cried, in a +high key. "_How_ could Captain Dash apologise to a man like that? +It would be different had he been a _gentleman_." I thought so +too, if the meaning of the word "he" had only been reversed; but I said +nothing, and we went on. + +A few fields further we came to a terrible obstacle--a high post and +rails, with a deep and yawning ditch upon the landing side. Three or +four of us went at it: the rest turned away and sought the road. I got +over safely, my noble Pleader proving himself, as usual, worthy of my +confidence. Captain Dash came next, safely also; and then my +ill-starred lady friend, whose horse (an inferior timber-jumper) +bungled, and left her completely prostrate upon the wet earth. Never a +pause did Captain Dash make in his onward career, although he glanced +back when he heard her shriek, and, incredible as it may appear, I +thought I saw him smile, for it was ever his saying that ladies had no +business hunting, and always deserved mischance; but the poor man, at +whose immersion she had laughed a few moments before, came running to +her relief, rendered her every assistance in his power, replaced her in +the saddle, expressed regret for her accident, and positively declined +to accept of any remuneration for his services. + +Which of these men, think you, was the gentleman? I know what I thought +respecting the question; and I judged that my friend's opinion was +formed as mine, for she now loves and cares the poor, and suffers the +rich to care themselves, as every true-hearted and Christian woman +should; and, moreover, on glancing over a book of my poems which I lent +her some time later, I found a leaf turned down, as though to mark +these lines-- + + "What is a gentleman? Is it a thing + Decked with a scarf-pin, a chain, and a ring, + Dressed in a suit of immaculate style, + Sporting an eye-glass, a lisp, and a smile? + Talking of operas, concerts, and balls, + Evening assemblies, and afternoon calls, + Sunning himself at "at homes" and bazaars, + Whistling mazurkas, and smoking cigars? + + "What is a gentleman? Say, is it one + Boasting of conquests and deeds he has done, + One who unblushingly glories to speak + Things which should call up a flush to his cheek? + One who, whilst railing at actions unjust, + Robs some young heart of its pureness and trust; + Scorns to steal money, or jewels, or wealth, + Thinks it no crime to take honour by stealth? + + "What is a gentleman? Is it not one + Knowing instinctively what he should shun, + Speaking no word that could injure or pain, + Spreading no scandal and deep'ning no stain? + One who knows how to put each at his ease, + Striving instinctively always to please; + One who can tell by a glance at your cheek + When to be silent, and when he should speak? + + "What is a gentleman? Is it not one + Honestly eating the bread he has won, + Living in uprightness, fearing his God, + Leaving no stain on the path he has trod? + Caring not whether his coat may be old, + Prizing sincerity far above gold, + Recking not whether his hand may be hard, + Stretching it boldly to grasp its reward? + + "What is a gentleman? Say, is it birth + Makes a man noble, or adds to his worth? + Is there a family-tree to be had + Shady enough to conceal what is bad? + Seek out the man who has God for his Guide, + Nothing to blush for, and nothing to hide; + Be he a noble, or be he in trade, + _This_ is the Gentleman NATURE has made." + +Now, kind reader, farewell. If I have given you instruction, called a +laugh to your lips, or taught you to prize and cherish the priceless +creature which God has generously sent for our enjoyment and our use, +I shall cheerfully lay aside my pen, happy in the conviction that I +have not written in vain. + +Yet, shall I say in the song-words, + + "_Au revoir. Pas adieu!_" + +for we meet again, I trust, soon and often; but the subject upon which +I have been writing has come to an end. + +Whilst acknowledging the kindness of my friends, I would desire also +to shake hands with my enemies. Life is short, and so it behoves us to +bear no malice. To those who have unkindly criticised me I offer +freely a forgiving hand and heart. I have never wilfully offended any, +and if my efforts have not come quite up to the standard of excellence +which certain captious critics have set up, I have at least done my +best, and have been careful, in propounding theories which might +appear new and uncommon, to state that such things were according to +my notions, in which, however, I did not expect all persons to +coincide. So long as the world lasts so long will there be differences +of opinion; but it is not because such exist that ill-feeling should +creep in, and Christian charity become a thing of nought. In ancient +days, when the Apostles were upon the earth, these things were as they +are now; yet the Great Example, to whose pure and simple teaching we +all hopefully look, inspired the command, "_Let brotherly love +continue._" + +So be it, reader, with you and with me. + + + + +PART IV. + +HUNTING IN IRELAND. + + +There is at present a mighty outcry in our poor land. Not against +"battle, murder, and sudden death," landlord-killing, and "Boycotting," +but against our royal pastime--hunting. The tenant-farmers are +uproarious in their opposition to it; and, with a headstrong +determination which cannot be too strongly condemned, refuse to listen +to the voice of the reasoner. We are but in the beginning of our +season, yet is our prospect marred and our pleasure spoilt by the blind +idiotcy, not of the few, but, unfortunately, of the many. + +They have but one cry, "You are ruining our grass-lands!" A more +egregious error could not possibly exist. Is it wilful blindness or +merely the desire to banish landlordism from the country which induces +this senseless outcry? If the latter, there is unhappily every +probability that the outcriers will succeed; if the former, there may +be some hope of ultimately unclosing their sealed eyelids. + +A body of horsemen galloping over grassland during the hunting season +can never occasion injury; it is simply an absurdity to endeavour to +maintain a contrary theory. A great friend of mine and a most practical +gentleman, who possesses a large common attached to his grounds, upon +which he can, if desirable, exercise his horses, always prefers doing +so throughout the winter upon his finest grass-land. He maintains, and +correctly, that they do it an immensity of good, and once offered (to +prove the correctness of his judgment) to give the use of the said land +to the colonel of a cavalry regiment stationed in his vicinity--to do +all his work upon throughout the winter months. The offer, after some +demur, was accepted, and proved to be most advantageous to the +land-owner. + +Being an enthusiastic follower of the Ward Union stag-hounds, I am +enabled to state that I have galloped with them, in company with at +least two hundred other riders, across the Ward Country and over the +Fairyhouse lands, which are--as is well known--of a singularly wet and +holding nature; and this not once, but many times throughout the +season. Yet, so early as April, at which date the famous Fairyhouse +races take place, no track or footmark can be seen upon the luxuriant +grass. Again, when riding in winter through Phoenix Park, I have been +struck by the state of mud to which it has been reduced through the +frequent galloping of horses over its surface; yet, in summer it grows +the finest grass, and is as smooth as a billiard-table. One day in +June, three years ago, a grand Review was held there in honour of the +Queen's birthday. A terrible shower came down--one of those mighty +floods which can, in a few moments, transform a beauteous green sward +into a hideous mass of unsightly mire and dirt. Those on foot ploughed +patiently through it, sinking ankle-deep at every step; those upon +horseback, myself included, churned it beneath their horses' feet, +until not a trace was visible of the emerald carpet, which, one short +hour before, had afforded firm footing for many thousands of +spectators. Three weeks later, I rode through that park again; the +velvety turf was green and fresh as ever, nor was there visible _one +trace_ of the countless feet which had, as it were, waded over it so +short a time before. The day upon which St. Stephen's Park was, through +the princely generosity of Lord Ardilaun, opened to the public, was +a wet, or at least a damp one, and thousands upon thousands of +roughly-shod feet cut up the grassy sward; yet, in a few brief days, it +was rich and verdant as before. Nor do I think there is in our noble +Phoenix Park a more luxuriant stretch of grass-land than is "the nine +acres" upon which polo players continually assemble. + +Having thus, then, endeavoured to prove that the galloping of horses +is in no way injurious to pasture lands, I shall proceed to the +consideration of other matters connected with the subject in question. + +If hunting in Ireland were abolished, then indeed might the cries of +her children ascend heavenward, for I know not what would become of +her! The gentry who are now resident landlords, maintaining large and +costly establishments, would migrate to other countries and more +genial climes. Servants would seek in vain for employment. +Boot-makers, clothiers, saddlers, harness-makers, would find no +custom. The farmer would sigh vainly for a price for his corn. Hay and +straw would be a drug in the market. Hunting-lodges would remain +unlet, growing mouldy with time and damp. Butchers, bakers, +poulterers, butter-makers would be alike involved in one common ruin; +for the houses of the gentry would be empty, and desolation would +overspread the land! No buyers then for high-priced hunters and +promising colts, which now command so high a figure; no merging of +grades and mingling of classes in that happy contact which the +hunting-field so well engenders; none of that delicious feeling of +equality which the peer and the peasant seem alike to acknowledge +whilst participating side by side in the dangers and excitement of the +chase. All would be stillness, solitude, and gloom! + +Suffer me, then, to implore my countrymen and countrywomen to do all +in their power to promote the pleasures of hunting. It must immensely +benefit even those who do not actually participate in the sport, +inasmuch as it brings rich and poor into happy contact, and causes a +vast amount of money to be circulated, which enriches the pockets of +the poorer classes, and brings grist to many a mill which would +otherwise stand desolate, with disused and motionless wheel. To us who +_do_ participate in it, there is no need for speech. Which of us does +not know the pleasures of preparing for the glorious sport? the early +rousing up from slothful slumber, the anxious outward glance at the +weather, that fitful tyrant which makes or mars our enjoyment; the +donning of hunting garments, the packing of sandwich boxes, the +filling of flasks with whisky, or better, _far_ better, with strong +cold tea; the cheery drive to the meet, the many happy faces assembled +there, the greetings amongst friends, the praisings of the pack, the +trot to the covert, the dashing of the hounds into the gorse, the +sweet music which proclaims that Reynard is at home, the joyous sound +of the "Gone away!" the hurry-scurry to be first and foremost in their +wake, the anathemas hurled against those who are over-riding them, the +tumbling at the fences, the picking up again, the drowning in the +rivers, the fishing out by the wreckers, the maddening excitement of +traversing an intricate country, the wild desire to be in at the +death, the saving of our horses over holding lands, the riding of them +up to their bridles where the going is good, the last mighty effort, +the final fence cleared, and the canter up to where the huntsman is +holding aloft the brush and mask, and the hounds are breaking up their +fox! Who that has ever experienced these joys will be likely to forget +them, or will fail to promote, by every means in his power, so +health-giving and enlivening a sport? + +We have one very serious drawback to our hunting in Ireland, and, +indeed, in many other places also--namely, wire fencing. I saw +something of a tragic incident occur last season whilst hunting with +the Meath hounds. We came up to an impassable fence, and all made for +the gate, which was open; but the owner of the land rushed out from +his dwelling, shut it in our faces, and insolently refused to allow us +to pass. Threats and entreaties were alike vain. He called us every +name in the calendar, and consigned us all to a very ugly place, in +language which was certainly not parliamentary. Many of the field +turned off and sought another way, but two or three of the bold ones +charged the gate, and got over, clearing man and all! I and one other +took the fence--a mad proceeding, which gave us both an ugly fall; but +we scrambled up somehow, and succeeded in picking up the hounds. Late +in the evening, whilst hunting another fox, he led us over the same +identical ground, and a hard-riding gentleman, first at this mighty +obstacle, charged it boldly, but, alas, with what a result! The farmer +had, during our absence, run a stiff wire through the fence, which, +catching the horse in the breast, turned him completely over, breaking +the rider's arm, and otherwise severely injuring him. Some members of +the hunt, seeing what had occurred, besieged the offender's dwelling, +and he had an extremely uncomfortable ten minutes. I have heard +persons aver that the man was badly treated, and that he had a perfect +right to wire his fences if he so willed. Undoubtedly he had, if it +were done openly and in such a way that the wiring could be discerned, +but not, by petty treachery, to imperil the safety, if not the lives, +of a large number of persons. + +My advice to farmers would be this; wire the fences if necessary; but, +at the commencement of the hunting season, cut away, say twenty yards +of the wiring at the poorest point of the field, and mark the spot +with a pole and flag. Every rider would assuredly make for it as being +the only jumpable place, and at the close of the season a few boys +with five-grained forks would speedily set all to rights; nor can +there be any doubt that the best crop in the field would be on that +particular spot. Allowing even for a moment, for argument's sake, that +expense, trouble, or loss might be thus occasioned, there is not a +master of hounds in all Ireland--neither, I fancy, in any other +country--who would not willingly and cheerfully indemnify the owner of +the land. But so long as the world lasts, so long will there be +blindness; and until the "happy hunting-grounds" are reached, horses +and horsemen will be daily anathematised by the self-willed +cultivators of our native soil. + + + + +PART V. + +HUNTING IN AMERICA. + + +There is a great land across the Atlantic where they do great things, +and utter great sayings, and patent great inventions, and erect great +buildings--and where, in short, the inhabitants beat us (as they +themselves say) "all to fits!" + +A mighty nation they are, too--God prosper them as they deserve; but +there is one thing at least in which we can say, without boasting, we +are able to beat them, and that is, in our hunting. A fox-hunt in +America is a very tame and inglorious proceeding, and one which +decidedly would not come under our definition of "sport." + +American hunting differs in the first instance from ours, inasmuch as +it is always a summer pastime. The extreme severity of the winters +necessitates this, as during the cold season neither men nor horses +can work. + +The disadvantages of summer hunting are of course numerous. The heat +is excessive, and the crops are in the ground. Most of the American +farmers and graziers own their land, and the greater number of them +will not suffer hoofs to cross it. This is partly from a spirit of +surly independence--partly from an ignorant determination to hold with +stolid obstinacy to that most erroneous belief, that the galloping of +horses is injurious to grass-lands. But, anyhow, the objection exists; +and as it is vain to attempt to overrule it, a compromise is effected +between hunting under difficulties and not hunting at all. + +The system pursued is this. A man--usually a stout-limbed peasant--is +sent out, who drags an aniseeded bag across country, and over the +lands and fences of such as will permit it, or who are themselves in +the habit of joining in the chase. Then, when the field has assembled, +the hounds are laid on, and work their way after the drag, a "bag-man" +being provided to blood them at the finish. Sometimes the pack comes +too close upon the dragger, and then a nasty scene ensues, which is +pleasanter not described. + +Fortunately for men, horses, and hounds, hunting is but little +indulged in throughout America. I mean, of course, fox-hunting, for I +cannot attempt to cry down the many splendid and manly hunts of other +descriptions in which the Americans carry off the palm. + +In many parts of the country--more especially in the States--the +people so affect trotting-horses, that the matter has become a craze. +It is a fact, which has more than once been proved, that four legs +capable of carrying any sort of frame a mile in less than +two-and-a-quarter minutes, will easily fetch a thousand pounds; and if +the animal is in condition to repeat the performance several times in +one day, his price will range correspondingly higher. + +The usual arrangement--very seldom varied--is that the "trots" shall +be mile heats; and as the horses are, generally speaking, pretty well +done up at the finish, owing to pace, excitement, and temperature, +twenty minutes are allowed between each heat for "cooling off" +purposes. + +When a horse is distanced in one of these trials, he is at once +withdrawn; and the judges have the privilege, which they use, of +distancing a horse for breaking--or, as we would say, commencing to +run--which is, as may be supposed, a thing most difficult to prevent. + +Sometimes a racehorse is hitched double with a trotter. This is +called, in American parlance, a running-mate. The runner takes all the +weight and draft of the "sulky," and the trotter merely trots +alongside of him. It requires a very level-headed horse to keep evenly +to his trot, with a runner tearing away at sweeping pace beside him, +and the trial is regarded as simply one of skill, and is rarely +successful. A trotter who can coolly and evenly maintain his trot when +hitched with a racer, can command for his owner any amount of money, +even though he be in all other respects comparatively worthless. + +Races, of which many are held at Rhode Island, are as distinct as +possible from trots. The courses are made circular; as much so, at +least, as the lie of the land will permit, and are beautifully +constructed, the grading being especially attended to. They are +generally enclosed by a very high boarded fence, an admission fee +being charged at the opening. This arrangement is found to answer +admirably, as the amount demanded--although not an extravagant one--is +sufficient to exclude a goodly number of racing roughs, whose interest +in the sport is not more keen than their desire to investigate the +contents of their neighbours' pockets. + +Trotting-tracks are constructed upon the same principles as +race-courses, but the track is harder. Sometimes, however, although +not frequently, races and trots are held over the same course, and +when this is done the track is carefully softened for the races, by a +harrowing process, which is most carefully carried out. + +Most of the hacks and hunters in use in America--a very large portion, +at least, of the saddle-horses--are racers which have been rejected +from the racing-stables. This is particularly the case at East +Greenwich, and throughout the States. Some of these horses are +"weeds," but a few of them are well worthy of the high prices given +for them, being really splendid animals, in spite of the crabbing +which they receive at the judge's hands before they are thrown out of +the contest, and passed over to the proprietorship of dealers in +hacks. + +Very fine horses of the hunter class are bred in Kentucky--the +Yorkshire of America--and are sold at comparatively low rates. I saw a +magnificent chestnut, seventeen two in height, with grand action, and +so superbly ribbed-up and built as to be capable of carrying twenty +stone, which had been sold there to an enterprising Irish speculator +for three hundred and twenty dollars, a good deal less than eighty +pounds of our money. The animal afterwards fetched upwards of six +hundred guineas at Tattersall's, to carry a top-weight millionaire +with the Whaddon Chase hounds. This was, however, an exceptional case, +for it is not usually an easy thing, nor even possible, to make money +by trading in Kentucky hunters. A few speculative European dealers +have from time to time tried it, but their efforts have not been +crowned with the anticipated reward, the reason being, that travelling +expenses swallow up profits. Seven days and nights of constant +journeying must be gone through before the animals are brought to the +Atlantic sea-board; and then there is the crossing to encounter, with +its cost and perils. Altogether, it is scarcely a profitable venture, +and some who have embarked in it will, I know, be quite ready to +endorse my opinions upon the subject. + +Stag-hunting used to be very prevalent in distant parts of America. +Strangers traversing tracts of country north of the Ohio will be told +this by guides and fellow-travellers, and will marvel that in such a +district it could ever have been a popular sport. Anything more +perilous it would be impossible to conceive, the "going" being +principally up and down precipitous inclines, dotted at frequent +intervals with huge boulders, half buried in the reedy grass, over +which the horses blunder and stumble at almost every stride,--not +unfrequently hurling their riders headlong down some dangerous ravine. + +Those who have enjoyed the very doubtful pleasure of hunting at the +Cape, know something of the perils of the Mimosa tree, which grows +there in such deadly luxuriance. A similar danger-trap exists in the +stag-hunting districts of America, the long sharp thorns proving +terribly destructive to the flesh of man and beast. + +It is almost impossible to escape these trees. They grow singly and in +groups, with long, light, swaying branches, treacherously +outstretched; and if an excited steed, or an unwary rider comes too +near to one of them, no close-set company of razors could do more +cruel injury, nor make greater havoc of saddlery and clothing. + +When we come to regard the question of district hunting in a +comparative light, few will hesitate to admit that in spite of all the +drawbacks consequent upon wire-fencing, fox-trapping, and +hound-poisoning, there are worse countries to hunt in than dear old +England; and we who know the sweet delights of a good gallop over rich +grass-lands, dotted picturesquely with the harmless beech or elm, and +with nothing more dangerous to negotiate than fair broad fences and +five-barred gates, need never sigh for the yawning ravines of foreign +hunting-grounds, with their treacherous boulders and dangerous +Mimosas. + + + + +CORRESPONDENCE. + +LADIES ON HORSEBACK. + +To the Editor of _The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News_. + + +SIR,--I have read with keen interest the article on "Ladies on +Horseback" in your last number. I find several things in it which +differ from my preconceived ideas, but it is impossible not to +perceive that the writer, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, speaks from an +experience which makes her an undoubted authority. With reference to +safety-stirrups, for instance. I have always seen that the ladies of +my family were provided with them, and your contributor's objection +seems not to be based upon the mechanism of the stirrup when in proper +order, but on the circumstance that it is "almost invariably stiff," +through neglect. I must admit that I have seen a lady hung up in a +safety-stirrup; but surely it is possible to see that the stirrup will +work before setting out for a ride or a day's hunting, and if the iron +is large enough, so that "the padding over the instep" will not "cause +the foot to become firmly embedded," are we to understand that the +safety-stirrup is objectionable? Mrs. Power O'Donoghue has a poor +opinion of "John the coachman, and Jem the groom," but I am lucky in +having trustworthy people in my stable. What stirrup would your +contributor have instead of the one with which so large a proportion +of ladies ride? Another thing that I should like to know more about is +the saddle recommended in the article. "Accustom yourself from the +beginning to the use of a properly constructed saddle, made as +straight as a board, no dip whatever," this writer says. Now I have +never, so far as my recollection goes, even seen such a saddle, and +may I ask what are the advantages of a thoroughly straight saddle, and +what are the disadvantages of the inevitable slope or dip? I ask +purely for information, for I am perfectly ready to submit my judgment +and hitherto received notions to the dictum of a lady who is clearly +so competent to treat the matter as your contributor. Would the lady +have straight saddles also for men? is a question which incidentally +occurs to me. I am far from supposing that a thing must be right +because it is in general use, but there seem good reasons for the +adoption of the ordinary shaped saddle, and I should be very glad if +your contributor would let us know her reasons for departing from +custom. + +Before concluding, let me thank you for a series of articles which +cannot fail to be of value to those for whom they are intended. + +I am, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +H. DE V. R. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I feel bound to answer the letter of "H. de V. R." which +appeared in your journal of last week's issue. With regard to the +"safety-stirrup," there could not be much objection to it if it were +made sufficiently large to prevent the padding over the instep from +causing the foot to become embedded; and if, likewise, some careful +and competent person were ready and willing to give the machinery of +it a thorough examination immediately before entrusting the safety of +a lady to such an uncertain support. But how seldom is this the case? +Servants--even the most careful--are, to say the least of it, apt to +overlook these important details; and when the steed is led to the +door the cavalier who is to escort the lady is too much occupied in +admiring his fair charge, talking to her, arranging with her where +they shall ride, fastening her gloves, or performing a like office for +himself, to worry his head about such an apparently insignificant +thing as her stirrup. Provided he ascertains that it is the required +length, he troubles himself no further about it, and probably in nine +cases out of ten the dandy youth would not even comprehend the meaning +of the term "safety" as applied to the article in question. No doubt +it often happens that an elderly father, a matter-of-fact husband, a +phlegmatic uncle, or a careful brother may be upon the spot, with wits +and hands ready to avert danger; but how frequently, also, is it the +fashionable stripling who escorts the lady--a cousin, or a lover, +perhaps--ignorant of all connected with riding, except the pleasure of +it; or the booted and belted servant, who touches his hat, and thinks +he has done his duty because the saddle is clean and the horse sleek +and shiny; or the riding-master, who has come out in a hurry, anxious +and flurried at the last moment to see that everything _looks_ right, +and who has had no time to see after such minor accessories as +stirrups, or has left the matter (if he thought of it at all) in the +hands of the groom, who has left it alone altogether. This being the +case, I maintain that a stirrup encumbered with machinery is unsuited +to a lady, because, although she may have an escort who will look +after it, there is the possibility that she may not have such good +fortune. Moreover, a stirrup made sufficiently large to bear padding +over the instep, and yet enable the foot to slip easily in and out, +must of necessity be a considerable weight, and this alone would be an +objection, especially to a hunting lady, who calculates to a nicety +every ounce which her steed has to carry. I have said that a small +racing, or jockey-stirrup, is the _nicest_ in which a lady can ride, +and I am bound to adhere to my judgment. + +So much for the first portion of "H. de V. R.'s" letter. Now we come +to the second. + +My "poor opinion of John, the coachman, and Jem, the groom," is based, +not upon their untrustworthiness, but upon their want of capacity as +teachers of the equine art. I have never yet, in all my experience, +met with any servant who was capable of instructing a lady how to +ride; yet I have been fairly astonished to find the contrary idea +quite general amongst parents in the country, who fondly hope that +their daughters may one day adorn a saddle and grace a hunting-field. +"I shall have Mary and Jenny taught immediately now," said a lady to +me one day in the course of last summer,--"They shall have a pony +a-piece, and John (the groom) shall teach them." Of course, I said +nothing, my principle of noninterference standing me in good stead; +but when an hour or so later, I beheld the said John disporting +himself, and showing off his equestrian skill upon one of the +carriage-horses, I really felt pity for the two charming little girls +who were so soon to be handed over to his doubtful tuition. + +And now for the third portion of your correspondent's letter: namely, +the question of the straight saddle. "H. de V. R." says he has never +seen any such; and I consider this extremely probable, for he will +recollect my saying that a saddle such as I described should be made +to order, as it is certainly not in general use--but I am not +altogether singular in my advocacy of it. Peat and Co., Piccadilly, or +Box and Co., Abbey Street, Dublin, will manufacture saddles of this +description in excellent style, but only to order, for they have not +yet found sufficient favour--or, to express it better, are not +sufficiently known--to have become popular, and manufacturers +therefore will not keep them in stock. The advantages of a straight +saddle are manifold. Firstly, it is the only means by which a lady can +learn the necessary art of riding from balance. This can be acquired +by sitting _on_ a saddle, but never by sitting _in_ one. Secondly, she +can, when riding upon a straight saddle, change and shift her +position, which as a necessary consequence changes her weight upon the +horse's back, and saves him from being galled. A noble lady wrote to +me some time since, "I know not how it is; all my horses are laid up +with sore backs; and yet my saddle is well padded." I guessed the +secret at once; she was riding in a sort of well, or chair, from which +her heavy weight could never for an instant shift, and hence the +trouble of which she complained. I sent her a sketch of my saddle, +with the address of the man who had made it, and she has since been a +staunch upholder of my theory. Thirdly, the best figure in the world +would look to disadvantage if seated in a saddle with a dip or slope; +whereas a well-made woman, attired in a habit properly fitted about +the waist and hips, never looks to such complete advantage as when +sitting gracefully and at ease upon a well constructed straight-made +saddle. Fourthly, if in taking an up-jump the horse misses his footing +and struggles in an unsuccessful effort to recover himself, the lady +may--if riding upon a straight saddle--succeed in slipping from it to +a situation of comparative safety; but, if she has a high projection +of iron and stiff leather just behind her, it bars her movement, and +as a consequence the horse falls back _upon_ her, and catching her +between his weight and the edge of the ditch or furrow, as the case +may be, injures her spine, sometimes fatally, and frequently in a +serious manner. + +The question, "Do I also advocate straight saddles for men's use?" is +answered by my reminding "H. de V. R." that there is no analogy +between a gentleman's position upon horseback and that of a lady. What +would be a necessity, or at least a _luxury_, for the one would be +eminently unsuited for the other. A man's superior activity and +greater liberty of motion place him ever at an advantage. And whilst +upon this subject I would strongly urge upon all humane riders, +especially the male portion of them, to have their saddles made high +_in front_, so as not to press upon the horse's withers, causing him +much needless suffering. A space capable of accommodating at least two +fingers should be between withers and saddle, and were this attended +to we should see fewer skin abrasions and unsightly lumps upon poor +submissive animals, and less of that stuffing of handkerchiefs between +cruel leather and bleeding flesh which so frequently pains the +sorrowing eyes of sensitive and pitying persons. + +I think I have now dealt fully with "H. de V. R.'s" letter, and must +thank the writer of it for his complimentary observations, and his +kindly appreciation of my labours in a cause which I certainly have +very much at heart. + +Apologising for trespassing thus far upon your valuable space. + +I am, Sir, + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONAGHUE. + +October 12, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Many readers of _The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News_ +hope that Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, in her very interesting letters upon +"Ladies on Horseback," will touch fully on the most important thing, +viz. "the ladies' horse." One sees ladies riding all sorts; some too +big, some too small, some good shoulders and no backs, others just the +reverse; not one out of twenty what it ought to be. Also, up to what +weight should it be? What is the average weight of ladies, and the +difference in ordinary dress to the habit? It is often said that, +owing to the peculiar seat, the weight being all on one side, a lady +tires a horse much more than a man; certainly you often see ladies' +horses going short with the near hind leg, possibly from this cause. +Could not the weight of side-saddles be reduced? Those used by the +Empress of Austria could not have weighed 8 lb., and she was herself a +light woman. Anything on this subject will interest many readers. + +I am, &c. + +EQUES. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--There is one point to which I should like to call the attention +of the writer of the able and interesting articles on "Ladies on +Horseback," which she appears to have altogether overlooked in her +enumeration of the articles of a lady's riding attire. It is the use +of a spur by lady equestrians. The recently invented lady's spur +consists of one sharp point so constructed as not to injure the habit. +In hunting, a spur is indispensable, and in park-riding is very +desirable for a lady, who has so much less control over her horse than +a man. Young girls just beginning to ride will find the use of a spur +most beneficial in managing their steeds. Hired horses are never +altogether to be trusted, and in the case of their showing temper or +laziness, two or three pricks with a lady's spur will subdue them far +more quickly than the application of a whip. I have more than once +ridden a horse that was a confirmed jibber, and have always found a +few determined thrusts with my spur, combined with an efficiently +applied whip, never failed to bring him down. I confidently recommend +all ladies, and especially young girls just beginning the art of +equitation, to procure a lady's spur, and never to mount a horse +without it. + +I am, &c. + +MABEL FLORENCE RAYNE. + +The Firs, Cheltenham, + +Oct. 18th, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I suppose it would be impossible to advance any opinions to +which there would not be objections raised, but I write, not in a +cavilling spirit, but as one really anxious for information, to know +whether Mrs. Power O'Donoghue would seriously advocate striking a +horse between the ears when it rears. Surely such a thing would be +exceedingly dangerous for any lady to attempt, and, as your +correspondent is writing solely for ladies, I conclude she refers to +them in the present instance. I feel very strongly upon this point, +because an uncle of mine, some years ago, when out riding tried this +experiment at the advice of a friend. The horse (not a vicious one) +suddenly reared; my uncle loosened the reins and urged it forward, but +finding this ineffectual, struck it violently between the ears with +his hunting-whip. The animal, maddened, I presume, by the pain, reared +straight on end and fell backward; its rider being a very agile man, +slipped off sideways, and thus escaped nearly certain death; but had +the rider been a lady instead of a gentleman the consequences must +have been fatal; and with so light a switch as a lady usually carries, +a blow between the ears could only serve to irritate without producing +any good effect. I would ask one more question: Why does your +correspondent so strongly object to the use of the "old-fashioned +slipper" stirrup? I am rather curious on this point, because I have +ever since the tender age of four, when my riding experiences began, +used the shoe-stirrup, and I have always thought it so safe, because +my foot slips out in a second. I am aware that it is extremely +unfashionable, as in Rotton Row you hardly see a lady using it; but I +keep to it still, not so much with the idea of its safety, but for +comfort, especially in trotting. I find it extremely difficult to keep +an iron stirrup from slipping back into the instep, and, being used to +rise pressing on the toes, I think that rising from the instep is more +difficult and doubles the exertion of trotting. In conclusion, I must +express a hope that Mrs. Power O'Donoghue will not give me credit for +writing in a spirit of unfriendly criticism; but as I am exceedingly +fond of riding, I feel an interest in working out this subject to its +fullest extent. I am sure all lady riders must feel grateful to Mrs. +Power O'Donoghue for the valuable and useful instructions contained in +her interesting letters, and one has only to pay a visit to the Row +between 12 and 2 in the season, to see how much they are needed by the +generality of the "ladies on horseback." + +I am, &c. + +EQUESTRINA. + +October 13th, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Though not an "aggrieved stirrup-maker," it may not be out of +place if I, as a saddler of many years' experience and a great lover +of horses, offer a few comments on the "hints and instructions" set +forth in your paper for the benefit of ladies on horseback, written by +one of the sex who is evidently an authority on the subject she treats +so ably. There is no doubt these articles will be read with great +interest by very many ladies who desire to acquit themselves well on +horseback, and also by their gentlemen friends who are anxious to +conduce to the safety and comfort of their fair companions in that +delightful exercise, but cannot have the same knowledge to impart the +theoretical instructions now given by your lady writer, whose +criticisms will therefore be valuable to both. In following her +remarks, it occurs to me that I may perhaps venture on a little +comment without being considered too intrusive. The objection taken to +children riding is no doubt formed on good grounds, but I think that +with care young ladies might be permitted at a much earlier age than +sixteen to acquire some practice in the saddle; it is true that young +girls are liable to curvature of the spine, when allowed to ride day +after day on the same side of their pony, but I have understood that +this danger is obviated by changing their position to the other side +on alternate days, and I should be glad to learn what are the +objections to this. It seems to me rather desirable that ladies should +have equal facility in riding on either side, but there may be reasons +against it of which I am ignorant. This lady says that the nicest +bridle for a beginner is a plain ring-snaffle, but states further that +few horses will go in it; the latter remark, if correct, (which I +should venture to doubt), raises a fatal objection to the +ring-snaffle, as I fear that not one young lady in twenty, under +amateur teaching, would be put upon a perfectly trained nag, desirable +as this must be; and thus an ordinary stout mouth plain snaffle, or +plain bar with single rein, would surely be preferable. I fancy it +would be found of much advantage if riding was taught in the first +instance without the use of reins at all, the horse simply being led +by an attendant; the learner thus gets a proper balance, without +depending on the bridle for support, as many are found to do. For a +young girl I should like to know what is the objection to a pad, or +pilch as they are called, made for use on either side. These, having +no tree, are nearly level, but there is perhaps a chance of its +turning round if the rider does not sit straight; for a grown girl, +the properly made saddle is better every way. In common with your +correspondent "H. de V. R.," I fail quite to understand how a +side-saddle is to be made "as straight as a board." A saddle is made +on a foundation, or tree, of wood and iron, which should be shaped for +the back intended to bear it, and must be raised slightly in front for +the wither and behind to clear the backbone; but it is right that the +seat should be as level as possible. This is probably the lady's +meaning. It is very essential that the saddle should fit the horse +correctly and be of suitable size and shape for the rider; the former +consideration is too often overlooked and thus entails discomfort to +both. There are saddles, and saddles, as ladies often find to their +cost. A very large proportion in use here, and more abroad, are put +together in Birmingham and Walsall on the slop system; they will +please the eyes of an inexperienced purchaser, but are formed with +little regard to the requirements of the poor animals who suffer under +them, or of their riders' comfort, and it is probable that these are +the saddles against which ladies are very properly warned. It is +really indispensable for a lady's comfort in riding that she should +have a good saddle, made by a competent and conscientious saddler, +whose business it is to see that it is suitable. Considering the +number of years that a good saddle with care will last, it is +inconceivable that the comparatively small additional price should be +grudged for a perfect and satisfactory article by a maker of repute, +instead of the machine-made slop rubbish, by which many a good animal +is injured and the temper of his rider seriously chafed. Enough about +saddles for the present, so I will go to the next point under +discussion--the stirrup. Your lady rider must have been very +unfortunate in her use of the safety-stirrup, which, in my opinion, +does in practice usually justify its name. I have known very many +instances in which ladies have owed immunity from serious accident to +its use. As "H. de V. R." justly says, the mechanism of the stirrup +(which is very simple) should not be allowed to get out of order by +neglect; surely the lady or her friends, particularly if so +"knowledgeable" as the writer of the article, might [They "_might_." +That they so often do not, and that danger so frequently results from +the neglect, is the grievance and complaint of our contributor.--ED. +_I.S. & D.N._] take the trouble personally to see that her stirrup is +not out of order from rust, and in no other way but one can it be so; +the other way is that if the groom ignorantly or carelessly adjusts +the stirrup for use hind part before, the inner stirrup cannot be +released, and the rider's foot, in case of a fall, will be helplessly +fixed in the stirrup. This eventuality, however, does not detract from +the real value of the safety-stirrup, for neglect and ignorance will +entail direful consequences in all ways. Next to the safety-stirrup, I +quite believe that a plain steel stirrup of suitable size, with side +pieces at the bottom to take sharp pressure off the foot, is the most +suitable for ladies' use, and I always condemn the small padded +stirrup, which is, indeed, a fruitful source of danger to lady riders. + +With the rest of Mrs. O'Donoghue's dissertation I cordially agree, and +believe it would be beneficial if both men and ladies practised riding +without the aid of the stirrup; and the same rule applies to and is +generally practised by men, as I saw a few days ago on a German +barrack-ground, where an awkward squad was being trained in that +manner. The art of putting a lady up is one that should be practised +more than it is by horsemen; my first attempt resulted in the lady +slipping down again, and on my hat, which suffered even more than my +self-esteem. On one occasion in the Crimea, years ago, I was riding +with a lady and her husband, the former dismounted at Mrs. Seacole's +for refreshment, and on being put up again by her husband with more +vigour than skill, the poor lady was sent over her horse's back to the +ground on the other side, and being somewhat portly, was shaken +severely. I fear many ladies have suffered in the same way from the +awkwardness of their attendants, but I have seen ladies so agile as to +mount from the ground without assistance--rather a difficult feat, and +requiring much practice. Having trespassed so much on your space I +must not proceed further now, but shall be happy to air my notions +again, if agreeable to your readers and riders. + +Yours, &c. + +JERMYN. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--My papers entitled "Ladies on Horseback" have called forth many +letters. Some of these you have printed, some have been forwarded to +me from your office, and many have been received at my own house. I +shall regard it as a favour if you will permit me to reply to a few of +them through the medium of your paper, as in answering one I shall +answer many who have written upon the same subject. + +J. V.--When the horse took head with me and leaped into the farm-yard +(as depicted by Mr. Sturgess) I had no way of getting out except by +the passage and kitchen of the farm-house, as the gates of the yard +were locked, and the owner of the place--who was away at the +neighbouring town--had the key in his pocket. + +EQUES.--The reason why ladies ride "all sorts of horses" is that +comparatively few keep horses of their own, and those who are without +them and are fond of riding, jump eagerly at the offer of a friend's +mount, whether it be suitable or otherwise. A nice horse for a lady +may be thus described: Height about 15-3; Colour dark bay or brown, +well-set sloping shoulders, good back, arched loins, firm and graceful +neck, small head and ears, shapely clean-cut legs, and good firm feet. +A horse of this description will be well up to 13 or 14 st. For a +heavy weight an animal should be selected with a short wide back, +powerful quarters, big healthy hocks, and stoutly-built fore-legs. The +_average_ weight of ladies is about 9st. Summer costume and riding +gear would weigh about equally, but velvet or sealskin would outweigh +a habit. A lady seated upon a properly-made saddle, if she has been +well taught, will never have her weight "all on one side." The reason +why horses go short with the near hind leg is because ladies ride from +the stirrup, leaning their full weight upon it, and galling the +animal's back. The stirrup is meant to assist, not to _support_, the +rider. Old-fashioned side-saddles are all too heavy; but a +well-constructed modern saddle can scarcely be improved upon. It is a +mistake to ride in too light a saddle, as it brings the weight of the +body too near the horse's back. That used by the Empress of Austria +weighed 12 lbs., which is about a correct standard. + +LADYBIRD.--Nobody who has any regard for life and limb now rides +through Dublin. All wise persons gave it up when pavement and +tram-lines made the city what it is. Consequently the park is +deserted, and only a solitary horseman is seen in Stephen's Green. + +INQUIRER.--The shoe should be made to _fit the foot_. It is most +cruel, and is a fruitful source of lameness, to pare the foot away to +make it fit a ready-made shoe. If you cannot trust your farrier, +change him. This advice also applies to JAMES R., but I do not +undertake to answer questions respecting the treatment or management +of the horse. + +MABEL FLORENCE RAYNE.--I had not forgotten nor overlooked the +important uses of the spur. You will find the subject treated in my +papers upon hunting and hunting-costume. I do not, however, _at all_ +approve of its use for beginners, as such are certain, through +nervousness, to press the left heel close to the horse's side, and, if +furnished with a spur, would cause him much needless pain and +irritation, besides endangering their own safety. + +ROBERT KEATING.--Best thanks for letter and papers. + +G. ELLIOT.--For riding with a bit and bridoon, place a rein between +each finger of your left hand, and hold them securely with your thumb, +reserving your right hand for your whip; or take your reins in both +hands, and ride your horse upon the curb, or snaffle, according to his +temperament. For riding with a single rein, place the near leather +under your little finger and the off one between the first and second +fingers, which is as good a way as any; but I have already said that +there is no fixed rule for holding reins, and a good rider will +constantly change them about, and move the bridle in her horse's +mouth, which prevents him hanging upon his bit. + +JANE CARR.--I scarcely know whether to regard your letter as a +compliment or the reverse. My labours have been _totally_ unassisted; +nor has my experience of this world shown me that its occupants are +sufficiently philanthropic to labour that another may reap the merit +and the reward. + +L. K.--The subject is not within my province. Mayhew's _Horse +Management_, published by Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, London, is +the best I can recommend. + +HUNTSMAN.--It is for ladies I am writing. + +ELEANOR.--Thanks; but if I adopted one half of the suggestions +offered, a strange result would ensue. Happily my papers went to press +without _anybody_ (save the Editor) having had a glance at them. He +generously accepted them upon their merits; but had I shown them to +others I should either have altered something in every second line or +have given offence to numerous well-meaning persons. When I was a +child I committed to memory the inimitable fable of "The Miller, his +Son, and his Ass," and have taken the moral of it as a guide through +life. + +GOODALL.--A short hunting-crop without a lash would do. + +EQUESTRINA.--If a horse rears with me in a vicious manner I hit him +between the ears, but I do not by any means expect my readers to +coincide in all my views, and those who know a better plan can, of +course, adopt it. If an animal rears slightly I lean forward against +his neck, touch him with my heel, and speak to him. If he persists, +and I see any danger of his falling back, I hit him between the ears +with the butt-end of my whip, not sufficiently heavily to "madden +him," nor even to cause him the least pain, but to occasion him to +duck his head, which he invariably does; and if at that instant I hit +him sharply with my heel, he drops at once and lashes out behind. +Allowing for a moment that such a mode of action may be open to +objection, is it not better (seeing that it is frequently efficacious) +than sitting quietly and permitting one's-self to be fallen back upon, +without making any effort to avert the catastrophe? My objection to +the slipper-stirrup is founded on the knowledge that it encourages +ladies to lean their weight upon it. "It feels so comfortable," I +heard a lady say, "so like a resting-board beneath my foot, that I +_cannot help_ riding from it." An iron stirrup with the foot well home +is the proper thing to ride in; and remember it is from the instep and +_not_ from the toes that you should rise. The iron should meet the +waist of the boot-sole, and a long flat heel (I do not mean one of +those atrocities known as a _high_ one) should be worn on the boot. + +JERMYN.--Your letter almost answers itself. The pad or pilch _is_ apt +to turn round, for it is only one little girl in twenty who sits +straight. You judge my meaning rightly about the straight saddle, but +I opine that it is the stuffing which should be arranged to guard the +backbone from pressure, and that it is in no way necessary to raise +the _seat_ at the back. I must again say, for the third time, that a +plain ring-snaffle is the _nicest_ for a lady's use, and also maintain +my opinion that few horses will go in it, according to _my_ ideas of +"going." A horse who goes well in a ring-snaffle must have a perfect +temper and a perfect mouth, a combination as rare in the equine as in +the human tribe. For ordinary hunters and roadsters I do not recommend +it, simply because they will not go in such a bridle; but I shall ever +hold to my opinion that it is the nicest and the least puzzling for a +beginner. + +KATIE.--Not worth denying. It is one of those worthless untruths which +I have long since learned to treat with contempt. + +LIVERPUDLIAN.--Your suggestion is so good that I shall certainly adopt +it. Nothing could be better adapted for riding in than a warm jersey, +buttoned in front. Being elastic it would allow full play for the arms +and shoulders, and would also display a good figure to advantage. If +you, or some other, would only get up a sufficient amount of courage +to turn a deaf ear to the hateful and oft-recurring "What will be +said?" we might have many useful and elegant innovations of which at +present we know nothing. + +YOUNG WIFE.--There can be no impropriety in what you say. "Honi soit +qui mal y pense?" So long as you have a good conscience and your +husband's approval you need care little for what the world says. + +X. Y. Z., DASHAWAY, and COUNTRYMAN.--I cannot reply to your letters. + +Thanking you, Sir, for your kindness in granting me so much of your +valuable space, + +I am, &c. + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + +October 25. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--The "recently-invented lady's spur," mentioned in your last +issue by "Mabel Florence Kayne," was patented towards the close of the +last century, and illustrations of it, and of other spurs on the same +principle, can be seen at the Patent Office. I quite concur in the +recommendation that a lady should always wear a spur, and it will be +seen from the last article by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue that a spur forms +part of her hunting equipment; but I strongly advise ladies to wear a +spur with a rowel having only five points, which should be long and +sharp. The spur with one point and a spring sheath is commonly sold by +saddlers for ladies' use, but is liable to break or get out of order, +and is always discarded in favour of the one with a five-pointed rowel +by ladies who have tried the latter. Mrs. Power O'Donoghue is doing +good service to ladies by protesting against the stirrups facetiously +so-called "safety." I always advise a lady to use a perfectly plain +steel stirrup, but a tolerably heavy one. Why cannot the stirrup be +attached to a lady's saddle in the same manner as to a gentleman's? +Then, in case of accident, the stirrup and leather would come away +together. An excellent bit for a lady's horse is a curb-bit, suspended +in the horse's mouth by two large rings, to which the snaffle-reins +are also attached. This bit is very light or very severe, at the +rider's wish. + +I am, &c. + +SOUTHERN CROSS. + +October 26, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Continuing my remarks on this subject, I am bound to say that +your contributor gives sufficient answer to the question of the +safety-stirrup in explaining that the objection is removed providing +the inner stirrup is large enough for the foot to be easily +extricated; the stirrup being made in three different sizes, this is a +matter easily adjusted. The shoe-stirrup referred to by "Equestrina" +was in use by ladies for many years, and in point of safety I think no +objection can be raised to it; the same shape of stirrup is much +affected by men in South America. + +The instructions in Part Second of Mrs. Power O'Donoghue's writings +are very admirable, except that I do not see the utility of a lady's +striking a rearing horse between the ears, with the few ounces of whip +usually carried. I have known men do so with a loaded whip, and +knocking a horse down to cure him of this vice, but it would be +scarcely advisable for a lady to try this. I am rather surprised to +see it stated as a fact that both rearing and plunging maybe entirely +prevented by using the so-called anti-rearing bit martingale. It +certainly may prevent rearing on the first attempt if the horse's head +is kept down tightly by this martingale attached to the breastplate, +but as the latter is seldom worn except for hunting, it cannot be +intended to recommend it for that purpose, for it would infallibly +follow that the fixed martingale would bring both horse and rider to +grief at the very first fence they attempted to clear, and if the +horse had sufficient liberty of action to jump freely, the martingale +would be no obstruction to his rearing. I know from my own experience +that a horse can be knocked down by a blow on the head. I was once +doing a little private mounted practice at sword exercise, preparatory +to a prize competition, and grasping my sword with thick gloves on, +the weapon somehow turned in my hand, caught my mare below the ear on +the bridle-hand, and knocked her completely off her legs, to our +mutual amazement, though no great harm was done. I do not see what +analogy there can be between the powerful Chifney bit and a rearing +martingale; the effect of the latter may be secured by attaching a +split martingale, with leather or spring billets, to the mouth-rings +of any bit in use, snaffle or Pelham; but I believe that a horse can, +if determined, rear all the same, and it certainly would not prevent +plunging or bucking. For a restive or jibbing horse in saddle I have +always found a short running martingale very useful; the rider should +shorten and lower the right rein well down the horse's shoulder, apply +the right leg and spur sharply, and turn the horse round like a +teetotum until he is dizzy, then give him both spurs when his head is +in the right direction. This will set him going before he knows where +he is, and is a practice I have found very efficacious, but not easily +applicable by ladies. + +On the subject of bits, my own favourite is the Hanoverian Pelham; it +will generally hold the strongest puller, and, with a light hand, I +have never met a horse that would not face it. For show or park riding +there is none better; it is, however, not suited to those who trust to +the bridle-reins for their balance in the saddle. + +"Eques" inquires "what is the average weight of ladies?" This is a +difficult query, but as ladies ride at all weights between six and +eleven stone, with a margin each way, I should suppose the average +would be about 8-1/2 stone, exclusive of saddle, &c. A lady who is an +indifferent rider would throw more weight on one side than the other, +one cause of so many sore backs from side-saddles; but a thoroughly +good horsewoman would sit with as level a balance as a man. The weight +of good modern side-saddles is much reduced, but they cannot well be +made under 14 lb., with furniture, and are usually considerably more. +If the Empress of Austria uses a saddle of 8 lb. only (as some have +averred), she must ride on a man's steeplechase-saddle, which perhaps +would not be a difficult performance for a lady who is said to be in +the habit of driving four-in-hand. + +I am much impressed by the recital of your contributor's adventures +and hair-breadth escapes on the saddle, particularly on the occasion +she refers to when invited by a friend to ride the big bay horse. If +the friend was a gentleman, I must repeat the opinion I heard +expressed by a lady when reading the article--that any man who would +wilfully expose a woman to risk her life on such a brute behaved +disgracefully. There is no object in creation to my mind more +attractive than a graceful woman controlling with ease a fine and +well-trained horse; but no one with due respect for the sex would wish +to see her taking the place of a rough rider. + +Yours, &c. + +JERMYN. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Although I care nothing for anything that may be said about +myself, I am ever loyal to my friends, and it seems to me hard that +one of the truest of them should be spoken of as having "behaved +disgracefully" by a writer who, with more impetuosity than judgment, +jumps at conclusions without waiting to hear the truth. When I was +riding homeward after the leap into the farm-yard, I met the owner of +the horse upon the road, driving out with a friend. The moment he +heard what had occurred he took me off the animal, changed my saddle +to the very quiet horse he was driving, and actually, after nearly an +hour's delay, succeeded in putting the harness upon the "big bay," +and, having done so, drove him home regardless of his own safety, or +rather of his danger, which was imminent. I do not think there are +many men at his time of life, and in his delicate state of health, who +would have done the same thing rather than chance a second runaway. He +had _no_ reason to suppose that any such thing would, in the first +instance, have happened, and I believe it was attributable to the fact +that the horse had been ridden a day or two previously by a very wild +rider, who had spoilt his mouth and manners, and who subsequently +apologised to me for having been the cause of what occurred. I might +have mentioned all this before, and certainly should have done so had +I thought that such necessity should have arisen. I would remind +"Jermyn" that my observations respecting the martingale were confined +to my papers on _road-riding_, not on hunting, and would also thank +him, with my best obeisance, for calling me a rough-rider. + +I am, Sir, + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + +October 31, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I must, in justice to myself, ask you to be so kind as to grant +me space in your influential journal to reply to the very serious +charge "Jermyn" brought against me in your issue of the 30th of the +past month. I am the friend who asked Mrs. Power O'Donoghue to ride +"the big bay," and yet I believe that nobody in all the world has a +higher esteem for that lady, nor a truer regard for her safety than I +have. Indeed there are few men in Ireland (if one) worth being called +the name, who would not willingly lay down their own lives rather than +imperil the life of one so universally beloved. The horse up to the +day of the runaway had been perfectly quiet and most easily managed. +He carried me two seasons to hounds, never making a mistake nor +pulling in the least. Not being able to ride, having shortly before +met with a very serious accident, I lent "the big bay" to a +hard-riding young officer for a day's hunting. He unfortunately must +have made too free use of his long-necked spurs, and, totally unknown +to me, ruffled the horse's temper; the animal remembering the +treatment he received, and finding but a feather on his back, when +excited by the music of the hounds, overpowered his rider; but, thank +Heaven, no serious accident occurred. I was unutterably shocked and +distressed on hearing of the occurrence, and may state that on the day +in question I was driving in my dog-cart, accompanied by a gentleman +(late an officer in Her Majesty's service) who can vouch for the truth +of my statement, when Mrs. O'Donoghue came up to me and told me of her +very narrow escape. I did not hesitate an instant to say, "I will take +out the horse I am driving. You know him to be a perfect mount, and I +will put 'the big bay' in my trap." The lady did not wish me to do so, +knowing the risk I ran in putting a horse in harness that had never +been in such before. I at last succeeded in prevailing on her not to +lose the day's sport, changed the saddle with great difficulty, and +attached "the big bay" to my dog-cart; after a few plunges and an +endeavour to get away, he settled down, and has since gone grandly. My +friend, though a very bold man, would not get in with me for some +time. I hope after this explanation your correspondent will be +sufficiently generous to allow that I did all in my power to insure +the safety of a most precious life. With regard to the term +"rough-rider," as applied by "Jermyn" to Mrs. O'Donoghue, I feel +assured if he knew the lady he would not for worlds have used such an +expression. + +I am, Sir, + +Your most obedient servant, + +ONE WHO HAS RIDDEN TO HOUNDS FOR OVER SIXTY YEARS. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I should by no means recommend a young lady to wear a spur when +learning in a riding-school, but from my own experience I strongly +advise all girls beginning to ride on the road never to mount their +steeds without a sharp spur on their left boot. The second time I went +out riding, when I was fourteen, my cob, startled by some noise, +suddenly began to rear and pitch vigorously. I applied my whip sharply +across his flank, but without effect. I then gave him a series of +sharp pricks with my spur, which completely subdued him. Had I been +without a spur I should probably have been thrown and severely +injured. I should certainly prefer a spur with a rowel as "Southern +Cross" recommends, but would it not be apt to tear the habit? + +I am, &c. + +MABEL FLORENCE RAYNE. + +The Firs, Cheltenham, + +November 1, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--A correspondent in your last number advises ladies to use a +rowel spur, with five prongs, long and sharp, so, as a friend of +horses, I am inclined to write an objection to their taking this +advice. In the first place, from the nature of a lady's seat, her +armed heel would often unintentionally irritate and annoy the horse; +and in the second place many would probably use this instrument of +torture too severely, and therefore cruelly. A rowel spur, with five +long and sharp prongs--in fact, a jockey's spur--is a much more severe +instrument than is required for ordinary riding, either by man or +woman, and the advantage of the ladies' bore spur is, that it can only +be applied when intended, and then is quite sufficiently severe. I +have no objection to ladies, who are good horsewomen, wearing a spur, +and using it, too, as severely as necessary, but I have great +objections to any unnecessary pain or annoyance being given to my +friends, the horses. Another lady correspondent of yours says that a +spur is quite indispensable for hunting. If she means that it should +always be worn in case it is required, I agree; but I have ridden a +courageous high-tempered horse for years with hounds without ever +using the spur. + +I am, &c. + +FAIR PLAY. + +Glasgow, 1st November 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--As the subject of spurs and other riding equipment for ladies +seems at the present time to occupy and interest many of your fair +readers, permit me, on behalf of my sisters, who are horsewomen of +some experience, both at home and in the colonies, and who have +practically tried most known riding-costumes, to recommend, through +the medium of your columns, the following as a comfortable and +serviceable riding-dress for a lady, for long country rides, picnics, +&c.; of course not for the Park, or a lawn meet. Habit--a short, +strong hunting-skirt, short enough to walk in with comfort, with +jacket of same cloth as skirt, made loose enough to admit of a jersey +being worn under it if required; a wide leather belt for the waist, +fastening with a buckle. This belt will be found a great comfort and +support when on horseback for many hours. Hat of soft felt, or a +melon-shaped hat. Pantaloons of chamois leather, buttoning close at +the ankles. Hussar or Wellington boots, reaching to about four inches +of the knee, to be worn over the pantaloons, made of Peel leather with +_moderate_-sized heels, tipped with brass, and soles strong but not +thick. A leather stud should be sewn on the left boot, about 2-1/2 +inches above the heel, on which stud the spur should rest, and thus be +kept in its place without tight buckling. The spur found to be the +most useful after the trial of many is a rowel spur of plated steel, +about two inches to two and-a-half inches long, strong and light, +hunting shape, and fastened with a strap and buckle, the foot-strap of +plated steel chain. This chain foot-strap looks neater than a leather +one, and does not become cut or worn out when on foot on rough or +rocky ground. The rowel pin is a screw pin; thus the rowel can be +changed at pleasure, and a sharp or a blunt one fitted as is required +by the horse one rides. The spur I mention can be obtained of Messrs. +Maxwell & Co., Piccadilly, London; or of Mr. Thompson, saddler, Dawson +street, Dublin. + +Some ladies affect two spurs--one, the right, being fitted with a +blank rowel; this is, of course, for appearance sake when dismounted. +I have not often seen two spurs worn. I am not alluding to Miss Bird's +riding-costume, as described in her books, _Life in the Sandwich +Islands_ and _The Rocky Mountains_. She rode _à la cavalière_, in a +Mexican saddle, and wearing big rowel Mexican spurs, and appears from +her account to have preferred this style of riding to the modern style +and side-saddle. Some years ago I saw a photograph of the Queen of +Naples (I think in 1860), representing the queen mounted _à la +cavalière_, wearing a high felt hat, a long white cloak, +patent-leather jack-boots, and gilt spurs. Can any of your readers +inform me if this style of riding for ladies is a custom of Southern +Italy as well as Mexico and the Sandwich Islands? + +I am, &c. + +JACK SPUR. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I cannot regret that my letter has given the authoress of this +work, and also the owner of the "big bay" horse, an opportunity of +explaining the circumstances attending her mount on that puissant but +headstrong animal, and of repudiating the erroneous construction put +upon it, as probably the same idea may have occurred to many other +readers of the anecdote, who may not have cared to express their +sentiments. I must say, however, that I am very sorry if my remarks +occasioned pain to either of your correspondents. The explanation +given shows clearly that no blame was really attributable to the +gentleman who offered the mount, and I can well believe he never +dreamt of danger with the horse in such skilful hands. No one would +doubt the sincerity of the statement given, that the horse was put in +harness for the first time and driven away, after such an experience +of his temper; but it speaks more highly for the courage than +discretion of his owner, and I can well understand the friend's +hesitation to share the driving-seat, for there are few things more +trying to the nerves than to sit behind a determined bolter. Perhaps I +write feelingly, having been in that predicament myself three years +ago, resulting in a fractured hip and permanent lameness. I will most +certainly admit that the chivalrous gentleman did all, and more than +was necessary, to avert further peril to the lady who had so narrow an +escape. As for the obnoxious term "rough rider," to which exception is +taken, it was intended to be used generally and not individually; if +it has unfortunately happened that Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, whom I have +never had the pleasure of seeing, took it in a personal sense, I most +sincerely beg her forgiveness, and will ask her rather to accept, as +applicable to herself, the earlier remarks about ladies on horseback +at the conclusion of my letter, and the assurance of my belief that +such a gentlewoman as she is described could never be a _rough_ rider +in any way. + +I am, &c. + +JERMYN. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--The spur with a five-pointed rowel was strongly recommended for +ladies' use many years ago in the _Queen_, and is worn by many: it +does not tear the habit, and is not more severe than the spring-sheath +spur with a point of the same length, as only one point of the rowel +can prick the horse at a time; indeed, it is not so severe, as it can +be applied with a very slight touch, which generally is all that is +required, whilst the spring-sheath spur must be applied with +sufficient force to overcome the resistance of the spring, with the +result that the horse is often more sharply pricked than the rider +intends. The points of a lady's spur should be long enough to be +effective if the skirt of the habit intervenes, as, with any +arrangement, it sometimes will do, when, if the points are too short, +the horse does not feel it. I dissent from the statement of "Fairplay" +that, "from the nature of a lady's seat, her armed heel would often +unintentionally irritate and annoy her horse." If applied to a clumsy +rider the statement is accurate, but a lady who is a moderately good +rider has no difficulty in keeping her foot in the proper position, +and a lady's left foot should be in the same position as a man's; +whilst, as a lady has the third crutch to steady her left leg, she has +less excuse than a man would have for the unintentional use of the +spur; but this evil carries its own antidote, for the lady would soon +perceive the result of the irritation, and become more careful. The +best way to cure a boy of turning out his toes and holding on with his +heels is to give him a pair of long-necked spurs, and then put him on +a fidgetty horse; a few minutes' experience teaches him more than a +month of lecturing. I never knew of a mishap occurring to a lady +through accidentally spurring her horse, but I have known many +instances of ladies being put to great inconvenience and annoyance +through not wearing a spur, and I do not understand why a lady should +be more likely than a man to use it with undue severity. That it is an +advantage to a lady is clearly shown by the fact that a lady who once +tries one always continues its use. "Fairplay" is also mistaken about +the spring-sheath spur, for it is as readily applied as any other, +though more force is required, which is objectionable, and especially +so in park riding, when the spring of the horse to an unintentionally +sharp application betrays the action of the rider. I claim to be as +good a friend of horses as "Fairplay," but I have some regard for the +rider as well as for the horse, and I consider that, whilst we are +justified in riding horses, we are justified in using such reasonable +aids as we find most satisfactory to ourselves; and I have no sympathy +with anyone who objects to a lady availing herself of the convenience +and assistance so readily supplied by a judiciously-used spur, which +every horseman knows cannot, in very many cases, be obtained by any +other means, and which he never hesitates to avail himself of. In +these days of locomotion a lady loses a great deal of the pleasures of +travelling, and of the opportunities of seeing the countries she may +visit, unless she can and will ride such horses as she may meet with +in those countries; and even in the rural districts of England there +is many an old nag of the "Proputty Proputty" type, which (though not +possessed of the special points of a lady's horse--"Oh! such a lovely +mane and tail") will carry a lady tolerably well if he feels the spur +occasionally. If "Mabel Florence Rayne" tries the rowel spur and the +bit I mentioned in my former letter, I am sure she will be satisfied +with them, and perhaps she will write her opinion for the benefit of +others. The excellent and sensible letters of Mrs. Power O'Donoghue +will probably convince people that a horse, when he has a lady on his +back, is very much the same kind of animal, and requires very much the +same kind of management, as when he is ridden by a man. If Mrs. Power +O'Donoghue can obtain this result, she will sweep away many of the +peculiar prejudices and ideas that now prevail as to all matters +appertaining to ladies on horseback. + +I am, &c. + +SOUTHERN CROSS. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In the article under the above-mentioned heading, published in +your issue of the 6th November, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue recommends that +horses' tails should not be docked. Dealers, when offering horses for +sale, do not usually volunteer any information as to whether the +horses have been docked. I wish, therefore, to inform any intending +purchasers who may not know how to ascertain whether a horse has been +docked, and who may wish to obtain some which have not been disfigured +in this manner, that if the dock (that is, the portion of the tail +which consists of bones and muscles, &c.) is in its natural state, the +hair grows thickly at the end or tip of it, and there is no bare space +there; but if it has been shortened by a portion of it being cut off +(or docked), there is at the end or tip of it a circular space of +about an inch in diameter, entirely bare of hair. When a horse has +been docked, the hair of the tail scarcely grows after it has reached +to within six or seven inches above the hocks. The hocks of a large +horse are about twenty-five inches above the ground. It is a general +custom with London dealers to cut the hair of the tail very short +before offering a horse for sale, so that it does not come down lower +than to a distance of about nine inches above the hocks. The buyer +cannot then tell to what length the tail is likely to grow. If +customers would refuse to buy horses with the hair of the tail cut +short, perhaps the practice in question would be discontinued by the +dealers. + +I am, Sir, &c. + +X. Y. Z. + +London, November 10, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In your paper of last week I notice a letter on the advisability +of ladies on horseback adopting the cross-saddle in place of the side, +that is to say, in plain English, ride astride. This I have done +abroad when far beyond conventional bondage, and it is incomparably +better. Your correspondent points out the evils resulting from the +one-sided twisted seat, which a lady now has, and also, in the same +paper, the authoress of _Ladies on Horseback_ says how impossible it +is with only one foot in the stirrup to rise comfortably to a high +trotter. Now I should never have dared to name such a change had it +not been thus mooted. Society will shriek out and say, "Woman would be +indeed out of place thus." Why? I am sure with a proper dress there is +nothing to hurt the extremely proper feelings of the most modest. All +who have hunted know that the _very_ short skirted habits at times +display, well, say the leg of the fair _equestrienne_ most liberally. +Now the dress for the cross-horse style is much the same as a bathing +suit, loose Zouave drawers drawn close below the knee, and fastened +tightly over the boot at the ankle; a loose tunic, long enough to come +almost to the knee when mounted, lightly belted at the waist, a cape +falling over the shoulders, not quite to the elbows. This is my attire +when free to ride in the _only_ really comfortable way, a foot in each +stirrup. Oh, no woman would ever be twisted and packed on to a side +saddle again if she could help it, after once enjoying the ease and +freedom, as well as complete control of her horse which a man's seat +gives. + +So far as exhibitions of limbs go, it is much more delicate, and there +is nothing to offend the most sensitive lady in this style. Only it is +not fashionable. When shall we cease to prostrate ourselves before +that Juggernaut of fashion? For all paces and in every instance it is +better, and the risk of accidents is reduced at _least one half_. It +is a wonderful ease in long rides to _vary the stirrup length_. The +military, almost straight-leg, trot, I think the easiest, but, on the +other hand, some of the best riders I have ever seen abroad ride with +a very short stirrup; it is a matter of habit and custom. But if the +fashion were once introduced here, I know it would prove a priceless +boon to ladies who love riding. Let some lady who has the opportunity +once try it in her own private grounds (at first) or in some quiet, +out-of-the-way country lane or moorland, and she will be surprised. It +is a _new existence on horseback_, and _nothing_ indelicate about it, +clad as I have named. Oh, what a difference it does make. It is +twenty-three years now since I first took the idea from a book +published by a lady, entitled, _Unprotected Females in Norway_, and +whenever I can, I always ride so, of course abroad or even in the far +north of Scotland. What a sensation in the Row would a party of ladies +make thus mounted! Again, it is much easier for the horse, having your +weight fairly distributed, not all perched on one side. Your seat is +much firmer; leaping is, oh, so easy; in fact, your power seems +doubled in every way. In case of conflict with your horse, you feel a +veritable centaur compared with the side seat, where you have no grip, +only the aid of the saddle, but with the aid of your own knees and a +foot on each side of the horse I think I _could not be thrown_. Oh, I +wish it could be initiated, dear Mr. Editor. Do use your influence in +this direction. And it really looks well when the dress is well-made +and tasty, and you feel so very free and at ease, can turn about any +way, not pinned on to your horse, or rather on to your saddle, as +ladies are. I could give full directions to make an outfit for going +abroad in this style; you would smile at my saddle I know, but it is +so comfortable. I can hardly bear to ride on an orthodox one now. That +is the worst of it. I have been mounted on mules in this manner in +Honduras, and ridden immense distances without being stiff or tired +unduly. Some of these are the animals to try _your mettle and seat_, +and I was only once thrown, owing to a stirrup-leather breaking. Then +a lady is able to use spurs as easily as possible, no trouble about +habit skirts tearing or getting in the way of the spur. With a sharp +spur on each foot you can do anything with your horse, so very +different from the wretched box spurs, eternally entangled in your +habit or out of order. I do wish an association could be formed to +carry out the idea; one or two could not do it, it must be +simultaneous. For little girls it would be simply invaluable as an +improvement on the present style, which really does cause distortion +of the spine and a one-sided carriage when girls ride much. Do please +ventilate this question, and oblige very much, + +Yours, &c. + +HERSILIE. + +P.S.--I have taken your paper ever since October 2nd, when I first saw +_Ladies on Horseback_ in it, and have been much pleased with it, and +also much amused with the correspondence thereon, but I never expected +to see ladies' change of seat advocated, and am so glad to-day to find +that it is. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Permit me to state that the object in having the screw rowel-pin +in the spur, recommended by me for the use of ladies in your number of +November 13th, is in order to enable the wearers to use a mild or a +severe rowel, according to the requirements of the horses they ride. I +am very much against sharp spurs for ladies (or gentlemen either), +unless they are absolutely required; but from some experience, both at +home and abroad, I am quite convinced that the wearing of a spur +should be the rule and not the exception. If the rowel is moderately +sharp only, no cruelty can arise, less I maintain than in the use of a +whip. I strongly object to the use of the sheath spur because of its +severity; it must be applied with a _kick_ to be of any use, and the +effect is usually much more punishing than there is any necessity for. +If ladies will use rowel spurs with _moderately_ sharp rowels, such as +are usual in gentlemen's park spurs, they will find that they are in +possession of a very useful aid (certainly not a cruel one), and if +fitted on a neat patent leather hussar or Wellington boot, a very +ornamental one as well. + +I am, &c. + +JACK SPUR. + +December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--The correspondence on Mrs. Power O'Donoghue's articles has +contained many remarks on ladies' spurs, but I have noticed scarcely +any reference to one point which I think is worth consideration--namely, +the mode of fastening. I think ladies would find it an advantage to +wear what are known as "spring" or "box" spurs, instead of those +fastening with the usual straps, or strap and chain. I have never seen +a lady's spur of this description, but possibly they are made--if not, +they easily could be. They are much the most easy to attach or remove, +and there is no chance of a strap being cut in walking or otherwise, +or of an over-tight buckle hurting the foot. Their principal +advantage, however, is not one of mere convenience, but of safety; the +absence of strap and buckle removes one element in a great +danger--that of the foot sticking in the stirrup in a fall. Captain +Whyte-Melville speaks from observation of the risk of the buckle +catching in the angle of the stirrup-iron, and says he has never seen +a spurless boot so entangled. He is arguing against the wearing of +spurs at all; but the risk is avoided if box spurs be worn. Since I +became convinced that the strap and buckle were a quite possible, +though perhaps unlikely, source of danger, I have altogether discarded +them, and have felt my feet more free in the stirrups in consequence. +Box spurs are certainly not fashionable in the hunting-field, and I +have often seen people looking askance at them; I suppose a particular +man misses the finish that the strap gives to the boot. But I don't +think that matters much, and to ladies it would not matter at all, as +the difference could very seldom be detected. In getting spurs or +boxes, I find it convenient to adhere always to the regulation cavalry +size, because then one's old spurs fit one's new boots, and _vice +versâ_. It would be well to have a uniform standard for ladies' spurs +also. I have not ventured to say anything on the subject of spurs +generally--my own opinion is that legitimate occasion for their use is +excessively rare--and I dare say my suggestion may seem very trivial. +But I do not think any precaution is trivial which lessens, however +slightly, the risk of that most disagreeable and dangerous of +accidents--getting "hung up." + +I am, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +OXONIAN. + +Ball. Col., Oxon., December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I cannot but feel flattered that my _Ladies on Horseback_ papers +should have called forth so large a correspondence. I have read every +letter most carefully, and on perusing that of "Hersilie," which +appeared in last week's issue, it struck me, from two of her +observations, that persons might suppose I had said something to +advocate the style of riding of which she approves. Permit me to say, +emphatically, that I have never done so, and that I fervently hope, in +the interests of my sex, that such a practice may never be introduced. +Modesty is, in my opinion, a woman's most exquisite attribute; once +this, or the semblance of it, is lost, her fairest charm is gone. +Nothing could be more ungraceful or more unwomanly than for women to +ride like men; and for short women or "little girls," it would be +_most_ objectionable. I maintain that a lady who knows how to sit has a +far safer and surer seat on a side-saddle than a man can ever have, and +that her grip of the pommels affords her infinitely greater security +than a man's "grip of the knees." "Hersilie" is correct in saying that +short-skirted hunting-habits frequently ride up, but she might just as +well say that hunting-hats frequently fall off, and that ladies' back +hair frequently comes down--giving these facts as a reason for +discarding head-gear, whether natural or artificial. As a rule, nothing +that is properly made and properly adjusted ever comes to grief. It is +by going to cheap and incompetent habit-makers, neglecting to stitch +elastics to their hats, and plaiting the hair too loosely (being also +too sparing of hair-pins), that ladies are inconvenienced and made to +blush. Two yards wide round the hem is ample for a hunting-habit, which +should fit like a glove about the hips. First-class tailors always have +a model horse, upon which they mount their lady customers, and thus +secure the right position for the slope at the knee, upon which so much +of the "set" of the skirt depends. A well-dressed woman, sitting +properly upon a well-constructed saddle, cannot, in my opinion, be +improved upon for style and comfort, and I hope it will be long indeed +before ladies strive to follow in any way the customs or callings of +the sterner sex. I may add that one of the chief recommendations of a +box spur is that it does _not_ get out of order, nor can it possibly +become entangled, unless the habit-skirt be one of those which some +ladies still persist in wearing--nearly twice too long, and quite +three times too wide. I earnestly hope "Hersilie" will take these +observations in good part. I make them in a perfectly friendly spirit. +I feel kindly towards all ladies, especially those who love horses; and +so I offer "Hersilie" a warm shake-hands, and hope she will fight me as +much as ever she likes--in a friendly way, of course! + +Now, a word to "Jack Spur." I think he is under a mistake in averring +that there is any severity in the sheath spur. He says it must be +applied with a _kick_. As I always ride with one, and never with any +other description, I must entirely differ from him in this opinion. A +slight pressure is alone necessary. No gentlewoman would be guilty of +kicking her horse. I strongly object to rowels, as I hold to the +belief that almost anybody--except a really first-class +_équestrienne_--would be likely to hurt or worry the horse in an +unnecessary manner. + +Strange to say, I had only got thus far in my letter when the post +brought me a communication from Stirling, signed "Reform," begging of +me to advocate ladies riding upon the cross-saddle. Were it not that +the writer says so many nice, kind things of myself (for which I beg +to thank her) I should be really angry at the tremendous display of +zeal thus wasted upon so unworthy a subject. It is true that a lady's +seat on horseback prevents her pressing her horse up to his bridle as +a man can, _unless_--but there _is_ the unless--she knows how to do +it. A good stout hunting-crop, properly used, will admirably fulfil +the duties of the second leg; but in all my experience, and it is a +pretty wide one, I have never seen more than two lady riders who had +any idea of making a horse gallop or sending him up to his bit. I do +not mean riding his head off--we unfortunately see too much of that; +but pressing him up to his work, and riding him with firm, +_accomplished_ hands, such as are only to be obtained by good +teaching, long and constant practice, and real love of the art. To +give some idea of the hazy notion which most persons have about +riding, a lady who came to call upon me in London, and who certainly +meant to be most kind and polite, said, as we sat at our afternoon +tea, "I am looking at your hands; how well-developed they are, from +_pulling your horses_, I suppose!" She thought I was offended when I +told her that my riding gloves were No. 6, and that I never pulled my +horses; but I am not captious, nor would it be possible to take +offence with one who so little intended to cause it. + +The offer which I made at the conclusion of my _Ladies on Horseback_, +to answer private inquiries, has led to such a host of letters that, +although I regularly devote one hour every morning to the task of +replying to each in turn, I find it impossible to keep pace with the +work. Will you, therefore, sir, with the kindness extended to me upon +a former occasion, suffer me to answer a few of my correspondents +through the medium of your columns. + +RICHARD R.--One measure three times daily, with a good double-handful +of Indian corn mixed through it. + +CAPTAIN SWORDARM.--The oats will require two waters. The grains should +swell and separate, like rice boiled for curries. + +EVELYN HARKESS.--Your parcel has not reached me. My tailor will +endeavour to please you. + +JANE V.--A very cruel practice. + +REFORM.--You will see that I have acknowledged your letter. Judging by +the postmark it should have come to hand three days ago, but you gave +the wrong address, and it went on a seeking expedition. "Dublin" will +at any time find me. This is also for "Quilp," "B. Max," and "Violet +Grey." + +ELLA.--Your horse is evidently a rough trotter, and can never be +pleasant to ride. Try to exchange or sell him. + +MARY PERPLEXED.--The pommels of your saddle are most likely too far +apart; that is, the leaping head is placed too low. If you cannot +change it, ride with a longer stirrup-leather. I have been lately +shown the preparation for an improved side-saddle, by Messrs. F. V. +Nicholls & Co., of 2 Jermyn Street, comprising a patented arrangement +for the third crutch or leaping-head. I think that this will be a +great boon to those ladies who, like myself, have suffered +inconvenience and accident from the leaping-head being a fixture, and +not in the position required to afford a proper degree of support, and +at the same time to admit of the stirrup-leather being used of correct +length for an easy, secure, and graceful seat. The improvement of the +new saddle consists in a sliding socket or apparatus, by which the +leaping-head can be moved freely backward or forward to any position, +and instantly fixed firmly by the rider herself, thus enabling a lady +to alter at any time the length of her stirrup, and yet gain every +requisite support from the third crutch. Another little innovation by +the same experienced saddlers in riding bridles, an adaptation of my +favourite double-ring snaffle. The loose rings of the snaffle have +some extra loops, appended to which is a short noseband, acted upon by +one rein, giving a powerful effect in stopping a runaway horse, whilst +the use of the other rein singly has the pleasant and easy nature of +the ordinary snaffle-bridle. The principle of this bridle, which is +called "the improved Newmarket snaffle" is, of course, equally +applicable to the use of persons of either sex. + +GILES.--Have the shoe taken off and give him rest. + +URSA MAJOR.--There is no real cure for ringbone. Do not waste your +money. + +CLAUDE, EMMA VANE, N. PARKES, HENRY B., RHODA, NELLIE K., and +thirty-one others, write to me for--photographs! I am sorry that "for +lack of gold" I cannot supply a kindly public with my pictures, and I +am not vain enough to state publicly where they may be had. + +NIMROD.--Pleader was purchased from me last week by the Earl of +Eglinton. It will, therefore, be unnecessary for me to reply to any +further inquiries respecting him. I named his price and made no +change, nor was I asked to do so. + +CROPPER.--You were evidently sitting loosely, and thus suffered for +your carelessness. You will not be caught napping the next time. + +ANXIOUS, MARTHA, and a host of others have asked me a very familiar +question, "How I learned to ride?" I have hitherto avoided answering, +rather than introduce a name whose owner did not wish me to do so. But +I think I may hope to win his pardon. Most, if not all, my skill in +the saddle is mainly due to the kind and untiring patience of my dear +old friend and teacher, Mr. Allan McDonogh, who--despite his +threescore years and ten--was, up to the time of his lamentable +accident, ever ready to act as my pilot and instructor. + +ENQUIRER.--Ride a steady horse, and your nerve will come back again. +Mine did, after a much more terrible mischance. + +CORSICAN BROTHER.--It is not true. + +CRITIC.--You only discovered one mistake, but there are really _three_ +in my story, "In Search of a Wonder," which appeared in the Christmas +Number of this journal. In place of "hustled me out _of_ a sort of +enclosure," read "_to_ a sort of enclosure." Also, "suddenness" +requires two n's, and "carr_a_ttella" is the correct way to spell a +word which signifies a small cart or rough carriage peculiar to the +Piedmontese. These are all printer's errors, and should have been +corrected by me, but I revised my proof in a crowded coffee-room of a +London hotel, with at least a dozen persons talking to me as I did so, +and thus, being also pressed for time, a few mistakes escaped my +notice. + +To you, sir, and to all my friends, best wishes for the New Year, and +many grateful thanks for more kindness than I can deem myself worthy +of. + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + +Dublin, December 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In case no one more able than myself answers "Hersilie's" letter +in this week's number of your valuable paper, will you allow me, in +the name of many lady riders who "can" use the side-saddle, to write +and protest against the idea cropping up of our riding like men? I +cannot help feeling justly indignant with those who try to introduce +such a radical change, for, surely, we are already too much inclined +to follow all the ways and pursuits of the opposite sex without so far +forgetting ourselves as to wish to ride as they do. I do not want to +criticise what one is often obliged to do in foreign lands; there it +may prove a necessity, for the riding is not simply for pleasure, but +often the only means of transport, and the horses may not be fitted +for our saddles, nor we accustomed to their paces; but, in England, +the idea of a number of ladies fantastically dressed and mounted like +men must shock many of your readers. I hope "X. Y. Z.," who first +wrote in favour of this change some weeks ago, may pardon me if I say +that the ladies of his or her acquaintance who, in consequence of only +one stirrup, cannot avoid inclining the head and shoulders too much to +the left, &c., and in addition gall their horses' backs, had better +not attempt to ride at all. What is a prettier sight than a +neatly-dressed Englishwoman riding a horse, "as a lady," and should we +retain the same respect we now get if we gave up, in this particular, +the few feminine tokens left to us. Why not let us accept the male +attire altogether? It would be far more to our comfort in getting +about on foot, and if one change is so advisable, surely the other is +quite as sensible. I agree with "Hersilie" in thinking that the habits +of the present day are indelicately short, and I cannot see that +ladies ride any better showing their boots and with their arms akimbo +than they did a year or so ago, when their feet were covered and no +daylight showed between their arms. I come of as "horsey" a family as +any in England, and have ridden ever since I could sit upright; but I +never experienced, or knew that my sisters experienced, any of the +troubles "X. Y. Z." and "Hersilie" complain of. My father, who was our +sole instructor, put us on any animal that he thought likely to suit +his own riding, and no matter where we were, in the hunting-field or +elsewhere, the least deviation from sitting square would bring from +him the sharp reprimand of, "What are you doing? Bring that left +shoulder up, and don't let me see any daylight between your arms!" He +also insisted that our stirrups should be short, even to discomfort, +until we got used to it; but this prevented any chance of our hurting +the horse's back, which most frequently comes from a lady riding with +a long stirrup, and when she trots having to seek her stirrup, which +constantly moves her saddle, and makes her as well look most awkward +and one-sided. + +If not trespassing too much, may I say one other little word in the +interest of the horses I love so well? Over and over again, lately, +have I seen the advice given in your paper that we should never be +without a spur. Now, sir, if my experience can have any weight, I will +say that I have hunted and ridden across country in all parts of +Gloucestershire all my young days, that I was put on horses whether +they or I liked it or not, both kind, unkind, or violent ones, and I +am thankful to say that the idea of my wearing a spur never entered my +father's head nor mine. It seems to me such an underhand way of +punishing one's horse--a real feminine species of torture, for no one +sees the dig, dig, dig, but there it is all the time; and many a +horse, I firmly believe, comes to grief with its rider simply because, +not understanding its power, she taxes it beyond its strength. Not one +horse in twenty will refuse, or need either whip or spur if he knows +his mistress, and if he does he is not fit for inexperienced riders. + +I wish every girl was taught as I have been, "that a horse can do no +wrong." This made me study the peculiarities of every animal I was put +upon, and I have never had an accident of any kind. Every horsewoman +who loves riding must be proud of the feats accomplished by Mrs. Power +O'Donoghue in the side-saddle, but would she be admired or respected +as she is if she turned out as a man and rode as men do? It is being +able to sit square and ride straight on a side-saddle, that we should +be vain of, and not wish to make a change, which could only bring +Englishwomen down in the estimation of all those who are now so justly +proud of them on horseback. + +I am, Sir, + +Yours, &c. + +THE LADYBIRD. + +December 18, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Will you allow me to make one or two remarks upon a letter I +read last night in your valuable paper? It is from a correspondent +speaking of the ill effects produced by the use of side-saddles. + +In the first place your correspondent should remember that the back of +the horse, as well as the shoulder, is soft and tender when not in +condition, that is, in constant work, and not fit for either riding or +driving long distances at once, without damage. Get the back carefully +and well seasoned, or accustomed to the side-saddle, during the time +the horse is getting into condition for the hunting-field, and use a +leather saddle-cloth under the saddle; let it be long enough, and not +the shape of the saddle, and have all properly put on the horse, and +you will not come to grief with six or seven hours' work, or before +the lady is tired; that is, provided the lady will sit well down and +steady in her saddle, and keep her horse as much from trotting as +possible. Her horse must learn to canter slowly both to cover and +home, it will be much better for the horse and much easier for the +lady when she is accustomed to it; she will not be troubled any more +with horses with sore backs. Another remark from "X. Y. Z." is, it is +said that curvature of the spine sometimes ensues from children being +taught at too early an age to ride on side-saddles. I fear the mistake +is by the said children not having been taught how to sit or to put +themselves in form for their own comfort, but left to sit as they like +on horseback and get bad habits they cannot get rid of, never throwing +the weight of the body in its proper place. Then, as to the remark +about the riding-habit on the pommels, that disadvantage either has, +or ought to have, passed away a long time ago; for I am well satisfied +that a lady can so dress herself for the hunting-field in boots, +Bedfords, and plenty of flannel that she can keep herself warm and +comfortable without a great, strong, heavy, long riding-habit. Let the +habit be short and very light, and by no means bound round the bottom +part with anything strong, but left so that it will give way either in +a fall or in leaping through a high fence. I wonder if Mr. Lovell had +his knife in his pocket when he saw his daughter suspended by the +habit, which would neither tear nor be removed; had it been of light, +thin material, and short, the sad accident would not have occurred. I +am satisfied a little care and proper attention will put all things +right of which your correspondent complains. + +I am, &c. + +O. P. + +December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In your issue of the 4th December, "Farmer" writes that his +horses are fed upon oats which have been soaked in cold water, and +that he has the corn thus prepared because he could not easily manage +to have a steaming apparatus for cooking the food in the way that is +recommended by Mr. Edward Mayhew M.R.C.V.S., in his _Illustrated Horse +Management_. The plan that I have adopted during the last two months +has been to have the oats put in a pail (made of oakwood) in the +evening, and to pour upon them from a kettle a sufficient quantity of +boiling water to rise a little above the oats; a sack is placed over +it to keep in the heat, and the oats are then left to soak during the +night; on the following morning the husk is so much softened that it +will yield to the pressure of the thumb and finger. In this state the +oats are more easily digested by the horse, and it is better for his +teeth than to have to bite a hard substance. A wooden pail is +preferable to a zinc one, because it does not conduct the heat from +the oats so much as one of the latter description does. A lid would +be, perhaps, better than a sack. The pail should not be filled with +the oats, because the latter will swell when soaked. In the stall in +our stable there is no water-trough at the side of the manger, and in +order that the horse may have water within reach during the day and +night, a zinc pail is placed in and at the end of the manger, and the +handle of it is secured by a chain to the iron bars forming the upper +part of the partition between the two stalls. In the loose-box, a pail +containing water is suspended by a chain to some iron bars placed +inside the window. + +I am, &c. + +X. Y. Z. + +London, December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I cannot but feel flattered that Mrs. O'Donoghue has so frankly +and kindly invited me to "break a lance" with her. I do, with both my +hands and with all my heart, reciprocate her "warm shake-hands," and, +vizor down and spear in rest, ride full tilt at her in fair and open +fight to do my poor _devoirs_, if you will allow me once again to +enter the lists in your paper. If Mrs. O'Donoghue will read her paper +in your number for November 27th she will find these words: "My +companion was in ease while I was in torture." Why was this? "Because +he had a leg on either side of his mount, his weight equally +distributed, and an equal support upon both sides; in fact, he had, as +all male riders have, the advantage of a double support in the rise; +consequently, at the moment when his weight was removed from the +saddle, it was thrown upon both sides, and this equal distribution +enabled him to accomplish without fatigue that slow rise and fall +which is so tiring to a lady whose weight, when she is out of the +saddle, is thrown entirely upon one delicate limb, thus inducing her +to fall again as soon as possible." + +Again, in the very next paragraph, Mrs. O'Donoghue says, "A man will +be able to stand in his stirrups for a considerable time, even to ride +at a gallop, so doing because he transfers his weight equally to his +feet; but how rarely do we see a lady balanced upon one leg! The +sensation is not agreeable, and would, moreover, be unpleasantly +productive of wrung backs." These are verbatim extracts from "Part +Three continued." I think my preference for a leg on each side of my +horse, and a distribution of my weight equally on to each foot, is +most eloquently and forcibly justified by Mrs. O'Donoghue when she +wrote the above. I did not suggest, or at any rate did not mean to +suggest, that she advocated a cross-seat for ladies, but that she +unmistakably pointed out the great advantages of such a seat her own +words abundantly testify. Again, some of the healthiest children I +have ever seen are poor little gipsy girls, who, from being able to +mount a donkey, have always ridden astride when once past the pannier +period of their nomadic life. Also, some of the short, stout peasant +women of Normandy ride thus, as well as the Indian squaws, and +certainly these will compare favourably as to robust health with their +side-saddle sisters of civilisation; to say nothing of the South +American ladies. We have also the testimony of many lady travellers as +to the superiority of a cross-seat when horseback is the only mode of +transit. I cannot admit that in any case, even for "short women" or +"little girls," it would be "most objectionable," that is, from a +hygienic point of view. On the score of modesty, _de gustibus_, &c. +&c. But then I allow a great latitude on such a point (our highest +order carries the truest motto, _honi soit qui mal y pense_). In fact, +I do not regard it as a question of modesty at all; simply of +convenience, efficiency, and comfort. Mrs. O'Donoghue also says how +rare it is to meet with a perfect lady's horse. "In all my wide +experience I have met but two." Why? because a lady (and mainly on +account of her side-seat, as I believe) is heavily handicapped as +compared with a man in her choice of a horse, or, I should say, in her +requirements from her horse. Every remark in the whole of the papers, +"Ladies on Horseback," as to kindness, temper, and gentleness in the +treatment of a horse I most cordially endorse, and I have to thank the +fair authoress for the pleasure I have had in their perusal. + +A word or two in answer to "The Ladybird." In reply to her opening +remarks, I merely observe, "use is second nature," and had she +happened to have lived before "Anne of Bohemia" introduced +side-saddles she would have had no room for "indignation"; possibly in +that case she would have always ridden pillion. Oh! if we could only +once realise how much we are the slaves of fashion, how soon would the +yoke be broken! Contrast the crinoline of 1857 and the umbrella-case +attire of 1877; put a fashionable belle of the latter alongside her +sister of only twenty years earlier mode. What a satire on taste, on +modesty so called! But I would also ask "Ladybird" (if it be worth her +while) to read again my letter of the 18th, and she will find I did +not complain of the side-saddle, which I have an idea I _can_ use, but +pointed out its great inferiority (which I maintain) to the +cross-saddle. The best test perhaps is the foreign one. Mount a horse +without a saddle, but properly bitted, and then decide which is the +more natural and easier seat; in one case you feel an appendage; in +the other almost part of the horse. In the name of womanhood I +repudiate the suggestion of an "underhand way of punishment," being "a +real feminine species of torture." Perhaps it is, under the skirts of +a habit, possible to "dig, dig, dig," for no one sees, truly; but +surely no lady could, or would, spur her horse for the sake of +tormenting him; in my attire at any rate it would not be unseen. The +extraordinary teaching that a "horse can do no wrong" is an axiom with +which I cannot agree. I have been mounted on horses that "could do no +right," or if they could do it would not. And it has taken me all my +time and taxed all my energies to prevent them from doing the things +which they ought not to do; for I do object to a horse attempting to +erect himself in a perpendicular attitude, either from a fore or aft +basis, when I am on his back, and I rejoice to know that I have (in +such cases) on each foot a sharp spur to use with him as a cogent +argument in convincing him that ordinary progression on four legs is +infinitely better than saltimbantique performance on two--at least +from my, his rider's, point of view. On a well-bred, highly-trained +animal a spur is scarce ever required to be used, but even then the +emergency may arise. I really laughed outright when I read what you, +Sir, said of the "shoals of letters" arriving from fair correspondents +"desiring to ride" as "Hersilie" suggested, but this only convinces me +that there are many ladies who feel that it would be--just exactly as +I described it--"a new life on horseback." I could add much more on +the subject, but have already trespassed too long on your space. I +only repeat, let any lady once fairly try it, and she will always +prefer it. I do not for a moment imagine she will always do it. I +admit we must conform to custom, and I strongly deprecate individual +eccentricity, especially in a lady. I shall continue to read all that +appears in your paper on this and kindred topics with deep interest. +Again, I specially thank Mrs. Power O'Donoghue for her genial and +kindly expression of goodwill, and again heartily shake the shadowy +hand she offers. I quite believe a No. 6 gloved hand can control a +horse as well as any 7, 7½, or 8, if it only be possessed of the +cunning. And thanking you, sir, for your kindness, allow me as a woman +to have the last word, and again assert, "the cross seat is much the +better." + +Yours, &c. + +HERSILIE. + +Ambleside (_pro tem._), Dec. 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Kindly permit me to say a few words in reply to "Hersilie's" +letter, which appeared in your issue of last week. I am referred to my +own paper in your number for November 27, but "Hersilie" does not +quote correctly, or perhaps the error is the printer's. I think I said +"My companion was _at_ ease, whilst I was in torture." Now, I merely +related the incident with which these words were associated in order +to instruct ladies how to avoid the double rise--not to advocate for a +single instant their riding upon a cross-saddle. I am quite ready to +reiterate my statement that the position of a man enables him to ride +a rough or clumsy trotter with infinitely greater ease than can a +woman; but women should not, in my opinion, ride such _at all_, nor +should I have done so, as related in your paper of November 27, were +it not that my host, an immensely heavy man, had none but big rough +horses in his stable, and I was obliged either to accept a mount upon +one of them, for at least _once_, or give offence to a dear kind +friend, which I would not do to avoid even a greater amount of +inconvenience than I experienced upon the occasion in question. + +The cross-seat is not the only thing which ladies may envy the sterner +sex, without at the same time advocating the propriety of encroaching +upon their privileges. For my own part I never yet set out to walk on +a wet or muddy day without sincerely envying every man who passed me, +his big boots, tucked-up trousers, and freedom from the petticoats and +furbelows which encumber us and make us feel miserable in the rain; +yet I certainly never felt the _smallest_ desire to adopt his costume. +Nor have I ever seen two persons, or two big dogs, engaged in +fighting, that I did not envy the man who rushed between the +combatants and stopped the unseemly exhibition; yet I decidedly +experienced no wish to do it myself. It would not be my place. Men +have their costume, their avocations, their sayings and doings, their +varied callings in the world, and women have theirs. Each should be +separate and distinct from the other. A manly woman, or a womanly man, +is, in the eyes of all rightly-judging persons, a most objectionable +creature. There are many things which a woman may legitimately admire, +and, in a certain sense, _envy_, yet with which she should never +desire to meddle, unless she is ambitious to merge her womanhood in +the semblance of man. The cross-saddle is one of these. It may do very +well in the wilds of a country whose inhabitants are from childhood +accustomed to it, and where all ride alike, but not in civilised +England. As well seek to advocate the dress (or undress) of the Indian +squaws, as to endeavour to introduce their style of riding into a land +whose daughters are as modest as they are fair. + +"Hersilie" says:--"I do not regard it as a question of modesty at all, +simply of convenience, efficiency, and comfort." The subject is one +upon which a woman can touch but very lightly, yet may I affirm that +if all women were to lay aside their chief charm, and simply go in for +"convenience, efficiency, and comfort," society would present fewer +attractions than it at present does? I shall leave "The Ladybird" to +answer for herself, but I cannot help saying that I think "Hersilie" +is _hard_ upon her. She and I have met but once, yet I know that she +is gentle and highborn, and worthy of nothing but the love of which +her own Christian heart is composed. + +You, sir, must also fight your own little battle, and tell "Hersilie" +she is not to "laugh outright" at any of your "Circular Notes." She +may laugh, of course, at small fry like myself, but I really _can't_ +have my Editor laughed at! nor my sweet "Ladybird" crushed! + +And now, having said so much, I once again offer a shadowy hand to my +adversary, and hope that though at present we see one another but +darkly, we may yet do so "face to face," and meet as friends. + +A word, with your permission, to correspondents:-- + +EVELYN HARKESS.