CHAPTER XVI.

SADDLERY, HARNESS, AND STABLE SUNDRIES--OF WHAT THESE CONSIST; THEIR

APPLICATION AND THEIR PRESERVATION.

The ensuing particulars were communicated by Mr. Thomas Sainsbury,

Junr., the skillful foreman to a well-known and old-established

firm--Messrs. Gibson & Co., of Coventry Street, Leicester Square.

Proceeding from so trustworthy a source, the information cannot

otherwise than merit implicit confidence; for when descanting on

the above subject, the author, being anxious to state only facts,

deemed it better to seek instructions from an established tradesman

rather than to employ such knowledge as he himself possessed;

since, not being acquainted with every branch of the business, his

opinions must necessarily be more or less speculative, or based upon

probabilities. Having enjoyed the benefit of Mr. Sainsbury’s unreserved

communications, the writer rejoices at the resolution which he had

formed; and can only tender his sincerest thanks to Messrs. Gibson

& Co. for the extreme liberality they have evinced throughout the

transaction.

_Saddlery and harness making_ are two distinct branches of one

occupation. Saddlery strictly implies only that furniture which fits

a steed for the uses of its rider. Harness making signifies the

manufacture of those trappings which are employed upon animals of

draught. There are, also, other subdivisions recognized by the trade;

but on the present occasion these need not be particularly enlarged

upon.

Many men are expert at either kind of manufacture; but the best workmen

are those who devote themselves to one particular branch of the trade.

Such can only find remunerative employment with the masters who can

afford to keep an artisan constantly employed at the work in which he

excels.

Saddlers justly complain that a horse cannot be accurately fitted when

the animal is fresh from a dealer’s stable. A good saddle should be

so exquisitely adapted to the body on which it is placed as scarcely

to be moved, even by the action of the limbs. A tradesman approaches

perfection, therefore, in proportion as his trappings cleave to the

trunk for which they are manufactured. Such a desideratum necessitates

that a precise measurement should be taken. Not only is length and

breadth required, but the curves or shape of the body are also needed.

The material employed by saddle-makers to ascertain such particulars

is equally simple and effective. It consists merely of a narrow slip

of pliable sheet-lead, about two feet long, and doubled in the center,

like a pair of compasses. Such a material will preserve the outline

of that body on which it may be compressed, and is sufficiently solid

to retain any indentations made upon its substance; thus it possesses

those attributes which to the saddler are essentials.

[Illustration: A SADDLE-TREE WITH THE SPRING STIRRUP BAR ATTACHED.]

With such an article, the shape of the barrel, the sweep of the

shoulders, and the hollow of the back can be accurately moulded, while

even particulars can be ascertained; for lead demands little pressure

to assume the figure of any substance over which it is bent, and will

subsequently remain sufficiently fixed to permit of the lines, which

have been modeled, being traced upon a sheet of paper. This process

should always be observed; but when a saddle has to be made, it does

not constitute the “be all and the end all” of the tradesman’s duty.

The tree, or the wooden base of the future article, should invariably

be tried on the horse before the furnishing is proceeded with, because

a saddle cannot possibly be perfect when the foundation of the

structure shall prove defective, and any error is more easily corrected

before the article be further complicated.

Nevertheless, it is obvious folly to have a saddle or a harness fitted

to a quadruped while the body is loaded with fat, as the majority

of horses are when fresh from the dealer’s yard. At first no part

should be accurately adjusted, but margin should be allowed for those

subsequent alterations which are always imperative. After three or four

months the dealer’s “make up” usually subsides. Then each article will

require to be overlooked, and may be amended to the animal’s form,

which probably will be preserved after it has been taken into regular

work.

The choice of leather is of primary importance to the manufacturer of,

and to the dealer in, equine furniture. After the goods are made up, no

man, excepting he be a regular workman, can possibly form an opinion

concerning the material of which it is composed. Certain tradesmen, not

of questionable respectability, are in the habit of ticketing cheap

articles to entrap chance customers. The dealers, however, do not

always _know_ the precise nature of the trash which they become the

means of circulating. They, nevertheless, must guess its character, for

it is bought of the scamps who, shut out from all honest employment,

exist by practicing upon the ignorant, or by pandering to the

selfishness of the reckless portion of society.