--I have discovered your parcel. I thought you were +sending it addressed to _me_. You shall have the contents in a few +days. + +FLINK.--There is never one worth buying, although unwise persons bid +fast and high. Try a private source, and beware of imposition. + +R. KING.--The horse is sold. + +H. DUNBAR, SHAMUS O'BRIEN, W. HATFIELD, and ROSE MARIE.--Your +questions are of too personal a nature. If time permits I will answer +privately. + +IGNORAMUS.--Dose him with aloes until he is dead sick; then put a +saddle on him, with a sand-bag at either side, and ring him for an +hour. I warrant he will allow a man upon his back after this, nor will +he seek to dislodge him either. It is much better and more humane than +the whipping and spurring which is so grievous to a sensitive +looker-on. + +HUGH.--Apply to Mr. Chapman, Oaklands, Cheltenham. + +I. STARK.--How shall I thank you? but I know not when I can ride +again. Your recipe, if effectual, would be indeed invaluable. I shall +look for a purchaser for your cob. + +MAY-BLOSSOM.--The nicest modern saddles have no stitching about them. +Call at 2, Jermyn Street. + +NIMROD II.--I have nothing that would suit you, nor do I ever sell my +horses, unless under exceptional circumstances. I am, of course, +flattered that so many are desirous of possessing what I have ridden, +but my stable is _extremely_ limited. See my reply to HUGH. + +HANNAH POWELL.--I shall answer by letter. + +SYNNORIX.--I said in a former letter that there was no cure for +ringbone; I have since heard of one which I consider invaluable, and +the lady who possesses it would sell it for a trifling sum. Apply to +Mrs. Slark, Rose Cottage, Bletchley. I hope URSA MAJOR will see this +reply to SYNNORIX, and will profit by my advice, which is to apply at +once for the cure. + +K. C., REDCAR.--I am pleased you found my system effectual, but are +you sure you did not carry it out too rigorously? Few would have such +courage. + +JOCKEY.--An authority says Fairyhouse, and I dare say he is right, +although there is a double at Punchestown--a big one--at which many a +good man and true has come to signal grief. I saw a fine young racer +killed there last year. + +To EDITH, PAUL PRY, JANE BURKITT, CONSTANCE HAYE, and MOUSQUETAIRE, +many thanks. If you write to the Editor he may perhaps give you +information as to the possibility of what you ask. + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--As I learned from a recent letter from that most amiable and +talented lady, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, that her teacher has been the +fine old sportsman, Allen McDonogh, I need wonder no longer at her +having become the very brilliant horsewoman which undoubtedly she is. +A finer or more graceful horseman than her teacher was, has never +lived. Since growing years and increasing weight prevented him from +riding his own horses he has brought out very many crack gentlemen +riders within the past twenty years, some of them quite shining +lights. Amongst some may be enumerated his great friend, Captain +Tempest, 11th Hussars; Captain Prichard Rayner, 5th Dragoon Guards; +Mr. Laurence, 4th Hussars; Captain, now Major, Hutton, 1st Royal +Dragoons; Captain Brown, of the Royal Horse Artillery, who +unfortunately was killed a few years since crossing the railway +returning from a steeplechase meeting held near London; Captain +Ricardo, 15th Hussars; Lieutenant-Colonel McCalmont, 7th Hussars; +Captain Soames, 4th Hussars; and the ever-to-be-regretted Captain the +Hon. Greville Nugent; and last, but by no means least, Mr. Thomas +Beasley, besides many others, all these gentlemen, excepting Mr. +Laurence, having their first winning mount on Mr. McDonogh's horses. +As professionals, he brought out Paddy Gavin and George Gray, the +former of whom, when scarcely more than a child, and weighing but 4 +st. 7 lb., rode and won the Prince of Wales' Steeplechase, at +Punchestown, on Blush Rose. I think I may be permitted to mention two +of Mr. McDonogh's daring feats. When riding Sailor in a steeplechase, +over an awfully severe country, close to the town of Bandon, Co. Cork +(where started, amongst nine others, the celebrated horses Monarch and +Valentine, the latter running second, two years later, for the +Liverpool Grand National, and the former sold soon afterwards to the +great Marquis of Waterford for a large sum, showing that the company +at Bandon was by no means a contemptible lot), in this race, the +distance of which was 4-1/2 miles, Sailor fell four times, each time +unseating his rider; yet so active was his pilot in those days that he +was as quickly in the saddle as out of it. At his fourth and last +fall, the horse chested the bank, flung his rider some distance from +him, and having a tight hold of the bridle reins, the throat-lash gave +way, and the bridle came off the horse's head. As Sailor was getting +on his legs, Mr. McDonogh jumped into the saddle, and setting his +horse going was soon in pursuit of the leaders. There were in the +1-1/2 miles that had yet to be travelled nearly ten awkward +double-posted fences. The third last impediment was a narrow +lane--called in Irish a "boreen"--with an intricate bank into and out +of it. The riders of Valentine and Monarch had bridles; consequently +they could steady their horses and jump in and out "clever." Not so +Mr. McDonogh, who had nothing to guide his horse but his whip. +Steering the animal, however, for the "boreen" he put him at his best +pace, and without ever laying an iron on it, he went from field to +field and landed alongside the leaders. The riders of the other +horses, seeing he had no power to guide his mount, endeavoured to put +him outside a post that had to be gone round to make the turn into the +straight line for home; but the young jockey, stretching his arms +almost round his horse's nose, by some means got him straight, and, +making the remainder of the running, won easily. Valentine's rider at +the scales objected to Sailor for not having carried a bridle, but Mr. +McDonogh was able to draw the weight, and was declared the winner +amidst the wildest enthusiasm. The other extraordinary performance +occurred one day on his pet mount, the celebrated Brunette, at Cashel. +When riding Mountain Hare the previous day over the same course he was +crossed by an old woman at an ugly up bank. The horse struck the woman +in the chest and very nearly put an end to his rider also, who, in the +fall, got his collar-bone and six ribs broken. The late Dr. Russell, +of Cashel, was quickly by his side, and telling the Marquis of +Waterford of the serious injuries Mr. McDonogh had received, that most +noble-hearted man instantly sent for his carriage, which, with two +post-horses, speedily took the invalid to the hotel in Cashel. The +collarbone being set and ribs bandaged, he passed a miserable night. +Brunette was in a race the next day, and as he would allow no man to +sit on her back, he got out of his bed, mounted the mare, and, +bandaged as he was and in great pain, won the race. Lord Waterford's +Regalia was second, his lordship jestingly remarking that if he had +known Brunette's master would have ridden her he would have left him +lying at the bank, In conclusion, Mr. Editor, permit me to say that we +Irish are charmed with Mrs. O'Donoghue's writings, as also with your +most interesting and beautifully got-up paper. + +Yours, &c. + +MAURICE LAWLOR. + +Battlemount, Ballytore, Co. Kildare. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Notwithstanding the enterprise of the large number of ladies +who, you say, desire to ride after the fashion of the Mexican senoras, +I venture to hope that the present custom of riding in a side-saddle +will not be departed from by ladies, except in case of necessity; and +I point out that in India, South Africa, and all the Australian +colonies the side-saddle is always used, though there can be no doubt +that if there was any real advantage in the Mexican style it would be +readily adopted in new countries. Many persons appear to be quite +unaware of what the lady's seat in the side-saddle should be. I +describe it thus: let a man seat himself properly in his saddle, +shorten the left stirrup two or three holes, and then, without moving +his body or his left leg, put his right leg over the horse's wither; +the man will then be seated on his horse precisely as a lady should be +seated in her side-saddle. A lady's seat in a side-saddle, of the size +suited to her, is extremely firm; any one who has not tried a +side-saddle with the third crutch has no idea of the firm seat that a +lady has. I was quite astonished when I tried it, and I believe that, +after practising for a day or two to get the balance, I could ride any +horse in a side-saddle that I could ride at all; whilst the exploits +of ladies show clearly that a change of style is not required for the +purpose of obtaining a more secure seat. One of the greatest +difficulties that ladies have to contend with in this country in +learning to ride is that they often get such poor instructors. Many of +those who call themselves riding masters are little better than +grooms, and the people who offer to turn out accomplished horsewomen +in twelve easy lessons for £2 2s. must know that, except in a few +cases of natural special aptitude, they cannot do much more than teach +a lady how to avoid tumbling too quickly out of the saddle. On the +other hand, a lady who has been through a full course of instruction +from a good master, has little to learn except those matters of detail +which experience alone can teach; but far better than any professional +instruction is that constant and careful supervision from a good +horseman, such as Mrs. Power O'Donoghue and "The Ladybird" mentioned +in a late issue, one who will not be afraid of being called a "bother" +when he points out and corrects every fault, however small. I +consider, sir, that you have given good advice to ladies when you say, +"I think a lady should wear a spur," though she may not often find it +necessary to use it. In your last issue two experienced ladies give +their opinions on this subject; one disapproves of the spur, the other +says she always wears one. Everyone will agree with "The Ladybird" +that when it is "dig, dig, dig" all the time, such use of a spur is +improper; for though a sharp stroke is required sometimes--for +instance, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, when describing her flight into the +farmyard, says: "I dug him with my spur"--the proper way to apply a +spur is, in general, as described by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue in your +last issue, by pressure. The term "box spur" is usually applied to +spurs that fit into spring boxes or sockets in the heels of the boots; +a spur with a spring sheath over the point is usually called a "sheath +spur"; for hunting, anything that will act as a goad will answer the +desired purpose, but for park or road riding the spur should be one +with which a very slight touch or a sharp stroke can be given, as may +be required. I know that the spur with a five-pointed rowel is +preferred by ladies who have tried it to any other; but, whatever spur +is selected, a lady should take care that the points are long enough +to be effective when the habit intervenes. I think, sir, with you, +that a lady should always wear a spur; and I notice in this +correspondence, the ladies who denounce the use of a spur almost +invariably say that they have never tried one; whilst ladies who have +once experienced the advantage and convenience of it, never willingly +mount a horse without one. There is not any real mystery about ladies' +riding or ladies' horses; almost any horse that will carry a man will +carry a woman, and the latter, when on horseback, ought to be +provided, as nearly as possible, with the same aids and appliances as +are required by the former. It is not every lady who can indulge in +the luxury of a three-hundred-guinea saddle-horse, and the treatment +that may answer with such a horse is not necessarily suited to an +ordinary hack; yet some of the handsomest and most highly-trained +ladies' horses in the Row are ridden with a spur, and it is only +proper that they should be; they have been trained by the professional +lady riders with a spur, and they are accustomed to receive from a +slight touch of the spur the indications of the rider's wish; whilst +as to the common livery-stable hacks, it is often painful to ride them +until they feel that you are provided with spurs, when their whole +nature appears to change, and you can enjoy a tolerably pleasant ride. +"The Ladybird" says she was taught "that a horse can do no wrong." As +a matter of theory the idea is a very pretty one, but I can only say, +as a simple matter of fact, that I have often known a horse exhibit a +very large amount of what the late Mr. Artemus Ward called +"cussedness"; and I know of nothing that, when a horse is in that +frame of mind, will bring him to his senses so quickly, so +effectually, and with so much convenience to the rider, as a sharp +spur. In far-off lands, I was once nearly two hours doing a distance +of some seven miles on a new purchase. I was then without spurs; but +the next day, when I was provided with them, the same animal did the +same distance easily and pleasantly in about forty minutes. I very +much dislike to see a lady use a whip to her horse: and, as I have +always proved spurs to be a great convenience, I recommend a lady to +wear one, and to use it _when necessary_ in preference to the whip. + +I am, &c. + +SOUTHERN CROSS. + +December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Since I have come to London I have been asked so many questions +respecting the reason why ladies so often "pull their horses," that I +feel I may accomplish some good by answering, or may at least assist +in doing away with a very crying evil. My opinion is that there is +usually but one reason, viz. because the horses pull them; but for a +woman to pull against a pulling horse only increases the evil. It is a +fallacy, and can never accomplish the desired end. A determined puller +cannot, under any circumstances, be suitable to a lady, and should +never be ridden by one, unless she be a sufficiently good rider and +have sufficiently good hands to make the horse's mouth, which is not +the case with one woman in five hundred, or, I might almost say, one +man either. Horses that pull have been almost invariably spoilt in the +training. Occasionally a fine-mouthed animal will be ruined by an +ignorant or cruel rider, but I must say, in justice to my sex, that +they are seldom guilty of doing it. The fault lies amongst men. Many +women are ignorant riders; but, thank God! the blot of cruelty rarely +defaces their name. Women are naturally gentle, kindly, +and--_cowardly_; three things calculated not to injure a horse, except +it be the latter, which enables him to discover that he can be master +if he please. Doubtless there are cruel women, also, who cut and lash, +and tug and spur, and treat heaven's noble gifts as though they were +mere machinery, and not flesh and blood like ourselves; but how often +shall I say, in answer to the numerous cases cited to me, that in +writing upon this or any other subject I speak of the rule, not of the +isolated exceptions. When a man begins to break a horse he regularly +prepares for combat. He sets himself to work with a resolute +determination to fight and be fought, as though he had a strong +rebellious spirit to deal with and conquer, instead of a loving, +kindly, timid nature, which needs nought save gentleness to make it +amenable to even the rudest hand. The man begins by pulling; the +horse, on the schoolboy "tit for tat" principle, pulls against him in +return; is sold before his education (bad as it has been) is half +completed; is ridden out to exercise by grooms with heavy iron hands; +is handed over to the riding-school and to carry young ladies when +every bit of spirit has been knocked out of him, except the determined +one of pulling--pulls resolutely against the feeble hands striving to +control him; is pulled and strained at in return, and becomes in time +a confirmed and unmanageable brute. I wish I could persuade ladies +_not_ to pull their horses. In a former number I endeavoured to tell +them the proper method of managing or dealing with a pulling animal: +neither to drop their hands to him, nor to pull one ounce against him. +He will be certain after a few strides to yield a bit, when the +hands--hitherto firm, should immediately yield to him, thus +establishing a sort of give and take principle, which will soon be +perfectly understood by the intelligent creature under control. We do +not half appreciate our horses. Every touch of our fingers, every word +we utter, every glance from our eye is noted by the horse, and is +valued or resented as it deserves. So many animals are made unruly by +the undue use of a severe curb that I strongly advise a trial of the +snaffle only, holding the curb-rein loosely over the little finger, so +that it may be in an instant taken up in case it prove necessary, +which, in my opinion, it rarely will. To illustrate my meaning, on +Monday last I rode a mare for a lady, who was very desirous of +ascertaining whether the animal was capable of carrying a lady with +safety. The groom, who was to accompany me, was evidently extremely +nervous. He told me, as we started, that the mare had never done any +saddle work, except with a very wild young gentleman-rider, who had +bitted her severely, and yet found her difficult to manage; and he +implored me earnestly to keep a good hold of the curb. I found that +she hung desperately upon her bridle, kept her head between her knees +with a strong, determined, heavy pull upon the bit, and rough, jerky +action, which was most unpleasant. When I got her into the Row she +nearly pulled my arms out in her canter--the tug she had upon the +bridle was quite terrific; and, evidently prepared for the accustomed +fight, she put back her ears and shook her wicked head angrily. I rode +her from Palace Gate to Hyde Park Corner in the same manner as I have +sought to impress upon my lady readers--namely, not pulling one atom +against her, but keeping my hands low and firm, and yielding slightly +to her in her stride. By the time we had turned at the Corner she had +quite given up fighting. I then dropped the curb, and rode her +entirely upon the snaffle. The effect was magical. She lifted her +head, ceased pulling altogether, and went along in a pleasant joyous +canter, going well up to her bridle, but not attempting any liberties +whatever, In an hour's time, as you, sir, who were riding with me will +bear testimony, I was holding her with _one hand_, stooping forward, +and making much of her with the other, an attention which she +evidently regarded as a pleasing novelty, and highly appreciated. +Finding her slightly untractable during the ride homeward I once more +lightly took up the curb. It maddened her in a moment. She turned +round and round, ran me against a cart, and behaved so excitedly that +it required my best skill, confidence, and temper to restore her +equanimity and steer her safely (using the snaffle only) to her +destination. On dismounting I observed to the groom that considering +the amount of exercise and excitement through which she had passed, it +was wonderful she had not sweated. His answer was that she was always +fed upon cooked food, and that the chief sustenance of the horse which +he himself was riding--a remarkably fine three-year-old--was boiled +barley. I have never, myself, tried this feeding, but if looks and +condition may be regarded as recommendation, it must be most +excellent. + +I am, Sir, + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I have been very greatly interested by the remarks on saddles, +spurs, &c., made by your lady correspondents. My husband is a large +ranchero, or cattle-farmer, on the Rio Grande, between Mexico and +Texas, and naturally I have had much experience of hard as well as +long-distance riding. Having been accustomed to hunting when I was a +girl, I came out here with an exaggerated idea of my skill in +horsemanship. My first ride in Mexico was one of three hundred miles, +which we did in seven days; I rode on an English hunting-saddle +almost, if not quite, as "straight as a board." After the second day I +found it as uncomfortable a seat as could be desired, and was glad to +change it for the peon's ordinary Mexican saddle, which I found +perfectly easy and comparatively comfortable to my English one. This +last I have found exceedingly fatiguing and ill-adapted to a long +journey, although very good for a few hours' ride after wild cattle, +which is a certain approach to hunting, although the jumping is not +stiff. Lately I had another saddle sent out from England, which was a +little deeper, and I find it much more useful for long distances. As +ladies are not in the habit of riding steeplechases, I would venture +to suggest that, for hard riding, such as hunting, the saddle might +rather be heavier than lighter, as I am sure that this must give more +relief to the horse's back. In fact, I believe that the sore backs so +often produced by ladies' saddles are more frequently caused by the +saddle being too light than too heavy. I quite agree with some of your +correspondents that the padded stirrup is most dangerous, as it is not +easy to get the foot out quickly if anything should happen. + +The principle, as stated by the Mexicans, of striking a horse between +the ears is not to bring him down by _fright_, but to bring him down +by _force_, so as to "stun" him. Now, do you think that any of your +fair correspondents could accomplish this with a light park or +hunting-whip? I may be very bold to offer any suggestions, but the +lady's sidesaddle of the nineteenth century is very far from being +pleasant. Why should not ladies in this age of progression begin to +ride on saddles shaped like a man's, with the same seat a man uses? It +would be much more comfortable, as even a stout lady could not look +much more ungraceful than she does now, besides materially lessening +the danger. I send you a sketch of a Mexican saddle. + +I am, &c. + +CAMPESINA. + +San Antonio de Bexar, Texas, U.S.A. + +P.S.--I would not like you to imagine that I intend to slight such an +admirable authority as Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, but I should be much +obliged to any of your correspondents for the design of an improved +saddle, suitable alike for riding a young nervous horse and for journey +purposes. I have a design for such a saddle, but I do not know how far +it may be practicable. I think if ladies would give their ideas upon +this subject through the medium of your columns, some real improvement +might be arrived at. + +C. + + * * * * * + +Sir,--In your issue of the 27th November my letter appeared, +recommending that the use of side-saddles should be discontinued. Your +correspondent, "Jack Spur," mentions, in a letter published on the +13th November, that in some works concerning the Sandwich Islands, in +the Northern Pacific Ocean, and the Rocky Mountains, North America, +the authoress, Miss Isabella L. Bird, states that she was accustomed, +while there, to ride on horseback astride. + +A few extracts from her above-mentioned writings will probably +interest your readers. When in Hawaii, or Owyhee, one of the Sandwich +Islands, the authoress referred to accompanied some friends on +horseback to the Anuenue Falls on the Wailuku river (a river which +forms a boundary between two great volcanoes), and on that occasion +used a side-saddle, but was afterwards advised by one of the party to +follow the native fashion of riding astride. Having acted upon this +advice, she was well satisfied with the result of the trial, and +continued to adopt that style while in the Sandwich Islands, and also +in the Rocky Mountains, where she remained nearly four months. The +following extract from a letter written by her about the 28th of +January, from Hilo, Hawaii, and published in _The Hawaiian +Archipelago: Six Months in the Sandwich Islands_, 1875, page 66, gives +further particulars of her visit to the Anuenue Falls, above referred +to:-- + +"Everything was new and interesting, but the ride was spoiled by my +insecure seat in my saddle, and the increased pain in my spine which +riding produced. Once, in crossing a stream, the horses had to make a +sort of downward jump from a rock, and I slipped round my horse's +neck; indeed, on the way back I felt that on the ground of health I +must give up the volcano, as I would never consent to be carried to +it, like Lady Franklin, in a litter. When we returned, Mr. Severance +suggested that it would be much better for me to follow the Hawaiian +fashion, and ride astride, and put his saddle on the horse. It was +only my strong desire to see the volcano which made me consent to a +mode of riding against which I have so strong a prejudice; but the +result of the experiment is that I shall visit Kilanea thus or not at +all. The native women all ride astride on ordinary occasions in the +full sacks, or holukus, and on gala days in the pan, the gay winged +dress which I described in writing from Honolulu. A great many of the +foreign ladies in Hawaii have adopted the Mexican saddle also" (this +means that they ride astride) "for greater security to themselves and +ease to their horses on the steep and perilous bridle-tracks, but they +wear full Turkish trousers, and jauntily-made dresses reaching to the +ankles." + +After leaving the Sandwich Islands she went to the Rocky Mountains, +and in a letter dated the 23rd of October, and published in _A Lady's +Life in the Rocky Mountains_, 1879, she writes from the Colorado +District, North America:-- + +"I rode sidewise till I was well through the town, long enough to +produce a severe pain in my spine, which was not relieved for some +time even after I had changed my position. It was a lovely Indian +summer day, so warm that the snow on the ground looked an +incongruity." + +From the fact that many ladies, when in the Sandwich Islands, ride +astride, and that Miss Bird found this position preferable in many +respects to that which a side-saddle obliges the rider to take, I +infer that ladies in England would be pleased if a change in the mode +of riding were introduced. + +Proprietors of circuses will perhaps permit me to offer for their +consideration that by allowing this mode of riding to form a part of +some of the circus performances, they might do a great deal towards +causing it to be recognised by the public as the correct style, and +that one great obstacle in the way of its being generally adopted by +horsewomen would then be removed. + +I wish also to suggest that it should be taught at several +riding-schools, so that a large number of pupils may commence at the +same time. + +I am, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +X. Y. Z. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--The letters of your correspondent, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, are +very instructive and trustworthy, because founded upon practical +experience. In her letter of last week she recommends the feeding of +hunters upon _cooked food_. This to many sportsmen will be a new +theory; not so to me, and I wish to confirm her views, but I carry them +out in a more economical way. My establishment is but a small one. I +cannot afford space or attendance for a cooking-house, but I believe I +arrive at the same results as she does, by steeping my oats in cold +water for a given number of hours, and adding a pound of Indian meal, +with a handful of chopped hay and oaten straw to each feed three times +a day. My horses have a constant supply of water in a manger in a +convenient corner of their stables. I believe horses fed upon dry oats +and hay suffer much from thirst. I observe my horses take many sups of +water through the day, but take much less on the whole than when +watered upon the old practice twice daily. Practically, I find my +horses very healthy, strong, and enduring, and I would freely recommend +the adoption of this mode of feeding hunters to my sporting friends. + +FARMER. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I am still so inundated with correspondence--many writers asking +me precisely the same questions--that I shall regard it as a favour if +you will again allow me to answer a few of them through the medium of +your paper. + +CONN. DASHPUR.--You and your horse were immersed in the river, simply +because you did not give him sufficient head-room to enable him to +take the jump with safety. In coming up to a wide stretch of water you +should always leave your mount abundant opportunity to extend his head +and neck, nor should you wait to do this until you are just on the +brink,--it will then, most likely, be too late to save you and him a +wetting. A horse stretches his neck coming up to a water-jump, partly +that he may see well what is before him, and partly because his +intelligence tells him that he cannot compass it if tightly reined in. +Leave him his head, and if he is a hunter worth riding he will +calculate his distance and bear you safely over. At the same time you +must remember to give him sufficient support when he lands, or he may +peck, or roll, and give you an ugly fall. A horse is much more liable +to come down over a water-jump than at a fence, for the swinging pace +at which you must necessarily send him at it--combined with the +_absolute_ necessity for leaving him complete freedom of his +head--forbids that "steadying" process, which, at the hands of an +accomplished rider, usually ensures safety over wall or ditch. +Questions similar to yours have been asked me by H. CADLICOTT, MAURICE +HONE, and GUY. In answering one, therefore, I reply to each. + +ELLICE GREENWAY.--Your MS. never reached me; you must have misdirected +it,--but in any case I could not have been of service to you, as I +have no time for revising other people's work, nor would my +recommendation carry any weight. Publishers judge for themselves. Your +papers must go in on their merits, and be accepted or rejected +accordingly. I quite agree with you that declined MSS. should--when +accompanied by a stamped and addressed envelope--be returned to the +sender with the least possible delay. No matter how great or hurried +may be the business of an office, there is in reality no excuse for +inattention to this rule. The very best and busiest of the weekly +journals comply with it, and persons who do not want to be treated +with snobbish indifference had better not write for any other. Perhaps +if you call, or send a line privately to the Editor, you may succeed +in getting back your work; but do not be expectant. + +KING LEAR.--The horse you name attained his victory in 1878. He +carried 12 st. 7 lbs. + +G. HUNT.--Beauparc; but he did not win. + +P. RYALL.--At Thirsk. He fell at the second obstacle, and although +speedily remounted, his chance was extinguished. Pinnace ran well, and +was in great form. His defeat was a surprise, but your informant has +not given you reliable details. + +JAMES.--Read _Silk and Scarlet_, one of the "Druid" series. Thanks for +too flattering opinion. + +FORDHAM.--The course is a most trying one, and the feat was one never +before attempted by a lady. I did it to show that my horse was capable +of accomplishing the task, and the risk was not what you describe it, +for he was too clever to put a foot astray. Major Stone of the 80th +accompanied me, and gave me a good lead. The only time I passed him +was when his horse refused at an ugly post and rail. It is not true +that he was thrown. He rode splendidly, managing a difficult horse. +There was no "crowd," and in short it is evident that you have +received an exaggerated account of the affair. + +J. DUNNE.--He won at Newcastle in 1879. + +COLLINS W.--She was, in my opinion, unfairly handicapped, and the +verdict was general respecting the matter. + +DOUGLAS.--The horse was not shot for five hours after, and lay +quivering all that time. The owner was absent, and four of us galloped +in search of him. Nobody was to blame. Mr. W. B. Morris, 7th Hussars, +was the rider, and no better ever wore silk. + +MONTAUBAN.--I have already detailed at some length my objections to +children riding before they have strength and judgment sufficient to +enable them to manage a horse. Moreover, if a child--say a little +girl--gets a severe fall, the shock to her nervous system is most +likely to be a lasting one, and in some cases is never got over; +whereas grown girls are less liable to fall, if they have any sort of +fair teaching, and certainly have stronger nerves and firmer +resolution to enable them to bear the casualties attendant upon the +practice of the art. + +CURIOUS.--Griffin and Hawkes, of Birmingham, by the burning of whose +premises some of my most valued MSS. were lost. + +JESSICA.--It is quite untrue. Her Imperial Majesty dresses and mounts +in ordinary fashion. There is not one word of truth in the +widely-circulated statement that her habit is buttoned on after she +has mounted, nor is her jacket ever made "tight." It is close-fitting +and beautifully adapted to her figure, but sufficiently large to leave +her abundant room to move in. The Empress despises tight stays, +gloves, and boots. Her waist is small, but not wasp-like. The absurd +announcement that it measured but twelve inches (recently published in +one of the weekly journals) is as false as it is foolish. Nobody could +exist with such a deformity. The Empress takes morning exercise upon a +trapeze. Her hair is dark, shaded to gold-colour, like a wood in +autumn. The report that she dyes it is one of the many calumnies of +which she is the subject, but which happily cannot harm her. She is +_not_ affable; her manner is stately in the extreme, to all except +those with whom she desires to converse. She speaks fair but not +fluent English. This reply to JESSICA is also for FRANK KURTZ, AMY +ROBSART, and ALICIA BOND. + +JULIUS.--It was not I who wrote it. I got the credit of it, but did +not covet the distinction. + +GEORGE K.--Nobody assists me. Of course you mean as an amanuensis: +otherwise your question would be an offence. I write my thoughts in +short-hand, and copy at leisure for the press. My time for writing is +when the house is quiet,--generally from 10 P.M. to 2 or 3 in the +morning. I have answered you--but against my will, as I much dislike +personal questions. Were I to reply to such in general, my entire life +would be laid bare to the eyes of a disinterested public, in order to +gratify a few persons, who have no motive save one of idle curiosity. + +T. CANNON.--_Grandfather's Hunter_ is sold out. _Horses and Horsemen_ +is to be had, but its price puts it beyond the pale of ordinary +purchasers. Try Bumpus, or Mudie. + +OXONIAN.--You are wrong,--nor have I asked your opinion. It is easier +to criticise than to write. Having done the former, pray do the +latter, and submit to others' criticism. + +MARCIA FLOOD.--Two yards round the hem is amply sufficient width. I +consider the price you name quite exorbitant. Try one of those +mentioned by me in my chapter upon riding-gear. + +Thanking you, Sir, for your kindness in granting me so much of your +valuable space. + +I am, yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In a recent edition "Jack Spur" asks if it is usual in any +country for ladies to ride _à la_ Duchess de Berri, _i.e._ as a +gentleman, astride. In Mexico and the States of the River Plate this +is the usual mount of the fair ones of the district, and, clad in +loose Turkish pantalettes tucked into the riding-boots of soft yellow +leather, a loose sort of tunic secured by a belt, and wearing the +_ladies'_ "sombrero," very charming these fair _équestriennes_ look, +and splendid horsewomen they are. Talk of ladies, your "Fair Play" +should see the long, sharp, Mexican spurs attached to the heels of +these fair prairie-rangers, and witness how unsparingly they are used. +Sometimes I, who am no namby-pamby rider, and have seen my share of +rough work, have ventured to remonstrate in a half-jocular manner (as +became a stranger and foreigner) when riding along with a Mexican +lady, who generally keeps her steed at a full gallop by the +remorseless application of these instruments of punishment. But the +reply was merely a silvery laugh, and "Ah, senor, here horses are +cheap, and when one is finished we have plenty more for the catching. +Come along!" My experience of ladies on horseback as a rule is that +they are more severe than men; perhaps it is thoughtlessness, but +certainly for hard riding and severe spurring I have never seen any to +surpass a Mexican senora, whose favourite pace is a stretching gallop +without cessation, until her steed is perfectly pumped out, and as +horseflesh is of no value whatever, and no Society for the Prevention +of Cruelty to Animals exists, I am afraid I must record a verdict of +cruelty against some of the most charming women I ever met. To their +fellow mortals all kindness and goodness, but when mounted on their +mustang they seem to forget that he can feel either fatigue or pain. +Certainly the temptation is great. A horse is of no value; you seldom +mount the same twice on a journey, and across the beautiful prairies a +wild gallop is the pace. But I should be sorry to see an English lady +dismount from her steed, leaving him utterly exhausted and pumped out, +and his flanks streaming with blood from deep spur-strokes. This I +have too often seen in South America. Everyone does it, and it is +little thought of; but by all means let us cherish a better feeling, +and not give any needless pain to that noble animal, the horse. Let +the ladies avoid the use of sharp spurs; most horses ridden by ladies +here are perfectly amenable to the whip and rein, and the use of the +spur is somewhat inharmonious with the gentle character of our English +women. + +GUACHO. + +St. Leonards, 1880. + + * * * * * + + "The correspondence upon this subject, called forth by Mrs. Power + O'Donoghue's admirable papers 'Ladies on Horseback,' has been so + voluminous, and appears likely to go on for such a lengthened + period, that I am reluctantly obliged to bring it to a close, in + order to make space for other matter."--ED. _Illustrated Sporting + and Dramatic News._ + + +London: Printed by W. H. Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, S.W. + + + + +WORKS PUBLISHED + +BY + +W. H. ALLEN & CO. + + +HOW TO RIDE AND SCHOOL A HORSE, With a System of Horse Gymnastics. +BY EDWARD L. ANDERSON. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. + + * * * * * + +MAYHEW (EDWARD) ILLUSTRATED HORSE DOCTOR. Being an Accurate and +Detailed Account, accompanied by more than 400 Pictorial Representations, +characteristic of the various Diseases to which the Equine Race are +subjected; together with the latest Mode of Treatment, and all the +requisite Prescriptions written in Plain English. BY EDWARD MAYHEW, +M.R.C.V.S. 8vo. 18s. 6d. + +CONTENTS.--The Brain and Nervous System.--The Eyes.--The Mouth.--The +Nostrils.--The Throat.--The Chest and its contents.--The Stomach, +Liver, &c.--The Abdomen.--The Urinary Organs.--The Skin.--Specific +Diseases.--Limbs.--The Feet.--Injuries.--Operations. + + "The book contains nearly 600 pages of valuable matter, which + reflects great credit on its author, and, owing to its practical + details, the result of deep scientific research, deserves a place + in the library of medical, veterinary, and non-professional + readers."--_Field._ + + "The book furnishes at once the bane and the antidote, as the + drawings show the horse not only suffering from every kind of + disease, but in the different stages of it, while the alphabetical + summary at the end gives the cause, symptoms, and treatment of + each."--_Illustrated London News._ + +MAYHEW (EDWARD) ILLUSTRATED HORSE MANAGEMENT.--Containing descriptive +remarks upon Anatomy, Medicine, Shoeing, Teeth, Food, Vices, Stables; +likewise a plain account of the situation, nature, and value of the +various points; together with comments on grooms, dealers, breeders, +breakers, and trainers; Embellished with more than 400 engravings from +original designs made expressly for this work. By E. MAYHEW. A new +Edition, revised and improved by J. I. LUPTON, M.R.C.V.S. 8vo. 12s. + +CONTENTS.--The body of the horse anatomically considered. PHYSIC.--The +mode of administering it, and minor operations. SHOEING.--Its origin, +its uses, and its varieties. THE TEETH.--Their natural growth, and the +abuses to which they are liable. FOOD.--The fittest time for feeding, +and the kind of food which the horse naturally consumes. The evils +which are occasioned by modern stables. The faults inseparable from +stables. The so-called "incapacitating vices," which are the results +of injury or of disease. Stables as they should be. GROOMS.--Their +prejudices, their injuries, and their duties. POINTS.--Their relative +importance, and where to look for their development. BREEDING.--Its +inconsistencies and its disappointments. BREAKING AND TRAINING.--Their +errors and their results. + + * * * * * + +DAUMAS (E.) HORSES OF THE SAHARA, AND THE MANNERS OF THE DESERT. By +E. DAUMAS, General of the Division Commanding at Bordeaux, +Senator, &c. &c. With Commentaries by the Emir Abd-el-Kadir +(Authorized Edition). 8vo. 6s. + + "We have rarely read a work giving a more picturesque and, at the + same time, practical account of the manners and customs of a + people, than this book on the Arabs and their horses."--_Edinburgh + Courant._ + + + + +THURSTON & CO. + +BILLIARD TABLE MANUFACTURERS. + +LAMP MAKERS AND GAS FITTERS. + +_BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, AND HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE +PRINCESS OF WALES._ + +ESTABLISHED A.D. 1814. + +16, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND, LONDON. + +_PRIZE MEDAL, SYDNEY, 1879, FIRST AWARD._ + + + + +S. & H. HARRIS'S + +57, MANSELL STREET, E., + +EBONITE WATERPROOF BLACKING + +FOR HUNTING OR WALKING BOOTS. + +REQUIRES NO BRUSHING. + +HARNESS COMPOSITION + (Waterproof). + +SADDLE PASTE + (Waterproof). + +JET BLACK OIL, + For Harness. + +BLACK DYE, FOR STAINING HARNESS, + And all kinds of Leather. + +WATERPROOF DUBBIN, + For Boots and Harness. + +BREECHES POWDER, + For Cleaning Hunting Breeches. + +POLISHING PASTE, + For Cleaning Metals and Glass. + +S. & H. HARRIS, + +57, MANSELL STREET, E. + + + + +H. PEAT & CO., + +173, PICCADILLY, + +LONDON, W., + +SADDLERS & HARNESS MAKERS + +TO THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES + +The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, + +_Her Majesty's Cavalry and the Crown Agents +for the Colonies._ + + + + +[The following advertisements have been moved from the beginning of +the book.] + + +[Illustration: Silver Medal +Vienna 1873. + +Paris 1878. +Philadelphia 1876.] + +SWAINE ADENEY, + +WHIP MANUFACTURERS, + +_To THE QUEEN, THE PRINCE and PRINCESS OF WALES and the ROYAL +FAMILY_, + +185, PICCADILLY, + +LONDON, W. + +WHIPS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION FOR RIDING, DRIVING, & HUNTING, &c. + +WHIPS MOUNTED IN GOLD AND SILVER, FOR PRESENTATION, ALWAYS ON HAND. + +HUNTING FLASKS, HORNS, &c. + + + + +THE NEW LEVEL-SEAT SIDE SADDLE, + +WITH ADJUSTABLE THIRD CRUTCH AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS, + +As recommended and used by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, Authoress of +"LADIES ON HORSEBACK," &c. &c. + +This perfect Side Saddle is moderate in price, light and elegant in +appearance, faultless in materials and workmanship, ensures ease, +comfort, and security to the rider, and obviates sore backs with +horses. + +MADE TO ORDER AND MEASURE BY + +F. V. NICHOLLS & CO., + +HUNTING & MILITARY SADDLERS, + +Manufacturers of Harness, Horse Clothing, Whips, and Stable Requisites, + +2, JERMYN STREET, HAYMARKET, + +LONDON. + +The Gentleman's narrow-grip "Brough" Saddle, any size and weight, from +£7, complete. + +The Gentleman Rider's Racing Saddle, £3 to £4, complete, very roomy, +with Buckskin Flaps, &c. + +THE IMPROVED NEWMARKET & ING GUY SNAFFLE BRIDLES, FOR PULLING HORSES. + +Branch Business: 18, ARTILLERY PLACE, WOOLWICH. + + + + +ROWLANDS' ODONTO OR PEARL DENTIFRICE + +has been celebrated for more than half a century as the best, purest, +and most fragrant preparation for the teeth ever made. Health depends +in a great measure upon the soundness of the teeth, and all dentists +will allow that neither washes nor pastes can possibly be as +efficacious for polishing the teeth and keeping them sound and white as +a pure and non-gritty tooth-powder; such Rowlands' Odonto has always +proved itself to be. Great care must be taken to ask for ROWLANDS' +ODONTO, of 20, Hatton Garden, London, and to see that each box bears +the 3d. Government Stamp, without which no ODONTO is genuine. + + +ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL + +is universally in high repute for its unprecedented success during the +last 80 years in promoting the growth, restoring, improving, and +beautifying the human hair. For children it is especially recommended, +as forming the basis of a beautiful head of hair, while its +introduction into the nursery of Royalty is a sufficient proof of its +merits. It is perfectly free from any lead, mineral, or poisonous +ingredients. + + +ROWLANDS' KALYDOR + +produces a beautiful pure and healthy complexion, eradicates freckles, +tan, prickly heat, sunburn, &c., and is most cooling and refreshing to +the face, hands, and arms during hot weather. + + +_Ask any Perfumery dealer for ROWLANDS' Articles, of 20, Hatton +Garden, London, and avoid spurious worthless imitations._ + + + + +MESSRS. JAY + + +_Have the honour to solicit a visit from the Beau Monde to inspect a +variety of Elegant Silk Costumes, Mantles, Artistic Millinery, Hats, +also Novelties in Dress, specially selected in Paris from the best +Artistes representing the Fashions of the Season._ + +243, 245, 247, 249, 251, & 253, Regent Street, W. + + + + +W. FAULKNER, + +LADIES' & GENTLEMEN'S HUNTING, SHOOTING, & WALKING BOOT MAKER, + +52, SOUTH MOLTON STREET, BOND STREET, W. + +_Manufacturer of the Celebrated Edinburgh Boot Varnish, Blacking, and +Waterproof Leather Dressing._ + +MILITARY BOOTS. + +The "Bective" Boots and Shoes to match Costumes. + +Improved Flexura Boots. + +Mountain Boots. + +Skating Boots. + +[Illustration: A Boot] + +Lawn Tennis Shoes. + +Oxford Shoes. + +Slippers to any style. + +LADIES' RIDING & HUNTING BOOTS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. + +_The Shape of the Feet taken and Lasts Modelled on the most approved, +anatomical principles, and kept exclusively for each customer._ + +W. FAULKNER begs most respectfully to call the attention of +Ladies and Gentlemen to the BOOT TREE Branch. Boot Trees assist to keep +the boots in proper shape, preventing them from wrinkling and shrinking +after they have been worn in the wet; they can be cleaned better, and +do not require so much blacking, thereby preventing the deleterious +effect produced by its frequent application. + +Lasts and Boot Trees of every description Manufactured on the Premises. + +Ladies residing in the Country can have Boots or Boot Trees sent their +exact size by forwarding an Old Boot by Post. + + + + +_To H.R.H. PRINCESS CHRISTIAN._ + +SYKES, JOSEPHINE, & CO. + +"CORSETS." + +280, REGENT STREET, LONDON, + +AND + +56A, OLD STEYNE, BRIGHTON. + +RIDING CORSETS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION MADE TO ORDER. + + MANUFACTORIES {RUE RAMBUTEAU, PARIS. + {GREAT CASTLE STREET, LONDON. + + + + +HOW TO RIDE AND SCHOOL A HORSE + +BY + +E. L. ANDERSON. + +_Crown 8vo. Price, 2s. 6d._ + + +"It requires the study of only a very few pages of this book to +convince the reader that the author thoroughly understands his +subject."--_Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News._ + +"Concise, practical directions for riding and training, by which +the pupil may become his own master."--_Land and Water._ + +"A useful and carefully-written volume."--_Sporting Times._ + +"It is sensible and practical."--_Whitehall Review._ + +"We cordially commend this book."--_Indian Daily News._ + +"The work is a good riding-master's book, with no superfluous words, +and with plain, straightforward directions throughout. The chapter +on 'The Walk and the Trot' seems to us especially practical and +good."--_Farmer._ + +"Goes straight to the core of the subject, and is throughout replete +with sound sense."--_Home News._ + +"Cannot fail to be of service to the young equestrian, while it +contains many hints that may be advantageously borne in mind by +experienced riders."--_Scotsman._ + +"Mr. Anderson gives good practical advice, and we commend the work +to the attention of our readers."--_Live Stock Journal._ + + +London: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 Waterloo Place. + + + + +THE ILLUSTRATED HORSE DOCTOR + +Being an Accurate and Detailed Account, accompanied by more than 400 +Pictorial Representations, characteristic of the various Diseases to +which the Equine Race are subjected; together with the latest Mode of +Treatment, and all the requisite Prescriptions written in Plain +English. + +By EDWARD MAYHEW, M.R.C.V.S. + +8_vo._, 18_s._ 6_d._ + +CONTENTS.--The Brain and Nervous System.--The Eyes.--The +Mouth.--The Nostrils.--The Throat.--The Chest and its contents.-- +The Stomach, Liver, &c.--The Abdomen.--The Urinary Organs.--The +Skin.--Specific Diseases.--Limbs.--The Feet.--Injuries.--Operations. + + "The book contains nearly 600 pages of valuable matter, which + reflects great credit on its author, and, owing to its practical + details, the result of deep scientific research, deserves a place + in the library of medical, veterinary, and non-professional + readers."--_Field._ + + "The book furnishes at once the bane and the antidote, as the + drawings show the horse not only suffering from every kind of + disease, but in the different stages of it, while the alphabetical + summary at the end gives the cause, symptoms and treatment of + each."--_Illustrated London News._ + + +ILLUSTRATED HORSE MANAGEMENT. + +Containing Descriptive Remarks upon Anatomy, Medicine, Shoeing, Teeth, +Food, Vices, Stables; likewise a plain account of the situation, +nature, and value of the various points; together with comments on +grooms, dealers, breeders, breakers, and trainers. Embellished with +more than 400 engravings from original designs made expressly for this +work. + +By E. MAYHEW. + +_A New Edition, Revised and Improved_, 8_vo._, 12_s._, + +By J. I. LUPTON, M.R.C.V.S. + +CONTENTS:--The body of the horse anatomically considered. _Physic._ +--The mode of administering it, and minor operations. _Shoeing._-- +Its origin, its uses, and its varieties. _The Teeth._--Their natural +growth, and the abuses to which they are liable. _Food._--The fittest +time for feeding, and the kind of food which the horse naturally +consumes. The evils which are occasioned by modern stables. The +faults inseparable from stables. The so-called "incapacitating +vices," which are the results of injury or of disease. Stables as +they should be. _Grooms._--Their prejudices, their injuries, and +their duties. _Points._--Their relative importance, and where to +look for their development. _Breeding._--Its inconsistencies and +its disappointments. _Breaking and Training._--Their errors and +their results. + + +LONDON: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. + + + + +SELECTION FROM + +W. H. Allen & Co.'s Catalogue. + + +SKETCHES FROM NIPAL. Historical and Descriptive, with Anecdotes of +Court Life and Wild Sports of the country in the Time of Maharaja +Jang Bahadur, G.C.B. With Illustrations of Religious Monuments, +Architecture, and Scenery, from the Author's own Drawings. By the late +HENRY AMBROSE OLDFIELD, M.D., many years Residency Surgeon at +Khatmandu, Nipal. 2 vols. 8vo., 36_s._ + + "The work is full of facts, intelligently observed and faithfully + recorded."--_Saturday Review._ + + "We have nothing but unqualified praise for the manner in which + Dr. Oldfield's manuscript has been edited and published by his + relatives. The sketches have just claims to rank very high amongst + the standard works on the Kingdoms of High + Asia."--_Spectator._ + +RECORDS OF SPORT AND MILITARY LIFE IN WESTERN INDIA. By the late +Lieutenant-Colonel G. T. FRASER, formerly of the 1st Bombay +Fusiliers, and more recently attached to the Staff of H.M.'s Indian +Army. With an Introduction by Colonel G. B. MALLESON, C.S.I. +Crown 8vo., 7_s._ 6_d._ + + "The style is free from humbug and affectation, and none of the + stories are incredible.... Some of the anecdotes about the early + life of Outram confirm the opinion of that gallant officer held by + his contemporaries."--_Saturday Review._ + + "Records his experience in a very simple and unaffected manner, and + he has stirring stories to tell."--_Spectator._ + +THIRTEEN YEARS AMONG THE WILD BEASTS OF INDIA; THEIR HAUNTS AND HABITS. +From Personal Observation; with an account of the Modes of Capturing +and Taming Wild Elephants. By G. P. SANDERSON, Officer in Charge of the +Government Elephant Keddahs at Mysore. With 21 full-page Illustrations +and Three Maps. Second Edition. Fcp. 4to. £1 5_s._ + + + + +LATCHFORD & WILLSON, + +11, UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, + +LONDON, W.C., + +By Appointment to HER MAJESTY, H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES, &c. &c. + +MAKERS + +OF ALL KINDS OF + +BRIDLE-BITS, STIRRUPS, & SPURS. + +ALL MODERN FASHIONS, ARMY REGULATIONS, &c. + +THE LORINER: Latchford on Bridle-bits and the Bitting of Horses. +Illustrated, 7s. + +PRIZE MEDAL, PARIS. + + +_Just Published, Price 2s. 6d._, + +A SYSTEM OF SCHOOL TRAINING FOR HORSES. + +By E. L. ANDERSON, + +AUTHOR OF "HOW TO RIDE AND SCHOOL A HORSE." + +"He is well worthy of a hearing."--_Bell's Life._ + +"There is no reason why the careful reader should not be able, by the +help of this little book, to train as well as ride his horse."--_Land +and Water._ + +"Each successive stage of the school system is carefully traced, and +anyone accustomed to the management of horses will therefore be able to +follow and appreciate the value of Mr. Anderson's kindly method of +training."--_Daily Chronicle._ + + +London: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 Waterloo Place. + + + + +HOUSE! STABLE! FIELD! + + +W. CLARK'S ELASTIC WATERPROOF POLISH, for Hunting, Shooting, and +Fishing Boots; also for Ladies' and Gentlemen's ordinary Walking Boots +and Shoes. + +W. CLARK'S BROWN BOOT-TOP FLUID, for restoring Brown Top-Boots to their +original colour; also a Cream for Polishing, making them equal to new. + +W. CLARK'S BREECHES PASTE, for softening and preserving Hunting +Breeches, Gloves, &c. + +W. CLARK'S BOOT-TOP POWDERS, of various colours, White, Pink, Rose +Pink, Straw, Salmon, Natural, Flesh, Cream, Drab, Melton Brown, three +colours of Brown, all of the newest description. + +W. CLARK'S LIQUID SHOE BLACKING, the best in the world for softening, +preserving, and superior brilliancy. + +W. CLARK'S WATERPROOF HARNESS BLACKING requires neither Oil nor Dye. + +W. CLARK'S Newly-invented PASTE, for Harness, Patent and Enamelled +Leathers. This preparation does not wash off, it renders the leather +soft, and produces a polish superior to any of its kind in existence. + +W. CLARK'S PLATE POWDER, for Cleansing and Restoring Plate, Brass, and +Metals of every description. + +W. CLARK'S SADDLE PASTE, for Softening, Preserving, and Beautifying +Saddles, Bridles, and every description of Brown Leather, &c. + +W. CLARK'S METROPOLITAN POLISH. This article is used for Ladies' and +Gentlemen's Patent, Enamel, Bronze Glace, Morocco, Kid Boots and Shoes, +producing a superior polish. + +W. CLARK'S PATENT KID REVIVER, for cleaning Black Kid Boots and Shoes, +making them equal to new, also for reviving all kinds of Black, Blue, +and Dark Silks, removes grease spots. + +W. CLARK'S NE PLUS ULTRA RAVEN JET FRENCH VARNISH, for Ladies' and +Gentlemen's Evening Dress and ordinary Walking Boots and Shoes, +producing a most brilliant polish, warranted not to crack or soil the +finest Cambric. + +W. CLARK'S BRASS PASTE produces a fine polish upon Brass, Copper, Tin, +Pewter, Britannia Metal, Coach Glasses, and Windows. + +W. CLARK'S WATERPROOF POUCH PASTE, for Pouches, Belts, Straps, +Knapsacks, Canteen Coverings, Boots, Leggings &c. + +W. CLARK'S EMBROCATION FOR HORSES AND CATTLE, gives immediate relief in +all cases of Lameness, Sore Throat, Influenza, and Rheumatism. + + +W. CLARK'S + +PATENT HORSE CLIPPERS. + +[Illustration: No. 1.] + +Has been before the Public for 12 years, giving the greatest +satisfaction, the cheapest and best in the market. + +[Illustration: No. 2] + +A one-handed Machine for Heads, Ears, Necks, Quarters, Stomachs, +Stifle, and all difficult parts; also extensively used in cutting the +human hair in hot climates, where it is required to be cut close. + + + + +SADDLERY, HARNESS, HORSE CLOTHING &c. + +Saddlers by Appointment. + +URCH & CO., + +(ESTABLISHED 1835,) + +84, LONG ACRE, LONDON, W.C. + +MANUFACTURERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF SADDLERY, HARNESS, &c. + +WHOLESALE AND RETAIL. + +_A LARGE ASSORTMENT ALWAYS KEPT IN STOCK._ + +URCH and CO.'S PATENT DOUBLE SPRING BAR for Releasing the Stirrup +Leather when thrown, can be seen at the above establishment "in working +order." + + + + +_By Appointment to H.M. THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND._ + +_By Appointment to H.M. THE QUEEN OF DENMARK._ + +REDFERN, + +LADIES' TAILORS, + +By Special Appointments + +_To H.R.H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES and H.I.H. THE EMPRESS OF +RUSSIA_, + +26, CONDUIT STREET, + +Bond Street, London, W. + + +SPECIALITIES-- + +RIDING HABITS, + +_From specially prepared Melton Cloths, &c._ + +JOHN REDFERN and SONS would particularly draw the +attention of Ladies to their Improvements in the cut of Riding Habit +Skirts, on the proper set of which depends the whole effect of the +Habit. These improvements, while maintaining a tight, well-fitting +appearance, give perfect comfort and safety to the rider. + + +DRIVING COATS, + +_From Waterproofed Box-Cloths, Faced Cloths, Tweeds, &c._ + +These, together with J. R. and Son's Improved Newmarket Coats, will be +found most useful for driving to meet and for constant wear. + + +Branch Businesses at Cowes, Isle of Wight, and 242, Rue de Rivoli +(Place de la Concorde), Paris. + + "The most noted Firm of Ladies' Tailors in the world, and, be it + said, the most original."--Extract from _Court Journal_. + + + + +_By Appointment to H.M. THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND._ + +_By Appointment to H.M. THE QUEEN OF DENMARK._ + +REDFERN, + +LADIES' TAILORS, + +By Special Appointments + +TO H.R.H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES AND H.I.H. THE EMPRESS OF +RUSSIA, + +26, CONDUIT STREET, + +BOND STREET, LONDON, W. + + +SPECIALITY-- + +YACHTING & TRAVELLING GOWNS. + +*** From original Colourings in Cloth and Serge, &c. + +_The Firm personally superintend every order, and a perfect fit is +guaranteed._ + +N.B.--On the occasion of the visit to England of H.S.H. the Princess +Helena of Waldeck, in March 1882, John Redfern and Sons had the honour +of making for Her Serene Highness. + +On the visit of H.I.M. the Empress Eugenie, accompanied by the late +Napoleon III., J. R. and Sons had a similar honour. + +On the visit of H.I.H. the Crown Princess of Germany, J. R. and Sons +had the honour of making for Her Imperial Highness and all the +Princesses. + +On the visit to the Queen of T.R.H. the Princesses of Hesse Darmstadt, +J. R. and Sons had the honour of making for their Royal Highnesses. + +On the visit to Her Majesty of the Daughters of H.R.H. the late +Princess Alice, J. R. and Sons had a similar honour. + + +Branch Businesses at Cowes, Isle of Wight, and 242, Rue de Rivoli +(Place de la Concorde), Paris. + + "The most noted Firm of Ladies' Tailors in the world, and, be it + said, the most original."--Extract from _Court Journal_. + + + + +LADIES' RIDING BOOTS. + +ESTABLISHED 1839. + +N. THIERRY, + +ESTABLISHED 1839. + +LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S + +BOOT & SHOE MANUFACTURER, + + LONDON, {70 QUADRANT, REGENT STREET, W., + {AND 48, GRESHAM STREET, E.C. + +MANCHESTER, 2, St. Ann's Sq.; LIVERPOOL, 5, Bold St. + +_Complete Illustrated Price Lists Post Free._ + +[Illustration: LADIES' RIDING BOOT, 50s., all Patent or with Morocco +Legs.] + +NO INFERIOR ARTICLES KEPT. ALL GOODS WARRANTED AND MARKED IN PLAIN +FIGURES. + +THE LARGEST STOCK OF BEST QUALITY GOODS IN ENGLAND ALWAYS READY. +26,000 PAIRS TO CHOOSE FROM. + +[Illustration: LADIES' NEWMARKET RIDING +BOOT, Cloth legs, 50s.] + +NOTE.--_To order, 2s. per pair extra for fitting and keeping special +lasts._ + +LADIES' SPURS, Silver Plate, Strap, & Buckle complete, 9s, 6d. + +_PRICE LIST of a few Leading Articles, Ladies' Department_:-- + +BOOTS. + + Button or Lace 17s. 0d. + Do. do. Hessians, from 19s. 6d. + Do. do. Cork Clumps 24s. 0d. + Do. High Glacé Louis XV. Heels 27s. 29s. + +SHOES. + + Oxford Tie, Morocco 14s. 0d. + Do. do. Glacé 16s. 0d. + Do. Richelieu, Louis XV. Heels 23s. 0d. + Patent Court Heels and Bows 8s. 6d. + Glacé Kid, Embroidered. 11s. 6d. + +A GREAT VARIETY of very Fashionable Ladies' Dress Shoes in +Glace Kid or Satin (various Colours), Embroidered Jet, Gold, +Steel, or Bijou. + +A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF CHILDREN'S BOOTS AND SHOES, + +AND EVERY VARIETY OF GENTS' RIDING, WALKING, & DRESS BOOTS & SHOES. + +Goods sent on approval on receipt of satisfactory references (a London +tradesman preferred), or cheque for the amount. An old boot or shoe +should be sent as a guide for size, paper patterns and other +measurements being of little use. Goods that do not suit will be +exchanged or the money returned. + +FIVE PER CENT. DISCOUNT FOR CASH. + +_PLEASE NOTE--70, REGENT STREET QUADRANT, as there is another house +of the same Surname in the street._ + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ladies on Horseback, by Nannie Lambert + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADIES ON HORSEBACK *** + +***** This file should be named 39501-8.txt or 39501-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/5/0/39501/ + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Ladies on Horseback + Learning, Park-Riding, and Hunting, with Hints upon Costume, + and Numerous Anecdotes + +Author: Nannie Lambert + +Release Date: April 21, 2012 [EBook #39501] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADIES ON HORSEBACK *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" width="243" height="400"></div> + +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="Photo of a woman in riding attire." width="296" height="400"></div> + +<div class="tn"> +<p> +Transcriber's Note: The 15 pages of advertisements preceding the title +page have been moved to the end of this book. +</p> +</div> + +<h1> +LADIES ON HORSEBACK. +</h1> + +<h2> +<small>LEARNING, PARK-RIDING, AND HUNTING, WITH HINTS UPON COSTUME,<br>AND +NUMEROUS ANECDOTES.</small> +</h2> + +<br> +<h3> +BY +</h3> + +<h2> +MRS. POWER O'DONOGHUE<br> +<small>(<span class="sc">Nannie Lambert</span>).</small> +</h2> + +<h3> +<small>AUTHORESS OF "THE KNAVE OF CLUBS,"<br>"HORSES AND HORSEMEN," +"GRANDFATHER'S HUNTER,"<br>"ONE IN TEN THOUSAND," "SPRING LEAVES,"<br> +"THOUGHTS ON THE TALMUD," ETC., ETC. +</small></h3> +<br> + +<h4> +LONDON:<br> +W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. +</h4> + +<h4> +1881. +</h4> + +<h5> +[<i>All rights reserved.</i>] +</h5> + +<h4> +LONDON:<br> +PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. +</h4> + +<hr class="med"> + +<p class="dedication"> + TO MY FRIEND<br> + <big>ALFRED E. T. WATSON, ESQ</big>.,<br> + AUTHOR OF "SKETCHES IN THE HUNTING FIELD," ETC.,<br> + TO WHOM I OWE<br> + MUCH OF MY SUCCESS AS A WRITER,<br> + THESE PAGES<br> + ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + +<p class="section"> +INTRODUCTION. +</p> + + +<p> +In preparing this work for the press, I may state that it is composed +chiefly of a series of papers on horses and their riders, which +appeared a short time since in the columns of <i>The Illustrated +Sporting and Dramatic News</i>. How they originally came to be written +and published may not prove uninteresting. +</p> + +<p> +One day, in the middle of February 1880, a goodly company, comprising +many thousands of persons, assembled upon the lawn of a nobleman's +residence in the vicinity of Dublin; ostensibly for the purpose of +hunting, but in reality to gaze at and chronicle the doings of a very +distinguished foreign lady, who had lately come to our shores. I was +there, of course; and whilst we waited for the Imperial party, I amused +myself by watching the moving panorama, and taking notes of costume and +effect. Everybody who could procure anything upon which to ride, from a +racehorse to a donkey, was there that day, and vehicles of all +descriptions blocked up every available inch of the lordly avenues and +well-kept carriage-drives. +</p> + +<p> +There is for me so great an attraction in a number of "ladies on +horseback" that I looked at them, and at them alone. One sees gentlemen +riders every hour in the day, but ladies comparatively seldom; every +hunting morning finds about a hundred and fifty mounted males ready for +the start, and only on an average about six mounted females, of whom +probably not more than the half will ride to hounds. This being the +case, I always look most particularly at that which is the greater +novelty, nor am I by any means singular in doing so. +</p> + +<p> +On the day of which I write, however, ladies on horseback were by no +means uncommon: I should say there were at least two hundred present +upon the lawn. Some rode so well, and were so beautifully turned out, +that the most hypercritical could find no fault; but of the +majority—what can I say? Alas! nothing that would sound at all +favourable. Such horses, such saddles, such rusty bridles, such +riding-habits, such hats, whips, and gloves; and, above all, such +<i>coiffures</i>! My very soul was sorry. I could not laugh, as some +others were doing. I felt too melancholy for mirth. It seemed to me +most grievous that my own sex (many of them so young and beautiful) +should be thus held up to ridicule. I asked myself was it thus in other +places; and I came to London in the spring, and walked in the Row, and +gazed, and took notes, and was not satisfied. Perhaps I was too +critical. There was very much to praise, certainly, but there was also +much wherewith to find fault. The style of riding was bad; the style of +dressing was incomparably worse. The well-got-up only threw into darker +shadow the notable defects visible in the forms and trappings of their +less fortunate sisterhood. I questioned myself as to how this could be +best remedied. Remonstrance was impossible—advice equally so. Why +could not somebody write a book for lady equestrians, or a series of +papers which might appear in the pages of some fashionable magazine or +journal, patronised and read by them? The idea seemed a good one, but I +lacked time to carry it out, and so it rested in embryo for many +months. Last June, whilst recovering from serious illness, my cherished +project returned to my mind. Forbidden to write, and too weak to hold a +pen, I strove feebly with a pencil to trace my thoughts upon odd scraps +of paper, which I thrust away in my desk without any definite idea as +to what should eventually become of them. In July, whilst staying at a +country house near Shrewsbury, I one day came upon these shorthand +jottings, and, having leisure-time upon my hands, set to work and put +them into form. A line to the Editor of <i>The Illustrated Sporting and +Dramatic News</i>, with whom, I may state, I had had no previous +acquaintance, brought an immediate reply, to send my work for +consideration. I did so; called upon him by appointment when I came a +few days later to London; made all arrangements in a three-minutes +interview; and the first of my series of papers appeared shortly after. +That they were successful, far beyond their deserts, is to me a proud +boast. On their conclusion numerous firms negotiated with me for the +copyright: with what result is known; and here to my publishers I +tender my best thanks. +</p> + +<p> +In arranging now these writings—put together and brought before the +public at a time when I had apparently many years of active life before +me—it is to me a melancholy reflection that the things of which they +treat are gone from my eyes,—for alas! I can ride no more. Never again +may my heart be gladdened with the music of the hounds, or my frame +invigorated by the exercise which I so dearly loved. An accident, +sudden and unexpected, has deprived me of my strength, and left me to +speak in mournful whispers of what was for long my happiest theme. Yet +why repine where so much is left? It is but another chapter in our +life's history! We love and cling to one pursuit—and it passes from +us; then another absorbs our attention,—it, too, vanishes; and so +on—perhaps midway to the end—until the "looking back" becomes so +filled with saddened memories, that the "looking forward" is alone +left. And so we turn our wistful eyes where they might never have been +directed, had the prospect behind us been less dark. +</p> + +<p> +A few more words, and I close my preliminary observations and commence +my subject. I cannot but be aware, from the nature of the +correspondence which has flowed in upon me, that although far the +greater number of my readers have agreed with me and entirely coincided +in my views, not a few have been found to cavil. Let not such think +that I am oblivious of their good intentions because I remain +unconvinced by their arguments, and still prefer to maintain my own +opinions, which I have not ventured to set forth without mature +deliberation, and the most substantial reasons for holding them in +fixity of tenure. I have spent some considerable time in turning over +in my mind the advisability, or otherwise, of publishing, as a sort of +appendix to this volume, a selection from the letters which were +printed in <i>The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News</i> with +reference to my writings in that journal. After much deliberation I +have decided upon suffering the entire number, with a few trifling +exceptions, to appear. They only form a very small proportion of the +voluminous correspondence with which the Editor and myself were +favoured; but, such as they are, I give them—together with my +replies,—not merely because they set forth the views and impressions +of various persons upon topics of universal interest, but because I +conceive that a large amount of useful information may be gleaned from +them, and they may also serve to amuse my lady readers, who will +doubtless be interested in the numerous queries which I was called upon +to answer. Whether or not I have been able to fight my battles and +maintain my cause, must be for others to determine. +</p> + +<p> +I likewise subjoin a little paper on "Hunting in Ireland"—also already +published—which brought me many letters: some of them from persons +whose word should carry undoubted weight, fully coinciding in and +substantiating my views with regard to the cutting up of grass-lands; +whilst further on will be found my article entitled "Hunting in +America," originally published in <i>Life</i>, and copied from that +journal into so many papers throughout the kingdom, and abroad, that it +is now universally known, and cannot be here presented in the form of a +novelty,—but is given for the benefit of those who may not have +chanced to meet with it, and for whom the subject of American sports +and pastimes may happen to possess interest. +</p> + +<p class="sig"> +N. P. O'D. +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="section"> +CONTENTS. +</p> + +<table summary="Contents"> +<tr> +<td class="part" colspan="2">PART I.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">LEARNING.</td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">A Popular Error.‌—‌Excellence in Riding attainable without any +Youthful Knowledge of the Art.‌—‌The Empress of Austria.‌—‌Her +Proficiency.‌—‌Her Palace.‌—‌Her Occupations.‌—‌Her Disposition.‌—‌Her +Thoughts and Opinions.‌—‌The Age at which to learn.‌—‌Courage +indispensable.‌—‌Taste a Necessity</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#I">1</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Learner's Costume.‌—‌The Best Teacher.‌—‌Your Bridle.‌—‌Your +Saddle.‌—‌Your Stirrup.‌—‌Danger from "Safety-stirrup."‌—‌A Terrible +Situation.‌—‌Learning to Ride without any support for the Foot</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#II">11</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Mounting.‌—‌Holding the Reins.‌—‌Position in the Saddle.‌—‌Use of +the Whip.‌—‌Trotting.‌—‌Cantering.‌—‌Riding from Balance.‌—‌Use of +the Stirrup. Leaping.‌—‌Whyte Melville's opinion</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#III">23</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="part" colspan="2">PART II.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">PARK AND ROAD RIDING.</td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">How to Dress.‌—‌A Country-girl's ideas upon the subject.‌—‌How +to put on your Riding-gear.‌—‌How to preserve it.‌—‌First +Road-ride.‌—‌Backing.‌—‌Rearing, and how to prevent it</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#IV">44</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Running away.‌—‌Three Dangerous Adventures.‌—‌How to act when +placed in Circumstances of Peril.‌—‌How to Ride a Puller.‌—‌ +Through the City.‌—‌To a Meet of Hounds.‌—‌Boastful Ladies.‌—‌A +Braggart's Resource</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#V">62</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="part" colspan="2">PART III.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">HUNTING.</td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Hunting-Gear.‌—‌Necessary Regard for Safe Shoeing.‌—‌Drive to the +Meet.‌—‌Scene on arriving.‌—‌A Word with the Huntsman.‌—‌A Good +Pilot.‌—‌The Covert-side.‌—‌Disappointment.‌—‌A Long Trot</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#VI">81</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Hounds in Covert.‌—‌The First Fence.‌—‌Follow your Pilot.‌—‌A +River-bath.‌—‌A Wise Precaution.‌—‌A Label advisable.‌—‌Wall and +Water Jumping.‌—‌Advice to Fallen Riders.‌—‌Hogging.‌—‌More Tail</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#VII">98</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Holding on to a Prostrate Horse.‌—‌Is it Wise or otherwise?‌—‌An +Indiscreet Jump.‌—‌A Difficult Finish.‌—‌The Dangers of Marshy +Grounds.‌—‌Encourage Humanity.‌—‌A Reclaimed Cabby!</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#VIII">111</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER IX.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Selfishness in the Field.‌—‌Fording a River.‌—‌Shirking a Fence. +‌—‌Over-riding the Hounds.‌—‌Treatment of Tired Hunters.‌—‌Bigwig +and the Major.‌—‌Naughty Bigwig.‌—‌Hapless Major</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#IX">120</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER X.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Feeding Horses.‌—‌Forage-biscuits.‌—‌Irish Peasantry.‌—‌A Cunning +Idiot.‌—‌A Cabin Supper.‌—‌The Roguish Mule.‌—‌A Day at Courtown. +‌—‌Paddy's Opinion of the Empress</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#X">131</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER XI.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">The Double-rise.‌—‌Pointing out the Right Foot.‌—‌The force of +Habit.‌—‌Various kinds of Fault-finding.‌—‌Mr. Sturgess' +Pictures.‌—‌An English Harvest-home.‌—‌A Jealous Shrew.‌—‌A Shy +Blacksmith.‌—‌How Irishmen get Partners at a Dance</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#XI">144</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2">CHAPTER XII.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">Subject of Feeding resumed.‌—‌Cooked Food recommended.‌—‌Effects of +Raw Oats upon "Pleader."‌—‌Servants' Objections.‌—‌Snaffle-bridle, +and Bit-and-Bridoon.‌—‌Kindness to the Poor.‌—‌An Unsympathetic +Lady.‌—‌An Ungallant Captain.‌—‌What is a Gentleman?‌—‌<i>Au +Revoir!</i></td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#XII">159</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="part" colspan="2">PART IV.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">HUNTING IN IRELAND</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#ireland">173</a></td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td class="part" colspan="2">PART V.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">HUNTING IN AMERICA</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#america">183</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="chpt" colspan="2"><hr class="short"></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="txt">CORRESPONDENCE</td> +<td class="pg"><a href="#correspondence">192</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<hr class="med"> + +<p class="section"> +<big>LADIES ON HORSEBACK.</big> +</p> + + + + +<p class="fm1"> +PART I. +</p> + +<p class="fm2"> +LEARNING. +</p> + + + + +<a name="I"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER I. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +A POPULAR ERROR.‌—‌EXCELLENCE IN RIDING ATTAINABLE WITHOUT ANY YOUTHFUL +KNOWLEDGE OF THE ART.‌—‌THE EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA.‌—‌HER PROFICIENCY.‌—‌HER +PALACE.‌—‌HER OCCUPATIONS.‌—‌HER DISPOSITION.‌—‌HER THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS. +‌—‌THE AGE AT WHICH TO LEARN.‌—‌COURAGE INDISPENSABLE.‌—‌TASTE A NECESSITY. +</p> + + +<p> +It is my belief that hints to ladies from a lady, upon a subject which +now so universally occupies the female mind—hints, not offered in any +cavilling nor carping spirit, but with an affectionate and sisterly +regard for the interests of those addressed—cannot fail to be +appreciated, and must become popular. Men write very well for men, but +in writing for us ladies they cannot, however willing, enter into all +the little delicacies and minutiæ of our tastes and feelings, and so +half the effect is lost. +</p> + +<p> +I do not purpose entering upon any discussion, nor, indeed, touching +more than very lightly upon the treatment and management of the horse. +A subject so exhaustive lies totally outside the limits of my pen, and +has, moreover, been so ably treated by men of knowledge and experience, +as to render one word further respecting the matter almost superfluous. +I shall therefore content myself with surmising that the horses with +which we may have to do throughout these remarks—be they +school-horses, roadsters, or hunters—are at least sound, +good-tempered, and properly trained. Their beauty and other attributes +we shall take for granted, and not trouble ourselves about. +</p> + +<p> +And now, in addressing my readers, I shall endeavour to do so as though +I spoke to each separately, and so shall adopt the term "you," as being +at once friendly and concise. +</p> + +<p> +My subject shall be divided into three heads. First the acquirement of +the equestrian art; second, road and park riding; third, hunting; with +a few hints upon the costume, &c. required for each, and a slight +sprinkling of anecdote here and there to enliven the whole. +</p> + +<p> +I shall commence by saying that it is a mistake to imagine that riding, +in order to be properly learnt, must be begun in youth: that nobody can +excel as a horsewoman who has not accustomed herself to the saddle from +a mere child. On the contrary some of the finest <i>équestriennes</i> +the world has ever produced have known little or nothing of the art +until the spring-time of their life was past. Her Imperial Majesty the +Empress of Austria, and likewise her sister the ex-Queen of Naples, +cared nothing about riding until comparatively late in life. I know +little, except through hearsay, of the last-named lady's proficiency in +the saddle, but having frequently witnessed that of the former, and +having also been favoured with a personal introduction at the gracious +request of the Empress, I can unhesitatingly say that anything more +superb than her style of riding it would be impossible to conceive. The +manner in which she mounts her horse, sits him, manages him, and bears +him safely through a difficult run, is something which must be seen to +be understood. Her courage is amazing. Indeed, I have been informed +that she finds as little difficulty in standing upon a bare-backed +steed and driving four others in long reins, as in sitting quietly in +one of Kreutzman's saddles. In the circus attached to her palace at +Vienna she almost daily performs these feats, and encourages by prizes +and evidences of personal favour many of the Viennese ladies who seek +to emulate her example. There has been considerable discussion +respecting the question of the Empress's womanliness, and the reverse. +Ladies have averred—oh, jealous ladies!—that she is <i>not</i> +womanly; that her style of dressing is objectionable, and that she has +"no business to ride without her husband!" These sayings are all open +to but one interpretation; ladies are ever envious of each other, more +especially of those who excel. The Empress is not only a perfect woman, +but an angel of light and goodness. Nor do I say this from any +toadyism, nor yet from the gratitude which I must feel for her kindly +favour toward myself. I speak as I think and believe. Blessed with a +beauty rarely given to mortal, she combines with it a sweetness of +character and disposition, a womanly tenderness, and a thoughtful and +untiring charity, which deserve to gain for her—as they have +gained—the hearts as well as the loving respect and reverence of all +with whom she has come in contact. +</p> + +<p> +I was pleased to find, whilst conversing with her, that many of my +views about riding were hers also, and that she considered it a +pity—as I likewise do—that so many lady riders are utterly spoilt by +pernicious and ignorant teaching. I myself am of opinion that childhood +is not the best time to acquire the art of riding. The muscles are too +young, and the back too weak. The spine is apt to grow crooked, unless +a second saddle be adopted, which enables the learner to sit on +alternate days upon the off-side of the horse; and to this there are +many objections. The best time to learn to ride is about the age of +sixteen. All the delicacy to which the female frame is subject during +the period from the thirteenth to the fifteenth year has then passed +away, and the form is vigorous and strong, and capable of enduring +fatigue. +</p> + +<p> +I know it to be a generally accepted idea that riding is like music and +literature—the earlier it is learnt the better for the learner, and +the more certain the proficiency desired to be attained. This is an +entirely erroneous opinion, and one which should be at once discarded. +I object, as a rule, to children riding. They cannot do so with any +safety, unless put upon horses and ponies which are sheep-like in their +demeanour; and from being accustomed to such, and to none other, they +are nervous and frightened when mounted upon spirited animals which +they feel they have not the strength nor the art to manage, and, being +unused to the science of controlling, they suffer themselves to be +controlled, and thus extinguish their chance of becoming accomplished +horsewomen. I know ladies, certainly, who ride with a great show of +boldness, and tear wildly across country after hounds, averring that +they never knew what fear meant: why should they—having ridden from +the time they were five years old? Very probably, but the bravery of +the few is nothing by which to judge of a system which is, on the +whole, pernicious. It is less objectionable for boys, because their +shoulders are not apt to grow awry by sitting sideways, as little +girls' do; nor are they liable to hang over upon one side; nor have +they such delicate frames and weakly fingers to bring to the front. +Moreover, if they tumble off, what matter? It does them all the good in +the world. A little sticking-plaister and shaking together, and they +are all right again. But I confess I <i>don't like</i> to see a girl +come off. Less than a year ago a sweet little blue-eyed damsel who was +prattling by my side as she rode her grey pony along with me, was +thrown suddenly and without warning upon the road. The animal +stumbled—her tiny hands lacked the strength to pull him together—she +was too childish and inexperienced to know the art of retaining her +seat. She fell! and the remembrance of uplifting her, and carrying her +little hurt form before me upon my saddle to her parents' house, is not +amongst the brightest of my memories. +</p> + +<p> +We will assume, then, that you are a young lady in your sixteenth year, +possessed of the desire to acquire the art of riding, and the necessary +amount of courage to enable you to do so. This latter attribute is an +absolute and positive necessity, for a coward will <i>never</i> make a +horsewoman. If you are a coward, your horse will soon find it out, and +will laugh at you; for horses can and do laugh when they what is +usually termed "gammon" their riders. Nobody who does not possess +unlimited confidence and a determination to know no fear, has any +business aspiring to the art. Courage is indispensable, and must be +there from the outset. All other difficulties may be got over, but a +natural timidity is an insurmountable obstacle. +</p> + +<p> +A cowardly rider labours under a two-fold disadvantage, for she not +only suffers from her own cowardice, but actually imparts it to her +horse. An animal's keen instinct tells him at once whether his master +or his servant is upon his back. The moment your hands touch the reins +the horse knows what your courage is, and usually acts accordingly. +</p> + +<p> +No girl should be taught to ride who has not a taste, and a most +decided one, for the art. Yet I preach this doctrine in vain; for, all +over the world, young persons are forced by injudicious guardians to +acquire various accomplishments for which they have no calling, and at +which they can never excel. It is just as unwise to compel a girl to +mount and manage a horse against her inclination, as it is to force +young persons who have no taste for music to sit for hours daily at a +piano, or thrust pencils and brushes into hands unwilling to use them. +A love for horses, and an earnest desire to acquire the art of riding, +are alike necessary to success. An unwilling learner will have a bad +seat, a bad method, and clumsy hands upon the reins; whereas an +enthusiast will seem to have an innate facility and power to conquer +difficulties, and will possess that magic sense of <i>touch</i>, and +facile delicacy of manipulation, which go so far toward making what are +termed "good hands,"—a necessity without which nobody can claim to be +a rider. +</p> + + + + +<a name="II"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER II. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +LEARNER'S COSTUME.‌—‌THE BEST TEACHER.‌—‌YOUR BRIDLE.‌—‌YOUR SADDLE.‌—‌ +YOUR STIRRUP.‌—‌DANGER FROM "SAFETY-STIRRUP."‌—‌A TERRIBLE SITUATION. +‌—‌LEARNING TO RIDE WITHOUT ANY SUPPORT FOR THE FOOT. +</p> + + +<p> +Having now discussed your age, your nerve, and your taste, we shall say +a few words about your costume as a learner. Put on a pair of strong +well-made boots; heels are not objectionable, but buttons are decidedly +so, as they are apt to catch in the stirrup and cause trouble. Strong +chamois riding-trousers, cloth from the hip down, with straps to fasten +under the boots, and soft padding under the right knee and over the +left, to prevent the friction of the pommels, which, to a beginner, +generally causes much pain and uneasiness. A plain skirt of brown +holland, and any sort of dark jacket, will suit your purpose quite +well, for you are only going to learn; not to show off—yet. Your +hat—any kind will do—must be securely fastened on, and your hair left +flowing, for no matter how well you may fancy you have it fastened, the +motion of the horse will shake it and make it feel unsteady, and the +very first hairpin that drops out, up will go your hand to replace it, +and your reins will be forgotten. As soon as you have put on a pair of +strong loose gloves, and taken a little switch in your hand, you are +ready to mount. +</p> + +<p> +The nicest place in which you can learn is a well-tanned riding-school +or large green paddock, and the nicest person to teach you is a lady or +gentleman friend, who will have the knowledge and the patience to +instruct you. Heaven help the learner who is handed over to the tender +mercies of John, the coachman, or Jem, the groom! Servants are rarely +able to ride a yard themselves, and their attempt at teaching is +proportionately lame. Your horse having been led out, your attendant +looks to his girthing, &c., as stable servants are not always too +particular respecting these necessary matters. +</p> + +<p> +The pleasantest bridle in which to ride is a plain ring-snaffle. Few +horses will go in it; but, remember, I am surmising that yours has been +properly trained. By riding in this bridle you have complete control +over the movements of your horse—can, in fact, manage him with one +hand, and you have the additional advantage of having fewer leathers to +encumber and embarrass your fingers. A beginner is frequently puzzled +to distinguish between the curb and the snaffle when riding with a +double rein, and mistaking one for the other, or pulling equally at +both, is apt to cause the horse much unnecessary irritation. It is +lamentable to see the manner in which grown men and women, who ought to +know so much better, tug and strain at their horses' mouths with an +equal pull upon both reins, when riding, as is the custom, in a bit and +bridoon. Perhaps of the two they draw the curb the tighter. It is not +meant for cruelty—they do not appear to be aware that it <i>is</i> +cruel: but there is no greater sign of utter ignorance. Horses are not +naturally vicious, and very few of them who have had any sort of +fair-play in training, really require a curb, or will go as well or +pleasantly upon it as if ridden in a snaffle-bridle. +</p> + +<p> +Your saddle is another most important point. Never commence, be your +age ever so tender, by riding upon a pad. Accustom yourself from the +beginning to the use of a properly constructed saddle, made as straight +as a board, seat perfectly level, and scarcely any appearance of a +pommel upon the off-side. A leaping-head, or what is commonly termed a +third crutch, is, in my opinion, indispensable. To procure a saddle +such as I describe you must have it made to order, for those of the +present day are all made with something of a dip, which is most +objectionable. I do not like the appearance of much stitching about a +saddle. It has always appeared to me absurd to see the amount of +elaborate embroidery which every old-fashioned saddle carries upon the +near flap. Nothing could be more unnecessary than an outlay of labour +upon a portion of the article which is always concealed beneath the +rider's right leg. There might be some sense, although very little, in +decorating the off-side and imparting to it something of an ornamental +appearance; but in my opinion there cannot be too much simplicity about +everything connected with riding appointments. A plainness, amounting +even to severity, is to be preferred before any outward show. Ribbons, +and coloured veils, and yellow gloves, and showy flowers are alike +objectionable. A gaudy "get up" (to make use of an expressive +common-place) is highly to be condemned, and at once stamps the wearer +as a person of inferior taste. Therefore avoid it. Let your saddle be, +like your personal attire, remarkable only for its perfect freedom from +ornament or display. Have it made to suit yourself—neither too +weighty, nor yet too small—and if you want to ride with grace and +comfort, desire that it be constructed without one particle of the +objectionable dip. There is a very old-established and world-noted firm +in Piccadilly—Peat & Co.—where you can obtain an article such as I +describe, properly made, and of durable materials, at quite a moderate +cost. I can say, speaking from experience, that no trouble will be +spared to afford you satisfaction, and that the workmanship will be not +only lasting, but characterised by that neatness for which I am so +strong an advocate. You should ride <i>on</i> your saddle, not +<i>in</i> it, and you must learn to ride from balance or you will never +excel, and this you can only do by the use of the level seat. A small +pocket on the off-side, and a neat cross strap to support a waterproof, +are of course necessary items. +</p> + +<p> +Your stirrup is the next important matter. I strongly disapprove of the +old-fashioned slipper, as also of the so-called "safety" stirrup, which +is, in my opinion, the fruitful source of many accidents. Half the +lamentable mischances with which our ears are from time to time +shocked, are due to the pertinacity with which ladies will cling to +this murderous safety stirrup. So long as they will persist in doing +so, casualties must be looked for and must occur. The padding over the +instep causes the foot to become firmly imbedded, and in the event of +an accident the consequences are dire, for the mechanism of the stirrup +is almost invariably stiff or out of order, or otherwise refuses to +act. Mr. Oldacre was, I believe, the inventor of the padded stirrup, +and for this we owe him or his memory little thanks, although the +gratitude of all lady riders is undoubtedly due to him for his +admirable invention and patenting of the third crutch, without which +our seat in the saddle would be far less comfortable and less secure. +</p> + +<p> +I dare say that I shall have a large section of aggrieved +stirrup-makers coming down upon me with the phials of their wrath for +giving publicity to this opinion, but in writing as I have done I +merely state my own views, which I deem we are all at liberty to do; +and looking upon my readers as friends, I warn them against an article +of which I myself have had woful experience. I once purchased a safety +stirrup at one of the best houses, and made by one of the best makers. +The shopman showed it off to me in gallant style, expatiating upon its +many excellencies, and adroitly managing the stiff machinery with his +deft fingers, until I was fairly deceived, and gave him a handful of +money for what subsequently proved a cause of trouble. I lost more than +one good run with hounds through the breaking of this dearly-bought +stirrup, having upon one occasion to ride quite a long distance away +from the hunt to seek out a forge at which I might undergo repairs. Nor +was this the worst, for one day, having incautiously plunged into a bog +in my anxiety to be in at the death, my horse got stuck and began to +sink, and of course I sought to release myself from him at once; but +no, my foot was locked fast in that terrible stirrup, and I could not +stir. My position was dreadful, for I had outridden my pilot, my +struggling steed was momentarily sinking lower, and the shades of +evening were fast closing in. I shudder to think what might have been +my fate and that of my gallant horse had not the fox happily turned and +led the hunt back along the skirts of the bog, thus enabling my cries +for help to be heard by one or two brave spirits who came gallantly to +my rescue. I have more than once since then been caught in a +treacherous bog when following the chase, but never have I found any +difficulty in jumping from my horse's back and helping him to struggle +gamely on to the dry land, for I have never since ridden in a +safety-stirrup, nor shall I ever be likely to do so again. It may be +said, and probably with truth, that my servant had neglected to clean +it properly from day to day, and that consequently the spring had got +rusted and refused to act. Such may possibly have been the case, but +might not the same thing occur to anyone, or at any time? Servants are +the same all over the world, and yet you must either trust to them or +spend half your time overlooking them in the stable and harness-room, +which for a lady is neither agreeable nor correct. +</p> + +<p> +There is nothing so pleasant to ride in as a plain little +racing-stirrup, from which the foot is in an instant freed. I have not +for a long while back used anything else myself, nor has my foot ever +remained caught, even in the most dangerous falls. +</p> + +<p> +I conceive it to be an admirable plan to learn to ride without a +stirrup at all. Of course I do not mean by this that a lady should +<i>ever</i> go out park-riding or hunting <i>sans</i> the aid of such +an appendage, but she should be taught the necessity of dispensing with +it in case of emergency. The benefits arising from such training are +manifold. First, it imparts a freedom and independence which cannot +otherwise be acquired; secondly, it gives an admirable and sure seat +over fences; thirdly, it is an excellent means of learning how to ride +from balance; and fourthly, in spite of its apparent difficulties, it +is in the end a mighty simplifier, inasmuch as, when the use of the +stirrup is again permitted, all seems such marvellously plain sailing, +that every obstacle appears to vanish from the learner's path. In +short, a lady who can ride fairly well without a support for her foot, +must, when such is added, be indeed an accomplished horsewoman. I knew +a lady who never made use of a stirrup throughout the whole course of +an unusually long life, and who rode most brilliantly to hounds. Few, +however, could do this, nor is it by any means advisable, but to be +able occasionally to dispense with the support is doubtless of decided +benefit. +</p> + +<p> +I have often found my training in this respect stand me in good stead, +for it has more than once happened that in jumping a stiff fence, or +struggling in a heavy fall, my stirrup-leather has given way, and I +have had not alone to finish the run without it, but to ride many miles +of a journey homeward. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing could be more wearisome to an untutored horsewoman than a long +ride without a stirrup. The weight of her suspended limb becomes after +a moment or two most inconvenient and even painful, whilst the trot of +the horse occasions her to bump continuously in the saddle,—for the +power of rising without artificial aid would appear a sheer impossibility +to an ordinary rider whose teaching had been entrusted to an ordinary +teacher. I would have you then bear in mind that although I advocate +<i>practising</i> without the assistance of a stirrup, I am totally +against your setting out beyond the limits of your own lawn or paddock +without this necessary support. +</p> + + + + +<a name="III"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER III. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +MOUNTING.‌—‌HOLDING THE REINS.‌—‌POSITION IN THE SADDLE.‌—‌USE OF THE +WHIP.‌—‌TROTTING.‌—‌CANTERING.‌—‌RIDING FROM BALANCE.‌—‌USE OF THE STIRRUP. +‌—‌LEAPING.‌—‌WHYTE MELVILLE'S OPINION. +</p> + + +<p> +Having now seen that your bridle, saddle, and stirrup are in proper +order, you prepare to mount, and this will probably take you some time +and practice to accomplish gracefully, being quite an art in itself. +Nothing is more atrocious than to see a lady require a chair to mount +her animal, or hang midway against the side of the saddle when her +cavalier gives her the helping hand. Lay your right hand firmly upon +the pommel of your saddle, and the left upon the shoulder of your +attendant, in whose hand you place your left foot. Have ready some +signal sentence, as "Make ready, go!" or "one, two, three!" Immediately +upon pronouncing the last syllable make your spring, and if your +attendant does his duty properly you will find yourself seated deftly +upon your saddle. +</p> + +<p> +As I have already stated, this requires practice, and you must not be +disappointed if a week or so of failure ensues between trial and +success. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as you are firmly seated, take your rein (which, as I have +said, should be a single one) and adjust it thus. Place the near side +under the little finger of your left hand, and the off one between your +first and second fingers, bringing both in front toward the right hand, +and holding them securely in their place with the pressure of your +thumb. This is merely a hint as to the simplest method for a beginner +to adopt, for there is really no fixed rule for holding reins, nor must +you at all times hold them in one hand only, but frequently—and always +when hunting—put both hands firmly to your bridle. Anything stiff or +stereotyped is to be avoided. A good rider, such as we hope you will +soon become, will change her reins about, and move her position upon +the saddle, so as to be able to watch the surrounding scenery—always +moving gracefully, and without any abrupt or spasmodic jerkings, which +are just as objectionable as the poker-like rigidity which I wish you +to avoid. How common it is to see ladies on horseback sitting as though +they were afraid to budge a hair, with pinioned elbows and +straightly-staring eyes. This is most objectionable; in fact, nothing +can be more unsightly. A graceful, easy seat, is a good horsewoman's +chief characteristic. She is not afraid of tumbling off, and so she +does not look as though she were so; moreover, she has been properly +taught in the commencement, and all such defects have been rectified by +a careful supervision. +</p> + +<p> +With regard to your whip, it must be held point downwards, and if you +have occasion to touch your horse, give it to him down the shoulder, +but always with temperance and kindly judgment. I once had a +riding-master who desired me to hold my whip balanced in three fingers +of my right hand, point upwards, the hand itself being absurdly bowed +and the little finger stuck straight out like a wooden projection. My +natural good sense induced me to rebel against anything so completely +ridiculous, and I quietly asked my teacher why I was to carry my whip +in that particular position. His answer was—"Oh, that you may have it +ready <i>to strike your horse on the neck</i>." Shades of Diana! this +is the way our daughters are taught in schools, and we marvel that they +show so little for the heaps of money which we hopefully expend upon +them. +</p> + +<p> +Being then fairly seated upon your saddle, your skirt drawn down and +arranged by your attendant, your reins in your hand and your whip +arranged, you must proceed to walk your horse quietly around the +enclosure, having first gently drawn your bridle through his mouth. You +will feel very strange at first: much as though you were on the back of +a dromedary and were completely at his mercy. Sit perfectly straight +and erect, but without stiffness. Be careful not to hang over upon +either side, and, above all things, avoid the pernicious habit of +clutching nervously with the right hand at the off pommel to save +yourself from some imaginary danger. So much does this unsightly habit +grow upon beginners, that, unless checked, it will follow them through +life. I know grown women who ride every day, and the very moment their +horse breaks into a canter or a trot they lay a grim grip upon the +pommel, and hold firmly on to it until the animal again lapses into a +walk. And this they do unconsciously. The habit, given way to in +childhood, has grown so much into second nature that to tell them of it +would amaze them. I once ventured to offer a gentle remonstrance upon +the subject to a lady with whom I was extremely intimate, and she was +not only astonished, but so displeased with me for noticing it, that +she was never quite the same to me afterwards; and so salutary was the +lesson which I then received that I have since gone upon the principle +of complete non-interference, and if I saw my fellow +<i>équestriennes</i> riding gravely upon their horses' heads I would +not suggest the rationality of transferring their weight to the saddle. +And this theory is a good one, or at least a wise one; for humanity is +so inordinately conceited that it will never take a hint kindly, unless +asked for; and not always even then. +</p> + +<p> +To sit erect upon your saddle is a point of great importance; if you +acquire a habit of stooping it will grow upon you, and it is not only a +great disfigurement, but not unfrequently a cause of serious accident, +for if your horse suddenly throws up his head, he hits you upon the +nose, and deprives you of more blood than you may be able to replace in +a good while. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as you can feel yourself quite at home upon your mount, and +have become accustomed to its walking motion, your attendant will urge +him into a gentle trot. And now prepare yourself for the beginning of +sorrows. Your first sensation will be that of being shaken to pieces. +You are, of course, yet quite ignorant of the art of rising in your +saddle, and the trot of the horse fairly churns you. Your hat shakes, +your hair flaps, your elbows bang to your sides, you are altogether +miserable. Still, you hold on bravely, though you are ready to cry from +the horrors of the situation. +</p> + +<p> +Your attendant, by way of relieving you, changes the trot to a canter, +and then you are suddenly transported to Elysium. The motion is +heavenly. You have nothing to do but sit close to your saddle, and you +are borne delightfully along. It is too ecstatic to last. Alas! it will +never teach you to ride, and so you return to the trot and the shaking +and the jogging, the horrors of which are worse than anything you have +ever previously experienced. You try vainly to give yourself some ease, +but fail utterly, and at length dismount—hot, tired, and disheartened. +</p> + +<p> +But against this latter you must resolutely fight. Remember that +nothing can be learned without trouble, and by-and-by you will be +repaid. It is not everybody who has the gift of perseverance, and it is +an invaluable attribute. It is a fact frequently commented upon, not +alone by me but by many others also, that if you go for the hiring of a +horse to any London livery-stable you will be sent a good-looking beast +enough, but he will not be able to trot a yard. Canter, canter, is all +that he can do. And why? He is kept for the express purpose of carrying +young ladies in the Row, and these young ladies have never learnt to +trot. They can dress themselves as vanity suggests in fashionably-cut +habits, suffer themselves to be lifted to the saddle, and sit there, +looking elegant and pretty, whilst their horse canters gaily down the +long ride; but were the animal to break into a trot (which he is far +too well tutored to attempt to do), they would soon present the same +shaken, dilapidated, dishevelled, and utterly miserable appearance +which you yourself do after your first experience of the difficulties +which a learner has to encounter. +</p> + +<p> +The art of rising in the saddle is said to have been invented by one +Dan Seffert, a very famous steeplechase jockey, who had, I believe, +been a riding-master in the days of his youth. If this be true—which +there is no reason to doubt—we have certainly to thank him, for it is +a vast improvement upon the jog-trot adopted by the cavalry, which, +however well it may suit them and impart uniformity of motion to their +"line-riding," is not by any means suited to a lady, either for +appearances or for purposes of health. +</p> + +<p> +You come up for your next day's lesson in a very solemn mood. You are, +in fact, considerably sobered. You had thought it was all plain +sailing: it <i>looked</i> so easy. You had seen hundreds of persons +riding, trotting, and even setting off to hunt, and had never dreamed +that there had been any trouble in learning. Now you know the +difficulties and what is before you. +</p> + +<p> +You recall your sufferings during your first days upon the ice, or on +the rink. How utterly impossible it seemed that you could ever excel; +how you tumbled about; how miserably helpless you felt, and how many +heavy falls you got! Yet you conquered in the end, and so you will +again. +</p> + +<p> +You take courage and mount your steed. First you walk him a little, as +yesterday; and then the jolting begins again. How are you ever to get +into that rise and fall which you have seen with others, and so much +covet? How are you to accomplish it? Only by doing as I tell you, and +persevering in it. As your horse throws out his near foreleg press your +foot upon your stirrup, in time to lift yourself slightly as his off +foreleg is next thrown out. Watch the motion of his legs, press your +foot, and at the same time slightly lift yourself from your saddle. For +a long while, many days perhaps, it will seem to be all wrong; you have +not got into it one bit; you are just as far from it apparently as when +you commenced. You are hot and vexed, and you, perhaps, cry with +mortification and disappointment, as I have seen many a young beginner +do; bitterly worried and disheartened you are, and ready to give up, +when, lo! quite suddenly, as though it had come to you by magic and not +through your own steady perseverance, you find yourself rising and +falling <i>with</i> the trot of the horse, and your labours are +rewarded. +</p> + +<p> +After this your lessons are a source of delight. You no longer come +from them flushed and worried, but joyous and exultant and impatient +for the next. You have begun to feel quite brave, and to throw out +hints that you are longing for a good ride on the road. You now know +how to make your horse trot and canter; the first by a light touch of +your whip and a gentle movement of your bridle through his mouth; the +second by a slight bearing of the rein upon the near side of his mouth, +so as to make him go off upon the right leg, and a little warning touch +of your heel. You fancy, in fact, that you are quite a horsewoman, and +have already rolled up your hair into a neat knot, and hinted to papa +that you should greatly like a habit. But, alas! you have plenty of +trouble yet before you, plenty to learn, plenty of falls to get and to +bear. At present you can ride fairly well on the straight; but you know +nothing of keeping your balance in time of danger. Your horse is very +quiet, but if he chanced to put back his ears you would be off. +</p> + +<p> +You are taught to maintain your balance in the following way:— +</p> + +<p> +Your attendant waits until your horse is cantering pretty briskly in a +circle from left to right, when he suddenly cracks his whip close to +the animal's heels, who immediately swerves and turns the other way. +You have had no warning of the movement, and consequently you tumble +off, and are put up again, feeling a little shaken and a good deal +crestfallen. Most likely you will fall again and again, until you have +thoroughly mastered the art of riding from balance. +</p> + +<p> +This is a method I have seen adopted, especially in schools, with +considerable success, but it is certainly attended with inconvenience +to the learner, and with a goodly portion of the risk from falls which +all who ride <i>must</i> of necessity run. To ride well from balance is +not a thing which can be accomplished in a day, nor a month, nor +perhaps a year. Many pass a life-time without practically comprehending +the meaning of the term. They ride every day, hold on to the bridle, +guide their horses, and trust to chance for the rest; but this is not +true horsemanship. It could no more be called <i>riding</i> than could +a piece of mechanical pianoforte-playing be termed music. When you +have, after much difficulty and delay, mastered the obstacles which +marred your progress, you will then have the happy consciousness of +feeling that however your horse may shy or swerve, or otherwise depart +from his good manners, you can sit him with the ease and closeness of a +young centaur. +</p> + +<p> +This art of riding from balance is not half sufficiently known. It is +one most difficult to acquire, but the study is worth the labour. +Nine-tenths of the lady equestrians, and perhaps even a greater number +of gentlemen, ride from the horse's head; a detestable practice which +cannot be too highly condemned. I must also warn you against placing +too much stress upon the stirrup when your horse is trotting. You must +bear in mind that the stirrup is intended for a support for the +foot—not to be ridden from. By placing your right leg firmly around +the up-pommel, and pressing the left knee against the leaping-head, you +can accomplish the rise in your saddle with slight assistance from the +stirrup; and this is the proper way to ride. The lazy, careless habit +into which many women fall, of resting the entire weight of the body +upon the stirrup, not only frequently causes the leathers to snap at +most inconvenient times, but is the lamentable cause of half the sore +backs and ugly galls from which poor horses suffer so severely. +</p> + +<p> +Having at length perfected yourself in walking, trotting, cantering, +and riding from balance, you have only to acquire the art of +leaping—and then you will be finished, so far as teaching can make you +so. Experience must do the rest. +</p> + +<p> +It is a good thing, when learning, to mount as many different horses as +you possibly can; always, of course, taking care that they are +sufficiently trained not to endeavour to master you. Horses vary +immensely in their action and gait of going: so much so, that if you do +not accustom yourself to a variety you will take your ideas from one +alone, and will, when put upon a strange animal, find yourself +completely at sea. +</p> + +<p> +Do not suffer anything to induce you to take your first leap over a bar +or pole similar to those used in schools. The horse sees the daylight +under it, knows well that it is a sham, goes at it unwillingly, does +not half rise to it, drops his heels when in the air, and knocks it +down with a crash,—only to do the same thing a second time, and a +third, and a fourth also, if urged to do that which he despises. +</p> + +<p> +Choose a nice little hurdle about two feet high, well interwoven with +gorse; trot your horse gently up to it, and let him see what it is; +then, turn him back and send him at it, sitting close glued to your +saddle, with a firm but gentle grip of your reins, and your hands held +low. To throw up the hands is a habit with all beginners, and should at +once be checked. Fifty to one you will stick on all right, and, if you +come off, why it's many a good man's case, and you must regard it as +one of the chances of war. +</p> + +<p> +The next day you may have the gorse raised another half-foot above the +hurdle, and so on by degrees, until you can sit with ease over a jump +of five feet. Always bear in mind to keep your hands quite down upon +your horse's withers, and never interfere with his mouth. Sit well +back, leave him his head, and he will not make a mistake. Of course, I +am again surmising that he has been properly trained, and that you +alone are the novice. To put a learner upon an untrained animal would +be a piece of folly, not to say of wickedness, of which we hope nobody +in this age of enlightenment would dream of being guilty. In jumping a +fence or hurdle do not leave your reins quite slack; hold them lightly +but firmly, as your horse should jump against his bridle, but do not +pull him. A gentle support is alone necessary. +</p> + +<p> +That absurd and vulgar theory about "lifting a horse at his fences," so +freely affected by the ignorant youth of the present day, cannot be too +strongly deprecated. That same "lifting" has broken more horses' +shoulders and more <i>asses'</i> necks than anything else on record. A +good hunter with a bad rider upon his back will actually shake his head +free on coming up to a fence. He knows that he cannot do what is +expected of him if his mouth is to be chucked and worried, any more +than you or I could under similar circumstances, and so he asserts his +liberty. How often, in a steeplechase, one horse early deprived of his +rider will voluntarily go the whole course and jump every obstacle in +perfect safety, even with the reins dangling about his legs, yet never +make a mistake; whilst a score or so of compeers will be tumbling at +every fence. And why? The answer is plain and simple. The free horse +has his head, and his instinct tells him where to put his feet; whereas +the animals with riders upon their backs are dragged and pulled and +sawn at, until irritation deprives them of sense and sight, and, +rushing wildly at their fences (probably getting another tug at the +moment of rising), they fall, and so extinguish their chance of a win. +</p> + +<p> +I do not, of course, in saying this, mean for a moment to question the +judgment and horsemanship of very many excellent jockeys, whose ability +is beyond comment and their riding without reproach. I speak of the +rule, not of the few exceptions. +</p> + +<p> +Half the horses who fall in the hunting-field are thrown down by their +riders; this is a fact too obvious to be contradicted. Men over-riding +their horses, treating them with needless cruelty, riding them when +already beaten: these are the fruitful causes of falls in the field, +together with that most objectionable practice of striving to "lift" +an animal who knows his duties far better than the man upon his back. +It is a pity, and my heart has often bled to see how the noblest of +God's created things is ill-treated and abused by the human brute who +styles himself the master. It is, indeed, a disgrace to our humanity +that this priceless creature, given to a man with a mind highly +wrought, sensitive, yearning for kindness, and capable of appreciating +each word and look of the being whose willing slave it is, should be +treated with cruelty, and in too many cases regarded but as a sort of +machine to do the master's bidding. Who has not seen, and mourned to +see, the tired, patient horse, spurred and dragged at by a remorseless +rider, struggling gamely forward in the hunting-field, with bleeding +mouth and heaving, bloody flanks, to enable a cruel task-master to see +the end of a second run, and even of a third, after having carried him +gallantly through a long and intricate first? It is a piece of +inhumanity which all humane riders see and deplore every day +throughout the hunting season. We cannot stop it, but we can speak +against it and write it down, and discountenance it in every possible +way, as we are all bound to do. Why will not men be brought to see +that in abusing their horses they are compassing their own loss? that +in taxing the powers of a beaten animal they are riding for a fall, +and are consequently endangering the life which God has given them? +</p> + +<p> +There is much to be learnt in the art of fencing besides hurdle-leaping. +A good timber-jumper will often take a ditch or drain in a very +indifferent manner. I have seen a horse jump a five-barred gate in +magnificent style, yet fall short into a comparatively narrow ditch; +and <i>vice versâ</i>; therefore, various kinds of jumps must be kept +up, persevered in, and kept constantly in practice. Two things must +always be preserved in view; never sit loosely in your saddle, and +always ride well from balance, never from your horse's head. In taking +an up jump leave him abundance of head-room, and sit <i>well</i> back, +lest in his effort he knock you in the face. If the jump is a down +one—what is known as an "ugly drop"—follow the same rules; but, when +your horse is landing, give him good support from the bridle, as, +should the ground be at all soft or marshy, he might be apt to peck, +and so give you an ugly fall. +</p> + +<p> +It is a disputed point whether or not horses like jumping. I am +inclined to coincide in poor Whyte-Melville's opinion that they do not. +He was a good authority upon most subjects connected with equine +matters, and so he ought to know; but of one thing I am positively +certain: they abhor schooling. However a horse may tolerate or even +enjoy a good fast scurry with hounds, there can be no doubt that he +greatly dislikes being brought to his fences in cold blood. He has not, +when schooling, the impetus which sends him along, nor the example or +excitement to be met with in the hunting-field. The horse is naturally +a timid animal, and this is why he so frequently stops short at his +fences when schooling. He mistrusts his own powers. When running with +hounds he is borne along by speed and by excitement, and so goes skying +over obstacles which appal him when trotted quietly to them on a +schooling day. It is just the difference which an actor feels between a +chilling rehearsal and the night performance, when the theatre is +crowded and the clapping of hands and the shouting of approving voices +lend life and spirit to the part he plays. +</p> + +<p> +You will probably get more falls whilst schooling than ever you will +get in the hunting-field, but a few weeks' steady practice over good +artificial fences or a nice natural country, will give you a firm seat +and an amount of confidence which will stand to you as friends. +</p> + + + + +<p class="fm1"> +PART II. +</p> + +<p class="fm2"> +PARK AND ROAD RIDING. +</p> + + + + +<a name="IV"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER IV. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +HOW TO DRESS.‌—‌A COUNTRY-GIRL'S IDEAS UPON THE SUBJECT.‌—‌HOW TO PUT +ON YOUR RIDING-GEAR.‌—‌HOW TO PRESERVE IT.‌—‌FIRST ROAD-RIDE.‌—‌BACKING. +‌—‌REARING, AND HOW TO PREVENT IT. +</p> + + +<p> +Having now mastered the art of riding, you will of course be desirous +of appearing in the parks and on the public roadways, and exhibiting +the prowess which it has cost you so much to gain. +</p> + +<p> +For your outfit you will require, in addition to the articles already +in your possession, a nice well-made habit of dark cloth. If you are a +very young girl, grey will be the most suitable; if not, dark blue. If +you live in London, pay a visit to Mayfair, and get Mr. Wolmershausen +to make it for you; if in Dublin, Mr. Scott, of Sackville Street, will +do equally well; indeed, for any sort of riding-gear, ladies' or +gentlemen's, he is not to be excelled. If you are not within easy +distance of a city, go to the best tailor you can, and give him +directions, which he must not be above taking. Skirt to reach six +inches below the foot, well shaped for the knee, and neatly shotted at +end of hem just below the right foot; elastic band upon inner side, to +catch the left toe, and to retain the skirt in its place. It should be +made tight and spare, without <i>one inch</i> of superfluous cloth; +jacket close-fitting, but sufficiently easy to avoid even the suspicion +of being squeezed; sleeves perfectly tight, except at the setting on, +where a slight puffiness over the shoulder should give the appearance +of increased width of chest. No braiding nor ornamentation of any sort +to appear. A small neat linen collar, upright shape, with cuffs to +correspond, should be worn with the habit, no frilling nor fancy work +being admissible—the collar to be fastened with a plain gold or silver +stud. +</p> + +<p> +The nicest hat to ride in is an ordinary silk one, much lower than they +are usually made, and generally requiring to be manufactured purposely +to fit and suit the head. Of course, if you are a young girl, the melon +shape will not be unsuitable, but the other is more in keeping, more +becoming, and vastly more economical in the end, although few can be +induced to believe this. It is the custom in many households to +purchase articles for their cheapness, without any regard to quality or +durability, and this you should endeavour to avoid. Speaking from +experience, the best things are always the cheapest. I pay from a +guinea to a guinea and a half for a good silk hat, and find that it +wears out four felt ones of the quality usually sold at ten and +sixpence. There is no London house at which you can procure better +articles or better value than at Lincoln, Bennett, & Co., Sackville +Street, Piccadilly. For nearly half a century they have been the +possessors of an admirable contrivance, which should be seen to be +appreciated, by which not alone is the size of the head ascertained, +but its precise shape is definitely marked and suited, thus avoiding +all possibility of that distressing pressure upon the temples, which is +a fruitful source of headache and discomfort to so many riders. Hats +made at this firm require no elastics—if it be considered desirable to +dispense with such—as the fit is guaranteed. Never wear a veil on +horseback, except it be a black one, and nothing with a border looks +well. A plain band of spotted net, just reaching below the nostrils, +and gathered away into a neat knot behind, is the most +<i>distingué</i>. Do not wear anything sufficiently long to cover the +mouth, or it will cause you inconvenience on wet and frosty days. For +dusty roads a black gauze veil will be found useful, but avoid, as you +would poison, every temptation to wear even the faintest scrap of +colour on horseback. All such atrocities as blue and green veils have +happily long since vanished, but, even still, a red bow, a gaudy flower +stuck in the button-hole, and, oh, horror of horrors! a pocket +handkerchief appearing at an opening in the bosom, looking like a +miniature fomentation—these still occasionally shock the eyes of +sensitive persons, and cause us to marvel at the wearer's bad taste. +</p> + +<p> +I was once asked to take a young lady with me for a ride in the park, +to witness a field-day, or polo match, or something or another of +especial interest which happened to be going forward. I would generally +prefer being asked to face a battery of Zulus rather than act as +<i>chaperone</i> to young lady <i>équestriennes</i>, who are usually +ignorant of riding, and insufferably badly turned out. However, upon +this occasion I could not refuse. The lady's parents were kind, amiable +country folks, who had invested a portion of their wealth in sending +their daughter up to town to get lessons from a fashionable +riding-master, and to ride out with whomsoever might be induced to take +her. +</p> + +<p> +Well, the young lady's horse was the first arrival: a hired hack—usual +style; bones protruding—knees well over—rusty bridle—greasy +reins—dirty girths—and dilapidated saddle, indifferently polished up +for the occasion. +</p> + +<p> +The young lady herself came next, stepping daintily out of a cab, as +though she were quite mistress of the situation. Ye gods! What a get +up! I was positively electrified. Her habit—certainly well made—was +of bright blue cloth, with worked frills at the throat and wrists. She +wore a brilliant knot of scarlet ribbon at her neck, and a huge bouquet +in her button-hole. Her hat was a silk one, set right on the back of +her head, with a velvet rosettte and steel buckle in front, and a long +veil of grey gauze streaming out behind. When we add orange gloves, and +a riding-whip with a gaudy tassel appended to it, you have the details +of a costume at once singular and unique. +</p> + +<p> +I did not at first know whether to get a sudden attack of the measles +or the toothache, and send her out with my groom to escort her, but +discarding the thought as ill-natured, I compromised matters by +bringing her to my own room, and effecting alterations in her toilet +which soon gave her a more civilised appearance. I set the hat straight +upon her head, and bound it securely in its place, removed from it the +gauze and buckle, and tied on one of my own plain black veils of simple +spotted net. I could not do away with the frillings, for they were +stitched on as though they were never meant to come off; but the red +bow I replaced with a silver arrow, threw away the flowers, removed the +whip-tassel, and substituted a pair of my own gloves for the cherished +orange kid. Then we set out. +</p> + +<p> +I wanted to go a quiet way to the park, so as to avoid the streets of +the town, but she would not have it. Nothing would do that girl but to +go bang through the most crowded parts of the city, the hired hack +sliding over the asphalte, and the rider (all unconscious of her +danger) bowing delightedly to her acquaintances as she passed along. +Poor girl! that first day out of the riding-school was a gala day for +her. +</p> + +<p> +The nicest gloves for riding are pale cream leather, worked thickly on +the backs with black. A few pairs of these will keep you going, for +they clean beautifully. A plain riding-whip <i>without</i> a tassel, +and a second habit of dark holland if you live in the country, will +complete your necessary outfit. +</p> + +<p> +I shall now give you a few hints as to the best method of putting on +your riding gear, and of preserving the same after rain or hard +weather. Your habit-maker will, of course, put large hooks around the +waist of your bodice, and eyes of corresponding size attached to the +skirt, so that both may be kept in their place, but if you have been +obliged to entrust your cloth to a country practitioner, who has +neglected these minor necessaries, be sure you look to them yourself, +or you will some day find that the opening of your skirt is right at +your back, and that the place shaped out for your knee has twisted +round until it hangs in unsightly crookedness in front of the buttons +of your bodice. +</p> + +<p> +Let it be a rule with you to avoid using any pins. Put two or three +neat stitches in the back of your collar, so as to affix it to your +jacket, having first measured to see that the ends shall meet exactly +evenly in front, where you will fasten them neatly with a stud. The +ordinary system of placing one pin at the back of the collar and one at +either end is much to be deprecated. Frequently one of these pins +becomes undone, and then the discomfort is incalculable, especially if, +as often occurs, you are out for a long day, and nobody happens to be +able to accommodate you with another. +</p> + +<p> +Pinning cuffs is also a reprehensible habit, for the reason just +stated. Two or three little stitches where they will not show, upon the +inner side of the sleeve, will hold the cuff securely in its place and +prevent it turning round or slipping up or down, any of which will be +calculated to cause discomfort to the rider. +</p> + +<p> +It is not a bad method, either, to stitch a small button at the back of +the neck of the jacket, upon the inner side, upon which the collar can +be secured, fastening the cuffs in the same manner to buttons attached +to the inner portion of each sleeve. In short, anything in the shape of +a device which will check the unseemly habit of using a multiplicity of +pins, may be regarded as a welcome innovation, and at once adopted. +</p> + +<p> +It is a good plan, when you undress from your ride, to ascertain +whether your collar and cuffs are sufficiently clean to serve you +another day, and if they are not, replace them at once by fresh ones; +for it may happen that when you go to attire yourself for your next +ride, you may he too hurried to look after what should always be a +positive necessity, namely, perfectly spotless linen. +</p> + +<p> +There is a material, invented in America and as yet but little known +amongst us here, which is invaluable to all who ride. It is called +Celluloid, and from it collars, cuffs, and shirt-fronts are +manufactured which resemble the finest and whitest linen, yet which +never spot, never crush, never become limp, and never require washing, +save as one would wash a china saucer, in a basin of clear water, using +a fine soft towel for the drying process. I do not know the nature of +the composition, but I can certainly bear testimony to its worth, and +being inexpensive as well as convenient, it cannot fail, when known, to +become highly popular. +</p> + +<p> +The adjusting of your hat is another important item. Stitch a piece of +black elastic (the single-cord round kind is the best) from one +side—the inner one of course—to the other, of just sufficient length +to catch well beneath your hair. This elastic you can stretch over the +leaf of your hat at the back, and then, when the hat is on and nicely +adjusted to your taste in front, you have only to put back your hand +and bring the band of elastic deftly under your hair. The hat will then +be immovable, and the elastic will not show. In fastening your veil, a +short steel pin with a round black head is the best. The steel slips +easily through the leaf of the hat, and the head, being glossy and +large, is easily found without groping or delay, whenever you may +desire to divest yourself of it. +</p> + +<p> +I shall now tell you how to proceed with the various items of your +toilet on coming home, after being overtaken by stress of weather. No +matter how wealthy you may be, or how many servants you may be entitled +to keep, always look after these things yourself. +</p> + +<p> +Hang the skirt of your habit upon a clothes-horse, with a stick placed +across inside to extend it fully. Leave it until thoroughly dry, and +then brush carefully. The bodice must be hung in a cool dry place, but +never placed near the fire, or the cloth will shrink, and probably +discolour. +</p> + +<p> +Dip your veil into clear cold water, give it one or two gentle squeezes, +shake it out, and hang it on a line, spreading it neatly with your +fingers, so that it may take no fold in the drying. +</p> + +<p> +Your hat comes next. Dip a fine small Turkey sponge, kept for the +purpose and freed from sand, into a basin of lukewarm water, and draw +it carefully around the hat. Repeat the process, going over every +portion of it, until crown, leaf, and all are thoroughly cleansed; then +hang in a cool, airy place to dry. In the morning take a soft brush, +which use gently over the entire surface, and you will have a perfectly +new hat. No matter how shabby may have been your headpiece, it will be +quite restored, and will look all the better for its washing. This is +one of the chief advantages of silk hats. Do not omit to brush after +the washing and drying process, or your hat will have that unsightly +appearance of having been ironed, which is so frequently seen in the +hunting-field, because gentlemen who are valeted on returning from +their sport care nothing about the management of their gear, but leave +it all to the valet, who gives the hat the necessary washing, but is +too lazy or too careless to brush it next day, and his master takes it +from his hand and puts it on without ever noticing its unsightliness. +Sometimes it is the master himself whose clumsy handiwork is to blame; +but be it master or servant, the result is too often the same. +</p> + +<p> +Should your gloves be thoroughly, or even slightly wetted, stretch them +upon a pair of wooden hands kept for the purpose, and if they are the +kind which I have recommended to you—I mean the best quality of +double-stitched cream leather—they will be little the worse. +</p> + +<p> +Having now, I think, exhausted the subject of your clothing, and given +you all the friendly hints in my power, I am ready to accompany you +upon your first road ride. +</p> + +<p> +Go out with every confidence, accompanied of course by a companion or +attendant, and make up your mind never to be caught napping, but to be +ever on the alert. You must not lose sight of the fact that a bird +flitting suddenly across, a donkey's head laid without warning against +a gate, a goat's horns appearing over a wall, or even a piece of paper +blown along upon the ground, may cause your horse to shy, and if you +are not sitting close at the time, woe betide you! Always remember the +rule of the road, keep to your left-hand side, and if you have to pass +a vehicle going your way, do so on the right of it. Never neglect this +axiom, no matter how lonely and deserted the highway may appear, for +recollect that if you fail to comply with it, and that any accident +chances to occur, you will get all the blame, and receive no +compensation. +</p> + +<p> +Never trot your horse upon a hard road when you have a bit of grass at +the side on which you can canter him. Even if there are only a few +blades it will be sufficient to take the jar off his feet. +</p> + +<p> +If you meet with a hill or high bridge, trot him up and walk him +quietly down the other side. If going down a steep decline, sit well +back and leave him his head, at the same time keeping a watchful hand +upon the rein for fear he should chance to make a false step, that you +may be able to pull him up; but do not hold him tightly in, as many +timid riders are apt to do, thus hobbling his movements and preventing +him seeing where he is to put his feet. If he has to clamber a steep +hill with you, leave him unlimited head-room, for it is a great ease to +a horse to be able to stretch his neck, instead of being held tightly +in by nervous hands, which is frequently the occasion of his stumbling. +</p> + +<p> +Should your horse show temper and attempt to back with you, leave him +the rein, touch him lightly with your heel, and speak encouragingly to +him; should he persist, your attendant must look to the matter; but a +horse who possesses this dangerous vice should never be ridden by a +lady. I have surmised that yours has been properly trained, and +doubtless you might ride for the greater portion of a lifetime without +having to encounter a decided jibber, but it is as well to be prepared +for all emergencies. Should a horse at any time rear with you, throw +the rein loose, sit close, and bring your whip sharply across his +flank. If this is not effectual, you may give him the butt-end of it +between the ears, which will be pretty sure to bring him down. This is +a point, however, upon which I write with considerable reserve, for +many really excellent riders find fault with the theory set forth and +adopted by me. One old sportsman in particular shows practically how +seriously he objects to it by suffering himself to be tumbled back upon +almost daily by a vicious animal, in preference to adopting coercive +measures for his own safety. +</p> + +<p> +My reasons for striking a rearing horse are set forth with tolerable +clearness in one of the letters which form an appendix to this volume; +but, although I do it myself, I do not undertake the responsibility of +advising others to do likewise, especially if a nervous timidity form a +portion of their nature. I am strongly of opinion, however, that +decisive measures are at times an absolute necessity, and that the most +effectual remedy for an evil is invariably the best to adopt. I have +heard it said by two very eminent horsemen that to break a bottle of +water between the ears of a rearing animal is an excellent and +effectual cure. Perhaps it may be—and, on such authority, we must +suppose that it is—but I should not care to be the one to try it, +although I consider no preventive measure too strong to adopt when +dealing with so dangerous a vice. A horse may be guilty of jibbing, +bolting, kicking, or almost any other fault, through nervousness or +timidity, but rearing is a vicious trick, and must be treated with +prompt determination. It would be useless to speak encouragingly to a +rearer; he is vexing you from vice, not from nervousness, and so he +needs no reassurance—do not waste words upon him, but bring him to his +senses with promptitude, or whilst you are dallying he may tumble back +upon you, and put remonstrance out of your power for some time to come, +if not for ever. In striking him, if you do so, do not indulge in the +belief that you are safe because he drops quickly upon his fore-legs, +but on the contrary, be fully prepared for the kick or buck which will +be pretty sure to follow, and which (unless watched for) will be likely +to unseat even a most skilful rider. Both rearing and plunging may, +however, be effectually prevented by using the circular bit and +martingale, procurable at Messrs. Davis, saddlers, 14, Strand, London. +This admirable contrivance should be fitted above the mouthpiece of an +ordinary snaffle or Pelham bridle. It is infinitely before any other +which I have seen used for the same purpose, has quite a separate +headstall, and should be put on and arranged before the addition of the +customary bridle. Being secured to the breastplate by a standing +martingale, it requires no reins. +</p> + + + + +<a name="V"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER V. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +RUNNING AWAY.‌—‌THREE DANGEROUS ADVENTURES.‌—‌HOW TO ACT WHEN PLACED +IN CIRCUMSTANCES OF PERIL.‌—‌HOW TO RIDE A PULLER.‌—‌THROUGH THE +CITY.‌—‌TO A MEET OF HOUNDS.‌—‌BOASTFUL LADIES.‌—‌A BRAGGART'S RESOURCE. +</p> + + +<p> +In the event of a horse running away, you must of course be guided by +circumstances and surroundings, but my advice always is, if you have a +fair road before you, let him go. Do not attempt to hold him in, for +the support which you afford him with the bridle only helps the +mischief. Leave his head quite loose, and when you feel him beginning +to tire—which he will soon do without the support of the rein—flog +him until he is ready to stand still. I warrant that a horse treated +thus, especially if you can breast him up hill, will rarely run away a +second time. He never forgets his punishment, nor seeks to put himself +in for a repetition of it. +</p> + +<p> +I have been run away with three times in my life, but never a second +time by the same horse. It may amuse you to hear how I escaped upon +each occasion. +</p> + +<p> +The first time, I was riding a beautiful little thoroughbred mare, +which a dear lady friend—now, alas! dead—had asked me to try for her. +The mare had been a flat-racer, and, having broken down in one of her +trials, had been purchased at a cheap rate, being still possessed of +beauty and a considerable turn of speed. +</p> + +<p> +Well, we got on splendidly together for an hour or so on the fifteen +acres, Phœnix Park, but, when returning homewards, some boys who +were playing close by struck her with a ball on the leg. In a second +she was off like the wind, tearing down the long road which leads from +the Phœnix to the gates. She had the bit between her teeth, and held +it like a vice. My only fear was lest she should lose her footing and +fall, for the roadway was covered from edge to edge with new shingle. +On she went in her mad career, amidst the shrieks of thousands, for the +day was Easter Monday, and the park was crowded. Soldiers, civilians, +lines of policemen strove to form a barrier for her arrest. In vain! +She knocked down some, fled past others, and continued her headlong +course. +</p> + +<p> +All this time I was sitting as if glued to my saddle. At the mare's +first starting I had endeavoured to pull her up, but finding that this +was hopeless, I left the rein loose upon her neck. Having then no +support for her head, she soon tired, and the instant I felt her speed +relaxing I took up my whip and punished her within an inch of her life. +I <i>made</i> her go when she wanted to stop, and only suffered her to +pull up just within the gates, where she stood covered with foam and +trembling in every limb. +</p> + +<p> +Her owner subsequently told me that during the three years which she +afterwards kept her she never rode so biddable a mare. +</p> + +<p> +I must not forget to mention the comic side of the adventure as well as +the more serious. It struck me as being particularly ludicrous upon +that memorable occasion that an old gentleman, crimson with wrath, +actually attacked my servant in the most irate manner because he had +not clattered after me during the progress of the mare's wild career. +"How dare you, sir," cried this irascible old gentleman, "how dare you +attempt to neglect your young lady in this cowardly manner?" Nor was +his anger at all appeased when informed that I as a matron was my own +care-taker, and that my attendant had strict injunctions <i>not</i> to +follow me in the event of my horse being startled or running away. +</p> + +<p> +My next adventure was much more serious, and occurred also within the +gates of the Phœnix Park. +</p> + +<p> +Some troops were going through a variety of manœuvres preparing for +a field-day, and a knot of them had been posted behind and around a +large tree with fixed bayonets in their hands. Suddenly they got the +order to move, and at the same instant the sun shone out and glinted +brilliantly upon the glittering steel. I was riding a horse which had +lately been given me; a fine, raking chestnut, with a temper of his own +to manage. He turned like a shot, and sped away at untold speed. I had +no open space before me; therefore I durst not let him go. It was an +enclosed portion of the park, thickly studded with knots of trees, and +I knew that if he bore me through one of these my earthly career would +most probably be ended. I strove with all the strength and all the art +which I possessed to pull him up. It was of no use. I might as well +have been pulling at an oak-tree; it only made him go the faster. +</p> + +<p> +Happily my presence of mind remained. I saw at once that my only chance +was to breast him against the rails of the cricket-ground, and for +these I made straight, prepared for the shock and for the turn over +which I knew must inevitably follow. He dashed up to the rails, and +when within a couple of inches of them he swerved with an awful +suddenness, which, only that I was accustomed to ride from balance, +must have at once unseated me, and darted away at greater speed than +ever. Right before me was a tree, one heavy bough of which hung very +low—and straight for this he made, nor could I turn his course. I knew +my fate, and bent on a level with my saddle, but not low enough, for +the branch caught me in the forehead and sent me reeling senseless to +the ground. +</p> + +<p> +I soon got over the shock, although my arm (which was badly torn by a +projecting branch) gave me some trouble after; but the bough was cut +down the next day by order of the Lord Lieutenant, and the park-rangers +still point out the spot as the place where "the lady was nearly +killed." +</p> + +<p> +My third runaway was a hunting adventure, and occurred only a few +months since. +</p> + +<p> +I had a letter one morning from an old friend, informing me that a +drag-hunt was to take place about thirty miles from Dublin to finish +the season with the county harriers, and that he, my friend, wished +very much that I would come down in my habit by the mid-day train and +ride a big bay horse of his, respecting which he was desirous of +obtaining my opinion. I never take long to make up my mind, so, after a +glance at my tablets, which showed me that I was free for the day, I +donned my habit, and caught the specified train. +</p> + +<p> +At the station at the end of my journey I found the big bay saddled and +awaiting me, and having mounted him I set off for the kennels, from a +field near which the drag was to be run. I took the huntsman for a +pilot, knowing that the servant, who was my attendant, was rather a +duffer at the chase. +</p> + +<p> +The instant that the hounds were laid on and the hunt started, my big +mount commenced to pull hard, and by the time the first fence was +reached his superior strength had completely mastered mine. He was +pulling like a steam-engine, head down, ears laid backward, neck set +like iron. My blistered hands were powerless to hold him. He rushed +wildly at the fence, and striking the horse of a lady who was just +landing over it, turned him and his rider a complete somersault! I +subsequently learned that the lady escaped unhurt, but I could not at +the moment pause to inquire, for my huge mount, clearing the jump and +ten feet beyond it, completely took head, and bore me away from the +field +</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>Over park, over pale,</p> +<p>Through bush, through briar,</p></div></div> + +<p> +until my head fairly reeled, and I felt that some terrible calamity +must ensue. +</p> + +<p> +Happily he was a glorious fencer, or I must have perished, for he +jumped every obstacle with a rush; staked fences, wide ditches—so wide +that he landed over them on his belly—tangled gorse, and branches of +rivers swollen by recent rains; he flew them all. At length, when my +strength was quite exhausted and my dizzy brain utterly powerless and +confused, I beheld before me a stone wall, a high one, with heavy +coping-stones upon the top. At this I resolved to breast him, and run +my chance for life or death in the turn over, which, from the pace at +which we were approaching it, I knew must be a mighty one. In a moment +we were up to it and, with a cry to heaven for mercy, I dug him with my +spur and sent him at it. To my utter astonishment, for the wall was six +and a half feet high, he put down his head, rushed at it, cleared it +without ever laying a shoe upon the topmost stones, and landed with a +frightful slip and clatter, but still safely on his feet—where? in the +midst of a farm-yard. +</p> + +<p> +Were it not that this adventure actually occurred to myself, I should +be strongly tempted to question its authenticity. That there are +horses—especially Irish ones—quite capable of compassing such a jump, +there cannot be the slightest doubt; but I have never before or since +seen one who could do it without being steadied as he approached the +obstacle. In the ordinary course of events a runaway steed would strike +it with his head and turn over,—which was what I expected and +desired—but no such thing occurred, and to the latest hour of my life +it must remain a mystery to me that upon the momentous occasion in +question neither horse nor rider was injured, nor did any accident +ensue. Nothing more disastrous than a considerable disturbance in the +farm-yard actually occurred; but it was indeed a mighty one. +</p> + +<p> +Such a commotion amongst fowls was surely never witnessed; the ducks +quacked, the turkeys screeched, the hens ran hither and thither; two +pigs, eating from a trough close by, set up a most terrific squalling, +dogs barked, and two or three women, who were spreading clothes upon a +line, added to the general confusion by flinging down the garments +with which they had been busy and taking to their heels, shrieking +vociferously. In the meantime the big bay, perceiving that he had run +to the end of his tether, stood snorting and foaming, looking hither +and thither in helpless amazement and dismay; whilst I, relieved at +length of my anxiety, burst first into tears, and then into shouts of +hearty laughter, as I fully took in the absurdity of the situation. +</p> + +<p> +After a considerable delay one of the women was induced to come forward +and listen to a recital of my adventure; and the others, being assured +that "the baste" would not actually devour them, came near me also, and +we held an amicable council as to the possibility of my ever getting +out, for the gates were locked, and the owner of the property was away +at a fair in the neighbouring town and had the key stowed away in his +pocket. To jump the wall again was impracticable. No horse that ever +was foaled could do it in cool blood; nor was I willing to risk the +experiment, even if my steed made no objection. +</p> + +<p> +At length we decided upon the only plan. I dismounted, and, taking the +rein over my arm, led my mighty hunter across the yard, induced him to +stoop his head to enter by a back door through a passage in the +farmhouse, and from thence through the kitchen and front door, out on +to the road. I have a cheerful recollection of an old woman, who was +knitting in the chimney-corner, going off into screams and hysterics as +I and my big steed walked in upon her solitude, a loose shoe and a very +audible blowing making the entrance of my equine companion even more +<i>prononcé</i> than it would otherwise have been. The poor old +creature flung down her needles, together with the cat which had been +quietly reposing in her lap, and kicking up her feet yelled and +bellowed at the top of a very discordant voice. It took the combined +efforts of all four women to pacify her, and she was still shrieking +long after I had mounted the big bay and ridden him back to inform his +owner of how charmingly he had behaved. +</p> + +<p> +I have now told you three anecdotes, partly for your amusement and +partly for your instruction; but I would not have you think that it +would be at all times and under all circumstances a wise thing to ride +a runaway horse against so formidable an obstacle as a stone wall. Mine +was, I hope, an exceptional case. When the animal was led down to meet +me at the station, I saw, not without misgiving, that I was destined to +ride in a so-called "safety-stirrup," and at the time when he took head +with me my foot was fixed as in a vice in this dangerous and horrible +trap, from which I could not succeed in releasing it. Feeling that my +brain was whirling, and that I could not longer maintain my seat in the +saddle, I rode for an overthrow, which I deemed infinitely better than +being dragged by the foot over an intricate country, and most probably +having my brains scattered by a pair of crashing heels. If a horse +should at any time run away with you, keep your seat whilst you +<i>can</i> do so, and whilst you have anything of a fair road before +you; but if there is any danger of your being thrown or losing your +seat whilst your foot is caught, then by all means ride for a fall; put +your horse at something that will bring him down, and when he <i>is</i> +down struggle on to his head, that he may not rise until somebody has +come to your assistance. Of course the experiment is fraught with +excessive danger, but it is not <i>certain</i> death, as the other +alternative must undoubtedly be. I cannot, however, wish you better +than to hope most fervently that you may never be placed in a position +which would necessitate your making a choice between two such mighty +evils. Avoid riding strange horses. No matter how accomplished a +horsewoman you may become, do not be too ready to comply with the +request to try this or that unknown mount. I have done it myself, +often, and probably shall again;<a href="#note1" name="noteref1"> +<small>[1]</small></a> but my experience prompts me to +warn others against a practice which is frequently fraught with danger +to a lady. A horse knows quite well when a strange or timid rider gets +upon his back, and if he does not kill you outright, he will probably +make such a "hare" of you as will not be at all agreeable, either for +yourself or for the lookers-on. +</p> + +<p> +Whenever you take a young horse upon grass, whether he be a stranger to +you or otherwise, be prepared for a certain show of friskiness which he +does not usually exhibit upon the road. The soft springy turf beneath +his feet imbues him with feelings of hilarity which he finds himself +powerless to resist, and so you, his rider, must prepare for his little +vagaries. He will, most probably, in the first place try a succession +of bucks, and for these you must prepare by sitting very close to your +saddle, your knee well pressed against the leaping-head, and your +figure erect, but not thrown back, as the shock, or shocks to your +spine would in such a case be not only painful but positively +dangerous, and should therefore be carefully avoided. He will next be +likely to romp away, pulling you much harder than is at all agreeable, +and seemingly inclined to take head with you altogether. As a remedy +against this you must neither yield to him nor pull against him. I have +heard fairly good riders advocate by turns both systems of management, +especially the former; indeed, the expression, "Drop your hands to +him," has become so general amongst teachers of the equestrian art, +that it has almost passed into a proverb. I do not advocate it, nor do +I deem it advisable ever to pull against a pulling horse. When an +animal tries to forereach you, you should neither give up to him nor +yet pull one ounce against him. Close your fingers firmly upon the +reins and keep your arms perfectly motionless, your hands well down, +without giving or taking one quarter of an inch. In a stride or two he +will be sure to yield to your hand, at which moment you should +immediately yield to him, and his wondrous powers of intelligence will +soon enable him to discern that you are not to be trifled with. Were +you to give up to him when he rushes away or romps with his head he +would very soon be going all abroad, and would give you a vast amount +of trouble to pull him into proper form. Above all things, keep clear +of trees, of which I myself have an unbounded dread. Should you have +occasion to ride through a city, give your eyes and attention to your +horse, and not to passing acquaintances, for in the present dangerous +tangle of tramlines, slippery pavements, and ill-driven vehicles, it +will require all your energies to bring you safely through. Never trot +your horse through a town or city: walk him quietly through such +portion of it as you have to pass, and leave him abundant head-room, +that his intelligence may pick out a way for his own steps. +</p> + +<p> +A very nice ride for a lady is to a meet of the hounds, if such should +occur within reasonable distance, say from four to eight miles. The +sight is a very pretty one, and there is not any reason why you should +not thoroughly enjoy it; but having only ridden to see the meet, you +must be careful not to interfere with, nor get in the way of those +about to ride the run. Nothing is more charming than to see three or +four ladies, nicely turned out, arrive to grace the meet with their +presence, but nothing is more abominable than the same number of +amazons coming galloping up in full hunting toggery, although without +the least idea of hunting, and rushing hither and thither, frightening +the hounds and getting in everybody's way, as though they were +personages of the vastest possible importance, and meant to ride with a +skill not second to that of the Nazares. Such women are the horror and +spoliation of every hunting-field. They dash off with the hounds the +moment the fox is found, but happily the first fence stops them, and a +fervent thankfulness is felt by every true lover of the chase as they +pause discomfited, look dismally at the yawning chasm, and jog +crestfallen away to the road. +</p> + +<p> +There are many ladies, and estimable ladies, too, who take out their +horses every hunting-day, and by keeping upon the roadways see all that +they can of the hounds. Sometimes they are fortunate, sometimes not; it +depends upon the line of country taken. Their position is, in my +opinion, a most miserable one; yet they must derive enjoyment from it, +else why do they come? They surely cannot imagine that they are +participating in the hunt; yet it affords them amusement to keep +pottering about, and enables them to make their little harmless boast +to credulous friends of their "hunting days," and the "runs" they have +seen throughout the season. Indeed, so far does this passion for +boasting carry the fair sex, that I myself know two young ladies who +never saw a hound in their lives, except from the inside of a shabby +waggonette, yet who brag in so audacious a manner that they have been +heard to declare to gentlemen at evening dances, "Really we cawn't +dawnce; we are so tired! Out all day with the Wards—and had <i>such a +clipping run</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +This sort of thing only makes us smile when we hear it amongst ladies, +but when men resort to it we become inspired with sufficient contempt +to feel a longing desire to offer them severer chastisement than our +derision. +</p> + +<p> +I once asked a little mannikin, who had given himself the name and airs +of a great rider, if he would be kind enough to pilot me over an +intricate piece of country with which I was unacquainted. The creature +pulled his little moustaches, and sniffed, and hemmed and hawed, and +finally said, "Aw, I'm sure I should be delighted, but you see I ride +<i>so deuced hard</i>, I should not expect a lady to be able to keep up +with me." I said nothing, but acted as my own pilot, and took +opportunity to watch my hard-riding friend during the course of the +run. He positively never jumped a fence, but worked rampantly at locks +of gates, and bribed country-folks to let him pass through. The last I +saw of him he was whipping his horse over a narrow ditch, preparatory +to scrambling it himself on foot. +</p> + +<p> +And this man was only one of many, for the really accomplished rider +never boasts. +</p> + +<br> +<hr align="left" noshade size="2" width="40%"> + +<a name="note1"> </a> +<p class="foot"> +<a href="#noteref1">[1]</a> This was written previous to the accident which has +disabled me. +</p> + + + +<p class="fm1"> +PART III. +</p> + +<p class="fm2"> +HUNTING. +</p> + + + + +<a name="VI"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER VI. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +HUNTING-GEAR.‌—‌NECESSARY REGARD FOR SAFE SHOEING.‌—‌DRIVE TO THE +MEET.‌—‌SCENE ON ARRIVING.‌—‌A WORD WITH THE HUNTSMAN.‌—‌A GOOD +PILOT.‌—‌THE COVERT SIDE.‌—‌DISAPPOINTMENT.‌—‌A LONG TROT. +</p> + + +<p> +Now that you are thoroughly at home on your saddle—in the park, on the +road, and over the country—you are doubtless longing to display your +prowess in the hunting-field, and thither we shall have much pleasure +in accompanying you. +</p> + +<p> +Your outfit will be the first thing to consider; and do not be alarmed +when I tell you that it will require a little more generosity on the +part of papa than you have hitherto called upon him to exercise. +</p> + +<p> +To commence with your feet—which I know is contrary to custom—you +will need two pairs of patent Wellington boots. These are three guineas +per pair, but are a beautiful article, and will last a long time with +care. Woollen stockings of light texture, with a pair of silk ones +drawn over, are the most comfortable for winter wear. A small steel +spur to affix to your left heel will be the next item required. The +nicest kind are those with a strap attached, which crosses the instep, +and buckles securely at the side. Of course, all ladies' spurs are +spring ones, displaying no rowels which could tear the habit, but +simply one steel projection with spring probe within, which, when +pressed to the horse's side, acts most efficiently as an instigator. +Latchford's patent is the best. +</p> + +<p> +Two pairs of chamois riding-trousers, cloth from the hip down, and +buttoning quite close at the ankle to allow of the boot going over, +will be the next necessary; and you must also provide yourself with two +riding corsets of superior shape and make. +</p> + +<p> +Three habits of strong dark cloth, one of them thoroughly waterproof, +will be required—the skirts to be made so short as barely to cover the +foot, and so spare as to fit like glove, without fold or wrinkle. If a +hunting-habit be properly cut it will require no shotting, which will +be an advantage to your horse in diminishing the weight which he would +otherwise have to carry. An elastic band nicely placed upon the inside +in position to catch around the toe of the right foot will be +sufficient to answer all purposes. You cannot do better, to procure an +article such as I describe, than entrust your order to Wolmershausen +(whom I believe I have already named in a former chapter), corner of +Curzon Street, Mayfair, where you will not fail to find your +instructions intelligently carried out. This firm has a speciality for +skirt-cutting,—is, indeed, unapproachable in this particular branch, +of what is in reality an ART; and even in these days of eager +competition the old-established house suffers from no rivalry, and +holds its own in the widely-contested field. +</p> + +<p> +A very neatly-made waterproof jacket will be an addition to your +wardrobe, as also a cape with an elastic band from the back to fasten +around the waist, and hold the front ends securely down. This latter is +an almost indispensable article. It is so light that it can be carried +with ease in your saddle-strap, and in case of an unexpected shower can +be adjusted in a single instant and without assistance, which is not +the case with a jacket. It should be made with a collar, which can be +arranged to stand up close around the neck, and thus prevent the +possibility of damp or wet causing you cold or inconvenience. I approve +of the jacket for decidedly wet days, when it should be donned on going +out, but for a showery day the cape is preferable, as it can be much +more easily taken off and again put on. +</p> + +<p> +Two silk hats, with the addition of a melon-shape if you desire it—a +long-lashed hunting-whip, and a plentiful supply of collars, cuffs, +gloves, veils, and handkerchiefs, will complete your outfit. I, hunting +four days a week, find the above quite sufficient, and if you care your +things (having got them in the first instance of the best quality) it +is surprising how long they may be made to serve. I have told you +<i>how</i> to take care of them, but believe me, if you leave the task +to servants the end will prove disappointing. You will never be +one-half so well turned out, and your outlay will be continual. +</p> + +<p> +It is an excellent precaution for a hunting-day, to look the previous +morning at your horse's shoes; and do this yourself, for it not +unfrequently happens that a careless groom will suffer him to go out +with a loose shoe which gradually becomes looser, and finally drops +off, perhaps in the middle of an exciting run, and obliges you to leave +your place with the hounds and seek the nearest forge. All this sort of +thing could, in nine cases out of ten, be obviated by a little care and +forethought, but the majority of riders are too grand, or too careless, +or too absurdly squeamish about the "propriety" of entering a stable, +and not unfrequently too ignorant of things they ought to know, to see +to such matters themselves, and so they are passed over and neglected. +A groom is too often utterly careless. He is bound to send your horse +from the yard looking shiny, and sleek, and clean. Any deviation from +this would at once attract your attention, and arouse your displeasure. +The groom knows this, and acts accordingly; but he also knows what you +do not—that one of the shoes is three-parts loose; it will probably +hold very well until you begin to go, and then it will drop off and +leave you in a fix, perhaps miles away from a village where the damage +could be repaired. The groom knew all about it, very likely, the day +before, but he saw that you were not troubling yourself, and why should +he? You never made any inquiry about such matters, nor seemed to +interest yourself in them, and why should he be troubled concerning +them? A loose shoe is nothing to him: it does not cause <i>him</i> any +inconvenience, not it; then why worry himself? He does not want to +bring the horse down to the forge through mud and rain, and stand there +awaiting the smith's convenience; not a bit of it. He is much more +comfortable lolling against the stable-door and smoking a pipe with +Tom, Dick, or Harry. +</p> + +<p> +It frequently occurs in the hunting-field that a horse loses a shoe in +going through heavy ground, or in jumping a fence where he brings his +hind feet too close upon the front ones, and, catching the toe of the +hind shoe in the heel of the front, drags the latter forcibly off, and +leaves it either on the ground behind him or carries it for a field or +two hanging by one or two nails to his hoof, before it finally drops +off. +</p> + +<p> +The moment you are made aware that your horse has cast a shoe, which +will generally be by somebody informing you of the fact, ascertain at +once which of the animal's feet has been left unprotected. If the lost +shoe happens to be a hinder one, the matter is less serious, but if a +front one should be cast, do not lose any time in inquiring your road +to the nearest smithy, and, whilst wending your way thither, be careful +to keep as much as possible upon the grass by the roadside, that the +shoeless foot may not become worn, nor suffer from concussion by coming +in contact with the hard road. +</p> + +<p> +It is a good plan to send your horse early to the meet: quite in the +morning; or, should the distance be a long one, despatch him the +previous evening in charge of a careful servant, and stable him for the +night as near as possible to the point at which you may require him +upon the following day. If you are fortunate enough to have a friend's +house to send him to, so much the better a great deal; but under any +circumstances it is pleasanter both for you and your animal that he +should be fresh and lively from his stable, and not that you should get +upon him when he is half-jaded and covered with mud, after a long and +tiresome road journey. +</p> + +<p> +To drive to the meet or go by train yourself is the most agreeable way. +Some ladies ride hacks to covert, and then have their hunters to +replace them, but this is tiresome, and not to be advocated for various +reasons. If the morning is fine the drive will be pleasant, and you can +then send your conveyance to whatever point you deem it most likely the +hunt will leave off. You must, of course, exercise your judgment in the +endeavour to decide this, but you may assist it considerably by asking +the Master or the huntsman to be kind enough to give you a hint as to +the direction in which they will most probably draw. +</p> + +<p> +We will, then, surmise that you drive to the meet. It is an excellent +plan, whether you drive or go by train, to take with you a small bag +containing a change of clothing; leave this in charge of your servant, +with directions where he is to meet you in the evening, and then, +should you come to grief in a dyke or river you can console yourself +with the knowledge that dry garments are awaiting you, and that you +will not have to encounter the risk of cold and rheumatism by sitting +in drenched habiliments in a train or vehicle. You will also, if wise, +take with you a foot-pick and a few yards of strong twine. Even if you +should not require them yourself you may be able to oblige others, +which is always a pleasure to a right-minded and unselfish huntress. +Take, likewise, a few shillings in your pocket to reward, if necessary, +the wreckers, whose tasks are at all times difficult and laborious, and +too often thankless. +</p> + +<p> +Arrived at the meet, your horse and servant are waiting for you in good +time and order; but it is a little early yet, and so you look about +you. +</p> + +<p> +What a pretty sight it is! How full of healthful interest and charming +variety! The day is bright and breezy—a little bit cloudy, perhaps, +but no sign of rain. A glorious hunting morning altogether. Numbers of +vehicles are drawn up, filled with happy-looking occupants, mostly +ladies and children. There are a good many dog-carts, polo-carts, and a +few tandems, from which gentlemen in ulsters and long white +saving-aprons are preparing to alight. It is nice to see their steeds, +so beautifully groomed and turned out, led up to the trap-wheels for +them to mount, without the risk of soiling their boots. Very particular +are these gentlemen. The day is muddy, and they know they must be +splashed and spattered as they ride to the covert-side, but they will +not leave the meet with a speck upon horse or rider. There is a +military-looking man—long, tawny moustache, and most perfect +get-up—divesting himself of his apron, and frowning because his +snow-white breeches are disfigured by just one speck of dirt; probably +it would be unobservable to anybody but himself, yet he is not the less +annoyed. A dapper little gentleman, in drab shorts and gaiters, is +covertly combing his horse's mane; and a hoary old fox-hunter, who has +just mounted, has drawn over close to the hedge, and extends first one +foot and then the other for his servant to remove the blemishes which +mounting has put upon his boots. This extreme fastidiousness is carried +by some to an absurd excess. I remember upon one occasion seeing a +gentleman actually re-enter his dog-cart and drive sulkily away from +the meet because he considered himself too much splashed to join the +cavalcade which was moving away to the covert, although he was fully +aware that a trot of a few hundred yards upon the muddy road in company +with numerous other horses would, under any circumstances, have +speedily reduced him to the condition which he was then lamenting. +</p> + +<p> +A few ladies come upon the scene, and many more gentlemen; and then +comes the huntsman in proud charge of the beauties. The whips and +second horsemen come also, and the Master drives up about the same +time, and loses not a moment in mounting his hunter. The pack looks +superb, and many are the glances and words of commendation which it +receives. +</p> + +<p> +Always have a smile and pleasant word for the huntsman and whips. They +deserve it, and they value it. I always make it a point to have a +little conversation with them before we leave the meet—in fact, I know +many of the hounds in the various packs by name, and I love to notice +them. Nothing pleases the huntsman more than to commend his charge: it +makes him your friend at once. Many a time when I have been holding +good place in a run, we have come across some dangerous fence which it +would be death to ride in a crowd, and the huntsman's shout of "Let the +lady first!" has secured me a safe jump, and a maintenance of my +foremost position. +</p> + +<p> +All being now ready, you mount your horse. It would be well if some +gentleman friend or relative would look first to his girths, &c.; but, +should such not be available, do not be above doing it yourself. +Servants, even the best, are, as aforesaid, often careless, and a horse +may be sent out with girths too loose, throat-lash too tight, runners +out, or any of the thousand and one little deficiencies which an +interested and careful eye will at once detect. +</p> + +<p> +Of course you have not come to hunt without having secured a good +pilot. You have, I hope, selected somebody who rides well and +straight—boldly, and yet with judgment—for, believe me, a display of +silly recklessness does not constitute good riding, however it may be +thought to do so by ignorant or silly persons. Your pilot will ride a +few yards in advance of you, and it will be your duty to keep him well +in view, and not to get separated from him. This latter you may at +times find difficult, as others may ride in between, but you must learn +smartness, and be prepared for all emergencies. Moreover, if your pilot +be a good one, he will see that you keep close to him, and, by glancing +over his shoulder after clearing each obstacle, will satisfy himself +that you also are safely over, and that no mischance has befallen you. +Any man who will not take this trouble is unfit to pilot a lady, for +whilst he is careering onward in all the glories of perfect safety, she +may be down in some ugly dyke, perhaps ridden on, or otherwise hurt; +and, therefore, it is his bounden duty to see that no evil befals her. +I cannot say that I consider the position of a trusty pilot at all an +enviable one, and few men care to occupy it in relation to a beginner +or timorous rider, although they are ever anxious to place their +services at the disposal of a lady who is known to "go straight." +</p> + +<p> +In selecting a pilot, do so with judgment. Choose one who knows the +country, and who will not be too selfish nor too grand to take care of +you; for, remember, you are only a beginner, and will need to be taken +care of. If, then, you have secured the right sort of man, and your own +heart is in the right place, you may prepare to enjoy yourself, for a +real good day's hunting is the keenest enjoyment in which man or woman +can hope to participate in this life. +</p> + +<p> +The trot to the covert-side is usually very pleasant. You and your +horse are quite fresh. You meet and chat with your friends. The two, +three, or four miles, as the case may be, seem to glide away very fast. +Then comes the anxious moment when the beauties are thrown in, and +all wait in eager suspense for the whimper which shall proclaim Reynard +at home. But not a hound gives tongue this morning. You can see +them—heads down, sterns up, beating here and there through the +gorse—but, alas! in silence; and, after a while, someone says, "No fox +here!" and presently your ear catches the sound of the huntsman's horn, +and the hounds come trooping out, almost as disappointed as the field. +</p> + +<p> +Then the master gives the order for the next or nearest covert, and +there is a rush, and a move, and a long cavalcade forms upon the road, +headed, of course, by the hounds. Get well in front, if you can, so as +to be quite up when they reach their next try, for sometimes they find +as soon as ever they are thrown in, and are far away over the country +before the stragglers come up, and great, then, are the lamentations, +for hunting a stern-chase is, to say the least of it, not cheerful. You +will have another advantage, also, in being well forward, for your +horse will get the benefit of a temporary rest, whilst those who, by +lagging, have lost time at the start, are obliged to follow as best +they can upon the track, bucketing their horses, and thus depriving +them of the chance of catching their wind—which is, in a lengthened +run, of very material consequence. +</p> + +<p> +One especial difference you observe between road-riding and hunting: +you are obliged to trot at a fast swinging pace such long tiresome +distances from covert to covert, without pause or rest, and you feel +already half tired out. Hitherto, when riding on the road, or in the +park, if you felt fatigued you have only had to pull up and walk; but +on hunting days there is no walking. The time is too precious, these +short, dark, wintry days, to allow of such "sweet restings." The +evening closes in so rapidly that we cannot afford to lose a moment of +our time, and so we go along at a sweeping pace. Nobody who is unable +to trot long distances without rest has any business hunting. +</p> + + + + +<a name="VII"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER VII. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +HOUNDS IN COVERT.‌—‌THE FIRST FENCE.‌—‌FOLLOW YOUR PILOT.‌—‌A RIVER-BATH. +‌—‌A WISE PRECAUTION.‌—‌A LABEL ADVISABLE.‌—‌WALL AND WATER JUMPING. +‌—‌ADVICE TO FALLEN RIDERS.‌—‌HOGGING.‌—‌MORE TAIL. +</p> + + +<p> +You have now arrived at the next covert, and have seen the hounds +thrown in. In an instant there is a whimper, taken up presently by one +and another, until the air rings with the joyous music of the entire +pack, as they rattle their game about, endeavouring to force him to +face the open. The whips are standing warily on the watch, the +huntsman's cheery voice is heard encouraging the hounds, the Master is +galloping from point to point, warning off idlers whose uninvited +presence would be sure to send the "varmint" back into his lair. Your +pilot, knowing that a run from here is a certainty, selects his vantage +ground. Being a shrewd man, he knows that no fox will face a keen +nor'-easter, nor will he be likely to brave the crowd of country +bumpkins, who, despite the Master's entreaties, are clustering about +yonder hedge. In short, there is only one point from which he +<i>can</i> well break, and so your pilot prepares accordingly. +</p> + +<p> +Another anxious moment ere the "Gone away! Tally-ho!" rings out upon +the keen air; and then follows that glorious burst which is worth +giving up a whole year of one's life to see. Hounds running breast +high, fairly flying, in fact; huntsmen, whips, horsemen, all in +magnificent flight, each riding hard for the foremost place, amid such +a chorus of delicious music as is never heard from any save canine +throats; and then, when the first big fence is reached, such hurry and +scurry! such tumbling and picking up again! such scrambling of dogs and +shouting of men! such cold baths for horses and riders! and oh, such +glory amongst the wreckers, as they stand tantalizingly at the edge of +the chasm in which so many are hopelessly struggling, whilst their +audacious cries of "What'll you give me, sir?" "Pull you out for a +sovereign, captain!" are heard and laughed at by the fortunate ones who +are safe upon the other side. +</p> + +<p> +Your pilot has been a wise man. He selected his starting-point at the +sound of the very first opening out, and when the general scrimmage +took place he had his line chosen, and so has led you wide of the ruck, +yet in the wake of the hounds. +</p> + +<p> +And here suffer me to advise you, if you should ever chance to be left +without a leader, do not fall into the mistake of following the others, +for my experience of hunting is that nine-tenths of those out do not +know <i>where</i> they are going, nor where fox or hounds have gone +before them. Cut out a line for yourself, and follow the pack. A pilot +is, of course, a great acquisition, if he be a <i>good</i> one, but +throughout some of my best runs I have performed the office for myself, +and have succeeded in being in at the death. But then I am not a +beginner, and I am surmising that <i>you</i> are. Keep about six yards +behind your leader; follow him unswervingly, and jump after him, but +not on him. Always wait till he is well out of the way before you take +the fence in his wake. Your horse will jump more readily having the +example of his before him, but I cannot too well impress upon you the +necessity of allowing him to get well over before you attempt to +follow. One of the ugliest falls I ever got in my life was through +riding too close upon my leader. The run was a very hot one, and only +four of us were going at the time. None, in fact, but those who had +first-rate horses had been able to live through it. We came to a wide +branch of a river, swollen by recent rains. My pilot, going a rare +pace, jumped it safely; I came too fast upon him. My horse's nose +struck his animal's quarters, which, of course, threw my gallant little +mount off his balance, and prevented his landing. He staggered and fell +back, and we both got a drowning! I was dragged up with a boat-hook, +the horse swam on until he found a place to scramble up the bank, and +then galloped off over the country. I recollect standing dismally by +that river, my pilot and two wreckers scraping the mud from me, and +wringing my drenched garments, whilst two or three more were scouring +the adjacent lands in search of my truant steed. When, at length, he +was caught, I had eleven miles to ride to the place at which I had left +my trap, and was obliged on arriving to change every atom of my +clothing, and wash off the superabundant mud in a horse-bucket, kindly +lent for the occasion. +</p> + +<p> +The fall involved the loss of the run, the loss of a habit, the loss of +many odd shillings to wreckers, the loss of my temper, a wound from the +boat-hook, and a heavy cold, the result of immersion on a perishing +winter day. All these disasters were the punishments consequent upon my +impetuosity in coming too close upon my leader; therefore, having thus +myself suffered, I warn you, from woful experience, never to tread upon +the horse jumping in advance of you. Allowing, even, that you do not +cannon against him, there is another casualty which may not improbably +occur. Supposing that he falls and throws his rider, your horse may in +alighting just chance to plant a foot upon the empty saddle of the +prostrate animal, the slippery nature of which throws him off his +balance, and you and he roll upon the earth together—perhaps receiving +a kick from your pilot's struggling mount. From this species of +accident many evils have from time to time arisen, and therefore I +dutifully endeavour to put you well upon your guard. I would also again +remind you that if you really mean to ride an intricate country, you +should never under any circumstances neglect to bring a change of +clothing, for you may at any moment be dyked, and to remain in wet +garments is highly dangerous,—not so long as you are exercising, but +during the journey to your home. It is not in the saddle, but in +vehicles and railway carriages that colds are contracted and the seeds +of disease are sown. It may not be out of place here to offer you a +piece of wholesome advice. Should you at any time have the ill-fortune +to be riding a kicking horse in the midst of a crowd, always put back +your hand when the cavalcade pauses, to warn those behind not to come +too close to the heels of your unquiet steed. By so doing you may save +an accident, and may, moreover, guard yourself from more than one +anathema. I once saw the horse of a fiery old General kicked by the +mount of a young nobleman, who thought it not worth his while to offer +an apology. "See here, young man," said the irate officer, riding up to +the offender's side, "whenever you come out to hunt on brutes like that +you should paste a danger-card upon your back, and not run the risk of +breaking valuable bones. I have said my say," he added, "and now <i>you +may go to the devil</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +A few hints next as to jumping. +</p> + +<p> +If, in the course of a run, you meet with stone walls, do not ride too +fast at them. Always steady your horse at such obstacles, and follow my +oft-repeated advice of leaving him abundant head-room. If you have to +cross a river or very wide ditch, come fast at it, in order that the +impetus may swing you safely over; few horses can cross a wide jump +without having what is called a "run at it." Never expect your animal +to take such obstacles at a stand, or under the disadvantages +consequent upon coming at them at a slow pace. Should the leap be a +river or wide water-jump, suffer your horse to <i>stretch forward his +head and neck</i> when coming up to it. If you fail to do so, you will +most probably go in, for an animal who accomplishes his work requires +his liberty as an absolute necessity, and, if denied it, will teach +you, at the cost of a good wetting, to treat him next time with greater +consideration. You will frequently see men ride pretty boldly up to +some yawning chasm or ugly bullfinch—stop and look at it, hesitate an +instant, and then, by cruel spurring, urge an exhausted animal to take +it at a stand. This is truly bad horsemanship, and leads to many +direful results. A good rider will, on perceiving that the obstacle is +a formidable one, turn his horse round, take him some little distance +from it, and then, again turning, come fast at it—quick gallop, hands +down, horse's head held straight and well in hand, but without any +pulling or nervous reining in. Such a one will be pretty sure to get +safely over. +</p> + +<p> +Should your horse, in jumping a fence, land badly, and slip his hind +legs into a gripe or ditch, do not wait more than an instant to see if +he can recover himself; you will know in that time whether he will be +likely to do so. The best advice I can give you is to kick your foot +free of the stirrup and jump off before he goes back. You will thus +keep your own skin dry; and, if you have been fortunate enough to +retain a light hold of the rein, you can rescue your horse without much +difficulty; for an animal, when immersed, makes such intelligent +efforts to release himself, that a very trifling assistance upon your +part will enable him to struggle safely to your side, when you can +remount him and try your chances of again picking up the hounds. Be +cautious, however, in pulling him up, that you do so over smooth +ground. I had a valuable young horse badly staked last season through +being dragged up over a clump of brushwood after a fall into the Lara +river. +</p> + +<p> +Should your steed peck on landing over a fence you will be pretty +certain to come over his head, for this is an ugly accident, and one +very likely to occur over recently-scoured drains. You <i>may</i>, +however, save both yourself and him, if you are <i>smart</i> in using +your hands in assisting him to recover his lost equilibrium. +</p> + +<p> +In the event of your horse jumping short with you, either from having +taken off too soon or from any other cause, and falling upon you into a +gripe, you may (when you gain a little experience) be able to stick to +him without leaving the saddle. The first effort a fallen animal makes +is to try to get up; therefore, if you are not quite thrown, hold on to +his mane, and as he struggles to right himself make your effort to +regain your seat. Be guided, however, in doing this by observing with a +quick glance whether there are thorns or brambles overgrowing the +place, for if there are, and your horse on recovering himself strides +onward in the ditch, seeking a place at which he may get out, your face +will undoubtedly suffer. This sort of thing once occurred to me in the +course of a day's hunting. I held on to my animal when he fell, and +regained my seat without very much difficulty, but before I could +recover my hold of the bridle he had rushed forward, and my face was +terribly punished by the overhanging brambles. +</p> + +<p> +Be very careful, in this matter of holding on to a fallen animal, not +to confound the mane with the rein. By clinging to the former you +assist yourself without in the smallest degree impeding the movements +of your horse; by clinging to the latter you seriously interfere with +his efforts at recovery, and most probably pull him back upon you. +</p> + +<p> +And this brings me to the subject of hogging horses' manes. Never, +under any circumstances, allow an animal of yours to be thus +maltreated. Not only is it a vile disfigurement, depriving the horse of +Nature's loveliest ornament, but it also deprives the rider of a very +chief means of support in case of accident. Many a bad fall have I been +saved by clutching firmly at the mane, which an ignorant groom had oft +implored me to sacrifice; and many a good man and true have I seen +recover himself by a like action, when a hog-maned animal would +undoubtedly have brought him to grief. Grooms are especially fond of +this system of "hogging," and many a beauteous adjunct of Nature's +forming has been ruthlessly sacrificed to their ceaseless importunities +to be permitted to "smarten the baste." Tails, too, are remorselessly +clocked by these gentlemen of the stable; not that they really think it +an improvement, any more than they veritably admire the hogging +process, but it saves them trouble, it lightens their labours, they +have less combing and grooming to attend to. Tails were sent by Nature, +not merely as an ornament, but to enable the animal to whisk away the +flies, which in hot weather render its life a burthen. Man, the +ruthless master, by a cruel process of cutting and searing, deprives +his helpless slave of one of its most valued and most necessary +possessions. I do not myself advocate long switch tails, which are +rarely an ornament, being usually covered with mud; but I maintain that +"docking" is cruel and unnecessary, keeping the hairs closely and +evenly cut being quite sufficient for purposes of cleanliness, without +in any way interfering with the flesh; therefore, do not reject my +oft-repeated plea for "a little more tail." +</p> + + + + +<a name="VIII"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +HOLDING ON TO A PROSTRATE HORSE.‌—‌IS IT WISE OR OTHERWISE?‌—‌AN +INDISCREET JUMP.‌—‌A DIFFICULT FINISH.‌—‌THE DANGERS OF MARSHY +GROUNDS.‌—‌ENCOURAGE HUMANITY.‌—‌A RECLAIMED CABBY! +</p> + + +<p> +To return to the subject of jumping. +</p> + +<p> +In the event of an ordinary fall in landing over a fence, it is a vexed +question whether or not it is advisable to hold on by the rein whilst +your horse is on the ground. I do not now mean when he is sunk in a +ditch, but when he is prostrate upon even grass-land or upon smooth +earth. Many first-rate riders affirm that it is a highly dangerous +practice, therefore I am afraid to advocate it, and must speak with +reserve—as I did respecting the management of a rearing animal—but +for my own part I always do it. My experience is, that when a horse +struggles to his feet his movement is almost invariably retrograde. He +tries to get away, consequently his heels are turned from me; and so +long as I keep my hold of the bridle his head will be nearest me and +his feet furthest. He will not think of turning to kick me, unless he +be a vilely vicious brute, not worth his keep; and so I can hold him +with safety until I am up myself and ready to remount him. When my +horse falls with me on the flat, I roll clear of him without letting go +the rein, and as the only danger of a kick is whilst he is getting up, +I shield my head with one arm and slip the rein to its fullest length +with the other, thus allowing the animal so much head-room that he is +enabled to make that retrograde movement, or "dragging away," which is +natural to him, and which saves me from the possible contact of his +heels. +</p> + +<p> +This is, in my opinion (which I cannot, of course, pretend to think +infallible), the best course to pursue. It is the one which I always +adopt, and I have never yet, except in one trifling instance, received +a kick from a fallen horse. +</p> + +<p> +I remember one day, a couple of seasons ago, I was riding hard against +a very beautiful Imperial lady, who dearly loves a little bit of +rivalry. Neck and neck we had jumped most of the fences for forty +minutes or so, and both our steeds were pretty well beaten, for +the running had been continuous, without a check. We came to an +awful obstacle—a high thick-set hedge, so impenetrable that there +was no chance of knowing what might be on the other side. There was +but one little apology for a gap, and at this the Empress's pilot +rode—immediately putting up his hand as a warning to us not to follow, +and pointing lower down. I knew that when Bay Middleton thought there +was danger, it did, indeed, exist; but I was too much excited to stop. +We had the hunt all to ourselves, the hounds running right in front +of us, and not a soul with them. I came at the fence with whip, spur, +and a shout! My horse—than which a better never was saddled—rose to +the leap, and landing upon his head after a terrific drop, rolled +completely over. I was not much hurt, and whilst he was on his knees +getting up, I scrambled back to the saddle, and went on; but, oh! under +what dire disadvantages! My rein had caught upon a stake in the fence +and was broken clean off, and I fancy it was this chuck to my animal's +mouth which had thrown him out of his stride and caused him to blunder, +for it was the first and last mistake he ever made with me, nor could +I, in the hurry of regaining my seat unassisted, get my foot into the +stirrup; so I finished the run as if by a miracle, and astonished +myself even more than anybody else by bringing home the fox's brush as +a trophy that I was in at the death. +</p> + +<p> +Always bear in mind when hunting that you are bound to save your horse +as much as possible. Jump no unnecessary fences; look out for a +friendly gate whenever you can find one at hand; and in going up hill +or over ploughed land, ease your animal and take your time. By acting +thus judiciously you will be able to keep going when others are +standing still. Always avoid bogs and heavy bottoms; they are most +treacherous, and swamp many an unwary hunter in their dangerous depths. +If you should ever have the bad fortune to be caught in one, dismount +at once, and lead your horse. It is not a pleasant thing to have to do, +but if you remain upon him, your weight, added to his own, will +probably sink him up to his saddle-girths, and there he will stick. +</p> + +<p> +I would desire particularly to impress upon you that if your horse +carries you safely and brilliantly through one good run, you ought to +be contented with that, and not attempt to ride him a second. It is +through the unwise and cruel habit of riding beaten animals that half +the serious accidents occur. Also remember that if you are waiting at a +covert-side where there seems likely to be a delay, after your steed +has had a gallop or a long trot, you should get off his back and shift +your saddle an inch one way or the other, generally backwards, as +servants are usually apt in the first instance to place the saddle too +close upon the withers. By adopting this plan you will, when you again +get upon him, find him a new animal. If you or I were carrying a heavy +burthen upon our shoulders for a certain number of hours in precisely +the same position, would it not make a new being of us to have it eased +and shifted? And exactly so it is with the horse. A selfish man will +sit all day upon his beast, rather than take the trouble of getting off +his back; but against himself does it tell, for his animal is fagged +and jaded when that of a merciful man is able to keep its place in the +run. +</p> + +<p> +There is nothing which should more fully engross the thoughts of the +humane hunter than kindly consideration towards the noble and beautiful +creature which God has sent to be the help of man. Your horse should be +your companion, your friend, your loved and valued associate, but never +your wronged and over-tasked slave. Humanity cries out with ready +uproar against the long list of grievances which animals have to +endure, yet how few of us exert ourselves to lighten the burthen by so +much as one of our fingers! There is not one of us who may not, if he +choose, be daily and hourly striving to curtail the load of misery +which the equine race is called upon to bear. We may not be fortunate +enough to possess horses ourselves upon which to exercise our humanity, +but can we not do something—yea, much—for others? Surely we can, if +we only possess the courage and the will. Even a word judiciously +spoken will often effect more than we could have hoped or supposed. Two +years ago I saw a cabman in Dublin cruelly ill-treating his horse. The +poor animal was resting its worn and tired body upon the stand, ready +for the wrench which its jaw would receive as soon as the next prospect +of a "fare" should excite the cupidity of its owner. One would have +thought that the sight of so much patient misery would have moved the +stoniest heart to suffer the hapless creature to enjoy its few moments +of needed repose. But no; the driver wanted some amusement, he was +weary of standing by himself, without some sort of employment to divert +his ignoble mind, and so he found such out. How? By beating upon the +front legs and otherwise cruelly worrying with the whip the poor +ill-used slave which he should have felt bound to protect. I saw it +first from a distance—more fully as I came near—and with a heart +bursting with sorrow and indignation, I crossed over and remonstrated +with the man. I said very little; only what I have tried to inculcate +in these pages—that humanity to quadrupeds is not only a duty which we +owe to their Creator, but will in time repay ourselves. I expected +nothing but abuse, and, indeed, the man's angry face and half-raised +whip seemed to augur me no good; but, suddenly, as something that I +said came home to him, his countenance softened, and, laying his hand +quite gently upon the poor beaten side of the animal which he had been +ill-treating, he said: "Well, if there was more like <i>you</i>, there +'ud be less like me! <i>that's</i> the thruth, at all events." And then +he said no more, for he was satisfied that I knew I had not spoken in +vain. For two years that man has been my constant driver. He is almost +daily at my door: he drives me to and from the trains when going to and +returning from the hunts, and dearly loves to hear something of the +runs; nor is there a more humane driver nor a better cared horse in any +city of the empire. +</p> + +<p> +I have related this true incident, not from any egotism—God is my +witness—but merely to show you how good is "a word in season." You may +speak many which may be, or may seem to be, of none effect, but, like +the "bread upon the waters," you know not when it may return unto you +blessed. +</p> + + + + +<a name="IX"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER IX. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +SELFISHNESS IN THE FIELD.‌—‌FORDING A RIVER.‌—‌SHIRKING A FENCE.‌—‌ +OVER-RIDING THE HOUNDS.‌—‌TREATMENT OF TIRED HUNTERS.‌—‌BIGWIG +AND THE MAJOR.‌—‌NAUGHTY BIGWIG.‌—‌HAPLESS MAJOR. +</p> + + +<p> +You must be particularly cautious in the hunting-field to avoid being +cannoned against. There is no other place in the whole world where +there is so little ceremony; and so very, very little politeness. It is +verily a case of "Every man for himself, and the devil take the +hindmost!" There is scarcely one man in the entire field who will not +in his heart of hearts resent your presence, and so he will pay you no +court. The crowding at gaps, and at certain negotiable places in +different well-known fences is simply disgraceful; and persons—I +cannot call them gentlemen—ride each other down like dogs. At such +places you will be fortunate if you can enlist a friend to ride behind +you, and thus prevent your being jumped upon in the event of a fall. +</p> + +<p> +I must not omit to remind you that in crossing a ford your horse will +be very apt to lose his footing. You will know when he does so by his +making a kind of plunge, and an endeavour to swim, which he only does +when he feels himself out of his depth. If at such a time you interfere +with his mouth, he will <i>inevitably</i> roll over. Your only chance +is to throw him the reins, and let him scramble or swim as he finds +easiest. If the latter, lift your left leg (with foot still in the +stirrup) completely over the third crutch, that he may not strike your +heel with his near hind foot, or become in any way entangled with the +stirrup or in your skirt. At the same time grasp the up-pommel firmly +with your hand, that you may not be unseated when he makes his second +struggle, which he will do as soon as he recovers his footing at the +bottom of the water. +</p> + +<p> +A horse who shirks his fences is a terrible infliction to have to +ride. Of course the first refusal condemns you to lose your place, for +it is the etiquette of the hunting-field that if your horse refuses +you must at once draw aside and let the whole field go by before you +again essay it. But, provoked though you may be, do not allow yourself +to be vanquished. If you do not now gain the victory your horse will +always be your conqueror. Bring him again to the leap, keeping his +head straight and your hands low and firm. If he refuses a second +time, bring him round again and again, always turning him from right +to left—that is, with the pressure upon you right rein—and not +suffering him to have his own way. Remember that if you suffer him to +conquer you or bring him to any other part of the fence than that +which he is refusing, you will thoroughly spoil him. Do not, however, +treat him with harshness. Coax him and speak gently to him. It may be +nervousness, not temper; and if so, you will soon get him over by +kindly encouragement. The horse is essentially a timid creature. He is +oftentimes subjected to cruelties for his "obstinacy," where a little +kindness and a few reassuring words would be infinitely more +effectual. Every glance of your eye, every look upon your countenance +is noted by your horse whilst he can see you, and, when you are upon +his back, your words fall upon highly sensitive ears. A horse's soul +is full of affection for his owner. He <i>yearns</i> to please him. +He would yield his life to serve him. Alas! how is such nobility +requited? Man's cruelty converts a peerless and incomparable companion +into a terrified and trembling slave. Young limbs are heavily weighted +before they have had time to grow; dark, wretched, solitary +confinement too early takes the place of the open air and free +pasturage to which the creature would fain a little longer cling; +young heads, pining for freedom, are tied or chained up in melancholy +imprisonment. The numerous little devices with which the captive +strives to while away the tedium of its captivity are punished as +"vices" by heartless and ignorant grooms. Nervousness is called bad +temper, and timidity regarded as a punishable offence. All the horrors +of the modern stable are brought to bear upon the priceless creature +who is born to freedom, and whose fettered limbs he is scarce +permitted to stretch. A rack of dry, and oftentimes vitiated hay is +placed <i>above</i> the head which was created to stoop to gather the +juicy grasses of the earth. A measure of hard dry corn, or a bucket of +water, is periodically brought and thrust before the prisoner, who +eats and drinks for mere pastime, often without appetite, and whose +frequent rejection of the offered dainties is regarded as "sulkiness" +or "vice." The whole system of modern stable management is lamentably +at fault. I cannot hope to remedy it. I cannot persuade obstinate +humanity that the expenditure of a few shillings will turn in as many +pounds: that by the bestowal of proper care, proper housing, light, +and exercise, and proper clothing, food, and drink, the slave will +repay by longer life and more active service the care and kindness +which Christianity should deem a pleasure and privilege, instead of, +as now, a compulsory and doled-out gift. I cannot expect to remedy +these wide and universal evils, nor yet can you; but we are bound—you +and I—to guard against such things in our own management. If your +horse oppose you through nervousness, you can conquer him by kindness; +if through obstinacy, which is occasional but not frequent, you must +adopt a different plan. Use your spur and whip, and show that you will +not be mastered, though you stay there till the stars come out. You +will be sure to conquer ere long, unless your horse is one of those +inveterate brutes which are, fortunately, rarely to be met with, and +when you succeed in getting him over the obstacle at which he has +sulked, put him at it again, making him take it backwards and +forwards, and he will not be likely to trouble you by a repetition of +his pranks. +</p> + +<p> +You must be very cautious in the hunting-field not to leave yourself +open to any suspicion of over-riding the hounds; keep close to them, +but never so near as to be upon them. Over-riding hounds is a piece of +unpardonable caddishness of which no gentleman, and certainly no lady, +would be guilty; yet it is done; and then, when the master's wrath is +aroused, the innocent suffer with the guilty, for many who are not +absolutely offenders, ride too close in their zeal for the pleasures of +the chase. +</p> + +<p> +When your day's sport is over, and you are riding back to the place at +which you expect to meet your trap, remember that the easiest way to +bring your horse in is in a quiet jog-trot. It is nonsense to walk him, +for he will only stiffen, and will be the longer away from his stable +and his needed rest. If you chance to come across a piece of water, +ride him to it and let him have a few "go downs,"—six or eight, but +not more. When you get off his back, see that his girths are loosed at +once, and, if very tired, a little water thrown over his feet. He +should then be taken quietly home—if by road, in the same easy +trot—and just washed over and turned into a loose box, where he can +tumble and luxuriate without submitting to any of the worries of +professional grooming. Fifteen minutes after my return from hunting, +my horse—sheeted and comfortable—is feeding quietly in his stall, +enjoying his food and rest; instead of standing in some wet corner of a +cold yard, with his unhappy head tied up by an unsympathizing rope, and +a fussy groom worrying his tired body with a noisy display of most +unnecessary zeal. And this is as it ought to be. Horses are like human +beings,—they like to <i>rest</i> when wearied, and their chief +desire—if we would only believe it—is to be left alone. But we are +incredulous, and so we hang about them, and fuss and worry the fagged +and patient creatures who would fain appeal to us for a cessation of +our attentions. +</p> + +<p> +There are few things more truly delightful than a mutual understanding +and affection between horse and rider, and this can easily be arrived +at by kindness and care. I have a hunter—Bigwig, son of The +Lawyer—who follows me all over the place, knows my voice from any +distance, rubs his nose down my dress, puts it into my pocket to look +for apples, and licks my hands and face like a dog; yet I have done +nothing to induce all this, except treating him with uniform justice +and kindness. He has carried me most brilliantly through three +successive seasons without one single display of sulk or bad temper. He +knows not the <i>touch</i> of a whip. I carry one, that the long lash, +passed through his bridle, may assist him when necessary in getting +over a trappy fence, at which I may deem it prudent to dismount, but +the sight of it never inspires him with fear; if I showed it to him, he +would probably lick it, and then gaze inquiringly at me to see if I +were pleased with the novel performance. To me, this noble and +beautiful creature is a priceless companion; yet, strange to say, +nobody else (not even the most accomplished rider) can obtain any good +of him. It is not that he displays vice, but he simply will not allow +himself to be ridden. I once happened to mention this fact at our +private dinner-table, in presence of a distinguished major, who had +been boasting largely of his prowess in the saddle, and who at once +offered to lay me ten to one that he would master the animal in +question within five minutes. "I do not bet," I said, "but I will +venture to assert that you will not be able to ride him out of the yard +within as many hours." He took me up at once, and, as a good many +sporting men were dining with us, who evidently enjoyed the prospect of +a little excitement, I quietly called a servant, and sent orders to the +groom to saddle Bigwig without delay. It was a lovely evening in +summer, and we all adjourned to the yard to view the performance. +</p> + +<p> +The moment my beautiful pet saw me he whinnied joyously and strove to +approach me, but I dared not go near him, in case it should be thought +that by any sort of "Freemasonry" I induced him to carry out my words. +The sight was most amusing; the gentlemen all standing about, smoking +and laughing; the horse suspicious, and not at ease, quietly held by +the groom, whose face was in a grin of expectation, for none knew +better than he what was likely to ensue. The major prepared to mount, +and Bigwig stood with the utmost placidity; although I must confess he +was naughty enough to cast back an eye, which augured no good to the +gallant representative of Her Majesty's service. He mounted without +difficulty, took up the reins, and evidently prepared for a struggle; +but none such ensued. Bigwig tucked his tail very tight to his body, +walked quietly forward for a yard or two, and then, suddenly standing +up as straight as a whip, the defeated major slid over his tail upon +the hard ground, whilst the horse trotted back to his box. +</p> + +<p> +I have related for you this anecdote, not merely for your amusement, +but to teach you never to boast. A braggart is ever the first to fall, +and nobody sympathizes with him. If you become ever so successful in +your management of horses, do not exert yourself to proclaim it. Suffer +others to find it out if they will; but do not tell them of it, lest +some day you share the fate of the prostrate and discomfited major. +</p> + + + + +<a name="X"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER X. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +FEEDING HORSES.‌—‌FORAGE-BISCUITS.‌—‌IRISH PEASANTRY.‌—‌A CUNNING +IDIOT.‌—‌A CABIN SUPPER.‌—‌THE ROGUISH MULE.‌—‌A DAY AT COURTOWN.‌—‌ +PADDY'S OPINION OF THE EMPRESS. +</p> + + +<p> +I said at the commencement of these pages that I should offer little or +no discourse upon the general management of horses; yet, in one +reserved instance, I may be permitted to break through my rule. If you +want your hunters to thrive, do not let them have a single grain of raw +oats. People have laughed at me when I said this, and have scarcely +waited for the turning of my back to call me a mad woman; but a few of +the scoffers have since come to thank me, and if you adopt my plan you +will think that this little volume would have been cheap at a ten-pound +note. There are, of course, times when raw oats must be given, for your +horse may not always be in your own stable. At such times it is a good +plan to mix chopped clover or grass through the feeding, taking care +that grain and clover be thoroughly mingled. The judicious mixture of +green meat will go far towards counteracting the binding effects which +raw oats will be likely to have upon a horse not accustomed to it, and +will also induce him to masticate his food, which an animal inured to +softer feeding will otherwise be apt to neglect, wasting the corn by +dropping it from his mouth in a slobbering fashion, making no use +whatever of his grinders, and swallowing a certain portion without +chewing it at all. I am, for various tried reasons, a thorough advocate +for Mayhew's and Shingler's style of feeding upon cooked food, mingled, +of course, with good sweet hay, or an admixture of the juicy grasses +upon which the animal in its unfettered state would be prone to live. +</p> + +<p> +In my stable-yard are a large boiler and an unlimited supply of good +water. The groom boils sufficient oats to do for two or three days, +and, when cool, mixes through it a small proportion of bruised Indian +corn. On this the horses are fed as with ordinary oats three times +daily, and so enjoy the feeding that not one grain is left in the +mangers, which are placed <i>low upon the ground</i>. The surest proof +of the efficacy of this excellent and economical feeding is that my +horses never sweat, never blow, never tire. When other hunters are +standing still, mine have not turned a hair; and, as prize-winners and +brilliant goers, they cannot be excelled. +</p> + +<p> +The principle I go on is this:—If I eat a cupful of raw rice, it +certainly does me no good; but if I boil it, it makes three or four +times the quantity of good, wholesome, digestible food, every grain of +which goes to the nourishment of my body. And it is precisely so with +the oats and the horse. In addition to this feeding, I give abundance +of good, sweet, <i>moist</i> hay, varied by green food in summer, +substituting carrots in the winter-time, of which vegetable they are +particularly fond. The carrots are given whole, either from my hand or +put loosely in the manger. I never suffer them to be cut up, unless it +be done <i>very finely</i>, either by myself or under my supervision, +to induce a delicate feeder to taste his food through which the chopped +carrots are rubbed. Grooms, with their accustomed ignorance, are almost +always in favour of the "cutting up," but I regard it as a most +dangerous practice. If the carrot be left whole the horse will nibble +at it, and will bite off just such pieces as he knows he can chew and +swallow, but there is more than one instance upon record of horses +choking themselves with pieces of cut carrot, and very many who have +nearly done so. I can feed my horses upon this system for very little +more than half the sum which my neighbours are expending, with +advantages which are certainly fourfold. I consider it an excellent +plan to vary horses' feeding, as it tells quite as beneficially upon +animals as upon ourselves;—and for this purpose there cannot, in my +opinion, be anything better than the forage-biscuits, manufactured by +Spratt & Co., Henry Street, London, ten of which are equal to one good +feed of oats, and are so relished that not so much as a crumb is +suffered to go to waste. They combine all the most nutritious of +grains, with dates and linseed added in such proportions as experience +has pointed out to the inventor to be the best. They are then baked, +and thoroughly dried, so that they are entirely deprived of moisture, +and will consequently keep good for any length of time. The baking +process being complete, they are, when eaten, practically +half-digested,—or, as I may say, they present the materials to the +horse in the most digestible form in which it is possible to give them. +There are certain chemicals used in very minute quantities in the +manufacture of these biscuits, which are productive of highly +beneficial effects upon animals thus fed,—improving their muscular +development, and imparting to their coats a peculiarly healthy and +brilliant appearance. One feed of the forage-biscuits three or four +times weekly is the proper allowance,—and they should be given whole, +as the same objection applies to the breaking of them as I have set +forth in my dissertation upon the cutting up of carrots. +</p> + +<p> +I now desire to warn you that if you hunt in Ireland you must be +prepared for the laughable and most ingenious frauds which the poor +people—alas! <i>how</i> poor—will certainly endeavour to practise +upon you. I can, and do most fully, commiserate their poverty, but with +their attempts at imposition I have long since lost patience. Doubtless +they think that everybody who hunts is of necessity a rich person, and +conceive the idea that by fleecing the wealthy they will aid in +blotting out the poverty of the land. Nothing delights the old +cottage-woman more than to kill an ancient hen or duck on a +hunting-morning, and then, when the hunt comes sweeping past her door, +out rushes the beldame with the bird concealed beneath her apron, and +throwing it deftly—positively by a species of sleight of hand—beneath +your horse's hoofs, kicks up a mighty whining, and declares that you +have "kilt her beauty-ful fowl!" I was so taken aback upon the first of +these occasions that I actually stopped and paid the price demanded; +but, finding that the same thing occurred the following week in a +different locality, I ascertained that it was a trick and declined to +be farther hocussed. +</p> + +<p> +It is likewise a common thing for a man to accost you, demanding a +shilling, and declaring that it was he who pulled your ladyship's horse +out of the ditch or quagmire on such and such a day. You do not +remember ever having seen his face before; but if you are a hard-riding +lady you will be so frequently assisted out of difficulties that you +cannot undertake to say who nor how many may have helped you +unrewarded, and, being unwilling that any should so suffer, you bestow +the coin, most likely in many instances, until you find that your +generosity has become known and is consequently being traded upon. +</p> + +<p> +I remember one day, a couple of winters ago, when returning from +hunting, I lost my way, and being desirous of speedily re-finding it, I +accosted a ragged being whom I saw standing at a corner where four +roads met, and inquired of him the most direct route to the point which +I was desirous of reaching. The creature hitched his shoulders, +scratched his collarless neck, pushed the hat from his sunburnt +forehead, and, finally, looking down and rubbing the fore-finger of his +right hand upon the palm of his left, thus delivered himself: +</p> + +<p> +"I axed him for a ha'penny, and he wouldn't give it to me; but he put +his hand into his pocket and pulled out a pinny, and gave it to me, and +I took it in—ho, ho! and he gave me a letter to take up to Mrs. +Johnston, and when I took it to her, she opened it and read it. Now, +didn't I give her the letter?" +</p> + +<p> +"Really," said I, "I know nothing about Mrs. Johnston nor her letter. I +want to know the nearest way to Dunboyne station." +</p> + +<p> +"I axed him for a ha'penny," began the man again. And then I had the +whole story of the "pinny" and "Mrs. Johnston" repeated for me over and +over, without a smile or any variation, until my vexation vanished, and +I fairly roared with laughter. Guessing at once how the land lay, I +produced a little coin with which I presented him, and which he +immediately pocketed, and, touching his ragged feather, pointed down +one of the roads, and said quite sensibly, "That's the right road, my +lady." And so I found it. This man, I was subsequently informed, made +quite a respectable maintenance by stationing himself at the +cross-roads on daily duty, and informing every passer-by that he "axed +for a ha'penny" but was generously treated to a "pinny," together with +the story of Mrs. Johnston and her letter, accompanied by all the +shruggings, and scratchings, and sniffings, which never failed to +provoke the laughter of the hearer and to elicit the coveted coin. +</p> + +<p> +The Irish, with all their little failings, are a hospitable people, and +full of pungent wit. I was one evening wending my way to Sallins +station, after a long and wearisome day's hunting. My tired horse was +suffering from an over-reach, and I was taking him as quietly as I +could, consistently with my anxiety to be in time to catch the train by +which I desired to return to town. So utterly jaded were we both—I and +my steed—that the way appeared very long indeed, and I asked the first +countryman whom I met how far it was to Sallins. "Three miles," he told +me, and I jogged on again. When we had traversed quite a long distance, +and I thought I must be very near my journey's end, I ventured upon +asking the same question of a farmer whom I met riding a big horse in +an opposite direction to that in which I was myself going. It was a +matter of about two miles, he told me, or mayhap three, but not more he +thought, and I was certainly not going wrong; I was on the right road, +and no mistake. I took out my watch. No hope for me now. I was +undoubtedly late for the train which I had hoped to catch, and must +wait two long hours for the next. A poor-looking little cottage was +close at hand; to it I trotted, and looked in at the door. The family +were at supper, all gathered about a narrow table, in the middle of +which lay a pile of unpeeled potatoes and a little salt. The mule, upon +which much of their fortune depended, was supping with them; thrusting +his poor attenuated nose over the shoulders of the children, and +occasionally snatching a potato, always receiving a box for so doing, +to which, however, he paid no sort of heed. I was at once invited to +enter, and gladly accepted the invitation, for I was cold and tired, +pleased to ease my horse and get him a draught of meal and water. I sat +down in the chimney-corner, thankful for the rest, but determined to +withstand all entreaties to share the family supper, and my risible +faculties were sorely put to the test, when my host, balancing a potato +upon his fork and dipping it in the salt, presented it to me, saying, +"Arrah! take it my lady, just <i>for the jig o' the thing</i>!" Of +course I took it; and never have I enjoyed the richest luxury of an +<i>à la Russe</i> dinner more than that simple potato in a poor man's +cabin, in company with the mule and the pigs. When I stood up to go I +carefully inquired the distance, for it was dark, and I had long since +lost the remainder of my party. The man offered to accompany me to the +station, and I believe he was actuated solely by civility, and not by +any hope of gain. My horse was sadly done up; he had stiffened on the +over-reach, and limped painfully. We proceeded but slowly, and, sighing +for the patient suffering of my dearly-loved steed, I made the +observation that the miles were very long indeed. "They <i>are</i> +long, my lady," said the man, who was walking before me with a +lanthorn; "but, shure and faith, if they're long they're narra'!" And +with this most intelligent observation he closed his mouth, and left me +to ponder upon it undisturbed until we arrived at the station. +</p> + +<p> +One more anecdote, and I have done with them. +</p> + +<p> +On one of last season's hunting-days the hounds met at Courtown, and +great excitement was abroad, for the Imperial lady was expected to join +the chase. She was, however, prevented through indisposition from +attending, but Prince Liechtenstein and a very distinguished company +came over from Summerhill. As we were trotting to the covert the +country-folks were all on the alert, for not having heard of the +disappointment respecting the Empress they were anxiously expecting +her, and many were the surmises respecting her identity. I was riding +close to the front, escorted by Lord Cloncurry, and as we swept past +one of the wayside cottages, two men and a woman rushed out to stare at +us and to give their opinions upon the "Impress." "Which is she?" cried +the female, shading her eyes to have a good look,—"That must be +<i>her</i> in front, with his lordship. Oh! isn't she lovely? A quane, +every inch!" +</p> + +<p> +"Arrah! shut up, woman," said one of the men, testily interrupting her. +"That's not her at all, nor a taste like her! <i>The Impress is a +good-lookin' woman.</i>" I need not say that this genuinely-uttered +remark took the wind completely out of my sails, and that I have never +since dreamed of comparing my personal appearance with that of any +woman whom an Irishman would call "good-lookin'." +</p> + + + + +<a name="XI"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER XI. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +THE DOUBLE-RISE.‌—‌POINTING OUT THE RIGHT FOOT.‌—‌THE FORCE OF HABIT. +‌—‌VARIOUS KINDS OF FAULT-FINDING.‌—‌MR. STURGESS' PICTURES.‌—‌AN +ENGLISH HARVEST-HOME.‌—‌A JEALOUS SHREW.‌—‌A SHY BLACKSMITH.‌—‌HOW +IRISHMEN GET PARTNERS AT A DANCE. +</p> + + +<p> +I shall now touch very briefly upon one or two points which I have not +before mentioned, but which may, nevertheless, prove interesting to +some lady riders. +</p> + +<p> +Firstly, then, I shall speak of the annoyance—sometimes a serious +one—which ladies experience from what is known as the <i>double +rise</i> in the trot. I have been asked is it preventible. Before +suggesting a remedy for anything—be it ailment or habit—we must +endeavour to get at the <i>cause</i> of the evil complained of. The +most successful medical men are those who first take time and pains to +ascertain the wherefore, and then seek to effect the cure. +</p> + +<p> +The extremely ungraceful and unpleasant motion known as the "double +rise" is attributable to two distinct causes. It is due either to the +horse or to the rider, and to the one quite as frequently as to the +other. A large, heavy animal, with slow and clumsy action will, if +ridden by a lady, be almost certain to necessitate the double rise. +This I know by the certainty derived from experience. I was staying +some time ago at a house in the midst of our finest hunting county in +Ireland, namely, royal Meath. The owner was a great hunting-man in both +senses of the word, for he was a superb cross-country rider, and, if +put in the scales, would pull down sixteen stone. Being a top-weight he +always rode immense horses—elephants I used to call them, greatly to +his indignation. Very good he was about lending me one of these huge +creatures whenever I felt desirous of joining the chase, which I +confess was but seldom, for the first day upon which I accepted a mount +we left off eighteen miles from home, and I was so exhausted by the +time we arrived there, that I fairly fainted before reaching my own +chamber. It was not the distance which tired me, although it was a +pretty good one, but the fact that I was troubled with the double-rise +all the way. I strove in vain to remedy it by urging my gigantic steed +to a faster trot, and making him go up to his bridle; but the moment I +began to experience a little relief, my companion—dear old man, now in +heaven!—would say, "Well, that is the worst of ladies riding: they +must always either creep in a walk, or bucket their horses along at an +unnecessary pace. <i>Why</i> can't you jog on quietly, as I do?" He +was clearly not suffering from the annoyance which was vexing and +fatiguing me. I looked at him closely, watched his motion in the +saddle—that slow, slow rise and fall—I compared it with mine, our +pace being the same, and the mystery was at once solved. Both horses +were trotting exactly together, keeping step, as the saying goes, yet +my companion was at ease whilst I was in torment. Why was this? Because +he had a leg at either side of his mount, his weight equally +distributed, and an equal support upon both sides; in fact, he had, as +all male riders have, the advantage of a <i>double</i> support in the +rise; consequently, at the moment when his weight was removed from the +saddle, it was thrown upon both feet, and this equal distribution +enabled him to accomplish without fatigue that slow rise and fall which +is so tiring to a lady, whose weight when she is out of the saddle is +thrown entirely upon one delicate limb, thus inducing her to fall +again as soon as possible, which, if riding a clumsy animal, she is +constrained to do <i>at variance</i>, as it were, with his tedious and +heavy motion, and hence the inconvenience of the double rise. +</p> + +<p> +To illustrate my meaning, and explain more fully how it happens that +men never complain of this particular evil: a man will be able to stand +in his stirrups for a considerable time, even to ride a gallop so +doing, because he transfers his weight <i>equally</i> to this feet; but +how rarely do we see a lady balanced upon one leg! Never, except it be +for a single instant whilst arranging her skirt or trying her stirrup. +The sensation is not agreeable, and would be, moreover, unpleasantly +productive of wrung backs. +</p> + +<p> +A heavy horse is never in any way suitable to a lady. It <i>looks</i> +amiss. The trot is invariably laboured, and if the animal should chance +to fall, he gives his rider what we know in the hunting-field as "a +mighty crusher!" It is, indeed, a rare thing to meet a perfect "lady's +horse." In all my wide experience I have met but two. Breeding is +necessary for stability and speed—two things most essential to a +hunter; but good <i>light</i> action is, for a roadster, positively +indispensable, and a horse who does not possess it is a burden to his +rider, and is, moreover, exceedingly unsafe, as he is apt to stumble at +every rut and stone. +</p> + +<p> +The double rise may also, as I said, be quite attributable to the +rider. A careless way of riding may occasion it, sitting loosely in the +saddle, and allowing your horse to go asleep over his work. Pull you +mount together, so as to throw his weight upon his haunches, not upon +his shoulders. Keep your reins close in hand. Rise, so that you shall +be out of the saddle when his off fore-leg is thrown out, and I do not +think you will have much to complain of from the annoyance occasioned +by the double rise. +</p> + +<p> +I have dwelt upon this subject because so many have asked me privately +for a cure for it, and I have surmised that numerous others, who have +not had opportunity—nor perhaps courage—to ask, will nevertheless be +pleased to receive a hint. +</p> + +<p> +It has also been inquired of me whether there is any remedy for that +excessively unsightly practice of sticking out the right foot when in +the saddle, as we have seen so many ladies do, until the toe is +positively almost resting upon the horse's neck. There is, of course, a +remedy; a most effectual one. <i>Don't do it.