The fellows purchase faulty leather. This, when made up, necessarily

has the under surface concealed; it then requires a sharp and an

educated eye to detect the nature of the fixed and highly polished

material. The men, however, are fully aware that, with most gentlemen,

stoutness is the test of quality. The prejudices of the general public

are therefore propitiated, only the well-known shops being solicited by

the peculiar order of workmen now under consideration. It is a common

trick with the fraternity, before using, to line the flimsy stuff

which they employ. This artifice is practiced as a bait to catch the

notorious weakness of those persons in whose parsimony they find their

most profitable customers.

Stoutness, however, may frequently deceive, even where excellence is

really present. A good piece of leather is not always characterized

by its bulk. The article which possesses the greatest strength may be

thin, but it will feel supple and mellow to the hand. A skin of such a

nature may confidently be trusted to wear. Persons, however, who are

not educated to understand these qualities, would do well to avoid the

showy harness which, in leading thoroughfares, is stuck prominently

forward, and is very low in price. This generally fails when stress is

put upon it. A fair proportion of all accidents reported spring from

that cause, a common form of which is snapping of the reins when these

are subjected to more than ordinary tension. Such things are either cut

from unsound leather, or made of imperfectly manufactured material,

or the furniture of the harness is designedly deficient in some most

essential quality.

By the furniture of harness is strictly implied that portion which is

of metal, and which is always added to the leather before the fabric

is completed. The best metallic ornaments are a London product, and

are always forged or cast, but never stamped. The best quality of iron

alone should be used for such a purpose. Recently a very superior

article has been adopted by the trade. This is made of the metallic

combination known as German silver. That substance was, when first

brought under public notice, far too brittle to be employed by the

harness-maker; but late improvements have endowed it with a strength

and a tenacity equal to that exhibited by the very best Swedish iron.

After the furniture has been shaped, it has to be plated. It is as a

plated article that German silver is most valuable. The butler’s pantry

is characterized by greater delicacy than commonly distinguishes the

stable, though, in both places, goods the same in kind may have to be

operated upon. When the thin coating of silver is removed, of course

the substance upon which it is overlaid must be exposed. The duration

of a modern ornament cannot be accurately stated; but when the chief

body was of iron, the contrast presented by the coarser metal and the

silvered surface rendered repeated renewals unavoidable: whereas the

integrity of the superficial layer is not so important when the bulk,

both in color and in aspect, is a fair imitation of the more precious

investment. For this reason, Messrs. Gibson always recommend the use

of plated German silver, which, if a trifle dearer to the purchaser,

proves in the end the most economical, besides being a superior article

from the commencement.

Buckles are of much use, as these allow the harness to be adjusted;

but no buckles can adjust that which is not properly made. The

tightening or loosening of a strap may improve the set; but a suit

of well-constructed harness should be so accurately proportioned as

to fall into its proper place without the aid of manual strength or

the repeated alteration of the various fastenings. When harness does

not fit, the collar either pains the shoulders or the saddle galls

the back. An animal cannot progress steadily when its attention is

engrossed by bodily suffering. The sight is no longer employed to

guide the steps. The foot is incautiously placed upon a stone; the

steed stumbles over the first inequality; or, the mind being excited

by pain, any object may alarm or startle the quadruped. The animal is

blamed, and has been destroyed because of such accidents; whereas the

real cause of the mischief was a badly-made set of cheap harness, which

was probably worn for the first occasion, and which the owner may have

journeyed forth specially to display.

Such mishaps should caution the public always to have the trappings of

a horse made for the quadruped; or, at all events, altered by a proper

tradesman, before allowing them to be employed. The difference of cost

between the ready-made article and the goods which are manufactured to

order is not more than a third of the outlay; while the products of any

respectable house will, upon an average, last twice as long as, and

need infinitely less repairing than, the rubbish which is sold “cheap.”