</i> It is quite possible +and even easy to keep the right leg as close to the saddle as the left, +the toe pointing downward, and the knee well bent. I know, however, +that in some cases the position objected to is consequent upon the +up-pommel of the saddle being placed too near the off one, thus there +is not sufficient space for the leg to lie easily, and consequently it +sticks out in the ungraceful manner so often seen and deplored. +</p> + +<p> +In many instances, also, it is habit; a bad practice, indulged in at +first without notice, and then, when confirmed, most difficult to +eradicate. These pernicious habits are extremely apt to grow upon all +of us, unless most carefully watched, I have seen ladies utterly +disfigure their appearance in the saddle by placing a hand upon their +side, or, worse again, behind their back, and riding along in this +jaunty style with an air as though they thought themselves the most +elegant creatures in creation. Others keep their elbows a-kimbo, and +fairly churn themselves in the saddle with every rise and fall. Others, +again, acquire a habit of tipping their horse with the whip in an +altogether unnecessary manner. It is not actually enough to hurt the +animal, but is amply sufficient to worry and ruffle his temper. No +horse fit to carry a lady requires to be constantly reminded of his +work. A whip in a woman's hand should be more for show, and to give +completeness to the picture, than for purposes of castigation. Nothing +looks worse nor more ungentle than to see it wantonly applied. It has +been said, "Spare the rod and spoil the child," but I cannot agree with +the theory. Rod and whip may be alike useful in (happily) isolated +cases, but I do not envy the disposition of child or animal who cannot +be made amenable by less ungentle means. Practices which are the result +of habit may be checked, and quite effectually, by the bestowal of a +little care. We want first some kindly friend to tell us of them; we +next require the common sense and good feeling not to be offended at +the telling; and, finally, we need the patience and perseverance which +are born of the <i>determination</i> to overcome the fault. With regard +to the telling, how few of us know how to tell! There are just the two +ways, or perhaps I should say three. There is the cold, carping, +disagreeable fault-finding manner, which picks holes for the mere +pleasure of picking them, and the unworthy delight of seeing how the +victim writhes beneath the torture. There is the snake-like, insidious +fault-finding—the worst and most dangerous of all—which invariably +commences with the words, "You know, my dear, I am only telling you for +your own good." This species of fault-finding is peculiar to the +<i>female</i> friend, and is invariably served up with an admixture of +honey and gall, so skilfully compounded that the very soul of the +listener is exercised and deceived. "Her words were smoother than oil, +yet were they drawn swords." Lastly, there is the genuine, honest, +open-hearted, fault-finding, which bears no malice, and is too true to +clothe itself with the garment of deceit. By this alone we should be +influenced or seek to influence others; but, for my own part, as I have +already said, I have found the world so inordinately self-opinionated +and determined <i>not</i> to be advised, that I have long since ceased +to offer counsel, and only give it when requested. Long ago, when I +first began to write, I was jealous of all interference, and invariably +prefaced my letters to my Editors with, "Please do not alter anything +in my MS." Poor blind child I was then, groping about in the dark, and +sadly needing the helping hand which I was so obstinately rejecting. +Well, we gain sense with years, and wisdom with experience. Now that I +have got on in the world, in every sense of the word, I am only too +anxious for advice, and ready to grasp at every friendly hint. +</p> + +<p> +And so it should be with riding as with writing. Take all kindly +counsel in good part, and if given advice ask for more. Bad habits grow +upon us with giant force; they strengthen with our strength, because we +know not of them, or blindly refuse to be controlled. I dare say a good +many of us are acquainted with a very famous queen of song who always +holds her hands crossed and her thumbs turned stiffly up whilst she is +singing. I do not believe she is at all aware of the peculiarity of her +attitude, and perhaps she could not sing half so well nor sweetly if +she altered it. In like manner I told you, in the earlier portion of +this volume, of a young lady who could not ride a yard without laying a +firm grip upon the off-pommel of her saddle. These things are habit; +we do them without consciousness; we are not aware of anything unusual +in ourselves, but when the knowledge comes to us (which it soon will if +we are known to possess sufficient sweetness to take a hint) we should +turn it to advantage, and so improve with time. +</p> + +<p> +I recollect that when these writings of mine were first issued in the +journal to which they originally owed their appearance, a dear lady +wrote to me all the way from Rhode Island, U.S.A., asking me for hints +upon various subjects, and likewise offering me a few such, with so +much sweetness that I not alone accepted, but welcomed and adopted +them. She asked me many questions relative to the pictures with which +my various subjects were illustrated, and admired very warmly the +spirited drawings which Mr. Sturgess had made of my leap into the +farmyard and also of "The first fence." Many of my readers may +recollect them; and as there was, at the time, much discussion +respecting the position of my feet as portrayed in the former picture, +I take this opportunity of ranging myself upon the artist's side, for, +after much thoughtful inspection of the picture, I arrived at the +conclusion that he was perfectly correct, and the position quite such +as must of necessity be, in the event of a runaway steed clearing such +an obstacle with a wearied and startled rider scarce able to retain her +seat upon his back. Even had the artist been mistaken—which I am bound +to say he was not—the matter need scarcely have evoked criticism, for +his strong point is his delineation of horses, and as he has no equal +in this particular branch of art, he may well be forgiven if such +trifles as a lady's feet occasionally puzzle him a little! Moreover, he +draws with a view to producing effect as much as ensuring stereotyped +correctness. I recollect when I saw that picture I sounded my protest +against the flowing skirt and flying veil: two things quite foreign to +my style of riding-dress, which is always severely close-fitting and +<i>curtailed</i>. His answer certainly carried weight. The skirt and +veil were necessary to impart an appearance of rapid motion, or flying +through the air. He was quite right, and I was decidedly wrong. I felt +ashamed of myself, begged his pardon mentally, and atoned for my +audacity by henceforward believing blindly in his judgment. +</p> + +<p> +I recollect laughing much at the time at a grave suggestion made to me +by a dear old lady, who thought there might be a particular reason why +Mr. Sturgess was (in her opinion) less successful in depicting lady +equestrians than when pursuing any other branch of his enchanting art. +Neither she nor I had or have, unfortunately, the pleasure of his +personal acquaintance, but we thought there might possibly be somebody +in authority who strongly objected to his studying the details of the +fair creatures whom he has occasionally to draw. To show that such +things may be, and actually are, in real life, I recollect that when I +was staying some two or three years ago at a famous house in the north +of England, a gay harvest-home took place, and the servants and +labourers had a dance in the barn. I and my husband, our host and +hostess, and numerous guests staying at the castle, went out to see the +fun, and greatly was I struck with the gallant appearance of the old +barn, so gaily decorated with corn, and the fiddler fiddling away upon +a beer-barrel! A mighty cheer was raised for us when we all, in full +evening dress, joined the motley company of revellers, and the lord of +the soil led off a country dance with a blushing mountain-lass, +followed by her ladyship with an equally humble partner. The blacksmith +was an Irishman, and looked very shy, as Irishmen invariably do in +presence of the fair sex(?) I knew him as a workman upon the estate—I +knew also that his wife, a very ugly woman, was a terribly jealous +shrew—and, actuated by a spirit of mischief, I went and asked him to +dance; but he only grinned, blushed, and said, "No, thank you, ma'am; +<i>I'm a married man!</i>" My husband, who was standing by, said +laughingly, "Why, Brian, you ought to feel flattered to be asked. Give +Mrs. O'Donoghue your arm, and take your place for the dance." "O, +faix," said Brian, hastening to obey, "if <i>you</i> have no objection, +I'm sure <i>I</i> have none. <i>Let her come on!</i> Only," he added, +pausing and scratching his head, "begorrah, <i>I hope my wife won't see +me!</i>" +</p> + + + + +<a name="XII"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CHAPTER XII. +</p> + +<p class="head"> +SUBJECT OF FEEDING RESUMED.‌—‌COOKED FOOD RECOMMENDED.‌—‌EFFECTS OF +RAW OATS UPON "PLEADER."‌—‌SERVANTS' OBJECTIONS.‌—‌SNAFFLE-BRIDLE, AND +BIT-AND-BRIDOON.‌—‌KINDNESS TO THE POOR.‌—‌AN UNSYMPATHETIC LADY.‌—‌AN +UNGALLANT CAPTAIN.‌—‌WHAT IS A GENTLEMAN?‌—‌<i>AU REVOIR!</i> +</p> + + +<p> +My remarks upon the subject of feeding horses, having gained publicity +through the columns of the press, have called forth much comment and +adverse criticism. Some have evidently considered—and have not +hesitated to say—that I have written the veriest twaddle; but happily +there is a reverse side to the picture, and many (including one very +august personage indeed) have expressed a determination to adopt my +system. Beans are such excellent feeding that I cannot object to an +admixture of them, and to most English horses they are almost a +necessity; but in Ireland we care little about them. It is unwise to +give too much hay. I said "abundance" on a former page, but the word, +as I used it, did not signify a large quantity. For horses fed three +times daily upon a plentiful measure of oats, crushed Indian corn, and +beans if desired, a few handfuls of hay will be amply sufficient, and +this should be placed where the horse can stoop to it, but never above +him, as in the effort to disengage it from the rack the seeds fall in +his eyes and produce irritation, and sometimes permanent disease. +</p> + +<p> +A bran-mash on a Saturday night, or after a hard day, forms an +admirable variety to the ordinary feeding routine. Let the bran be +thoroughly well steeped and mixed, and a portion of cooked oats or +chopped carrots intermingled with it. This will induce almost any +animal to partake of the bran, from which otherwise many delicate +feeders will resolutely turn. +</p> + +<p> +I have strongly recommended cooked feeding, even against the uproar of +a general outcry against it, because I have seen and proved its +efficacy. Last November, on the first Tuesday in the month—the opening +day with the Kildare hounds—we had a splendid run, during which, +however, I was amazed to find that my great horse, Pleader, sweated +heavily—a thing which had never previously been the case. In fact, it +had always been my boast that when other horses were thoroughly done, +mine had not turned a hair; but, on the day in question, he was in a +white lather, and I thought appeared distressed. Upon coming home, and +speaking about it in my stable, I was informed that the boiler was in +some way out of order, and the horses had, unknown to me, been fed upon +uncooked oats during the preceding three days. Had I required any +confirmation of my theory, this circumstance would certainly have +furnished it, and entirely defeats the general supposition that cooked +food renders horses soft. +</p> + +<p> +I have now given the best advice I can upon the subject of feeding, and +I shall not again refer to it, nor to anything connected with the +treatment or stable management of horses, as the subject is an endless +one, everybody entertaining an opinion of his own, which it shall not +be my ambition to upset. What I have said has been in kindness, and +with a view to benefiting both man and beast; but I do not by any means +expect the majority of my readers to coincide in my views. There is a +stolid determination general throughout the world to stick to old +customs and old-fashioned ways and habits, no matter how excellent the +modern ones may be, and so the "horse and mill" go daily round. Masters +object to my system because it involves an outlay in the erecting of a +proper boiler and other necessary adjuncts; servants object to it +because it gives them a little additional trouble. It is far easier to +lounge to the oat-bin, fill a measure from it, and thrust it before the +animal, not caring whether it is rejected or otherwise, than to fetch +the water and fill the boiler and go through the labours of a process +which, in itself exceedingly simple, is made to appear complicated and +laborious by the amount of fuss and discontent which are brought to +bear upon the work. There is an old saying, "If you want a thing well +done, do it yourself"; but, unfortunately, there are some things—and +this is one—which ladies and gentlemen cannot do, and there is no +doubt whatever that servants accustomed to the old style of management +will never willingly adopt the new—unless they belong to that rare and +select and most exclusive <i>few</i> who have their masters' interest +at heart. +</p> + +<p> +Much information has been asked of me relative to the subject of +holding reins. How often shall I say that there is no fixed rule, and +that a method which may look well for park-riding will be totally out +of place in the hunting-field. I have been asked how I hold my own +bridle, and I shall answer that I almost invariably ride with a single +rein, and you can understand my method readily if you will follow me +whilst I endeavour to explain. Take your pocket-handkerchief, pass it +through the back of any ordinary chair, and bring the ends evenly +towards you, holding them for an instant with your right hand, which +must, <i>pro tem.</i>, represent the buckle. Place your left hand +within the loop thus formed, the little finger resting firmly against +the near-side, about four inches above the right hand; grasp the +opposite side between the forefinger and thumb, left hand (the two +sides of the handkerchief representing the reins); press the off-side +slightly inward with the pressure of your thumb, slipping it entirely +away from the control of the right hand; then bring the near-side, +which still is held loosely by the right, under the thumb of the left, +and hold it firmly. You will thus see that you establish a sort of +"cross rein," and that you have, and are able to maintain, a secure +grip upon either side. By an outward movement or slight turning of the +wrist, accompanied by pressure of the little finger, you will control +your horse upon the near-side of his mouth, whilst by an inward +movement and pressure of the forefinger you will be able to command him +upon the other or off-side. It must be borne in mind that these +movements should be from the wrist <i>only</i>, and not from the arm or +shoulder. A good rider will keep the elbows close to the sides, just +drawing the line finely between that pinioned look which is so +disfiguring, and the detestable flapping, like the wings of an unquiet +bird, in which so many riders, both male and female, so frequently +indulge. I have seen ladies, who wished to have an appearance of hard +riding, leaning forward in the saddle and working their elbows in an +unsightly manner, the hands (influenced by the elbows) sawing also, and +the poor horse, with open mouth and straining jaws, staggering along in +distress, fighting his bridle, and presenting altogether a melancholy +spectacle. A firm even seat, elbows close, head erect, and strong +steady hands held <i>low</i>—these are the characteristics of a good +and lady-like rider. In going across country put <i>both</i> hands to +your bridle, and keep your horse's head straight and well in hand, but +do not attempt to pull him nor interfere with him at his fences, or you +will undoubtedly come to grief. If you ride with a bit and bridoon my +advice is, ride your horse—even though he be a puller—upon the +snaffle, and keep the curb rein looped over your little finger, hanging +quite loose, yet in such a position that you can if necessary take it +up at a second's notice. +</p> + +<p> +I cannot too often impress upon you the advisability of being +conciliatory and kind in your manner to everybody with whom you may +come in contact. No matter how exalted your rank may be, you can all +the better afford to be courteous to those beneath you. Kind words cost +nothing, and are as balm to the hearer. Many of the lower orders are +quite as much gentry at heart, and far more so, than those who hide +their unworthiness beneath the convenient shadow of a "family tree." I +have been more than once pained upon hunting days by the extreme +contempt and rudeness with which ladies have treated the poor, who have +asked nothing from them save the innocent and inexpensive privilege of +seeing them mount and canter away with the field. It is all very well +to say, "I do not like to be stared at," but even to those who +<i>most</i> dislike it, surely it is worth a little self-sacrifice to +see the undisguised enjoyment and listen to the original observations +of the Irish peasantry, to whom a sight of the hounds—especially when +followed by ladies—is a treat they never care to miss. +</p> + +<p> +I was riding last winter in company with a lady, very noble, very +handsome, very proud. We came up to a branch of a river, upon the brink +of which some country folk had gathered, with the innocent desire of +seeing it jumped. A poor man, very quiet-looking and harmless, was +actually knocked down and immersed in the water by a reckless young +officer, who galloped over him, and went on without even glancing back +at the spot where the poor half-drowned creature stood wringing his +dripping clothing, yet not uttering a syllable of reproach. My +companion roared with laughter, first at the catastrophe, and then at +me for sympathising with the sufferer. "Apologise!" she cried, in a +high key. "<i>How</i> could Captain Dash apologise to a man like that? +It would be different had he been a <i>gentleman</i>." I thought so +too, if the meaning of the word "he" had only been reversed; but I said +nothing, and we went on. +</p> + +<p> +A few fields further we came to a terrible obstacle—a high post and +rails, with a deep and yawning ditch upon the landing side. Three or +four of us went at it: the rest turned away and sought the road. I got +over safely, my noble Pleader proving himself, as usual, worthy of my +confidence. Captain Dash came next, safely also; and then my +ill-starred lady friend, whose horse (an inferior timber-jumper) +bungled, and left her completely prostrate upon the wet earth. Never a +pause did Captain Dash make in his onward career, although he glanced +back when he heard her shriek, and, incredible as it may appear, I +thought I saw him smile, for it was ever his saying that ladies had no +business hunting, and always deserved mischance; but the poor man, at +whose immersion she had laughed a few moments before, came running to +her relief, rendered her every assistance in his power, replaced her in +the saddle, expressed regret for her accident, and positively declined +to accept of any remuneration for his services. +</p> + +<p> +Which of these men, think you, was the gentleman? I know what I thought +respecting the question; and I judged that my friend's opinion was +formed as mine, for she now loves and cares the poor, and suffers the +rich to care themselves, as every true-hearted and Christian woman +should; and, moreover, on glancing over a book of my poems which I lent +her some time later, I found a leaf turned down, as though to mark +these lines— +</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>"What is a gentleman? Is it a thing</p> +<p>Decked with a scarf-pin, a chain, and a ring,</p> +<p>Dressed in a suit of immaculate style,</p> +<p>Sporting an eye-glass, a lisp, and a smile?</p> +<p>Talking of operas, concerts, and balls,</p> +<p>Evening assemblies, and afternoon calls,</p> +<p>Sunning himself at "at homes" and bazaars,</p> +<p>Whistling mazurkas, and smoking cigars?</p></div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<p>"What is a gentleman? Say, is it one</p> +<p>Boasting of conquests and deeds he has done,</p> +<p>One who unblushingly glories to speak</p> +<p>Things which should call up a flush to his cheek?</p> +<p>One who, whilst railing at actions unjust,</p> +<p>Robs some young heart of its pureness and trust;</p> +<p>Scorns to steal money, or jewels, or wealth,</p> +<p>Thinks it no crime to take honour by stealth?</p></div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<p>"What is a gentleman? Is it not one</p> +<p>Knowing instinctively what he should shun,</p> +<p>Speaking no word that could injure or pain,</p> +<p>Spreading no scandal and deep'ning no stain?</p> +<p>One who knows how to put each at his ease,</p> +<p>Striving instinctively always to please;</p> +<p>One who can tell by a glance at your cheek</p> +<p>When to be silent, and when he should speak?</p></div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<p>"What is a gentleman? Is it not one</p> +<p>Honestly eating the bread he has won,</p> +<p>Living in uprightness, fearing his God,</p> +<p>Leaving no stain on the path he has trod?</p> +<p>Caring not whether his coat may be old,</p> +<p>Prizing sincerity far above gold,</p> +<p>Recking not whether his hand may be hard,</p> +<p>Stretching it boldly to grasp its reward?</p></div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<p>"What is a gentleman? Say, is it birth</p> +<p>Makes a man noble, or adds to his worth?</p> +<p>Is there a family-tree to be had</p> +<p>Shady enough to conceal what is bad?</p> +<p>Seek out the man who has God for his Guide,</p> +<p>Nothing to blush for, and nothing to hide;</p> +<p>Be he a noble, or be he in trade,</p> +<p><i>This</i> is the Gentleman <span class="sc">Nature</span> has made."</p></div></div> + +<p> +Now, kind reader, farewell. If I have given you instruction, called a +laugh to your lips, or taught you to prize and cherish the priceless +creature which God has generously sent for our enjoyment and our use, +I shall cheerfully lay aside my pen, happy in the conviction that I +have not written in vain. +</p> + +<p> +Yet, shall I say in the song-words, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> + "<i>Au revoir. Pas adieu!</i>" +</p> + +<p> +for we meet again, I trust, soon and often; but the subject upon which +I have been writing has come to an end. +</p> + +<p> +Whilst acknowledging the kindness of my friends, I would desire also +to shake hands with my enemies. Life is short, and so it behoves us to +bear no malice. To those who have unkindly criticised me I offer +freely a forgiving hand and heart. I have never wilfully offended any, +and if my efforts have not come quite up to the standard of excellence +which certain captious critics have set up, I have at least done my +best, and have been careful, in propounding theories which might +appear new and uncommon, to state that such things were according to +my notions, in which, however, I did not expect all persons to +coincide. So long as the world lasts so long will there be differences +of opinion; but it is not because such exist that ill-feeling should +creep in, and Christian charity become a thing of nought. In ancient +days, when the Apostles were upon the earth, these things were as they +are now; yet the Great Example, to whose pure and simple teaching we +all hopefully look, inspired the command, "<i>Let brotherly love +continue.</i>" +</p> + +<p> +So be it, reader, with you and with me. +</p> + + + + +<p class="fm1"> +PART IV. +</p> + + +<a name="ireland"> </a> +<p class="firstchapter"> +HUNTING IN IRELAND. +</p> + + +<p> +There is at present a mighty outcry in our poor land. Not against +"battle, murder, and sudden death," landlord-killing, and "Boycotting," +but against our royal pastime—hunting. The tenant-farmers are uproarious +in their opposition to it; and, with a headstrong determination which +cannot be too strongly condemned, refuse to listen to the voice of +the reasoner. We are but in the beginning of our season, yet is our +prospect marred and our pleasure spoilt by the blind idiotcy, not of +the few, but, unfortunately, of the many. +</p> + +<p> +They have but one cry, "You are ruining our grass-lands!" A more +egregious error could not possibly exist. Is it wilful blindness or +merely the desire to banish landlordism from the country which induces +this senseless outcry? If the latter, there is unhappily every +probability that the outcriers will succeed; if the former, there may +be some hope of ultimately unclosing their sealed eyelids. +</p> + +<p> +A body of horsemen galloping over grassland during the hunting season +can never occasion injury; it is simply an absurdity to endeavour to +maintain a contrary theory. A great friend of mine and a most +practical gentleman, who possesses a large common attached to his +grounds, upon which he can, if desirable, exercise his horses, always +prefers doing so throughout the winter upon his finest grass-land. He +maintains, and correctly, that they do it an immensity of good, and +once offered (to prove the correctness of his judgment) to give the +use of the said land to the colonel of a cavalry regiment stationed in +his vicinity—to do all his work upon throughout the winter months. +The offer, after some demur, was accepted, and proved to be most +advantageous to the land-owner. +</p> + +<p> +Being an enthusiastic follower of the Ward Union stag-hounds, I am +enabled to state that I have galloped with them, in company with at +least two hundred other riders, across the Ward Country and over the +Fairyhouse lands, which are—as is well known—of a singularly wet and +holding nature; and this not once, but many times throughout the +season. Yet, so early as April, at which date the famous Fairyhouse +races take place, no track or footmark can be seen upon the luxuriant +grass. Again, when riding in winter through Phœnix Park, I have +been struck by the state of mud to which it has been reduced through +the frequent galloping of horses over its surface; yet, in summer it +grows the finest grass, and is as smooth as a billiard-table. One day +in June, three years ago, a grand Review was held there in honour of +the Queen's birthday. A terrible shower came down—one of those mighty +floods which can, in a few moments, transform a beauteous green sward +into a hideous mass of unsightly mire and dirt. Those on foot ploughed +patiently through it, sinking ankle-deep at every step; those upon +horseback, myself included, churned it beneath their horses' feet, +until not a trace was visible of the emerald carpet, which, one short +hour before, had afforded firm footing for many thousands of +spectators. Three weeks later, I rode through that park again; the +velvety turf was green and fresh as ever, nor was there visible <i>one +trace</i> of the countless feet which had, as it were, waded over it +so short a time before. The day upon which St. Stephen's Park was, +through the princely generosity of Lord Ardilaun, opened to the +public, was a wet, or at least a damp one, and thousands upon +thousands of roughly-shod feet cut up the grassy sward; yet, in a few +brief days, it was rich and verdant as before. Nor do I think there is +in our noble Phœnix Park a more luxuriant stretch of grass-land +than is "the nine acres" upon which polo players continually assemble. +</p> + +<p> +Having thus, then, endeavoured to prove that the galloping of horses +is in no way injurious to pasture lands, I shall proceed to the +consideration of other matters connected with the subject in question. +</p> + +<p> +If hunting in Ireland were abolished, then indeed might the cries of +her children ascend heavenward, for I know not what would become of +her! The gentry who are now resident landlords, maintaining large and +costly establishments, would migrate to other countries and more +genial climes. Servants would seek in vain for employment. +Boot-makers, clothiers, saddlers, harness-makers, would find no +custom. The farmer would sigh vainly for a price for his corn. Hay and +straw would be a drug in the market. Hunting-lodges would remain +unlet, growing mouldy with time and damp. Butchers, bakers, +poulterers, butter-makers would be alike involved in one common ruin; +for the houses of the gentry would be empty, and desolation would +overspread the land! No buyers then for high-priced hunters and +promising colts, which now command so high a figure; no merging of +grades and mingling of classes in that happy contact which the +hunting-field so well engenders; none of that delicious feeling of +equality which the peer and the peasant seem alike to acknowledge +whilst participating side by side in the dangers and excitement of the +chase. All would be stillness, solitude, and gloom! +</p> + +<p> +Suffer me, then, to implore my countrymen and countrywomen to do all +in their power to promote the pleasures of hunting. It must immensely +benefit even those who do not actually participate in the sport, +inasmuch as it brings rich and poor into happy contact, and causes a +vast amount of money to be circulated, which enriches the pockets of +the poorer classes, and brings grist to many a mill which would +otherwise stand desolate, with disused and motionless wheel. To us who +<i>do</i> participate in it, there is no need for speech. Which of us +does not know the pleasures of preparing for the glorious sport? the +early rousing up from slothful slumber, the anxious outward glance at +the weather, that fitful tyrant which makes or mars our enjoyment; the +donning of hunting garments, the packing of sandwich boxes, the +filling of flasks with whisky, or better, <i>far</i> better, with +strong cold tea; the cheery drive to the meet, the many happy faces +assembled there, the greetings amongst friends, the praisings of the +pack, the trot to the covert, the dashing of the hounds into the +gorse, the sweet music which proclaims that Reynard is at home, the +joyous sound of the "Gone away!" the hurry-scurry to be first and +foremost in their wake, the anathemas hurled against those who are +over-riding them, the tumbling at the fences, the picking up again, +the drowning in the rivers, the fishing out by the wreckers, the +maddening excitement of traversing an intricate country, the wild +desire to be in at the death, the saving of our horses over holding +lands, the riding of them up to their bridles where the going is good, +the last mighty effort, the final fence cleared, and the canter up to +where the huntsman is holding aloft the brush and mask, and the hounds +are breaking up their fox! Who that has ever experienced these joys +will be likely to forget them, or will fail to promote, by every means +in his power, so health-giving and enlivening a sport? +</p> + +<p> +We have one very serious drawback to our hunting in Ireland, and, +indeed, in many other places also—namely, wire fencing. I saw +something of a tragic incident occur last season whilst hunting with +the Meath hounds. We came up to an impassable fence, and all made for +the gate, which was open; but the owner of the land rushed out from +his dwelling, shut it in our faces, and insolently refused to allow us +to pass. Threats and entreaties were alike vain. He called us every +name in the calendar, and consigned us all to a very ugly place, in +language which was certainly not parliamentary. Many of the field +turned off and sought another way, but two or three of the bold ones +charged the gate, and got over, clearing man and all! I and one other +took the fence—a mad proceeding, which gave us both an ugly fall; but +we scrambled up somehow, and succeeded in picking up the hounds. Late +in the evening, whilst hunting another fox, he led us over the same +identical ground, and a hard-riding gentleman, first at this mighty +obstacle, charged it boldly, but, alas, with what a result! The farmer +had, during our absence, run a stiff wire through the fence, which, +catching the horse in the breast, turned him completely over, breaking +the rider's arm, and otherwise severely injuring him. Some members of +the hunt, seeing what had occurred, besieged the offender's dwelling, +and he had an extremely uncomfortable ten minutes. I have heard +persons aver that the man was badly treated, and that he had a perfect +right to wire his fences if he so willed. Undoubtedly he had, if it +were done openly and in such a way that the wiring could be discerned, +but not, by petty treachery, to imperil the safety, if not the lives, +of a large number of persons. +</p> + +<p> +My advice to farmers would be this; wire the fences if necessary; but, +at the commencement of the hunting season, cut away, say twenty yards +of the wiring at the poorest point of the field, and mark the spot +with a pole and flag. Every rider would assuredly make for it as being +the only jumpable place, and at the close of the season a few boys +with five-grained forks would speedily set all to rights; nor can +there be any doubt that the best crop in the field would be on that +particular spot. Allowing even for a moment, for argument's sake, that +expense, trouble, or loss might be thus occasioned, there is not a +master of hounds in all Ireland—neither, I fancy, in any other +country—who would not willingly and cheerfully indemnify the owner of +the land. But so long as the world lasts, so long will there be +blindness; and until the "happy hunting-grounds" are reached, horses +and horsemen will be daily anathematised by the self-willed +cultivators of our native soil. +</p> + + + + +<p class="fm1"> +PART V. +</p> + + +<a name="america"> </a> +<p class="firstchapter"> +HUNTING IN AMERICA. +</p> + + +<p> +There is a great land across the Atlantic where they do great things, +and utter great sayings, and patent great inventions, and erect great +buildings—and where, in short, the inhabitants beat us (as they +themselves say) "all to fits!" +</p> + +<p> +A mighty nation they are, too—God prosper them as they deserve; but +there is one thing at least in which we can say, without boasting, we +are able to beat them, and that is, in our hunting. A fox-hunt in +America is a very tame and inglorious proceeding, and one which +decidedly would not come under our definition of "sport." +</p> + +<p> +American hunting differs in the first instance from ours, inasmuch as +it is always a summer pastime. The extreme severity of the winters +necessitates this, as during the cold season neither men nor horses +can work. +</p> + +<p> +The disadvantages of summer hunting are of course numerous. The heat +is excessive, and the crops are in the ground. Most of the American +farmers and graziers own their land, and the greater number of them +will not suffer hoofs to cross it. This is partly from a spirit of +surly independence—partly from an ignorant determination to hold with +stolid obstinacy to that most erroneous belief, that the galloping of +horses is injurious to grass-lands. But, anyhow, the objection exists; +and as it is vain to attempt to overrule it, a compromise is effected +between hunting under difficulties and not hunting at all. +</p> + +<p> +The system pursued is this. A man—usually a stout-limbed peasant—is +sent out, who drags an aniseeded bag across country, and over the +lands and fences of such as will permit it, or who are themselves in +the habit of joining in the chase. Then, when the field has assembled, +the hounds are laid on, and work their way after the drag, a "bag-man" +being provided to blood them at the finish. Sometimes the pack comes +too close upon the dragger, and then a nasty scene ensues, which is +pleasanter not described. +</p> + +<p> +Fortunately for men, horses, and hounds, hunting is but little +indulged in throughout America. I mean, of course, fox-hunting, for I +cannot attempt to cry down the many splendid and manly hunts of other +descriptions in which the Americans carry off the palm. +</p> + +<p> +In many parts of the country—more especially in the States—the +people so affect trotting-horses, that the matter has become a craze. +It is a fact, which has more than once been proved, that four legs +capable of carrying any sort of frame a mile in less than +two-and-a-quarter minutes, will easily fetch a thousand pounds; and if +the animal is in condition to repeat the performance several times in +one day, his price will range correspondingly higher. +</p> + +<p> +The usual arrangement—very seldom varied—is that the "trots" shall +be mile heats; and as the horses are, generally speaking, pretty well +done up at the finish, owing to pace, excitement, and temperature, +twenty minutes are allowed between each heat for "cooling off" +purposes. +</p> + +<p> +When a horse is distanced in one of these trials, he is at once +withdrawn; and the judges have the privilege, which they use, of +distancing a horse for breaking—or, as we would say, commencing to +run—which is, as may be supposed, a thing most difficult to prevent. +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes a racehorse is hitched double with a trotter. This is +called, in American parlance, a running-mate. The runner takes all the +weight and draft of the "sulky," and the trotter merely trots +alongside of him. It requires a very level-headed horse to keep evenly +to his trot, with a runner tearing away at sweeping pace beside him, +and the trial is regarded as simply one of skill, and is rarely +successful. A trotter who can coolly and evenly maintain his trot when +hitched with a racer, can command for his owner any amount of money, +even though he be in all other respects comparatively worthless. +</p> + +<p> +Races, of which many are held at Rhode Island, are as distinct as +possible from trots. The courses are made circular; as much so, at +least, as the lie of the land will permit, and are beautifully +constructed, the grading being especially attended to. They are +generally enclosed by a very high boarded fence, an admission fee +being charged at the opening. This arrangement is found to answer +admirably, as the amount demanded—although not an extravagant one—is +sufficient to exclude a goodly number of racing roughs, whose interest +in the sport is not more keen than their desire to investigate the +contents of their neighbours' pockets. +</p> + +<p> +Trotting-tracks are constructed upon the same principles as +race-courses, but the track is harder. Sometimes, however, although +not frequently, races and trots are held over the same course, and +when this is done the track is carefully softened for the races, by a +harrowing process, which is most carefully carried out. +</p> + +<p> +Most of the hacks and hunters in use in America—a very large portion, +at least, of the saddle-horses—are racers which have been rejected +from the racing-stables. This is particularly the case at East +Greenwich, and throughout the States. Some of these horses are +"weeds," but a few of them are well worthy of the high prices given +for them, being really splendid animals, in spite of the crabbing +which they receive at the judge's hands before they are thrown out of +the contest, and passed over to the proprietorship of dealers in +hacks. +</p> + +<p> +Very fine horses of the hunter class are bred in Kentucky—the +Yorkshire of America—and are sold at comparatively low rates. I saw a +magnificent chestnut, seventeen two in height, with grand action, and +so superbly ribbed-up and built as to be capable of carrying twenty +stone, which had been sold there to an enterprising Irish speculator +for three hundred and twenty dollars, a good deal less than eighty +pounds of our money. The animal afterwards fetched upwards of six +hundred guineas at Tattersall's, to carry a top-weight millionaire +with the Whaddon Chase hounds. This was, however, an exceptional case, +for it is not usually an easy thing, nor even possible, to make money +by trading in Kentucky hunters. A few speculative European dealers +have from time to time tried it, but their efforts have not been +crowned with the anticipated reward, the reason being, that travelling +expenses swallow up profits. Seven days and nights of constant +journeying must be gone through before the animals are brought to the +Atlantic sea-board; and then there is the crossing to encounter, with +its cost and perils. Altogether, it is scarcely a profitable venture, +and some who have embarked in it will, I know, be quite ready to +endorse my opinions upon the subject. +</p> + +<p> +Stag-hunting used to be very prevalent in distant parts of America. +Strangers traversing tracts of country north of the Ohio will be told +this by guides and fellow-travellers, and will marvel that in such a +district it could ever have been a popular sport. Anything more +perilous it would be impossible to conceive, the "going" being +principally up and down precipitous inclines, dotted at frequent +intervals with huge boulders, half buried in the reedy grass, over +which the horses blunder and stumble at almost every stride,—not +unfrequently hurling their riders headlong down some dangerous ravine. +</p> + +<p> +Those who have enjoyed the very doubtful pleasure of hunting at the +Cape, know something of the perils of the Mimosa tree, which grows +there in such deadly luxuriance. A similar danger-trap exists in the +stag-hunting districts of America, the long sharp thorns proving +terribly destructive to the flesh of man and beast. +</p> + +<p> +It is almost impossible to escape these trees. They grow singly and in +groups, with long, light, swaying branches, treacherously +outstretched; and if an excited steed, or an unwary rider comes too +near to one of them, no close-set company of razors could do more +cruel injury, nor make greater havoc of saddlery and clothing. +</p> + +<p> +When we come to regard the question of district hunting in a +comparative light, few will hesitate to admit that in spite of all the +drawbacks consequent upon wire-fencing, fox-trapping, and +hound-poisoning, there are worse countries to hunt in than dear old +England; and we who know the sweet delights of a good gallop over rich +grass-lands, dotted picturesquely with the harmless beech or elm, and +with nothing more dangerous to negotiate than fair broad fences and +five-barred gates, need never sigh for the yawning ravines of foreign +hunting-grounds, with their treacherous boulders and dangerous +Mimosas. +</p> + + + + + +<a name="correspondence"> </a> +<p class="chapter"> +CORRESPONDENCE. +</p> + +<p class="firstchapter"> +<span class="sc"><b>Ladies on Horseback.</b></span> +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="ctr"> +To the Editor of <i>The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News</i>. +</p> + + +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I have read with keen interest the article on "Ladies +on Horseback" in your last number. I find several things in it which +differ from my preconceived ideas, but it is impossible not to +perceive that the writer, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, speaks from an +experience which makes her an undoubted authority. With reference to +safety-stirrups, for instance. I have always seen that the ladies of +my family were provided with them, and your contributor's objection +seems not to be based upon the mechanism of the stirrup when in proper +order, but on the circumstance that it is "almost invariably stiff," +through neglect. I must admit that I have seen a lady hung up in a +safety-stirrup; but surely it is possible to see that the stirrup will +work before setting out for a ride or a day's hunting, and if the iron +is large enough, so that "the padding over the instep" will not "cause +the foot to become firmly embedded," are we to understand that the +safety-stirrup is objectionable? Mrs. Power O'Donoghue has a poor +opinion of "John the coachman, and Jem the groom," but I am lucky in +having trustworthy people in my stable. What stirrup would your +contributor have instead of the one with which so large a proportion +of ladies ride? Another thing that I should like to know more about is +the saddle recommended in the article. "Accustom yourself from the +beginning to the use of a properly constructed saddle, made as +straight as a board, no dip whatever," this writer says. Now I have +never, so far as my recollection goes, even seen such a saddle, and +may I ask what are the advantages of a thoroughly straight saddle, and +what are the disadvantages of the inevitable slope or dip? I ask +purely for information, for I am perfectly ready to submit my judgment +and hitherto received notions to the dictum of a lady who is clearly +so competent to treat the matter as your contributor. Would the lady +have straight saddles also for men? is a question which incidentally +occurs to me. I am far from supposing that a thing must be right +because it is in general use, but there seem good reasons for the +adoption of the ordinary shaped saddle, and I should be very glad if +your contributor would let us know her reasons for departing from +custom. +</p> + +<p> +Before concluding, let me thank you for a series of articles which +cannot fail to be of value to those for whom they are intended. +</p> + +<p class="indent1"> +I am, Sir, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Your obedient servant, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">H. de V. R.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I feel bound to answer the letter of "H. de V. R." which +appeared in your journal of last week's issue. With regard to the +"safety-stirrup," there could not be much objection to it if it were +made sufficiently large to prevent the padding over the instep from +causing the foot to become embedded; and if, likewise, some careful and +competent person were ready and willing to give the machinery of it a +thorough examination immediately before entrusting the safety of a lady +to such an uncertain support. But how seldom is this the case? +Servants—even the most careful—are, to say the least of it, apt to +overlook these important details; and when the steed is led to the door +the cavalier who is to escort the lady is too much occupied in admiring +his fair charge, talking to her, arranging with her where they shall +ride, fastening her gloves, or performing a like office for himself, to +worry his head about such an apparently insignificant thing as her +stirrup. Provided he ascertains that it is the required length, he +troubles himself no further about it, and probably in nine cases out of +ten the dandy youth would not even comprehend the meaning of the term +"safety" as applied to the article in question. No doubt it often +happens that an elderly father, a matter-of-fact husband, a phlegmatic +uncle, or a careful brother may be upon the spot, with wits and hands +ready to avert danger; but how frequently, also, is it the fashionable +stripling who escorts the lady—a cousin, or a lover, perhaps—ignorant +of all connected with riding, except the pleasure of it; or the booted +and belted servant, who touches his hat, and thinks he has done his +duty because the saddle is clean and the horse sleek and shiny; or the +riding-master, who has come out in a hurry, anxious and flurried at the +last moment to see that everything <i>looks</i> right, and who has had +no time to see after such minor accessories as stirrups, or has left +the matter (if he thought of it at all) in the hands of the groom, who +has left it alone altogether. This being the case, I maintain that a +stirrup encumbered with machinery is unsuited to a lady, because, +although she may have an escort who will look after it, there is the +possibility that she may not have such good fortune. Moreover, a +stirrup made sufficiently large to bear padding over the instep, and +yet enable the foot to slip easily in and out, must of necessity be a +considerable weight, and this alone would be an objection, especially +to a hunting lady, who calculates to a nicety every ounce which her +steed has to carry. I have said that a small racing, or jockey-stirrup, +is the <i>nicest</i> in which a lady can ride, and I am bound to adhere +to my judgment. +</p> + +<p> +So much for the first portion of "H. de V. R.'s" letter. Now we come to +the second. +</p> + +<p> +My "poor opinion of John, the coachman, and Jem, the groom," is based, +not upon their untrustworthiness, but upon their want of capacity as +teachers of the equine art. I have never yet, in all my experience, met +with any servant who was capable of instructing a lady how to ride; yet +I have been fairly astonished to find the contrary idea quite general +amongst parents in the country, who fondly hope that their daughters +may one day adorn a saddle and grace a hunting-field. "I shall have +Mary and Jenny taught immediately now," said a lady to me one day in +the course of last summer,—"They shall have a pony a-piece, and John +(the groom) shall teach them." Of course, I said nothing, my principle +of noninterference standing me in good stead; but when an hour or so +later, I beheld the said John disporting himself, and showing off his +equestrian skill upon one of the carriage-horses, I really felt pity +for the two charming little girls who were so soon to be handed over to +his doubtful tuition. +</p> + +<p> +And now for the third portion of your correspondent's letter: namely, +the question of the straight saddle. "H. de V. R." says he has never +seen any such; and I consider this extremely probable, for he will +recollect my saying that a saddle such as I described should be made to +order, as it is certainly not in general use—but I am not altogether +singular in my advocacy of it. Peat and Co., Piccadilly, or Box and +Co., Abbey Street, Dublin, will manufacture saddles of this description +in excellent style, but only to order, for they have not yet found +sufficient favour—or, to express it better, are not sufficiently +known—to have become popular, and manufacturers therefore will not +keep them in stock. The advantages of a straight saddle are manifold. +Firstly, it is the only means by which a lady can learn the necessary +art of riding from balance. This can be acquired by sitting <i>on</i> a +saddle, but never by sitting <i>in</i> one. Secondly, she can, when +riding upon a straight saddle, change and shift her position, which as +a necessary consequence changes her weight upon the horse's back, and +saves him from being galled. A noble lady wrote to me some time since, +"I know not how it is; all my horses are laid up with sore backs; and +yet my saddle is well padded." I guessed the secret at once; she was +riding in a sort of well, or chair, from which her heavy weight could +never for an instant shift, and hence the trouble of which she +complained. I sent her a sketch of my saddle, with the address of the +man who had made it, and she has since been a staunch upholder of my +theory. Thirdly, the best figure in the world would look to +disadvantage if seated in a saddle with a dip or slope; whereas a +well-made woman, attired in a habit properly fitted about the waist and +hips, never looks to such complete advantage as when sitting gracefully +and at ease upon a well constructed straight-made saddle. Fourthly, if +in taking an up-jump the horse misses his footing and struggles in an +unsuccessful effort to recover himself, the lady may—if riding upon a +straight saddle—succeed in slipping from it to a situation of +comparative safety; but, if she has a high projection of iron and stiff +leather just behind her, it bars her movement, and as a consequence the +horse falls back <i>upon</i> her, and catching her between his weight +and the edge of the ditch or furrow, as the case may be, injures her +spine, sometimes fatally, and frequently in a serious manner. +</p> + +<p> +The question, "Do I also advocate straight saddles for men's use?" is +answered by my reminding "H. de V. R." that there is no analogy between +a gentleman's position upon horseback and that of a lady. What would be +a necessity, or at least a <i>luxury</i>, for the one would be +eminently unsuited for the other. A man's superior activity and greater +liberty of motion place him ever at an advantage. And whilst upon this +subject I would strongly urge upon all humane riders, especially the +male portion of them, to have their saddles made high <i>in front</i>, +so as not to press upon the horse's withers, causing him much needless +suffering. A space capable of accommodating at least two fingers should +be between withers and saddle, and were this attended to we should see +fewer skin abrasions and unsightly lumps upon poor submissive animals, +and less of that stuffing of handkerchiefs between cruel leather and +bleeding flesh which so frequently pains the sorrowing eyes of +sensitive and pitying persons. +</p> + +<p> +I think I have now dealt fully with "H. de V. R.'s" letter, and must +thank the writer of it for his complimentary observations, and his +kindly appreciation of my labours in a cause which I certainly have +very much at heart. +</p> + +<p> +Apologising for trespassing thus far upon your valuable space. +</p> + +<p class="indent1"> +I am, Sir, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours obediently, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Nannie Power O'Donaghue.</span> +</p> + +<p> +October 12, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Many readers of <i>The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic +News</i> hope that Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, in her very interesting +letters upon "Ladies on Horseback," will touch fully on the most +important thing, viz. "the ladies' horse." One sees ladies riding all +sorts; some too big, some too small, some good shoulders and no backs, +others just the reverse; not one out of twenty what it ought to be. +Also, up to what weight should it be? What is the average weight of +ladies, and the difference in ordinary dress to the habit? It is often +said that, owing to the peculiar seat, the weight being all on one +side, a lady tires a horse much more than a man; certainly you often +see ladies' horses going short with the near hind leg, possibly from +this cause. Could not the weight of side-saddles be reduced? Those used +by the Empress of Austria could not have weighed 8 lb., and she was +herself a light woman. Anything on this subject will interest many +readers. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Eques.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—There is one point to which I should like to call the +attention of the writer of the able and interesting articles on "Ladies +on Horseback," which she appears to have altogether overlooked in her +enumeration of the articles of a lady's riding attire. It is the use of +a spur by lady equestrians. The recently invented lady's spur consists +of one sharp point so constructed as not to injure the habit. In +hunting, a spur is indispensable, and in park-riding is very desirable +for a lady, who has so much less control over her horse than a man. +Young girls just beginning to ride will find the use of a spur most +beneficial in managing their steeds. Hired horses are never altogether +to be trusted, and in the case of their showing temper or laziness, two +or three pricks with a lady's spur will subdue them far more quickly +than the application of a whip. I have more than once ridden a horse +that was a confirmed jibber, and have always found a few determined +thrusts with my spur, combined with an efficiently applied whip, never +failed to bring him down. I confidently recommend all ladies, and +especially young girls just beginning the art of equitation, to procure +a lady's spur, and never to mount a horse without it. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Mabel Florence Rayne.</span> +</p> + +<p> +The Firs, Cheltenham, +<br> +Oct. 18th, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I suppose it would be impossible to advance any opinions +to which there would not be objections raised, but I write, not in a +cavilling spirit, but as one really anxious for information, to know +whether Mrs. Power O'Donoghue would seriously advocate striking a horse +between the ears when it rears. Surely such a thing would be +exceedingly dangerous for any lady to attempt, and, as your +correspondent is writing solely for ladies, I conclude she refers to +them in the present instance. I feel very strongly upon this point, +because an uncle of mine, some years ago, when out riding tried this +experiment at the advice of a friend. The horse (not a vicious one) +suddenly reared; my uncle loosened the reins and urged it forward, but +finding this ineffectual, struck it violently between the ears with his +hunting-whip. The animal, maddened, I presume, by the pain, reared +straight on end and fell backward; its rider being a very agile man, +slipped off sideways, and thus escaped nearly certain death; but had +the rider been a lady instead of a gentleman the consequences must have +been fatal; and with so light a switch as a lady usually carries, a +blow between the ears could only serve to irritate without producing +any good effect. I would ask one more question: Why does your +correspondent so strongly object to the use of the "old-fashioned +slipper" stirrup? I am rather curious on this point, because I have +ever since the tender age of four, when my riding experiences began, +used the shoe-stirrup, and I have always thought it so safe, because my +foot slips out in a second. I am aware that it is extremely +unfashionable, as in Rotton Row you hardly see a lady using it; but I +keep to it still, not so much with the idea of its safety, but for +comfort, especially in trotting. I find it extremely difficult to keep +an iron stirrup from slipping back into the instep, and, being used to +rise pressing on the toes, I think that rising from the instep is more +difficult and doubles the exertion of trotting. In conclusion, I must +express a hope that Mrs. Power O'Donoghue will not give me credit for +writing in a spirit of unfriendly criticism; but as I am exceedingly +fond of riding, I feel an interest in working out this subject to its +fullest extent. I am sure all lady riders must feel grateful to Mrs. +Power O'Donoghue for the valuable and useful instructions contained in +her interesting letters, and one has only to pay a visit to the Row +between 12 and 2 in the season, to see how much they are needed by the +generality of the "ladies on horseback." +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Equestrina.</span> +</p> + +<p> +October 13th, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Though not an "aggrieved stirrup-maker," it may not be +out of place if I, as a saddler of many years' experience and a great +lover of horses, offer a few comments on the "hints and instructions" +set forth in your paper for the benefit of ladies on horseback, written +by one of the sex who is evidently an authority on the subject she +treats so ably. There is no doubt these articles will be read with +great interest by very many ladies who desire to acquit themselves well +on horseback, and also by their gentlemen friends who are anxious to +conduce to the safety and comfort of their fair companions in that +delightful exercise, but cannot have the same knowledge to impart the +theoretical instructions now given by your lady writer, whose +criticisms will therefore be valuable to both. In following her +remarks, it occurs to me that I may perhaps venture on a little comment +without being considered too intrusive. The objection taken to children +riding is no doubt formed on good grounds, but I think that with care +young ladies might be permitted at a much earlier age than sixteen to +acquire some practice in the saddle; it is true that young girls are +liable to curvature of the spine, when allowed to ride day after day on +the same side of their pony, but I have understood that this danger is +obviated by changing their position to the other side on alternate +days, and I should be glad to learn what are the objections to this. It +seems to me rather desirable that ladies should have equal facility in +riding on either side, but there may be reasons against it of which I +am ignorant. This lady says that the nicest bridle for a beginner is a +plain ring-snaffle, but states further that few horses will go in it; +the latter remark, if correct, (which I should venture to doubt), +raises a fatal objection to the ring-snaffle, as I fear that not one +young lady in twenty, under amateur teaching, would be put upon a +perfectly trained nag, desirable as this must be; and thus an ordinary +stout mouth plain snaffle, or plain bar with single rein, would surely +be preferable. I fancy it would be found of much advantage if riding +was taught in the first instance without the use of reins at all, the +horse simply being led by an attendant; the learner thus gets a proper +balance, without depending on the bridle for support, as many are found +to do. For a young girl I should like to know what is the objection to +a pad, or pilch as they are called, made for use on either side. These, +having no tree, are nearly level, but there is perhaps a chance of its +turning round if the rider does not sit straight; for a grown girl, the +properly made saddle is better every way. In common with your +correspondent "H. de V. R.," I fail quite to understand how a +side-saddle is to be made "as straight as a board." A saddle is made on +a foundation, or tree, of wood and iron, which should be shaped for the +back intended to bear it, and must be raised slightly in front for the +wither and behind to clear the backbone; but it is right that the seat +should be as level as possible. This is probably the lady's meaning. It +is very essential that the saddle should fit the horse correctly and be +of suitable size and shape for the rider; the former consideration is +too often overlooked and thus entails discomfort to both. There are +saddles, and saddles, as ladies often find to their cost. A very large +proportion in use here, and more abroad, are put together in Birmingham +and Walsall on the slop system; they will please the eyes of an +inexperienced purchaser, but are formed with little regard to the +requirements of the poor animals who suffer under them, or of their +riders' comfort, and it is probable that these are the saddles against +which ladies are very properly warned. It is really indispensable for a +lady's comfort in riding that she should have a good saddle, made by a +competent and conscientious saddler, whose business it is to see that +it is suitable. Considering the number of years that a good saddle with +care will last, it is inconceivable that the comparatively small +additional price should be grudged for a perfect and satisfactory +article by a maker of repute, instead of the machine-made slop rubbish, +by which many a good animal is injured and the temper of his rider +seriously chafed. Enough about saddles for the present, so I will go to +the next point under discussion—the stirrup. Your lady rider must have +been very unfortunate in her use of the safety-stirrup, which, in my +opinion, does in practice usually justify its name. I have known very +many instances in which ladies have owed immunity from serious accident +to its use. As "H. de V. R." justly says, the mechanism of the stirrup +(which is very simple) should not be allowed to get out of order by +neglect; surely the lady or her friends, particularly if so +"knowledgeable" as the writer of the article, might [They +"<i>might</i>." That they so often do not, and that danger so +frequently results from the neglect, is the grievance and complaint of +our contributor.—<span class="sc">Ed.</span> <i>I.S. & D.N.</i>] take the trouble +personally to see that her stirrup is not out of order from rust, and +in no other way but one can it be so; the other way is that if the +groom ignorantly or carelessly adjusts the stirrup for use hind part +before, the inner stirrup cannot be released, and the rider's foot, in +case of a fall, will be helplessly fixed in the stirrup. This +eventuality, however, does not detract from the real value of the +safety-stirrup, for neglect and ignorance will entail direful +consequences in all ways. Next to the safety-stirrup, I quite believe +that a plain steel stirrup of suitable size, with side pieces at the +bottom to take sharp pressure off the foot, is the most suitable for +ladies' use, and I always condemn the small padded stirrup, which is, +indeed, a fruitful source of danger to lady riders. +</p> + +<p> +With the rest of Mrs. O'Donoghue's dissertation I cordially agree, and +believe it would be beneficial if both men and ladies practised riding +without the aid of the stirrup; and the same rule applies to and is +generally practised by men, as I saw a few days ago on a German +barrack-ground, where an awkward squad was being trained in that +manner. The art of putting a lady up is one that should be practised +more than it is by horsemen; my first attempt resulted in the lady +slipping down again, and on my hat, which suffered even more than my +self-esteem. On one occasion in the Crimea, years ago, I was riding +with a lady and her husband, the former dismounted at Mrs. Seacole's +for refreshment, and on being put up again by her husband with more +vigour than skill, the poor lady was sent over her horse's back to the +ground on the other side, and being somewhat portly, was shaken +severely. I fear many ladies have suffered in the same way from the +awkwardness of their attendants, but I have seen ladies so agile as to +mount from the ground without assistance—rather a difficult feat, and +requiring much practice. Having trespassed so much on your space I must +not proceed further now, but shall be happy to air my notions again, if +agreeable to your readers and riders. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Jermyn.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—My papers entitled "Ladies on Horseback" have called +forth many letters. Some of these you have printed, some have been +forwarded to me from your office, and many have been received at my own +house. I shall regard it as a favour if you will permit me to reply to +a few of them through the medium of your paper, as in answering one I +shall answer many who have written upon the same subject. +</p> + +<p> +J. V.—When the horse took head with me and leaped into the farm-yard +(as depicted by Mr. Sturgess) I had no way of getting out except by the +passage and kitchen of the farm-house, as the gates of the yard were +locked, and the owner of the place—who was away at the neighbouring +town—had the key in his pocket. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Eques.</span>—The reason why ladies ride "all sorts of horses" is +that comparatively few keep horses of their own, and those who are +without them and are fond of riding, jump eagerly at the offer of a +friend's mount, whether it be suitable or otherwise. A nice horse for a +lady may be thus described: Height about 15-3; Colour dark bay or +brown, well-set sloping shoulders, good back, arched loins, firm and +graceful neck, small head and ears, shapely clean-cut legs, and good +firm feet. A horse of this description will be well up to 13 or 14 st. +For a heavy weight an animal should be selected with a short wide back, +powerful quarters, big healthy hocks, and stoutly-built fore-legs. The +<i>average</i> weight of ladies is about 9st. Summer costume and riding +gear would weigh about equally, but velvet or sealskin would outweigh a +habit. A lady seated upon a properly-made saddle, if she has been well +taught, will never have her weight "all on one side." The reason why +horses go short with the near hind leg is because ladies ride from the +stirrup, leaning their full weight upon it, and galling the animal's +back. The stirrup is meant to assist, not to <i>support</i>, the rider. +Old-fashioned side-saddles are all too heavy; but a well-constructed +modern saddle can scarcely be improved upon. It is a mistake to ride in +too light a saddle, as it brings the weight of the body too near the +horse's back. That used by the Empress of Austria weighed 12 lbs., which +is about a correct standard. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Ladybird.</span>—Nobody who has any regard for life and limb now +rides through Dublin. All wise persons gave it up when pavement and +tram-lines made the city what it is. Consequently the park is deserted, +and only a solitary horseman is seen in Stephen's Green. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Inquirer.</span>—The shoe should be made to <i>fit the foot</i>. It +is most cruel, and is a fruitful source of lameness, to pare the foot +away to make it fit a ready-made shoe. If you cannot trust your +farrier, change him. This advice also applies to <span class="sc">James R.</span>, but +I do not undertake to answer questions respecting the treatment or +management of the horse. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Mabel Florence Rayne.</span>—I had not forgotten nor overlooked the +important uses of the spur. You will find the subject treated in my +papers upon hunting and hunting-costume. I do not, however, <i>at +all</i> approve of its use for beginners, as such are certain, through +nervousness, to press the left heel close to the horse's side, and, if +furnished with a spur, would cause him much needless pain and +irritation, besides endangering their own safety. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Robert Keating.</span>—Best thanks for letter and papers. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">G. Elliot.</span>—For riding with a bit and bridoon, place a rein +between each finger of your left hand, and hold them securely with your +thumb, reserving your right hand for your whip; or take your reins in +both hands, and ride your horse upon the curb, or snaffle, according to +his temperament. For riding with a single rein, place the near leather +under your little finger and the off one between the first and second +fingers, which is as good a way as any; but I have already said that +there is no fixed rule for holding reins, and a good rider will +constantly change them about, and move the bridle in her horse's mouth, +which prevents him hanging upon his bit. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Jane Carr.</span>—I scarcely know whether to regard your letter as a +compliment or the reverse. My labours have been <i>totally</i> +unassisted; nor has my experience of this world shown me that its +occupants are sufficiently philanthropic to labour that another may +reap the merit and the reward. +</p> + +<p> +L. K.—The subject is not within my province. Mayhew's <i>Horse +Management</i>, published by Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, London, +is the best I can recommend. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Huntsman.</span>—It is for ladies I am writing. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Eleanor.</span>—Thanks; but if I adopted one half of the suggestions +offered, a strange result would ensue. Happily my papers went to press +without <i>anybody</i> (save the Editor) having had a glance at them. +He generously accepted them upon their merits; but had I shown them to +others I should either have altered something in every second line or +have given offence to numerous well-meaning persons. When I was a child +I committed to memory the inimitable fable of "The Miller, his Son, and +his Ass," and have taken the moral of it as a guide through life. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Goodall.</span>—A short hunting-crop without a lash would do. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Equestrina.</span>—If a horse rears with me in a vicious manner I +hit him between the ears, but I do not by any means expect my readers +to coincide in all my views, and those who know a better plan can, of +course, adopt it. If an animal rears slightly I lean forward against +his neck, touch him with my heel, and speak to him. If he persists, and +I see any danger of his falling back, I hit him between the ears with +the butt-end of my whip, not sufficiently heavily to "madden him," nor +even to cause him the least pain, but to occasion him to duck his head, +which he invariably does; and if at that instant I hit him sharply with +my heel, he drops at once and lashes out behind. Allowing for a moment +that such a mode of action may be open to objection, is it not better +(seeing that it is frequently efficacious) than sitting quietly and +permitting one's-self to be fallen back upon, without making any effort +to avert the catastrophe? My objection to the slipper-stirrup is +founded on the knowledge that it encourages ladies to lean their weight +upon it. "It feels so comfortable," I heard a lady say, "so like a +resting-board beneath my foot, that I <i>cannot help</i> riding from +it." An iron stirrup with the foot well home is the proper thing to +ride in; and remember it is from the instep and <i>not</i> from the +toes that you should rise. The iron should meet the waist of the +boot-sole, and a long flat heel (I do not mean one of those atrocities +known as a <i>high</i> one) should be worn on the boot. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Jermyn.</span>—Your letter almost answers itself. The pad or pilch +<i>is</i> apt to turn round, for it is only one little girl in twenty +who sits straight. You judge my meaning rightly about the straight +saddle, but I opine that it is the stuffing which should be arranged to +guard the backbone from pressure, and that it is in no way necessary to +raise the <i>seat</i> at the back. I must again say, for the third +time, that a plain ring-snaffle is the <i>nicest</i> for a lady's use, +and also maintain my opinion that few horses will go in it, according +to <i>my</i> ideas of "going." A horse who goes well in a ring-snaffle +must have a perfect temper and a perfect mouth, a combination as rare +in the equine as in the human tribe. For ordinary hunters and roadsters +I do not recommend it, simply because they will not go in such a +bridle; but I shall ever hold to my opinion that it is the nicest and +the least puzzling for a beginner. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Katie.</span>—Not worth denying. It is one of those worthless +untruths which I have long since learned to treat with contempt. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Liverpudlian.</span>—Your suggestion is so good that I shall +certainly adopt it. Nothing could be better adapted for riding in than +a warm jersey, buttoned in front. Being elastic it would allow full +play for the arms and shoulders, and would also display a good figure +to advantage. If you, or some other, would only get up a sufficient +amount of courage to turn a deaf ear to the hateful and oft-recurring +"What will be said?" we might have many useful and elegant innovations +of which at present we know nothing. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Young Wife.</span>—There can be no impropriety in what you say. +"Honi soit qui mal y pense?" So long as you have a good conscience and +your husband's approval you need care little for what the world says. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">X. Y. Z.</span>, <span class="sc">Dashaway</span>, and <span class="sc">Countryman</span>.—I +cannot reply to your letters. +</p> + +<p> +Thanking you, Sir, for your kindness in granting me so much of your +valuable space, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Nannie Power O'Donoghue.</span> +</p> + +<p> +October 25. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—The "recently-invented lady's spur," mentioned in your +last issue by "Mabel Florence Kayne," was patented towards the close of +the last century, and illustrations of it, and of other spurs on the +same principle, can be seen at the Patent Office. I quite concur in the +recommendation that a lady should always wear a spur, and it will be +seen from the last article by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue that a spur forms +part of her hunting equipment; but I strongly advise ladies to wear a +spur with a rowel having only five points, which should be long and +sharp. The spur with one point and a spring sheath is commonly sold by +saddlers for ladies' use, but is liable to break or get out of order, +and is always discarded in favour of the one with a five-pointed rowel +by ladies who have tried the latter. Mrs. Power O'Donoghue is doing +good service to ladies by protesting against the stirrups facetiously +so-called "safety." I always advise a lady to use a perfectly plain +steel stirrup, but a tolerably heavy one. Why cannot the stirrup be +attached to a lady's saddle in the same manner as to a gentleman's? +Then, in case of accident, the stirrup and leather would come away +together. An excellent bit for a lady's horse is a curb-bit, suspended +in the horse's mouth by two large rings, to which the snaffle-reins are +also attached. This bit is very light or very severe, at the rider's +wish. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Southern Cross.</span> +</p> + +<p> +October 26, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Continuing my remarks on this subject, I am bound to say +that your contributor gives sufficient answer to the question of the +safety-stirrup in explaining that the objection is removed providing +the inner stirrup is large enough for the foot to be easily extricated; +the stirrup being made in three different sizes, this is a matter +easily adjusted. The shoe-stirrup referred to by "Equestrina" was in +use by ladies for many years, and in point of safety I think no +objection can be raised to it; the same shape of stirrup is much +affected by men in South America. +</p> + +<p> +The instructions in Part Second of Mrs. Power O'Donoghue's writings are +very admirable, except that I do not see the utility of a lady's +striking a rearing horse between the ears, with the few ounces of whip +usually carried. I have known men do so with a loaded whip, and +knocking a horse down to cure him of this vice, but it would be +scarcely advisable for a lady to try this. I am rather surprised to see +it stated as a fact that both rearing and plunging maybe entirely +prevented by using the so-called anti-rearing bit martingale. It +certainly may prevent rearing on the first attempt if the horse's head +is kept down tightly by this martingale attached to the breastplate, +but as the latter is seldom worn except for hunting, it cannot be +intended to recommend it for that purpose, for it would infallibly +follow that the fixed martingale would bring both horse and rider to +grief at the very first fence they attempted to clear, and if the horse +had sufficient liberty of action to jump freely, the martingale would +be no obstruction to his rearing. I know from my own experience that a +horse can be knocked down by a blow on the head. I was once doing a +little private mounted practice at sword exercise, preparatory to a +prize competition, and grasping my sword with thick gloves on, the +weapon somehow turned in my hand, caught my mare below the ear on the +bridle-hand, and knocked her completely off her legs, to our mutual +amazement, though no great harm was done. I do not see what analogy +there can be between the powerful Chifney bit and a rearing martingale; +the effect of the latter may be secured by attaching a split +martingale, with leather or spring billets, to the mouth-rings of any +bit in use, snaffle or Pelham; but I believe that a horse can, if +determined, rear all the same, and it certainly would not prevent +plunging or bucking. For a restive or jibbing horse in saddle I have +always found a short running martingale very useful; the rider should +shorten and lower the right rein well down the horse's shoulder, apply +the right leg and spur sharply, and turn the horse round like a +teetotum until he is dizzy, then give him both spurs when his head is +in the right direction. This will set him going before he knows where +he is, and is a practice I have found very efficacious, but not easily +applicable by ladies. +</p> + +<p> +On the subject of bits, my own favourite is the Hanoverian Pelham; it +will generally hold the strongest puller, and, with a light hand, I +have never met a horse that would not face it. For show or park riding +there is none better; it is, however, not suited to those who trust to +the bridle-reins for their balance in the saddle. +</p> + +<p> +"Eques" inquires "what is the average weight of ladies?" This is a +difficult query, but as ladies ride at all weights between six and +eleven stone, with a margin each way, I should suppose the average +would be about 8-1/2 stone, exclusive of saddle, &c. A lady who is an +indifferent rider would throw more weight on one side than the other, +one cause of so many sore backs from side-saddles; but a thoroughly +good horsewoman would sit with as level a balance as a man. The weight +of good modern side-saddles is much reduced, but they cannot well be +made under 14 lb., with furniture, and are usually considerably more. +If the Empress of Austria uses a saddle of 8 lb. only (as some have +averred), she must ride on a man's steeplechase-saddle, which perhaps +would not be a difficult performance for a lady who is said to be in +the habit of driving four-in-hand. +</p> + +<p> +I am much impressed by the recital of your contributor's adventures and +hair-breadth escapes on the saddle, particularly on the occasion she +refers to when invited by a friend to ride the big bay horse. If the +friend was a gentleman, I must repeat the opinion I heard expressed by +a lady when reading the article—that any man who would wilfully expose +a woman to risk her life on such a brute behaved disgracefully. There +is no object in creation to my mind more attractive than a graceful +woman controlling with ease a fine and well-trained horse; but no one +with due respect for the sex would wish to see her taking the place of +a rough rider. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Jermyn.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Although I care nothing for anything that may be said +about myself, I am ever loyal to my friends, and it seems to me hard +that one of the truest of them should be spoken of as having "behaved +disgracefully" by a writer who, with more impetuosity than judgment, +jumps at conclusions without waiting to hear the truth. When I was +riding homeward after the leap into the farm-yard, I met the owner of +the horse upon the road, driving out with a friend. The moment he heard +what had occurred he took me off the animal, changed my saddle to the +very quiet horse he was driving, and actually, after nearly an hour's +delay, succeeded in putting the harness upon the "big bay," and, having +done so, drove him home regardless of his own safety, or rather of his +danger, which was imminent. I do not think there are many men at his +time of life, and in his delicate state of health, who would have done +the same thing rather than chance a second runaway. He had <i>no</i> +reason to suppose that any such thing would, in the first instance, +have happened, and I believe it was attributable to the fact that the +horse had been ridden a day or two previously by a very wild rider, who +had spoilt his mouth and manners, and who subsequently apologised to me +for having been the cause of what occurred. I might have mentioned all +this before, and certainly should have done so had I thought that such +necessity should have arisen. I would remind "Jermyn" that my +observations respecting the martingale were confined to my papers on +<i>road-riding</i>, not on hunting, and would also thank him, with my +best obeisance, for calling me a rough-rider. +</p> + +<p class="indent1"> +I am, Sir, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours obediently, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Nannie Power O'Donoghue.</span> +</p> + +<p> +October 31, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I must, in justice to myself, ask you to be so kind as +to grant me space in your influential journal to reply to the very +serious charge "Jermyn" brought against me in your issue of the 30th of +the past month. I am the friend who asked Mrs. Power O'Donoghue to ride +"the big bay," and yet I believe that nobody in all the world has a +higher esteem for that lady, nor a truer regard for her safety than I +have. Indeed there are few men in Ireland (if one) worth being called +the name, who would not willingly lay down their own lives rather than +imperil the life of one so universally beloved. The horse up to the day +of the runaway had been perfectly quiet and most easily managed. He +carried me two seasons to hounds, never making a mistake nor pulling in +the least. Not being able to ride, having shortly before met with a +very serious accident, I lent "the big bay" to a hard-riding young +officer for a day's hunting. He unfortunately must have made too free +use of his long-necked spurs, and, totally unknown to me, ruffled the +horse's temper; the animal remembering the treatment he received, and +finding but a feather on his back, when excited by the music of the +hounds, overpowered his rider; but, thank Heaven, no serious accident +occurred. I was unutterably shocked and distressed on hearing of the +occurrence, and may state that on the day in question I was driving in +my dog-cart, accompanied by a gentleman (late an officer in Her +Majesty's service) who can vouch for the truth of my statement, when +Mrs. O'Donoghue came up to me and told me of her very narrow escape. I +did not hesitate an instant to say, "I will take out the horse I am +driving. You know him to be a perfect mount, and I will put 'the big +bay' in my trap." The lady did not wish me to do so, knowing the risk I +ran in putting a horse in harness that had never been in such before. I +at last succeeded in prevailing on her not to lose the day's sport, +changed the saddle with great difficulty, and attached "the big bay" to +my dog-cart; after a few plunges and an endeavour to get away, he +settled down, and has since gone grandly. My friend, though a very bold +man, would not get in with me for some time. I hope after this +explanation your correspondent will be sufficiently generous to allow +that I did all in my power to insure the safety of a most precious +life. With regard to the term "rough-rider," as applied by "Jermyn" to +Mrs. O'Donoghue, I feel assured if he knew the lady he would not for +worlds have used such an expression. +</p> + +<p class="indent1"> +I am, Sir, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Your most obedient servant, +</p> + +<p class="indent4"> +<span class="sc">One Who has Ridden to Hounds for Over Sixty Years.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I should by no means recommend a young lady to wear a +spur when learning in a riding-school, but from my own experience I +strongly advise all girls beginning to ride on the road never to mount +their steeds without a sharp spur on their left boot. The second time I +went out riding, when I was fourteen, my cob, startled by some noise, +suddenly began to rear and pitch vigorously. I applied my whip sharply +across his flank, but without effect. I then gave him a series of sharp +pricks with my spur, which completely subdued him. Had I been without a +spur I should probably have been thrown and severely injured. I should +certainly prefer a spur with a rowel as "Southern Cross" recommends, +but would it not be apt to tear the habit? +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Mabel Florence Rayne.</span> +</p> + +<p> +The Firs, Cheltenham, +<br> +November 1, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—A correspondent in your last number advises ladies to +use a rowel spur, with five prongs, long and sharp, so, as a friend of +horses, I am inclined to write an objection to their taking this +advice. In the first place, from the nature of a lady's seat, her armed +heel would often unintentionally irritate and annoy the horse; and in +the second place many would probably use this instrument of torture too +severely, and therefore cruelly. A rowel spur, with five long and sharp +prongs—in fact, a jockey's spur—is a much more severe instrument than +is required for ordinary riding, either by man or woman, and the +advantage of the ladies' bore spur is, that it can only be applied when +intended, and then is quite sufficiently severe. I have no objection to +ladies, who are good horsewomen, wearing a spur, and using it, too, as +severely as necessary, but I have great objections to any unnecessary +pain or annoyance being given to my friends, the horses. Another lady +correspondent of yours says that a spur is quite indispensable for +hunting. If she means that it should always be worn in case it is +required, I agree; but I have ridden a courageous high-tempered horse +for years with hounds without ever using the spur. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Fair Play.</span> +</p> + +<p> +Glasgow, 1st November 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—As the subject of spurs and other riding equipment for +ladies seems at the present time to occupy and interest many of your +fair readers, permit me, on behalf of my sisters, who are horsewomen of +some experience, both at home and in the colonies, and who have +practically tried most known riding-costumes, to recommend, through the +medium of your columns, the following as a comfortable and serviceable +riding-dress for a lady, for long country rides, picnics, &c.; of +course not for the Park, or a lawn meet. Habit—a short, strong +hunting-skirt, short enough to walk in with comfort, with jacket of +same cloth as skirt, made loose enough to admit of a jersey being worn +under it if required; a wide leather belt for the waist, fastening with +a buckle. This belt will be found a great comfort and support when on +horseback for many hours. Hat of soft felt, or a melon-shaped hat. +Pantaloons of chamois leather, buttoning close at the ankles. Hussar or +Wellington boots, reaching to about four inches of the knee, to be worn +over the pantaloons, made of Peel leather with <i>moderate</i>-sized +heels, tipped with brass, and soles strong but not thick. A leather +stud should be sewn on the left boot, about 2-1/2 inches above the +heel, on which stud the spur should rest, and thus be kept in its place +without tight buckling. The spur found to be the most useful after the +trial of many is a rowel spur of plated steel, about two inches to two +and-a-half inches long, strong and light, hunting shape, and fastened +with a strap and buckle, the foot-strap of plated steel chain. This +chain foot-strap looks neater than a leather one, and does not become +cut or worn out when on foot on rough or rocky ground. The rowel pin is +a screw pin; thus the rowel can be changed at pleasure, and a sharp or +a blunt one fitted as is required by the horse one rides. The spur I +mention can be obtained of Messrs. Maxwell & Co., Piccadilly, London; +or of Mr. Thompson, saddler, Dawson street, Dublin. +</p> + +<p> +Some ladies affect two spurs—one, the right, being fitted with a blank +rowel; this is, of course, for appearance sake when dismounted. I have +not often seen two spurs worn. I am not alluding to Miss Bird's +riding-costume, as described in her books, <i>Life in the Sandwich +Islands</i> and <i>The Rocky Mountains</i>. She rode <i>à la +cavalière</i>, in a Mexican saddle, and wearing big rowel Mexican +spurs, and appears from her account to have preferred this style of +riding to the modern style and side-saddle. Some years ago I saw a +photograph of the Queen of Naples (I think in 1860), representing the +queen mounted <i>à la cavalière</i>, wearing a high felt hat, a long +white cloak, patent-leather jack-boots, and gilt spurs. Can any of your +readers inform me if this style of riding for ladies is a custom of +Southern Italy as well as Mexico and the Sandwich Islands? +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Jack Spur.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I cannot regret that my letter has given the authoress +of this work, and also the owner of the "big bay" horse, an opportunity +of explaining the circumstances attending her mount on that puissant +but headstrong animal, and of repudiating the erroneous construction +put upon it, as probably the same idea may have occurred to many other +readers of the anecdote, who may not have cared to express their +sentiments. I must say, however, that I am very sorry if my remarks +occasioned pain to either of your correspondents. The explanation given +shows clearly that no blame was really attributable to the gentleman +who offered the mount, and I can well believe he never dreamt of danger +with the horse in such skilful hands. No one would doubt the sincerity +of the statement given, that the horse was put in harness for the first +time and driven away, after such an experience of his temper; but it +speaks more highly for the courage than discretion of his owner, and I +can well understand the friend's hesitation to share the driving-seat, +for there are few things more trying to the nerves than to sit behind a +determined bolter. Perhaps I write feelingly, having been in that +predicament myself three years ago, resulting in a fractured hip and +permanent lameness. I will most certainly admit that the chivalrous +gentleman did all, and more than was necessary, to avert further peril +to the lady who had so narrow an escape. As for the obnoxious term +"rough rider," to which exception is taken, it was intended to be used +generally and not individually; if it has unfortunately happened that +Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, whom I have never had the pleasure of seeing, +took it in a personal sense, I most sincerely beg her forgiveness, and +will ask her rather to accept, as applicable to herself, the earlier +remarks about ladies on horseback at the conclusion of my letter, and +the assurance of my belief that such a gentlewoman as she is described +could never be a <i>rough</i> rider in any way. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Jermyn.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—The spur with a five-pointed rowel was strongly +recommended for ladies' use many years ago in the <i>Queen</i>, and is +worn by many: it does not tear the habit, and is not more severe than +the spring-sheath spur with a point of the same length, as only one +point of the rowel can prick the horse at a time; indeed, it is not so +severe, as it can be applied with a very slight touch, which generally +is all that is required, whilst the spring-sheath spur must be applied +with sufficient force to overcome the resistance of the spring, with +the result that the horse is often more sharply pricked than the rider +intends. The points of a lady's spur should be long enough to be +effective if the skirt of the habit intervenes, as, with any +arrangement, it sometimes will do, when, if the points are too short, +the horse does not feel it. I dissent from the statement of "Fairplay" +that, "from the nature of a lady's seat, her armed heel would often +unintentionally irritate and annoy her horse." If applied to a clumsy +rider the statement is accurate, but a lady who is a moderately good +rider has no difficulty in keeping her foot in the proper position, and +a lady's left foot should be in the same position as a man's; whilst, +as a lady has the third crutch to steady her left leg, she has less +excuse than a man would have for the unintentional use of the spur; but +this evil carries its own antidote, for the lady would soon perceive +the result of the irritation, and become more careful. The best way to +cure a boy of turning out his toes and holding on with his heels is to +give him a pair of long-necked spurs, and then put him on a fidgetty +horse; a few minutes' experience teaches him more than a month of +lecturing. I never knew of a mishap occurring to a lady through +accidentally spurring her horse, but I have known many instances of +ladies being put to great inconvenience and annoyance through not +wearing a spur, and I do not understand why a lady should be more +likely than a man to use it with undue severity. That it is an +advantage to a lady is clearly shown by the fact that a lady who once +tries one always continues its use. "Fairplay" is also mistaken about +the spring-sheath spur, for it is as readily applied as any other, +though more force is required, which is objectionable, and especially +so in park riding, when the spring of the horse to an unintentionally +sharp application betrays the action of the rider. I claim to be as +good a friend of horses as "Fairplay," but I have some regard for the +rider as well as for the horse, and I consider that, whilst we are +justified in riding horses, we are justified in using such reasonable +aids as we find most satisfactory to ourselves; and I have no sympathy +with anyone who objects to a lady availing herself of the convenience +and assistance so readily supplied by a judiciously-used spur, which +every horseman knows cannot, in very many cases, be obtained by any +other means, and which he never hesitates to avail himself of. In these +days of locomotion a lady loses a great deal of the pleasures of +travelling, and of the opportunities of seeing the countries she may +visit, unless she can and will ride such horses as she may meet with in +those countries; and even in the rural districts of England there is +many an old nag of the "Proputty Proputty" type, which (though not +possessed of the special points of a lady's horse—"Oh! such a lovely +mane and tail") will carry a lady tolerably well if he feels the spur +occasionally. If "Mabel Florence Rayne" tries the rowel spur and the +bit I mentioned in my former letter, I am sure she will be satisfied +with them, and perhaps she will write her opinion for the benefit of +others. The excellent and sensible letters of Mrs. Power O'Donoghue +will probably convince people that a horse, when he has a lady on his +back, is very much the same kind of animal, and requires very much the +same kind of management, as when he is ridden by a man. If Mrs. Power +O'Donoghue can obtain this result, she will sweep away many of the +peculiar prejudices and ideas that now prevail as to all matters +appertaining to ladies on horseback. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Southern Cross.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—In the article under the above-mentioned heading, +published in your issue of the 6th November, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue +recommends that horses' tails should not be docked. Dealers, when +offering horses for sale, do not usually volunteer any information as +to whether the horses have been docked. I wish, therefore, to inform +any intending purchasers who may not know how to ascertain whether a +horse has been docked, and who may wish to obtain some which have not +been disfigured in this manner, that if the dock (that is, the portion +of the tail which consists of bones and muscles, &c.) is in its natural +state, the hair grows thickly at the end or tip of it, and there is no +bare space there; but if it has been shortened by a portion of it being +cut off (or docked), there is at the end or tip of it a circular space +of about an inch in diameter, entirely bare of hair. When a horse has +been docked, the hair of the tail scarcely grows after it has reached +to within six or seven inches above the hocks. The hocks of a large +horse are about twenty-five inches above the ground. It is a general +custom with London dealers to cut the hair of the tail very short +before offering a horse for sale, so that it does not come down lower +than to a distance of about nine inches above the hocks. The buyer +cannot then tell to what length the tail is likely to grow. If +customers would refuse to buy horses with the hair of the tail cut +short, perhaps the practice in question would be discontinued by the +dealers. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, Sir, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +X. Y. Z. +</p> + +<p> +London, November 10, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—In your paper of last week I notice a letter on the +advisability of ladies on horseback adopting the cross-saddle in place +of the side, that is to say, in plain English, ride astride. This I +have done abroad when far beyond conventional bondage, and it is +incomparably better. Your correspondent points out the evils resulting +from the one-sided twisted seat, which a lady now has, and also, in the +same paper, the authoress of <i>Ladies on Horseback</i> says how +impossible it is with only one foot in the stirrup to rise comfortably +to a high trotter. Now I should never have dared to name such a change +had it not been thus mooted. Society will shriek out and say, "Woman +would be indeed out of place thus." Why? I am sure with a proper dress +there is nothing to hurt the extremely proper feelings of the most +modest. All who have hunted know that the <i>very</i> short skirted +habits at times display, well, say the leg of the fair +<i>equestrienne</i> most liberally. Now the dress for the cross-horse +style is much the same as a bathing suit, loose Zouave drawers drawn +close below the knee, and fastened tightly over the boot at the ankle; +a loose tunic, long enough to come almost to the knee when mounted, +lightly belted at the waist, a cape falling over the shoulders, not +quite to the elbows. This is my attire when free to ride in the +<i>only</i> really comfortable way, a foot in each stirrup. Oh, no +woman would ever be twisted and packed on to a side saddle again if she +could help it, after once enjoying the ease and freedom, as well as +complete control of her horse which a man's seat gives. +</p> + +<p> +So far as exhibitions of limbs go, it is much more delicate, and there +is nothing to offend the most sensitive lady in this style. Only it is +not fashionable. When shall we cease to prostrate ourselves before that +Juggernaut of fashion? For all paces and in every instance it is +better, and the risk of accidents is reduced at <i>least one half</i>. +It is a wonderful ease in long rides to <i>vary the stirrup length</i>. +The military, almost straight-leg, trot, I think the easiest, but, on +the other hand, some of the best riders I have ever seen abroad ride +with a very short stirrup; it is a matter of habit and custom. But if +the fashion were once introduced here, I know it would prove a +priceless boon to ladies who love riding. Let some lady who has the +opportunity once try it in her own private grounds (at first) or in +some quiet, out-of-the-way country lane or moorland, and she will be +surprised. It is a <i>new existence on horseback</i>, and +<i>nothing</i> indelicate about it, clad as I have named. Oh, what a +difference it does make. It is twenty-three years now since I first +took the idea from a book published by a lady, entitled, <i>Unprotected +Females in Norway</i>, and whenever I can, I always ride so, of course +abroad or even in the far north of Scotland. What a sensation in the +Row would a party of ladies make thus mounted! Again, it is much easier +for the horse, having your weight fairly distributed, not all perched +on one side. Your seat is much firmer; leaping is, oh, so easy; in +fact, your power seems doubled in every way. In case of conflict with +your horse, you feel a veritable centaur compared with the side seat, +where you have no grip, only the aid of the saddle, but with the aid of +your own knees and a foot on each side of the horse I think I <i>could +not be thrown</i>. Oh, I wish it could be initiated, dear Mr. Editor. +Do use your influence in this direction. And it really looks well when +the dress is well-made and tasty, and you feel so very free and at +ease, can turn about any way, not pinned on to your horse, or rather on +to your saddle, as ladies are. I could give full directions to make an +outfit for going abroad in this style; you would smile at my saddle I +know, but it is so comfortable. I can hardly bear to ride on an +orthodox one now. That is the worst of it. I have been mounted on mules +in this manner in Honduras, and ridden immense distances without being +stiff or tired unduly. Some of these are the animals to try <i>your +mettle and seat</i>, and I was only once thrown, owing to a +stirrup-leather breaking. Then a lady is able to use spurs as easily as +possible, no trouble about habit skirts tearing or getting in the way +of the spur. With a sharp spur on each foot you can do anything with +your horse, so very different from the wretched box spurs, eternally +entangled in your habit or out of order. I do wish an association could +be formed to carry out the idea; one or two could not do it, it must be +simultaneous. For little girls it would be simply invaluable as an +improvement on the present style, which really does cause distortion of +the spine and a one-sided carriage when girls ride much. Do please +ventilate this question, and oblige very much, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Hersilie.</span> +</p> + +<p> +P.S.—I have taken your paper ever since October 2nd, when I first saw +<i>Ladies on Horseback</i> in it, and have been much pleased with it, +and also much amused with the correspondence thereon, but I never +expected to see ladies' change of seat advocated, and am so glad to-day +to find that it is. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Permit me to state that the object in having the screw +rowel-pin in the spur, recommended by me for the use of ladies in your +number of November 13th, is in order to enable the wearers to use a +mild or a severe rowel, according to the requirements of the horses +they ride. I am very much against sharp spurs for ladies (or gentlemen +either), unless they are absolutely required; but from some experience, +both at home and abroad, I am quite convinced that the wearing of a +spur should be the rule and not the exception. If the rowel is +moderately sharp only, no cruelty can arise, less I maintain than in +the use of a whip. I strongly object to the use of the sheath spur +because of its severity; it must be applied with a <i>kick</i> to be of +any use, and the effect is usually much more punishing than there is +any necessity for. If ladies will use rowel spurs with +<i>moderately</i> sharp rowels, such as are usual in gentlemen's park +spurs, they will find that they are in possession of a very useful aid +(certainly not a cruel one), and if fitted on a neat patent leather +hussar or Wellington boot, a very ornamental one as well. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Jack Spur.</span> +</p> + +<p> +December, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—The correspondence on Mrs. Power O'Donoghue's articles +has contained many remarks on ladies' spurs, but I have noticed +scarcely any reference to one point which I think is worth +consideration—namely, the mode of fastening. I think ladies would find +it an advantage to wear what are known as "spring" or "box" spurs, +instead of those fastening with the usual straps, or strap and chain. I +have never seen a lady's spur of this description, but possibly they +are made—if not, they easily could be. They are much the most easy to +attach or remove, and there is no chance of a strap being cut in +walking or otherwise, or of an over-tight buckle hurting the foot. +Their principal advantage, however, is not one of mere convenience, but +of safety; the absence of strap and buckle removes one element in a +great danger—that of the foot sticking in the stirrup in a fall. +Captain Whyte-Melville speaks from observation of the risk of the +buckle catching in the angle of the stirrup-iron, and says he has never +seen a spurless boot so entangled. He is arguing against the wearing of +spurs at all; but the risk is avoided if box spurs be worn. Since I +became convinced that the strap and buckle were a quite possible, +though perhaps unlikely, source of danger, I have altogether discarded +them, and have felt my feet more free in the stirrups in consequence. +Box spurs are certainly not fashionable in the hunting-field, and I +have often seen people looking askance at them; I suppose a particular +man misses the finish that the strap gives to the boot. But I don't +think that matters much, and to ladies it would not matter at all, as +the difference could very seldom be detected. In getting spurs or +boxes, I find it convenient to adhere always to the regulation cavalry +size, because then one's old spurs fit one's new boots, and <i>vice +versâ</i>. It would be well to have a uniform standard for ladies' +spurs also. I have not ventured to say anything on the subject of spurs +generally—my own opinion is that legitimate occasion for their use is +excessively rare—and I dare say my suggestion may seem very trivial. +But I do not think any precaution is trivial which lessens, however +slightly, the risk of that most disagreeable and dangerous of +accidents—getting "hung up." +</p> + +<p class="indent1"> +I am, Sir, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Your obedient servant, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Oxonian.</span> +</p> + +<p> +Ball. Col., Oxon., December, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I cannot but feel flattered that my <i>Ladies on +Horseback</i> papers should have called forth so large a +correspondence. I have read every letter most carefully, and on +perusing that of "Hersilie," which appeared in last week's issue, it +struck me, from two of her observations, that persons might suppose I +had said something to advocate the style of riding of which she +approves. Permit me to say, emphatically, that I have never done so, +and that I fervently hope, in the interests of my sex, that such a +practice may never be introduced. Modesty is, in my opinion, a woman's +most exquisite attribute; once this, or the semblance of it, is lost, +her fairest charm is gone. Nothing could be more ungraceful or more +unwomanly than for women to ride like men; and for short women or +"little girls," it would be <i>most</i> objectionable. I maintain that +a lady who knows how to sit has a far safer and surer seat on a +side-saddle than a man can ever have, and that her grip of the pommels +affords her infinitely greater security than a man's "grip of the +knees." "Hersilie" is correct in saying that short-skirted +hunting-habits frequently ride up, but she might just as well say that +hunting-hats frequently fall off, and that ladies' back hair frequently +comes down—giving these facts as a reason for discarding head-gear, +whether natural or artificial. As a rule, nothing that is properly made +and properly adjusted ever comes to grief. It is by going to cheap and +incompetent habit-makers, neglecting to stitch elastics to their hats, +and plaiting the hair too loosely (being also too sparing of +hair-pins), that ladies are inconvenienced and made to blush. Two yards +wide round the hem is ample for a hunting-habit, which should fit like +a glove about the hips. First-class tailors always have a model horse, +upon which they mount their lady customers, and thus secure the right +position for the slope at the knee, upon which so much of the "set" of +the skirt depends. A well-dressed woman, sitting properly upon a +well-constructed saddle, cannot, in my opinion, be improved upon for +style and comfort, and I hope it will be long indeed before ladies +strive to follow in any way the customs or callings of the sterner sex. +I may add that one of the chief recommendations of a box spur is that +it does <i>not</i> get out of order, nor can it possibly become +entangled, unless the habit-skirt be one of those which some ladies +still persist in wearing—nearly twice too long, and quite three times +too wide. I earnestly hope "Hersilie" will take these observations in +good part. I make them in a perfectly friendly spirit. I feel kindly +towards all ladies, especially those who love horses; and so I offer +"Hersilie" a warm shake-hands, and hope she will fight me as much as +ever she likes—in a friendly way, of course! +</p> + +<p> +Now, a word to "Jack Spur." I think he is under a mistake in averring +that there is any severity in the sheath spur. He says it must be +applied with a <i>kick</i>. As I always ride with one, and never with +any other description, I must entirely differ from him in this opinion. +A slight pressure is alone necessary. No gentlewoman would be guilty of +kicking her horse. I strongly object to rowels, as I hold to the belief +that almost anybody—except a really first-class +<i>équestrienne</i>—would be likely to hurt or worry the horse in an +unnecessary manner. +</p> + +<p> +Strange to say, I had only got thus far in my letter when the post +brought me a communication from Stirling, signed "Reform," begging of +me to advocate ladies riding upon the cross-saddle. Were it not that +the writer says so many nice, kind things of myself (for which I beg to +thank her) I should be really angry at the tremendous display of zeal +thus wasted upon so unworthy a subject. It is true that a lady's seat +on horseback prevents her pressing her horse up to his bridle as a man +can, <i>unless</i>—but there <i>is</i> the unless—she knows how to do +it. A good stout hunting-crop, properly used, will admirably fulfil the +duties of the second leg; but in all my experience, and it is a pretty +wide one, I have never seen more than two lady riders who had any idea +of making a horse gallop or sending him up to his bit. I do not mean +riding his head off—we unfortunately see too much of that; but +pressing him up to his work, and riding him with firm, +<i>accomplished</i> hands, such as are only to be obtained by good +teaching, long and constant practice, and real love of the art. To give +some idea of the hazy notion which most persons have about riding, a +lady who came to call upon me in London, and who certainly meant to be +most kind and polite, said, as we sat at our afternoon tea, "I am +looking at your hands; how well-developed they are, from <i>pulling +your horses</i>, I suppose!" She thought I was offended when I told her +that my riding gloves were No. 6, and that I never pulled my horses; +but I am not captious, nor would it be possible to take offence with +one who so little intended to cause it. +</p> + +<p> +The offer which I made at the conclusion of my <i>Ladies on +Horseback</i>, to answer private inquiries, has led to such a host of +letters that, although I regularly devote one hour every morning to the +task of replying to each in turn, I find it impossible to keep pace +with the work. Will you, therefore, sir, with the kindness extended to +me upon a former occasion, suffer me to answer a few of my +correspondents through the medium of your columns. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Richard R.</span>—One measure three times daily, with a good +double-handful of Indian corn mixed through it. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Captain Swordarm.</span>—The oats will require two waters. The +grains should swell and separate, like rice boiled for curries. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Evelyn Harkess.</span>—Your parcel has not reached me. My tailor +will endeavour to please you. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Jane V.</span>—A very cruel practice. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Reform.</span>—You will see that I have acknowledged your letter. +Judging by the postmark it should have come to hand three days ago, but +you gave the wrong address, and it went on a seeking expedition. +"Dublin" will at any time find me. This is also for "Quilp," "B. Max," +and "Violet Grey." +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Ella.</span>—Your horse is evidently a rough trotter, and can never +be pleasant to ride. Try to exchange or sell him. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Mary Perplexed.</span>—The pommels of your saddle are most likely +too far apart; that is, the leaping head is placed too low. If you +cannot change it, ride with a longer stirrup-leather. I have been +lately shown the preparation for an improved side-saddle, by Messrs. F. +V. Nicholls & Co., of 2 Jermyn Street, comprising a patented +arrangement for the third crutch or leaping-head. I think that this +will be a great boon to those ladies who, like myself, have suffered +inconvenience and accident from the leaping-head being a fixture, and +not in the position required to afford a proper degree of support, and +at the same time to admit of the stirrup-leather being used of correct +length for an easy, secure, and graceful seat. The improvement of the +new saddle consists in a sliding socket or apparatus, by which the +leaping-head can be moved freely backward or forward to any position, +and instantly fixed firmly by the rider herself, thus enabling a lady +to alter at any time the length of her stirrup, and yet gain every +requisite support from the third crutch. Another little innovation by +the same experienced saddlers in riding bridles, an adaptation of my +favourite double-ring snaffle. The loose rings of the snaffle have some +extra loops, appended to which is a short noseband, acted upon by one +rein, giving a powerful effect in stopping a runaway horse, whilst the +use of the other rein singly has the pleasant and easy nature of the +ordinary snaffle-bridle. The principle of this bridle, which is called +"the improved Newmarket snaffle" is, of course, equally applicable to +the use of persons of either sex. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Giles.</span>—Have the shoe taken off and give him rest. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Ursa Major.</span>—There is no real cure for ringbone. Do not waste +your money. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Claude, Emma Vane, N. Parkes, Henry B., Rhoda, Nellie K.</span>, and +thirty-one others, write to me for—photographs! I am sorry that "for +lack of gold" I cannot supply a kindly public with my pictures, and I +am not vain enough to state publicly where they may be had. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Nimrod.</span>—Pleader was purchased from me last week by the Earl +of Eglinton. It will, therefore, be unnecessary for me to reply to any +further inquiries respecting him. I named his price and made no change, +nor was I asked to do so. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Cropper.</span>—You were evidently sitting loosely, and thus +suffered for your carelessness. You will not be caught napping the next +time. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Anxious, Martha</span>, and a host of others have asked me a very +familiar question, "How I learned to ride?" I have hitherto avoided +answering, rather than introduce a name whose owner did not wish me to +do so. But I think I may hope to win his pardon. Most, if not all, my +skill in the saddle is mainly due to the kind and untiring patience of +my dear old friend and teacher, Mr. Allan McDonogh, who—despite his +threescore years and ten—was, up to the time of his lamentable +accident, ever ready to act as my pilot and instructor. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Enquirer.</span>—Ride a steady horse, and your nerve will come back +again. Mine did, after a much more terrible mischance. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Corsican Brother.</span>—It is not true. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Critic.</span>—You only discovered one mistake, but there are really +<i>three</i> in my story, "In Search of a Wonder," which appeared in +the Christmas Number of this journal. In place of "hustled me out +<i>of</i> a sort of enclosure," read "<i>to</i> a sort of enclosure." +Also, "suddenness" requires two n's, and "carr<i>a</i>ttella" is the +correct way to spell a word which signifies a small cart or rough +carriage peculiar to the Piedmontese. These are all printer's errors, +and should have been corrected by me, but I revised my proof in a +crowded coffee-room of a London hotel, with at least a dozen persons +talking to me as I did so, and thus, being also pressed for time, a few +mistakes escaped my notice. +</p> + +<p> +To you, sir, and to all my friends, best wishes for the New Year, and +many grateful thanks for more kindness than I can deem myself worthy +of. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours obediently, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Nannie Power O'Donoghue.</span> +</p> + +<p> +Dublin, December 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—In case no one more able than myself answers +"Hersilie's" letter in this week's number of your valuable paper, will +you allow me, in the name of many lady riders who "can" use the +side-saddle, to write and protest against the idea cropping up of our +riding like men? I cannot help feeling justly indignant with those who +try to introduce such a radical change, for, surely, we are already too +much inclined to follow all the ways and pursuits of the opposite sex +without so far forgetting ourselves as to wish to ride as they do. I do +not want to criticise what one is often obliged to do in foreign lands; +there it may prove a necessity, for the riding is not simply for +pleasure, but often the only means of transport, and the horses may not +be fitted for our saddles, nor we accustomed to their paces; but, in +England, the idea of a number of ladies fantastically dressed and +mounted like men must shock many of your readers. I hope "X. Y. Z.," who +first wrote in favour of this change some weeks ago, may pardon me if I +say that the ladies of his or her acquaintance who, in consequence of +only one stirrup, cannot avoid inclining the head and shoulders too +much to the left, &c., and in addition gall their horses' backs, had +better not attempt to ride at all. What is a prettier sight than a +neatly-dressed Englishwoman riding a horse, "as a lady," and should we +retain the same respect we now get if we gave up, in this particular, +the few feminine tokens left to us. Why not let us accept the male +attire altogether? It would be far more to our comfort in getting about +on foot, and if one change is so advisable, surely the other is quite +as sensible. I agree with "Hersilie" in thinking that the habits of the +present day are indelicately short, and I cannot see that ladies ride +any better showing their boots and with their arms akimbo than they did +a year or so ago, when their feet were covered and no daylight showed +between their arms. I come of as "horsey" a family as any in England, +and have ridden ever since I could sit upright; but I never +experienced, or knew that my sisters experienced, any of the troubles +"X. Y. Z." and "Hersilie" complain of. My father, who was our sole +instructor, put us on any animal that he thought likely to suit his own +riding, and no matter where we were, in the hunting-field or elsewhere, +the least deviation from sitting square would bring from him the sharp +reprimand of, "What are you doing? Bring that left shoulder up, and +don't let me see any daylight between your arms!" He also insisted that +our stirrups should be short, even to discomfort, until we got used to +it; but this prevented any chance of our hurting the horse's back, +which most frequently comes from a lady riding with a long stirrup, and +when she trots having to seek her stirrup, which constantly moves her +saddle, and makes her as well look most awkward and one-sided. +</p> + +<p> +If not trespassing too much, may I say one other little word in the +interest of the horses I love so well? Over and over again, lately, +have I seen the advice given in your paper that we should never be +without a spur. Now, sir, if my experience can have any weight, I will +say that I have hunted and ridden across country in all parts of +Gloucestershire all my young days, that I was put on horses whether +they or I liked it or not, both kind, unkind, or violent ones, and I am +thankful to say that the idea of my wearing a spur never entered my +father's head nor mine. It seems to me such an underhand way of +punishing one's horse—a real feminine species of torture, for no one +sees the dig, dig, dig, but there it is all the time; and many a horse, +I firmly believe, comes to grief with its rider simply because, not +understanding its power, she taxes it beyond its strength. Not one +horse in twenty will refuse, or need either whip or spur if he knows +his mistress, and if he does he is not fit for inexperienced riders. +</p> + +<p> +I wish every girl was taught as I have been, "that a horse can do no +wrong." This made me study the peculiarities of every animal I was put +upon, and I have never had an accident of any kind. Every horsewoman +who loves riding must be proud of the feats accomplished by Mrs. Power +O'Donoghue in the side-saddle, but would she be admired or respected as +she is if she turned out as a man and rode as men do? It is being able +to sit square and ride straight on a side-saddle, that we should be +vain of, and not wish to make a change, which could only bring +Englishwomen down in the estimation of all those who are now so justly +proud of them on horseback. +</p> + +<p class="indent1"> +I am, Sir, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">The Ladybird.</span> +</p> + +<p> +December 18, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Will you allow me to make one or two remarks upon a +letter I read last night in your valuable paper? It is from a +correspondent speaking of the ill effects produced by the use of +side-saddles. +</p> + +<p> +In the first place your correspondent should remember that the back of +the horse, as well as the shoulder, is soft and tender when not in +condition, that is, in constant work, and not fit for either riding or +driving long distances at once, without damage. Get the back carefully +and well seasoned, or accustomed to the side-saddle, during the time +the horse is getting into condition for the hunting-field, and use a +leather saddle-cloth under the saddle; let it be long enough, and not +the shape of the saddle, and have all properly put on the horse, and +you will not come to grief with six or seven hours' work, or before the +lady is tired; that is, provided the lady will sit well down and steady +in her saddle, and keep her horse as much from trotting as possible. +Her horse must learn to canter slowly both to cover and home, it will +be much better for the horse and much easier for the lady when she is +accustomed to it; she will not be troubled any more with horses with +sore backs. Another remark from "X. Y. Z." is, it is said that +curvature of the spine sometimes ensues from children being taught at +too early an age to ride on side-saddles. I fear the mistake is by the +said children not having been taught how to sit or to put themselves in +form for their own comfort, but left to sit as they like on horseback +and get bad habits they cannot get rid of, never throwing the weight of +the body in its proper place. Then, as to the remark about the +riding-habit on the pommels, that disadvantage either has, or ought to +have, passed away a long time ago; for I am well satisfied that a lady +can so dress herself for the hunting-field in boots, Bedfords, and +plenty of flannel that she can keep herself warm and comfortable +without a great, strong, heavy, long riding-habit. Let the habit be +short and very light, and by no means bound round the bottom part with +anything strong, but left so that it will give way either in a fall or +in leaping through a high fence. I wonder if Mr. Lovell had his knife +in his pocket when he saw his daughter suspended by the habit, which +would neither tear nor be removed; had it been of light, thin material, +and short, the sad accident would not have occurred. I am satisfied a +little care and proper attention will put all things right of which +your correspondent complains. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +O. P. +</p> + +<p> +December, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—In your issue of the 4th December, "Farmer" writes that +his horses are fed upon oats which have been soaked in cold water, and +that he has the corn thus prepared because he could not easily manage +to have a steaming apparatus for cooking the food in the way that is +recommended by Mr. Edward Mayhew M.R.C.V.S., in his <i>Illustrated +Horse Management</i>. The plan that I have adopted during the last two +months has been to have the oats put in a pail (made of oakwood) in the +evening, and to pour upon them from a kettle a sufficient quantity of +boiling water to rise a little above the oats; a sack is placed over it +to keep in the heat, and the oats are then left to soak during the +night; on the following morning the husk is so much softened that it +will yield to the pressure of the thumb and finger. In this state the +oats are more easily digested by the horse, and it is better for his +teeth than to have to bite a hard substance. A wooden pail is +preferable to a zinc one, because it does not conduct the heat from the +oats so much as one of the latter description does. A lid would be, +perhaps, better than a sack. The pail should not be filled with the +oats, because the latter will swell when soaked. In the stall in our +stable there is no water-trough at the side of the manger, and in order +that the horse may have water within reach during the day and night, a +zinc pail is placed in and at the end of the manger, and the handle of +it is secured by a chain to the iron bars forming the upper part of the +partition between the two stalls. In the loose-box, a pail containing +water is suspended by a chain to some iron bars placed inside the +window. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +X. Y. Z. +</p> + +<p> +London, December, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I cannot but feel flattered that Mrs. O'Donoghue has so +frankly and kindly invited me to "break a lance" with her. I do, with +both my hands and with all my heart, reciprocate her "warm +shake-hands," and, vizor down and spear in rest, ride full tilt at her +in fair and open fight to do my poor <i>devoirs</i>, if you will allow +me once again to enter the lists in your paper. If Mrs. O'Donoghue will +read her paper in your number for November 27th she will find these +words: "My companion was in ease while I was in torture." Why was this? +"Because he had a leg on either side of his mount, his weight equally +distributed, and an equal support upon both sides; in fact, he had, as +all male riders have, the advantage of a double support in the rise; +consequently, at the moment when his weight was removed from the +saddle, it was thrown upon both sides, and this equal distribution +enabled him to accomplish without fatigue that slow rise and fall which +is so tiring to a lady whose weight, when she is out of the saddle, is +thrown entirely upon one delicate limb, thus inducing her to fall again +as soon as possible." +</p> + +<p> +Again, in the very next paragraph, Mrs. O'Donoghue says, "A man will be +able to stand in his stirrups for a considerable time, even to ride at +a gallop, so doing because he transfers his weight equally to his feet; +but how rarely do we see a lady balanced upon one leg! The sensation is +not agreeable, and would, moreover, be unpleasantly productive of wrung +backs." These are verbatim extracts from "Part Three continued." I +think my preference for a leg on each side of my horse, and a +distribution of my weight equally on to each foot, is most eloquently +and forcibly justified by Mrs. O'Donoghue when she wrote the above. I +did not suggest, or at any rate did not mean to suggest, that she +advocated a cross-seat for ladies, but that she unmistakably pointed +out the great advantages of such a seat her own words abundantly +testify. Again, some of the healthiest children I have ever seen are +poor little gipsy girls, who, from being able to mount a donkey, have +always ridden astride when once past the pannier period of their +nomadic life. Also, some of the short, stout peasant women of Normandy +ride thus, as well as the Indian squaws, and certainly these will +compare favourably as to robust health with their side-saddle sisters +of civilisation; to say nothing of the South American ladies. We have +also the testimony of many lady travellers as to the superiority of a +cross-seat when horseback is the only mode of transit. I cannot admit +that in any case, even for "short women" or "little girls," it would be +"most objectionable," that is, from a hygienic point of view. On the +score of modesty, <i>de gustibus</i>, &c. &c. But then I allow a great +latitude on such a point (our highest order carries the truest motto, +<i>honi soit qui mal y pense</i>). In fact, I do not regard it as a +question of modesty at all; simply of convenience, efficiency, and +comfort. Mrs. O'Donoghue also says how rare it is to meet with a +perfect lady's horse. "In all my wide experience I have met but two." +Why? because a lady (and mainly on account of her side-seat, as I +believe) is heavily handicapped as compared with a man in her choice of +a horse, or, I should say, in her requirements from her horse. Every +remark in the whole of the papers, "Ladies on Horseback," as to +kindness, temper, and gentleness in the treatment of a horse I most +cordially endorse, and I have to thank the fair authoress for the +pleasure I have had in their perusal. +</p> + +<p> +A word or two in answer to "The Ladybird." In reply to her opening +remarks, I merely observe, "use is second nature," and had she happened +to have lived before "Anne of Bohemia" introduced side-saddles she +would have had no room for "indignation"; possibly in that case she +would have always ridden pillion. Oh! if we could only once realise how +much we are the slaves of fashion, how soon would the yoke be broken! +Contrast the crinoline of 1857 and the umbrella-case attire of 1877; +put a fashionable belle of the latter alongside her sister of only +twenty years earlier mode. What a satire on taste, on modesty so +called! But I would also ask "Ladybird" (if it be worth her while) to +read again my letter of the 18th, and she will find I did not complain +of the side-saddle, which I have an idea I <i>can</i> use, but pointed +out its great inferiority (which I maintain) to the cross-saddle. The +best test perhaps is the foreign one. Mount a horse without a saddle, +but properly bitted, and then decide which is the more natural and +easier seat; in one case you feel an appendage; in the other almost +part of the horse. In the name of womanhood I repudiate the suggestion +of an "underhand way of punishment," being "a real feminine species of +torture." Perhaps it is, under the skirts of a habit, possible to "dig, +dig, dig," for no one sees, truly; but surely no lady could, or would, +spur her horse for the sake of tormenting him; in my attire at any rate +it would not be unseen. The extraordinary teaching that a "horse can do +no wrong" is an axiom with which I cannot agree. I have been mounted on +horses that "could do no right," or if they could do it would not. And +it has taken me all my time and taxed all my energies to prevent them +from doing the things which they ought not to do; for I do object to a +horse attempting to erect himself in a perpendicular attitude, either +from a fore or aft basis, when I am on his back, and I rejoice to know +that I have (in such cases) on each foot a sharp spur to use with him +as a cogent argument in convincing him that ordinary progression on +four legs is infinitely better than saltimbantique performance on +two—at least from my, his rider's, point of view. On a well-bred, +highly-trained animal a spur is scarce ever required to be used, but +even then the emergency may arise. I really laughed outright when I +read what you, Sir, said of the "shoals of letters" arriving from fair +correspondents "desiring to ride" as "Hersilie" suggested, but this +only convinces me that there are many ladies who feel that it would +be—just exactly as I described it—"a new life on horseback." I could +add much more on the subject, but have already trespassed too long on +your space. I only repeat, let any lady once fairly try it, and she +will always prefer it. I do not for a moment imagine she will always do +it. I admit we must conform to custom, and I strongly deprecate +individual eccentricity, especially in a lady. I shall continue to read +all that appears in your paper on this and kindred topics with deep +interest. Again, I specially thank Mrs. Power O'Donoghue for her genial +and kindly expression of goodwill, and again heartily shake the shadowy +hand she offers. I quite believe a No. 6 gloved hand can control a +horse as well as any 7, 7½, or 8, if it only be possessed of the +cunning. And thanking you, sir, for your kindness, allow me as a woman +to have the last word, and again assert, "the cross seat is much the +better." +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Hersilie.</span> +</p> + +<p> +Ambleside (<i>pro tem.</i>), Dec. 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Kindly permit me to say a few words in reply to +"Hersilie's" letter, which appeared in your issue of last week. I am +referred to my own paper in your number for November 27, but "Hersilie" +does not quote correctly, or perhaps the error is the printer's. I +think I said "My companion was <i>at</i> ease, whilst I was in +torture." Now, I merely related the incident with which these words +were associated in order to instruct ladies how to avoid the double +rise—not to advocate for a single instant their riding upon a +cross-saddle. I am quite ready to reiterate my statement that the +position of a man enables him to ride a rough or clumsy trotter with +infinitely greater ease than can a woman; but women should not, in my +opinion, ride such <i>at all</i>, nor should I have done so, as related +in your paper of November 27, were it not that my host, an immensely +heavy man, had none but big rough horses in his stable, and I was +obliged either to accept a mount upon one of them, for at least +<i>once</i>, or give offence to a dear kind friend, which I would not +do to avoid even a greater amount of inconvenience than I experienced +upon the occasion in question. +</p> + +<p> +The cross-seat is not the only thing which ladies may envy the sterner +sex, without at the same time advocating the propriety of encroaching +upon their privileges. For my own part I never yet set out to walk on a +wet or muddy day without sincerely envying every man who passed me, his +big boots, tucked-up trousers, and freedom from the petticoats and +furbelows which encumber us and make us feel miserable in the rain; yet +I certainly never felt the <i>smallest</i> desire to adopt his costume. +Nor have I ever seen two persons, or two big dogs, engaged in fighting, +that I did not envy the man who rushed between the combatants and +stopped the unseemly exhibition; yet I decidedly experienced no wish to +do it myself. It would not be my place. Men have their costume, their +avocations, their sayings and doings, their varied callings in the +world, and women have theirs. Each should be separate and distinct from +the other. A manly woman, or a womanly man, is, in the eyes of all +rightly-judging persons, a most objectionable creature. There are many +things which a woman may legitimately admire, and, in a certain sense, +<i>envy</i>, yet with which she should never desire to meddle, unless +she is ambitious to merge her womanhood in the semblance of man. The +cross-saddle is one of these. It may do very well in the wilds of a +country whose inhabitants are from childhood accustomed to it, and +where all ride alike, but not in civilised England. As well seek to +advocate the dress (or undress) of the Indian squaws, as to endeavour +to introduce their style of riding into a land whose daughters are as +modest as they are fair. +</p> + +<p> +"Hersilie" says:—"I do not regard it as a question of modesty at all, +simply of convenience, efficiency, and comfort." The subject is one +upon which a woman can touch but very lightly, yet may I affirm that if +all women were to lay aside their chief charm, and simply go in for +"convenience, efficiency, and comfort," society would present fewer +attractions than it at present does? I shall leave "The Ladybird" to +answer for herself, but I cannot help saying that I think "Hersilie" is +<i>hard</i> upon her. She and I have met but once, yet I know that she +is gentle and highborn, and worthy of nothing but the love of which her +own Christian heart is composed. +</p> + +<p> +You, sir, must also fight your own little battle, and tell "Hersilie" +she is not to "laugh outright" at any of your "Circular Notes." She may +laugh, of course, at small fry like myself, but I really <i>can't</i> +have my Editor laughed at! nor my sweet "Ladybird" crushed! +</p> + +<p> +And now, having said so much, I once again offer a shadowy hand to my +adversary, and hope that though at present we see one another but +darkly, we may yet do so "face to face," and meet as friends. +</p> + +<p> +A word, with your permission, to correspondents:— +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Evelyn Harkess.</span>—I have discovered your parcel. I thought you +were sending it addressed to <i>me</i>. You shall have the contents in +a few days. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Flink.</span>—There is never one worth buying, although unwise +persons bid fast and high. Try a private source, and beware of +imposition. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">R. King.</span>—The horse is sold. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">H. Dunbar, Shamus O'Brien, W. Hatfield</span>, and <span class="sc">Rose +Marie</span>.—Your questions are of too personal a nature. If time +permits I will answer privately. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Ignoramus.</span>—Dose him with aloes until he is dead sick; then +put a saddle on him, with a sand-bag at either side, and ring him for +an hour. I warrant he will allow a man upon his back after this, nor +will he seek to dislodge him either. It is much better and more humane +than the whipping and spurring which is so grievous to a sensitive +looker-on. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Hugh.</span>—Apply to Mr. Chapman, Oaklands, Cheltenham. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">I. Stark.</span>—How shall I thank you? but I know not when I can +ride again. Your recipe, if effectual, would be indeed invaluable. I +shall look for a purchaser for your cob. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">May-blossom.</span>—The nicest modern saddles have no stitching +about them. Call at 2, Jermyn Street. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Nimrod II.</span>—I have nothing that would suit you, nor do I ever +sell my horses, unless under exceptional circumstances. I am, of +course, flattered that so many are desirous of possessing what I have +ridden, but my stable is <i>extremely</i> limited. See my reply to +<span class="sc">Hugh</span>. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Hannah Powell.</span>—I shall answer by letter. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Synnorix.</span>—I said in a former letter that there was no cure +for ringbone; I have since heard of one which I consider invaluable, +and the lady who possesses it would sell it for a trifling sum. Apply +to Mrs. Slark, Rose Cottage, Bletchley. I hope <span class="sc">Ursa Major</span> will +see this reply to <span class="sc">Synnorix</span>, and will profit by my advice, +which is to apply at once for the cure. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">K. C., Redcar.</span>—I am pleased you found my system effectual, +but are you sure you did not carry it out too rigorously? Few would +have such courage. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Jockey.</span>—An authority says Fairyhouse, and I dare say he is +right, although there is a double at Punchestown—a big one—at which +many a good man and true has come to signal grief. I saw a fine young +racer killed there last year. +</p> + +<p> +To <span class="sc">Edith</span>, <span class="sc">Paul Pry, Jane Burkitt, Constance Haye</span>, and +<span class="sc">Mousquetaire</span>, many thanks. If you write to the Editor he may +perhaps give you information as to the possibility of what you ask. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours obediently, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Nannie Power O'Donoghue.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—As I learned from a recent letter from that most amiable +and talented lady, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, that her teacher has been the +fine old sportsman, Allen McDonogh, I need wonder no longer at her +having become the very brilliant horsewoman which undoubtedly she is. A +finer or more graceful horseman than her teacher was, has never lived. +Since growing years and increasing weight prevented him from riding his +own horses he has brought out very many crack gentlemen riders within +the past twenty years, some of them quite shining lights. Amongst some +may be enumerated his great friend, Captain Tempest, 11th Hussars; +Captain Prichard Rayner, 5th Dragoon Guards; Mr. Laurence, 4th Hussars; +Captain, now Major, Hutton, 1st Royal Dragoons; Captain Brown, of the +Royal Horse Artillery, who unfortunately was killed a few years since +crossing the railway returning from a steeplechase meeting held near +London; Captain Ricardo, 15th Hussars; Lieutenant-Colonel McCalmont, +7th Hussars; Captain Soames, 4th Hussars; and the ever-to-be-regretted +Captain the Hon. Greville Nugent; and last, but by no means least, Mr. +Thomas Beasley, besides many others, all these gentlemen, excepting Mr. +Laurence, having their first winning mount on Mr. McDonogh's horses. As +professionals, he brought out Paddy Gavin and George Gray, the former +of whom, when scarcely more than a child, and weighing but 4 st. 7 lb., +rode and won the Prince of Wales' Steeplechase, at Punchestown, on +Blush Rose. I think I may be permitted to mention two of Mr. McDonogh's +daring feats. When riding Sailor in a steeplechase, over an awfully +severe country, close to the town of Bandon, Co. Cork (where started, +amongst nine others, the celebrated horses Monarch and Valentine, the +latter running second, two years later, for the Liverpool Grand +National, and the former sold soon afterwards to the great Marquis of +Waterford for a large sum, showing that the company at Bandon was by no +means a contemptible lot), in this race, the distance of which was +4-1/2 miles, Sailor fell four times, each time unseating his rider; yet +so active was his pilot in those days that he was as quickly in the +saddle as out of it. At his fourth and last fall, the horse chested the +bank, flung his rider some distance from him, and having a tight hold +of the bridle reins, the throat-lash gave way, and the bridle came off +the horse's head. As Sailor was getting on his legs, Mr. McDonogh +jumped into the saddle, and setting his horse going was soon in pursuit +of the leaders. There were in the 1-1/2 miles that had yet to be +travelled nearly ten awkward double-posted fences. The third last +impediment was a narrow lane—called in Irish a "boreen"—with an +intricate bank into and out of it. The riders of Valentine and Monarch +had bridles; consequently they could steady their horses and jump in +and out "clever." Not so Mr. McDonogh, who had nothing to guide his +horse but his whip. Steering the animal, however, for the "boreen" he +put him at his best pace, and without ever laying an iron on it, he +went from field to field and landed alongside the leaders. The riders +of the other horses, seeing he had no power to guide his mount, +endeavoured to put him outside a post that had to be gone round to make +the turn into the straight line for home; but the young jockey, +stretching his arms almost round his horse's nose, by some means got +him straight, and, making the remainder of the running, won easily. +Valentine's rider at the scales objected to Sailor for not having +carried a bridle, but Mr. McDonogh was able to draw the weight, and was +declared the winner amidst the wildest enthusiasm. The other +extraordinary performance occurred one day on his pet mount, the +celebrated Brunette, at Cashel. When riding Mountain Hare the previous +day over the same course he was crossed by an old woman at an ugly up +bank. The horse struck the woman in the chest and very nearly put an +end to his rider also, who, in the fall, got his collar-bone and six +ribs broken. The late Dr. Russell, of Cashel, was quickly by his side, +and telling the Marquis of Waterford of the serious injuries Mr. +McDonogh had received, that most noble-hearted man instantly sent for +his carriage, which, with two post-horses, speedily took the invalid to +the hotel in Cashel. The collarbone being set and ribs bandaged, he +passed a miserable night. Brunette was in a race the next day, and as +he would allow no man to sit on her back, he got out of his bed, +mounted the mare, and, bandaged as he was and in great pain, won the +race. Lord Waterford's Regalia was second, his lordship jestingly +remarking that if he had known Brunette's master would have ridden her +he would have left him lying at the bank, In conclusion, Mr. Editor, +permit me to say that we Irish are charmed with Mrs. O'Donoghue's +writings, as also with your most interesting and beautifully got-up +paper. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Maurice Lawlor.</span> +</p> + +<p> +Battlemount, Ballytore,<br>Co. Kildare. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Notwithstanding the enterprise of the large number of +ladies who, you say, desire to ride after the fashion of the Mexican +senoras, I venture to hope that the present custom of riding in a +side-saddle will not be departed from by ladies, except in case of +necessity; and I point out that in India, South Africa, and all the +Australian colonies the side-saddle is always used, though there can be +no doubt that if there was any real advantage in the Mexican style it +would be readily adopted in new countries. Many persons appear to be +quite unaware of what the lady's seat in the side-saddle should be. I +describe it thus: let a man seat himself properly in his saddle, +shorten the left stirrup two or three holes, and then, without moving +his body or his left leg, put his right leg over the horse's wither; +the man will then be seated on his horse precisely as a lady should be +seated in her side-saddle. A lady's seat in a side-saddle, of the size +suited to her, is extremely firm; any one who has not tried a +side-saddle with the third crutch has no idea of the firm seat that a +lady has. I was quite astonished when I tried it, and I believe that, +after practising for a day or two to get the balance, I could ride any +horse in a side-saddle that I could ride at all; whilst the exploits of +ladies show clearly that a change of style is not required for the +purpose of obtaining a more secure seat. One of the greatest +difficulties that ladies have to contend with in this country in +learning to ride is that they often get such poor instructors. Many of +those who call themselves riding masters are little better than grooms, +and the people who offer to turn out accomplished horsewomen in twelve +easy lessons for £2 2s. must know that, except in a few cases of +natural special aptitude, they cannot do much more than teach a lady +how to avoid tumbling too quickly out of the saddle. On the other hand, +a lady who has been through a full course of instruction from a good +master, has little to learn except those matters of detail which +experience alone can teach; but far better than any professional +instruction is that constant and careful supervision from a good +horseman, such as Mrs. Power O'Donoghue and "The Ladybird" mentioned in +a late issue, one who will not be afraid of being called a "bother" +when he points out and corrects every fault, however small. I consider, +sir, that you have given good advice to ladies when you say, "I think a +lady should wear a spur," though she may not often find it necessary to +use it. In your last issue two experienced ladies give their opinions +on this subject; one disapproves of the spur, the other says she always +wears one. Everyone will agree with "The Ladybird" that when it is +"dig, dig, dig" all the time, such use of a spur is improper; for +though a sharp stroke is required sometimes—for instance, Mrs. Power +O'Donoghue, when describing her flight into the farmyard, says: "I dug +him with my spur"—the proper way to apply a spur is, in general, as +described by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue in your last issue, by pressure. The +term "box spur" is usually applied to spurs that fit into spring boxes +or sockets in the heels of the boots; a spur with a spring sheath over +the point is usually called a "sheath spur"; for hunting, anything that +will act as a goad will answer the desired purpose, but for park or +road riding the spur should be one with which a very slight touch or a +sharp stroke can be given, as may be required. I know that the spur +with a five-pointed rowel is preferred by ladies who have tried it to +any other; but, whatever spur is selected, a lady should take care that +the points are long enough to be effective when the habit intervenes. I +think, sir, with you, that a lady should always wear a spur; and I +notice in this correspondence, the ladies who denounce the use of a +spur almost invariably say that they have never tried one; whilst +ladies who have once experienced the advantage and convenience of it, +never willingly mount a horse without one. There is not any real +mystery about ladies' riding or ladies' horses; almost any horse that +will carry a man will carry a woman, and the latter, when on horseback, +ought to be provided, as nearly as possible, with the same aids and +appliances as are required by the former. It is not every lady who can +indulge in the luxury of a three-hundred-guinea saddle-horse, and the +treatment that may answer with such a horse is not necessarily suited +to an ordinary hack; yet some of the handsomest and most highly-trained +ladies' horses in the Row are ridden with a spur, and it is only proper +that they should be; they have been trained by the professional lady +riders with a spur, and they are accustomed to receive from a slight +touch of the spur the indications of the rider's wish; whilst as to the +common livery-stable hacks, it is often painful to ride them until they +feel that you are provided with spurs, when their whole nature appears +to change, and you can enjoy a tolerably pleasant ride. "The Ladybird" +says she was taught "that a horse can do no wrong." As a matter of +theory the idea is a very pretty one, but I can only say, as a simple +matter of fact, that I have often known a horse exhibit a very large +amount of what the late Mr. Artemus Ward called "cussedness"; and I +know of nothing that, when a horse is in that frame of mind, will bring +him to his senses so quickly, so effectually, and with so much +convenience to the rider, as a sharp spur. In far-off lands, I was once +nearly two hours doing a distance of some seven miles on a new +purchase. I was then without spurs; but the next day, when I was +provided with them, the same animal did the same distance easily and +pleasantly in about forty minutes. I very much dislike to see a lady +use a whip to her horse: and, as I have always proved spurs to be a +great convenience, I recommend a lady to wear one, and to use it +<i>when necessary</i> in preference to the whip. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Southern Cross.</span> +</p> + +<p> +December, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—Since I have come to London I have been asked so many +questions respecting the reason why ladies so often "pull their +horses," that I feel I may accomplish some good by answering, or may at +least assist in doing away with a very crying evil. My opinion is that +there is usually but one reason, viz. because the horses pull them; but +for a woman to pull against a pulling horse only increases the evil. It +is a fallacy, and can never accomplish the desired end. A determined +puller cannot, under any circumstances, be suitable to a lady, and +should never be ridden by one, unless she be a sufficiently good rider +and have sufficiently good hands to make the horse's mouth, which is +not the case with one woman in five hundred, or, I might almost say, +one man either. Horses that pull have been almost invariably spoilt in +the training. Occasionally a fine-mouthed animal will be ruined by an +ignorant or cruel rider, but I must say, in justice to my sex, that +they are seldom guilty of doing it. The fault lies amongst men. Many +women are ignorant riders; but, thank God! the blot of cruelty rarely +defaces their name. Women are naturally gentle, kindly, +and—<i>cowardly</i>; three things calculated not to injure a horse, +except it be the latter, which enables him to discover that he can be +master if he please. Doubtless there are cruel women, also, who cut and +lash, and tug and spur, and treat heaven's noble gifts as though they +were mere machinery, and not flesh and blood like ourselves; but how +often shall I say, in answer to the numerous cases cited to me, that in +writing upon this or any other subject I speak of the rule, not of the +isolated exceptions. When a man begins to break a horse he regularly +prepares for combat. He sets himself to work with a resolute +determination to fight and be fought, as though he had a strong +rebellious spirit to deal with and conquer, instead of a loving, +kindly, timid nature, which needs nought save gentleness to make it +amenable to even the rudest hand. The man begins by pulling; the horse, +on the schoolboy "tit for tat" principle, pulls against him in return; +is sold before his education (bad as it has been) is half completed; is +ridden out to exercise by grooms with heavy iron hands; is handed over +to the riding-school and to carry young ladies when every bit of spirit +has been knocked out of him, except the determined one of +pulling—pulls resolutely against the feeble hands striving to control +him; is pulled and strained at in return, and becomes in time a +confirmed and unmanageable brute. I wish I could persuade ladies +<i>not</i> to pull their horses. In a former number I endeavoured to +tell them the proper method of managing or dealing with a pulling +animal: neither to drop their hands to him, nor to pull one ounce +against him. He will be certain after a few strides to yield a bit, +when the hands—hitherto firm, should immediately yield to him, thus +establishing a sort of give and take principle, which will soon be +perfectly understood by the intelligent creature under control. We do +not half appreciate our horses. Every touch of our fingers, every word +we utter, every glance from our eye is noted by the horse, and is +valued or resented as it deserves. So many animals are made unruly by +the undue use of a severe curb that I strongly advise a trial of the +snaffle only, holding the curb-rein loosely over the little finger, so +that it may be in an instant taken up in case it prove necessary, +which, in my opinion, it rarely will. To illustrate my meaning, on +Monday last I rode a mare for a lady, who was very desirous of +ascertaining whether the animal was capable of carrying a lady with +safety. The groom, who was to accompany me, was evidently extremely +nervous. He told me, as we started, that the mare had never done any +saddle work, except with a very wild young gentleman-rider, who had +bitted her severely, and yet found her difficult to manage; and he +implored me earnestly to keep a good hold of the curb. I found that she +hung desperately upon her bridle, kept her head between her knees with +a strong, determined, heavy pull upon the bit, and rough, jerky action, +which was most unpleasant. When I got her into the Row she nearly +pulled my arms out in her canter—the tug she had upon the bridle was +quite terrific; and, evidently prepared for the accustomed fight, she +put back her ears and shook her wicked head angrily. I rode her from +Palace Gate to Hyde Park Corner in the same manner as I have sought to +impress upon my lady readers—namely, not pulling one atom against her, +but keeping my hands low and firm, and yielding slightly to her in her +stride. By the time we had turned at the Corner she had quite given up +fighting. I then dropped the curb, and rode her entirely upon the +snaffle. The effect was magical. She lifted her head, ceased pulling +altogether, and went along in a pleasant joyous canter, going well up +to her bridle, but not attempting any liberties whatever, In an hour's +time, as you, sir, who were riding with me will bear testimony, I was +holding her with <i>one hand</i>, stooping forward, and making much of +her with the other, an attention which she evidently regarded as a +pleasing novelty, and highly appreciated. Finding her slightly +untractable during the ride homeward I once more lightly took up the +curb. It maddened her in a moment. She turned round and round, ran me +against a cart, and behaved so excitedly that it required my best +skill, confidence, and temper to restore her equanimity and steer her +safely (using the snaffle only) to her destination. On dismounting I +observed to the groom that considering the amount of exercise and +excitement through which she had passed, it was wonderful she had not +sweated. His answer was that she was always fed upon cooked food, and +that the chief sustenance of the horse which he himself was riding—a +remarkably fine three-year-old—was boiled barley. I have never, +myself, tried this feeding, but if looks and condition may be regarded +as recommendation, it must be most excellent. +</p> + +<p class="indent1"> +I am, Sir, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Yours obediently, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Nannie Power O'Donoghue.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> + +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/saddle.jpg" alt="A saddle" width="319" height="400"></p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I have been very greatly interested by the remarks on +saddles, spurs, &c., made by your lady correspondents. My husband is a +large ranchero, or cattle-farmer, on the Rio Grande, between Mexico and +Texas, and naturally I have had much experience of hard as well as +long-distance riding. Having been accustomed to hunting when I was a +girl, I came out here with an exaggerated idea of my skill in +horsemanship. My first ride in Mexico was one of three hundred miles, +which we did in seven days; I rode on an English hunting-saddle almost, +if not quite, as "straight as a board." After the second day I found it +as uncomfortable a seat as could be desired, and was glad to change it +for the peon's ordinary Mexican saddle, which I found perfectly easy +and comparatively comfortable to my English one. This last I have found +exceedingly fatiguing and ill-adapted to a long journey, although very +good for a few hours' ride after wild cattle, which is a certain +approach to hunting, although the jumping is not stiff. Lately I had +another saddle sent out from England, which was a little deeper, and I +find it much more useful for long distances. As ladies are not in the +habit of riding steeplechases, I would venture to suggest that, for +hard riding, such as hunting, the saddle might rather be heavier than +lighter, as I am sure that this must give more relief to the horse's +back. In fact, I believe that the sore backs so often produced by +ladies' saddles are more frequently caused by the saddle being too +light than too heavy. I quite agree with some of your correspondents +that the padded stirrup is most dangerous, as it is not easy to get the +foot out quickly if anything should happen. +</p> + +<p> +The principle, as stated by the Mexicans, of striking a horse between +the ears is not to bring him down by <i>fright</i>, but to bring him +down by <i>force</i>, so as to "stun" him. Now, do you think that any +of your fair correspondents could accomplish this with a light park or +hunting-whip? I may be very bold to offer any suggestions, but the +lady's sidesaddle of the nineteenth century is very far from being +pleasant. Why should not ladies in this age of progression begin to +ride on saddles shaped like a man's, with the same seat a man uses? It +would be much more comfortable, as even a stout lady could not look +much more ungraceful than she does now, besides materially lessening +the danger. I send you a sketch of a Mexican saddle. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, &c. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Campesina.</span> +</p> + +<p> +San Antonio de Bexar, Texas, U.S.A. +</p> + +<p> +P.S.—I would not like you to imagine that I intend to slight such an +admirable authority as Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, but I should be much +obliged to any of your correspondents for the design of an improved +saddle, suitable alike for riding a young nervous horse and for journey +purposes. I have a design for such a saddle, but I do not know how far +it may be practicable. I think if ladies would give their ideas upon +this subject through the medium of your columns, some real improvement +might be arrived at. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +C. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> + +<p> +Sir,—In your issue of the 27th November my letter appeared, +recommending that the use of side-saddles should be discontinued. Your +correspondent, "Jack Spur," mentions, in a letter published on the 13th +November, that in some works concerning the Sandwich Islands, in the +Northern Pacific Ocean, and the Rocky Mountains, North America, the +authoress, Miss Isabella L. Bird, states that she was accustomed, while +there, to ride on horseback astride. +</p> + +<p> +A few extracts from her above-mentioned writings will probably interest +your readers. When in Hawaii, or Owyhee, one of the Sandwich Islands, +the authoress referred to accompanied some friends on horseback to the +Anuenue Falls on the Wailuku river (a river which forms a boundary +between two great volcanoes), and on that occasion used a side-saddle, +but was afterwards advised by one of the party to follow the native +fashion of riding astride. Having acted upon this advice, she was well +satisfied with the result of the trial, and continued to adopt that +style while in the Sandwich Islands, and also in the Rocky Mountains, +where she remained nearly four months. The following extract from a +letter written by her about the 28th of January, from Hilo, Hawaii, and +published in <i>The Hawaiian Archipelago: Six Months in the Sandwich +Islands</i>, 1875, page 66, gives further particulars of her visit to +the Anuenue Falls, above referred to:— +</p> + +<p> +"Everything was new and interesting, but the ride was spoiled by my +insecure seat in my saddle, and the increased pain in my spine which +riding produced. Once, in crossing a stream, the horses had to make a +sort of downward jump from a rock, and I slipped round my horse's neck; +indeed, on the way back I felt that on the ground of health I must give +up the volcano, as I would never consent to be carried to it, like Lady +Franklin, in a litter. When we returned, Mr. Severance suggested that +it would be much better for me to follow the Hawaiian fashion, and ride +astride, and put his saddle on the horse. It was only my strong desire +to see the volcano which made me consent to a mode of riding against +which I have so strong a prejudice; but the result of the experiment is +that I shall visit Kilanea thus or not at all. The native women all +ride astride on ordinary occasions in the full sacks, or holukus, and +on gala days in the pan, the gay winged dress which I described in +writing from Honolulu. A great many of the foreign ladies in Hawaii +have adopted the Mexican saddle also" (this means that they ride +astride) "for greater security to themselves and ease to their horses +on the steep and perilous bridle-tracks, but they wear full Turkish +trousers, and jauntily-made dresses reaching to the ankles." +</p> + +<p> +After leaving the Sandwich Islands she went to the Rocky Mountains, and +in a letter dated the 23rd of October, and published in <i>A Lady's +Life in the Rocky Mountains</i>, 1879, she writes from the Colorado +District, North America:— +</p> + +<p> +"I rode sidewise till I was well through the town, long enough to +produce a severe pain in my spine, which was not relieved for some time +even after I had changed my position. It was a lovely Indian summer +day, so warm that the snow on the ground looked an incongruity." +</p> + +<p> +From the fact that many ladies, when in the Sandwich Islands, ride +astride, and that Miss Bird found this position preferable in many +respects to that which a side-saddle obliges the rider to take, I infer +that ladies in England would be pleased if a change in the mode of +riding were introduced. +</p> + +<p> +Proprietors of circuses will perhaps permit me to offer for their +consideration that by allowing this mode of riding to form a part of +some of the circus performances, they might do a great deal towards +causing it to be recognised by the public as the correct style, and +that one great obstacle in the way of its being generally adopted by +horsewomen would then be removed. +</p> + +<p> +I wish also to suggest that it should be taught at several +riding-schools, so that a large number of pupils may commence at the +same time. +</p> + +<p class="indent1"> +I am, Sir, +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +Your obedient servant, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +X. Y. Z. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—The letters of your correspondent, Mrs. Power +O'Donoghue, are very instructive and trustworthy, because founded upon +practical experience. In her letter of last week she recommends the +feeding of hunters upon <i>cooked food</i>. This to many sportsmen will +be a new theory; not so to me, and I wish to confirm her views, but I +carry them out in a more economical way. My establishment is but a +small one. I cannot afford space or attendance for a cooking-house, but +I believe I arrive at the same results as she does, by steeping my oats +in cold water for a given number of hours, and adding a pound of Indian +meal, with a handful of chopped hay and oaten straw to each feed three +times a day. My horses have a constant supply of water in a manger in a +convenient corner of their stables. I believe horses fed upon dry oats +and hay suffer much from thirst. I observe my horses take many sups of +water through the day, but take much less on the whole than when +watered upon the old practice twice daily. Practically, I find my +horses very healthy, strong, and enduring, and I would freely recommend +the adoption of this mode of feeding hunters to my sporting friends. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Farmer.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—I am still so inundated with correspondence—many +writers asking me precisely the same questions—that I shall regard it +as a favour if you will again allow me to answer a few of them through +the medium of your paper. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Conn. Dashpur.</span>—You and your horse were immersed in the river, +simply because you did not give him sufficient head-room to enable him +to take the jump with safety. In coming up to a wide stretch of water +you should always leave your mount abundant opportunity to extend his +head and neck, nor should you wait to do this until you are just on the +brink,—it will then, most likely, be too late to save you and him a +wetting. A horse stretches his neck coming up to a water-jump, partly +that he may see well what is before him, and partly because his +intelligence tells him that he cannot compass it if tightly reined in. +Leave him his head, and if he is a hunter worth riding he will +calculate his distance and bear you safely over. At the same time you +must remember to give him sufficient support when he lands, or he may +peck, or roll, and give you an ugly fall. A horse is much more liable +to come down over a water-jump than at a fence, for the swinging pace +at which you must necessarily send him at it—combined with the +<i>absolute</i> necessity for leaving him complete freedom of his +head—forbids that "steadying" process, which, at the hands of an +accomplished rider, usually ensures safety over wall or ditch. +Questions similar to yours have been asked me by <span class="sc">H. Cadlicott, +Maurice Hone</span>, and <span class="sc">Guy</span>. In answering one, therefore, I +reply to each. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Ellice Greenway.</span>—Your MS. never reached me; you must have +misdirected it,—but in any case I could not have been of service to +you, as I have no time for revising other people's work, nor would my +recommendation carry any weight. Publishers judge for themselves. Your +papers must go in on their merits, and be accepted or rejected +accordingly. I quite agree with you that declined MSS. should—when +accompanied by a stamped and addressed envelope—be returned to the +sender with the least possible delay. No matter how great or hurried +may be the business of an office, there is in reality no excuse for +inattention to this rule. The very best and busiest of the weekly +journals comply with it, and persons who do not want to be treated with +snobbish indifference had better not write for any other. Perhaps if +you call, or send a line privately to the Editor, you may succeed in +getting back your work; but do not be expectant. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">King Lear.</span>—The horse you name attained his victory in 1878. +He carried 12 st. 7 lbs. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">G. Hunt.</span>—Beauparc; but he did not win. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">P. Ryall.</span>—At Thirsk. He fell at the second obstacle, and +although speedily remounted, his chance was extinguished. Pinnace ran +well, and was in great form. His defeat was a surprise, but your +informant has not given you reliable details. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">James.</span>—Read <i>Silk and Scarlet</i>, one of the "Druid" +series. Thanks for too flattering opinion. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Fordham.</span>—The course is a most trying one, and the feat was +one never before attempted by a lady. I did it to show that my horse +was capable of accomplishing the task, and the risk was not what you +describe it, for he was too clever to put a foot astray. Major Stone of +the 80th accompanied me, and gave me a good lead. The only time I +passed him was when his horse refused at an ugly post and rail. It is +not true that he was thrown. He rode splendidly, managing a difficult +horse. There was no "crowd," and in short it is evident that you have +received an exaggerated account of the affair. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">J. Dunne.</span>—He won at Newcastle in 1879. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Collins W.</span>—She was, in my opinion, unfairly handicapped, and +the verdict was general respecting the matter. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Douglas.</span>—The horse was not shot for five hours after, and lay +quivering all that time. The owner was absent, and four of us galloped +in search of him. Nobody was to blame. Mr. W. B. Morris, 7th Hussars, +was the rider, and no better ever wore silk. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Montauban.</span>—I have already detailed at some length my +objections to children riding before they have strength and judgment +sufficient to enable them to manage a horse. Moreover, if a child—say +a little girl—gets a severe fall, the shock to her nervous system is +most likely to be a lasting one, and in some cases is never got over; +whereas grown girls are less liable to fall, if they have any sort of +fair teaching, and certainly have stronger nerves and firmer resolution +to enable them to bear the casualties attendant upon the practice of +the art. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Curious.</span>—Griffin and Hawkes, of Birmingham, by the burning of +whose premises some of my most valued MSS. were lost. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Jessica.</span>—It is quite untrue. Her Imperial Majesty dresses and +mounts in ordinary fashion. There is not one word of truth in the +widely-circulated statement that her habit is buttoned on after she has +mounted, nor is her jacket ever made "tight." It is close-fitting and +beautifully adapted to her figure, but sufficiently large to leave her +abundant room to move in. The Empress despises tight stays, gloves, and +boots. Her waist is small, but not wasp-like. The absurd announcement +that it measured but twelve inches (recently published in one of the +weekly journals) is as false as it is foolish. Nobody could exist with +such a deformity. The Empress takes morning exercise upon a trapeze. +Her hair is dark, shaded to gold-colour, like a wood in autumn. The +report that she dyes it is one of the many calumnies of which she is +the subject, but which happily cannot harm her. She is <i>not</i> +affable; her manner is stately in the extreme, to all except those with +whom she desires to converse. She speaks fair but not fluent English. +This reply to <span class="sc">Jessica</span> is also for <span class="sc">Frank Kurtz, Amy +Robsart</span>, and <span class="sc">Alicia Bond</span>. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Julius.</span>—It was not I who wrote it. I got the credit of it, +but did not covet the distinction. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">George K.</span>—Nobody assists me. Of course you mean as an +amanuensis: otherwise your question would be an offence. I write my +thoughts in short-hand, and copy at leisure for the press. My time for +writing is when the house is quiet,—generally from 10 <span class="smc">P.M.</span> +to 2 or 3 in the morning. I have answered you—but against my will, as +I much dislike personal questions. Were I to reply to such in general, +my entire life would be laid bare to the eyes of a disinterested +public, in order to gratify a few persons, who have no motive save one +of idle curiosity. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">T. Cannon.</span>—<i>Grandfather's Hunter</i> is sold out. <i>Horses +and Horsemen</i> is to be had, but its price puts it beyond the pale of +ordinary purchasers. Try Bumpus, or Mudie. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Oxonian.</span>—You are wrong,—nor have I asked your opinion. It is +easier to criticise than to write. Having done the former, pray do the +latter, and submit to others' criticism. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Marcia Flood.</span>—Two yards round the hem is amply sufficient +width. I consider the price you name quite exorbitant. Try one of those +mentioned by me in my chapter upon riding-gear. +</p> + +<p> +Thanking you, Sir, for your kindness in granting me so much of your +valuable space. +</p> + +<p class="indent2"> +I am, yours obediently, +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Nannie Power O'Donoghue.</span> +</p> + +<hr class="short"> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Sir</span>,—In a recent edition "Jack Spur" asks if it is usual in +any country for ladies to ride <i>à la</i> Duchess de Berri, +<i>i.e.</i> as a gentleman, astride. In Mexico and the States of the +River Plate this is the usual mount of the fair ones of the district, +and, clad in loose Turkish pantalettes tucked into the riding-boots of +soft yellow leather, a loose sort of tunic secured by a belt, and +wearing the <i>ladies'</i> "sombrero," very charming these fair +<i>équestriennes</i> look, and splendid horsewomen they are. Talk of +ladies, your "Fair Play" should see the long, sharp, Mexican spurs +attached to the heels of these fair prairie-rangers, and witness how +unsparingly they are used. Sometimes I, who am no namby-pamby rider, +and have seen my share of rough work, have ventured to remonstrate in a +half-jocular manner (as became a stranger and foreigner) when riding +along with a Mexican lady, who generally keeps her steed at a full +gallop by the remorseless application of these instruments of +punishment. But the reply was merely a silvery laugh, and "Ah, senor, +here horses are cheap, and when one is finished we have plenty more for +the catching. Come along!" My experience of ladies on horseback as a +rule is that they are more severe than men; perhaps it is +thoughtlessness, but certainly for hard riding and severe spurring I +have never seen any to surpass a Mexican senora, whose favourite pace +is a stretching gallop without cessation, until her steed is perfectly +pumped out, and as horseflesh is of no value whatever, and no Society +for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals exists, I am afraid I must +record a verdict of cruelty against some of the most charming women I +ever met. To their fellow mortals all kindness and goodness, but when +mounted on their mustang they seem to forget that he can feel either +fatigue or pain. Certainly the temptation is great. A horse is of no +value; you seldom mount the same twice on a journey, and across the +beautiful prairies a wild gallop is the pace. But I should be sorry to +see an English lady dismount from her steed, leaving him utterly +exhausted and pumped out, and his flanks streaming with blood from deep +spur-strokes. This I have too often seen in South America. Everyone +does it, and it is little thought of; but by all means let us cherish a +better feeling, and not give any needless pain to that noble animal, +the horse. Let the ladies avoid the use of sharp spurs; most horses +ridden by ladies here are perfectly amenable to the whip and rein, and +the use of the spur is somewhat inharmonious with the gentle character +of our English women. +</p> + +<p class="indent3"> +<span class="sc">Guacho.</span> +</p> + +<p> +St. Leonards, 1880. +</p> + +<hr class="short"> + +<div class="blockquote"> +<p> + "The correspondence upon this subject, called forth by Mrs. Power + O'Donoghue's admirable papers 'Ladies on Horseback,' has been so + voluminous, and appears likely to go on for such a lengthened + period, that I am reluctantly obliged to bring it to a close, in + order to make space for other matter."—<span class="sc">Ed.</span> + <i>Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News.</i> +</p> +</div> +<br> +<p class="ctr"> +London: Printed by W. H. Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, S.W. +</p> +<br> +<hr class="med"> +<br> + +<p class="ctr"> +WORKS PUBLISHED +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +BY +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>W. H. ALLEN & CO.</big> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="hang"> +HOW TO RIDE AND SCHOOL A HORSE, With a System of Horse Gymnastics. +<span class="sc">By Edward L. Anderson.</span> Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="hang"> +MAYHEW (EDWARD) ILLUSTRATED HORSE DOCTOR. Being an Accurate and +Detailed Account, accompanied by more than 400 Pictorial +Representations, characteristic of the various Diseases to which the +Equine Race are subjected; together with the latest Mode of Treatment, +and all the requisite Prescriptions written in Plain English. <span class="sc">By +Edward Mayhew</span>, M.R.C.V.S. 8vo. 18s. 6d. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Contents.</span>—The Brain and Nervous System.—The Eyes.—The +Mouth.—The Nostrils.—The Throat.—The Chest and its contents.—The +Stomach, Liver, &c.—The Abdomen.—The Urinary Organs.—The +Skin.—Specific Diseases.—Limbs.—The Feet.—Injuries.—Operations. +</p> + +<p class="review"> + "The book contains nearly 600 pages of valuable matter, which + reflects great credit on its author, and, owing to its practical + details, the result of deep scientific research, deserves a place + in the library of medical, veterinary, and non-professional + readers."—<i>Field.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> + "The book furnishes at once the bane and the antidote, as the + drawings show the horse not only suffering from every kind of + disease, but in the different stages of it, while the alphabetical + summary at the end gives the cause, symptoms, and treatment of + each."—<i>Illustrated London News.</i> +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +MAYHEW (EDWARD) ILLUSTRATED HORSE MANAGEMENT.—Containing descriptive +remarks upon Anatomy, Medicine, Shoeing, Teeth, Food, Vices, Stables; +likewise a plain account of the situation, nature, and value of the +various points; together with comments on grooms, dealers, breeders, +breakers, and trainers; Embellished with more than 400 engravings from +original designs made expressly for this work. By <span class="sc">E. Mayhew</span>. +A new Edition, revised and improved by <span class="sc">J. I. Lupton</span>, +M.R.C.V.S. 8vo. 12s. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Contents.</span>—The body of the horse +anatomically considered. <span class="sc">Physic.</span>—The mode +of administering it, and minor operations. <span +class="sc">Shoeing.</span>—Its origin, its uses, and its +varieties. <span class="sc">The Teeth.</span>—Their natural +growth, and the abuses to which they are liable. <span +class="sc">Food.</span>—The fittest time for feeding, and the +kind of food which the horse naturally consumes. The evils which are +occasioned by modern stables. The faults inseparable from stables. The +so-called "incapacitating vices," which are the results of injury or of +disease. Stables as they should be. <span +class="sc">Grooms.</span>—Their prejudices, their injuries, and +their duties. <span class="sc">Points.</span>—Their relative +importance, and where to look for their development. <span +class="sc">Breeding.</span>—Its inconsistencies and its +disappointments. <span class="sc">Breaking and +Training.</span>—Their errors and their results. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="hang"> +DAUMAS (E.) HORSES OF THE SAHARA, AND THE MANNERS OF THE DESERT. By +<span class="sc">E. Daumas</span>, General of the Division Commanding at Bordeaux, +Senator, &c. &c. With Commentaries by the Emir Abd-el-Kadir +(Authorized Edition). 8vo. 6s. +</p> + +<p class="review"> + "We have rarely read a work giving a more picturesque and, at the + same time, practical account of the manners and customs of a + people, than this book on the Arabs and their + horses."—<i>Edinburgh Courant.</i> +</p> + + +<hr class="med"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>THURSTON & CO.</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +BILLIARD TABLE +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +MANUFACTURERS. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +LAMP MAKERS AND GAS FITTERS. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<i>BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, AND<br>HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE +PRINCESS OF WALES.</i> +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<img src="images/001.jpg" alt="A billiard table" width="300" height="117"></p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<small>ESTABLISHED A.D. 1814.</small> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="ctr"> +16, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND, LONDON. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<small><i>PRIZE MEDAL, SYDNEY, 1879, FIRST AWARD.</i></small> +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>S. & H. HARRIS'S</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +57, MANSELL STREET, E., +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big><b><span class="sc">Ebonite Waterproof Blacking</span></b></big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +FOR HUNTING OR WALKING BOOTS. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +REQUIRES NO BRUSHING. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>HARNESS COMPOSITION</b> +<br> +<small>(Waterproof).</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>SADDLE PASTE</b> +<br> +<small>(Waterproof).</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>JET BLACK OIL</b>, +<br> +<small>For Harness.</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>BLACK DYE, FOR STAINING HARNESS</b>, +<br> +<small>And all kinds of Leather.</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>WATERPROOF DUBBIN</b>, +<br> +<small>For Boots and Harness.</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>BREECHES POWDER</b>, +<br> +<small>For Cleaning Hunting Breeches.</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>POLISHING PASTE</b>, +<br> +<small>For Cleaning Metals and Glass.</small> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>S. & H. HARRIS,</b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +57, MANSELL STREET, E. +</p> + + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<img src="images/002.jpg" alt="Two crests" width="200" height="72"> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>H. PEAT & CO.,</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +173, PICCADILLY, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<small>LONDON, W.,</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>SADDLERS & HARNESS MAKERS</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<img src="images/003.jpg" alt="Two saddles" width="309" height="183"></p> + +<p class="ctr"> +TO THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>Her Majesty's Cavalry and the Crown Agents<br> +for the Colonies.</i> +</p> + + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +[The following advertisements have been moved from the beginning of the +book.] +</p> +<hr class="med"> + + + + +<table class="advert" summary="Silver Medal"> +<tr> +<td class="img" width="10%">Silver Medal<br>Vienna 1873.</td> +<td class="img" width="10%"><img src="images/004.jpg" alt="Silver medal" width="200" height="115"></td> +<td class="img" width="10%">Paris 1878.<br>Philadelphia 1876.</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br> +<p class="ctr"> +<big>SWAINE ADENEY,</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>WHIP MANUFACTURERS,</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>To THE QUEEN, THE PRINCE and<br>PRINCESS OF WALES and the ROYAL +FAMILY</i>, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>185, PICCADILLY,</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +LONDON, W. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +WHIPS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION FOR<br>RIDING, DRIVING, & HUNTING, &c. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<b>WHIPS MOUNTED IN GOLD AND SILVER, FOR<br>PRESENTATION, ALWAYS ON HAND. +</b></p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +HUNTING FLASKS, HORNS, &c. +</p> +<hr class="med"> + + + +<p class="ctr"> +<img src="images/005.jpg" alt="Two saddles and a drawing of a woman riding side saddle on a horse" width="430" height="185"> +<br> +<small>THE</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>NEW LEVEL-SEAT SIDE SADDLE,</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<span class="sc">With Adjustable Third Crutch and other Improvements</span>, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +As recommended and used by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, Authoress of<br> +"<span class="sc">Ladies on Horseback</span>," &c. &c. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +This perfect Side Saddle is moderate in price, light and elegant in +appearance, faultless in materials and workmanship, ensures ease, +comfort, and security to the rider, and obviates sore backs with +horses. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +MADE TO ORDER AND MEASURE BY +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>F. V. NICHOLLS & CO.,</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<span class="sc"><b><big>Hunting & Military Saddlers</big></b></span>, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +Manufacturers of Harness, Horse Clothing, Whips,<br>and Stable Requisites, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>2, JERMYN STREET, HAYMARKET,</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>LONDON.</b> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +The Gentleman's narrow-grip "Brough" Saddle, any size and weight, from +£7, complete. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +The Gentleman Rider's Racing Saddle, £3 to £4, complete, very roomy, +with Buckskin Flaps, &c. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +THE IMPROVED NEWMARKET & ING GUY SNAFFLE BRIDLES, FOR PULLING HORSES. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="ctr"> +Branch Business: 18, ARTILLERY PLACE, WOOLWICH. +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<img src="images/006.jpg" alt="Company logo" width="248" height="250"> +</p> +<br> +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>ROWLANDS' ODONTO OR PEARL DENTIFRICE</big></b> +</p> + +<p> +has been celebrated for more than half a century as the best, purest, +and most fragrant preparation for the teeth ever made. Health depends +in a great measure upon the soundness of the teeth, and all dentists +will allow that neither washes nor pastes can possibly be as +efficacious for polishing the teeth and keeping them sound and white as +a pure and non-gritty tooth-powder; such Rowlands' Odonto has always +proved itself to be. Great care must be taken to ask for ROWLANDS' +ODONTO, of 20, Hatton Garden, London, and to see that each box bears +the 3d. Government Stamp, without which no ODONTO is genuine. +</p> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL</big></b> +</p> + +<p> +is universally in high repute for its unprecedented success during the +last 80 years in promoting the growth, restoring, improving, and +beautifying the human hair. For children it is especially recommended, +as forming the basis of a beautiful head of hair, while its +introduction into the nursery of Royalty is a sufficient proof of its +merits. It is perfectly free from any lead, mineral, or poisonous +ingredients. +</p> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>ROWLANDS' KALYDOR</big></b> +</p> + +<p> +produces a beautiful pure and healthy complexion, eradicates freckles, +tan, prickly heat, sunburn, &c., and is most cooling and refreshing to +the face, hands, and arms during hot weather. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<i>Ask any Perfumery dealer for ROWLANDS' Articles, of 20, Hatton +Garden, London, and avoid spurious worthless imitations.</i> +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>MESSRS. JAY</big> +</p> + + +<p> +<i>Have the honour to solicit a visit from the Beau Monde to inspect a +variety of Elegant Silk Costumes, Mantles, Artistic Millinery, Hats, +also Novelties in Dress, specially selected in Paris from the best +Artistes representing the Fashions of the Season.</i> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +243, 245, 247, 249, 251, & 253, Regent Street, W. +</p> + + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>W. FAULKNER,</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +LADIES' & GENTLEMEN'S +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>HUNTING, SHOOTING, & WALKING</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>BOOT MAKER,</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +52, SOUTH MOLTON STREET, BOND STREET, W. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>Manufacturer of the Celebrated Edinburgh Boot Varnish, Blacking, and +Waterproof Leather Dressing.</i> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>MILITARY BOOTS.</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +The "Bective" Boots and Shoes to match Costumes. +</p> + +<table class="advert" summary="Boots"> +<tr> +<td class="img" width="5%"> +Improved Flexura Boots. +<br> +Mountain Boots. +<br> +Skating Boots.</td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"> +<img src="images/007.jpg" alt="A boot" width="116" height="150"> +</td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"> +Lawn Tennis Shoes. +<br> +Oxford Shoes. +<br> +Slippers to any style.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="ctr"> +LADIES' RIDING & HUNTING BOOTS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<i>The Shape of the Feet taken and Lasts Modelled on the most approved, +anatomical principles, and kept exclusively for each customer.</i> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">W. Faulkner</span> begs most respectfully to call the attention of +Ladies and Gentlemen to the BOOT TREE Branch. Boot Trees assist to keep +the boots in proper shape, preventing them from wrinkling and shrinking +after they have been worn in the wet; they can be cleaned better, and +do not require so much blacking, thereby preventing the deleterious +effect produced by its frequent application. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +Lasts and Boot Trees of every description Manufactured on the Premises. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +Ladies residing in the Country can have Boots or Boot Trees sent their +exact size by forwarding an Old Boot by Post. +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/008.jpg" alt="Two crests" width="380" height="203"></p> + +<p class="ctr"><i>To H.R.H. PRINCESS CHRISTIAN.</i> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<img src="images/009.jpg" alt="Three crests" width="300" height="99"> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>SYKES, JOSEPHINE, & CO.</b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>"CORSETS."</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +280, REGENT STREET, LONDON, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<small>AND</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +56<span class="smc">A</span>, OLD STEYNE, BRIGHTON. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +RIDING CORSETS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION<br>MADE TO ORDER. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> + +<table class="advert" summary="Manufactories"> + +<tr> +<td class="right" rowspan="3" valign="middle" width="5%"><span class="sc">Manufactories</span></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="left" width="10%">{RUE RAMBUTEAU, PARIS.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="left" width="10%">{GREAT CASTLE STREET, LONDON.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>HOW TO RIDE</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><small>AND</small></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>SCHOOL A HORSE</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +BY +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +E. L. ANDERSON. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>Crown 8vo. Price, 2s. 6d.</i> +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="review"> +"It requires the study of only a very few pages of this book to +convince the reader that the author thoroughly understands his +subject."—<i>Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"Concise, practical directions for riding and training, by which +the pupil may become his own master."—<i>Land and Water.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"A useful and carefully-written volume."—<i>Sporting Times.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"It is sensible and practical."—<i>Whitehall Review.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"We cordially commend this book."—<i>Indian Daily News.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"The work is a good riding-master's book, with no superfluous words, +and with plain, straightforward directions throughout. The chapter +on 'The Walk and the Trot' seems to us especially practical and +good."—<i>Farmer.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"Goes straight to the core of the subject, and is throughout replete +with sound sense."—<i>Home News.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"Cannot fail to be of service to the young equestrian, while it +contains many hints that may be advantageously borne in mind by +experienced riders."—<i>Scotsman.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"Mr. Anderson gives good practical advice, and we commend the work +to the attention of our readers."—<i>Live Stock Journal.</i> +</p> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>London: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 Waterloo Place.</b> +</p> + + +<hr class="med"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>THE ILLUSTRATED HORSE DOCTOR</big></b> +</p> + +<p> +Being an Accurate and Detailed Account, accompanied by more than 400 +Pictorial Representations, characteristic of the various Diseases to +which the Equine Race are subjected; together with the latest Mode of +Treatment, and all the requisite Prescriptions written in Plain +English. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>By EDWARD MAYHEW, M.R.C.V.S.</b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +8<i>vo.</i>, 18<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Contents.</span>—The Brain and Nervous System.—The Eyes.—The +Mouth.—The Nostrils.—The Throat.—The Chest and its contents.— +The Stomach, Liver, &c.—The Abdomen.—The Urinary Organs.—The +Skin.—Specific Diseases.—Limbs.—The Feet.—Injuries.—Operations. +</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> +<p class="hang"> + "The book contains nearly 600 pages of valuable matter, which + reflects great credit on its author, and, owing to its practical + details, the result of deep scientific research, deserves a place + in the library of medical, veterinary, and non-professional + readers."—<i>Field.</i> +</p> + +<p class="hang"> + "The book furnishes at once the bane and the antidote, as the + drawings show the horse not only suffering from every kind of + disease, but in the different stages of it, while the alphabetical + summary at the end gives the cause, symptoms and treatment of + each."—<i>Illustrated London News.</i> +</p> +</div> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<big><b>ILLUSTRATED HORSE MANAGEMENT.</b></big> +</p> + +<p> +Containing Descriptive Remarks upon Anatomy, Medicine, Shoeing, Teeth, +Food, Vices, Stables; likewise a plain account of the situation, +nature, and value of the various points; together with comments on +grooms, dealers, breeders, breakers, and trainers. Embellished with +more than 400 engravings from original designs made expressly for this +work. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>By E. MAYHEW.</b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>A New Edition, Revised and Improved</i>, 8<i>vo.</i>, 12<i>s.</i>, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>By J. I. LUPTON, M.R.C.V.S.</b> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">Contents</span>:—The body of the horse anatomically considered. +<i>Physic.</i>—The mode of administering it, and minor operations. +<i>Shoeing.</i>—Its origin, its uses, and its varieties. <i>The +Teeth.</i>—Their natural growth, and the abuses to which they are +liable. <i>Food.</i>—The fittest time for feeding, and the kind of +food which the horse naturally consumes. The evils which are occasioned +by modern stables. The faults inseparable from stables. The so-called +"incapacitating vices," which are the results of injury or of disease. +Stables as they should be. <i>Grooms.</i>—Their prejudices, their +injuries, and their duties. <i>Points.</i>—Their relative importance, +and where to look for their development. <i>Breeding.</i>—Its +inconsistencies and its disappointments. <i>Breaking and +Training.</i>—Their errors and their results. +</p> + + +<p class="ctr"> +LONDON: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +SELECTION FROM +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>W. H. Allen & Co.'s Catalogue.</big></b> +</p> + + +<p class="hang"> +SKETCHES FROM NIPAL. Historical and Descriptive, with Anecdotes of +Court Life and Wild Sports of the country in the Time of Maharaja +Jang Bahadur, G.C.B. With Illustrations of Religious Monuments, +Architecture, and Scenery, from the Author's own Drawings. By the late +<span class="sc">Henry Ambrose Oldfield</span>, M.D., many years Residency Surgeon at +Khatmandu, Nipal. 2 vols. 8vo., 36<i>s.</i> +</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> +<p class="hang"> + "The work is full of facts, intelligently observed and faithfully + recorded."—<i>Saturday Review.</i> +</p> + +<p class="hang"> + "We have nothing but unqualified praise for the manner in which + Dr. Oldfield's manuscript has been edited and published by his + relatives. The sketches have just claims to rank very high amongst + the standard works on the Kingdoms of High + Asia."—<i>Spectator.</i> +</p> +</div> + +<p class="hang"> +RECORDS OF SPORT AND MILITARY LIFE IN WESTERN INDIA. By the late +Lieutenant-Colonel <span class="sc">G. T. Fraser</span>, formerly of the 1st Bombay +Fusiliers, and more recently attached to the Staff of H.M.'s Indian +Army. With an Introduction by Colonel <span class="sc">G. B. Malleson</span>, C.S.I. +Crown 8vo., 7<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> +</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> +<p class="hang"> + "The style is free from humbug and affectation, and none of the + stories are incredible…. Some of the anecdotes about the early + life of Outram confirm the opinion of that gallant officer held by + his contemporaries."—<i>Saturday Review.</i> +</p> + +<p class="hang"> + "Records his experience in a very simple and unaffected manner, and + he has stirring stories to tell."—<i>Spectator.</i> +</p> +</div> + +<p class="hang"> +THIRTEEN YEARS AMONG THE WILD BEASTS OF INDIA; THEIR HAUNTS AND HABITS. +From Personal Observation; with an account of the Modes of Capturing +and Taming Wild Elephants. By <span class="sc">G. P. Sanderson</span>, Officer in +Charge of the Government Elephant Keddahs at Mysore. With 21 full-page +Illustrations and Three Maps. Second Edition. Fcp. 4to. £1 5<i>s.</i> +</p> + + +<hr class="med"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>LATCHFORD & WILLSON,</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +11, UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +LONDON, W.C., +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +By Appointment to HER MAJESTY, H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES, &c. &c. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>MAKERS</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<small>OF ALL KINDS OF</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>BRIDLE-BITS, STIRRUPS, & SPURS.</big> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +ALL MODERN FASHIONS, ARMY REGULATIONS, &c. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +THE LORINER: Latchford on Bridle-bits and the Bitting of Horses. +Illustrated, 7s. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<b>PRIZE MEDAL, PARIS.</b> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>Just Published, Price 2s. 6d.</i>, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +A SYSTEM OF +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big><b>SCHOOL TRAINING FOR HORSES.</b></big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>By E. L. ANDERSON,</b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<small>AUTHOR OF "HOW TO RIDE AND SCHOOL A HORSE."</small> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="review"> +"He is well worthy of a hearing."—<i>Bell's Life.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"There is no reason why the careful reader should not be able, by the +help of this little book, to train as well as ride his horse."—<i>Land +and Water.</i> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +"Each successive stage of the school system is carefully traced, and +anyone accustomed to the management of horses will therefore be able to +follow and appreciate the value of Mr. Anderson's kindly method of +training."—<i>Daily Chronicle.</i> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> + +<p class="ctr"> +London: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 Waterloo Place. +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>HOUSE! STABLE! FIELD!</big></b> +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S ELASTIC WATERPROOF POLISH, for Hunting, Shooting, and +Fishing Boots; also for Ladies' and Gentlemen's ordinary Walking Boots +and Shoes. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S BROWN BOOT-TOP FLUID, for restoring Brown Top-Boots to their +original colour; also a Cream for Polishing, making them equal to new. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S BREECHES PASTE, for softening and preserving Hunting +Breeches, Gloves, &c. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S BOOT-TOP POWDERS, of various colours, White, Pink, Rose +Pink, Straw, Salmon, Natural, Flesh, Cream, Drab, Melton Brown, three +colours of Brown, all of the newest description. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S LIQUID SHOE BLACKING, the best in the world for softening, +preserving, and superior brilliancy. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S WATERPROOF HARNESS BLACKING requires neither Oil nor Dye. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S Newly-invented PASTE, for Harness, Patent and Enamelled +Leathers. This preparation does not wash off, it renders the leather +soft, and produces a polish superior to any of its kind in existence. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S PLATE POWDER, for Cleansing and Restoring Plate, Brass, and +Metals of every description. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S SADDLE PASTE, for Softening, Preserving, and Beautifying +Saddles, Bridles, and every description of Brown Leather, &c. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S METROPOLITAN POLISH. This article is used for Ladies' and +Gentlemen's Patent, Enamel, Bronze Glace, Morocco, Kid Boots and Shoes, +producing a superior polish. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S PATENT KID REVIVER, for cleaning Black Kid Boots and Shoes, +making them equal to new, also for reviving all kinds of Black, Blue, +and Dark Silks, removes grease spots. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S NE PLUS ULTRA RAVEN JET FRENCH VARNISH, for Ladies' and +Gentlemen's Evening Dress and ordinary Walking Boots and Shoes, +producing a most brilliant polish, warranted not to crack or soil the +finest Cambric. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S BRASS PASTE produces a fine polish upon Brass, Copper, Tin, +Pewter, Britannia Metal, Coach Glasses, and Windows. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S WATERPROOF POUCH PASTE, for Pouches, Belts, Straps, +Knapsacks, Canteen Coverings, Boots, Leggings &c. +</p> + +<p> +W. CLARK'S EMBROCATION FOR HORSES AND CATTLE, gives immediate relief in +all cases of Lameness, Sore Throat, Influenza, and Rheumatism. +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>W. CLARK'S</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big><b>PATENT HORSE CLIPPERS.</b></big> +</p> + + +<p class="review"> +Has been before the Public for 12 years, giving the greatest +satisfaction, the cheapest and best in the market. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<img src="images/010.jpg" alt="Clippers" width="341" height="300"> +</p> + +<p class="review"> +A one-handed Machine for Heads, Ears, Necks, Quarters, Stomachs, +Stifle, and all difficult parts; also extensively used in cutting the +human hair in hot climates, where it is required to be cut close. +</p> + + +<hr class="med"> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>SADDLERY, HARNESS, HORSE CLOTHING &c.</b> +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> + +<table class="advert" summary="Text and royal crest"> +<tr> +<td class="img" width="5%">Saddlers by</td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"><img src="images/011.jpg" alt="Royal crest" width="250" height="119"></td> + +<td class="img" width="5%">Appointment.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="ctr"> +URCH & CO., +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<small>(ESTABLISHED 1835,)</small> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +84, LONG ACRE, LONDON, W.C. +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +MANUFACTURERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF SADDLERY, HARNESS, &c. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<small>WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.</small> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<i>A LARGE ASSORTMENT ALWAYS KEPT IN STOCK.</i> +</p> +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +URCH and CO.'S PATENT DOUBLE SPRING BAR for Releasing the Stirrup +Leather when thrown, can be seen at the above establishment "in working +order." +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<table class="advert" summary="Boots"> +<tr> +<td class="img" width="5%"> +<i>By Appointment<br>to H.M. THE QUEEN<br>OF ENGLAND.</i> +</td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"><img src="images/011.jpg" alt="Royal crest" width="250" height="119"> +</td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"><i>By Appointment<br>to H.M. THE QUEEN<br>OF DENMARK.</i> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>REDFERN,</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>LADIES' TAILORS,</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>By Special Appointments</b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>To H.R.H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES and H.I.H. THE EMPRESS OF +RUSSIA</i>, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big>26, CONDUIT STREET,</big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +Bond Street, London, W. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +SPECIALITIES— +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<big><b>RIDING HABITS,</b></big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>From specially prepared Melton Cloths, &c.</i> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="sc">John Redfern</span> and <span class="sc">Sons</span> would particularly draw the +attention of Ladies to their Improvements in the cut of Riding Habit +Skirts, on the proper set of which depends the whole effect of the +Habit. These improvements, while maintaining a tight, well-fitting +appearance, give perfect comfort and safety to the rider. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<big><b>DRIVING COATS,</b></big> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>From Waterproofed Box-Cloths, Faced Cloths, Tweeds, &c.</i> +</p> + +<p> +These, together with J. R. and Son's Improved Newmarket Coats, will be +found most useful for driving to meet and for constant wear. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +Branch Businesses at Cowes, Isle of Wight,<br>and 242, Rue de Rivoli +(Place de la Concorde), Paris. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> + <small>"The most noted Firm of Ladies' Tailors in the world, and, be it + said, the most original."—Extract from <i>Court Journal</i>.</small> +</p> + + +<hr class="med"> + + +<table class="advert" summary="Boots"> +<tr> +<td class="img" width="5%"> +<i>By Appointment<br>to H.M. THE QUEEN<br>OF ENGLAND.</i> +</td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"><img src="images/011.jpg" alt="Royal crest" width="250" height="119"> +</td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"><i>By Appointment<br>to H.M. THE QUEEN<br>OF DENMARK.</i> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b><big>REDFERN,</big></b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>LADIES' TAILORS,</b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +By Special Appointments +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<span class="sc">To H.R.H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES and H.I.H. THE EMPRESS OF +RUSSIA</span>, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +26, CONDUIT STREET, +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +BOND STREET, LONDON, W. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +SPECIALITY— +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<b>YACHTING & TRAVELLING GOWNS.</b> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<img src="images/stars.jpg" alt="Stars arranged in a triangle" width="20" height="20"> From original Colourings in Cloth and Serge, &c. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>The Firm personally superintend every order, and a perfect fit is +guaranteed.</i> +</p> + + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p> +N.B.—On the occasion of the visit to England of H.S.H. the Princess +Helena of Waldeck, in March 1882, John Redfern and Sons had the honour +of making for Her Serene Highness. +</p> + +<p> +On the visit of H.I.M. the Empress Eugenie, accompanied by the late +Napoleon III., J. R. and Sons had a similar honour. +</p> + +<p> +On the visit of H.I.H. the Crown Princess of Germany, J. R. and Sons +had the honour of making for Her Imperial Highness and all the +Princesses. +</p> + +<p> +On the visit to the Queen of T.R.H. the Princesses of Hesse Darmstadt, +J. R. and Sons had the honour of making for their Royal Highnesses. +</p> + +<p> +On the visit to Her Majesty of the Daughters of H.R.H. the late +Princess Alice, J. R. and Sons had a similar honour. +</p> + + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +Branch Businesses at Cowes, Isle of Wight,<br>and 242, Rue de Rivoli +(Place de la Concorde), Paris. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> + "The most noted Firm of Ladies' Tailors in the world, and, be it + said, the most original."—Extract from <i>Court Journal</i>. +</p> + +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<big><b>LADIES' RIDING BOOTS.</b></big> +</p> + +<table class="advert" summary="N. Thierry"> +<tr> +<td class="img" width="5%"><span class="sc">Established 1839.</span></td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"><b><big>N. THIERRY,</big></b></td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"><span class="sc">Established 1839.</span></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="ctr"> +LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<span class="sc"><b><big>Boot & Shoe Manufacturer</big></b></span>, +</p> + +<table class="advert" summary="Locations"> + +<tr> +<td class="right" rowspan="3" valign="middle" width="5%">LONDON,</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="left" width="10%"> + { 70 QUADRANT, REGENT STREET, W.,</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="left" width="10%">{ <small>AND</small> 48, GRESHAM STREET, E.C.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="ctr"> +MANCHESTER, 2, St. Ann's Sq.; LIVERPOOL, 5, Bold St. +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<i>Complete Illustrated Price Lists Post Free.</i> +</p> + +<hr class="tiny"> + +<table class="advert" summary="riding boots"> + +<tr> +<td class="img" width="5%"><img src="images/015.jpg" alt="A boot" width="192" height="250"></td> + +<td class="img" width="13%">NO INFERIOR ARTICLES KEPT.<br><br>ALL GOODS WARRANTED AND MARKED IN PLAIN FIGURES. +<br><br> +THE LARGEST STOCK OF BEST QUALITY GOODS IN ENGLAND ALWAYS READY.<br><br>26,000 +PAIRS TO CHOOSE FROM.</td> + +<td class="img" width="5%"><img src="images/016.jpg" alt="A boot" width="187" height="250"></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<table class="advert" summary="riding boots"> + +<tr> +<td class="img" width="6%">LADIES' RIDING BOOT, 50s., all Patent or with Morocco Legs.</td> + +<td class="img" width="8%"> </td> + +<td class="img" width="6%">LADIES' NEWMARKET RIDING BOOT, Cloth legs, 50s.</td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<p class="ctr"><span class="sc">Note.</span>—<i>To order, 2s. per pair extra for fitting and keeping special lasts.</i> +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +LADIES' SPURS, Silver Plate, Strap, & Buckle complete, 9s, 6d. +</p> + +<p class="ctr"> +<i>PRICE LIST of a few Leading Articles, Ladies' Department</i>:— +</p> + + +<table class="prices" summary="Prices"> +<tr> +<th colspan="3">BOOTS.</th> +<th colspan="3">SHOES.</th> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td>Button or Lace</td> +<td class="right">17s.</td> +<td class="right">0d.</td> +<td class="padding">Oxford Tie, Morocco</td> +<td class="pg">14s.</td> +<td class="pg">0d.</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> Do. do. Hessians, from</td> +<td class="right">19s.</td> +<td class="right">6d.</td> +<td class="padding"> Do. do. Glacé</td> +<td class="right">16s.</td> +<td class="right">0d.</td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td> Do. do. Cork Clumps</td> +<td class="right">24s.</td> +<td class="right">0d.</td> +<td class="padding"> Do. Richelieu, Louis XV. Heels</td> +<td class="right">23s.</td> +<td class="right">0d.</td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td> Do. High Glacé Louis XV. Heels</td> +<td class="right">27s.</td> +<td class="right">29s.</td> +<td class="padding">Patent Court Heels and Bows</td> +<td class="right">8s.</td> +<td class="right">6d.</td> +</tr> + + +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td class="right"> </td> +<td class="right"> </td> +<td class="padding">Glacé Kid, Embroidered.</td> +<td class="right">11s.</td> +<td class="right">6d.</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="ctr"> +A GREAT VARIETY of very Fashionable Ladies' Dress Shoes in +Glace Kid or Satin (various Colours), Embroidered Jet, Gold, +Steel, or Bijou. +</p> + + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF CHILDREN'S BOOTS AND SHOES, +AND EVERY VARIETY OF GENTS' RIDING, WALKING, & DRESS BOOTS & SHOES. +</p> + +<p class="review"> +Goods sent on approval on receipt of satisfactory references (a London +tradesman preferred), or cheque for the amount. An old boot or shoe +should be sent as a guide for size, paper patterns and other +measurements being of little use. Goods that do not suit will be +exchanged or the money returned. +</p> + + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<b>FIVE PER CENT. DISCOUNT FOR CASH.</b> +</p> + + +<hr class="tiny"> +<p class="ctr"> +<i>PLEASE NOTE—70, REGENT STREET QUADRANT, as there is another house +of the same Surname in the street.</i> +</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ladies on Horseback, by Nannie Lambert + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADIES ON HORSEBACK *** + +***** This file should be named 39501-h.htm or 39501-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/5/0/39501/ + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Ladies on Horseback + Learning, Park-Riding, and Hunting, with Hints upon Costume, + and Numerous Anecdotes + +Author: Nannie Lambert + +Release Date: April 21, 2012 [EBook #39501] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADIES ON HORSEBACK *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +[Illustration: A woman dressed in riding clothes] + + + +LADIES ON HORSEBACK. + +LEARNING, PARK-RIDING, AND HUNTING, WITH HINTS UPON COSTUME, AND +NUMEROUS ANECDOTES. + + +BY + +MRS. POWER O'DONOGHUE +(NANNIE LAMBERT). + +AUTHORESS OF "THE KNAVE OF CLUBS," "HORSES AND HORSEMEN," +"GRANDFATHER'S HUNTER," "ONE IN TEN THOUSAND," "SPRING LEAVES," +"THOUGHTS ON THE TALMUD," ETC., ETC. + + +LONDON: +W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. + +1881. + +[_All rights reserved._] + +LONDON: +PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. + + + + + TO MY FRIEND + ALFRED E. T. WATSON, ESQ., + AUTHOR OF "SKETCHES IN THE HUNTING FIELD," ETC., + TO WHOM I OWE + MUCH OF MY SUCCESS AS A WRITER, + THESE PAGES + ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. + + + + +Transcriber's Note: The 15 pages of advertisements preceding the title +page have been moved to the end of this book. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +In preparing this work for the press, I may state that it is composed +chiefly of a series of papers on horses and their riders, which +appeared a short time since in the columns of _The Illustrated Sporting +and Dramatic News_. How they originally came to be written and +published may not prove uninteresting. + +One day, in the middle of February 1880, a goodly company, comprising +many thousands of persons, assembled upon the lawn of a nobleman's +residence in the vicinity of Dublin; ostensibly for the purpose of +hunting, but in reality to gaze at and chronicle the doings of a very +distinguished foreign lady, who had lately come to our shores. I was +there, of course; and whilst we waited for the Imperial party, I amused +myself by watching the moving panorama, and taking notes of costume and +effect. Everybody who could procure anything upon which to ride, from a +racehorse to a donkey, was there that day, and vehicles of all +descriptions blocked up every available inch of the lordly avenues and +well-kept carriage-drives. + +There is for me so great an attraction in a number of "ladies on +horseback" that I looked at them, and at them alone. One sees gentlemen +riders every hour in the day, but ladies comparatively seldom; every +hunting morning finds about a hundred and fifty mounted males ready for +the start, and only on an average about six mounted females, of whom +probably not more than the half will ride to hounds. This being the +case, I always look most particularly at that which is the greater +novelty, nor am I by any means singular in doing so. + +On the day of which I write, however, ladies on horseback were by no +means uncommon: I should say there were at least two hundred present +upon the lawn. Some rode so well, and were so beautifully turned +out, that the most hypercritical could find no fault; but of the +majority--what can I say? Alas! nothing that would sound at all +favourable. Such horses, such saddles, such rusty bridles, such +riding-habits, such hats, whips, and gloves; and, above all, such +_coiffures_! My very soul was sorry. I could not laugh, as some others +were doing. I felt too melancholy for mirth. It seemed to me most +grievous that my own sex (many of them so young and beautiful) should +be thus held up to ridicule. I asked myself was it thus in other +places; and I came to London in the spring, and walked in the Row, and +gazed, and took notes, and was not satisfied. Perhaps I was too +critical. There was very much to praise, certainly, but there was also +much wherewith to find fault. The style of riding was bad; the style of +dressing was incomparably worse. The well-got-up only threw into darker +shadow the notable defects visible in the forms and trappings of their +less fortunate sisterhood. I questioned myself as to how this could be +best remedied. Remonstrance was impossible--advice equally so. Why +could not somebody write a book for lady equestrians, or a series of +papers which might appear in the pages of some fashionable magazine or +journal, patronised and read by them? The idea seemed a good one, but I +lacked time to carry it out, and so it rested in embryo for many +months. Last June, whilst recovering from serious illness, my cherished +project returned to my mind. Forbidden to write, and too weak to hold a +pen, I strove feebly with a pencil to trace my thoughts upon odd scraps +of paper, which I thrust away in my desk without any definite idea as +to what should eventually become of them. In July, whilst staying at a +country house near Shrewsbury, I one day came upon these shorthand +jottings, and, having leisure-time upon my hands, set to work and put +them into form. A line to the Editor of _The Illustrated Sporting +and Dramatic News_, with whom, I may state, I had had no previous +acquaintance, brought an immediate reply, to send my work for +consideration. I did so; called upon him by appointment when I came a +few days later to London; made all arrangements in a three-minutes +interview; and the first of my series of papers appeared shortly after. +That they were successful, far beyond their deserts, is to me a proud +boast. On their conclusion numerous firms negotiated with me for the +copyright: with what result is known; and here to my publishers I +tender my best thanks. + +In arranging now these writings--put together and brought before the +public at a time when I had apparently many years of active life before +me--it is to me a melancholy reflection that the things of which they +treat are gone from my eyes,--for alas! I can ride no more. Never again +may my heart be gladdened with the music of the hounds, or my frame +invigorated by the exercise which I so dearly loved. An accident, +sudden and unexpected, has deprived me of my strength, and left me to +speak in mournful whispers of what was for long my happiest theme. Yet +why repine where so much is left? It is but another chapter in our +life's history! We love and cling to one pursuit--and it passes from +us; then another absorbs our attention,--it, too, vanishes; and so +on--perhaps midway to the end--until the "looking back" becomes so +filled with saddened memories, that the "looking forward" is alone +left. And so we turn our wistful eyes where they might never have been +directed, had the prospect behind us been less dark. + +A few more words, and I close my preliminary observations and commence +my subject. I cannot but be aware, from the nature of the correspondence +which has flowed in upon me, that although far the greater number of my +readers have agreed with me and entirely coincided in my views, not a +few have been found to cavil. Let not such think that I am oblivious of +their good intentions because I remain unconvinced by their arguments, +and still prefer to maintain my own opinions, which I have not ventured +to set forth without mature deliberation, and the most substantial +reasons for holding them in fixity of tenure. I have spent some +considerable time in turning over in my mind the advisability, or +otherwise, of publishing, as a sort of appendix to this volume, a +selection from the letters which were printed in _The Illustrated +Sporting and Dramatic News_ with reference to my writings in that +journal. After much deliberation I have decided upon suffering the +entire number, with a few trifling exceptions, to appear. They only +form a very small proportion of the voluminous correspondence with +which the Editor and myself were favoured; but, such as they are, I +give them--together with my replies,--not merely because they set forth +the views and impressions of various persons upon topics of universal +interest, but because I conceive that a large amount of useful +information may be gleaned from them, and they may also serve to amuse +my lady readers, who will doubtless be interested in the numerous +queries which I was called upon to answer. Whether or not I have been +able to fight my battles and maintain my cause, must be for others to +determine. + +I likewise subjoin a little paper on "Hunting in Ireland"--also already +published--which brought me many letters: some of them from persons +whose word should carry undoubted weight, fully coinciding in and +substantiating my views with regard to the cutting up of grass-lands; +whilst further on will be found my article entitled "Hunting in +America," originally published in _Life_, and copied from that journal +into so many papers throughout the kingdom, and abroad, that it is +now universally known, and cannot be here presented in the form of +a novelty,--but is given for the benefit of those who may not have +chanced to meet with it, and for whom the subject of American sports +and pastimes may happen to possess interest. + +N. P. O'D. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +PART I. + +LEARNING. + + +CHAPTER I. + +A Popular Error.--Excellence in Riding attainable without any +Youthful Knowledge of the Art.--The Empress of Austria.--Her +Proficiency.--Her Palace.--Her Occupations.--Her Disposition. +--Her Thoughts and Opinions.--The Age at which to learn.-- +Courage indispensable.--Taste a Necessity 1 + + +CHAPTER II. + +Learner's Costume.--The Best Teacher.--Your Bridle.--Your +Saddle.--Your Stirrup.--Danger from "Safety-stirrup."--A Terrible +Situation.--Learning to Ride without any support for the Foot 11 + + +CHAPTER III. + +Mounting.--Holding the Reins.--Position in the Saddle.--Use of +the Whip.--Trotting.--Cantering.--Riding from Balance.--Use of +the Stirrup. Leaping.--Whyte Melville's opinion 23 + + +PART II. + +PARK AND ROAD RIDING. + + +CHAPTER IV. + +How to Dress.--A Country-girl's ideas upon the subject.--How +to put on your Riding-gear.--How to preserve it.--First +Road-ride.--Backing.--Rearing, and how to prevent it 44 + + +CHAPTER V. + +Running away.--Three Dangerous Adventures.--How to act when +placed in Circumstances of Peril.--How to Ride a Puller.-- +Through the City.--To a Meet of Hounds.--Boastful Ladies.--A +Braggart's Resource 62 + + +PART III. + +HUNTING. + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Hunting-Gear.--Necessary Regard for Safe Shoeing.--Drive to the +Meet.--Scene on arriving.--A Word with the Huntsman.--A Good +Pilot.--The Covert-side.--Disappointment.--A Long Trot 81 + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Hounds in Covert.--The First Fence.--Follow your Pilot.--A +River-bath.--A Wise Precaution.--A Label advisable.--Wall and +Water Jumping.--Advice to Fallen Riders.--Hogging.--More Tail 98 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Holding on to a Prostrate Horse.--Is it Wise or otherwise?--An +Indiscreet Jump.--A Difficult Finish.--The Dangers of Marshy +Grounds.--Encourage Humanity.