Therefore, by true economy, by durability, and by safety, the public

should be urged to a particular selection.

The gentleman, however, who contemplates “starting his horse,” must

not conceive the expenditure has terminated with the purchase of the

animal. There are stables to rent and a groom to hire. Then there

is the building to provide and to furnish; a saddle and a bridle to

procure; with a set of harness and a vehicle to obtain. Rent and

servant necessitate no immediate outlay. Hay, oats, and straw may

possibly be acquired upon short credit; but stable furniture, saddlery,

harness, and vehicle should be paid for on delivery; otherwise more

than a fair percentage for time and for money may be added to the

account.

The articles requisite to furnish a stable are rather numerous;

certainly they are somewhat expensive. Because of that circumstance,

everything should be purchased of the stoutest kind and of the best

quality. On no account should the servant receive extra wages to supply

such necessaries. The man, when making such an agreement, of course

contemplates a profit, and, as he concludes the bargain, calculates

how few accessories he can contrive “to get along with.” The smaller

the number the greater must be the pecuniary gain. The horse is,

therefore, inconvenienced, if not tortured, by certain processes being

accomplished with inefficient instruments, the grooming being performed

rather to please the master’s eye than to conduce to the comfort of his

animal.

[Illustration: FULLY CLOTHED.]

The consequences of such an arrangement are, the gentleman is cheated,

the horse is maltreated; while the only gainer by the transaction,

should he be suddenly discharged, of course carries away the many et

ceteras he has been paid to provide. The stable is in a great measure

stripped of its furniture. The new-comer may not enter upon his

situation immediately. A helper, who must in the interim be engaged,

will not feel disposed to adopt any artifice for the convenience of his

employer. Moreover, the new servant may agree to certain conditions,

without comprehending the outlay these involved. Grooms, when they

enter upon a fresh situation, seldom possess cash in any abundance;

therefore, several expedients are imperative, each of which implies

the imperfect performance of some necessary duty.

Supposing one horse only to be kept, stable furniture

embraces--_clothing_. Of this, the first cost of the blanket kind

certainly is the lowest; but the sort denominated “kersey” last much

the longer period, and therefore must, in the end, prove by far the

least expensive. The animal’s clothes consist of several pieces, each

being known by a distinct name: as, quarter-sheet; breast-piece;

hunting-piece; pad-cloth; hood; body-roller, and knee-caps.

To these are added a moderate sized and coarse blanket or horse rug for

the night, as well as a night roller to fasten it upon the body.

[Illustration: NIGHT CLOTHING.]

Among the stable furniture, which is more directly employed about the

horse, ranks the head collar, the manger log, and the manger rein or

the rope rein. Of which last, the leathern fastening is not much the

dearer; while in appearance, in utility, and in wear, it will be found

altogether the superior.

Of articles required by the groom for use, are the scraper; the hoof

picker; the curry-comb; the dandy, or dandruff brushes and water

brushes; combs; straight and crooked scissors for trimming the mane and

tail; sponges; bandages for the legs; cloths; leathers; a rack chain;

the pillar-reins; the exercising bridle; hard and soft brushes for

cleaning harness; a burnisher; a brush to clean the bit; an oil pan

and a brush; a dung basket; pails and forks. All these articles, that

they may survive the usual treatment of such things, should be supplied

by some reputable tradesman.

[Illustration: SOME OF THE ARTICLES REQUISITE FOR THE GROOM’S USE.]

The above goods, being designed to endure hard wear, should each be

of the best possible quality. More order than is commonly observed

ought to be maintained in the arrangement of the stable. A place

should be allotted for every article when not in use. That this may be

accomplished, stables should be built with better accommodations for

storing than it is customary to provide in such erections. Bottles,

jars, and implements are now thrust into any ready corner; the

interiors of these places consequently present a littered appearance;

but such an aspect is unavoidable, when there exists no receptacle

where such articles might be placed until again required. There is now

no help for the nuisance: forks, brooms, pails, and boxes must incumber

the gangway, since the architect never provides a situation where such

properties might be more safely lodged.