--A Reclaimed Cabby! 111 + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Selfishness in the Field.--Fording a River.--Shirking a Fence. +--Over-riding the Hounds.--Treatment of Tired Hunters.--Bigwig +and the Major.--Naughty Bigwig.--Hapless Major 120 + + +CHAPTER X. + +Feeding Horses.--Forage-biscuits.--Irish Peasantry.--A Cunning +Idiot.--A Cabin Supper.--The Roguish Mule.--A Day at Courtown. +--Paddy's Opinion of the Empress 131 + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Double-rise.--Pointing out the Right Foot.--The force of +Habit.--Various kinds of Fault-finding.--Mr. Sturgess' +Pictures.--An English Harvest-home.--A Jealous Shrew.--A Shy +Blacksmith.--How Irishmen get Partners at a Dance 144 + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Subject of Feeding resumed.--Cooked Food recommended.--Effects of +Raw Oats upon "Pleader."--Servants' Objections.--Snaffle-bridle, +and Bit-and-Bridoon.--Kindness to the Poor.--An Unsympathetic +Lady.--An Ungallant Captain.--What is a Gentleman?--_Au +Revoir!_ 159 + + +PART IV. + +HUNTING IN IRELAND 173 + + +PART V. + +HUNTING IN AMERICA 183 + + +CORRESPONDENCE 192 + + + + +LADIES ON HORSEBACK. + + + + +PART I. + +LEARNING. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +A POPULAR ERROR.--EXCELLENCE IN RIDING ATTAINABLE WITHOUT ANY YOUTHFUL +KNOWLEDGE OF THE ART.--THE EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA.--HER PROFICIENCY.--HER +PALACE.--HER OCCUPATIONS.--HER DISPOSITION.--HER THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS. +--THE AGE AT WHICH TO LEARN.--COURAGE INDISPENSABLE.--TASTE A NECESSITY. + + +It is my belief that hints to ladies from a lady, upon a subject which +now so universally occupies the female mind--hints, not offered in any +cavilling nor carping spirit, but with an affectionate and sisterly +regard for the interests of those addressed--cannot fail to be +appreciated, and must become popular. Men write very well for men, but +in writing for us ladies they cannot, however willing, enter into all +the little delicacies and minutiae of our tastes and feelings, and so +half the effect is lost. + +I do not purpose entering upon any discussion, nor, indeed, touching +more than very lightly upon the treatment and management of the horse. +A subject so exhaustive lies totally outside the limits of my pen, +and has, moreover, been so ably treated by men of knowledge and +experience, as to render one word further respecting the matter almost +superfluous. I shall therefore content myself with surmising that +the horses with which we may have to do throughout these remarks--be +they school-horses, roadsters, or hunters--are at least sound, +good-tempered, and properly trained. Their beauty and other attributes +we shall take for granted, and not trouble ourselves about. + +And now, in addressing my readers, I shall endeavour to do so as +though I spoke to each separately, and so shall adopt the term "you," +as being at once friendly and concise. + +My subject shall be divided into three heads. First the acquirement of +the equestrian art; second, road and park riding; third, hunting; with +a few hints upon the costume, &c. required for each, and a slight +sprinkling of anecdote here and there to enliven the whole. + +I shall commence by saying that it is a mistake to imagine that +riding, in order to be properly learnt, must be begun in youth: that +nobody can excel as a horsewoman who has not accustomed herself to +the saddle from a mere child. On the contrary some of the finest +_equestriennes_ the world has ever produced have known little or +nothing of the art until the spring-time of their life was past. Her +Imperial Majesty the Empress of Austria, and likewise her sister the +ex-Queen of Naples, cared nothing about riding until comparatively +late in life. I know little, except through hearsay, of the last-named +lady's proficiency in the saddle, but having frequently witnessed +that of the former, and having also been favoured with a personal +introduction at the gracious request of the Empress, I can unhesitatingly +say that anything more superb than her style of riding it would be +impossible to conceive. The manner in which she mounts her horse, sits +him, manages him, and bears him safely through a difficult run, is +something which must be seen to be understood. Her courage is amazing. +Indeed, I have been informed that she finds as little difficulty in +standing upon a bare-backed steed and driving four others in long +reins, as in sitting quietly in one of Kreutzman's saddles. In the +circus attached to her palace at Vienna she almost daily performs +these feats, and encourages by prizes and evidences of personal favour +many of the Viennese ladies who seek to emulate her example. There has +been considerable discussion respecting the question of the Empress's +womanliness, and the reverse. Ladies have averred--oh, jealous +ladies!--that she is _not_ womanly; that her style of dressing is +objectionable, and that she has "no business to ride without her +husband!" These sayings are all open to but one interpretation; ladies +are ever envious of each other, more especially of those who excel. +The Empress is not only a perfect woman, but an angel of light and +goodness. Nor do I say this from any toadyism, nor yet from the +gratitude which I must feel for her kindly favour toward myself. I +speak as I think and believe. Blessed with a beauty rarely given to +mortal, she combines with it a sweetness of character and disposition, +a womanly tenderness, and a thoughtful and untiring charity, which +deserve to gain for her--as they have gained--the hearts as well as +the loving respect and reverence of all with whom she has come in +contact. + +I was pleased to find, whilst conversing with her, that many of my +views about riding were hers also, and that she considered it a +pity--as I likewise do--that so many lady riders are utterly spoilt by +pernicious and ignorant teaching. I myself am of opinion that childhood +is not the best time to acquire the art of riding. The muscles are too +young, and the back too weak. The spine is apt to grow crooked, unless +a second saddle be adopted, which enables the learner to sit on +alternate days upon the off-side of the horse; and to this there are +many objections. The best time to learn to ride is about the age of +sixteen. All the delicacy to which the female frame is subject during +the period from the thirteenth to the fifteenth year has then passed +away, and the form is vigorous and strong, and capable of enduring +fatigue. + +I know it to be a generally accepted idea that riding is like music and +literature--the earlier it is learnt the better for the learner, and +the more certain the proficiency desired to be attained. This is an +entirely erroneous opinion, and one which should be at once discarded. +I object, as a rule, to children riding. They cannot do so with any +safety, unless put upon horses and ponies which are sheep-like in their +demeanour; and from being accustomed to such, and to none other, they +are nervous and frightened when mounted upon spirited animals which +they feel they have not the strength nor the art to manage, and, being +unused to the science of controlling, they suffer themselves to be +controlled, and thus extinguish their chance of becoming accomplished +horsewomen. I know ladies, certainly, who ride with a great show of +boldness, and tear wildly across country after hounds, averring that +they never knew what fear meant: why should they--having ridden from +the time they were five years old? Very probably, but the bravery of +the few is nothing by which to judge of a system which is, on the +whole, pernicious. It is less objectionable for boys, because their +shoulders are not apt to grow awry by sitting sideways, as little +girls' do; nor are they liable to hang over upon one side; nor have +they such delicate frames and weakly fingers to bring to the front. +Moreover, if they tumble off, what matter? It does them all the good in +the world. A little sticking-plaister and shaking together, and they +are all right again. But I confess I _don't like_ to see a girl come +off. Less than a year ago a sweet little blue-eyed damsel who was +prattling by my side as she rode her grey pony along with me, was +thrown suddenly and without warning upon the road. The animal +stumbled--her tiny hands lacked the strength to pull him together--she +was too childish and inexperienced to know the art of retaining her +seat. She fell! and the remembrance of uplifting her, and carrying her +little hurt form before me upon my saddle to her parents' house, is not +amongst the brightest of my memories. + +We will assume, then, that you are a young lady in your sixteenth +year, possessed of the desire to acquire the art of riding, and the +necessary amount of courage to enable you to do so. This latter +attribute is an absolute and positive necessity, for a coward will +_never_ make a horsewoman. If you are a coward, your horse will soon +find it out, and will laugh at you; for horses can and do laugh when +they what is usually termed "gammon" their riders. Nobody who does not +possess unlimited confidence and a determination to know no fear, has +any business aspiring to the art. Courage is indispensable, and must +be there from the outset. All other difficulties may be got over, but +a natural timidity is an insurmountable obstacle. + +A cowardly rider labours under a two-fold disadvantage, for she not +only suffers from her own cowardice, but actually imparts it to her +horse. An animal's keen instinct tells him at once whether his master +or his servant is upon his back. The moment your hands touch the reins +the horse knows what your courage is, and usually acts accordingly. + +No girl should be taught to ride who has not a taste, and a most +decided one, for the art. Yet I preach this doctrine in vain; for, all +over the world, young persons are forced by injudicious guardians to +acquire various accomplishments for which they have no calling, and at +which they can never excel. It is just as unwise to compel a girl to +mount and manage a horse against her inclination, as it is to force +young persons who have no taste for music to sit for hours daily at a +piano, or thrust pencils and brushes into hands unwilling to use them. +A love for horses, and an earnest desire to acquire the art of riding, +are alike necessary to success. An unwilling learner will have a bad +seat, a bad method, and clumsy hands upon the reins; whereas an +enthusiast will seem to have an innate facility and power to conquer +difficulties, and will possess that magic sense of _touch_, and facile +delicacy of manipulation, which go so far toward making what are +termed "good hands,"--a necessity without which nobody can claim to be +a rider. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +LEARNER'S COSTUME.--THE BEST TEACHER.--YOUR BRIDLE.--YOUR SADDLE.-- +YOUR STIRRUP.--DANGER FROM "SAFETY-STIRRUP."--A TERRIBLE SITUATION. +--LEARNING TO RIDE WITHOUT ANY SUPPORT FOR THE FOOT. + + +Having now discussed your age, your nerve, and your taste, we shall say +a few words about your costume as a learner. Put on a pair of strong +well-made boots; heels are not objectionable, but buttons are decidedly +so, as they are apt to catch in the stirrup and cause trouble. Strong +chamois riding-trousers, cloth from the hip down, with straps to fasten +under the boots, and soft padding under the right knee and over the +left, to prevent the friction of the pommels, which, to a beginner, +generally causes much pain and uneasiness. A plain skirt of brown +holland, and any sort of dark jacket, will suit your purpose quite +well, for you are only going to learn; not to show off--yet. Your +hat--any kind will do--must be securely fastened on, and your hair left +flowing, for no matter how well you may fancy you have it fastened, the +motion of the horse will shake it and make it feel unsteady, and the +very first hairpin that drops out, up will go your hand to replace it, +and your reins will be forgotten. As soon as you have put on a pair of +strong loose gloves, and taken a little switch in your hand, you are +ready to mount. + +The nicest place in which you can learn is a well-tanned riding-school +or large green paddock, and the nicest person to teach you is a lady or +gentleman friend, who will have the knowledge and the patience to +instruct you. Heaven help the learner who is handed over to the tender +mercies of John, the coachman, or Jem, the groom! Servants are rarely +able to ride a yard themselves, and their attempt at teaching is +proportionately lame. Your horse having been led out, your attendant +looks to his girthing, &c., as stable servants are not always too +particular respecting these necessary matters. + +The pleasantest bridle in which to ride is a plain ring-snaffle. Few +horses will go in it; but, remember, I am surmising that yours has been +properly trained. By riding in this bridle you have complete control +over the movements of your horse--can, in fact, manage him with one +hand, and you have the additional advantage of having fewer leathers to +encumber and embarrass your fingers. A beginner is frequently puzzled +to distinguish between the curb and the snaffle when riding with a +double rein, and mistaking one for the other, or pulling equally at +both, is apt to cause the horse much unnecessary irritation. It is +lamentable to see the manner in which grown men and women, who ought to +know so much better, tug and strain at their horses' mouths with an +equal pull upon both reins, when riding, as is the custom, in a bit and +bridoon. Perhaps of the two they draw the curb the tighter. It is not +meant for cruelty--they do not appear to be aware that it _is_ cruel: +but there is no greater sign of utter ignorance. Horses are not +naturally vicious, and very few of them who have had any sort of +fair-play in training, really require a curb, or will go as well or +pleasantly upon it as if ridden in a snaffle-bridle. + +Your saddle is another most important point. Never commence, be your +age ever so tender, by riding upon a pad. Accustom yourself from the +beginning to the use of a properly constructed saddle, made as straight +as a board, seat perfectly level, and scarcely any appearance of a +pommel upon the off-side. A leaping-head, or what is commonly termed a +third crutch, is, in my opinion, indispensable. To procure a saddle +such as I describe you must have it made to order, for those of the +present day are all made with something of a dip, which is most +objectionable. I do not like the appearance of much stitching about a +saddle. It has always appeared to me absurd to see the amount of +elaborate embroidery which every old-fashioned saddle carries upon the +near flap. Nothing could be more unnecessary than an outlay of labour +upon a portion of the article which is always concealed beneath the +rider's right leg. There might be some sense, although very little, in +decorating the off-side and imparting to it something of an ornamental +appearance; but in my opinion there cannot be too much simplicity about +everything connected with riding appointments. A plainness, amounting +even to severity, is to be preferred before any outward show. Ribbons, +and coloured veils, and yellow gloves, and showy flowers are alike +objectionable. A gaudy "get up" (to make use of an expressive +common-place) is highly to be condemned, and at once stamps the wearer +as a person of inferior taste. Therefore avoid it. Let your saddle be, +like your personal attire, remarkable only for its perfect freedom from +ornament or display. Have it made to suit yourself--neither too +weighty, nor yet too small--and if you want to ride with grace and +comfort, desire that it be constructed without one particle of the +objectionable dip. There is a very old-established and world-noted firm +in Piccadilly--Peat & Co.--where you can obtain an article such as I +describe, properly made, and of durable materials, at quite a moderate +cost. I can say, speaking from experience, that no trouble will be +spared to afford you satisfaction, and that the workmanship will be not +only lasting, but characterised by that neatness for which I am so +strong an advocate. You should ride _on_ your saddle, not _in_ it, and +you must learn to ride from balance or you will never excel, and this +you can only do by the use of the level seat. A small pocket on the +off-side, and a neat cross strap to support a waterproof, are of course +necessary items. + +Your stirrup is the next important matter. I strongly disapprove of the +old-fashioned slipper, as also of the so-called "safety" stirrup, which +is, in my opinion, the fruitful source of many accidents. Half the +lamentable mischances with which our ears are from time to time +shocked, are due to the pertinacity with which ladies will cling to +this murderous safety stirrup. So long as they will persist in doing +so, casualties must be looked for and must occur. The padding over the +instep causes the foot to become firmly imbedded, and in the event of +an accident the consequences are dire, for the mechanism of the stirrup +is almost invariably stiff or out of order, or otherwise refuses to +act. Mr. Oldacre was, I believe, the inventor of the padded stirrup, +and for this we owe him or his memory little thanks, although the +gratitude of all lady riders is undoubtedly due to him for his +admirable invention and patenting of the third crutch, without which +our seat in the saddle would be far less comfortable and less secure. + +I dare say that I shall have a large section of aggrieved stirrup-makers +coming down upon me with the phials of their wrath for giving publicity +to this opinion, but in writing as I have done I merely state my own +views, which I deem we are all at liberty to do; and looking upon my +readers as friends, I warn them against an article of which I myself +have had woful experience. I once purchased a safety stirrup at one of +the best houses, and made by one of the best makers. The shopman showed +it off to me in gallant style, expatiating upon its many excellencies, +and adroitly managing the stiff machinery with his deft fingers, until +I was fairly deceived, and gave him a handful of money for what +subsequently proved a cause of trouble. I lost more than one good run +with hounds through the breaking of this dearly-bought stirrup, having +upon one occasion to ride quite a long distance away from the hunt to +seek out a forge at which I might undergo repairs. Nor was this the +worst, for one day, having incautiously plunged into a bog in my +anxiety to be in at the death, my horse got stuck and began to sink, +and of course I sought to release myself from him at once; but no, my +foot was locked fast in that terrible stirrup, and I could not stir. My +position was dreadful, for I had outridden my pilot, my struggling +steed was momentarily sinking lower, and the shades of evening were +fast closing in. I shudder to think what might have been my fate and +that of my gallant horse had not the fox happily turned and led the +hunt back along the skirts of the bog, thus enabling my cries for help +to be heard by one or two brave spirits who came gallantly to my +rescue. I have more than once since then been caught in a treacherous +bog when following the chase, but never have I found any difficulty in +jumping from my horse's back and helping him to struggle gamely on to +the dry land, for I have never since ridden in a safety-stirrup, nor +shall I ever be likely to do so again. It may be said, and probably +with truth, that my servant had neglected to clean it properly from day +to day, and that consequently the spring had got rusted and refused to +act. Such may possibly have been the case, but might not the same thing +occur to anyone, or at any time? Servants are the same all over the +world, and yet you must either trust to them or spend half your time +overlooking them in the stable and harness-room, which for a lady is +neither agreeable nor correct. + +There is nothing so pleasant to ride in as a plain little racing-stirrup, +from which the foot is in an instant freed. I have not for a long while +back used anything else myself, nor has my foot ever remained caught, +even in the most dangerous falls. + +I conceive it to be an admirable plan to learn to ride without a +stirrup at all. Of course I do not mean by this that a lady should +_ever_ go out park-riding or hunting _sans_ the aid of such +an appendage, but she should be taught the necessity of dispensing with +it in case of emergency. The benefits arising from such training are +manifold. First, it imparts a freedom and independence which cannot +otherwise be acquired; secondly, it gives an admirable and sure seat +over fences; thirdly, it is an excellent means of learning how to ride +from balance; and fourthly, in spite of its apparent difficulties, it +is in the end a mighty simplifier, inasmuch as, when the use of the +stirrup is again permitted, all seems such marvellously plain sailing, +that every obstacle appears to vanish from the learner's path. In +short, a lady who can ride fairly well without a support for her foot, +must, when such is added, be indeed an accomplished horsewoman. I knew +a lady who never made use of a stirrup throughout the whole course of +an unusually long life, and who rode most brilliantly to hounds. Few, +however, could do this, nor is it by any means advisable, but to be +able occasionally to dispense with the support is doubtless of decided +benefit. + +I have often found my training in this respect stand me in good stead, +for it has more than once happened that in jumping a stiff fence, or +struggling in a heavy fall, my stirrup-leather has given way, and I +have had not alone to finish the run without it, but to ride many miles +of a journey homeward. + +Nothing could be more wearisome to an untutored horsewoman than a long +ride without a stirrup. The weight of her suspended limb becomes after +a moment or two most inconvenient and even painful, whilst the trot of +the horse occasions her to bump continuously in the saddle,--for the +power of rising without artificial aid would appear a sheer impossibility +to an ordinary rider whose teaching had been entrusted to an ordinary +teacher. I would have you then bear in mind that although I advocate +_practising_ without the assistance of a stirrup, I am totally +against your setting out beyond the limits of your own lawn or paddock +without this necessary support. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +MOUNTING.--HOLDING THE REINS.--POSITION IN THE SADDLE.--USE OF THE +WHIP.--TROTTING.--CANTERING.--RIDING FROM BALANCE.--USE OF THE STIRRUP. +--LEAPING.--WHYTE MELVILLE'S OPINION. + + +Having now seen that your bridle, saddle, and stirrup are in proper +order, you prepare to mount, and this will probably take you some time +and practice to accomplish gracefully, being quite an art in itself. +Nothing is more atrocious than to see a lady require a chair to mount +her animal, or hang midway against the side of the saddle when her +cavalier gives her the helping hand. Lay your right hand firmly upon +the pommel of your saddle, and the left upon the shoulder of your +attendant, in whose hand you place your left foot. Have ready some +signal sentence, as "Make ready, go!" or "one, two, three!" Immediately +upon pronouncing the last syllable make your spring, and if your +attendant does his duty properly you will find yourself seated deftly +upon your saddle. + +As I have already stated, this requires practice, and you must not be +disappointed if a week or so of failure ensues between trial and +success. + +As soon as you are firmly seated, take your rein (which, as I have +said, should be a single one) and adjust it thus. Place the near side +under the little finger of your left hand, and the off one between your +first and second fingers, bringing both in front toward the right hand, +and holding them securely in their place with the pressure of your +thumb. This is merely a hint as to the simplest method for a beginner +to adopt, for there is really no fixed rule for holding reins, nor must +you at all times hold them in one hand only, but frequently--and always +when hunting--put both hands firmly to your bridle. Anything stiff or +stereotyped is to be avoided. A good rider, such as we hope you will +soon become, will change her reins about, and move her position upon +the saddle, so as to be able to watch the surrounding scenery--always +moving gracefully, and without any abrupt or spasmodic jerkings, which +are just as objectionable as the poker-like rigidity which I wish you +to avoid. How common it is to see ladies on horseback sitting as though +they were afraid to budge a hair, with pinioned elbows and +straightly-staring eyes. This is most objectionable; in fact, nothing +can be more unsightly. A graceful, easy seat, is a good horsewoman's +chief characteristic. She is not afraid of tumbling off, and so she +does not look as though she were so; moreover, she has been properly +taught in the commencement, and all such defects have been rectified by +a careful supervision. + +With regard to your whip, it must be held point downwards, and if you +have occasion to touch your horse, give it to him down the shoulder, +but always with temperance and kindly judgment. I once had a +riding-master who desired me to hold my whip balanced in three fingers +of my right hand, point upwards, the hand itself being absurdly bowed +and the little finger stuck straight out like a wooden projection. My +natural good sense induced me to rebel against anything so completely +ridiculous, and I quietly asked my teacher why I was to carry my whip +in that particular position. His answer was--"Oh, that you may have it +ready _to strike your horse on the neck_." Shades of Diana! this +is the way our daughters are taught in schools, and we marvel that they +show so little for the heaps of money which we hopefully expend upon +them. + +Being then fairly seated upon your saddle, your skirt drawn down and +arranged by your attendant, your reins in your hand and your whip +arranged, you must proceed to walk your horse quietly around the +enclosure, having first gently drawn your bridle through his mouth. You +will feel very strange at first: much as though you were on the back of +a dromedary and were completely at his mercy. Sit perfectly straight +and erect, but without stiffness. Be careful not to hang over upon +either side, and, above all things, avoid the pernicious habit of +clutching nervously with the right hand at the off pommel to save +yourself from some imaginary danger. So much does this unsightly habit +grow upon beginners, that, unless checked, it will follow them through +life. I know grown women who ride every day, and the very moment their +horse breaks into a canter or a trot they lay a grim grip upon the +pommel, and hold firmly on to it until the animal again lapses into a +walk. And this they do unconsciously. The habit, given way to in +childhood, has grown so much into second nature that to tell them of it +would amaze them. I once ventured to offer a gentle remonstrance upon +the subject to a lady with whom I was extremely intimate, and she was +not only astonished, but so displeased with me for noticing it, that +she was never quite the same to me afterwards; and so salutary was the +lesson which I then received that I have since gone upon the principle +of complete non-interference, and if I saw my fellow _equestriennes_ +riding gravely upon their horses' heads I would not suggest the +rationality of transferring their weight to the saddle. And this +theory is a good one, or at least a wise one; for humanity is so +inordinately conceited that it will never take a hint kindly, unless +asked for; and not always even then. + +To sit erect upon your saddle is a point of great importance; if you +acquire a habit of stooping it will grow upon you, and it is not only a +great disfigurement, but not unfrequently a cause of serious accident, +for if your horse suddenly throws up his head, he hits you upon the +nose, and deprives you of more blood than you may be able to replace in +a good while. + +As soon as you can feel yourself quite at home upon your mount, and +have become accustomed to its walking motion, your attendant will urge +him into a gentle trot. And now prepare yourself for the beginning of +sorrows. Your first sensation will be that of being shaken to pieces. +You are, of course, yet quite ignorant of the art of rising in your +saddle, and the trot of the horse fairly churns you. Your hat shakes, +your hair flaps, your elbows bang to your sides, you are altogether +miserable. Still, you hold on bravely, though you are ready to cry from +the horrors of the situation. + +Your attendant, by way of relieving you, changes the trot to a canter, +and then you are suddenly transported to Elysium. The motion is +heavenly. You have nothing to do but sit close to your saddle, and you +are borne delightfully along. It is too ecstatic to last. Alas! it will +never teach you to ride, and so you return to the trot and the shaking +and the jogging, the horrors of which are worse than anything you have +ever previously experienced. You try vainly to give yourself some ease, +but fail utterly, and at length dismount--hot, tired, and disheartened. + +But against this latter you must resolutely fight. Remember that +nothing can be learned without trouble, and by-and-by you will be +repaid. It is not everybody who has the gift of perseverance, and it is +an invaluable attribute. It is a fact frequently commented upon, not +alone by me but by many others also, that if you go for the hiring of a +horse to any London livery-stable you will be sent a good-looking beast +enough, but he will not be able to trot a yard. Canter, canter, is all +that he can do. And why? He is kept for the express purpose of carrying +young ladies in the Row, and these young ladies have never learnt to +trot. They can dress themselves as vanity suggests in fashionably-cut +habits, suffer themselves to be lifted to the saddle, and sit there, +looking elegant and pretty, whilst their horse canters gaily down the +long ride; but were the animal to break into a trot (which he is far +too well tutored to attempt to do), they would soon present the same +shaken, dilapidated, dishevelled, and utterly miserable appearance +which you yourself do after your first experience of the difficulties +which a learner has to encounter. + +The art of rising in the saddle is said to have been invented by one +Dan Seffert, a very famous steeplechase jockey, who had, I believe, +been a riding-master in the days of his youth. If this be true--which +there is no reason to doubt--we have certainly to thank him, for it is +a vast improvement upon the jog-trot adopted by the cavalry, which, +however well it may suit them and impart uniformity of motion to their +"line-riding," is not by any means suited to a lady, either for +appearances or for purposes of health. + +You come up for your next day's lesson in a very solemn mood. You are, +in fact, considerably sobered. You had thought it was all plain +sailing: it _looked_ so easy. You had seen hundreds of persons +riding, trotting, and even setting off to hunt, and had never dreamed +that there had been any trouble in learning. Now you know the +difficulties and what is before you. + +You recall your sufferings during your first days upon the ice, or on +the rink. How utterly impossible it seemed that you could ever excel; +how you tumbled about; how miserably helpless you felt, and how many +heavy falls you got! Yet you conquered in the end, and so you will +again. + +You take courage and mount your steed. First you walk him a little, as +yesterday; and then the jolting begins again. How are you ever to get +into that rise and fall which you have seen with others, and so much +covet? How are you to accomplish it? Only by doing as I tell you, and +persevering in it. As your horse throws out his near foreleg press your +foot upon your stirrup, in time to lift yourself slightly as his off +foreleg is next thrown out. Watch the motion of his legs, press your +foot, and at the same time slightly lift yourself from your saddle. For +a long while, many days perhaps, it will seem to be all wrong; you have +not got into it one bit; you are just as far from it apparently as when +you commenced. You are hot and vexed, and you, perhaps, cry with +mortification and disappointment, as I have seen many a young beginner +do; bitterly worried and disheartened you are, and ready to give up, +when, lo! quite suddenly, as though it had come to you by magic and not +through your own steady perseverance, you find yourself rising and +falling _with_ the trot of the horse, and your labours are +rewarded. + +After this your lessons are a source of delight. You no longer come +from them flushed and worried, but joyous and exultant and impatient +for the next. You have begun to feel quite brave, and to throw out +hints that you are longing for a good ride on the road. You now know +how to make your horse trot and canter; the first by a light touch of +your whip and a gentle movement of your bridle through his mouth; the +second by a slight bearing of the rein upon the near side of his mouth, +so as to make him go off upon the right leg, and a little warning touch +of your heel. You fancy, in fact, that you are quite a horsewoman, and +have already rolled up your hair into a neat knot, and hinted to papa +that you should greatly like a habit. But, alas! you have plenty of +trouble yet before you, plenty to learn, plenty of falls to get and to +bear. At present you can ride fairly well on the straight; but you know +nothing of keeping your balance in time of danger. Your horse is very +quiet, but if he chanced to put back his ears you would be off. + +You are taught to maintain your balance in the following way:-- + +Your attendant waits until your horse is cantering pretty briskly in a +circle from left to right, when he suddenly cracks his whip close to +the animal's heels, who immediately swerves and turns the other way. +You have had no warning of the movement, and consequently you tumble +off, and are put up again, feeling a little shaken and a good deal +crestfallen. Most likely you will fall again and again, until you have +thoroughly mastered the art of riding from balance. + +This is a method I have seen adopted, especially in schools, with +considerable success, but it is certainly attended with inconvenience +to the learner, and with a goodly portion of the risk from falls which +all who ride _must_ of necessity run. To ride well from balance is +not a thing which can be accomplished in a day, nor a month, nor +perhaps a year. Many pass a life-time without practically comprehending +the meaning of the term. They ride every day, hold on to the bridle, +guide their horses, and trust to chance for the rest; but this is not +true horsemanship. It could no more be called _riding_ than could +a piece of mechanical pianoforte-playing be termed music. When you +have, after much difficulty and delay, mastered the obstacles which +marred your progress, you will then have the happy consciousness of +feeling that however your horse may shy or swerve, or otherwise depart +from his good manners, you can sit him with the ease and closeness of a +young centaur. + +This art of riding from balance is not half sufficiently known. It is +one most difficult to acquire, but the study is worth the labour. +Nine-tenths of the lady equestrians, and perhaps even a greater number +of gentlemen, ride from the horse's head; a detestable practice which +cannot be too highly condemned. I must also warn you against placing +too much stress upon the stirrup when your horse is trotting. You must +bear in mind that the stirrup is intended for a support for the +foot--not to be ridden from. By placing your right leg firmly around +the up-pommel, and pressing the left knee against the leaping-head, you +can accomplish the rise in your saddle with slight assistance from the +stirrup; and this is the proper way to ride. The lazy, careless habit +into which many women fall, of resting the entire weight of the body +upon the stirrup, not only frequently causes the leathers to snap at +most inconvenient times, but is the lamentable cause of half the sore +backs and ugly galls from which poor horses suffer so severely. + +Having at length perfected yourself in walking, trotting, cantering, +and riding from balance, you have only to acquire the art of +leaping--and then you will be finished, so far as teaching can make you +so. Experience must do the rest. + +It is a good thing, when learning, to mount as many different horses as +you possibly can; always, of course, taking care that they are +sufficiently trained not to endeavour to master you. Horses vary +immensely in their action and gait of going: so much so, that if you do +not accustom yourself to a variety you will take your ideas from one +alone, and will, when put upon a strange animal, find yourself +completely at sea. + +Do not suffer anything to induce you to take your first leap over a bar +or pole similar to those used in schools. The horse sees the daylight +under it, knows well that it is a sham, goes at it unwillingly, does +not half rise to it, drops his heels when in the air, and knocks it +down with a crash,--only to do the same thing a second time, and a +third, and a fourth also, if urged to do that which he despises. + +Choose a nice little hurdle about two feet high, well interwoven with +gorse; trot your horse gently up to it, and let him see what it is; +then, turn him back and send him at it, sitting close glued to your +saddle, with a firm but gentle grip of your reins, and your hands held +low. To throw up the hands is a habit with all beginners, and should at +once be checked. Fifty to one you will stick on all right, and, if you +come off, why it's many a good man's case, and you must regard it as +one of the chances of war. + +The next day you may have the gorse raised another half-foot above the +hurdle, and so on by degrees, until you can sit with ease over a jump +of five feet. Always bear in mind to keep your hands quite down upon +your horse's withers, and never interfere with his mouth. Sit well +back, leave him his head, and he will not make a mistake. Of course, I +am again surmising that he has been properly trained, and that you +alone are the novice. To put a learner upon an untrained animal would +be a piece of folly, not to say of wickedness, of which we hope nobody +in this age of enlightenment would dream of being guilty. In jumping a +fence or hurdle do not leave your reins quite slack; hold them lightly +but firmly, as your horse should jump against his bridle, but do not +pull him. A gentle support is alone necessary. + +That absurd and vulgar theory about "lifting a horse at his fences," so +freely affected by the ignorant youth of the present day, cannot be too +strongly deprecated. That same "lifting" has broken more horses' +shoulders and more _asses'_ necks than anything else on record. A +good hunter with a bad rider upon his back will actually shake his head +free on coming up to a fence. He knows that he cannot do what is +expected of him if his mouth is to be chucked and worried, any more +than you or I could under similar circumstances, and so he asserts his +liberty. How often, in a steeplechase, one horse early deprived of his +rider will voluntarily go the whole course and jump every obstacle in +perfect safety, even with the reins dangling about his legs, yet never +make a mistake; whilst a score or so of compeers will be tumbling at +every fence. And why? The answer is plain and simple. The free horse +has his head, and his instinct tells him where to put his feet; whereas +the animals with riders upon their backs are dragged and pulled and +sawn at, until irritation deprives them of sense and sight, and, +rushing wildly at their fences (probably getting another tug at the +moment of rising), they fall, and so extinguish their chance of a win. + +I do not, of course, in saying this, mean for a moment to question the +judgment and horsemanship of very many excellent jockeys, whose ability +is beyond comment and their riding without reproach. I speak of the +rule, not of the few exceptions. + +Half the horses who fall in the hunting-field are thrown down by their +riders; this is a fact too obvious to be contradicted. Men over-riding +their horses, treating them with needless cruelty, riding them when +already beaten: these are the fruitful causes of falls in the field, +together with that most objectionable practice of striving to "lift" +an animal who knows his duties far better than the man upon his back. +It is a pity, and my heart has often bled to see how the noblest of +God's created things is ill-treated and abused by the human brute who +styles himself the master. It is, indeed, a disgrace to our humanity +that this priceless creature, given to a man with a mind highly +wrought, sensitive, yearning for kindness, and capable of appreciating +each word and look of the being whose willing slave it is, should be +treated with cruelty, and in too many cases regarded but as a sort of +machine to do the master's bidding. Who has not seen, and mourned to +see, the tired, patient horse, spurred and dragged at by a remorseless +rider, struggling gamely forward in the hunting-field, with bleeding +mouth and heaving, bloody flanks, to enable a cruel task-master to see +the end of a second run, and even of a third, after having carried him +gallantly through a long and intricate first? It is a piece of +inhumanity which all humane riders see and deplore every day +throughout the hunting season. We cannot stop it, but we can speak +against it and write it down, and discountenance it in every possible +way, as we are all bound to do. Why will not men be brought to see +that in abusing their horses they are compassing their own loss? that +in taxing the powers of a beaten animal they are riding for a fall, +and are consequently endangering the life which God has given them? + +There is much to be learnt in the art of fencing besides hurdle-leaping. +A good timber-jumper will often take a ditch or drain in a very +indifferent manner. I have seen a horse jump a five-barred gate in +magnificent style, yet fall short into a comparatively narrow ditch; +and _vice versa_; therefore, various kinds of jumps must be kept +up, persevered in, and kept constantly in practice. Two things must +always be preserved in view; never sit loosely in your saddle, and +always ride well from balance, never from your horse's head. In taking +an up jump leave him abundance of head-room, and sit _well_ back, +lest in his effort he knock you in the face. If the jump is a down +one--what is known as an "ugly drop"--follow the same rules; but, when +your horse is landing, give him good support from the bridle, as, +should the ground be at all soft or marshy, he might be apt to peck, +and so give you an ugly fall. + +It is a disputed point whether or not horses like jumping. I am +inclined to coincide in poor Whyte-Melville's opinion that they do not. +He was a good authority upon most subjects connected with equine +matters, and so he ought to know; but of one thing I am positively +certain: they abhor schooling. However a horse may tolerate or even +enjoy a good fast scurry with hounds, there can be no doubt that he +greatly dislikes being brought to his fences in cold blood. He has not, +when schooling, the impetus which sends him along, nor the example or +excitement to be met with in the hunting-field. The horse is naturally +a timid animal, and this is why he so frequently stops short at his +fences when schooling. He mistrusts his own powers. When running with +hounds he is borne along by speed and by excitement, and so goes skying +over obstacles which appal him when trotted quietly to them on a +schooling day. It is just the difference which an actor feels between a +chilling rehearsal and the night performance, when the theatre is +crowded and the clapping of hands and the shouting of approving voices +lend life and spirit to the part he plays. + +You will probably get more falls whilst schooling than ever you will +get in the hunting-field, but a few weeks' steady practice over good +artificial fences or a nice natural country, will give you a firm seat +and an amount of confidence which will stand to you as friends. + + + + +PART II. + +PARK AND ROAD RIDING. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +HOW TO DRESS.--A COUNTRY-GIRL'S IDEAS UPON THE SUBJECT.--HOW TO PUT +ON YOUR RIDING-GEAR.--HOW TO PRESERVE IT.--FIRST ROAD-RIDE.--BACKING. +--REARING, AND HOW TO PREVENT IT. + + +Having now mastered the art of riding, you will of course be desirous +of appearing in the parks and on the public roadways, and exhibiting +the prowess which it has cost you so much to gain. + +For your outfit you will require, in addition to the articles already +in your possession, a nice well-made habit of dark cloth. If you are a +very young girl, grey will be the most suitable; if not, dark blue. If +you live in London, pay a visit to Mayfair, and get Mr. Wolmershausen +to make it for you; if in Dublin, Mr. Scott, of Sackville Street, will +do equally well; indeed, for any sort of riding-gear, ladies' or +gentlemen's, he is not to be excelled. If you are not within easy +distance of a city, go to the best tailor you can, and give him +directions, which he must not be above taking. Skirt to reach six +inches below the foot, well shaped for the knee, and neatly shotted at +end of hem just below the right foot; elastic band upon inner side, to +catch the left toe, and to retain the skirt in its place. It should be +made tight and spare, without _one inch_ of superfluous cloth; +jacket close-fitting, but sufficiently easy to avoid even the suspicion +of being squeezed; sleeves perfectly tight, except at the setting on, +where a slight puffiness over the shoulder should give the appearance +of increased width of chest. No braiding nor ornamentation of any sort +to appear. A small neat linen collar, upright shape, with cuffs to +correspond, should be worn with the habit, no frilling nor fancy work +being admissible--the collar to be fastened with a plain gold or silver +stud. + +The nicest hat to ride in is an ordinary silk one, much lower than they +are usually made, and generally requiring to be manufactured purposely +to fit and suit the head. Of course, if you are a young girl, the melon +shape will not be unsuitable, but the other is more in keeping, more +becoming, and vastly more economical in the end, although few can be +induced to believe this. It is the custom in many households to +purchase articles for their cheapness, without any regard to quality or +durability, and this you should endeavour to avoid. Speaking from +experience, the best things are always the cheapest. I pay from a +guinea to a guinea and a half for a good silk hat, and find that it +wears out four felt ones of the quality usually sold at ten and +sixpence. There is no London house at which you can procure better +articles or better value than at Lincoln, Bennett, & Co., Sackville +Street, Piccadilly. For nearly half a century they have been the +possessors of an admirable contrivance, which should be seen to be +appreciated, by which not alone is the size of the head ascertained, +but its precise shape is definitely marked and suited, thus avoiding +all possibility of that distressing pressure upon the temples, which is +a fruitful source of headache and discomfort to so many riders. Hats +made at this firm require no elastics--if it be considered desirable to +dispense with such--as the fit is guaranteed. Never wear a veil on +horseback, except it be a black one, and nothing with a border looks +well. A plain band of spotted net, just reaching below the nostrils, +and gathered away into a neat knot behind, is the most _distingue_. Do +not wear anything sufficiently long to cover the mouth, or it will +cause you inconvenience on wet and frosty days. For dusty roads a +black gauze veil will be found useful, but avoid, as you would poison, +every temptation to wear even the faintest scrap of colour on +horseback. All such atrocities as blue and green veils have happily +long since vanished, but, even still, a red bow, a gaudy flower stuck +in the button-hole, and, oh, horror of horrors! a pocket handkerchief +appearing at an opening in the bosom, looking like a miniature +fomentation--these still occasionally shock the eyes of sensitive +persons, and cause us to marvel at the wearer's bad taste. + +I was once asked to take a young lady with me for a ride in the park, +to witness a field-day, or polo match, or something or another of +especial interest which happened to be going forward. I would generally +prefer being asked to face a battery of Zulus rather than act as +_chaperone_ to young lady _equestriennes_, who are usually +ignorant of riding, and insufferably badly turned out. However, upon +this occasion I could not refuse. The lady's parents were kind, amiable +country folks, who had invested a portion of their wealth in sending +their daughter up to town to get lessons from a fashionable +riding-master, and to ride out with whomsoever might be induced to take +her. + +Well, the young lady's horse was the first arrival: a hired hack--usual +style; bones protruding--knees well over--rusty bridle--greasy +reins--dirty girths--and dilapidated saddle, indifferently polished up +for the occasion. + +The young lady herself came next, stepping daintily out of a cab, as +though she were quite mistress of the situation. Ye gods! What a get +up! I was positively electrified. Her habit--certainly well made--was +of bright blue cloth, with worked frills at the throat and wrists. She +wore a brilliant knot of scarlet ribbon at her neck, and a huge bouquet +in her button-hole. Her hat was a silk one, set right on the back of +her head, with a velvet rosettte and steel buckle in front, and a long +veil of grey gauze streaming out behind. When we add orange gloves, and +a riding-whip with a gaudy tassel appended to it, you have the details +of a costume at once singular and unique. + +I did not at first know whether to get a sudden attack of the measles +or the toothache, and send her out with my groom to escort her, but +discarding the thought as ill-natured, I compromised matters by +bringing her to my own room, and effecting alterations in her toilet +which soon gave her a more civilised appearance. I set the hat straight +upon her head, and bound it securely in its place, removed from it the +gauze and buckle, and tied on one of my own plain black veils of simple +spotted net. I could not do away with the frillings, for they were +stitched on as though they were never meant to come off; but the red +bow I replaced with a silver arrow, threw away the flowers, removed the +whip-tassel, and substituted a pair of my own gloves for the cherished +orange kid. Then we set out. + +I wanted to go a quiet way to the park, so as to avoid the streets of +the town, but she would not have it. Nothing would do that girl but to +go bang through the most crowded parts of the city, the hired hack +sliding over the asphalte, and the rider (all unconscious of her +danger) bowing delightedly to her acquaintances as she passed along. +Poor girl! that first day out of the riding-school was a gala day for +her. + +The nicest gloves for riding are pale cream leather, worked thickly on +the backs with black. A few pairs of these will keep you going, for +they clean beautifully. A plain riding-whip _without_ a tassel, +and a second habit of dark holland if you live in the country, will +complete your necessary outfit. + +I shall now give you a few hints as to the best method of putting on +your riding gear, and of preserving the same after rain or hard +weather. Your habit-maker will, of course, put large hooks around the +waist of your bodice, and eyes of corresponding size attached to the +skirt, so that both may be kept in their place, but if you have been +obliged to entrust your cloth to a country practitioner, who has +neglected these minor necessaries, be sure you look to them yourself, +or you will some day find that the opening of your skirt is right at +your back, and that the place shaped out for your knee has twisted +round until it hangs in unsightly crookedness in front of the buttons +of your bodice. + +Let it be a rule with you to avoid using any pins. Put two or three +neat stitches in the back of your collar, so as to affix it to your +jacket, having first measured to see that the ends shall meet exactly +evenly in front, where you will fasten them neatly with a stud. The +ordinary system of placing one pin at the back of the collar and one at +either end is much to be deprecated. Frequently one of these pins +becomes undone, and then the discomfort is incalculable, especially if, +as often occurs, you are out for a long day, and nobody happens to be +able to accommodate you with another. + +Pinning cuffs is also a reprehensible habit, for the reason just +stated. Two or three little stitches where they will not show, upon the +inner side of the sleeve, will hold the cuff securely in its place and +prevent it turning round or slipping up or down, any of which will be +calculated to cause discomfort to the rider. + +It is not a bad method, either, to stitch a small button at the back of +the neck of the jacket, upon the inner side, upon which the collar can +be secured, fastening the cuffs in the same manner to buttons attached +to the inner portion of each sleeve. In short, anything in the shape of +a device which will check the unseemly habit of using a multiplicity of +pins, may be regarded as a welcome innovation, and at once adopted. + +It is a good plan, when you undress from your ride, to ascertain +whether your collar and cuffs are sufficiently clean to serve you +another day, and if they are not, replace them at once by fresh ones; +for it may happen that when you go to attire yourself for your next +ride, you may he too hurried to look after what should always be a +positive necessity, namely, perfectly spotless linen. + +There is a material, invented in America and as yet but little known +amongst us here, which is invaluable to all who ride. It is called +Celluloid, and from it collars, cuffs, and shirt-fronts are +manufactured which resemble the finest and whitest linen, yet which +never spot, never crush, never become limp, and never require washing, +save as one would wash a china saucer, in a basin of clear water, using +a fine soft towel for the drying process. I do not know the nature of +the composition, but I can certainly bear testimony to its worth, and +being inexpensive as well as convenient, it cannot fail, when known, to +become highly popular. + +The adjusting of your hat is another important item. Stitch a piece of +black elastic (the single-cord round kind is the best) from one +side--the inner one of course--to the other, of just sufficient length +to catch well beneath your hair. This elastic you can stretch over the +leaf of your hat at the back, and then, when the hat is on and nicely +adjusted to your taste in front, you have only to put back your hand +and bring the band of elastic deftly under your hair. The hat will then +be immovable, and the elastic will not show. In fastening your veil, a +short steel pin with a round black head is the best. The steel slips +easily through the leaf of the hat, and the head, being glossy and +large, is easily found without groping or delay, whenever you may +desire to divest yourself of it. + +I shall now tell you how to proceed with the various items of your +toilet on coming home, after being overtaken by stress of weather. No +matter how wealthy you may be, or how many servants you may be entitled +to keep, always look after these things yourself. + +Hang the skirt of your habit upon a clothes-horse, with a stick placed +across inside to extend it fully. Leave it until thoroughly dry, and +then brush carefully. The bodice must be hung in a cool dry place, but +never placed near the fire, or the cloth will shrink, and probably +discolour. + +Dip your veil into clear cold water, give it one or two gentle squeezes, +shake it out, and hang it on a line, spreading it neatly with your +fingers, so that it may take no fold in the drying. + +Your hat comes next. Dip a fine small Turkey sponge, kept for the +purpose and freed from sand, into a basin of lukewarm water, and draw +it carefully around the hat. Repeat the process, going over every +portion of it, until crown, leaf, and all are thoroughly cleansed; then +hang in a cool, airy place to dry. In the morning take a soft brush, +which use gently over the entire surface, and you will have a perfectly +new hat. No matter how shabby may have been your headpiece, it will be +quite restored, and will look all the better for its washing. This is +one of the chief advantages of silk hats. Do not omit to brush after +the washing and drying process, or your hat will have that unsightly +appearance of having been ironed, which is so frequently seen in the +hunting-field, because gentlemen who are valeted on returning from +their sport care nothing about the management of their gear, but leave +it all to the valet, who gives the hat the necessary washing, but is +too lazy or too careless to brush it next day, and his master takes it +from his hand and puts it on without ever noticing its unsightliness. +Sometimes it is the master himself whose clumsy handiwork is to blame; +but be it master or servant, the result is too often the same. + +Should your gloves be thoroughly, or even slightly wetted, stretch them +upon a pair of wooden hands kept for the purpose, and if they are the +kind which I have recommended to you--I mean the best quality of +double-stitched cream leather--they will be little the worse. + +Having now, I think, exhausted the subject of your clothing, and given +you all the friendly hints in my power, I am ready to accompany you +upon your first road ride. + +Go out with every confidence, accompanied of course by a companion or +attendant, and make up your mind never to be caught napping, but to be +ever on the alert. You must not lose sight of the fact that a bird +flitting suddenly across, a donkey's head laid without warning against +a gate, a goat's horns appearing over a wall, or even a piece of paper +blown along upon the ground, may cause your horse to shy, and if you +are not sitting close at the time, woe betide you! Always remember the +rule of the road, keep to your left-hand side, and if you have to pass +a vehicle going your way, do so on the right of it. Never neglect this +axiom, no matter how lonely and deserted the highway may appear, for +recollect that if you fail to comply with it, and that any accident +chances to occur, you will get all the blame, and receive no +compensation. + +Never trot your horse upon a hard road when you have a bit of grass at +the side on which you can canter him. Even if there are only a few +blades it will be sufficient to take the jar off his feet. + +If you meet with a hill or high bridge, trot him up and walk him +quietly down the other side. If going down a steep decline, sit well +back and leave him his head, at the same time keeping a watchful hand +upon the rein for fear he should chance to make a false step, that you +may be able to pull him up; but do not hold him tightly in, as many +timid riders are apt to do, thus hobbling his movements and preventing +him seeing where he is to put his feet. If he has to clamber a steep +hill with you, leave him unlimited head-room, for it is a great ease to +a horse to be able to stretch his neck, instead of being held tightly +in by nervous hands, which is frequently the occasion of his stumbling. + +Should your horse show temper and attempt to back with you, leave him +the rein, touch him lightly with your heel, and speak encouragingly to +him; should he persist, your attendant must look to the matter; but a +horse who possesses this dangerous vice should never be ridden by a +lady. I have surmised that yours has been properly trained, and +doubtless you might ride for the greater portion of a lifetime without +having to encounter a decided jibber, but it is as well to be prepared +for all emergencies. Should a horse at any time rear with you, throw +the rein loose, sit close, and bring your whip sharply across his +flank. If this is not effectual, you may give him the butt-end of it +between the ears, which will be pretty sure to bring him down. This is +a point, however, upon which I write with considerable reserve, for +many really excellent riders find fault with the theory set forth and +adopted by me. One old sportsman in particular shows practically how +seriously he objects to it by suffering himself to be tumbled back upon +almost daily by a vicious animal, in preference to adopting coercive +measures for his own safety. + +My reasons for striking a rearing horse are set forth with tolerable +clearness in one of the letters which form an appendix to this volume; +but, although I do it myself, I do not undertake the responsibility of +advising others to do likewise, especially if a nervous timidity form a +portion of their nature. I am strongly of opinion, however, that +decisive measures are at times an absolute necessity, and that the most +effectual remedy for an evil is invariably the best to adopt. I have +heard it said by two very eminent horsemen that to break a bottle of +water between the ears of a rearing animal is an excellent and +effectual cure. Perhaps it may be--and, on such authority, we must +suppose that it is--but I should not care to be the one to try it, +although I consider no preventive measure too strong to adopt when +dealing with so dangerous a vice. A horse may be guilty of jibbing, +bolting, kicking, or almost any other fault, through nervousness or +timidity, but rearing is a vicious trick, and must be treated with +prompt determination. It would be useless to speak encouragingly to a +rearer; he is vexing you from vice, not from nervousness, and so he +needs no reassurance--do not waste words upon him, but bring him to his +senses with promptitude, or whilst you are dallying he may tumble back +upon you, and put remonstrance out of your power for some time to come, +if not for ever. In striking him, if you do so, do not indulge in the +belief that you are safe because he drops quickly upon his fore-legs, +but on the contrary, be fully prepared for the kick or buck which will +be pretty sure to follow, and which (unless watched for) will be likely +to unseat even a most skilful rider. Both rearing and plunging may, +however, be effectually prevented by using the circular bit and +martingale, procurable at Messrs. Davis, saddlers, 14, Strand, London. +This admirable contrivance should be fitted above the mouthpiece of an +ordinary snaffle or Pelham bridle. It is infinitely before any other +which I have seen used for the same purpose, has quite a separate +headstall, and should be put on and arranged before the addition of the +customary bridle. Being secured to the breastplate by a standing +martingale, it requires no reins. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +RUNNING AWAY.--THREE DANGEROUS ADVENTURES.--HOW TO ACT WHEN PLACED +IN CIRCUMSTANCES OF PERIL.--HOW TO RIDE A PULLER.--THROUGH THE +CITY.--TO A MEET OF HOUNDS.--BOASTFUL LADIES.--A BRAGGART'S RESOURCE. + + +In the event of a horse running away, you must of course be guided by +circumstances and surroundings, but my advice always is, if you have a +fair road before you, let him go. Do not attempt to hold him in, for +the support which you afford him with the bridle only helps the +mischief. Leave his head quite loose, and when you feel him beginning +to tire--which he will soon do without the support of the rein--flog +him until he is ready to stand still. I warrant that a horse treated +thus, especially if you can breast him up hill, will rarely run away a +second time. He never forgets his punishment, nor seeks to put himself +in for a repetition of it. + +I have been run away with three times in my life, but never a second +time by the same horse. It may amuse you to hear how I escaped upon +each occasion. + +The first time, I was riding a beautiful little thoroughbred mare, +which a dear lady friend--now, alas! dead--had asked me to try for her. +The mare had been a flat-racer, and, having broken down in one of her +trials, had been purchased at a cheap rate, being still possessed of +beauty and a considerable turn of speed. + +Well, we got on splendidly together for an hour or so on the fifteen +acres, Phoenix Park, but, when returning homewards, some boys who +were playing close by struck her with a ball on the leg. In a second +she was off like the wind, tearing down the long road which leads from +the Phoenix to the gates. She had the bit between her teeth, and held +it like a vice. My only fear was lest she should lose her footing and +fall, for the roadway was covered from edge to edge with new shingle. +On she went in her mad career, amidst the shrieks of thousands, for the +day was Easter Monday, and the park was crowded. Soldiers, civilians, +lines of policemen strove to form a barrier for her arrest. In vain! +She knocked down some, fled past others, and continued her headlong +course. + +All this time I was sitting as if glued to my saddle. At the mare's +first starting I had endeavoured to pull her up, but finding that this +was hopeless, I left the rein loose upon her neck. Having then no +support for her head, she soon tired, and the instant I felt her speed +relaxing I took up my whip and punished her within an inch of her life. +I _made_ her go when she wanted to stop, and only suffered her to +pull up just within the gates, where she stood covered with foam and +trembling in every limb. + +Her owner subsequently told me that during the three years which she +afterwards kept her she never rode so biddable a mare. + +I must not forget to mention the comic side of the adventure as well as +the more serious. It struck me as being particularly ludicrous upon +that memorable occasion that an old gentleman, crimson with wrath, +actually attacked my servant in the most irate manner because he had +not clattered after me during the progress of the mare's wild career. +"How dare you, sir," cried this irascible old gentleman, "how dare you +attempt to neglect your young lady in this cowardly manner?" Nor was +his anger at all appeased when informed that I as a matron was my own +care-taker, and that my attendant had strict injunctions _not_ to +follow me in the event of my horse being startled or running away. + +My next adventure was much more serious, and occurred also within the +gates of the Phoenix Park. + +Some troops were going through a variety of manoeuvres preparing for +a field-day, and a knot of them had been posted behind and around a +large tree with fixed bayonets in their hands. Suddenly they got the +order to move, and at the same instant the sun shone out and glinted +brilliantly upon the glittering steel. I was riding a horse which had +lately been given me; a fine, raking chestnut, with a temper of his own +to manage. He turned like a shot, and sped away at untold speed. I had +no open space before me; therefore I durst not let him go. It was an +enclosed portion of the park, thickly studded with knots of trees, and +I knew that if he bore me through one of these my earthly career would +most probably be ended. I strove with all the strength and all the art +which I possessed to pull him up. It was of no use. I might as well +have been pulling at an oak-tree; it only made him go the faster. + +Happily my presence of mind remained. I saw at once that my only chance +was to breast him against the rails of the cricket-ground, and for +these I made straight, prepared for the shock and for the turn over +which I knew must inevitably follow. He dashed up to the rails, and +when within a couple of inches of them he swerved with an awful +suddenness, which, only that I was accustomed to ride from balance, +must have at once unseated me, and darted away at greater speed than +ever. Right before me was a tree, one heavy bough of which hung very +low--and straight for this he made, nor could I turn his course. I knew +my fate, and bent on a level with my saddle, but not low enough, for +the branch caught me in the forehead and sent me reeling senseless to +the ground. + +I soon got over the shock, although my arm (which was badly torn by a +projecting branch) gave me some trouble after; but the bough was cut +down the next day by order of the Lord Lieutenant, and the park-rangers +still point out the spot as the place where "the lady was nearly +killed." + +My third runaway was a hunting adventure, and occurred only a few +months since. + +I had a letter one morning from an old friend, informing me that a +drag-hunt was to take place about thirty miles from Dublin to finish +the season with the county harriers, and that he, my friend, wished +very much that I would come down in my habit by the mid-day train and +ride a big bay horse of his, respecting which he was desirous of +obtaining my opinion. I never take long to make up my mind, so, after a +glance at my tablets, which showed me that I was free for the day, I +donned my habit, and caught the specified train. + +At the station at the end of my journey I found the big bay saddled and +awaiting me, and having mounted him I set off for the kennels, from a +field near which the drag was to be run. I took the huntsman for a +pilot, knowing that the servant, who was my attendant, was rather a +duffer at the chase. + +The instant that the hounds were laid on and the hunt started, my big +mount commenced to pull hard, and by the time the first fence was +reached his superior strength had completely mastered mine. He was +pulling like a steam-engine, head down, ears laid backward, neck set +like iron. My blistered hands were powerless to hold him. He rushed +wildly at the fence, and striking the horse of a lady who was just +landing over it, turned him and his rider a complete somersault! I +subsequently learned that the lady escaped unhurt, but I could not at +the moment pause to inquire, for my huge mount, clearing the jump and +ten feet beyond it, completely took head, and bore me away from the +field + + Over park, over pale, + Through bush, through briar, + +until my head fairly reeled, and I felt that some terrible calamity +must ensue. + +Happily he was a glorious fencer, or I must have perished, for he +jumped every obstacle with a rush; staked fences, wide ditches--so wide +that he landed over them on his belly--tangled gorse, and branches of +rivers swollen by recent rains; he flew them all. At length, when my +strength was quite exhausted and my dizzy brain utterly powerless and +confused, I beheld before me a stone wall, a high one, with heavy +coping-stones upon the top. At this I resolved to breast him, and run +my chance for life or death in the turn over, which, from the pace at +which we were approaching it, I knew must be a mighty one. In a moment +we were up to it and, with a cry to heaven for mercy, I dug him with my +spur and sent him at it. To my utter astonishment, for the wall was six +and a half feet high, he put down his head, rushed at it, cleared it +without ever laying a shoe upon the topmost stones, and landed with a +frightful slip and clatter, but still safely on his feet--where? in the +midst of a farm-yard. + +Were it not that this adventure actually occurred to myself, I should +be strongly tempted to question its authenticity. That there are +horses--especially Irish ones--quite capable of compassing such a jump, +there cannot be the slightest doubt; but I have never before or since +seen one who could do it without being steadied as he approached the +obstacle. In the ordinary course of events a runaway steed would strike +it with his head and turn over,--which was what I expected and +desired--but no such thing occurred, and to the latest hour of my life +it must remain a mystery to me that upon the momentous occasion in +question neither horse nor rider was injured, nor did any accident +ensue. Nothing more disastrous than a considerable disturbance in the +farm-yard actually occurred; but it was indeed a mighty one. + +Such a commotion amongst fowls was surely never witnessed; the ducks +quacked, the turkeys screeched, the hens ran hither and thither; two +pigs, eating from a trough close by, set up a most terrific squalling, +dogs barked, and two or three women, who were spreading clothes upon a +line, added to the general confusion by flinging down the garments +with which they had been busy and taking to their heels, shrieking +vociferously. In the meantime the big bay, perceiving that he had run +to the end of his tether, stood snorting and foaming, looking hither +and thither in helpless amazement and dismay; whilst I, relieved at +length of my anxiety, burst first into tears, and then into shouts of +hearty laughter, as I fully took in the absurdity of the situation. + +After a considerable delay one of the women was induced to come forward +and listen to a recital of my adventure; and the others, being assured +that "the baste" would not actually devour them, came near me also, and +we held an amicable council as to the possibility of my ever getting +out, for the gates were locked, and the owner of the property was away +at a fair in the neighbouring town and had the key stowed away in his +pocket. To jump the wall again was impracticable. No horse that ever +was foaled could do it in cool blood; nor was I willing to risk the +experiment, even if my steed made no objection. + +At length we decided upon the only plan. I dismounted, and, taking the +rein over my arm, led my mighty hunter across the yard, induced him to +stoop his head to enter by a back door through a passage in the +farmhouse, and from thence through the kitchen and front door, out on +to the road. I have a cheerful recollection of an old woman, who was +knitting in the chimney-corner, going off into screams and hysterics as +I and my big steed walked in upon her solitude, a loose shoe and a very +audible blowing making the entrance of my equine companion even more +_prononce_ than it would otherwise have been. The poor old +creature flung down her needles, together with the cat which had been +quietly reposing in her lap, and kicking up her feet yelled and +bellowed at the top of a very discordant voice. It took the combined +efforts of all four women to pacify her, and she was still shrieking +long after I had mounted the big bay and ridden him back to inform his +owner of how charmingly he had behaved. + +I have now told you three anecdotes, partly for your amusement and +partly for your instruction; but I would not have you think that it +would be at all times and under all circumstances a wise thing to ride +a runaway horse against so formidable an obstacle as a stone wall. Mine +was, I hope, an exceptional case. When the animal was led down to meet +me at the station, I saw, not without misgiving, that I was destined to +ride in a so-called "safety-stirrup," and at the time when he took head +with me my foot was fixed as in a vice in this dangerous and horrible +trap, from which I could not succeed in releasing it. Feeling that my +brain was whirling, and that I could not longer maintain my seat in the +saddle, I rode for an overthrow, which I deemed infinitely better than +being dragged by the foot over an intricate country, and most probably +having my brains scattered by a pair of crashing heels. If a horse +should at any time run away with you, keep your seat whilst you +_can_ do so, and whilst you have anything of a fair road before +you; but if there is any danger of your being thrown or losing your +seat whilst your foot is caught, then by all means ride for a fall; put +your horse at something that will bring him down, and when he _is_ +down struggle on to his head, that he may not rise until somebody has +come to your assistance. Of course the experiment is fraught with +excessive danger, but it is not _certain_ death, as the other +alternative must undoubtedly be. I cannot, however, wish you better +than to hope most fervently that you may never be placed in a position +which would necessitate your making a choice between two such mighty +evils. Avoid riding strange horses. No matter how accomplished a +horsewoman you may become, do not be too ready to comply with the +request to try this or that unknown mount. I have done it myself, +often, and probably shall again;[1] but my experience prompts me to +warn others against a practice which is frequently fraught with danger +to a lady. A horse knows quite well when a strange or timid rider gets +upon his back, and if he does not kill you outright, he will probably +make such a "hare" of you as will not be at all agreeable, either for +yourself or for the lookers-on. + + [1] This was written previous to the accident which has + disabled me. + +Whenever you take a young horse upon grass, whether he be a stranger to +you or otherwise, be prepared for a certain show of friskiness which he +does not usually exhibit upon the road. The soft springy turf beneath +his feet imbues him with feelings of hilarity which he finds himself +powerless to resist, and so you, his rider, must prepare for his little +vagaries. He will, most probably, in the first place try a succession +of bucks, and for these you must prepare by sitting very close to your +saddle, your knee well pressed against the leaping-head, and your +figure erect, but not thrown back, as the shock, or shocks to your +spine would in such a case be not only painful but positively +dangerous, and should therefore be carefully avoided. He will next be +likely to romp away, pulling you much harder than is at all agreeable, +and seemingly inclined to take head with you altogether. As a remedy +against this you must neither yield to him nor pull against him. I have +heard fairly good riders advocate by turns both systems of management, +especially the former; indeed, the expression, "Drop your hands to +him," has become so general amongst teachers of the equestrian art, +that it has almost passed into a proverb. I do not advocate it, nor do +I deem it advisable ever to pull against a pulling horse. When an +animal tries to forereach you, you should neither give up to him nor +yet pull one ounce against him. Close your fingers firmly upon the +reins and keep your arms perfectly motionless, your hands well down, +without giving or taking one quarter of an inch. In a stride or two he +will be sure to yield to your hand, at which moment you should +immediately yield to him, and his wondrous powers of intelligence will +soon enable him to discern that you are not to be trifled with. Were +you to give up to him when he rushes away or romps with his head he +would very soon be going all abroad, and would give you a vast amount +of trouble to pull him into proper form. Above all things, keep clear +of trees, of which I myself have an unbounded dread. Should you have +occasion to ride through a city, give your eyes and attention to your +horse, and not to passing acquaintances, for in the present dangerous +tangle of tramlines, slippery pavements, and ill-driven vehicles, it +will require all your energies to bring you safely through. Never trot +your horse through a town or city: walk him quietly through such +portion of it as you have to pass, and leave him abundant head-room, +that his intelligence may pick out a way for his own steps. + +A very nice ride for a lady is to a meet of the hounds, if such should +occur within reasonable distance, say from four to eight miles. The +sight is a very pretty one, and there is not any reason why you should +not thoroughly enjoy it; but having only ridden to see the meet, you +must be careful not to interfere with, nor get in the way of those +about to ride the run. Nothing is more charming than to see three or +four ladies, nicely turned out, arrive to grace the meet with their +presence, but nothing is more abominable than the same number of +amazons coming galloping up in full hunting toggery, although without +the least idea of hunting, and rushing hither and thither, frightening +the hounds and getting in everybody's way, as though they were +personages of the vastest possible importance, and meant to ride with a +skill not second to that of the Nazares. Such women are the horror and +spoliation of every hunting-field. They dash off with the hounds the +moment the fox is found, but happily the first fence stops them, and a +fervent thankfulness is felt by every true lover of the chase as they +pause discomfited, look dismally at the yawning chasm, and jog +crestfallen away to the road. + +There are many ladies, and estimable ladies, too, who take out their +horses every hunting-day, and by keeping upon the roadways see all that +they can of the hounds. Sometimes they are fortunate, sometimes not; it +depends upon the line of country taken. Their position is, in my +opinion, a most miserable one; yet they must derive enjoyment from it, +else why do they come? They surely cannot imagine that they are +participating in the hunt; yet it affords them amusement to keep +pottering about, and enables them to make their little harmless boast +to credulous friends of their "hunting days," and the "runs" they have +seen throughout the season. Indeed, so far does this passion for +boasting carry the fair sex, that I myself know two young ladies who +never saw a hound in their lives, except from the inside of a shabby +waggonette, yet who brag in so audacious a manner that they have been +heard to declare to gentlemen at evening dances, "Really we cawn't +dawnce; we are so tired! Out all day with the Wards--and had _such a +clipping run_!" + +This sort of thing only makes us smile when we hear it amongst ladies, +but when men resort to it we become inspired with sufficient contempt +to feel a longing desire to offer them severer chastisement than our +derision. + +I once asked a little mannikin, who had given himself the name and airs +of a great rider, if he would be kind enough to pilot me over an +intricate piece of country with which I was unacquainted. The creature +pulled his little moustaches, and sniffed, and hemmed and hawed, and +finally said, "Aw, I'm sure I should be delighted, but you see I ride +_so deuced hard_, I should not expect a lady to be able to keep up +with me." I said nothing, but acted as my own pilot, and took +opportunity to watch my hard-riding friend during the course of the +run. He positively never jumped a fence, but worked rampantly at locks +of gates, and bribed country-folks to let him pass through. The last I +saw of him he was whipping his horse over a narrow ditch, preparatory +to scrambling it himself on foot. + +And this man was only one of many, for the really accomplished rider +never boasts. + + + + +PART III. + +HUNTING. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +HUNTING-GEAR.--NECESSARY REGARD FOR SAFE SHOEING.--DRIVE TO THE +MEET.--SCENE ON ARRIVING.--A WORD WITH THE HUNTSMAN.--A GOOD +PILOT.--THE COVERT SIDE.--DISAPPOINTMENT.--A LONG TROT. + + +Now that you are thoroughly at home on your saddle--in the park, on the +road, and over the country--you are doubtless longing to display your +prowess in the hunting-field, and thither we shall have much pleasure +in accompanying you. + +Your outfit will be the first thing to consider; and do not be alarmed +when I tell you that it will require a little more generosity on the +part of papa than you have hitherto called upon him to exercise. + +To commence with your feet--which I know is contrary to custom--you +will need two pairs of patent Wellington boots. These are three guineas +per pair, but are a beautiful article, and will last a long time with +care. Woollen stockings of light texture, with a pair of silk ones +drawn over, are the most comfortable for winter wear. A small steel +spur to affix to your left heel will be the next item required. The +nicest kind are those with a strap attached, which crosses the instep, +and buckles securely at the side. Of course, all ladies' spurs are +spring ones, displaying no rowels which could tear the habit, but +simply one steel projection with spring probe within, which, when +pressed to the horse's side, acts most efficiently as an instigator. +Latchford's patent is the best. + +Two pairs of chamois riding-trousers, cloth from the hip down, and +buttoning quite close at the ankle to allow of the boot going over, +will be the next necessary; and you must also provide yourself with two +riding corsets of superior shape and make. + +Three habits of strong dark cloth, one of them thoroughly waterproof, +will be required--the skirts to be made so short as barely to cover the +foot, and so spare as to fit like glove, without fold or wrinkle. If a +hunting-habit be properly cut it will require no shotting, which will +be an advantage to your horse in diminishing the weight which he would +otherwise have to carry. An elastic band nicely placed upon the inside +in position to catch around the toe of the right foot will be +sufficient to answer all purposes. You cannot do better, to procure an +article such as I describe, than entrust your order to Wolmershausen +(whom I believe I have already named in a former chapter), corner of +Curzon Street, Mayfair, where you will not fail to find your +instructions intelligently carried out. This firm has a speciality for +skirt-cutting,--is, indeed, unapproachable in this particular branch, +of what is in reality an ART; and even in these days of eager +competition the old-established house suffers from no rivalry, and +holds its own in the widely-contested field. + +A very neatly-made waterproof jacket will be an addition to your +wardrobe, as also a cape with an elastic band from the back to fasten +around the waist, and hold the front ends securely down. This latter is +an almost indispensable article. It is so light that it can be carried +with ease in your saddle-strap, and in case of an unexpected shower can +be adjusted in a single instant and without assistance, which is not +the case with a jacket. It should be made with a collar, which can be +arranged to stand up close around the neck, and thus prevent the +possibility of damp or wet causing you cold or inconvenience. I approve +of the jacket for decidedly wet days, when it should be donned on going +out, but for a showery day the cape is preferable, as it can be much +more easily taken off and again put on. + +Two silk hats, with the addition of a melon-shape if you desire it--a +long-lashed hunting-whip, and a plentiful supply of collars, cuffs, +gloves, veils, and handkerchiefs, will complete your outfit. I, hunting +four days a week, find the above quite sufficient, and if you care your +things (having got them in the first instance of the best quality) it +is surprising how long they may be made to serve. I have told you +_how_ to take care of them, but believe me, if you leave the task +to servants the end will prove disappointing. You will never be +one-half so well turned out, and your outlay will be continual. + +It is an excellent precaution for a hunting-day, to look the previous +morning at your horse's shoes; and do this yourself, for it not +unfrequently happens that a careless groom will suffer him to go out +with a loose shoe which gradually becomes looser, and finally drops +off, perhaps in the middle of an exciting run, and obliges you to leave +your place with the hounds and seek the nearest forge. All this sort of +thing could, in nine cases out of ten, be obviated by a little care and +forethought, but the majority of riders are too grand, or too careless, +or too absurdly squeamish about the "propriety" of entering a stable, +and not unfrequently too ignorant of things they ought to know, to see +to such matters themselves, and so they are passed over and neglected. +A groom is too often utterly careless. He is bound to send your horse +from the yard looking shiny, and sleek, and clean. Any deviation from +this would at once attract your attention, and arouse your displeasure. +The groom knows this, and acts accordingly; but he also knows what you +do not--that one of the shoes is three-parts loose; it will probably +hold very well until you begin to go, and then it will drop off and +leave you in a fix, perhaps miles away from a village where the damage +could be repaired. The groom knew all about it, very likely, the day +before, but he saw that you were not troubling yourself, and why should +he? You never made any inquiry about such matters, nor seemed to +interest yourself in them, and why should he be troubled concerning +them? A loose shoe is nothing to him: it does not cause _him_ any +inconvenience, not it; then why worry himself? He does not want to +bring the horse down to the forge through mud and rain, and stand there +awaiting the smith's convenience; not a bit of it. He is much more +comfortable lolling against the stable-door and smoking a pipe with +Tom, Dick, or Harry. + +It frequently occurs in the hunting-field that a horse loses a shoe in +going through heavy ground, or in jumping a fence where he brings his +hind feet too close upon the front ones, and, catching the toe of the +hind shoe in the heel of the front, drags the latter forcibly off, and +leaves it either on the ground behind him or carries it for a field or +two hanging by one or two nails to his hoof, before it finally drops +off. + +The moment you are made aware that your horse has cast a shoe, which +will generally be by somebody informing you of the fact, ascertain at +once which of the animal's feet has been left unprotected. If the lost +shoe happens to be a hinder one, the matter is less serious, but if a +front one should be cast, do not lose any time in inquiring your road +to the nearest smithy, and, whilst wending your way thither, be careful +to keep as much as possible upon the grass by the roadside, that the +shoeless foot may not become worn, nor suffer from concussion by coming +in contact with the hard road. + +It is a good plan to send your horse early to the meet: quite in the +morning; or, should the distance be a long one, despatch him the +previous evening in charge of a careful servant, and stable him for the +night as near as possible to the point at which you may require him +upon the following day. If you are fortunate enough to have a friend's +house to send him to, so much the better a great deal; but under any +circumstances it is pleasanter both for you and your animal that he +should be fresh and lively from his stable, and not that you should get +upon him when he is half-jaded and covered with mud, after a long and +tiresome road journey. + +To drive to the meet or go by train yourself is the most agreeable way. +Some ladies ride hacks to covert, and then have their hunters to +replace them, but this is tiresome, and not to be advocated for various +reasons. If the morning is fine the drive will be pleasant, and you can +then send your conveyance to whatever point you deem it most likely the +hunt will leave off. You must, of course, exercise your judgment in the +endeavour to decide this, but you may assist it considerably by asking +the Master or the huntsman to be kind enough to give you a hint as to +the direction in which they will most probably draw. + +We will, then, surmise that you drive to the meet. It is an excellent +plan, whether you drive or go by train, to take with you a small bag +containing a change of clothing; leave this in charge of your servant, +with directions where he is to meet you in the evening, and then, +should you come to grief in a dyke or river you can console yourself +with the knowledge that dry garments are awaiting you, and that you +will not have to encounter the risk of cold and rheumatism by sitting +in drenched habiliments in a train or vehicle. You will also, if wise, +take with you a foot-pick and a few yards of strong twine. Even if you +should not require them yourself you may be able to oblige others, +which is always a pleasure to a right-minded and unselfish huntress. +Take, likewise, a few shillings in your pocket to reward, if necessary, +the wreckers, whose tasks are at all times difficult and laborious, and +too often thankless. + +Arrived at the meet, your horse and servant are waiting for you in good +time and order; but it is a little early yet, and so you look about +you. + +What a pretty sight it is! How full of healthful interest and charming +variety! The day is bright and breezy--a little bit cloudy, perhaps, +but no sign of rain. A glorious hunting morning altogether. Numbers of +vehicles are drawn up, filled with happy-looking occupants, mostly +ladies and children. There are a good many dog-carts, polo-carts, and a +few tandems, from which gentlemen in ulsters and long white +saving-aprons are preparing to alight. It is nice to see their steeds, +so beautifully groomed and turned out, led up to the trap-wheels for +them to mount, without the risk of soiling their boots. Very particular +are these gentlemen. The day is muddy, and they know they must be +splashed and spattered as they ride to the covert-side, but they will +not leave the meet with a speck upon horse or rider. There is a +military-looking man--long, tawny moustache, and most perfect +get-up--divesting himself of his apron, and frowning because his +snow-white breeches are disfigured by just one speck of dirt; probably +it would be unobservable to anybody but himself, yet he is not the less +annoyed. A dapper little gentleman, in drab shorts and gaiters, is +covertly combing his horse's mane; and a hoary old fox-hunter, who has +just mounted, has drawn over close to the hedge, and extends first one +foot and then the other for his servant to remove the blemishes which +mounting has put upon his boots. This extreme fastidiousness is carried +by some to an absurd excess. I remember upon one occasion seeing a +gentleman actually re-enter his dog-cart and drive sulkily away from +the meet because he considered himself too much splashed to join the +cavalcade which was moving away to the covert, although he was fully +aware that a trot of a few hundred yards upon the muddy road in company +with numerous other horses would, under any circumstances, have +speedily reduced him to the condition which he was then lamenting. + +A few ladies come upon the scene, and many more gentlemen; and then +comes the huntsman in proud charge of the beauties. The whips and +second horsemen come also, and the Master drives up about the same +time, and loses not a moment in mounting his hunter. The pack looks +superb, and many are the glances and words of commendation which it +receives. + +Always have a smile and pleasant word for the huntsman and whips. They +deserve it, and they value it. I always make it a point to have a +little conversation with them before we leave the meet--in fact, I know +many of the hounds in the various packs by name, and I love to notice +them. Nothing pleases the huntsman more than to commend his charge: it +makes him your friend at once. Many a time when I have been holding +good place in a run, we have come across some dangerous fence which it +would be death to ride in a crowd, and the huntsman's shout of "Let the +lady first!" has secured me a safe jump, and a maintenance of my +foremost position. + +All being now ready, you mount your horse. It would be well if some +gentleman friend or relative would look first to his girths, &c.; but, +should such not be available, do not be above doing it yourself. +Servants, even the best, are, as aforesaid, often careless, and a horse +may be sent out with girths too loose, throat-lash too tight, runners +out, or any of the thousand and one little deficiencies which an +interested and careful eye will at once detect. + +Of course you have not come to hunt without having secured a good +pilot. You have, I hope, selected somebody who rides well and +straight--boldly, and yet with judgment--for, believe me, a display of +silly recklessness does not constitute good riding, however it may be +thought to do so by ignorant or silly persons. Your pilot will ride a +few yards in advance of you, and it will be your duty to keep him well +in view, and not to get separated from him. This latter you may at +times find difficult, as others may ride in between, but you must learn +smartness, and be prepared for all emergencies. Moreover, if your pilot +be a good one, he will see that you keep close to him, and, by glancing +over his shoulder after clearing each obstacle, will satisfy himself +that you also are safely over, and that no mischance has befallen you. +Any man who will not take this trouble is unfit to pilot a lady, for +whilst he is careering onward in all the glories of perfect safety, she +may be down in some ugly dyke, perhaps ridden on, or otherwise hurt; +and, therefore, it is his bounden duty to see that no evil befals her. +I cannot say that I consider the position of a trusty pilot at all an +enviable one, and few men care to occupy it in relation to a beginner +or timorous rider, although they are ever anxious to place their +services at the disposal of a lady who is known to "go straight." + +In selecting a pilot, do so with judgment. Choose one who knows the +country, and who will not be too selfish nor too grand to take care of +you; for, remember, you are only a beginner, and will need to be taken +care of. If, then, you have secured the right sort of man, and your own +heart is in the right place, you may prepare to enjoy yourself, for a +real good day's hunting is the keenest enjoyment in which man or woman +can hope to participate in this life. + +The trot to the covert-side is usually very pleasant. You and your +horse are quite fresh. You meet and chat with your friends. The two, +three, or four miles, as the case may be, seem to glide away very fast. +Then comes the anxious moment when the beauties are thrown in, and +all wait in eager suspense for the whimper which shall proclaim Reynard +at home. But not a hound gives tongue this morning. You can see +them--heads down, sterns up, beating here and there through the +gorse--but, alas! in silence; and, after a while, someone says, "No fox +here!" and presently your ear catches the sound of the huntsman's horn, +and the hounds come trooping out, almost as disappointed as the field. + +Then the master gives the order for the next or nearest covert, and +there is a rush, and a move, and a long cavalcade forms upon the road, +headed, of course, by the hounds. Get well in front, if you can, so as +to be quite up when they reach their next try, for sometimes they find +as soon as ever they are thrown in, and are far away over the country +before the stragglers come up, and great, then, are the lamentations, +for hunting a stern-chase is, to say the least of it, not cheerful. You +will have another advantage, also, in being well forward, for your +horse will get the benefit of a temporary rest, whilst those who, by +lagging, have lost time at the start, are obliged to follow as best +they can upon the track, bucketing their horses, and thus depriving +them of the chance of catching their wind--which is, in a lengthened +run, of very material consequence. + +One especial difference you observe between road-riding and hunting: +you are obliged to trot at a fast swinging pace such long tiresome +distances from covert to covert, without pause or rest, and you feel +already half tired out. Hitherto, when riding on the road, or in the +park, if you felt fatigued you have only had to pull up and walk; but +on hunting days there is no walking. The time is too precious, these +short, dark, wintry days, to allow of such "sweet restings." The +evening closes in so rapidly that we cannot afford to lose a moment of +our time, and so we go along at a sweeping pace. Nobody who is unable +to trot long distances without rest has any business hunting. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +HOUNDS IN COVERT.--THE FIRST FENCE.--FOLLOW YOUR PILOT.--A RIVER-BATH. +--A WISE PRECAUTION.--A LABEL ADVISABLE.--WALL AND WATER JUMPING. +--ADVICE TO FALLEN RIDERS.--HOGGING.--MORE TAIL. + + +You have now arrived at the next covert, and have seen the hounds +thrown in. In an instant there is a whimper, taken up presently by one +and another, until the air rings with the joyous music of the entire +pack, as they rattle their game about, endeavouring to force him to +face the open. The whips are standing warily on the watch, the +huntsman's cheery voice is heard encouraging the hounds, the Master is +galloping from point to point, warning off idlers whose uninvited +presence would be sure to send the "varmint" back into his lair. Your +pilot, knowing that a run from here is a certainty, selects his vantage +ground. Being a shrewd man, he knows that no fox will face a keen +nor'-easter, nor will he be likely to brave the crowd of country +bumpkins, who, despite the Master's entreaties, are clustering about +yonder hedge. In short, there is only one point from which he +_can_ well break, and so your pilot prepares accordingly. + +Another anxious moment ere the "Gone away! Tally-ho!" rings out upon +the keen air; and then follows that glorious burst which is worth +giving up a whole year of one's life to see. Hounds running breast +high, fairly flying, in fact; huntsmen, whips, horsemen, all in +magnificent flight, each riding hard for the foremost place, amid such +a chorus of delicious music as is never heard from any save canine +throats; and then, when the first big fence is reached, such hurry and +scurry! such tumbling and picking up again! such scrambling of dogs and +shouting of men! such cold baths for horses and riders! and oh, such +glory amongst the wreckers, as they stand tantalizingly at the edge of +the chasm in which so many are hopelessly struggling, whilst their +audacious cries of "What'll you give me, sir?" "Pull you out for a +sovereign, captain!" are heard and laughed at by the fortunate ones who +are safe upon the other side. + +Your pilot has been a wise man. He selected his starting-point at the +sound of the very first opening out, and when the general scrimmage +took place he had his line chosen, and so has led you wide of the ruck, +yet in the wake of the hounds. + +And here suffer me to advise you, if you should ever chance to be left +without a leader, do not fall into the mistake of following the others, +for my experience of hunting is that nine-tenths of those out do not +know _where_ they are going, nor where fox or hounds have gone +before them. Cut out a line for yourself, and follow the pack. A pilot +is, of course, a great acquisition, if he be a _good_ one, but +throughout some of my best runs I have performed the office for myself, +and have succeeded in being in at the death. But then I am not a +beginner, and I am surmising that _you_ are. Keep about six yards +behind your leader; follow him unswervingly, and jump after him, but +not on him. Always wait till he is well out of the way before you take +the fence in his wake. Your horse will jump more readily having the +example of his before him, but I cannot too well impress upon you the +necessity of allowing him to get well over before you attempt to +follow. One of the ugliest falls I ever got in my life was through +riding too close upon my leader. The run was a very hot one, and only +four of us were going at the time. None, in fact, but those who had +first-rate horses had been able to live through it. We came to a wide +branch of a river, swollen by recent rains. My pilot, going a rare +pace, jumped it safely; I came too fast upon him. My horse's nose +struck his animal's quarters, which, of course, threw my gallant little +mount off his balance, and prevented his landing. He staggered and fell +back, and we both got a drowning! I was dragged up with a boat-hook, +the horse swam on until he found a place to scramble up the bank, and +then galloped off over the country. I recollect standing dismally by +that river, my pilot and two wreckers scraping the mud from me, and +wringing my drenched garments, whilst two or three more were scouring +the adjacent lands in search of my truant steed. When, at length, he +was caught, I had eleven miles to ride to the place at which I had left +my trap, and was obliged on arriving to change every atom of my +clothing, and wash off the superabundant mud in a horse-bucket, kindly +lent for the occasion. + +The fall involved the loss of the run, the loss of a habit, the loss of +many odd shillings to wreckers, the loss of my temper, a wound from the +boat-hook, and a heavy cold, the result of immersion on a perishing +winter day. All these disasters were the punishments consequent upon my +impetuosity in coming too close upon my leader; therefore, having thus +myself suffered, I warn you, from woful experience, never to tread upon +the horse jumping in advance of you. Allowing, even, that you do not +cannon against him, there is another casualty which may not improbably +occur. Supposing that he falls and throws his rider, your horse may in +alighting just chance to plant a foot upon the empty saddle of the +prostrate animal, the slippery nature of which throws him off his +balance, and you and he roll upon the earth together--perhaps receiving +a kick from your pilot's struggling mount. From this species of +accident many evils have from time to time arisen, and therefore I +dutifully endeavour to put you well upon your guard. I would also again +remind you that if you really mean to ride an intricate country, you +should never under any circumstances neglect to bring a change of +clothing, for you may at any moment be dyked, and to remain in wet +garments is highly dangerous,--not so long as you are exercising, but +during the journey to your home. It is not in the saddle, but in +vehicles and railway carriages that colds are contracted and the seeds +of disease are sown. It may not be out of place here to offer you a +piece of wholesome advice. Should you at any time have the ill-fortune +to be riding a kicking horse in the midst of a crowd, always put back +your hand when the cavalcade pauses, to warn those behind not to come +too close to the heels of your unquiet steed. By so doing you may save +an accident, and may, moreover, guard yourself from more than one +anathema. I once saw the horse of a fiery old General kicked by the +mount of a young nobleman, who thought it not worth his while to offer +an apology. "See here, young man," said the irate officer, riding up to +the offender's side, "whenever you come out to hunt on brutes like that +you should paste a danger-card upon your back, and not run the risk of +breaking valuable bones. I have said my say," he added, "and now _you +may go to the devil_!" + +A few hints next as to jumping. + +If, in the course of a run, you meet with stone walls, do not ride too +fast at them. Always steady your horse at such obstacles, and follow my +oft-repeated advice of leaving him abundant head-room. If you have to +cross a river or very wide ditch, come fast at it, in order that the +impetus may swing you safely over; few horses can cross a wide jump +without having what is called a "run at it." Never expect your animal +to take such obstacles at a stand, or under the disadvantages +consequent upon coming at them at a slow pace. Should the leap be a +river or wide water-jump, suffer your horse to _stretch forward his +head and neck_ when coming up to it. If you fail to do so, you will +most probably go in, for an animal who accomplishes his work requires +his liberty as an absolute necessity, and, if denied it, will teach +you, at the cost of a good wetting, to treat him next time with greater +consideration. You will frequently see men ride pretty boldly up to +some yawning chasm or ugly bullfinch--stop and look at it, hesitate an +instant, and then, by cruel spurring, urge an exhausted animal to take +it at a stand. This is truly bad horsemanship, and leads to many +direful results. A good rider will, on perceiving that the obstacle is +a formidable one, turn his horse round, take him some little distance +from it, and then, again turning, come fast at it--quick gallop, hands +down, horse's head held straight and well in hand, but without any +pulling or nervous reining in. Such a one will be pretty sure to get +safely over. + +Should your horse, in jumping a fence, land badly, and slip his hind +legs into a gripe or ditch, do not wait more than an instant to see if +he can recover himself; you will know in that time whether he will be +likely to do so. The best advice I can give you is to kick your foot +free of the stirrup and jump off before he goes back. You will thus +keep your own skin dry; and, if you have been fortunate enough to +retain a light hold of the rein, you can rescue your horse without much +difficulty; for an animal, when immersed, makes such intelligent +efforts to release himself, that a very trifling assistance upon your +part will enable him to struggle safely to your side, when you can +remount him and try your chances of again picking up the hounds. Be +cautious, however, in pulling him up, that you do so over smooth +ground. I had a valuable young horse badly staked last season through +being dragged up over a clump of brushwood after a fall into the Lara +river. + +Should your steed peck on landing over a fence you will be pretty +certain to come over his head, for this is an ugly accident, and one +very likely to occur over recently-scoured drains. You _may_, +however, save both yourself and him, if you are _smart_ in using +your hands in assisting him to recover his lost equilibrium. + +In the event of your horse jumping short with you, either from having +taken off too soon or from any other cause, and falling upon you into a +gripe, you may (when you gain a little experience) be able to stick to +him without leaving the saddle. The first effort a fallen animal makes +is to try to get up; therefore, if you are not quite thrown, hold on to +his mane, and as he struggles to right himself make your effort to +regain your seat. Be guided, however, in doing this by observing with a +quick glance whether there are thorns or brambles overgrowing the +place, for if there are, and your horse on recovering himself strides +onward in the ditch, seeking a place at which he may get out, your face +will undoubtedly suffer. This sort of thing once occurred to me in the +course of a day's hunting. I held on to my animal when he fell, and +regained my seat without very much difficulty, but before I could +recover my hold of the bridle he had rushed forward, and my face was +terribly punished by the overhanging brambles. + +Be very careful, in this matter of holding on to a fallen animal, not +to confound the mane with the rein. By clinging to the former you +assist yourself without in the smallest degree impeding the movements +of your horse; by clinging to the latter you seriously interfere with +his efforts at recovery, and most probably pull him back upon you. + +And this brings me to the subject of hogging horses' manes. Never, +under any circumstances, allow an animal of yours to be thus +maltreated. Not only is it a vile disfigurement, depriving the horse of +Nature's loveliest ornament, but it also deprives the rider of a very +chief means of support in case of accident. Many a bad fall have I been +saved by clutching firmly at the mane, which an ignorant groom had oft +implored me to sacrifice; and many a good man and true have I seen +recover himself by a like action, when a hog-maned animal would +undoubtedly have brought him to grief. Grooms are especially fond of +this system of "hogging," and many a beauteous adjunct of Nature's +forming has been ruthlessly sacrificed to their ceaseless importunities +to be permitted to "smarten the baste." Tails, too, are remorselessly +clocked by these gentlemen of the stable; not that they really think it +an improvement, any more than they veritably admire the hogging +process, but it saves them trouble, it lightens their labours, they +have less combing and grooming to attend to. Tails were sent by Nature, +not merely as an ornament, but to enable the animal to whisk away the +flies, which in hot weather render its life a burthen. Man, the +ruthless master, by a cruel process of cutting and searing, deprives +his helpless slave of one of its most valued and most necessary +possessions. I do not myself advocate long switch tails, which are +rarely an ornament, being usually covered with mud; but I maintain that +"docking" is cruel and unnecessary, keeping the hairs closely and +evenly cut being quite sufficient for purposes of cleanliness, without +in any way interfering with the flesh; therefore, do not reject my +oft-repeated plea for "a little more tail." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +HOLDING ON TO A PROSTRATE HORSE.--IS IT WISE OR OTHERWISE?--AN +INDISCREET JUMP.--A DIFFICULT FINISH.--THE DANGERS OF MARSHY +GROUNDS.--ENCOURAGE HUMANITY.