Another essential should be attended to by every gentleman who

values the condition of his horse, the comfort of his stable, or the

preservation of those accessories with which the last-named place

must be stocked--this is, the temper of the servant. Some people

favor a strange prejudice, which asserts irritability and industry

are frequently associated. Anger, however, does not open the heart to

sympathy, and its habitual display assuredly unfits its victim for the

exercise of authority.

Evil passion will render a servant disobliging, and cause him to

become an expensive retainer. The manner in which the failing will act

upon the groom may not be very apparent to the reader, therefore his

indulgence is requested while the author proceeds briefly to explain

the matter.

Nothing can possibly be more extravagant than passion. It is heedless

of consequences, and destruction is its delight. The author formerly

knew a gentleman who used to indulge in the most violent fits of

unbridled temper. He made his home miserable, and a moderate income

was sadly crippled by expenses resulting from gusts of constitutional

irritability. The last consequence, it is melancholy to relate, alone

induced thoughts of amendment. When this individual, in later life,

became conscious that what he termed his cloudy mood threatened to

darken his intellect, he would retire to some solitary apartment:

there, he would station himself before a looking-glass, and begin

simpering and blandly talking to his own image. He would then tear

or break something, generally a wooden or a paper match, and, having

thus gratified that which he named his destructive impulse, after a

few more antics would return, all smiles, to the bosom of his family,

exclaiming, “Thank Heaven! It’s all over now!”

But the great majority of grooms, imbued with the pride of ignorance,

cannot afford to acknowledge a failing. Conceit makes them rather lend

strength to an affliction by striving to conceal its existence. The

master may never discover, if he cares not to search for, the truth.

But the servant is necessarily empowered with absolute control in the

stable. The implements speedily are damaged; certain duties are either

neglected or imperfectly performed; the horse loses its fat; the coat

never looks well; the eye becomes restless from the natural timidity

of the animal being perpetually awakened. Nothing promotes thrift in

a quadruped like the placidity of its attendant; whereas the constant

alarm excited by the habitual anger of its superior is inimical to that

glossy outside and blooming aspect in which the larger number of horse

owners so much delight.

The groom, in most situations, is greatly trusted with valuable

property. In a large stable the cost of the trappings alone would form

no inconsiderable possession to a needy man. There must be either

saddlery or harness. There is no one to overlook the treatment of

either. Such articles are expensive, and each is composed of numerous

complications. Harness for one horse consists of a bridle, of a collar,

of a pad, of a martingale, of reins, of traces, of a breeching or of a

loin strap, of a crupper, etc.; all of which should be solidly and well

constructed. The whole should be formed of the very best leather, for

any defect in this furniture may be fruitful with the greatest danger.

Hence the advantage of dealing with a maker whose warranty represents

more than a wordy inducement to purchase; and hence the necessity for

care in the servant to whom such perishable property is intrusted.

[Illustration: GIG HARNESS WITH KICKING-STRAP.]

For the gig horse, a set of harness, if embellished with plated

ornaments, is generally charged about thirteen pounds. For a pair

of carriage animals, the harness possessing similar adornments will

commonly cost nearly thirty-three pounds. If brass is preferred in the

place of plated goods, a slight reduction is the result. Yet even the

foregoing figures do not include crests and other fanciful items, which

are invariably paid for as extras, since no estimate could possibly

embrace articles concerning the size, the number, and the elaboration

of which the tastes of scarcely two individuals perfectly agree.

The harness for a brougham is generally more expensive than that sold

for the gig. Extra strength is required, and where work and leather

are concerned, of course strength represents money. The trappings

also should be more showy and more embellished when intended for a

servant’s use. Most gentlemen prefer the animal they control should

be so caparisoned as to attract no attention. This feeling causes the

difference in price. Ornamentation, where the horses are to be adorned,

of course necessitates expenditure, though the degree in which the last

quality shall be exhibited necessarily depends on the taste of the

proprietor.