--A RECLAIMED CABBY! + + +To return to the subject of jumping. + +In the event of an ordinary fall in landing over a fence, it is a vexed +question whether or not it is advisable to hold on by the rein whilst +your horse is on the ground. I do not now mean when he is sunk in a +ditch, but when he is prostrate upon even grass-land or upon smooth +earth. Many first-rate riders affirm that it is a highly dangerous +practice, therefore I am afraid to advocate it, and must speak with +reserve--as I did respecting the management of a rearing animal--but +for my own part I always do it. My experience is, that when a horse +struggles to his feet his movement is almost invariably retrograde. He +tries to get away, consequently his heels are turned from me; and so +long as I keep my hold of the bridle his head will be nearest me and +his feet furthest. He will not think of turning to kick me, unless he +be a vilely vicious brute, not worth his keep; and so I can hold him +with safety until I am up myself and ready to remount him. When my +horse falls with me on the flat, I roll clear of him without letting go +the rein, and as the only danger of a kick is whilst he is getting up, +I shield my head with one arm and slip the rein to its fullest length +with the other, thus allowing the animal so much head-room that he is +enabled to make that retrograde movement, or "dragging away," which is +natural to him, and which saves me from the possible contact of his +heels. + +This is, in my opinion (which I cannot, of course, pretend to think +infallible), the best course to pursue. It is the one which I always +adopt, and I have never yet, except in one trifling instance, received +a kick from a fallen horse. + +I remember one day, a couple of seasons ago, I was riding hard against +a very beautiful Imperial lady, who dearly loves a little bit of +rivalry. Neck and neck we had jumped most of the fences for forty +minutes or so, and both our steeds were pretty well beaten, for +the running had been continuous, without a check. We came to an +awful obstacle--a high thick-set hedge, so impenetrable that there +was no chance of knowing what might be on the other side. There was +but one little apology for a gap, and at this the Empress's pilot +rode--immediately putting up his hand as a warning to us not to follow, +and pointing lower down. I knew that when Bay Middleton thought there +was danger, it did, indeed, exist; but I was too much excited to stop. +We had the hunt all to ourselves, the hounds running right in front +of us, and not a soul with them. I came at the fence with whip, spur, +and a shout! My horse--than which a better never was saddled--rose to +the leap, and landing upon his head after a terrific drop, rolled +completely over. I was not much hurt, and whilst he was on his knees +getting up, I scrambled back to the saddle, and went on; but, oh! under +what dire disadvantages! My rein had caught upon a stake in the fence +and was broken clean off, and I fancy it was this chuck to my animal's +mouth which had thrown him out of his stride and caused him to blunder, +for it was the first and last mistake he ever made with me, nor could +I, in the hurry of regaining my seat unassisted, get my foot into the +stirrup; so I finished the run as if by a miracle, and astonished +myself even more than anybody else by bringing home the fox's brush as +a trophy that I was in at the death. + +Always bear in mind when hunting that you are bound to save your horse +as much as possible. Jump no unnecessary fences; look out for a +friendly gate whenever you can find one at hand; and in going up hill +or over ploughed land, ease your animal and take your time. By acting +thus judiciously you will be able to keep going when others are +standing still. Always avoid bogs and heavy bottoms; they are most +treacherous, and swamp many an unwary hunter in their dangerous depths. +If you should ever have the bad fortune to be caught in one, dismount +at once, and lead your horse. It is not a pleasant thing to have to do, +but if you remain upon him, your weight, added to his own, will +probably sink him up to his saddle-girths, and there he will stick. + +I would desire particularly to impress upon you that if your horse +carries you safely and brilliantly through one good run, you ought to +be contented with that, and not attempt to ride him a second. It is +through the unwise and cruel habit of riding beaten animals that half +the serious accidents occur. Also remember that if you are waiting at a +covert-side where there seems likely to be a delay, after your steed +has had a gallop or a long trot, you should get off his back and shift +your saddle an inch one way or the other, generally backwards, as +servants are usually apt in the first instance to place the saddle too +close upon the withers. By adopting this plan you will, when you again +get upon him, find him a new animal. If you or I were carrying a heavy +burthen upon our shoulders for a certain number of hours in precisely +the same position, would it not make a new being of us to have it eased +and shifted? And exactly so it is with the horse. A selfish man will +sit all day upon his beast, rather than take the trouble of getting off +his back; but against himself does it tell, for his animal is fagged +and jaded when that of a merciful man is able to keep its place in the +run. + +There is nothing which should more fully engross the thoughts of the +humane hunter than kindly consideration towards the noble and beautiful +creature which God has sent to be the help of man. Your horse should be +your companion, your friend, your loved and valued associate, but never +your wronged and over-tasked slave. Humanity cries out with ready +uproar against the long list of grievances which animals have to +endure, yet how few of us exert ourselves to lighten the burthen by so +much as one of our fingers! There is not one of us who may not, if he +choose, be daily and hourly striving to curtail the load of misery +which the equine race is called upon to bear. We may not be fortunate +enough to possess horses ourselves upon which to exercise our humanity, +but can we not do something--yea, much--for others? Surely we can, if +we only possess the courage and the will. Even a word judiciously +spoken will often effect more than we could have hoped or supposed. Two +years ago I saw a cabman in Dublin cruelly ill-treating his horse. The +poor animal was resting its worn and tired body upon the stand, ready +for the wrench which its jaw would receive as soon as the next prospect +of a "fare" should excite the cupidity of its owner. One would have +thought that the sight of so much patient misery would have moved the +stoniest heart to suffer the hapless creature to enjoy its few moments +of needed repose. But no; the driver wanted some amusement, he was +weary of standing by himself, without some sort of employment to divert +his ignoble mind, and so he found such out. How? By beating upon the +front legs and otherwise cruelly worrying with the whip the poor +ill-used slave which he should have felt bound to protect. I saw it +first from a distance--more fully as I came near--and with a heart +bursting with sorrow and indignation, I crossed over and remonstrated +with the man. I said very little; only what I have tried to inculcate +in these pages--that humanity to quadrupeds is not only a duty which we +owe to their Creator, but will in time repay ourselves. I expected +nothing but abuse, and, indeed, the man's angry face and half-raised +whip seemed to augur me no good; but, suddenly, as something that I +said came home to him, his countenance softened, and, laying his hand +quite gently upon the poor beaten side of the animal which he had been +ill-treating, he said: "Well, if there was more like _you_, there +'ud be less like me! _that's_ the thruth, at all events." And then +he said no more, for he was satisfied that I knew I had not spoken in +vain. For two years that man has been my constant driver. He is almost +daily at my door: he drives me to and from the trains when going to and +returning from the hunts, and dearly loves to hear something of the +runs; nor is there a more humane driver nor a better cared horse in any +city of the empire. + +I have related this true incident, not from any egotism--God is my +witness--but merely to show you how good is "a word in season." You may +speak many which may be, or may seem to be, of none effect, but, like +the "bread upon the waters," you know not when it may return unto you +blessed. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +SELFISHNESS IN THE FIELD.--FORDING A RIVER.--SHIRKING A FENCE.-- +OVER-RIDING THE HOUNDS.--TREATMENT OF TIRED HUNTERS.--BIGWIG +AND THE MAJOR.--NAUGHTY BIGWIG.--HAPLESS MAJOR. + + +You must be particularly cautious in the hunting-field to avoid being +cannoned against. There is no other place in the whole world where +there is so little ceremony; and so very, very little politeness. It is +verily a case of "Every man for himself, and the devil take the +hindmost!" There is scarcely one man in the entire field who will not +in his heart of hearts resent your presence, and so he will pay you no +court. The crowding at gaps, and at certain negotiable places in +different well-known fences is simply disgraceful; and persons--I +cannot call them gentlemen--ride each other down like dogs. At such +places you will be fortunate if you can enlist a friend to ride behind +you, and thus prevent your being jumped upon in the event of a fall. + +I must not omit to remind you that in crossing a ford your horse will +be very apt to lose his footing. You will know when he does so by his +making a kind of plunge, and an endeavour to swim, which he only does +when he feels himself out of his depth. If at such a time you interfere +with his mouth, he will _inevitably_ roll over. Your only chance +is to throw him the reins, and let him scramble or swim as he finds +easiest. If the latter, lift your left leg (with foot still in the +stirrup) completely over the third crutch, that he may not strike your +heel with his near hind foot, or become in any way entangled with the +stirrup or in your skirt. At the same time grasp the up-pommel firmly +with your hand, that you may not be unseated when he makes his second +struggle, which he will do as soon as he recovers his footing at the +bottom of the water. + +A horse who shirks his fences is a terrible infliction to have to +ride. Of course the first refusal condemns you to lose your place, for +it is the etiquette of the hunting-field that if your horse refuses +you must at once draw aside and let the whole field go by before you +again essay it. But, provoked though you may be, do not allow yourself +to be vanquished. If you do not now gain the victory your horse will +always be your conqueror. Bring him again to the leap, keeping his +head straight and your hands low and firm. If he refuses a second +time, bring him round again and again, always turning him from right +to left--that is, with the pressure upon you right rein--and not +suffering him to have his own way. Remember that if you suffer him to +conquer you or bring him to any other part of the fence than that +which he is refusing, you will thoroughly spoil him. Do not, however, +treat him with harshness. Coax him and speak gently to him. It may be +nervousness, not temper; and if so, you will soon get him over by +kindly encouragement. The horse is essentially a timid creature. He is +oftentimes subjected to cruelties for his "obstinacy," where a little +kindness and a few reassuring words would be infinitely more +effectual. Every glance of your eye, every look upon your countenance +is noted by your horse whilst he can see you, and, when you are upon +his back, your words fall upon highly sensitive ears. A horse's soul +is full of affection for his owner. He _yearns_ to please him. +He would yield his life to serve him. Alas! how is such nobility +requited? Man's cruelty converts a peerless and incomparable companion +into a terrified and trembling slave. Young limbs are heavily weighted +before they have had time to grow; dark, wretched, solitary +confinement too early takes the place of the open air and free +pasturage to which the creature would fain a little longer cling; +young heads, pining for freedom, are tied or chained up in melancholy +imprisonment. The numerous little devices with which the captive +strives to while away the tedium of its captivity are punished as +"vices" by heartless and ignorant grooms. Nervousness is called bad +temper, and timidity regarded as a punishable offence. All the horrors +of the modern stable are brought to bear upon the priceless creature +who is born to freedom, and whose fettered limbs he is scarce +permitted to stretch. A rack of dry, and oftentimes vitiated hay is +placed _above_ the head which was created to stoop to gather the +juicy grasses of the earth. A measure of hard dry corn, or a bucket of +water, is periodically brought and thrust before the prisoner, who +eats and drinks for mere pastime, often without appetite, and whose +frequent rejection of the offered dainties is regarded as "sulkiness" +or "vice." The whole system of modern stable management is lamentably +at fault. I cannot hope to remedy it. I cannot persuade obstinate +humanity that the expenditure of a few shillings will turn in as many +pounds: that by the bestowal of proper care, proper housing, light, +and exercise, and proper clothing, food, and drink, the slave will +repay by longer life and more active service the care and kindness +which Christianity should deem a pleasure and privilege, instead of, +as now, a compulsory and doled-out gift. I cannot expect to remedy +these wide and universal evils, nor yet can you; but we are bound--you +and I--to guard against such things in our own management. If your +horse oppose you through nervousness, you can conquer him by kindness; +if through obstinacy, which is occasional but not frequent, you must +adopt a different plan. Use your spur and whip, and show that you will +not be mastered, though you stay there till the stars come out. You +will be sure to conquer ere long, unless your horse is one of those +inveterate brutes which are, fortunately, rarely to be met with, and +when you succeed in getting him over the obstacle at which he has +sulked, put him at it again, making him take it backwards and +forwards, and he will not be likely to trouble you by a repetition of +his pranks. + +You must be very cautious in the hunting-field not to leave yourself +open to any suspicion of over-riding the hounds; keep close to them, +but never so near as to be upon them. Over-riding hounds is a piece of +unpardonable caddishness of which no gentleman, and certainly no lady, +would be guilty; yet it is done; and then, when the master's wrath is +aroused, the innocent suffer with the guilty, for many who are not +absolutely offenders, ride too close in their zeal for the pleasures of +the chase. + +When your day's sport is over, and you are riding back to the place at +which you expect to meet your trap, remember that the easiest way to +bring your horse in is in a quiet jog-trot. It is nonsense to walk him, +for he will only stiffen, and will be the longer away from his stable +and his needed rest. If you chance to come across a piece of water, +ride him to it and let him have a few "go downs,"--six or eight, but +not more. When you get off his back, see that his girths are loosed at +once, and, if very tired, a little water thrown over his feet. He +should then be taken quietly home--if by road, in the same easy +trot--and just washed over and turned into a loose box, where he can +tumble and luxuriate without submitting to any of the worries of +professional grooming. Fifteen minutes after my return from hunting, +my horse--sheeted and comfortable--is feeding quietly in his stall, +enjoying his food and rest; instead of standing in some wet corner of a +cold yard, with his unhappy head tied up by an unsympathizing rope, and +a fussy groom worrying his tired body with a noisy display of most +unnecessary zeal. And this is as it ought to be. Horses are like human +beings,--they like to _rest_ when wearied, and their chief +desire--if we would only believe it--is to be left alone. But we are +incredulous, and so we hang about them, and fuss and worry the fagged +and patient creatures who would fain appeal to us for a cessation of +our attentions. + +There are few things more truly delightful than a mutual understanding +and affection between horse and rider, and this can easily be arrived +at by kindness and care. I have a hunter--Bigwig, son of The +Lawyer--who follows me all over the place, knows my voice from any +distance, rubs his nose down my dress, puts it into my pocket to look +for apples, and licks my hands and face like a dog; yet I have done +nothing to induce all this, except treating him with uniform justice +and kindness. He has carried me most brilliantly through three +successive seasons without one single display of sulk or bad temper. He +knows not the _touch_ of a whip. I carry one, that the long lash, +passed through his bridle, may assist him when necessary in getting +over a trappy fence, at which I may deem it prudent to dismount, but +the sight of it never inspires him with fear; if I showed it to him, he +would probably lick it, and then gaze inquiringly at me to see if I +were pleased with the novel performance. To me, this noble and +beautiful creature is a priceless companion; yet, strange to say, +nobody else (not even the most accomplished rider) can obtain any good +of him. It is not that he displays vice, but he simply will not allow +himself to be ridden. I once happened to mention this fact at our +private dinner-table, in presence of a distinguished major, who had +been boasting largely of his prowess in the saddle, and who at once +offered to lay me ten to one that he would master the animal in +question within five minutes. "I do not bet," I said, "but I will +venture to assert that you will not be able to ride him out of the yard +within as many hours." He took me up at once, and, as a good many +sporting men were dining with us, who evidently enjoyed the prospect of +a little excitement, I quietly called a servant, and sent orders to the +groom to saddle Bigwig without delay. It was a lovely evening in +summer, and we all adjourned to the yard to view the performance. + +The moment my beautiful pet saw me he whinnied joyously and strove to +approach me, but I dared not go near him, in case it should be thought +that by any sort of "Freemasonry" I induced him to carry out my words. +The sight was most amusing; the gentlemen all standing about, smoking +and laughing; the horse suspicious, and not at ease, quietly held by +the groom, whose face was in a grin of expectation, for none knew +better than he what was likely to ensue. The major prepared to mount, +and Bigwig stood with the utmost placidity; although I must confess he +was naughty enough to cast back an eye, which augured no good to the +gallant representative of Her Majesty's service. He mounted without +difficulty, took up the reins, and evidently prepared for a struggle; +but none such ensued. Bigwig tucked his tail very tight to his body, +walked quietly forward for a yard or two, and then, suddenly standing +up as straight as a whip, the defeated major slid over his tail upon +the hard ground, whilst the horse trotted back to his box. + +I have related for you this anecdote, not merely for your amusement, +but to teach you never to boast. A braggart is ever the first to fall, +and nobody sympathizes with him. If you become ever so successful in +your management of horses, do not exert yourself to proclaim it. Suffer +others to find it out if they will; but do not tell them of it, lest +some day you share the fate of the prostrate and discomfited major. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +FEEDING HORSES.--FORAGE-BISCUITS.--IRISH PEASANTRY.--A CUNNING +IDIOT.--A CABIN SUPPER.--THE ROGUISH MULE.--A DAY AT COURTOWN.-- +PADDY'S OPINION OF THE EMPRESS. + + +I said at the commencement of these pages that I should offer little or +no discourse upon the general management of horses; yet, in one +reserved instance, I may be permitted to break through my rule. If you +want your hunters to thrive, do not let them have a single grain of raw +oats. People have laughed at me when I said this, and have scarcely +waited for the turning of my back to call me a mad woman; but a few of +the scoffers have since come to thank me, and if you adopt my plan you +will think that this little volume would have been cheap at a ten-pound +note. There are, of course, times when raw oats must be given, for your +horse may not always be in your own stable. At such times it is a good +plan to mix chopped clover or grass through the feeding, taking care +that grain and clover be thoroughly mingled. The judicious mixture of +green meat will go far towards counteracting the binding effects which +raw oats will be likely to have upon a horse not accustomed to it, and +will also induce him to masticate his food, which an animal inured to +softer feeding will otherwise be apt to neglect, wasting the corn by +dropping it from his mouth in a slobbering fashion, making no use +whatever of his grinders, and swallowing a certain portion without +chewing it at all. I am, for various tried reasons, a thorough advocate +for Mayhew's and Shingler's style of feeding upon cooked food, mingled, +of course, with good sweet hay, or an admixture of the juicy grasses +upon which the animal in its unfettered state would be prone to live. + +In my stable-yard are a large boiler and an unlimited supply of good +water. The groom boils sufficient oats to do for two or three days, +and, when cool, mixes through it a small proportion of bruised Indian +corn. On this the horses are fed as with ordinary oats three times +daily, and so enjoy the feeding that not one grain is left in the +mangers, which are placed _low upon the ground_. The surest proof +of the efficacy of this excellent and economical feeding is that my +horses never sweat, never blow, never tire. When other hunters are +standing still, mine have not turned a hair; and, as prize-winners and +brilliant goers, they cannot be excelled. + +The principle I go on is this:--If I eat a cupful of raw rice, it +certainly does me no good; but if I boil it, it makes three or four +times the quantity of good, wholesome, digestible food, every grain of +which goes to the nourishment of my body. And it is precisely so with +the oats and the horse. In addition to this feeding, I give abundance +of good, sweet, _moist_ hay, varied by green food in summer, +substituting carrots in the winter-time, of which vegetable they are +particularly fond. The carrots are given whole, either from my hand or +put loosely in the manger. I never suffer them to be cut up, unless it +be done _very finely_, either by myself or under my supervision, to +induce a delicate feeder to taste his food through which the chopped +carrots are rubbed. Grooms, with their accustomed ignorance, are almost +always in favour of the "cutting up," but I regard it as a most +dangerous practice. If the carrot be left whole the horse will nibble +at it, and will bite off just such pieces as he knows he can chew and +swallow, but there is more than one instance upon record of horses +choking themselves with pieces of cut carrot, and very many who have +nearly done so. I can feed my horses upon this system for very little +more than half the sum which my neighbours are expending, with +advantages which are certainly fourfold. I consider it an excellent +plan to vary horses' feeding, as it tells quite as beneficially upon +animals as upon ourselves;--and for this purpose there cannot, in my +opinion, be anything better than the forage-biscuits, manufactured +by Spratt & Co., Henry Street, London, ten of which are equal to one +good feed of oats, and are so relished that not so much as a crumb +is suffered to go to waste. They combine all the most nutritious of +grains, with dates and linseed added in such proportions as experience +has pointed out to the inventor to be the best. They are then baked, +and thoroughly dried, so that they are entirely deprived of moisture, +and will consequently keep good for any length of time. The baking +process being complete, they are, when eaten, practically +half-digested,--or, as I may say, they present the materials to the +horse in the most digestible form in which it is possible to give them. +There are certain chemicals used in very minute quantities in the +manufacture of these biscuits, which are productive of highly +beneficial effects upon animals thus fed,--improving their muscular +development, and imparting to their coats a peculiarly healthy and +brilliant appearance. One feed of the forage-biscuits three or four +times weekly is the proper allowance,--and they should be given whole, +as the same objection applies to the breaking of them as I have set +forth in my dissertation upon the cutting up of carrots. + +I now desire to warn you that if you hunt in Ireland you must be +prepared for the laughable and most ingenious frauds which the poor +people--alas! _how_ poor--will certainly endeavour to practise upon +you. I can, and do most fully, commiserate their poverty, but with +their attempts at imposition I have long since lost patience. Doubtless +they think that everybody who hunts is of necessity a rich person, and +conceive the idea that by fleecing the wealthy they will aid in +blotting out the poverty of the land. Nothing delights the old +cottage-woman more than to kill an ancient hen or duck on a +hunting-morning, and then, when the hunt comes sweeping past her door, +out rushes the beldame with the bird concealed beneath her apron, and +throwing it deftly--positively by a species of sleight of hand--beneath +your horse's hoofs, kicks up a mighty whining, and declares that you +have "kilt her beauty-ful fowl!" I was so taken aback upon the first of +these occasions that I actually stopped and paid the price demanded; +but, finding that the same thing occurred the following week in a +different locality, I ascertained that it was a trick and declined to +be farther hocussed. + +It is likewise a common thing for a man to accost you, demanding a +shilling, and declaring that it was he who pulled your ladyship's horse +out of the ditch or quagmire on such and such a day. You do not +remember ever having seen his face before; but if you are a hard-riding +lady you will be so frequently assisted out of difficulties that you +cannot undertake to say who nor how many may have helped you +unrewarded, and, being unwilling that any should so suffer, you bestow +the coin, most likely in many instances, until you find that your +generosity has become known and is consequently being traded upon. + +I remember one day, a couple of winters ago, when returning from +hunting, I lost my way, and being desirous of speedily re-finding it, I +accosted a ragged being whom I saw standing at a corner where four +roads met, and inquired of him the most direct route to the point which +I was desirous of reaching. The creature hitched his shoulders, +scratched his collarless neck, pushed the hat from his sunburnt +forehead, and, finally, looking down and rubbing the fore-finger of his +right hand upon the palm of his left, thus delivered himself: + +"I axed him for a ha'penny, and he wouldn't give it to me; but he put +his hand into his pocket and pulled out a pinny, and gave it to me, and +I took it in--ho, ho! and he gave me a letter to take up to Mrs. +Johnston, and when I took it to her, she opened it and read it. Now, +didn't I give her the letter?" + +"Really," said I, "I know nothing about Mrs. Johnston nor her letter. I +want to know the nearest way to Dunboyne station." + +"I axed him for a ha'penny," began the man again. And then I had the +whole story of the "pinny" and "Mrs. Johnston" repeated for me over and +over, without a smile or any variation, until my vexation vanished, and +I fairly roared with laughter. Guessing at once how the land lay, I +produced a little coin with which I presented him, and which he +immediately pocketed, and, touching his ragged feather, pointed down +one of the roads, and said quite sensibly, "That's the right road, my +lady." And so I found it. This man, I was subsequently informed, made +quite a respectable maintenance by stationing himself at the +cross-roads on daily duty, and informing every passer-by that he "axed +for a ha'penny" but was generously treated to a "pinny," together with +the story of Mrs. Johnston and her letter, accompanied by all the +shruggings, and scratchings, and sniffings, which never failed to +provoke the laughter of the hearer and to elicit the coveted coin. + +The Irish, with all their little failings, are a hospitable people, and +full of pungent wit. I was one evening wending my way to Sallins +station, after a long and wearisome day's hunting. My tired horse was +suffering from an over-reach, and I was taking him as quietly as I +could, consistently with my anxiety to be in time to catch the train by +which I desired to return to town. So utterly jaded were we both--I and +my steed--that the way appeared very long indeed, and I asked the first +countryman whom I met how far it was to Sallins. "Three miles," he told +me, and I jogged on again. When we had traversed quite a long distance, +and I thought I must be very near my journey's end, I ventured upon +asking the same question of a farmer whom I met riding a big horse in +an opposite direction to that in which I was myself going. It was a +matter of about two miles, he told me, or mayhap three, but not more he +thought, and I was certainly not going wrong; I was on the right road, +and no mistake. I took out my watch. No hope for me now. I was +undoubtedly late for the train which I had hoped to catch, and must +wait two long hours for the next. A poor-looking little cottage was +close at hand; to it I trotted, and looked in at the door. The family +were at supper, all gathered about a narrow table, in the middle of +which lay a pile of unpeeled potatoes and a little salt. The mule, upon +which much of their fortune depended, was supping with them; thrusting +his poor attenuated nose over the shoulders of the children, and +occasionally snatching a potato, always receiving a box for so doing, +to which, however, he paid no sort of heed. I was at once invited to +enter, and gladly accepted the invitation, for I was cold and tired, +pleased to ease my horse and get him a draught of meal and water. I sat +down in the chimney-corner, thankful for the rest, but determined to +withstand all entreaties to share the family supper, and my risible +faculties were sorely put to the test, when my host, balancing a potato +upon his fork and dipping it in the salt, presented it to me, saying, +"Arrah! take it my lady, just _for the jig o' the thing_!" Of +course I took it; and never have I enjoyed the richest luxury of an +_a la Russe_ dinner more than that simple potato in a poor man's +cabin, in company with the mule and the pigs. When I stood up to go I +carefully inquired the distance, for it was dark, and I had long since +lost the remainder of my party. The man offered to accompany me to the +station, and I believe he was actuated solely by civility, and not by +any hope of gain. My horse was sadly done up; he had stiffened on the +over-reach, and limped painfully. We proceeded but slowly, and, sighing +for the patient suffering of my dearly-loved steed, I made the +observation that the miles were very long indeed. "They _are_ +long, my lady," said the man, who was walking before me with a +lanthorn; "but, shure and faith, if they're long they're narra'!" And +with this most intelligent observation he closed his mouth, and left me +to ponder upon it undisturbed until we arrived at the station. + +One more anecdote, and I have done with them. + +On one of last season's hunting-days the hounds met at Courtown, and +great excitement was abroad, for the Imperial lady was expected to join +the chase. She was, however, prevented through indisposition from +attending, but Prince Liechtenstein and a very distinguished company +came over from Summerhill. As we were trotting to the covert the +country-folks were all on the alert, for not having heard of the +disappointment respecting the Empress they were anxiously expecting +her, and many were the surmises respecting her identity. I was riding +close to the front, escorted by Lord Cloncurry, and as we swept past +one of the wayside cottages, two men and a woman rushed out to stare at +us and to give their opinions upon the "Impress." "Which is she?" cried +the female, shading her eyes to have a good look,--"That must be +_her_ in front, with his lordship. Oh! isn't she lovely? A quane, +every inch!" + +"Arrah! shut up, woman," said one of the men, testily interrupting her. +"That's not her at all, nor a taste like her! _The Impress is a +good-lookin' woman._" I need not say that this genuinely-uttered +remark took the wind completely out of my sails, and that I have never +since dreamed of comparing my personal appearance with that of any +woman whom an Irishman would call "good-lookin'." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE DOUBLE-RISE.--POINTING OUT THE RIGHT FOOT.--THE FORCE OF HABIT. +--VARIOUS KINDS OF FAULT-FINDING.--MR. STURGESS' PICTURES.--AN +ENGLISH HARVEST-HOME.--A JEALOUS SHREW.--A SHY BLACKSMITH.--HOW +IRISHMEN GET PARTNERS AT A DANCE. + + +I shall now touch very briefly upon one or two points which I have not +before mentioned, but which may, nevertheless, prove interesting to +some lady riders. + +Firstly, then, I shall speak of the annoyance--sometimes a serious +one--which ladies experience from what is known as the _double +rise_ in the trot. I have been asked is it preventible. Before +suggesting a remedy for anything--be it ailment or habit--we must +endeavour to get at the _cause_ of the evil complained of. The +most successful medical men are those who first take time and pains to +ascertain the wherefore, and then seek to effect the cure. + +The extremely ungraceful and unpleasant motion known as the "double +rise" is attributable to two distinct causes. It is due either to the +horse or to the rider, and to the one quite as frequently as to the +other. A large, heavy animal, with slow and clumsy action will, if +ridden by a lady, be almost certain to necessitate the double rise. +This I know by the certainty derived from experience. I was staying +some time ago at a house in the midst of our finest hunting county in +Ireland, namely, royal Meath. The owner was a great hunting-man in both +senses of the word, for he was a superb cross-country rider, and, if +put in the scales, would pull down sixteen stone. Being a top-weight he +always rode immense horses--elephants I used to call them, greatly to +his indignation. Very good he was about lending me one of these huge +creatures whenever I felt desirous of joining the chase, which I +confess was but seldom, for the first day upon which I accepted a mount +we left off eighteen miles from home, and I was so exhausted by the +time we arrived there, that I fairly fainted before reaching my own +chamber. It was not the distance which tired me, although it was a +pretty good one, but the fact that I was troubled with the double-rise +all the way. I strove in vain to remedy it by urging my gigantic steed +to a faster trot, and making him go up to his bridle; but the moment I +began to experience a little relief, my companion--dear old man, now in +heaven!--would say, "Well, that is the worst of ladies riding: they +must always either creep in a walk, or bucket their horses along at an +unnecessary pace. _Why_ can't you jog on quietly, as I do?" He +was clearly not suffering from the annoyance which was vexing and +fatiguing me. I looked at him closely, watched his motion in the +saddle--that slow, slow rise and fall--I compared it with mine, our +pace being the same, and the mystery was at once solved. Both horses +were trotting exactly together, keeping step, as the saying goes, yet +my companion was at ease whilst I was in torment. Why was this? Because +he had a leg at either side of his mount, his weight equally +distributed, and an equal support upon both sides; in fact, he had, as +all male riders have, the advantage of a _double_ support in the +rise; consequently, at the moment when his weight was removed from the +saddle, it was thrown upon both feet, and this equal distribution +enabled him to accomplish without fatigue that slow rise and fall which +is so tiring to a lady, whose weight when she is out of the saddle is +thrown entirely upon one delicate limb, thus inducing her to fall +again as soon as possible, which, if riding a clumsy animal, she is +constrained to do _at variance_, as it were, with his tedious and +heavy motion, and hence the inconvenience of the double rise. + +To illustrate my meaning, and explain more fully how it happens that +men never complain of this particular evil: a man will be able to stand +in his stirrups for a considerable time, even to ride a gallop so +doing, because he transfers his weight _equally_ to this feet; but +how rarely do we see a lady balanced upon one leg! Never, except it be +for a single instant whilst arranging her skirt or trying her stirrup. +The sensation is not agreeable, and would be, moreover, unpleasantly +productive of wrung backs. + +A heavy horse is never in any way suitable to a lady. It _looks_ +amiss. The trot is invariably laboured, and if the animal should chance +to fall, he gives his rider what we know in the hunting-field as "a +mighty crusher!" It is, indeed, a rare thing to meet a perfect "lady's +horse." In all my wide experience I have met but two. Breeding is +necessary for stability and speed--two things most essential to a +hunter; but good _light_ action is, for a roadster, positively +indispensable, and a horse who does not possess it is a burden to his +rider, and is, moreover, exceedingly unsafe, as he is apt to stumble at +every rut and stone. + +The double rise may also, as I said, be quite attributable to the +rider. A careless way of riding may occasion it, sitting loosely in the +saddle, and allowing your horse to go asleep over his work. Pull you +mount together, so as to throw his weight upon his haunches, not upon +his shoulders. Keep your reins close in hand. Rise, so that you shall +be out of the saddle when his off fore-leg is thrown out, and I do not +think you will have much to complain of from the annoyance occasioned +by the double rise. + +I have dwelt upon this subject because so many have asked me privately +for a cure for it, and I have surmised that numerous others, who have +not had opportunity--nor perhaps courage--to ask, will nevertheless be +pleased to receive a hint. + +It has also been inquired of me whether there is any remedy for that +excessively unsightly practice of sticking out the right foot when in +the saddle, as we have seen so many ladies do, until the toe is +positively almost resting upon the horse's neck. There is, of course, a +remedy; a most effectual one. _Don't do it._ It is quite possible +and even easy to keep the right leg as close to the saddle as the left, +the toe pointing downward, and the knee well bent. I know, however, +that in some cases the position objected to is consequent upon the +up-pommel of the saddle being placed too near the off one, thus there +is not sufficient space for the leg to lie easily, and consequently it +sticks out in the ungraceful manner so often seen and deplored. + +In many instances, also, it is habit; a bad practice, indulged in at +first without notice, and then, when confirmed, most difficult to +eradicate. These pernicious habits are extremely apt to grow upon all +of us, unless most carefully watched, I have seen ladies utterly +disfigure their appearance in the saddle by placing a hand upon their +side, or, worse again, behind their back, and riding along in this +jaunty style with an air as though they thought themselves the most +elegant creatures in creation. Others keep their elbows a-kimbo, and +fairly churn themselves in the saddle with every rise and fall. Others, +again, acquire a habit of tipping their horse with the whip in an +altogether unnecessary manner. It is not actually enough to hurt the +animal, but is amply sufficient to worry and ruffle his temper. No +horse fit to carry a lady requires to be constantly reminded of his +work. A whip in a woman's hand should be more for show, and to give +completeness to the picture, than for purposes of castigation. Nothing +looks worse nor more ungentle than to see it wantonly applied. It has +been said, "Spare the rod and spoil the child," but I cannot agree with +the theory. Rod and whip may be alike useful in (happily) isolated +cases, but I do not envy the disposition of child or animal who cannot +be made amenable by less ungentle means. Practices which are the result +of habit may be checked, and quite effectually, by the bestowal of a +little care. We want first some kindly friend to tell us of them; we +next require the common sense and good feeling not to be offended at +the telling; and, finally, we need the patience and perseverance which +are born of the _determination_ to overcome the fault. With regard +to the telling, how few of us know how to tell! There are just the two +ways, or perhaps I should say three. There is the cold, carping, +disagreeable fault-finding manner, which picks holes for the mere +pleasure of picking them, and the unworthy delight of seeing how the +victim writhes beneath the torture. There is the snake-like, insidious +fault-finding--the worst and most dangerous of all--which invariably +commences with the words, "You know, my dear, I am only telling you for +your own good." This species of fault-finding is peculiar to the +_female_ friend, and is invariably served up with an admixture of +honey and gall, so skilfully compounded that the very soul of the +listener is exercised and deceived. "Her words were smoother than oil, +yet were they drawn swords." Lastly, there is the genuine, honest, +open-hearted, fault-finding, which bears no malice, and is too true to +clothe itself with the garment of deceit. By this alone we should be +influenced or seek to influence others; but, for my own part, as I have +already said, I have found the world so inordinately self-opinionated +and determined _not_ to be advised, that I have long since ceased +to offer counsel, and only give it when requested. Long ago, when I +first began to write, I was jealous of all interference, and invariably +prefaced my letters to my Editors with, "Please do not alter anything +in my MS." Poor blind child I was then, groping about in the dark, and +sadly needing the helping hand which I was so obstinately rejecting. +Well, we gain sense with years, and wisdom with experience. Now that I +have got on in the world, in every sense of the word, I am only too +anxious for advice, and ready to grasp at every friendly hint. + +And so it should be with riding as with writing. Take all kindly +counsel in good part, and if given advice ask for more. Bad habits grow +upon us with giant force; they strengthen with our strength, because we +know not of them, or blindly refuse to be controlled. I dare say a good +many of us are acquainted with a very famous queen of song who always +holds her hands crossed and her thumbs turned stiffly up whilst she is +singing. I do not believe she is at all aware of the peculiarity of her +attitude, and perhaps she could not sing half so well nor sweetly if +she altered it. In like manner I told you, in the earlier portion of +this volume, of a young lady who could not ride a yard without laying a +firm grip upon the off-pommel of her saddle. These things are habit; +we do them without consciousness; we are not aware of anything unusual +in ourselves, but when the knowledge comes to us (which it soon will if +we are known to possess sufficient sweetness to take a hint) we should +turn it to advantage, and so improve with time. + +I recollect that when these writings of mine were first issued in the +journal to which they originally owed their appearance, a dear lady +wrote to me all the way from Rhode Island, U.S.A., asking me for hints +upon various subjects, and likewise offering me a few such, with so +much sweetness that I not alone accepted, but welcomed and adopted +them. She asked me many questions relative to the pictures with which +my various subjects were illustrated, and admired very warmly the +spirited drawings which Mr. Sturgess had made of my leap into the +farmyard and also of "The first fence." Many of my readers may +recollect them; and as there was, at the time, much discussion +respecting the position of my feet as portrayed in the former picture, +I take this opportunity of ranging myself upon the artist's side, for, +after much thoughtful inspection of the picture, I arrived at the +conclusion that he was perfectly correct, and the position quite such +as must of necessity be, in the event of a runaway steed clearing such +an obstacle with a wearied and startled rider scarce able to retain her +seat upon his back. Even had the artist been mistaken--which I am bound +to say he was not--the matter need scarcely have evoked criticism, for +his strong point is his delineation of horses, and as he has no equal +in this particular branch of art, he may well be forgiven if such +trifles as a lady's feet occasionally puzzle him a little! Moreover, he +draws with a view to producing effect as much as ensuring stereotyped +correctness. I recollect when I saw that picture I sounded my protest +against the flowing skirt and flying veil: two things quite foreign to +my style of riding-dress, which is always severely close-fitting and +_curtailed_. His answer certainly carried weight. The skirt and +veil were necessary to impart an appearance of rapid motion, or flying +through the air. He was quite right, and I was decidedly wrong. I felt +ashamed of myself, begged his pardon mentally, and atoned for my +audacity by henceforward believing blindly in his judgment. + +I recollect laughing much at the time at a grave suggestion made to me +by a dear old lady, who thought there might be a particular reason why +Mr. Sturgess was (in her opinion) less successful in depicting lady +equestrians than when pursuing any other branch of his enchanting art. +Neither she nor I had or have, unfortunately, the pleasure of his +personal acquaintance, but we thought there might possibly be somebody +in authority who strongly objected to his studying the details of the +fair creatures whom he has occasionally to draw. To show that such +things may be, and actually are, in real life, I recollect that when I +was staying some two or three years ago at a famous house in the north +of England, a gay harvest-home took place, and the servants and +labourers had a dance in the barn. I and my husband, our host and +hostess, and numerous guests staying at the castle, went out to see the +fun, and greatly was I struck with the gallant appearance of the old +barn, so gaily decorated with corn, and the fiddler fiddling away upon +a beer-barrel! A mighty cheer was raised for us when we all, in full +evening dress, joined the motley company of revellers, and the lord of +the soil led off a country dance with a blushing mountain-lass, +followed by her ladyship with an equally humble partner. The blacksmith +was an Irishman, and looked very shy, as Irishmen invariably do in +presence of the fair sex(?) I knew him as a workman upon the estate--I +knew also that his wife, a very ugly woman, was a terribly jealous +shrew--and, actuated by a spirit of mischief, I went and asked him to +dance; but he only grinned, blushed, and said, "No, thank you, ma'am; +_I'm a married man!_" My husband, who was standing by, said +laughingly, "Why, Brian, you ought to feel flattered to be asked. Give +Mrs. O'Donoghue your arm, and take your place for the dance." "O, +faix," said Brian, hastening to obey, "if _you_ have no objection, +I'm sure _I_ have none. _Let her come on!_ Only," he added, +pausing and scratching his head, "begorrah, _I hope my wife won't see +me!_" + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +SUBJECT OF FEEDING RESUMED.--COOKED FOOD RECOMMENDED.--EFFECTS OF +RAW OATS UPON "PLEADER."--SERVANTS' OBJECTIONS.--SNAFFLE-BRIDLE, AND +BIT-AND-BRIDOON.--KINDNESS TO THE POOR.--AN UNSYMPATHETIC LADY.--AN +UNGALLANT CAPTAIN.--WHAT IS A GENTLEMAN?--_AU REVOIR!_ + + +My remarks upon the subject of feeding horses, having gained publicity +through the columns of the press, have called forth much comment and +adverse criticism. Some have evidently considered--and have not +hesitated to say--that I have written the veriest twaddle; but happily +there is a reverse side to the picture, and many (including one very +august personage indeed) have expressed a determination to adopt my +system. Beans are such excellent feeding that I cannot object to an +admixture of them, and to most English horses they are almost a +necessity; but in Ireland we care little about them. It is unwise to +give too much hay. I said "abundance" on a former page, but the word, +as I used it, did not signify a large quantity. For horses fed three +times daily upon a plentiful measure of oats, crushed Indian corn, and +beans if desired, a few handfuls of hay will be amply sufficient, and +this should be placed where the horse can stoop to it, but never above +him, as in the effort to disengage it from the rack the seeds fall in +his eyes and produce irritation, and sometimes permanent disease. + +A bran-mash on a Saturday night, or after a hard day, forms an +admirable variety to the ordinary feeding routine. Let the bran be +thoroughly well steeped and mixed, and a portion of cooked oats or +chopped carrots intermingled with it. This will induce almost any +animal to partake of the bran, from which otherwise many delicate +feeders will resolutely turn. + +I have strongly recommended cooked feeding, even against the uproar of +a general outcry against it, because I have seen and proved its +efficacy. Last November, on the first Tuesday in the month--the opening +day with the Kildare hounds--we had a splendid run, during which, +however, I was amazed to find that my great horse, Pleader, sweated +heavily--a thing which had never previously been the case. In fact, it +had always been my boast that when other horses were thoroughly done, +mine had not turned a hair; but, on the day in question, he was in a +white lather, and I thought appeared distressed. Upon coming home, and +speaking about it in my stable, I was informed that the boiler was in +some way out of order, and the horses had, unknown to me, been fed upon +uncooked oats during the preceding three days. Had I required any +confirmation of my theory, this circumstance would certainly have +furnished it, and entirely defeats the general supposition that cooked +food renders horses soft. + +I have now given the best advice I can upon the subject of feeding, and +I shall not again refer to it, nor to anything connected with the +treatment or stable management of horses, as the subject is an endless +one, everybody entertaining an opinion of his own, which it shall not +be my ambition to upset. What I have said has been in kindness, and +with a view to benefiting both man and beast; but I do not by any means +expect the majority of my readers to coincide in my views. There is a +stolid determination general throughout the world to stick to old +customs and old-fashioned ways and habits, no matter how excellent the +modern ones may be, and so the "horse and mill" go daily round. Masters +object to my system because it involves an outlay in the erecting of a +proper boiler and other necessary adjuncts; servants object to it +because it gives them a little additional trouble. It is far easier to +lounge to the oat-bin, fill a measure from it, and thrust it before the +animal, not caring whether it is rejected or otherwise, than to fetch +the water and fill the boiler and go through the labours of a process +which, in itself exceedingly simple, is made to appear complicated and +laborious by the amount of fuss and discontent which are brought to +bear upon the work. There is an old saying, "If you want a thing well +done, do it yourself"; but, unfortunately, there are some things--and +this is one--which ladies and gentlemen cannot do, and there is no +doubt whatever that servants accustomed to the old style of management +will never willingly adopt the new--unless they belong to that rare and +select and most exclusive _few_ who have their masters' interest +at heart. + +Much information has been asked of me relative to the subject of +holding reins. How often shall I say that there is no fixed rule, and +that a method which may look well for park-riding will be totally out +of place in the hunting-field. I have been asked how I hold my own +bridle, and I shall answer that I almost invariably ride with a single +rein, and you can understand my method readily if you will follow me +whilst I endeavour to explain. Take your pocket-handkerchief, pass it +through the back of any ordinary chair, and bring the ends evenly +towards you, holding them for an instant with your right hand, which +must, _pro tem._, represent the buckle. Place your left hand +within the loop thus formed, the little finger resting firmly against +the near-side, about four inches above the right hand; grasp the +opposite side between the forefinger and thumb, left hand (the two +sides of the handkerchief representing the reins); press the off-side +slightly inward with the pressure of your thumb, slipping it entirely +away from the control of the right hand; then bring the near-side, +which still is held loosely by the right, under the thumb of the left, +and hold it firmly. You will thus see that you establish a sort of +"cross rein," and that you have, and are able to maintain, a secure +grip upon either side. By an outward movement or slight turning of the +wrist, accompanied by pressure of the little finger, you will control +your horse upon the near-side of his mouth, whilst by an inward +movement and pressure of the forefinger you will be able to command him +upon the other or off-side. It must be borne in mind that these +movements should be from the wrist _only_, and not from the arm or +shoulder. A good rider will keep the elbows close to the sides, just +drawing the line finely between that pinioned look which is so +disfiguring, and the detestable flapping, like the wings of an unquiet +bird, in which so many riders, both male and female, so frequently +indulge. I have seen ladies, who wished to have an appearance of hard +riding, leaning forward in the saddle and working their elbows in an +unsightly manner, the hands (influenced by the elbows) sawing also, and +the poor horse, with open mouth and straining jaws, staggering along in +distress, fighting his bridle, and presenting altogether a melancholy +spectacle. A firm even seat, elbows close, head erect, and strong +steady hands held _low_--these are the characteristics of a good +and lady-like rider. In going across country put _both_ hands to +your bridle, and keep your horse's head straight and well in hand, but +do not attempt to pull him nor interfere with him at his fences, or you +will undoubtedly come to grief. If you ride with a bit and bridoon my +advice is, ride your horse--even though he be a puller--upon the +snaffle, and keep the curb rein looped over your little finger, hanging +quite loose, yet in such a position that you can if necessary take it +up at a second's notice. + +I cannot too often impress upon you the advisability of being +conciliatory and kind in your manner to everybody with whom you may +come in contact. No matter how exalted your rank may be, you can all +the better afford to be courteous to those beneath you. Kind words cost +nothing, and are as balm to the hearer. Many of the lower orders are +quite as much gentry at heart, and far more so, than those who hide +their unworthiness beneath the convenient shadow of a "family tree." I +have been more than once pained upon hunting days by the extreme +contempt and rudeness with which ladies have treated the poor, who have +asked nothing from them save the innocent and inexpensive privilege of +seeing them mount and canter away with the field. It is all very well +to say, "I do not like to be stared at," but even to those who +_most_ dislike it, surely it is worth a little self-sacrifice to +see the undisguised enjoyment and listen to the original observations +of the Irish peasantry, to whom a sight of the hounds--especially when +followed by ladies--is a treat they never care to miss. + +I was riding last winter in company with a lady, very noble, very +handsome, very proud. We came up to a branch of a river, upon the brink +of which some country folk had gathered, with the innocent desire of +seeing it jumped. A poor man, very quiet-looking and harmless, was +actually knocked down and immersed in the water by a reckless young +officer, who galloped over him, and went on without even glancing back +at the spot where the poor half-drowned creature stood wringing his +dripping clothing, yet not uttering a syllable of reproach. My +companion roared with laughter, first at the catastrophe, and then at +me for sympathising with the sufferer. "Apologise!" she cried, in a +high key. "_How_ could Captain Dash apologise to a man like that? +It would be different had he been a _gentleman_." I thought so +too, if the meaning of the word "he" had only been reversed; but I said +nothing, and we went on. + +A few fields further we came to a terrible obstacle--a high post and +rails, with a deep and yawning ditch upon the landing side. Three or +four of us went at it: the rest turned away and sought the road. I got +over safely, my noble Pleader proving himself, as usual, worthy of my +confidence. Captain Dash came next, safely also; and then my +ill-starred lady friend, whose horse (an inferior timber-jumper) +bungled, and left her completely prostrate upon the wet earth. Never a +pause did Captain Dash make in his onward career, although he glanced +back when he heard her shriek, and, incredible as it may appear, I +thought I saw him smile, for it was ever his saying that ladies had no +business hunting, and always deserved mischance; but the poor man, at +whose immersion she had laughed a few moments before, came running to +her relief, rendered her every assistance in his power, replaced her in +the saddle, expressed regret for her accident, and positively declined +to accept of any remuneration for his services. + +Which of these men, think you, was the gentleman? I know what I thought +respecting the question; and I judged that my friend's opinion was +formed as mine, for she now loves and cares the poor, and suffers the +rich to care themselves, as every true-hearted and Christian woman +should; and, moreover, on glancing over a book of my poems which I lent +her some time later, I found a leaf turned down, as though to mark +these lines-- + + "What is a gentleman? Is it a thing + Decked with a scarf-pin, a chain, and a ring, + Dressed in a suit of immaculate style, + Sporting an eye-glass, a lisp, and a smile? + Talking of operas, concerts, and balls, + Evening assemblies, and afternoon calls, + Sunning himself at "at homes" and bazaars, + Whistling mazurkas, and smoking cigars? + + "What is a gentleman? Say, is it one + Boasting of conquests and deeds he has done, + One who unblushingly glories to speak + Things which should call up a flush to his cheek? + One who, whilst railing at actions unjust, + Robs some young heart of its pureness and trust; + Scorns to steal money, or jewels, or wealth, + Thinks it no crime to take honour by stealth? + + "What is a gentleman? Is it not one + Knowing instinctively what he should shun, + Speaking no word that could injure or pain, + Spreading no scandal and deep'ning no stain? + One who knows how to put each at his ease, + Striving instinctively always to please; + One who can tell by a glance at your cheek + When to be silent, and when he should speak? + + "What is a gentleman? Is it not one + Honestly eating the bread he has won, + Living in uprightness, fearing his God, + Leaving no stain on the path he has trod? + Caring not whether his coat may be old, + Prizing sincerity far above gold, + Recking not whether his hand may be hard, + Stretching it boldly to grasp its reward? + + "What is a gentleman? Say, is it birth + Makes a man noble, or adds to his worth? + Is there a family-tree to be had + Shady enough to conceal what is bad? + Seek out the man who has God for his Guide, + Nothing to blush for, and nothing to hide; + Be he a noble, or be he in trade, + _This_ is the Gentleman NATURE has made." + +Now, kind reader, farewell. If I have given you instruction, called a +laugh to your lips, or taught you to prize and cherish the priceless +creature which God has generously sent for our enjoyment and our use, +I shall cheerfully lay aside my pen, happy in the conviction that I +have not written in vain. + +Yet, shall I say in the song-words, + + "_Au revoir. Pas adieu!_" + +for we meet again, I trust, soon and often; but the subject upon which +I have been writing has come to an end. + +Whilst acknowledging the kindness of my friends, I would desire also +to shake hands with my enemies. Life is short, and so it behoves us to +bear no malice. To those who have unkindly criticised me I offer +freely a forgiving hand and heart. I have never wilfully offended any, +and if my efforts have not come quite up to the standard of excellence +which certain captious critics have set up, I have at least done my +best, and have been careful, in propounding theories which might +appear new and uncommon, to state that such things were according to +my notions, in which, however, I did not expect all persons to +coincide. So long as the world lasts so long will there be differences +of opinion; but it is not because such exist that ill-feeling should +creep in, and Christian charity become a thing of nought. In ancient +days, when the Apostles were upon the earth, these things were as they +are now; yet the Great Example, to whose pure and simple teaching we +all hopefully look, inspired the command, "_Let brotherly love +continue._" + +So be it, reader, with you and with me. + + + + +PART IV. + +HUNTING IN IRELAND. + + +There is at present a mighty outcry in our poor land. Not against +"battle, murder, and sudden death," landlord-killing, and "Boycotting," +but against our royal pastime--hunting. The tenant-farmers are +uproarious in their opposition to it; and, with a headstrong +determination which cannot be too strongly condemned, refuse to listen +to the voice of the reasoner. We are but in the beginning of our +season, yet is our prospect marred and our pleasure spoilt by the blind +idiotcy, not of the few, but, unfortunately, of the many. + +They have but one cry, "You are ruining our grass-lands!" A more +egregious error could not possibly exist. Is it wilful blindness or +merely the desire to banish landlordism from the country which induces +this senseless outcry? If the latter, there is unhappily every +probability that the outcriers will succeed; if the former, there may +be some hope of ultimately unclosing their sealed eyelids. + +A body of horsemen galloping over grassland during the hunting season +can never occasion injury; it is simply an absurdity to endeavour to +maintain a contrary theory. A great friend of mine and a most practical +gentleman, who possesses a large common attached to his grounds, upon +which he can, if desirable, exercise his horses, always prefers doing +so throughout the winter upon his finest grass-land. He maintains, and +correctly, that they do it an immensity of good, and once offered (to +prove the correctness of his judgment) to give the use of the said land +to the colonel of a cavalry regiment stationed in his vicinity--to do +all his work upon throughout the winter months. The offer, after some +demur, was accepted, and proved to be most advantageous to the +land-owner. + +Being an enthusiastic follower of the Ward Union stag-hounds, I am +enabled to state that I have galloped with them, in company with at +least two hundred other riders, across the Ward Country and over the +Fairyhouse lands, which are--as is well known--of a singularly wet and +holding nature; and this not once, but many times throughout the +season. Yet, so early as April, at which date the famous Fairyhouse +races take place, no track or footmark can be seen upon the luxuriant +grass. Again, when riding in winter through Phoenix Park, I have been +struck by the state of mud to which it has been reduced through the +frequent galloping of horses over its surface; yet, in summer it grows +the finest grass, and is as smooth as a billiard-table. One day in +June, three years ago, a grand Review was held there in honour of the +Queen's birthday. A terrible shower came down--one of those mighty +floods which can, in a few moments, transform a beauteous green sward +into a hideous mass of unsightly mire and dirt. Those on foot ploughed +patiently through it, sinking ankle-deep at every step; those upon +horseback, myself included, churned it beneath their horses' feet, +until not a trace was visible of the emerald carpet, which, one short +hour before, had afforded firm footing for many thousands of +spectators. Three weeks later, I rode through that park again; the +velvety turf was green and fresh as ever, nor was there visible _one +trace_ of the countless feet which had, as it were, waded over it so +short a time before. The day upon which St. Stephen's Park was, through +the princely generosity of Lord Ardilaun, opened to the public, was +a wet, or at least a damp one, and thousands upon thousands of +roughly-shod feet cut up the grassy sward; yet, in a few brief days, it +was rich and verdant as before. Nor do I think there is in our noble +Phoenix Park a more luxuriant stretch of grass-land than is "the nine +acres" upon which polo players continually assemble. + +Having thus, then, endeavoured to prove that the galloping of horses +is in no way injurious to pasture lands, I shall proceed to the +consideration of other matters connected with the subject in question. + +If hunting in Ireland were abolished, then indeed might the cries of +her children ascend heavenward, for I know not what would become of +her! The gentry who are now resident landlords, maintaining large and +costly establishments, would migrate to other countries and more +genial climes. Servants would seek in vain for employment. +Boot-makers, clothiers, saddlers, harness-makers, would find no +custom. The farmer would sigh vainly for a price for his corn. Hay and +straw would be a drug in the market. Hunting-lodges would remain +unlet, growing mouldy with time and damp. Butchers, bakers, +poulterers, butter-makers would be alike involved in one common ruin; +for the houses of the gentry would be empty, and desolation would +overspread the land! No buyers then for high-priced hunters and +promising colts, which now command so high a figure; no merging of +grades and mingling of classes in that happy contact which the +hunting-field so well engenders; none of that delicious feeling of +equality which the peer and the peasant seem alike to acknowledge +whilst participating side by side in the dangers and excitement of the +chase. All would be stillness, solitude, and gloom! + +Suffer me, then, to implore my countrymen and countrywomen to do all +in their power to promote the pleasures of hunting. It must immensely +benefit even those who do not actually participate in the sport, +inasmuch as it brings rich and poor into happy contact, and causes a +vast amount of money to be circulated, which enriches the pockets of +the poorer classes, and brings grist to many a mill which would +otherwise stand desolate, with disused and motionless wheel. To us who +_do_ participate in it, there is no need for speech. Which of us does +not know the pleasures of preparing for the glorious sport? the early +rousing up from slothful slumber, the anxious outward glance at the +weather, that fitful tyrant which makes or mars our enjoyment; the +donning of hunting garments, the packing of sandwich boxes, the +filling of flasks with whisky, or better, _far_ better, with strong +cold tea; the cheery drive to the meet, the many happy faces assembled +there, the greetings amongst friends, the praisings of the pack, the +trot to the covert, the dashing of the hounds into the gorse, the +sweet music which proclaims that Reynard is at home, the joyous sound +of the "Gone away!" the hurry-scurry to be first and foremost in their +wake, the anathemas hurled against those who are over-riding them, the +tumbling at the fences, the picking up again, the drowning in the +rivers, the fishing out by the wreckers, the maddening excitement of +traversing an intricate country, the wild desire to be in at the +death, the saving of our horses over holding lands, the riding of them +up to their bridles where the going is good, the last mighty effort, +the final fence cleared, and the canter up to where the huntsman is +holding aloft the brush and mask, and the hounds are breaking up their +fox! Who that has ever experienced these joys will be likely to forget +them, or will fail to promote, by every means in his power, so +health-giving and enlivening a sport? + +We have one very serious drawback to our hunting in Ireland, and, +indeed, in many other places also--namely, wire fencing. I saw +something of a tragic incident occur last season whilst hunting with +the Meath hounds. We came up to an impassable fence, and all made for +the gate, which was open; but the owner of the land rushed out from +his dwelling, shut it in our faces, and insolently refused to allow us +to pass. Threats and entreaties were alike vain. He called us every +name in the calendar, and consigned us all to a very ugly place, in +language which was certainly not parliamentary. Many of the field +turned off and sought another way, but two or three of the bold ones +charged the gate, and got over, clearing man and all! I and one other +took the fence--a mad proceeding, which gave us both an ugly fall; but +we scrambled up somehow, and succeeded in picking up the hounds. Late +in the evening, whilst hunting another fox, he led us over the same +identical ground, and a hard-riding gentleman, first at this mighty +obstacle, charged it boldly, but, alas, with what a result! The farmer +had, during our absence, run a stiff wire through the fence, which, +catching the horse in the breast, turned him completely over, breaking +the rider's arm, and otherwise severely injuring him. Some members of +the hunt, seeing what had occurred, besieged the offender's dwelling, +and he had an extremely uncomfortable ten minutes. I have heard +persons aver that the man was badly treated, and that he had a perfect +right to wire his fences if he so willed. Undoubtedly he had, if it +were done openly and in such a way that the wiring could be discerned, +but not, by petty treachery, to imperil the safety, if not the lives, +of a large number of persons. + +My advice to farmers would be this; wire the fences if necessary; but, +at the commencement of the hunting season, cut away, say twenty yards +of the wiring at the poorest point of the field, and mark the spot +with a pole and flag. Every rider would assuredly make for it as being +the only jumpable place, and at the close of the season a few boys +with five-grained forks would speedily set all to rights; nor can +there be any doubt that the best crop in the field would be on that +particular spot. Allowing even for a moment, for argument's sake, that +expense, trouble, or loss might be thus occasioned, there is not a +master of hounds in all Ireland--neither, I fancy, in any other +country--who would not willingly and cheerfully indemnify the owner of +the land. But so long as the world lasts, so long will there be +blindness; and until the "happy hunting-grounds" are reached, horses +and horsemen will be daily anathematised by the self-willed +cultivators of our native soil. + + + + +PART V. + +HUNTING IN AMERICA. + + +There is a great land across the Atlantic where they do great things, +and utter great sayings, and patent great inventions, and erect great +buildings--and where, in short, the inhabitants beat us (as they +themselves say) "all to fits!" + +A mighty nation they are, too--God prosper them as they deserve; but +there is one thing at least in which we can say, without boasting, we +are able to beat them, and that is, in our hunting. A fox-hunt in +America is a very tame and inglorious proceeding, and one which +decidedly would not come under our definition of "sport." + +American hunting differs in the first instance from ours, inasmuch as +it is always a summer pastime. The extreme severity of the winters +necessitates this, as during the cold season neither men nor horses +can work. + +The disadvantages of summer hunting are of course numerous. The heat +is excessive, and the crops are in the ground. Most of the American +farmers and graziers own their land, and the greater number of them +will not suffer hoofs to cross it. This is partly from a spirit of +surly independence--partly from an ignorant determination to hold with +stolid obstinacy to that most erroneous belief, that the galloping of +horses is injurious to grass-lands. But, anyhow, the objection exists; +and as it is vain to attempt to overrule it, a compromise is effected +between hunting under difficulties and not hunting at all. + +The system pursued is this. A man--usually a stout-limbed peasant--is +sent out, who drags an aniseeded bag across country, and over the +lands and fences of such as will permit it, or who are themselves in +the habit of joining in the chase. Then, when the field has assembled, +the hounds are laid on, and work their way after the drag, a "bag-man" +being provided to blood them at the finish. Sometimes the pack comes +too close upon the dragger, and then a nasty scene ensues, which is +pleasanter not described. + +Fortunately for men, horses, and hounds, hunting is but little +indulged in throughout America. I mean, of course, fox-hunting, for I +cannot attempt to cry down the many splendid and manly hunts of other +descriptions in which the Americans carry off the palm. + +In many parts of the country--more especially in the States--the +people so affect trotting-horses, that the matter has become a craze. +It is a fact, which has more than once been proved, that four legs +capable of carrying any sort of frame a mile in less than +two-and-a-quarter minutes, will easily fetch a thousand pounds; and if +the animal is in condition to repeat the performance several times in +one day, his price will range correspondingly higher. + +The usual arrangement--very seldom varied--is that the "trots" shall +be mile heats; and as the horses are, generally speaking, pretty well +done up at the finish, owing to pace, excitement, and temperature, +twenty minutes are allowed between each heat for "cooling off" +purposes. + +When a horse is distanced in one of these trials, he is at once +withdrawn; and the judges have the privilege, which they use, of +distancing a horse for breaking--or, as we would say, commencing to +run--which is, as may be supposed, a thing most difficult to prevent. + +Sometimes a racehorse is hitched double with a trotter. This is +called, in American parlance, a running-mate. The runner takes all the +weight and draft of the "sulky," and the trotter merely trots +alongside of him. It requires a very level-headed horse to keep evenly +to his trot, with a runner tearing away at sweeping pace beside him, +and the trial is regarded as simply one of skill, and is rarely +successful. A trotter who can coolly and evenly maintain his trot when +hitched with a racer, can command for his owner any amount of money, +even though he be in all other respects comparatively worthless. + +Races, of which many are held at Rhode Island, are as distinct as +possible from trots. The courses are made circular; as much so, at +least, as the lie of the land will permit, and are beautifully +constructed, the grading being especially attended to. They are +generally enclosed by a very high boarded fence, an admission fee +being charged at the opening. This arrangement is found to answer +admirably, as the amount demanded--although not an extravagant one--is +sufficient to exclude a goodly number of racing roughs, whose interest +in the sport is not more keen than their desire to investigate the +contents of their neighbours' pockets. + +Trotting-tracks are constructed upon the same principles as +race-courses, but the track is harder. Sometimes, however, although +not frequently, races and trots are held over the same course, and +when this is done the track is carefully softened for the races, by a +harrowing process, which is most carefully carried out. + +Most of the hacks and hunters in use in America--a very large portion, +at least, of the saddle-horses--are racers which have been rejected +from the racing-stables. This is particularly the case at East +Greenwich, and throughout the States. Some of these horses are +"weeds," but a few of them are well worthy of the high prices given +for them, being really splendid animals, in spite of the crabbing +which they receive at the judge's hands before they are thrown out of +the contest, and passed over to the proprietorship of dealers in +hacks. + +Very fine horses of the hunter class are bred in Kentucky--the +Yorkshire of America--and are sold at comparatively low rates. I saw a +magnificent chestnut, seventeen two in height, with grand action, and +so superbly ribbed-up and built as to be capable of carrying twenty +stone, which had been sold there to an enterprising Irish speculator +for three hundred and twenty dollars, a good deal less than eighty +pounds of our money. The animal afterwards fetched upwards of six +hundred guineas at Tattersall's, to carry a top-weight millionaire +with the Whaddon Chase hounds. This was, however, an exceptional case, +for it is not usually an easy thing, nor even possible, to make money +by trading in Kentucky hunters. A few speculative European dealers +have from time to time tried it, but their efforts have not been +crowned with the anticipated reward, the reason being, that travelling +expenses swallow up profits. Seven days and nights of constant +journeying must be gone through before the animals are brought to the +Atlantic sea-board; and then there is the crossing to encounter, with +its cost and perils. Altogether, it is scarcely a profitable venture, +and some who have embarked in it will, I know, be quite ready to +endorse my opinions upon the subject. + +Stag-hunting used to be very prevalent in distant parts of America. +Strangers traversing tracts of country north of the Ohio will be told +this by guides and fellow-travellers, and will marvel that in such a +district it could ever have been a popular sport. Anything more +perilous it would be impossible to conceive, the "going" being +principally up and down precipitous inclines, dotted at frequent +intervals with huge boulders, half buried in the reedy grass, over +which the horses blunder and stumble at almost every stride,--not +unfrequently hurling their riders headlong down some dangerous ravine. + +Those who have enjoyed the very doubtful pleasure of hunting at the +Cape, know something of the perils of the Mimosa tree, which grows +there in such deadly luxuriance. A similar danger-trap exists in the +stag-hunting districts of America, the long sharp thorns proving +terribly destructive to the flesh of man and beast. + +It is almost impossible to escape these trees. They grow singly and in +groups, with long, light, swaying branches, treacherously +outstretched; and if an excited steed, or an unwary rider comes too +near to one of them, no close-set company of razors could do more +cruel injury, nor make greater havoc of saddlery and clothing. + +When we come to regard the question of district hunting in a +comparative light, few will hesitate to admit that in spite of all the +drawbacks consequent upon wire-fencing, fox-trapping, and +hound-poisoning, there are worse countries to hunt in than dear old +England; and we who know the sweet delights of a good gallop over rich +grass-lands, dotted picturesquely with the harmless beech or elm, and +with nothing more dangerous to negotiate than fair broad fences and +five-barred gates, need never sigh for the yawning ravines of foreign +hunting-grounds, with their treacherous boulders and dangerous +Mimosas. + + + + +CORRESPONDENCE. + +LADIES ON HORSEBACK. + +To the Editor of _The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News_. + + +SIR,--I have read with keen interest the article on "Ladies on +Horseback" in your last number. I find several things in it which +differ from my preconceived ideas, but it is impossible not to +perceive that the writer, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, speaks from an +experience which makes her an undoubted authority. With reference to +safety-stirrups, for instance. I have always seen that the ladies of +my family were provided with them, and your contributor's objection +seems not to be based upon the mechanism of the stirrup when in proper +order, but on the circumstance that it is "almost invariably stiff," +through neglect. I must admit that I have seen a lady hung up in a +safety-stirrup; but surely it is possible to see that the stirrup will +work before setting out for a ride or a day's hunting, and if the iron +is large enough, so that "the padding over the instep" will not "cause +the foot to become firmly embedded," are we to understand that the +safety-stirrup is objectionable? Mrs. Power O'Donoghue has a poor +opinion of "John the coachman, and Jem the groom," but I am lucky in +having trustworthy people in my stable. What stirrup would your +contributor have instead of the one with which so large a proportion +of ladies ride? Another thing that I should like to know more about is +the saddle recommended in the article. "Accustom yourself from the +beginning to the use of a properly constructed saddle, made as +straight as a board, no dip whatever," this writer says. Now I have +never, so far as my recollection goes, even seen such a saddle, and +may I ask what are the advantages of a thoroughly straight saddle, and +what are the disadvantages of the inevitable slope or dip? I ask +purely for information, for I am perfectly ready to submit my judgment +and hitherto received notions to the dictum of a lady who is clearly +so competent to treat the matter as your contributor. Would the lady +have straight saddles also for men? is a question which incidentally +occurs to me. I am far from supposing that a thing must be right +because it is in general use, but there seem good reasons for the +adoption of the ordinary shaped saddle, and I should be very glad if +your contributor would let us know her reasons for departing from +custom. + +Before concluding, let me thank you for a series of articles which +cannot fail to be of value to those for whom they are intended. + +I am, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +H. DE V. R. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I feel bound to answer the letter of "H. de V. R." which +appeared in your journal of last week's issue. With regard to the +"safety-stirrup," there could not be much objection to it if it were +made sufficiently large to prevent the padding over the instep from +causing the foot to become embedded; and if, likewise, some careful +and competent person were ready and willing to give the machinery of +it a thorough examination immediately before entrusting the safety of +a lady to such an uncertain support. But how seldom is this the case? +Servants--even the most careful--are, to say the least of it, apt to +overlook these important details; and when the steed is led to the +door the cavalier who is to escort the lady is too much occupied in +admiring his fair charge, talking to her, arranging with her where +they shall ride, fastening her gloves, or performing a like office for +himself, to worry his head about such an apparently insignificant +thing as her stirrup. Provided he ascertains that it is the required +length, he troubles himself no further about it, and probably in nine +cases out of ten the dandy youth would not even comprehend the meaning +of the term "safety" as applied to the article in question. No doubt +it often happens that an elderly father, a matter-of-fact husband, a +phlegmatic uncle, or a careful brother may be upon the spot, with wits +and hands ready to avert danger; but how frequently, also, is it the +fashionable stripling who escorts the lady--a cousin, or a lover, +perhaps--ignorant of all connected with riding, except the pleasure of +it; or the booted and belted servant, who touches his hat, and thinks +he has done his duty because the saddle is clean and the horse sleek +and shiny; or the riding-master, who has come out in a hurry, anxious +and flurried at the last moment to see that everything _looks_ right, +and who has had no time to see after such minor accessories as +stirrups, or has left the matter (if he thought of it at all) in the +hands of the groom, who has left it alone altogether. This being the +case, I maintain that a stirrup encumbered with machinery is unsuited +to a lady, because, although she may have an escort who will look +after it, there is the possibility that she may not have such good +fortune. Moreover, a stirrup made sufficiently large to bear padding +over the instep, and yet enable the foot to slip easily in and out, +must of necessity be a considerable weight, and this alone would be an +objection, especially to a hunting lady, who calculates to a nicety +every ounce which her steed has to carry. I have said that a small +racing, or jockey-stirrup, is the _nicest_ in which a lady can ride, +and I am bound to adhere to my judgment. + +So much for the first portion of "H. de V. R.'s" letter. Now we come +to the second. + +My "poor opinion of John, the coachman, and Jem, the groom," is based, +not upon their untrustworthiness, but upon their want of capacity as +teachers of the equine art. I have never yet, in all my experience, +met with any servant who was capable of instructing a lady how to +ride; yet I have been fairly astonished to find the contrary idea +quite general amongst parents in the country, who fondly hope that +their daughters may one day adorn a saddle and grace a hunting-field. +"I shall have Mary and Jenny taught immediately now," said a lady to +me one day in the course of last summer,--"They shall have a pony +a-piece, and John (the groom) shall teach them." Of course, I said +nothing, my principle of noninterference standing me in good stead; +but when an hour or so later, I beheld the said John disporting +himself, and showing off his equestrian skill upon one of the +carriage-horses, I really felt pity for the two charming little girls +who were so soon to be handed over to his doubtful tuition. + +And now for the third portion of your correspondent's letter: namely, +the question of the straight saddle. "H. de V. R." says he has never +seen any such; and I consider this extremely probable, for he will +recollect my saying that a saddle such as I described should be made +to order, as it is certainly not in general use--but I am not +altogether singular in my advocacy of it. Peat and Co., Piccadilly, or +Box and Co., Abbey Street, Dublin, will manufacture saddles of this +description in excellent style, but only to order, for they have not +yet found sufficient favour--or, to express it better, are not +sufficiently known--to have become popular, and manufacturers +therefore will not keep them in stock. The advantages of a straight +saddle are manifold. Firstly, it is the only means by which a lady can +learn the necessary art of riding from balance. This can be acquired +by sitting _on_ a saddle, but never by sitting _in_ one. Secondly, she +can, when riding upon a straight saddle, change and shift her +position, which as a necessary consequence changes her weight upon the +horse's back, and saves him from being galled. A noble lady wrote to +me some time since, "I know not how it is; all my horses are laid up +with sore backs; and yet my saddle is well padded." I guessed the +secret at once; she was riding in a sort of well, or chair, from which +her heavy weight could never for an instant shift, and hence the +trouble of which she complained. I sent her a sketch of my saddle, +with the address of the man who had made it, and she has since been a +staunch upholder of my theory. Thirdly, the best figure in the world +would look to disadvantage if seated in a saddle with a dip or slope; +whereas a well-made woman, attired in a habit properly fitted about +the waist and hips, never looks to such complete advantage as when +sitting gracefully and at ease upon a well constructed straight-made +saddle. Fourthly, if in taking an up-jump the horse misses his footing +and struggles in an unsuccessful effort to recover himself, the lady +may--if riding upon a straight saddle--succeed in slipping from it to +a situation of comparative safety; but, if she has a high projection +of iron and stiff leather just behind her, it bars her movement, and +as a consequence the horse falls back _upon_ her, and catching her +between his weight and the edge of the ditch or furrow, as the case +may be, injures her spine, sometimes fatally, and frequently in a +serious manner. + +The question, "Do I also advocate straight saddles for men's use?" is +answered by my reminding "H. de V. R." that there is no analogy +between a gentleman's position upon horseback and that of a lady. What +would be a necessity, or at least a _luxury_, for the one would be +eminently unsuited for the other. A man's superior activity and +greater liberty of motion place him ever at an advantage. And whilst +upon this subject I would strongly urge upon all humane riders, +especially the male portion of them, to have their saddles made high +_in front_, so as not to press upon the horse's withers, causing him +much needless suffering. A space capable of accommodating at least two +fingers should be between withers and saddle, and were this attended +to we should see fewer skin abrasions and unsightly lumps upon poor +submissive animals, and less of that stuffing of handkerchiefs between +cruel leather and bleeding flesh which so frequently pains the +sorrowing eyes of sensitive and pitying persons. + +I think I have now dealt fully with "H. de V. R.'s" letter, and must +thank the writer of it for his complimentary observations, and his +kindly appreciation of my labours in a cause which I certainly have +very much at heart. + +Apologising for trespassing thus far upon your valuable space. + +I am, Sir, + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONAGHUE. + +October 12, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Many readers of _The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News_ +hope that Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, in her very interesting letters upon +"Ladies on Horseback," will touch fully on the most important thing, +viz. "the ladies' horse." One sees ladies riding all sorts; some too +big, some too small, some good shoulders and no backs, others just the +reverse; not one out of twenty what it ought to be. Also, up to what +weight should it be? What is the average weight of ladies, and the +difference in ordinary dress to the habit? It is often said that, +owing to the peculiar seat, the weight being all on one side, a lady +tires a horse much more than a man; certainly you often see ladies' +horses going short with the near hind leg, possibly from this cause. +Could not the weight of side-saddles be reduced? Those used by the +Empress of Austria could not have weighed 8 lb., and she was herself a +light woman. Anything on this subject will interest many readers. + +I am, &c. + +EQUES. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--There is one point to which I should like to call the attention +of the writer of the able and interesting articles on "Ladies on +Horseback," which she appears to have altogether overlooked in her +enumeration of the articles of a lady's riding attire. It is the use +of a spur by lady equestrians. The recently invented lady's spur +consists of one sharp point so constructed as not to injure the habit. +In hunting, a spur is indispensable, and in park-riding is very +desirable for a lady, who has so much less control over her horse than +a man. Young girls just beginning to ride will find the use of a spur +most beneficial in managing their steeds. Hired horses are never +altogether to be trusted, and in the case of their showing temper or +laziness, two or three pricks with a lady's spur will subdue them far +more quickly than the application of a whip. I have more than once +ridden a horse that was a confirmed jibber, and have always found a +few determined thrusts with my spur, combined with an efficiently +applied whip, never failed to bring him down. I confidently recommend +all ladies, and especially young girls just beginning the art of +equitation, to procure a lady's spur, and never to mount a horse +without it. + +I am, &c. + +MABEL FLORENCE RAYNE. + +The Firs, Cheltenham, + +Oct. 18th, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I suppose it would be impossible to advance any opinions to +which there would not be objections raised, but I write, not in a +cavilling spirit, but as one really anxious for information, to know +whether Mrs. Power O'Donoghue would seriously advocate striking a +horse between the ears when it rears. Surely such a thing would be +exceedingly dangerous for any lady to attempt, and, as your +correspondent is writing solely for ladies, I conclude she refers to +them in the present instance. I feel very strongly upon this point, +because an uncle of mine, some years ago, when out riding tried this +experiment at the advice of a friend. The horse (not a vicious one) +suddenly reared; my uncle loosened the reins and urged it forward, but +finding this ineffectual, struck it violently between the ears with +his hunting-whip. The animal, maddened, I presume, by the pain, reared +straight on end and fell backward; its rider being a very agile man, +slipped off sideways, and thus escaped nearly certain death; but had +the rider been a lady instead of a gentleman the consequences must +have been fatal; and with so light a switch as a lady usually carries, +a blow between the ears could only serve to irritate without producing +any good effect. I would ask one more question: Why does your +correspondent so strongly object to the use of the "old-fashioned +slipper" stirrup? I am rather curious on this point, because I have +ever since the tender age of four, when my riding experiences began, +used the shoe-stirrup, and I have always thought it so safe, because +my foot slips out in a second. I am aware that it is extremely +unfashionable, as in Rotton Row you hardly see a lady using it; but I +keep to it still, not so much with the idea of its safety, but for +comfort, especially in trotting. I find it extremely difficult to keep +an iron stirrup from slipping back into the instep, and, being used to +rise pressing on the toes, I think that rising from the instep is more +difficult and doubles the exertion of trotting. In conclusion, I must +express a hope that Mrs. Power O'Donoghue will not give me credit for +writing in a spirit of unfriendly criticism; but as I am exceedingly +fond of riding, I feel an interest in working out this subject to its +fullest extent. I am sure all lady riders must feel grateful to Mrs. +Power O'Donoghue for the valuable and useful instructions contained in +her interesting letters, and one has only to pay a visit to the Row +between 12 and 2 in the season, to see how much they are needed by the +generality of the "ladies on horseback." + +I am, &c. + +EQUESTRINA. + +October 13th, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Though not an "aggrieved stirrup-maker," it may not be out of +place if I, as a saddler of many years' experience and a great lover +of horses, offer a few comments on the "hints and instructions" set +forth in your paper for the benefit of ladies on horseback, written by +one of the sex who is evidently an authority on the subject she treats +so ably. There is no doubt these articles will be read with great +interest by very many ladies who desire to acquit themselves well on +horseback, and also by their gentlemen friends who are anxious to +conduce to the safety and comfort of their fair companions in that +delightful exercise, but cannot have the same knowledge to impart the +theoretical instructions now given by your lady writer, whose +criticisms will therefore be valuable to both. In following her +remarks, it occurs to me that I may perhaps venture on a little +comment without being considered too intrusive. The objection taken to +children riding is no doubt formed on good grounds, but I think that +with care young ladies might be permitted at a much earlier age than +sixteen to acquire some practice in the saddle; it is true that young +girls are liable to curvature of the spine, when allowed to ride day +after day on the same side of their pony, but I have understood that +this danger is obviated by changing their position to the other side +on alternate days, and I should be glad to learn what are the +objections to this. It seems to me rather desirable that ladies should +have equal facility in riding on either side, but there may be reasons +against it of which I am ignorant. This lady says that the nicest +bridle for a beginner is a plain ring-snaffle, but states further that +few horses will go in it; the latter remark, if correct, (which I +should venture to doubt), raises a fatal objection to the +ring-snaffle, as I fear that not one young lady in twenty, under +amateur teaching, would be put upon a perfectly trained nag, desirable +as this must be; and thus an ordinary stout mouth plain snaffle, or +plain bar with single rein, would surely be preferable. I fancy it +would be found of much advantage if riding was taught in the first +instance without the use of reins at all, the horse simply being led +by an attendant; the learner thus gets a proper balance, without +depending on the bridle for support, as many are found to do. For a +young girl I should like to know what is the objection to a pad, or +pilch as they are called, made for use on either side. These, having +no tree, are nearly level, but there is perhaps a chance of its +turning round if the rider does not sit straight; for a grown girl, +the properly made saddle is better every way. In common with your +correspondent "H. de V. R.," I fail quite to understand how a +side-saddle is to be made "as straight as a board." A saddle is made +on a foundation, or tree, of wood and iron, which should be shaped for +the back intended to bear it, and must be raised slightly in front for +the wither and behind to clear the backbone; but it is right that the +seat should be as level as possible. This is probably the lady's +meaning. It is very essential that the saddle should fit the horse +correctly and be of suitable size and shape for the rider; the former +consideration is too often overlooked and thus entails discomfort to +both. There are saddles, and saddles, as ladies often find to their +cost. A very large proportion in use here, and more abroad, are put +together in Birmingham and Walsall on the slop system; they will +please the eyes of an inexperienced purchaser, but are formed with +little regard to the requirements of the poor animals who suffer under +them, or of their riders' comfort, and it is probable that these are +the saddles against which ladies are very properly warned. It is +really indispensable for a lady's comfort in riding that she should +have a good saddle, made by a competent and conscientious saddler, +whose business it is to see that it is suitable. Considering the +number of years that a good saddle with care will last, it is +inconceivable that the comparatively small additional price should be +grudged for a perfect and satisfactory article by a maker of repute, +instead of the machine-made slop rubbish, by which many a good animal +is injured and the temper of his rider seriously chafed. Enough about +saddles for the present, so I will go to the next point under +discussion--the stirrup. Your lady rider must have been very +unfortunate in her use of the safety-stirrup, which, in my opinion, +does in practice usually justify its name. I have known very many +instances in which ladies have owed immunity from serious accident to +its use. As "H. de V. R." justly says, the mechanism of the stirrup +(which is very simple) should not be allowed to get out of order by +neglect; surely the lady or her friends, particularly if so +"knowledgeable" as the writer of the article, might [They "_might_." +That they so often do not, and that danger so frequently results from +the neglect, is the grievance and complaint of our contributor.--ED. +_I.S. & D.N._] take the trouble personally to see that her stirrup is +not out of order from rust, and in no other way but one can it be so; +the other way is that if the groom ignorantly or carelessly adjusts +the stirrup for use hind part before, the inner stirrup cannot be +released, and the rider's foot, in case of a fall, will be helplessly +fixed in the stirrup. This eventuality, however, does not detract from +the real value of the safety-stirrup, for neglect and ignorance will +entail direful consequences in all ways. Next to the safety-stirrup, I +quite believe that a plain steel stirrup of suitable size, with side +pieces at the bottom to take sharp pressure off the foot, is the most +suitable for ladies' use, and I always condemn the small padded +stirrup, which is, indeed, a fruitful source of danger to lady riders. + +With the rest of Mrs. O'Donoghue's dissertation I cordially agree, and +believe it would be beneficial if both men and ladies practised riding +without the aid of the stirrup; and the same rule applies to and is +generally practised by men, as I saw a few days ago on a German +barrack-ground, where an awkward squad was being trained in that +manner. The art of putting a lady up is one that should be practised +more than it is by horsemen; my first attempt resulted in the lady +slipping down again, and on my hat, which suffered even more than my +self-esteem. On one occasion in the Crimea, years ago, I was riding +with a lady and her husband, the former dismounted at Mrs. Seacole's +for refreshment, and on being put up again by her husband with more +vigour than skill, the poor lady was sent over her horse's back to the +ground on the other side, and being somewhat portly, was shaken +severely. I fear many ladies have suffered in the same way from the +awkwardness of their attendants, but I have seen ladies so agile as to +mount from the ground without assistance--rather a difficult feat, and +requiring much practice. Having trespassed so much on your space I +must not proceed further now, but shall be happy to air my notions +again, if agreeable to your readers and riders. + +Yours, &c. + +JERMYN. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--My papers entitled "Ladies on Horseback" have called forth many +letters. Some of these you have printed, some have been forwarded to +me from your office, and many have been received at my own house. I +shall regard it as a favour if you will permit me to reply to a few of +them through the medium of your paper, as in answering one I shall +answer many who have written upon the same subject. + +J. V.--When the horse took head with me and leaped into the farm-yard +(as depicted by Mr. Sturgess) I had no way of getting out except by +the passage and kitchen of the farm-house, as the gates of the yard +were locked, and the owner of the place--who was away at the +neighbouring town--had the key in his pocket. + +EQUES.--The reason why ladies ride "all sorts of horses" is that +comparatively few keep horses of their own, and those who are without +them and are fond of riding, jump eagerly at the offer of a friend's +mount, whether it be suitable or otherwise. A nice horse for a lady +may be thus described: Height about 15-3; Colour dark bay or brown, +well-set sloping shoulders, good back, arched loins, firm and graceful +neck, small head and ears, shapely clean-cut legs, and good firm feet. +A horse of this description will be well up to 13 or 14 st. For a +heavy weight an animal should be selected with a short wide back, +powerful quarters, big healthy hocks, and stoutly-built fore-legs. The +_average_ weight of ladies is about 9st. Summer costume and riding +gear would weigh about equally, but velvet or sealskin would outweigh +a habit. A lady seated upon a properly-made saddle, if she has been +well taught, will never have her weight "all on one side." The reason +why horses go short with the near hind leg is because ladies ride from +the stirrup, leaning their full weight upon it, and galling the +animal's back. The stirrup is meant to assist, not to _support_, the +rider. Old-fashioned side-saddles are all too heavy; but a +well-constructed modern saddle can scarcely be improved upon. It is a +mistake to ride in too light a saddle, as it brings the weight of the +body too near the horse's back. That used by the Empress of Austria +weighed 12 lbs., which is about a correct standard. + +LADYBIRD.--Nobody who has any regard for life and limb now rides +through Dublin. All wise persons gave it up when pavement and +tram-lines made the city what it is. Consequently the park is +deserted, and only a solitary horseman is seen in Stephen's Green. + +INQUIRER.--The shoe should be made to _fit the foot_. It is most +cruel, and is a fruitful source of lameness, to pare the foot away to +make it fit a ready-made shoe. If you cannot trust your farrier, +change him. This advice also applies to JAMES R., but I do not +undertake to answer questions respecting the treatment or management +of the horse. + +MABEL FLORENCE RAYNE.--I had not forgotten nor overlooked the +important uses of the spur. You will find the subject treated in my +papers upon hunting and hunting-costume. I do not, however, _at all_ +approve of its use for beginners, as such are certain, through +nervousness, to press the left heel close to the horse's side, and, if +furnished with a spur, would cause him much needless pain and +irritation, besides endangering their own safety. + +ROBERT KEATING.--Best thanks for letter and papers. + +G. ELLIOT.--For riding with a bit and bridoon, place a rein between +each finger of your left hand, and hold them securely with your thumb, +reserving your right hand for your whip; or take your reins in both +hands, and ride your horse upon the curb, or snaffle, according to his +temperament. For riding with a single rein, place the near leather +under your little finger and the off one between the first and second +fingers, which is as good a way as any; but I have already said that +there is no fixed rule for holding reins, and a good rider will +constantly change them about, and move the bridle in her horse's +mouth, which prevents him hanging upon his bit. + +JANE CARR.--I scarcely know whether to regard your letter as a +compliment or the reverse. My labours have been _totally_ unassisted; +nor has my experience of this world shown me that its occupants are +sufficiently philanthropic to labour that another may reap the merit +and the reward. + +L. K.--The subject is not within my province. Mayhew's _Horse +Management_, published by Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, London, is +the best I can recommend. + +HUNTSMAN.--It is for ladies I am writing. + +ELEANOR.--Thanks; but if I adopted one half of the suggestions +offered, a strange result would ensue. Happily my papers went to press +without _anybody_ (save the Editor) having had a glance at them. He +generously accepted them upon their merits; but had I shown them to +others I should either have altered something in every second line or +have given offence to numerous well-meaning persons. When I was a +child I committed to memory the inimitable fable of "The Miller, his +Son, and his Ass," and have taken the moral of it as a guide through +life. + +GOODALL.--A short hunting-crop without a lash would do. + +EQUESTRINA.--If a horse rears with me in a vicious manner I hit him +between the ears, but I do not by any means expect my readers to +coincide in all my views, and those who know a better plan can, of +course, adopt it. If an animal rears slightly I lean forward against +his neck, touch him with my heel, and speak to him. If he persists, +and I see any danger of his falling back, I hit him between the ears +with the butt-end of my whip, not sufficiently heavily to "madden +him," nor even to cause him the least pain, but to occasion him to +duck his head, which he invariably does; and if at that instant I hit +him sharply with my heel, he drops at once and lashes out behind. +Allowing for a moment that such a mode of action may be open to +objection, is it not better (seeing that it is frequently efficacious) +than sitting quietly and permitting one's-self to be fallen back upon, +without making any effort to avert the catastrophe? My objection to +the slipper-stirrup is founded on the knowledge that it encourages +ladies to lean their weight upon it. "It feels so comfortable," I +heard a lady say, "so like a resting-board beneath my foot, that I +_cannot help_ riding from it." An iron stirrup with the foot well home +is the proper thing to ride in; and remember it is from the instep and +_not_ from the toes that you should rise. The iron should meet the +waist of the boot-sole, and a long flat heel (I do not mean one of +those atrocities known as a _high_ one) should be worn on the boot. + +JERMYN.--Your letter almost answers itself. The pad or pilch _is_ apt +to turn round, for it is only one little girl in twenty who sits +straight. You judge my meaning rightly about the straight saddle, but +I opine that it is the stuffing which should be arranged to guard the +backbone from pressure, and that it is in no way necessary to raise +the _seat_ at the back. I must again say, for the third time, that a +plain ring-snaffle is the _nicest_ for a lady's use, and also maintain +my opinion that few horses will go in it, according to _my_ ideas of +"going." A horse who goes well in a ring-snaffle must have a perfect +temper and a perfect mouth, a combination as rare in the equine as in +the human tribe. For ordinary hunters and roadsters I do not recommend +it, simply because they will not go in such a bridle; but I shall ever +hold to my opinion that it is the nicest and the least puzzling for a +beginner. + +KATIE.--Not worth denying. It is one of those worthless untruths which +I have long since learned to treat with contempt. + +LIVERPUDLIAN.--Your suggestion is so good that I shall certainly adopt +it. Nothing could be better adapted for riding in than a warm jersey, +buttoned in front. Being elastic it would allow full play for the arms +and shoulders, and would also display a good figure to advantage. If +you, or some other, would only get up a sufficient amount of courage +to turn a deaf ear to the hateful and oft-recurring "What will be +said?" we might have many useful and elegant innovations of which at +present we know nothing. + +YOUNG WIFE.--There can be no impropriety in what you say. "Honi soit +qui mal y pense?" So long as you have a good conscience and your +husband's approval you need care little for what the world says. + +X. Y. Z., DASHAWAY, and COUNTRYMAN.--I cannot reply to your letters. + +Thanking you, Sir, for your kindness in granting me so much of your +valuable space, + +I am, &c. + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + +October 25. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--The "recently-invented lady's spur," mentioned in your last +issue by "Mabel Florence Kayne," was patented towards the close of the +last century, and illustrations of it, and of other spurs on the same +principle, can be seen at the Patent Office. I quite concur in the +recommendation that a lady should always wear a spur, and it will be +seen from the last article by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue that a spur forms +part of her hunting equipment; but I strongly advise ladies to wear a +spur with a rowel having only five points, which should be long and +sharp. The spur with one point and a spring sheath is commonly sold by +saddlers for ladies' use, but is liable to break or get out of order, +and is always discarded in favour of the one with a five-pointed rowel +by ladies who have tried the latter. Mrs. Power O'Donoghue is doing +good service to ladies by protesting against the stirrups facetiously +so-called "safety." I always advise a lady to use a perfectly plain +steel stirrup, but a tolerably heavy one. Why cannot the stirrup be +attached to a lady's saddle in the same manner as to a gentleman's? +Then, in case of accident, the stirrup and leather would come away +together. An excellent bit for a lady's horse is a curb-bit, suspended +in the horse's mouth by two large rings, to which the snaffle-reins +are also attached. This bit is very light or very severe, at the +rider's wish. + +I am, &c. + +SOUTHERN CROSS. + +October 26, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Continuing my remarks on this subject, I am bound to say that +your contributor gives sufficient answer to the question of the +safety-stirrup in explaining that the objection is removed providing +the inner stirrup is large enough for the foot to be easily +extricated; the stirrup being made in three different sizes, this is a +matter easily adjusted. The shoe-stirrup referred to by "Equestrina" +was in use by ladies for many years, and in point of safety I think no +objection can be raised to it; the same shape of stirrup is much +affected by men in South America. + +The instructions in Part Second of Mrs. Power O'Donoghue's writings +are very admirable, except that I do not see the utility of a lady's +striking a rearing horse between the ears, with the few ounces of whip +usually carried. I have known men do so with a loaded whip, and +knocking a horse down to cure him of this vice, but it would be +scarcely advisable for a lady to try this. I am rather surprised to +see it stated as a fact that both rearing and plunging maybe entirely +prevented by using the so-called anti-rearing bit martingale. It +certainly may prevent rearing on the first attempt if the horse's head +is kept down tightly by this martingale attached to the breastplate, +but as the latter is seldom worn except for hunting, it cannot be +intended to recommend it for that purpose, for it would infallibly +follow that the fixed martingale would bring both horse and rider to +grief at the very first fence they attempted to clear, and if the +horse had sufficient liberty of action to jump freely, the martingale +would be no obstruction to his rearing. I know from my own experience +that a horse can be knocked down by a blow on the head. I was once +doing a little private mounted practice at sword exercise, preparatory +to a prize competition, and grasping my sword with thick gloves on, +the weapon somehow turned in my hand, caught my mare below the ear on +the bridle-hand, and knocked her completely off her legs, to our +mutual amazement, though no great harm was done. I do not see what +analogy there can be between the powerful Chifney bit and a rearing +martingale; the effect of the latter may be secured by attaching a +split martingale, with leather or spring billets, to the mouth-rings +of any bit in use, snaffle or Pelham; but I believe that a horse can, +if determined, rear all the same, and it certainly would not prevent +plunging or bucking. For a restive or jibbing horse in saddle I have +always found a short running martingale very useful; the rider should +shorten and lower the right rein well down the horse's shoulder, apply +the right leg and spur sharply, and turn the horse round like a +teetotum until he is dizzy, then give him both spurs when his head is +in the right direction. This will set him going before he knows where +he is, and is a practice I have found very efficacious, but not easily +applicable by ladies. + +On the subject of bits, my own favourite is the Hanoverian Pelham; it +will generally hold the strongest puller, and, with a light hand, I +have never met a horse that would not face it. For show or park riding +there is none better; it is, however, not suited to those who trust to +the bridle-reins for their balance in the saddle. + +"Eques" inquires "what is the average weight of ladies?" This is a +difficult query, but as ladies ride at all weights between six and +eleven stone, with a margin each way, I should suppose the average +would be about 8-1/2 stone, exclusive of saddle, &c. A lady who is an +indifferent rider would throw more weight on one side than the other, +one cause of so many sore backs from side-saddles; but a thoroughly +good horsewoman would sit with as level a balance as a man. The weight +of good modern side-saddles is much reduced, but they cannot well be +made under 14 lb., with furniture, and are usually considerably more. +If the Empress of Austria uses a saddle of 8 lb. only (as some have +averred), she must ride on a man's steeplechase-saddle, which perhaps +would not be a difficult performance for a lady who is said to be in +the habit of driving four-in-hand. + +I am much impressed by the recital of your contributor's adventures +and hair-breadth escapes on the saddle, particularly on the occasion +she refers to when invited by a friend to ride the big bay horse. If +the friend was a gentleman, I must repeat the opinion I heard +expressed by a lady when reading the article--that any man who would +wilfully expose a woman to risk her life on such a brute behaved +disgracefully. There is no object in creation to my mind more +attractive than a graceful woman controlling with ease a fine and +well-trained horse; but no one with due respect for the sex would wish +to see her taking the place of a rough rider. + +Yours, &c. + +JERMYN. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Although I care nothing for anything that may be said about +myself, I am ever loyal to my friends, and it seems to me hard that +one of the truest of them should be spoken of as having "behaved +disgracefully" by a writer who, with more impetuosity than judgment, +jumps at conclusions without waiting to hear the truth. When I was +riding homeward after the leap into the farm-yard, I met the owner of +the horse upon the road, driving out with a friend. The moment he +heard what had occurred he took me off the animal, changed my saddle +to the very quiet horse he was driving, and actually, after nearly an +hour's delay, succeeded in putting the harness upon the "big bay," +and, having done so, drove him home regardless of his own safety, or +rather of his danger, which was imminent. I do not think there are +many men at his time of life, and in his delicate state of health, who +would have done the same thing rather than chance a second runaway. He +had _no_ reason to suppose that any such thing would, in the first +instance, have happened, and I believe it was attributable to the fact +that the horse had been ridden a day or two previously by a very wild +rider, who had spoilt his mouth and manners, and who subsequently +apologised to me for having been the cause of what occurred. I might +have mentioned all this before, and certainly should have done so had +I thought that such necessity should have arisen. I would remind +"Jermyn" that my observations respecting the martingale were confined +to my papers on _road-riding_, not on hunting, and would also thank +him, with my best obeisance, for calling me a rough-rider. + +I am, Sir, + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + +October 31, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I must, in justice to myself, ask you to be so kind as to grant +me space in your influential journal to reply to the very serious +charge "Jermyn" brought against me in your issue of the 30th of the +past month. I am the friend who asked Mrs. Power O'Donoghue to ride +"the big bay," and yet I believe that nobody in all the world has a +higher esteem for that lady, nor a truer regard for her safety than I +have. Indeed there are few men in Ireland (if one) worth being called +the name, who would not willingly lay down their own lives rather than +imperil the life of one so universally beloved. The horse up to the +day of the runaway had been perfectly quiet and most easily managed. +He carried me two seasons to hounds, never making a mistake nor +pulling in the least. Not being able to ride, having shortly before +met with a very serious accident, I lent "the big bay" to a +hard-riding young officer for a day's hunting. He unfortunately must +have made too free use of his long-necked spurs, and, totally unknown +to me, ruffled the horse's temper; the animal remembering the +treatment he received, and finding but a feather on his back, when +excited by the music of the hounds, overpowered his rider; but, thank +Heaven, no serious accident occurred. I was unutterably shocked and +distressed on hearing of the occurrence, and may state that on the day +in question I was driving in my dog-cart, accompanied by a gentleman +(late an officer in Her Majesty's service) who can vouch for the truth +of my statement, when Mrs. O'Donoghue came up to me and told me of her +very narrow escape. I did not hesitate an instant to say, "I will take +out the horse I am driving. You know him to be a perfect mount, and I +will put 'the big bay' in my trap." The lady did not wish me to do so, +knowing the risk I ran in putting a horse in harness that had never +been in such before. I at last succeeded in prevailing on her not to +lose the day's sport, changed the saddle with great difficulty, and +attached "the big bay" to my dog-cart; after a few plunges and an +endeavour to get away, he settled down, and has since gone grandly. My +friend, though a very bold man, would not get in with me for some +time. I hope after this explanation your correspondent will be +sufficiently generous to allow that I did all in my power to insure +the safety of a most precious life. With regard to the term +"rough-rider," as applied by "Jermyn" to Mrs. O'Donoghue, I feel +assured if he knew the lady he would not for worlds have used such an +expression. + +I am, Sir, + +Your most obedient servant, + +ONE WHO HAS RIDDEN TO HOUNDS FOR OVER SIXTY YEARS. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I should by no means recommend a young lady to wear a spur when +learning in a riding-school, but from my own experience I strongly +advise all girls beginning to ride on the road never to mount their +steeds without a sharp spur on their left boot. The second time I went +out riding, when I was fourteen, my cob, startled by some noise, +suddenly began to rear and pitch vigorously. I applied my whip sharply +across his flank, but without effect. I then gave him a series of +sharp pricks with my spur, which completely subdued him. Had I been +without a spur I should probably have been thrown and severely +injured. I should certainly prefer a spur with a rowel as "Southern +Cross" recommends, but would it not be apt to tear the habit? + +I am, &c. + +MABEL FLORENCE RAYNE. + +The Firs, Cheltenham, + +November 1, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--A correspondent in your last number advises ladies to use a +rowel spur, with five prongs, long and sharp, so, as a friend of +horses, I am inclined to write an objection to their taking this +advice. In the first place, from the nature of a lady's seat, her +armed heel would often unintentionally irritate and annoy the horse; +and in the second place many would probably use this instrument of +torture too severely, and therefore cruelly. A rowel spur, with five +long and sharp prongs--in fact, a jockey's spur--is a much more severe +instrument than is required for ordinary riding, either by man or +woman, and the advantage of the ladies' bore spur is, that it can only +be applied when intended, and then is quite sufficiently severe. I +have no objection to ladies, who are good horsewomen, wearing a spur, +and using it, too, as severely as necessary, but I have great +objections to any unnecessary pain or annoyance being given to my +friends, the horses. Another lady correspondent of yours says that a +spur is quite indispensable for hunting. If she means that it should +always be worn in case it is required, I agree; but I have ridden a +courageous high-tempered horse for years with hounds without ever +using the spur. + +I am, &c. + +FAIR PLAY. + +Glasgow, 1st November 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--As the subject of spurs and other riding equipment for ladies +seems at the present time to occupy and interest many of your fair +readers, permit me, on behalf of my sisters, who are horsewomen of +some experience, both at home and in the colonies, and who have +practically tried most known riding-costumes, to recommend, through +the medium of your columns, the following as a comfortable and +serviceable riding-dress for a lady, for long country rides, picnics, +&c.; of course not for the Park, or a lawn meet. Habit--a short, +strong hunting-skirt, short enough to walk in with comfort, with +jacket of same cloth as skirt, made loose enough to admit of a jersey +being worn under it if required; a wide leather belt for the waist, +fastening with a buckle. This belt will be found a great comfort and +support when on horseback for many hours. Hat of soft felt, or a +melon-shaped hat. Pantaloons of chamois leather, buttoning close at +the ankles. Hussar or Wellington boots, reaching to about four inches +of the knee, to be worn over the pantaloons, made of Peel leather with +_moderate_-sized heels, tipped with brass, and soles strong but not +thick. A leather stud should be sewn on the left boot, about 2-1/2 +inches above the heel, on which stud the spur should rest, and thus be +kept in its place without tight buckling. The spur found to be the +most useful after the trial of many is a rowel spur of plated steel, +about two inches to two and-a-half inches long, strong and light, +hunting shape, and fastened with a strap and buckle, the foot-strap of +plated steel chain. This chain foot-strap looks neater than a leather +one, and does not become cut or worn out when on foot on rough or +rocky ground. The rowel pin is a screw pin; thus the rowel can be +changed at pleasure, and a sharp or a blunt one fitted as is required +by the horse one rides. The spur I mention can be obtained of Messrs. +Maxwell & Co., Piccadilly, London; or of Mr. Thompson, saddler, Dawson +street, Dublin. + +Some ladies affect two spurs--one, the right, being fitted with a +blank rowel; this is, of course, for appearance sake when dismounted. +I have not often seen two spurs worn. I am not alluding to Miss Bird's +riding-costume, as described in her books, _Life in the Sandwich +Islands_ and _The Rocky Mountains_. She rode _a la cavaliere_, in a +Mexican saddle, and wearing big rowel Mexican spurs, and appears from +her account to have preferred this style of riding to the modern style +and side-saddle. Some years ago I saw a photograph of the Queen of +Naples (I think in 1860), representing the queen mounted _a la +cavaliere_, wearing a high felt hat, a long white cloak, +patent-leather jack-boots, and gilt spurs. Can any of your readers +inform me if this style of riding for ladies is a custom of Southern +Italy as well as Mexico and the Sandwich Islands? + +I am, &c. + +JACK SPUR. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I cannot regret that my letter has given the authoress of this +work, and also the owner of the "big bay" horse, an opportunity of +explaining the circumstances attending her mount on that puissant but +headstrong animal, and of repudiating the erroneous construction put +upon it, as probably the same idea may have occurred to many other +readers of the anecdote, who may not have cared to express their +sentiments. I must say, however, that I am very sorry if my remarks +occasioned pain to either of your correspondents. The explanation +given shows clearly that no blame was really attributable to the +gentleman who offered the mount, and I can well believe he never +dreamt of danger with the horse in such skilful hands. No one would +doubt the sincerity of the statement given, that the horse was put in +harness for the first time and driven away, after such an experience +of his temper; but it speaks more highly for the courage than +discretion of his owner, and I can well understand the friend's +hesitation to share the driving-seat, for there are few things more +trying to the nerves than to sit behind a determined bolter. Perhaps I +write feelingly, having been in that predicament myself three years +ago, resulting in a fractured hip and permanent lameness. I will most +certainly admit that the chivalrous gentleman did all, and more than +was necessary, to avert further peril to the lady who had so narrow an +escape. As for the obnoxious term "rough rider," to which exception is +taken, it was intended to be used generally and not individually; if +it has unfortunately happened that Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, whom I have +never had the pleasure of seeing, took it in a personal sense, I most +sincerely beg her forgiveness, and will ask her rather to accept, as +applicable to herself, the earlier remarks about ladies on horseback +at the conclusion of my letter, and the assurance of my belief that +such a gentlewoman as she is described could never be a _rough_ rider +in any way. + +I am, &c. + +JERMYN. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--The spur with a five-pointed rowel was strongly recommended for +ladies' use many years ago in the _Queen_, and is worn by many: it +does not tear the habit, and is not more severe than the spring-sheath +spur with a point of the same length, as only one point of the rowel +can prick the horse at a time; indeed, it is not so severe, as it can +be applied with a very slight touch, which generally is all that is +required, whilst the spring-sheath spur must be applied with +sufficient force to overcome the resistance of the spring, with the +result that the horse is often more sharply pricked than the rider +intends. The points of a lady's spur should be long enough to be +effective if the skirt of the habit intervenes, as, with any +arrangement, it sometimes will do, when, if the points are too short, +the horse does not feel it. I dissent from the statement of "Fairplay" +that, "from the nature of a lady's seat, her armed heel would often +unintentionally irritate and annoy her horse." If applied to a clumsy +rider the statement is accurate, but a lady who is a moderately good +rider has no difficulty in keeping her foot in the proper position, +and a lady's left foot should be in the same position as a man's; +whilst, as a lady has the third crutch to steady her left leg, she has +less excuse than a man would have for the unintentional use of the +spur; but this evil carries its own antidote, for the lady would soon +perceive the result of the irritation, and become more careful. The +best way to cure a boy of turning out his toes and holding on with his +heels is to give him a pair of long-necked spurs, and then put him on +a fidgetty horse; a few minutes' experience teaches him more than a +month of lecturing. I never knew of a mishap occurring to a lady +through accidentally spurring her horse, but I have known many +instances of ladies being put to great inconvenience and annoyance +through not wearing a spur, and I do not understand why a lady should +be more likely than a man to use it with undue severity. That it is an +advantage to a lady is clearly shown by the fact that a lady who once +tries one always continues its use. "Fairplay" is also mistaken about +the spring-sheath spur, for it is as readily applied as any other, +though more force is required, which is objectionable, and especially +so in park riding, when the spring of the horse to an unintentionally +sharp application betrays the action of the rider. I claim to be as +good a friend of horses as "Fairplay," but I have some regard for the +rider as well as for the horse, and I consider that, whilst we are +justified in riding horses, we are justified in using such reasonable +aids as we find most satisfactory to ourselves; and I have no sympathy +with anyone who objects to a lady availing herself of the convenience +and assistance so readily supplied by a judiciously-used spur, which +every horseman knows cannot, in very many cases, be obtained by any +other means, and which he never hesitates to avail himself of. In +these days of locomotion a lady loses a great deal of the pleasures of +travelling, and of the opportunities of seeing the countries she may +visit, unless she can and will ride such horses as she may meet with +in those countries; and even in the rural districts of England there +is many an old nag of the "Proputty Proputty" type, which (though not +possessed of the special points of a lady's horse--"Oh! such a lovely +mane and tail") will carry a lady tolerably well if he feels the spur +occasionally. If "Mabel Florence Rayne" tries the rowel spur and the +bit I mentioned in my former letter, I am sure she will be satisfied +with them, and perhaps she will write her opinion for the benefit of +others. The excellent and sensible letters of Mrs. Power O'Donoghue +will probably convince people that a horse, when he has a lady on his +back, is very much the same kind of animal, and requires very much the +same kind of management, as when he is ridden by a man. If Mrs. Power +O'Donoghue can obtain this result, she will sweep away many of the +peculiar prejudices and ideas that now prevail as to all matters +appertaining to ladies on horseback. + +I am, &c. + +SOUTHERN CROSS. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In the article under the above-mentioned heading, published in +your issue of the 6th November, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue recommends that +horses' tails should not be docked. Dealers, when offering horses for +sale, do not usually volunteer any information as to whether the +horses have been docked. I wish, therefore, to inform any intending +purchasers who may not know how to ascertain whether a horse has been +docked, and who may wish to obtain some which have not been disfigured +in this manner, that if the dock (that is, the portion of the tail +which consists of bones and muscles, &c.) is in its natural state, the +hair grows thickly at the end or tip of it, and there is no bare space +there; but if it has been shortened by a portion of it being cut off +(or docked), there is at the end or tip of it a circular space of +about an inch in diameter, entirely bare of hair. When a horse has +been docked, the hair of the tail scarcely grows after it has reached +to within six or seven inches above the hocks. The hocks of a large +horse are about twenty-five inches above the ground. It is a general +custom with London dealers to cut the hair of the tail very short +before offering a horse for sale, so that it does not come down lower +than to a distance of about nine inches above the hocks. The buyer +cannot then tell to what length the tail is likely to grow. If +customers would refuse to buy horses with the hair of the tail cut +short, perhaps the practice in question would be discontinued by the +dealers. + +I am, Sir, &c. + +X. Y. Z. + +London, November 10, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In your paper of last week I notice a letter on the advisability +of ladies on horseback adopting the cross-saddle in place of the side, +that is to say, in plain English, ride astride. This I have done +abroad when far beyond conventional bondage, and it is incomparably +better. Your correspondent points out the evils resulting from the +one-sided twisted seat, which a lady now has, and also, in the same +paper, the authoress of _Ladies on Horseback_ says how impossible it +is with only one foot in the stirrup to rise comfortably to a high +trotter. Now I should never have dared to name such a change had it +not been thus mooted. Society will shriek out and say, "Woman would be +indeed out of place thus." Why? I am sure with a proper dress there is +nothing to hurt the extremely proper feelings of the most modest. All +who have hunted know that the _very_ short skirted habits at times +display, well, say the leg of the fair _equestrienne_ most liberally. +Now the dress for the cross-horse style is much the same as a bathing +suit, loose Zouave drawers drawn close below the knee, and fastened +tightly over the boot at the ankle; a loose tunic, long enough to come +almost to the knee when mounted, lightly belted at the waist, a cape +falling over the shoulders, not quite to the elbows. This is my attire +when free to ride in the _only_ really comfortable way, a foot in each +stirrup. Oh, no woman would ever be twisted and packed on to a side +saddle again if she could help it, after once enjoying the ease and +freedom, as well as complete control of her horse which a man's seat +gives. + +So far as exhibitions of limbs go, it is much more delicate, and there +is nothing to offend the most sensitive lady in this style. Only it is +not fashionable. When shall we cease to prostrate ourselves before +that Juggernaut of fashion? For all paces and in every instance it is +better, and the risk of accidents is reduced at _least one half_. It +is a wonderful ease in long rides to _vary the stirrup length_. The +military, almost straight-leg, trot, I think the easiest, but, on the +other hand, some of the best riders I have ever seen abroad ride with +a very short stirrup; it is a matter of habit and custom. But if the +fashion were once introduced here, I know it would prove a priceless +boon to ladies who love riding. Let some lady who has the opportunity +once try it in her own private grounds (at first) or in some quiet, +out-of-the-way country lane or moorland, and she will be surprised. It +is a _new existence on horseback_, and _nothing_ indelicate about it, +clad as I have named. Oh, what a difference it does make. It is +twenty-three years now since I first took the idea from a book +published by a lady, entitled, _Unprotected Females in Norway_, and +whenever I can, I always ride so, of course abroad or even in the far +north of Scotland. What a sensation in the Row would a party of ladies +make thus mounted! Again, it is much easier for the horse, having your +weight fairly distributed, not all perched on one side. Your seat is +much firmer; leaping is, oh, so easy; in fact, your power seems +doubled in every way. In case of conflict with your horse, you feel a +veritable centaur compared with the side seat, where you have no grip, +only the aid of the saddle, but with the aid of your own knees and a +foot on each side of the horse I think I _could not be thrown_. Oh, I +wish it could be initiated, dear Mr. Editor. Do use your influence in +this direction. And it really looks well when the dress is well-made +and tasty, and you feel so very free and at ease, can turn about any +way, not pinned on to your horse, or rather on to your saddle, as +ladies are. I could give full directions to make an outfit for going +abroad in this style; you would smile at my saddle I know, but it is +so comfortable. I can hardly bear to ride on an orthodox one now. That +is the worst of it. I have been mounted on mules in this manner in +Honduras, and ridden immense distances without being stiff or tired +unduly. Some of these are the animals to try _your mettle and seat_, +and I was only once thrown, owing to a stirrup-leather breaking. Then +a lady is able to use spurs as easily as possible, no trouble about +habit skirts tearing or getting in the way of the spur. With a sharp +spur on each foot you can do anything with your horse, so very +different from the wretched box spurs, eternally entangled in your +habit or out of order. I do wish an association could be formed to +carry out the idea; one or two could not do it, it must be +simultaneous. For little girls it would be simply invaluable as an +improvement on the present style, which really does cause distortion +of the spine and a one-sided carriage when girls ride much. Do please +ventilate this question, and oblige very much, + +Yours, &c. + +HERSILIE. + +P.S.--I have taken your paper ever since October 2nd, when I first saw +_Ladies on Horseback_ in it, and have been much pleased with it, and +also much amused with the correspondence thereon, but I never expected +to see ladies' change of seat advocated, and am so glad to-day to find +that it is. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Permit me to state that the object in having the screw rowel-pin +in the spur, recommended by me for the use of ladies in your number of +November 13th, is in order to enable the wearers to use a mild or a +severe rowel, according to the requirements of the horses they ride. I +am very much against sharp spurs for ladies (or gentlemen either), +unless they are absolutely required; but from some experience, both at +home and abroad, I am quite convinced that the wearing of a spur +should be the rule and not the exception. If the rowel is moderately +sharp only, no cruelty can arise, less I maintain than in the use of a +whip. I strongly object to the use of the sheath spur because of its +severity; it must be applied with a _kick_ to be of any use, and the +effect is usually much more punishing than there is any necessity for. +If ladies will use rowel spurs with _moderately_ sharp rowels, such as +are usual in gentlemen's park spurs, they will find that they are in +possession of a very useful aid (certainly not a cruel one), and if +fitted on a neat patent leather hussar or Wellington boot, a very +ornamental one as well. + +I am, &c. + +JACK SPUR. + +December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--The correspondence on Mrs. Power O'Donoghue's articles has +contained many remarks on ladies' spurs, but I have noticed scarcely +any reference to one point which I think is worth consideration--namely, +the mode of fastening. I think ladies would find it an advantage to +wear what are known as "spring" or "box" spurs, instead of those +fastening with the usual straps, or strap and chain. I have never seen +a lady's spur of this description, but possibly they are made--if not, +they easily could be. They are much the most easy to attach or remove, +and there is no chance of a strap being cut in walking or otherwise, +or of an over-tight buckle hurting the foot. Their principal +advantage, however, is not one of mere convenience, but of safety; the +absence of strap and buckle removes one element in a great +danger--that of the foot sticking in the stirrup in a fall. Captain +Whyte-Melville speaks from observation of the risk of the buckle +catching in the angle of the stirrup-iron, and says he has never seen +a spurless boot so entangled. He is arguing against the wearing of +spurs at all; but the risk is avoided if box spurs be worn. Since I +became convinced that the strap and buckle were a quite possible, +though perhaps unlikely, source of danger, I have altogether discarded +them, and have felt my feet more free in the stirrups in consequence. +Box spurs are certainly not fashionable in the hunting-field, and I +have often seen people looking askance at them; I suppose a particular +man misses the finish that the strap gives to the boot. But I don't +think that matters much, and to ladies it would not matter at all, as +the difference could very seldom be detected. In getting spurs or +boxes, I find it convenient to adhere always to the regulation cavalry +size, because then one's old spurs fit one's new boots, and _vice +versa_. It would be well to have a uniform standard for ladies' spurs +also. I have not ventured to say anything on the subject of spurs +generally--my own opinion is that legitimate occasion for their use is +excessively rare--and I dare say my suggestion may seem very trivial. +But I do not think any precaution is trivial which lessens, however +slightly, the risk of that most disagreeable and dangerous of +accidents--getting "hung up." + +I am, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +OXONIAN. + +Ball. Col., Oxon., December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I cannot but feel flattered that my _Ladies on Horseback_ papers +should have called forth so large a correspondence. I have read every +letter most carefully, and on perusing that of "Hersilie," which +appeared in last week's issue, it struck me, from two of her +observations, that persons might suppose I had said something to +advocate the style of riding of which she approves. Permit me to say, +emphatically, that I have never done so, and that I fervently hope, in +the interests of my sex, that such a practice may never be introduced. +Modesty is, in my opinion, a woman's most exquisite attribute; once +this, or the semblance of it, is lost, her fairest charm is gone. +Nothing could be more ungraceful or more unwomanly than for women to +ride like men; and for short women or "little girls," it would be +_most_ objectionable. I maintain that a lady who knows how to sit has a +far safer and surer seat on a side-saddle than a man can ever have, and +that her grip of the pommels affords her infinitely greater security +than a man's "grip of the knees." "Hersilie" is correct in saying that +short-skirted hunting-habits frequently ride up, but she might just as +well say that hunting-hats frequently fall off, and that ladies' back +hair frequently comes down--giving these facts as a reason for +discarding head-gear, whether natural or artificial. As a rule, nothing +that is properly made and properly adjusted ever comes to grief. It is +by going to cheap and incompetent habit-makers, neglecting to stitch +elastics to their hats, and plaiting the hair too loosely (being also +too sparing of hair-pins), that ladies are inconvenienced and made to +blush. Two yards wide round the hem is ample for a hunting-habit, which +should fit like a glove about the hips. First-class tailors always have +a model horse, upon which they mount their lady customers, and thus +secure the right position for the slope at the knee, upon which so much +of the "set" of the skirt depends. A well-dressed woman, sitting +properly upon a well-constructed saddle, cannot, in my opinion, be +improved upon for style and comfort, and I hope it will be long indeed +before ladies strive to follow in any way the customs or callings of +the sterner sex. I may add that one of the chief recommendations of a +box spur is that it does _not_ get out of order, nor can it possibly +become entangled, unless the habit-skirt be one of those which some +ladies still persist in wearing--nearly twice too long, and quite +three times too wide. I earnestly hope "Hersilie" will take these +observations in good part. I make them in a perfectly friendly spirit. +I feel kindly towards all ladies, especially those who love horses; and +so I offer "Hersilie" a warm shake-hands, and hope she will fight me as +much as ever she likes--in a friendly way, of course! + +Now, a word to "Jack Spur." I think he is under a mistake in averring +that there is any severity in the sheath spur. He says it must be +applied with a _kick_. As I always ride with one, and never with any +other description, I must entirely differ from him in this opinion. A +slight pressure is alone necessary. No gentlewoman would be guilty of +kicking her horse. I strongly object to rowels, as I hold to the +belief that almost anybody--except a really first-class +_equestrienne_--would be likely to hurt or worry the horse in an +unnecessary manner. + +Strange to say, I had only got thus far in my letter when the post +brought me a communication from Stirling, signed "Reform," begging of +me to advocate ladies riding upon the cross-saddle. Were it not that +the writer says so many nice, kind things of myself (for which I beg +to thank her) I should be really angry at the tremendous display of +zeal thus wasted upon so unworthy a subject. It is true that a lady's +seat on horseback prevents her pressing her horse up to his bridle as +a man can, _unless_--but there _is_ the unless--she knows how to do +it. A good stout hunting-crop, properly used, will admirably fulfil +the duties of the second leg; but in all my experience, and it is a +pretty wide one, I have never seen more than two lady riders who had +any idea of making a horse gallop or sending him up to his bit. I do +not mean riding his head off--we unfortunately see too much of that; +but pressing him up to his work, and riding him with firm, +_accomplished_ hands, such as are only to be obtained by good +teaching, long and constant practice, and real love of the art. To +give some idea of the hazy notion which most persons have about +riding, a lady who came to call upon me in London, and who certainly +meant to be most kind and polite, said, as we sat at our afternoon +tea, "I am looking at your hands; how well-developed they are, from +_pulling your horses_, I suppose!" She thought I was offended when I +told her that my riding gloves were No. 6, and that I never pulled my +horses; but I am not captious, nor would it be possible to take +offence with one who so little intended to cause it. + +The offer which I made at the conclusion of my _Ladies on Horseback_, +to answer private inquiries, has led to such a host of letters that, +although I regularly devote one hour every morning to the task of +replying to each in turn, I find it impossible to keep pace with the +work. Will you, therefore, sir, with the kindness extended to me upon +a former occasion, suffer me to answer a few of my correspondents +through the medium of your columns. + +RICHARD R.--One measure three times daily, with a good double-handful +of Indian corn mixed through it. + +CAPTAIN SWORDARM.--The oats will require two waters. The grains should +swell and separate, like rice boiled for curries. + +EVELYN HARKESS.--Your parcel has not reached me. My tailor will +endeavour to please you. + +JANE V.--A very cruel practice. + +REFORM.--You will see that I have acknowledged your letter. Judging by +the postmark it should have come to hand three days ago, but you gave +the wrong address, and it went on a seeking expedition. "Dublin" will +at any time find me. This is also for "Quilp," "B. Max," and "Violet +Grey." + +ELLA.--Your horse is evidently a rough trotter, and can never be +pleasant to ride. Try to exchange or sell him. + +MARY PERPLEXED.--The pommels of your saddle are most likely too far +apart; that is, the leaping head is placed too low. If you cannot +change it, ride with a longer stirrup-leather. I have been lately +shown the preparation for an improved side-saddle, by Messrs. F. V. +Nicholls & Co., of 2 Jermyn Street, comprising a patented arrangement +for the third crutch or leaping-head. I think that this will be a +great boon to those ladies who, like myself, have suffered +inconvenience and accident from the leaping-head being a fixture, and +not in the position required to afford a proper degree of support, and +at the same time to admit of the stirrup-leather being used of correct +length for an easy, secure, and graceful seat. The improvement of the +new saddle consists in a sliding socket or apparatus, by which the +leaping-head can be moved freely backward or forward to any position, +and instantly fixed firmly by the rider herself, thus enabling a lady +to alter at any time the length of her stirrup, and yet gain every +requisite support from the third crutch. Another little innovation by +the same experienced saddlers in riding bridles, an adaptation of my +favourite double-ring snaffle. The loose rings of the snaffle have +some extra loops, appended to which is a short noseband, acted upon by +one rein, giving a powerful effect in stopping a runaway horse, whilst +the use of the other rein singly has the pleasant and easy nature of +the ordinary snaffle-bridle. The principle of this bridle, which is +called "the improved Newmarket snaffle" is, of course, equally +applicable to the use of persons of either sex. + +GILES.--Have the shoe taken off and give him rest. + +URSA MAJOR.--There is no real cure for ringbone. Do not waste your +money. + +CLAUDE, EMMA VANE, N. PARKES, HENRY B., RHODA, NELLIE K., and +thirty-one others, write to me for--photographs! I am sorry that "for +lack of gold" I cannot supply a kindly public with my pictures, and I +am not vain enough to state publicly where they may be had. + +NIMROD.--Pleader was purchased from me last week by the Earl of +Eglinton. It will, therefore, be unnecessary for me to reply to any +further inquiries respecting him. I named his price and made no +change, nor was I asked to do so. + +CROPPER.--You were evidently sitting loosely, and thus suffered for +your carelessness. You will not be caught napping the next time. + +ANXIOUS, MARTHA, and a host of others have asked me a very familiar +question, "How I learned to ride?" I have hitherto avoided answering, +rather than introduce a name whose owner did not wish me to do so. But +I think I may hope to win his pardon. Most, if not all, my skill in +the saddle is mainly due to the kind and untiring patience of my dear +old friend and teacher, Mr. Allan McDonogh, who--despite his +threescore years and ten--was, up to the time of his lamentable +accident, ever ready to act as my pilot and instructor. + +ENQUIRER.--Ride a steady horse, and your nerve will come back again. +Mine did, after a much more terrible mischance. + +CORSICAN BROTHER.--It is not true. + +CRITIC.--You only discovered one mistake, but there are really _three_ +in my story, "In Search of a Wonder," which appeared in the Christmas +Number of this journal. In place of "hustled me out _of_ a sort of +enclosure," read "_to_ a sort of enclosure." Also, "suddenness" +requires two n's, and "carr_a_ttella" is the correct way to spell a +word which signifies a small cart or rough carriage peculiar to the +Piedmontese. These are all printer's errors, and should have been +corrected by me, but I revised my proof in a crowded coffee-room of a +London hotel, with at least a dozen persons talking to me as I did so, +and thus, being also pressed for time, a few mistakes escaped my +notice. + +To you, sir, and to all my friends, best wishes for the New Year, and +many grateful thanks for more kindness than I can deem myself worthy +of. + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + +Dublin, December 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In case no one more able than myself answers "Hersilie's" letter +in this week's number of your valuable paper, will you allow me, in +the name of many lady riders who "can" use the side-saddle, to write +and protest against the idea cropping up of our riding like men? I +cannot help feeling justly indignant with those who try to introduce +such a radical change, for, surely, we are already too much inclined +to follow all the ways and pursuits of the opposite sex without so far +forgetting ourselves as to wish to ride as they do. I do not want to +criticise what one is often obliged to do in foreign lands; there it +may prove a necessity, for the riding is not simply for pleasure, but +often the only means of transport, and the horses may not be fitted +for our saddles, nor we accustomed to their paces; but, in England, +the idea of a number of ladies fantastically dressed and mounted like +men must shock many of your readers. I hope "X. Y. Z.," who first +wrote in favour of this change some weeks ago, may pardon me if I say +that the ladies of his or her acquaintance who, in consequence of only +one stirrup, cannot avoid inclining the head and shoulders too much to +the left, &c., and in addition gall their horses' backs, had better +not attempt to ride at all. What is a prettier sight than a +neatly-dressed Englishwoman riding a horse, "as a lady," and should we +retain the same respect we now get if we gave up, in this particular, +the few feminine tokens left to us. Why not let us accept the male +attire altogether? It would be far more to our comfort in getting +about on foot, and if one change is so advisable, surely the other is +quite as sensible. I agree with "Hersilie" in thinking that the habits +of the present day are indelicately short, and I cannot see that +ladies ride any better showing their boots and with their arms akimbo +than they did a year or so ago, when their feet were covered and no +daylight showed between their arms. I come of as "horsey" a family as +any in England, and have ridden ever since I could sit upright; but I +never experienced, or knew that my sisters experienced, any of the +troubles "X. Y. Z." and "Hersilie" complain of. My father, who was our +sole instructor, put us on any animal that he thought likely to suit +his own riding, and no matter where we were, in the hunting-field or +elsewhere, the least deviation from sitting square would bring from +him the sharp reprimand of, "What are you doing? Bring that left +shoulder up, and don't let me see any daylight between your arms!" He +also insisted that our stirrups should be short, even to discomfort, +until we got used to it; but this prevented any chance of our hurting +the horse's back, which most frequently comes from a lady riding with +a long stirrup, and when she trots having to seek her stirrup, which +constantly moves her saddle, and makes her as well look most awkward +and one-sided. + +If not trespassing too much, may I say one other little word in the +interest of the horses I love so well? Over and over again, lately, +have I seen the advice given in your paper that we should never be +without a spur. Now, sir, if my experience can have any weight, I will +say that I have hunted and ridden across country in all parts of +Gloucestershire all my young days, that I was put on horses whether +they or I liked it or not, both kind, unkind, or violent ones, and I +am thankful to say that the idea of my wearing a spur never entered my +father's head nor mine. It seems to me such an underhand way of +punishing one's horse--a real feminine species of torture, for no one +sees the dig, dig, dig, but there it is all the time; and many a +horse, I firmly believe, comes to grief with its rider simply because, +not understanding its power, she taxes it beyond its strength. Not one +horse in twenty will refuse, or need either whip or spur if he knows +his mistress, and if he does he is not fit for inexperienced riders. + +I wish every girl was taught as I have been, "that a horse can do no +wrong." This made me study the peculiarities of every animal I was put +upon, and I have never had an accident of any kind. Every horsewoman +who loves riding must be proud of the feats accomplished by Mrs. Power +O'Donoghue in the side-saddle, but would she be admired or respected +as she is if she turned out as a man and rode as men do? It is being +able to sit square and ride straight on a side-saddle, that we should +be vain of, and not wish to make a change, which could only bring +Englishwomen down in the estimation of all those who are now so justly +proud of them on horseback. + +I am, Sir, + +Yours, &c. + +THE LADYBIRD. + +December 18, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Will you allow me to make one or two remarks upon a letter I +read last night in your valuable paper? It is from a correspondent +speaking of the ill effects produced by the use of side-saddles. + +In the first place your correspondent should remember that the back of +the horse, as well as the shoulder, is soft and tender when not in +condition, that is, in constant work, and not fit for either riding or +driving long distances at once, without damage. Get the back carefully +and well seasoned, or accustomed to the side-saddle, during the time +the horse is getting into condition for the hunting-field, and use a +leather saddle-cloth under the saddle; let it be long enough, and not +the shape of the saddle, and have all properly put on the horse, and +you will not come to grief with six or seven hours' work, or before +the lady is tired; that is, provided the lady will sit well down and +steady in her saddle, and keep her horse as much from trotting as +possible. Her horse must learn to canter slowly both to cover and +home, it will be much better for the horse and much easier for the +lady when she is accustomed to it; she will not be troubled any more +with horses with sore backs. Another remark from "X. Y. Z." is, it is +said that curvature of the spine sometimes ensues from children being +taught at too early an age to ride on side-saddles. I fear the mistake +is by the said children not having been taught how to sit or to put +themselves in form for their own comfort, but left to sit as they like +on horseback and get bad habits they cannot get rid of, never throwing +the weight of the body in its proper place. Then, as to the remark +about the riding-habit on the pommels, that disadvantage either has, +or ought to have, passed away a long time ago; for I am well satisfied +that a lady can so dress herself for the hunting-field in boots, +Bedfords, and plenty of flannel that she can keep herself warm and +comfortable without a great, strong, heavy, long riding-habit. Let the +habit be short and very light, and by no means bound round the bottom +part with anything strong, but left so that it will give way either in +a fall or in leaping through a high fence. I wonder if Mr. Lovell had +his knife in his pocket when he saw his daughter suspended by the +habit, which would neither tear nor be removed; had it been of light, +thin material, and short, the sad accident would not have occurred. I +am satisfied a little care and proper attention will put all things +right of which your correspondent complains. + +I am, &c. + +O. P. + +December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In your issue of the 4th December, "Farmer" writes that his +horses are fed upon oats which have been soaked in cold water, and +that he has the corn thus prepared because he could not easily manage +to have a steaming apparatus for cooking the food in the way that is +recommended by Mr. Edward Mayhew M.R.C.V.S., in his _Illustrated Horse +Management_. The plan that I have adopted during the last two months +has been to have the oats put in a pail (made of oakwood) in the +evening, and to pour upon them from a kettle a sufficient quantity of +boiling water to rise a little above the oats; a sack is placed over +it to keep in the heat, and the oats are then left to soak during the +night; on the following morning the husk is so much softened that it +will yield to the pressure of the thumb and finger. In this state the +oats are more easily digested by the horse, and it is better for his +teeth than to have to bite a hard substance. A wooden pail is +preferable to a zinc one, because it does not conduct the heat from +the oats so much as one of the latter description does. A lid would +be, perhaps, better than a sack. The pail should not be filled with +the oats, because the latter will swell when soaked. In the stall in +our stable there is no water-trough at the side of the manger, and in +order that the horse may have water within reach during the day and +night, a zinc pail is placed in and at the end of the manger, and the +handle of it is secured by a chain to the iron bars forming the upper +part of the partition between the two stalls. In the loose-box, a pail +containing water is suspended by a chain to some iron bars placed +inside the window. + +I am, &c. + +X. Y. Z. + +London, December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I cannot but feel flattered that Mrs. O'Donoghue has so frankly +and kindly invited me to "break a lance" with her. I do, with both my +hands and with all my heart, reciprocate her "warm shake-hands," and, +vizor down and spear in rest, ride full tilt at her in fair and open +fight to do my poor _devoirs_, if you will allow me once again to +enter the lists in your paper. If Mrs. O'Donoghue will read her paper +in your number for November 27th she will find these words: "My +companion was in ease while I was in torture." Why was this? "Because +he had a leg on either side of his mount, his weight equally +distributed, and an equal support upon both sides; in fact, he had, as +all male riders have, the advantage of a double support in the rise; +consequently, at the moment when his weight was removed from the +saddle, it was thrown upon both sides, and this equal distribution +enabled him to accomplish without fatigue that slow rise and fall +which is so tiring to a lady whose weight, when she is out of the +saddle, is thrown entirely upon one delicate limb, thus inducing her +to fall again as soon as possible." + +Again, in the very next paragraph, Mrs. O'Donoghue says, "A man will +be able to stand in his stirrups for a considerable time, even to ride +at a gallop, so doing because he transfers his weight equally to his +feet; but how rarely do we see a lady balanced upon one leg! The +sensation is not agreeable, and would, moreover, be unpleasantly +productive of wrung backs." These are verbatim extracts from "Part +Three continued." I think my preference for a leg on each side of my +horse, and a distribution of my weight equally on to each foot, is +most eloquently and forcibly justified by Mrs. O'Donoghue when she +wrote the above. I did not suggest, or at any rate did not mean to +suggest, that she advocated a cross-seat for ladies, but that she +unmistakably pointed out the great advantages of such a seat her own +words abundantly testify. Again, some of the healthiest children I +have ever seen are poor little gipsy girls, who, from being able to +mount a donkey, have always ridden astride when once past the pannier +period of their nomadic life. Also, some of the short, stout peasant +women of Normandy ride thus, as well as the Indian squaws, and +certainly these will compare favourably as to robust health with their +side-saddle sisters of civilisation; to say nothing of the South +American ladies. We have also the testimony of many lady travellers as +to the superiority of a cross-seat when horseback is the only mode of +transit. I cannot admit that in any case, even for "short women" or +"little girls," it would be "most objectionable," that is, from a +hygienic point of view. On the score of modesty, _de gustibus_, &c. +&c. But then I allow a great latitude on such a point (our highest +order carries the truest motto, _honi soit qui mal y pense_). In fact, +I do not regard it as a question of modesty at all; simply of +convenience, efficiency, and comfort. Mrs. O'Donoghue also says how +rare it is to meet with a perfect lady's horse. "In all my wide +experience I have met but two." Why? because a lady (and mainly on +account of her side-seat, as I believe) is heavily handicapped as +compared with a man in her choice of a horse, or, I should say, in her +requirements from her horse. Every remark in the whole of the papers, +"Ladies on Horseback," as to kindness, temper, and gentleness in the +treatment of a horse I most cordially endorse, and I have to thank the +fair authoress for the pleasure I have had in their perusal. + +A word or two in answer to "The Ladybird." In reply to her opening +remarks, I merely observe, "use is second nature," and had she +happened to have lived before "Anne of Bohemia" introduced +side-saddles she would have had no room for "indignation"; possibly in +that case she would have always ridden pillion. Oh! if we could only +once realise how much we are the slaves of fashion, how soon would the +yoke be broken! Contrast the crinoline of 1857 and the umbrella-case +attire of 1877; put a fashionable belle of the latter alongside her +sister of only twenty years earlier mode. What a satire on taste, on +modesty so called! But I would also ask "Ladybird" (if it be worth her +while) to read again my letter of the 18th, and she will find I did +not complain of the side-saddle, which I have an idea I _can_ use, but +pointed out its great inferiority (which I maintain) to the +cross-saddle. The best test perhaps is the foreign one. Mount a horse +without a saddle, but properly bitted, and then decide which is the +more natural and easier seat; in one case you feel an appendage; in +the other almost part of the horse. In the name of womanhood I +repudiate the suggestion of an "underhand way of punishment," being "a +real feminine species of torture." Perhaps it is, under the skirts of +a habit, possible to "dig, dig, dig," for no one sees, truly; but +surely no lady could, or would, spur her horse for the sake of +tormenting him; in my attire at any rate it would not be unseen. The +extraordinary teaching that a "horse can do no wrong" is an axiom with +which I cannot agree. I have been mounted on horses that "could do no +right," or if they could do it would not. And it has taken me all my +time and taxed all my energies to prevent them from doing the things +which they ought not to do; for I do object to a horse attempting to +erect himself in a perpendicular attitude, either from a fore or aft +basis, when I am on his back, and I rejoice to know that I have (in +such cases) on each foot a sharp spur to use with him as a cogent +argument in convincing him that ordinary progression on four legs is +infinitely better than saltimbantique performance on two--at least +from my, his rider's, point of view. On a well-bred, highly-trained +animal a spur is scarce ever required to be used, but even then the +emergency may arise. I really laughed outright when I read what you, +Sir, said of the "shoals of letters" arriving from fair correspondents +"desiring to ride" as "Hersilie" suggested, but this only convinces me +that there are many ladies who feel that it would be--just exactly as +I described it--"a new life on horseback." I could add much more on +the subject, but have already trespassed too long on your space. I +only repeat, let any lady once fairly try it, and she will always +prefer it. I do not for a moment imagine she will always do it. I +admit we must conform to custom, and I strongly deprecate individual +eccentricity, especially in a lady. I shall continue to read all that +appears in your paper on this and kindred topics with deep interest. +Again, I specially thank Mrs. Power O'Donoghue for her genial and +kindly expression of goodwill, and again heartily shake the shadowy +hand she offers. I quite believe a No. 6 gloved hand can control a +horse as well as any 7, 71/2, or 8, if it only be possessed of the +cunning. And thanking you, sir, for your kindness, allow me as a woman +to have the last word, and again assert, "the cross seat is much the +better." + +Yours, &c. + +HERSILIE. + +Ambleside (_pro tem._), Dec. 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Kindly permit me to say a few words in reply to "Hersilie's" +letter, which appeared in your issue of last week. I am referred to my +own paper in your number for November 27, but "Hersilie" does not +quote correctly, or perhaps the error is the printer's. I think I said +"My companion was _at_ ease, whilst I was in torture." Now, I merely +related the incident with which these words were associated in order +to instruct ladies how to avoid the double rise--not to advocate for a +single instant their riding upon a cross-saddle. I am quite ready to +reiterate my statement that the position of a man enables him to ride +a rough or clumsy trotter with infinitely greater ease than can a +woman; but women should not, in my opinion, ride such _at all_, nor +should I have done so, as related in your paper of November 27, were +it not that my host, an immensely heavy man, had none but big rough +horses in his stable, and I was obliged either to accept a mount upon +one of them, for at least _once_, or give offence to a dear kind +friend, which I would not do to avoid even a greater amount of +inconvenience than I experienced upon the occasion in question. + +The cross-seat is not the only thing which ladies may envy the sterner +sex, without at the same time advocating the propriety of encroaching +upon their privileges. For my own part I never yet set out to walk on +a wet or muddy day without sincerely envying every man who passed me, +his big boots, tucked-up trousers, and freedom from the petticoats and +furbelows which encumber us and make us feel miserable in the rain; +yet I certainly never felt the _smallest_ desire to adopt his costume. +Nor have I ever seen two persons, or two big dogs, engaged in +fighting, that I did not envy the man who rushed between the +combatants and stopped the unseemly exhibition; yet I decidedly +experienced no wish to do it myself. It would not be my place. Men +have their costume, their avocations, their sayings and doings, their +varied callings in the world, and women have theirs. Each should be +separate and distinct from the other. A manly woman, or a womanly man, +is, in the eyes of all rightly-judging persons, a most objectionable +creature. There are many things which a woman may legitimately admire, +and, in a certain sense, _envy_, yet with which she should never +desire to meddle, unless she is ambitious to merge her womanhood in +the semblance of man. The cross-saddle is one of these. It may do very +well in the wilds of a country whose inhabitants are from childhood +accustomed to it, and where all ride alike, but not in civilised +England. As well seek to advocate the dress (or undress) of the Indian +squaws, as to endeavour to introduce their style of riding into a land +whose daughters are as modest as they are fair. + +"Hersilie" says:--"I do not regard it as a question of modesty at all, +simply of convenience, efficiency, and comfort." The subject is one +upon which a woman can touch but very lightly, yet may I affirm that +if all women were to lay aside their chief charm, and simply go in for +"convenience, efficiency, and comfort," society would present fewer +attractions than it at present does? I shall leave "The Ladybird" to +answer for herself, but I cannot help saying that I think "Hersilie" +is _hard_ upon her. She and I have met but once, yet I know that she +is gentle and highborn, and worthy of nothing but the love of which +her own Christian heart is composed. + +You, sir, must also fight your own little battle, and tell "Hersilie" +she is not to "laugh outright" at any of your "Circular Notes." She +may laugh, of course, at small fry like myself, but I really _can't_ +have my Editor laughed at! nor my sweet "Ladybird" crushed! + +And now, having said so much, I once again offer a shadowy hand to my +adversary, and hope that though at present we see one another but +darkly, we may yet do so "face to face," and meet as friends. + +A word, with your permission, to correspondents:-- + +EVELYN HARKESS.--I have discovered your parcel. I thought you were +sending it addressed to _me_. You shall have the contents in a few +days. + +FLINK.--There is never one worth buying, although unwise persons bid +fast and high. Try a private source, and beware of imposition. + +R. KING.--The horse is sold. + +H. DUNBAR, SHAMUS O'BRIEN, W. HATFIELD, and ROSE MARIE.--Your +questions are of too personal a nature. If time permits I will answer +privately. + +IGNORAMUS.--Dose him with aloes until he is dead sick; then put a +saddle on him, with a sand-bag at either side, and ring him for an +hour. I warrant he will allow a man upon his back after this, nor will +he seek to dislodge him either. It is much better and more humane than +the whipping and spurring which is so grievous to a sensitive +looker-on. + +HUGH.--Apply to Mr. Chapman, Oaklands, Cheltenham. + +I. STARK.--How shall I thank you? but I know not when I can ride +again. Your recipe, if effectual, would be indeed invaluable. I shall +look for a purchaser for your cob. + +MAY-BLOSSOM.--The nicest modern saddles have no stitching about them. +Call at 2, Jermyn Street. + +NIMROD II.--I have nothing that would suit you, nor do I ever sell my +horses, unless under exceptional circumstances. I am, of course, +flattered that so many are desirous of possessing what I have ridden, +but my stable is _extremely_ limited. See my reply to HUGH. + +HANNAH POWELL.--I shall answer by letter. + +SYNNORIX.--I said in a former letter that there was no cure for +ringbone; I have since heard of one which I consider invaluable, and +the lady who possesses it would sell it for a trifling sum. Apply to +Mrs. Slark, Rose Cottage, Bletchley. I hope URSA MAJOR will see this +reply to SYNNORIX, and will profit by my advice, which is to apply at +once for the cure. + +K. C., REDCAR.--I am pleased you found my system effectual, but are +you sure you did not carry it out too rigorously? Few would have such +courage. + +JOCKEY.--An authority says Fairyhouse, and I dare say he is right, +although there is a double at Punchestown--a big one--at which many a +good man and true has come to signal grief. I saw a fine young racer +killed there last year. + +To EDITH, PAUL PRY, JANE BURKITT, CONSTANCE HAYE, and MOUSQUETAIRE, +many thanks. If you write to the Editor he may perhaps give you +information as to the possibility of what you ask. + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--As I learned from a recent letter from that most amiable and +talented lady, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, that her teacher has been the +fine old sportsman, Allen McDonogh, I need wonder no longer at her +having become the very brilliant horsewoman which undoubtedly she is. +A finer or more graceful horseman than her teacher was, has never +lived. Since growing years and increasing weight prevented him from +riding his own horses he has brought out very many crack gentlemen +riders within the past twenty years, some of them quite shining +lights. Amongst some may be enumerated his great friend, Captain +Tempest, 11th Hussars; Captain Prichard Rayner, 5th Dragoon Guards; +Mr. Laurence, 4th Hussars; Captain, now Major, Hutton, 1st Royal +Dragoons; Captain Brown, of the Royal Horse Artillery, who +unfortunately was killed a few years since crossing the railway +returning from a steeplechase meeting held near London; Captain +Ricardo, 15th Hussars; Lieutenant-Colonel McCalmont, 7th Hussars; +Captain Soames, 4th Hussars; and the ever-to-be-regretted Captain the +Hon. Greville Nugent; and last, but by no means least, Mr. Thomas +Beasley, besides many others, all these gentlemen, excepting Mr. +Laurence, having their first winning mount on Mr. McDonogh's horses. +As professionals, he brought out Paddy Gavin and George Gray, the +former of whom, when scarcely more than a child, and weighing but 4 +st. 7 lb., rode and won the Prince of Wales' Steeplechase, at +Punchestown, on Blush Rose. I think I may be permitted to mention two +of Mr. McDonogh's daring feats. When riding Sailor in a steeplechase, +over an awfully severe country, close to the town of Bandon, Co. Cork +(where started, amongst nine others, the celebrated horses Monarch and +Valentine, the latter running second, two years later, for the +Liverpool Grand National, and the former sold soon afterwards to the +great Marquis of Waterford for a large sum, showing that the company +at Bandon was by no means a contemptible lot), in this race, the +distance of which was 4-1/2 miles, Sailor fell four times, each time +unseating his rider; yet so active was his pilot in those days that he +was as quickly in the saddle as out of it. At his fourth and last +fall, the horse chested the bank, flung his rider some distance from +him, and having a tight hold of the bridle reins, the throat-lash gave +way, and the bridle came off the horse's head. As Sailor was getting +on his legs, Mr. McDonogh jumped into the saddle, and setting his +horse going was soon in pursuit of the leaders. There were in the +1-1/2 miles that had yet to be travelled nearly ten awkward +double-posted fences. The third last impediment was a narrow +lane--called in Irish a "boreen"--with an intricate bank into and out +of it. The riders of Valentine and Monarch had bridles; consequently +they could steady their horses and jump in and out "clever." Not so +Mr. McDonogh, who had nothing to guide his horse but his whip. +Steering the animal, however, for the "boreen" he put him at his best +pace, and without ever laying an iron on it, he went from field to +field and landed alongside the leaders. The riders of the other +horses, seeing he had no power to guide his mount, endeavoured to put +him outside a post that had to be gone round to make the turn into the +straight line for home; but the young jockey, stretching his arms +almost round his horse's nose, by some means got him straight, and, +making the remainder of the running, won easily. Valentine's rider at +the scales objected to Sailor for not having carried a bridle, but Mr. +McDonogh was able to draw the weight, and was declared the winner +amidst the wildest enthusiasm. The other extraordinary performance +occurred one day on his pet mount, the celebrated Brunette, at Cashel. +When riding Mountain Hare the previous day over the same course he was +crossed by an old woman at an ugly up bank. The horse struck the woman +in the chest and very nearly put an end to his rider also, who, in the +fall, got his collar-bone and six ribs broken. The late Dr. Russell, +of Cashel, was quickly by his side, and telling the Marquis of +Waterford of the serious injuries Mr. McDonogh had received, that most +noble-hearted man instantly sent for his carriage, which, with two +post-horses, speedily took the invalid to the hotel in Cashel. The +collarbone being set and ribs bandaged, he passed a miserable night. +Brunette was in a race the next day, and as he would allow no man to +sit on her back, he got out of his bed, mounted the mare, and, +bandaged as he was and in great pain, won the race. Lord Waterford's +Regalia was second, his lordship jestingly remarking that if he had +known Brunette's master would have ridden her he would have left him +lying at the bank, In conclusion, Mr. Editor, permit me to say that we +Irish are charmed with Mrs. O'Donoghue's writings, as also with your +most interesting and beautifully got-up paper. + +Yours, &c. + +MAURICE LAWLOR. + +Battlemount, Ballytore, Co. Kildare. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Notwithstanding the enterprise of the large number of ladies +who, you say, desire to ride after the fashion of the Mexican senoras, +I venture to hope that the present custom of riding in a side-saddle +will not be departed from by ladies, except in case of necessity; and +I point out that in India, South Africa, and all the Australian +colonies the side-saddle is always used, though there can be no doubt +that if there was any real advantage in the Mexican style it would be +readily adopted in new countries. Many persons appear to be quite +unaware of what the lady's seat in the side-saddle should be. I +describe it thus: let a man seat himself properly in his saddle, +shorten the left stirrup two or three holes, and then, without moving +his body or his left leg, put his right leg over the horse's wither; +the man will then be seated on his horse precisely as a lady should be +seated in her side-saddle. A lady's seat in a side-saddle, of the size +suited to her, is extremely firm; any one who has not tried a +side-saddle with the third crutch has no idea of the firm seat that a +lady has. I was quite astonished when I tried it, and I believe that, +after practising for a day or two to get the balance, I could ride any +horse in a side-saddle that I could ride at all; whilst the exploits +of ladies show clearly that a change of style is not required for the +purpose of obtaining a more secure seat. One of the greatest +difficulties that ladies have to contend with in this country in +learning to ride is that they often get such poor instructors. Many of +those who call themselves riding masters are little better than +grooms, and the people who offer to turn out accomplished horsewomen +in twelve easy lessons for L2 2s. must know that, except in a few +cases of natural special aptitude, they cannot do much more than teach +a lady how to avoid tumbling too quickly out of the saddle. On the +other hand, a lady who has been through a full course of instruction +from a good master, has little to learn except those matters of detail +which experience alone can teach; but far better than any professional +instruction is that constant and careful supervision from a good +horseman, such as Mrs. Power O'Donoghue and "The Ladybird" mentioned +in a late issue, one who will not be afraid of being called a "bother" +when he points out and corrects every fault, however small. I +consider, sir, that you have given good advice to ladies when you say, +"I think a lady should wear a spur," though she may not often find it +necessary to use it. In your last issue two experienced ladies give +their opinions on this subject; one disapproves of the spur, the other +says she always wears one. Everyone will agree with "The Ladybird" +that when it is "dig, dig, dig" all the time, such use of a spur is +improper; for though a sharp stroke is required sometimes--for +instance, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, when describing her flight into the +farmyard, says: "I dug him with my spur"--the proper way to apply a +spur is, in general, as described by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue in your +last issue, by pressure. The term "box spur" is usually applied to +spurs that fit into spring boxes or sockets in the heels of the boots; +a spur with a spring sheath over the point is usually called a "sheath +spur"; for hunting, anything that will act as a goad will answer the +desired purpose, but for park or road riding the spur should be one +with which a very slight touch or a sharp stroke can be given, as may +be required. I know that the spur with a five-pointed rowel is +preferred by ladies who have tried it to any other; but, whatever spur +is selected, a lady should take care that the points are long enough +to be effective when the habit intervenes. I think, sir, with you, +that a lady should always wear a spur; and I notice in this +correspondence, the ladies who denounce the use of a spur almost +invariably say that they have never tried one; whilst ladies who have +once experienced the advantage and convenience of it, never willingly +mount a horse without one. There is not any real mystery about ladies' +riding or ladies' horses; almost any horse that will carry a man will +carry a woman, and the latter, when on horseback, ought to be +provided, as nearly as possible, with the same aids and appliances as +are required by the former. It is not every lady who can indulge in +the luxury of a three-hundred-guinea saddle-horse, and the treatment +that may answer with such a horse is not necessarily suited to an +ordinary hack; yet some of the handsomest and most highly-trained +ladies' horses in the Row are ridden with a spur, and it is only +proper that they should be; they have been trained by the professional +lady riders with a spur, and they are accustomed to receive from a +slight touch of the spur the indications of the rider's wish; whilst +as to the common livery-stable hacks, it is often painful to ride them +until they feel that you are provided with spurs, when their whole +nature appears to change, and you can enjoy a tolerably pleasant ride. +"The Ladybird" says she was taught "that a horse can do no wrong." As +a matter of theory the idea is a very pretty one, but I can only say, +as a simple matter of fact, that I have often known a horse exhibit a +very large amount of what the late Mr. Artemus Ward called +"cussedness"; and I know of nothing that, when a horse is in that +frame of mind, will bring him to his senses so quickly, so +effectually, and with so much convenience to the rider, as a sharp +spur. In far-off lands, I was once nearly two hours doing a distance +of some seven miles on a new purchase. I was then without spurs; but +the next day, when I was provided with them, the same animal did the +same distance easily and pleasantly in about forty minutes. I very +much dislike to see a lady use a whip to her horse: and, as I have +always proved spurs to be a great convenience, I recommend a lady to +wear one, and to use it _when necessary_ in preference to the whip. + +I am, &c. + +SOUTHERN CROSS. + +December, 1880. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--Since I have come to London I have been asked so many questions +respecting the reason why ladies so often "pull their horses," that I +feel I may accomplish some good by answering, or may at least assist +in doing away with a very crying evil. My opinion is that there is +usually but one reason, viz. because the horses pull them; but for a +woman to pull against a pulling horse only increases the evil. It is a +fallacy, and can never accomplish the desired end. A determined puller +cannot, under any circumstances, be suitable to a lady, and should +never be ridden by one, unless she be a sufficiently good rider and +have sufficiently good hands to make the horse's mouth, which is not +the case with one woman in five hundred, or, I might almost say, one +man either. Horses that pull have been almost invariably spoilt in the +training. Occasionally a fine-mouthed animal will be ruined by an +ignorant or cruel rider, but I must say, in justice to my sex, that +they are seldom guilty of doing it. The fault lies amongst men. Many +women are ignorant riders; but, thank God! the blot of cruelty rarely +defaces their name. Women are naturally gentle, kindly, +and--_cowardly_; three things calculated not to injure a horse, except +it be the latter, which enables him to discover that he can be master +if he please. Doubtless there are cruel women, also, who cut and lash, +and tug and spur, and treat heaven's noble gifts as though they were +mere machinery, and not flesh and blood like ourselves; but how often +shall I say, in answer to the numerous cases cited to me, that in +writing upon this or any other subject I speak of the rule, not of the +isolated exceptions. When a man begins to break a horse he regularly +prepares for combat. He sets himself to work with a resolute +determination to fight and be fought, as though he had a strong +rebellious spirit to deal with and conquer, instead of a loving, +kindly, timid nature, which needs nought save gentleness to make it +amenable to even the rudest hand. The man begins by pulling; the +horse, on the schoolboy "tit for tat" principle, pulls against him in +return; is sold before his education (bad as it has been) is half +completed; is ridden out to exercise by grooms with heavy iron hands; +is handed over to the riding-school and to carry young ladies when +every bit of spirit has been knocked out of him, except the determined +one of pulling--pulls resolutely against the feeble hands striving to +control him; is pulled and strained at in return, and becomes in time +a confirmed and unmanageable brute. I wish I could persuade ladies +_not_ to pull their horses. In a former number I endeavoured to tell +them the proper method of managing or dealing with a pulling animal: +neither to drop their hands to him, nor to pull one ounce against him. +He will be certain after a few strides to yield a bit, when the +hands--hitherto firm, should immediately yield to him, thus +establishing a sort of give and take principle, which will soon be +perfectly understood by the intelligent creature under control. We do +not half appreciate our horses. Every touch of our fingers, every word +we utter, every glance from our eye is noted by the horse, and is +valued or resented as it deserves. So many animals are made unruly by +the undue use of a severe curb that I strongly advise a trial of the +snaffle only, holding the curb-rein loosely over the little finger, so +that it may be in an instant taken up in case it prove necessary, +which, in my opinion, it rarely will. To illustrate my meaning, on +Monday last I rode a mare for a lady, who was very desirous of +ascertaining whether the animal was capable of carrying a lady with +safety. The groom, who was to accompany me, was evidently extremely +nervous. He told me, as we started, that the mare had never done any +saddle work, except with a very wild young gentleman-rider, who had +bitted her severely, and yet found her difficult to manage; and he +implored me earnestly to keep a good hold of the curb. I found that +she hung desperately upon her bridle, kept her head between her knees +with a strong, determined, heavy pull upon the bit, and rough, jerky +action, which was most unpleasant. When I got her into the Row she +nearly pulled my arms out in her canter--the tug she had upon the +bridle was quite terrific; and, evidently prepared for the accustomed +fight, she put back her ears and shook her wicked head angrily. I rode +her from Palace Gate to Hyde Park Corner in the same manner as I have +sought to impress upon my lady readers--namely, not pulling one atom +against her, but keeping my hands low and firm, and yielding slightly +to her in her stride. By the time we had turned at the Corner she had +quite given up fighting. I then dropped the curb, and rode her +entirely upon the snaffle. The effect was magical. She lifted her +head, ceased pulling altogether, and went along in a pleasant joyous +canter, going well up to her bridle, but not attempting any liberties +whatever, In an hour's time, as you, sir, who were riding with me will +bear testimony, I was holding her with _one hand_, stooping forward, +and making much of her with the other, an attention which she +evidently regarded as a pleasing novelty, and highly appreciated. +Finding her slightly untractable during the ride homeward I once more +lightly took up the curb. It maddened her in a moment. She turned +round and round, ran me against a cart, and behaved so excitedly that +it required my best skill, confidence, and temper to restore her +equanimity and steer her safely (using the snaffle only) to her +destination. On dismounting I observed to the groom that considering +the amount of exercise and excitement through which she had passed, it +was wonderful she had not sweated. His answer was that she was always +fed upon cooked food, and that the chief sustenance of the horse which +he himself was riding--a remarkably fine three-year-old--was boiled +barley. I have never, myself, tried this feeding, but if looks and +condition may be regarded as recommendation, it must be most +excellent. + +I am, Sir, + +Yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I have been very greatly interested by the remarks on saddles, +spurs, &c., made by your lady correspondents. My husband is a large +ranchero, or cattle-farmer, on the Rio Grande, between Mexico and +Texas, and naturally I have had much experience of hard as well as +long-distance riding. Having been accustomed to hunting when I was a +girl, I came out here with an exaggerated idea of my skill in +horsemanship. My first ride in Mexico was one of three hundred miles, +which we did in seven days; I rode on an English hunting-saddle +almost, if not quite, as "straight as a board." After the second day I +found it as uncomfortable a seat as could be desired, and was glad to +change it for the peon's ordinary Mexican saddle, which I found +perfectly easy and comparatively comfortable to my English one. This +last I have found exceedingly fatiguing and ill-adapted to a long +journey, although very good for a few hours' ride after wild cattle, +which is a certain approach to hunting, although the jumping is not +stiff. Lately I had another saddle sent out from England, which was a +little deeper, and I find it much more useful for long distances. As +ladies are not in the habit of riding steeplechases, I would venture +to suggest that, for hard riding, such as hunting, the saddle might +rather be heavier than lighter, as I am sure that this must give more +relief to the horse's back. In fact, I believe that the sore backs so +often produced by ladies' saddles are more frequently caused by the +saddle being too light than too heavy. I quite agree with some of your +correspondents that the padded stirrup is most dangerous, as it is not +easy to get the foot out quickly if anything should happen. + +The principle, as stated by the Mexicans, of striking a horse between +the ears is not to bring him down by _fright_, but to bring him down +by _force_, so as to "stun" him. Now, do you think that any of your +fair correspondents could accomplish this with a light park or +hunting-whip? I may be very bold to offer any suggestions, but the +lady's sidesaddle of the nineteenth century is very far from being +pleasant. Why should not ladies in this age of progression begin to +ride on saddles shaped like a man's, with the same seat a man uses? It +would be much more comfortable, as even a stout lady could not look +much more ungraceful than she does now, besides materially lessening +the danger. I send you a sketch of a Mexican saddle. + +I am, &c. + +CAMPESINA. + +San Antonio de Bexar, Texas, U.S.A. + +P.S.--I would not like you to imagine that I intend to slight such an +admirable authority as Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, but I should be much +obliged to any of your correspondents for the design of an improved +saddle, suitable alike for riding a young nervous horse and for journey +purposes. I have a design for such a saddle, but I do not know how far +it may be practicable. I think if ladies would give their ideas upon +this subject through the medium of your columns, some real improvement +might be arrived at. + +C. + + * * * * * + +Sir,--In your issue of the 27th November my letter appeared, +recommending that the use of side-saddles should be discontinued. Your +correspondent, "Jack Spur," mentions, in a letter published on the +13th November, that in some works concerning the Sandwich Islands, in +the Northern Pacific Ocean, and the Rocky Mountains, North America, +the authoress, Miss Isabella L. Bird, states that she was accustomed, +while there, to ride on horseback astride. + +A few extracts from her above-mentioned writings will probably +interest your readers. When in Hawaii, or Owyhee, one of the Sandwich +Islands, the authoress referred to accompanied some friends on +horseback to the Anuenue Falls on the Wailuku river (a river which +forms a boundary between two great volcanoes), and on that occasion +used a side-saddle, but was afterwards advised by one of the party to +follow the native fashion of riding astride. Having acted upon this +advice, she was well satisfied with the result of the trial, and +continued to adopt that style while in the Sandwich Islands, and also +in the Rocky Mountains, where she remained nearly four months. The +following extract from a letter written by her about the 28th of +January, from Hilo, Hawaii, and published in _The Hawaiian +Archipelago: Six Months in the Sandwich Islands_, 1875, page 66, gives +further particulars of her visit to the Anuenue Falls, above referred +to:-- + +"Everything was new and interesting, but the ride was spoiled by my +insecure seat in my saddle, and the increased pain in my spine which +riding produced. Once, in crossing a stream, the horses had to make a +sort of downward jump from a rock, and I slipped round my horse's +neck; indeed, on the way back I felt that on the ground of health I +must give up the volcano, as I would never consent to be carried to +it, like Lady Franklin, in a litter. When we returned, Mr. Severance +suggested that it would be much better for me to follow the Hawaiian +fashion, and ride astride, and put his saddle on the horse. It was +only my strong desire to see the volcano which made me consent to a +mode of riding against which I have so strong a prejudice; but the +result of the experiment is that I shall visit Kilanea thus or not at +all. The native women all ride astride on ordinary occasions in the +full sacks, or holukus, and on gala days in the pan, the gay winged +dress which I described in writing from Honolulu. A great many of the +foreign ladies in Hawaii have adopted the Mexican saddle also" (this +means that they ride astride) "for greater security to themselves and +ease to their horses on the steep and perilous bridle-tracks, but they +wear full Turkish trousers, and jauntily-made dresses reaching to the +ankles." + +After leaving the Sandwich Islands she went to the Rocky Mountains, +and in a letter dated the 23rd of October, and published in _A Lady's +Life in the Rocky Mountains_, 1879, she writes from the Colorado +District, North America:-- + +"I rode sidewise till I was well through the town, long enough to +produce a severe pain in my spine, which was not relieved for some +time even after I had changed my position. It was a lovely Indian +summer day, so warm that the snow on the ground looked an +incongruity." + +From the fact that many ladies, when in the Sandwich Islands, ride +astride, and that Miss Bird found this position preferable in many +respects to that which a side-saddle obliges the rider to take, I +infer that ladies in England would be pleased if a change in the mode +of riding were introduced. + +Proprietors of circuses will perhaps permit me to offer for their +consideration that by allowing this mode of riding to form a part of +some of the circus performances, they might do a great deal towards +causing it to be recognised by the public as the correct style, and +that one great obstacle in the way of its being generally adopted by +horsewomen would then be removed. + +I wish also to suggest that it should be taught at several +riding-schools, so that a large number of pupils may commence at the +same time. + +I am, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +X. Y. Z. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--The letters of your correspondent, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, are +very instructive and trustworthy, because founded upon practical +experience. In her letter of last week she recommends the feeding of +hunters upon _cooked food_. This to many sportsmen will be a new +theory; not so to me, and I wish to confirm her views, but I carry them +out in a more economical way. My establishment is but a small one. I +cannot afford space or attendance for a cooking-house, but I believe I +arrive at the same results as she does, by steeping my oats in cold +water for a given number of hours, and adding a pound of Indian meal, +with a handful of chopped hay and oaten straw to each feed three times +a day. My horses have a constant supply of water in a manger in a +convenient corner of their stables. I believe horses fed upon dry oats +and hay suffer much from thirst. I observe my horses take many sups of +water through the day, but take much less on the whole than when +watered upon the old practice twice daily. Practically, I find my +horses very healthy, strong, and enduring, and I would freely recommend +the adoption of this mode of feeding hunters to my sporting friends. + +FARMER. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--I am still so inundated with correspondence--many writers asking +me precisely the same questions--that I shall regard it as a favour if +you will again allow me to answer a few of them through the medium of +your paper. + +CONN. DASHPUR.--You and your horse were immersed in the river, simply +because you did not give him sufficient head-room to enable him to +take the jump with safety. In coming up to a wide stretch of water you +should always leave your mount abundant opportunity to extend his head +and neck, nor should you wait to do this until you are just on the +brink,--it will then, most likely, be too late to save you and him a +wetting. A horse stretches his neck coming up to a water-jump, partly +that he may see well what is before him, and partly because his +intelligence tells him that he cannot compass it if tightly reined in. +Leave him his head, and if he is a hunter worth riding he will +calculate his distance and bear you safely over. At the same time you +must remember to give him sufficient support when he lands, or he may +peck, or roll, and give you an ugly fall. A horse is much more liable +to come down over a water-jump than at a fence, for the swinging pace +at which you must necessarily send him at it--combined with the +_absolute_ necessity for leaving him complete freedom of his +head--forbids that "steadying" process, which, at the hands of an +accomplished rider, usually ensures safety over wall or ditch. +Questions similar to yours have been asked me by H. CADLICOTT, MAURICE +HONE, and GUY. In answering one, therefore, I reply to each. + +ELLICE GREENWAY.--Your MS. never reached me; you must have misdirected +it,--but in any case I could not have been of service to you, as I +have no time for revising other people's work, nor would my +recommendation carry any weight. Publishers judge for themselves. Your +papers must go in on their merits, and be accepted or rejected +accordingly. I quite agree with you that declined MSS. should--when +accompanied by a stamped and addressed envelope--be returned to the +sender with the least possible delay. No matter how great or hurried +may be the business of an office, there is in reality no excuse for +inattention to this rule. The very best and busiest of the weekly +journals comply with it, and persons who do not want to be treated +with snobbish indifference had better not write for any other. Perhaps +if you call, or send a line privately to the Editor, you may succeed +in getting back your work; but do not be expectant. + +KING LEAR.--The horse you name attained his victory in 1878. He +carried 12 st. 7 lbs. + +G. HUNT.--Beauparc; but he did not win. + +P. RYALL.--At Thirsk. He fell at the second obstacle, and although +speedily remounted, his chance was extinguished. Pinnace ran well, and +was in great form. His defeat was a surprise, but your informant has +not given you reliable details. + +JAMES.--Read _Silk and Scarlet_, one of the "Druid" series. Thanks for +too flattering opinion. + +FORDHAM.--The course is a most trying one, and the feat was one never +before attempted by a lady. I did it to show that my horse was capable +of accomplishing the task, and the risk was not what you describe it, +for he was too clever to put a foot astray. Major Stone of the 80th +accompanied me, and gave me a good lead. The only time I passed him +was when his horse refused at an ugly post and rail. It is not true +that he was thrown. He rode splendidly, managing a difficult horse. +There was no "crowd," and in short it is evident that you have +received an exaggerated account of the affair. + +J. DUNNE.--He won at Newcastle in 1879. + +COLLINS W.--She was, in my opinion, unfairly handicapped, and the +verdict was general respecting the matter. + +DOUGLAS.--The horse was not shot for five hours after, and lay +quivering all that time. The owner was absent, and four of us galloped +in search of him. Nobody was to blame. Mr. W. B. Morris, 7th Hussars, +was the rider, and no better ever wore silk. + +MONTAUBAN.--I have already detailed at some length my objections to +children riding before they have strength and judgment sufficient to +enable them to manage a horse. Moreover, if a child--say a little +girl--gets a severe fall, the shock to her nervous system is most +likely to be a lasting one, and in some cases is never got over; +whereas grown girls are less liable to fall, if they have any sort of +fair teaching, and certainly have stronger nerves and firmer +resolution to enable them to bear the casualties attendant upon the +practice of the art. + +CURIOUS.--Griffin and Hawkes, of Birmingham, by the burning of whose +premises some of my most valued MSS. were lost. + +JESSICA.--It is quite untrue. Her Imperial Majesty dresses and mounts +in ordinary fashion. There is not one word of truth in the +widely-circulated statement that her habit is buttoned on after she +has mounted, nor is her jacket ever made "tight." It is close-fitting +and beautifully adapted to her figure, but sufficiently large to leave +her abundant room to move in. The Empress despises tight stays, +gloves, and boots. Her waist is small, but not wasp-like. The absurd +announcement that it measured but twelve inches (recently published in +one of the weekly journals) is as false as it is foolish. Nobody could +exist with such a deformity. The Empress takes morning exercise upon a +trapeze. Her hair is dark, shaded to gold-colour, like a wood in +autumn. The report that she dyes it is one of the many calumnies of +which she is the subject, but which happily cannot harm her. She is +_not_ affable; her manner is stately in the extreme, to all except +those with whom she desires to converse. She speaks fair but not +fluent English. This reply to JESSICA is also for FRANK KURTZ, AMY +ROBSART, and ALICIA BOND. + +JULIUS.--It was not I who wrote it. I got the credit of it, but did +not covet the distinction. + +GEORGE K.--Nobody assists me. Of course you mean as an amanuensis: +otherwise your question would be an offence. I write my thoughts in +short-hand, and copy at leisure for the press. My time for writing is +when the house is quiet,--generally from 10 P.M. to 2 or 3 in the +morning. I have answered you--but against my will, as I much dislike +personal questions. Were I to reply to such in general, my entire life +would be laid bare to the eyes of a disinterested public, in order to +gratify a few persons, who have no motive save one of idle curiosity. + +T. CANNON.--_Grandfather's Hunter_ is sold out. _Horses and Horsemen_ +is to be had, but its price puts it beyond the pale of ordinary +purchasers. Try Bumpus, or Mudie. + +OXONIAN.--You are wrong,--nor have I asked your opinion. It is easier +to criticise than to write. Having done the former, pray do the +latter, and submit to others' criticism. + +MARCIA FLOOD.--Two yards round the hem is amply sufficient width. I +consider the price you name quite exorbitant. Try one of those +mentioned by me in my chapter upon riding-gear. + +Thanking you, Sir, for your kindness in granting me so much of your +valuable space. + +I am, yours obediently, + +NANNIE POWER O'DONOGHUE. + + * * * * * + +SIR,--In a recent edition "Jack Spur" asks if it is usual in any +country for ladies to ride _a la_ Duchess de Berri, _i.e._ as a +gentleman, astride. In Mexico and the States of the River Plate this +is the usual mount of the fair ones of the district, and, clad in +loose Turkish pantalettes tucked into the riding-boots of soft yellow +leather, a loose sort of tunic secured by a belt, and wearing the +_ladies'_ "sombrero," very charming these fair _equestriennes_ look, +and splendid horsewomen they are. Talk of ladies, your "Fair Play" +should see the long, sharp, Mexican spurs attached to the heels of +these fair prairie-rangers, and witness how unsparingly they are used. +Sometimes I, who am no namby-pamby rider, and have seen my share of +rough work, have ventured to remonstrate in a half-jocular manner (as +became a stranger and foreigner) when riding along with a Mexican +lady, who generally keeps her steed at a full gallop by the +remorseless application of these instruments of punishment. But the +reply was merely a silvery laugh, and "Ah, senor, here horses are +cheap, and when one is finished we have plenty more for the catching. +Come along!" My experience of ladies on horseback as a rule is that +they are more severe than men; perhaps it is thoughtlessness, but +certainly for hard riding and severe spurring I have never seen any to +surpass a Mexican senora, whose favourite pace is a stretching gallop +without cessation, until her steed is perfectly pumped out, and as +horseflesh is of no value whatever, and no Society for the Prevention +of Cruelty to Animals exists, I am afraid I must record a verdict of +cruelty against some of the most charming women I ever met. To their +fellow mortals all kindness and goodness, but when mounted on their +mustang they seem to forget that he can feel either fatigue or pain. +Certainly the temptation is great. A horse is of no value; you seldom +mount the same twice on a journey, and across the beautiful prairies a +wild gallop is the pace. But I should be sorry to see an English lady +dismount from her steed, leaving him utterly exhausted and pumped out, +and his flanks streaming with blood from deep spur-strokes. This I +have too often seen in South America. Everyone does it, and it is +little thought of; but by all means let us cherish a better feeling, +and not give any needless pain to that noble animal, the horse. Let +the ladies avoid the use of sharp spurs; most horses ridden by ladies +here are perfectly amenable to the whip and rein, and the use of the +spur is somewhat inharmonious with the gentle character of our English +women. + +GUACHO. + +St. Leonards, 1880. + + * * * * * + + "The correspondence upon this subject, called forth by Mrs. Power + O'Donoghue's admirable papers 'Ladies on Horseback,' has been so + voluminous, and appears likely to go on for such a lengthened + period, that I am reluctantly obliged to bring it to a close, in + order to make space for other matter."--ED. _Illustrated Sporting + and Dramatic News._ + + +London: Printed by W. H. Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, S.W. + + + + +WORKS PUBLISHED + +BY + +W. H. ALLEN & CO. + + +HOW TO RIDE AND SCHOOL A HORSE, With a System of Horse Gymnastics. +BY EDWARD L. ANDERSON. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. + + * * * * * + +MAYHEW (EDWARD) ILLUSTRATED HORSE DOCTOR. Being an Accurate and +Detailed Account, accompanied by more than 400 Pictorial Representations, +characteristic of the various Diseases to which the Equine Race are +subjected; together with the latest Mode of Treatment, and all the +requisite Prescriptions written in Plain English. BY EDWARD MAYHEW, +M.R.C.V.S. 8vo. 18s. 6d. + +CONTENTS.--The Brain and Nervous System.--The Eyes.--The Mouth.--The +Nostrils.--The Throat.--The Chest and its contents.--The Stomach, +Liver, &c.--The Abdomen.--The Urinary Organs.--The Skin.--Specific +Diseases.--Limbs.--The Feet.--Injuries.--Operations. + + "The book contains nearly 600 pages of valuable matter, which + reflects great credit on its author, and, owing to its practical + details, the result of deep scientific research, deserves a place + in the library of medical, veterinary, and non-professional + readers."--_Field._ + + "The book furnishes at once the bane and the antidote, as the + drawings show the horse not only suffering from every kind of + disease, but in the different stages of it, while the alphabetical + summary at the end gives the cause, symptoms, and treatment of + each."--_Illustrated London News._ + +MAYHEW (EDWARD) ILLUSTRATED HORSE MANAGEMENT.--Containing descriptive +remarks upon Anatomy, Medicine, Shoeing, Teeth, Food, Vices, Stables; +likewise a plain account of the situation, nature, and value of the +various points; together with comments on grooms, dealers, breeders, +breakers, and trainers; Embellished with more than 400 engravings from +original designs made expressly for this work. By E. MAYHEW. A new +Edition, revised and improved by J. I. LUPTON, M.R.C.V.S. 8vo. 12s. + +CONTENTS.--The body of the horse anatomically considered. PHYSIC.--The +mode of administering it, and minor operations. SHOEING.--Its origin, +its uses, and its varieties. THE TEETH.--Their natural growth, and the +abuses to which they are liable. FOOD.--The fittest time for feeding, +and the kind of food which the horse naturally consumes. The evils +which are occasioned by modern stables. The faults inseparable from +stables. The so-called "incapacitating vices," which are the results +of injury or of disease. Stables as they should be. GROOMS.--Their +prejudices, their injuries, and their duties. POINTS.--Their relative +importance, and where to look for their development. BREEDING.--Its +inconsistencies and its disappointments. BREAKING AND TRAINING.--Their +errors and their results. + + * * * * * + +DAUMAS (E.) HORSES OF THE SAHARA, AND THE MANNERS OF THE DESERT. By +E. DAUMAS, General of the Division Commanding at Bordeaux, +Senator, &c. &c. With Commentaries by the Emir Abd-el-Kadir +(Authorized Edition). 8vo. 6s. + + "We have rarely read a work giving a more picturesque and, at the + same time, practical account of the manners and customs of a + people, than this book on the Arabs and their horses."--_Edinburgh + Courant._ + + + + +THURSTON & CO. + +BILLIARD TABLE MANUFACTURERS. + +LAMP MAKERS AND GAS FITTERS. + +_BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, AND HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE +PRINCESS OF WALES._ + +ESTABLISHED A.D. 1814. + +16, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND, LONDON. + +_PRIZE MEDAL, SYDNEY, 1879, FIRST AWARD._ + + + + +S. & H. HARRIS'S + +57, MANSELL STREET, E., + +EBONITE WATERPROOF BLACKING + +FOR HUNTING OR WALKING BOOTS. + +REQUIRES NO BRUSHING. + +HARNESS COMPOSITION + (Waterproof). + +SADDLE PASTE + (Waterproof). + +JET BLACK OIL, + For Harness. + +BLACK DYE, FOR STAINING HARNESS, + And all kinds of Leather. + +WATERPROOF DUBBIN, + For Boots and Harness. + +BREECHES POWDER, + For Cleaning Hunting Breeches. + +POLISHING PASTE, + For Cleaning Metals and Glass. + +S. & H. HARRIS, + +57, MANSELL STREET, E. + + + + +H. PEAT & CO., + +173, PICCADILLY, + +LONDON, W., + +SADDLERS & HARNESS MAKERS + +TO THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES + +The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, + +_Her Majesty's Cavalry and the Crown Agents +for the Colonies._ + + + + +[The following advertisements have been moved from the beginning of +the book.] + + +[Illustration: Silver Medal +Vienna 1873. + +Paris 1878. +Philadelphia 1876.] + +SWAINE ADENEY, + +WHIP MANUFACTURERS, + +_To THE QUEEN, THE PRINCE and PRINCESS OF WALES and the ROYAL +FAMILY_, + +185, PICCADILLY, + +LONDON, W. + +WHIPS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION FOR RIDING, DRIVING, & HUNTING, &c. + +WHIPS MOUNTED IN GOLD AND SILVER, FOR PRESENTATION, ALWAYS ON HAND. + +HUNTING FLASKS, HORNS, &c. + + + + +THE NEW LEVEL-SEAT SIDE SADDLE, + +WITH ADJUSTABLE THIRD CRUTCH AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS, + +As recommended and used by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, Authoress of +"LADIES ON HORSEBACK," &c. &c. + +This perfect Side Saddle is moderate in price, light and elegant in +appearance, faultless in materials and workmanship, ensures ease, +comfort, and security to the rider, and obviates sore backs with +horses. + +MADE TO ORDER AND MEASURE BY + +F. V. NICHOLLS & CO., + +HUNTING & MILITARY SADDLERS, + +Manufacturers of Harness, Horse Clothing, Whips, and Stable Requisites, + +2, JERMYN STREET, HAYMARKET, + +LONDON. + +The Gentleman's narrow-grip "Brough" Saddle, any size and weight, from +L7, complete. + +The Gentleman Rider's Racing Saddle, L3 to L4, complete, very roomy, +with Buckskin Flaps, &c. + +THE IMPROVED NEWMARKET & ING GUY SNAFFLE BRIDLES, FOR PULLING HORSES. + +Branch Business: 18, ARTILLERY PLACE, WOOLWICH. + + + + +ROWLANDS' ODONTO OR PEARL DENTIFRICE + +has been celebrated for more than half a century as the best, purest, +and most fragrant preparation for the teeth ever made. Health depends +in a great measure upon the soundness of the teeth, and all dentists +will allow that neither washes nor pastes can possibly be as +efficacious for polishing the teeth and keeping them sound and white as +a pure and non-gritty tooth-powder; such Rowlands' Odonto has always +proved itself to be. Great care must be taken to ask for ROWLANDS' +ODONTO, of 20, Hatton Garden, London, and to see that each box bears +the 3d. Government Stamp, without which no ODONTO is genuine. + + +ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL + +is universally in high repute for its unprecedented success during the +last 80 years in promoting the growth, restoring, improving, and +beautifying the human hair. For children it is especially recommended, +as forming the basis of a beautiful head of hair, while its +introduction into the nursery of Royalty is a sufficient proof of its +merits. It is perfectly free from any lead, mineral, or poisonous +ingredients. + + +ROWLANDS' KALYDOR + +produces a beautiful pure and healthy complexion, eradicates freckles, +tan, prickly heat, sunburn, &c., and is most cooling and refreshing to +the face, hands, and arms during hot weather. + + +_Ask any Perfumery dealer for ROWLANDS' Articles, of 20, Hatton +Garden, London, and avoid spurious worthless imitations._ + + + + +MESSRS. JAY + + +_Have the honour to solicit a visit from the Beau Monde to inspect a +variety of Elegant Silk Costumes, Mantles, Artistic Millinery, Hats, +also Novelties in Dress, specially selected in Paris from the best +Artistes representing the Fashions of the Season._ + +243, 245, 247, 249, 251, & 253, Regent Street, W. + + + + +W. FAULKNER, + +LADIES' & GENTLEMEN'S HUNTING, SHOOTING, & WALKING BOOT MAKER, + +52, SOUTH MOLTON STREET, BOND STREET, W. + +_Manufacturer of the Celebrated Edinburgh Boot Varnish, Blacking, and +Waterproof Leather Dressing._ + +MILITARY BOOTS. + +The "Bective" Boots and Shoes to match Costumes. + +Improved Flexura Boots. + +Mountain Boots. + +Skating Boots. + +[Illustration: A Boot] + +Lawn Tennis Shoes. + +Oxford Shoes. + +Slippers to any style. + +LADIES' RIDING & HUNTING BOOTS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. + +_The Shape of the Feet taken and Lasts Modelled on the most approved, +anatomical principles, and kept exclusively for each customer._ + +W. FAULKNER begs most respectfully to call the attention of +Ladies and Gentlemen to the BOOT TREE Branch. Boot Trees assist to keep +the boots in proper shape, preventing them from wrinkling and shrinking +after they have been worn in the wet; they can be cleaned better, and +do not require so much blacking, thereby preventing the deleterious +effect produced by its frequent application. + +Lasts and Boot Trees of every description Manufactured on the Premises. + +Ladies residing in the Country can have Boots or Boot Trees sent their +exact size by forwarding an Old Boot by Post. + + + + +_To H.R.H. PRINCESS CHRISTIAN._ + +SYKES, JOSEPHINE, & CO. + +"CORSETS." + +280, REGENT STREET, LONDON, + +AND + +56A, OLD STEYNE, BRIGHTON. + +RIDING CORSETS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION MADE TO ORDER. + + MANUFACTORIES {RUE RAMBUTEAU, PARIS. + {GREAT CASTLE STREET, LONDON. + + + + +HOW TO RIDE AND SCHOOL A HORSE + +BY + +E. L. ANDERSON. + +_Crown 8vo. Price, 2s. 6d._ + + +"It requires the study of only a very few pages of this book to +convince the reader that the author thoroughly understands his +subject."--_Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News._ + +"Concise, practical directions for riding and training, by which +the pupil may become his own master."--_Land and Water._ + +"A useful and carefully-written volume."--_Sporting Times._ + +"It is sensible and practical."--_Whitehall Review._ + +"We cordially commend this book."--_Indian Daily News._ + +"The work is a good riding-master's book, with no superfluous words, +and with plain, straightforward directions throughout. The chapter +on 'The Walk and the Trot' seems to us especially practical and +good."--_Farmer._ + +"Goes straight to the core of the subject, and is throughout replete +with sound sense."--_Home News._ + +"Cannot fail to be of service to the young equestrian, while it +contains many hints that may be advantageously borne in mind by +experienced riders."--_Scotsman._ + +"Mr. Anderson gives good practical advice, and we commend the work +to the attention of our readers."--_Live Stock Journal._ + + +London: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 Waterloo Place. + + + + +THE ILLUSTRATED HORSE DOCTOR + +Being an Accurate and Detailed Account, accompanied by more than 400 +Pictorial Representations, characteristic of the various Diseases to +which the Equine Race are subjected; together with the latest Mode of +Treatment, and all the requisite Prescriptions written in Plain +English. + +By EDWARD MAYHEW, M.R.C.V.S. + +8_vo._, 18_s._ 6_d._ + +CONTENTS.--The Brain and Nervous System.--The Eyes.--The +Mouth.--The Nostrils.--The Throat.--The Chest and its contents.-- +The Stomach, Liver, &c.--The Abdomen.--The Urinary Organs.--The +Skin.--Specific Diseases.--Limbs.--The Feet.--Injuries.--Operations. + + "The book contains nearly 600 pages of valuable matter, which + reflects great credit on its author, and, owing to its practical + details, the result of deep scientific research, deserves a place + in the library of medical, veterinary, and non-professional + readers."--_Field._ + + "The book furnishes at once the bane and the antidote, as the + drawings show the horse not only suffering from every kind of + disease, but in the different stages of it, while the alphabetical + summary at the end gives the cause, symptoms and treatment of + each."--_Illustrated London News._ + + +ILLUSTRATED HORSE MANAGEMENT. + +Containing Descriptive Remarks upon Anatomy, Medicine, Shoeing, Teeth, +Food, Vices, Stables; likewise a plain account of the situation, +nature, and value of the various points; together with comments on +grooms, dealers, breeders, breakers, and trainers. Embellished with +more than 400 engravings from original designs made expressly for this +work. + +By E. MAYHEW. + +_A New Edition, Revised and Improved_, 8_vo._, 12_s._, + +By J. I. LUPTON, M.R.C.V.S. + +CONTENTS:--The body of the horse anatomically considered. _Physic._ +--The mode of administering it, and minor operations. _Shoeing._-- +Its origin, its uses, and its varieties. _The Teeth._--Their natural +growth, and the abuses to which they are liable. _Food._--The fittest +time for feeding, and the kind of food which the horse naturally +consumes. The evils which are occasioned by modern stables. The +faults inseparable from stables. The so-called "incapacitating +vices," which are the results of injury or of disease. Stables as +they should be. _Grooms._--Their prejudices, their injuries, and +their duties. _Points._--Their relative importance, and where to +look for their development. _Breeding._--Its inconsistencies and +its disappointments. _Breaking and Training._--Their errors and +their results. + + +LONDON: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. + + + + +SELECTION FROM + +W. H. Allen & Co.'s Catalogue. + + +SKETCHES FROM NIPAL. Historical and Descriptive, with Anecdotes of +Court Life and Wild Sports of the country in the Time of Maharaja +Jang Bahadur, G.C.B. With Illustrations of Religious Monuments, +Architecture, and Scenery, from the Author's own Drawings. By the late +HENRY AMBROSE OLDFIELD, M.D., many years Residency Surgeon at +Khatmandu, Nipal. 2 vols. 8vo., 36_s._ + + "The work is full of facts, intelligently observed and faithfully + recorded."--_Saturday Review._ + + "We have nothing but unqualified praise for the manner in which + Dr. Oldfield's manuscript has been edited and published by his + relatives. The sketches have just claims to rank very high amongst + the standard works on the Kingdoms of High + Asia."--_Spectator._ + +RECORDS OF SPORT AND MILITARY LIFE IN WESTERN INDIA. By the late +Lieutenant-Colonel G. T. FRASER, formerly of the 1st Bombay +Fusiliers, and more recently attached to the Staff of H.M.'s Indian +Army. With an Introduction by Colonel G. B. MALLESON, C.S.I. +Crown 8vo., 7_s._ 6_d._ + + "The style is free from humbug and affectation, and none of the + stories are incredible.... Some of the anecdotes about the early + life of Outram confirm the opinion of that gallant officer held by + his contemporaries."--_Saturday Review._ + + "Records his experience in a very simple and unaffected manner, and + he has stirring stories to tell."--_Spectator._ + +THIRTEEN YEARS AMONG THE WILD BEASTS OF INDIA; THEIR HAUNTS AND HABITS. +From Personal Observation; with an account of the Modes of Capturing +and Taming Wild Elephants. By G. P. SANDERSON, Officer in Charge of the +Government Elephant Keddahs at Mysore. With 21 full-page Illustrations +and Three Maps. Second Edition. Fcp. 4to. L1 5_s._ + + + + +LATCHFORD & WILLSON, + +11, UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, + +LONDON, W.C., + +By Appointment to HER MAJESTY, H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES, &c. &c. + +MAKERS + +OF ALL KINDS OF + +BRIDLE-BITS, STIRRUPS, & SPURS. + +ALL MODERN FASHIONS, ARMY REGULATIONS, &c. + +THE LORINER: Latchford on Bridle-bits and the Bitting of Horses. +Illustrated, 7s. + +PRIZE MEDAL, PARIS. + + +_Just Published, Price 2s. 6d._, + +A SYSTEM OF SCHOOL TRAINING FOR HORSES. + +By E. L. ANDERSON, + +AUTHOR OF "HOW TO RIDE AND SCHOOL A HORSE." + +"He is well worthy of a hearing."--_Bell's Life._ + +"There is no reason why the careful reader should not be able, by the +help of this little book, to train as well as ride his horse."--_Land +and Water._ + +"Each successive stage of the school system is carefully traced, and +anyone accustomed to the management of horses will therefore be able to +follow and appreciate the value of Mr. Anderson's kindly method of +training."--_Daily Chronicle._ + + +London: W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 Waterloo Place. + + + + +HOUSE! STABLE! FIELD! + + +W. CLARK'S ELASTIC WATERPROOF POLISH, for Hunting, Shooting, and +Fishing Boots; also for Ladies' and Gentlemen's ordinary Walking Boots +and Shoes. + +W. CLARK'S BROWN BOOT-TOP FLUID, for restoring Brown Top-Boots to their +original colour; also a Cream for Polishing, making them equal to new. + +W. CLARK'S BREECHES PASTE, for softening and preserving Hunting +Breeches, Gloves, &c. + +W. CLARK'S BOOT-TOP POWDERS, of various colours, White, Pink, Rose +Pink, Straw, Salmon, Natural, Flesh, Cream, Drab, Melton Brown, three +colours of Brown, all of the newest description. + +W. CLARK'S LIQUID SHOE BLACKING, the best in the world for softening, +preserving, and superior brilliancy. + +W. CLARK'S WATERPROOF HARNESS BLACKING requires neither Oil nor Dye. + +W. CLARK'S Newly-invented PASTE, for Harness, Patent and Enamelled +Leathers. This preparation does not wash off, it renders the leather +soft, and produces a polish superior to any of its kind in existence. + +W. CLARK'S PLATE POWDER, for Cleansing and Restoring Plate, Brass, and +Metals of every description. + +W. CLARK'S SADDLE PASTE, for Softening, Preserving, and Beautifying +Saddles, Bridles, and every description of Brown Leather, &c. + +W. CLARK'S METROPOLITAN POLISH. This article is used for Ladies' and +Gentlemen's Patent, Enamel, Bronze Glace, Morocco, Kid Boots and Shoes, +producing a superior polish. + +W. CLARK'S PATENT KID REVIVER, for cleaning Black Kid Boots and Shoes, +making them equal to new, also for reviving all kinds of Black, Blue, +and Dark Silks, removes grease spots. + +W. CLARK'S NE PLUS ULTRA RAVEN JET FRENCH VARNISH, for Ladies' and +Gentlemen's Evening Dress and ordinary Walking Boots and Shoes, +producing a most brilliant polish, warranted not to crack or soil the +finest Cambric. + +W. CLARK'S BRASS PASTE produces a fine polish upon Brass, Copper, Tin, +Pewter, Britannia Metal, Coach Glasses, and Windows. + +W. CLARK'S WATERPROOF POUCH PASTE, for Pouches, Belts, Straps, +Knapsacks, Canteen Coverings, Boots, Leggings &c. + +W. CLARK'S EMBROCATION FOR HORSES AND CATTLE, gives immediate relief in +all cases of Lameness, Sore Throat, Influenza, and Rheumatism. + + +W. CLARK'S + +PATENT HORSE CLIPPERS. + +[Illustration: No. 1.] + +Has been before the Public for 12 years, giving the greatest +satisfaction, the cheapest and best in the market. + +[Illustration: No. 2] + +A one-handed Machine for Heads, Ears, Necks, Quarters, Stomachs, +Stifle, and all difficult parts; also extensively used in cutting the +human hair in hot climates, where it is required to be cut close. + + + + +SADDLERY, HARNESS, HORSE CLOTHING &c. + +Saddlers by Appointment. + +URCH & CO., + +(ESTABLISHED 1835,) + +84, LONG ACRE, LONDON, W.C. + +MANUFACTURERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF SADDLERY, HARNESS, &c. + +WHOLESALE AND RETAIL. + +_A LARGE ASSORTMENT ALWAYS KEPT IN STOCK._ + +URCH and CO.'S PATENT DOUBLE SPRING BAR for Releasing the Stirrup +Leather when thrown, can be seen at the above establishment "in working +order." + + + + +_By Appointment to H.M. THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND._ + +_By Appointment to H.M. THE QUEEN OF DENMARK._ + +REDFERN, + +LADIES' TAILORS, + +By Special Appointments + +_To H.R.H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES and H.I.H. THE EMPRESS OF +RUSSIA_, + +26, CONDUIT STREET, + +Bond Street, London, W. + + +SPECIALITIES-- + +RIDING HABITS, + +_From specially prepared Melton Cloths, &c._ + +JOHN REDFERN and SONS would particularly draw the +attention of Ladies to their Improvements in the cut of Riding Habit +Skirts, on the proper set of which depends the whole effect of the +Habit. These improvements, while maintaining a tight, well-fitting +appearance, give perfect comfort and safety to the rider. + + +DRIVING COATS, + +_From Waterproofed Box-Cloths, Faced Cloths, Tweeds, &c._ + +These, together with J. R. and Son's Improved Newmarket Coats, will be +found most useful for driving to meet and for constant wear. + + +Branch Businesses at Cowes, Isle of Wight, and 242, Rue de Rivoli +(Place de la Concorde), Paris. + + "The most noted Firm of Ladies' Tailors in the world, and, be it + said, the most original."--Extract from _Court Journal_. + + + + +_By Appointment to H.M. THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND._ + +_By Appointment to H.M. THE QUEEN OF DENMARK._ + +REDFERN, + +LADIES' TAILORS, + +By Special Appointments + +TO H.R.H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES AND H.I.H. THE EMPRESS OF +RUSSIA, + +26, CONDUIT STREET, + +BOND STREET, LONDON, W. + + +SPECIALITY-- + +YACHTING & TRAVELLING GOWNS. + +*** From original Colourings in Cloth and Serge, &c. + +_The Firm personally superintend every order, and a perfect fit is +guaranteed._ + +N.B.--On the occasion of the visit to England of H.S.H. the Princess +Helena of Waldeck, in March 1882, John Redfern and Sons had the honour +of making for Her Serene Highness. + +On the visit of H.I.M. the Empress Eugenie, accompanied by the late +Napoleon III., J. R. and Sons had a similar honour. + +On the visit of H.I.H. the Crown Princess of Germany, J. R. and Sons +had the honour of making for Her Imperial Highness and all the +Princesses. + +On the visit to the Queen of T.R.H. the Princesses of Hesse Darmstadt, +J. R. and Sons had the honour of making for their Royal Highnesses. + +On the visit to Her Majesty of the Daughters of H.R.H. the late +Princess Alice, J. R. and Sons had a similar honour. + + +Branch Businesses at Cowes, Isle of Wight, and 242, Rue de Rivoli +(Place de la Concorde), Paris. + + "The most noted Firm of Ladies' Tailors in the world, and, be it + said, the most original."--Extract from _Court Journal_. + + + + +LADIES' RIDING BOOTS. + +ESTABLISHED 1839. + +N. THIERRY, + +ESTABLISHED 1839. + +LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S + +BOOT & SHOE MANUFACTURER, + + LONDON, {70 QUADRANT, REGENT STREET, W., + {AND 48, GRESHAM STREET, E.C. + +MANCHESTER, 2, St. Ann's Sq.; LIVERPOOL, 5, Bold St. + +_Complete Illustrated Price Lists Post Free._ + +[Illustration: LADIES' RIDING BOOT, 50s., all Patent or with Morocco +Legs.] + +NO INFERIOR ARTICLES KEPT. ALL GOODS WARRANTED AND MARKED IN PLAIN +FIGURES. + +THE LARGEST STOCK OF BEST QUALITY GOODS IN ENGLAND ALWAYS READY. +26,000 PAIRS TO CHOOSE FROM. + +[Illustration: LADIES' NEWMARKET RIDING +BOOT, Cloth legs, 50s.] + +NOTE.--_To order, 2s. per pair extra for fitting and keeping special +lasts._ + +LADIES' SPURS, Silver Plate, Strap, & Buckle complete, 9s, 6d. + +_PRICE LIST of a few Leading Articles, Ladies' Department_:-- + +BOOTS. + + Button or Lace 17s. 0d. + Do. do. Hessians, from 19s. 6d. + Do. do. Cork Clumps 24s. 0d. + Do. High Glace Louis XV. Heels 27s. 29s. + +SHOES. + + Oxford Tie, Morocco 14s. 0d. + Do. do. Glace 16s. 0d. + Do. Richelieu, Louis XV. Heels 23s. 0d. + Patent Court Heels and Bows 8s. 6d. + Glace Kid, Embroidered. 11s. 6d. + +A GREAT VARIETY of very Fashionable Ladies' Dress Shoes in +Glace Kid or Satin (various Colours), Embroidered Jet, Gold, +Steel, or Bijou. + +A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF CHILDREN'S BOOTS AND SHOES, + +AND EVERY VARIETY OF GENTS' RIDING, WALKING, & DRESS BOOTS & SHOES. + +Goods sent on approval on receipt of satisfactory references (a London +tradesman preferred), or cheque for the amount. An old boot or shoe +should be sent as a guide for size, paper patterns and other +measurements being of little use. Goods that do not suit will be +exchanged or the money returned. + +FIVE PER CENT. DISCOUNT FOR CASH. + +_PLEASE NOTE--70, REGENT STREET QUADRANT, as there is another house +of the same Surname in the street._ + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ladies on Horseback, by Nannie Lambert + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADIES ON HORSEBACK *** + +***** This file should be named 39501.txt or 39501.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/5/0/39501/ + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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