Carriage harness, however, is viewed as the perfection of its

particular craft. It is astonishing how nice is the adjustment

required, and how perceptible any fault or deficiency becomes to the

least observant spectator. The carriage may be new, the liveries of

the smartest kind, but unless the harness be excellent, the general

effect will be deteriorated. The pace of the horses is rendered uneven,

the coachman becomes nervous, and the vehicle is not drawn smoothly

onward when any sensible defect exists. Gentlemen cannot imagine how

much danger is hazarded by the endeavors often made to procure an

expensive article at less than a fairly remunerative price.

[Illustration: FULL SUIT OF BROUGHAM OR PHAETON HARNESS.]

Harness is thus expensive because its uses demand excellence in every

part. It is subject to daily trials; it must be manufactured to sustain

perpetual tests as well as to endure constant supervision. A good

set of harness should wear eight or ten years, although during the

lengthened service repeated repairs must be expected. The mendings, or

perhaps the partial renewals, will of course grow heavier as the age of

the material increases. If done by piece-work, the repairs will average

from one pound to four pounds yearly; but if a contract be entered into

with the maker, the terms usually are from thirty shillings to two

pounds per annum; the agreement dating from the commencement of the

wear.

The endurance of such things, however, is greatly governed by the

uses to which they are subjected, and by the manner in which they are

treated. When harness is seldom at home, of course it wears faster

than when it is rarely or is moderately employed. The industry and

habits of the person who looks after the articles have also to be

considered. Some lazy men will ruthlessly wash the leather in a pail of

water and afterward hang it upon the most convenient paling to dry in

the sunshine. Such a proceeding will prove quickly ruinous: harshness

is induced; all suppleness is destroyed; a disposition to crack is

engendered; while the plated ornaments speedily become tarnished.

The proper method of cleaning is, to employ as little water as

possible. A moist sponge, well soaped, may, when very much soil

exists, be quickly passed over the surface, but each part should,

without loss of time, be immediately dried after the dirt is removed.

All the mud having been thus obliterated, the several pieces should

be most carefully gone over again with a dry cloth, so as to absorb

any possible moisture which, during the first cleansing, may have

escaped notice. In fine or during dusty weather, no fluid is necessary,

nor should the employment of any be suffered. A pail of water will,

doubtlessly, save labor; but the servant’s leisure, which is thereby

secured, is a severe burden upon the master’s income. A good brush,

not too hard, but one having springy hair, will soon remove all dry

impurities; and with that the harness, when not made moist by the road

or rendered wet by exudation from the animal’s body, should always be

cleansed.

[Illustration: A FULL SUIT OF CARRIAGE HARNESS.]

This being done, apply Harris’s jet-black oil, but not thickly; enough

has been laid on so that the application lies upon every portion of the

surface. No long time need be allowed for the oil to dry in; but the

first piece is generally ready to receive the next application by the

time the last part has been properly finished. Then apply a little

of the compo., which being polished to a lustrous black, the entire

process is perfected by a final wash of Harris’s harness fluid.

The appearance will be longer preserved when harness is cleaned

after the foregoing directions, while its lasting properties are not

injured by the process. Instead of being deteriorated every time it is

cleansed, the leather is nourished, its strength and its aspect being

renovated. The plated ornaments, of course, are not alluded to in the

above instructions; to polish these, some prepared chalk, fine brushes,

finer than are generally employed, and a wash leather are imperative.

An inefficient groom is, perhaps, more readily detected by his manner

of cleaning harness than by any other stable operation. Practice alone

confers aptitude in handling the various pieces. Use enables the

different articles to be rendered smart without staining the flesh

or soiling the dress of the operator. When the servant is new to the

occupation, particular portions are invariably scamped; others get more

than the requisite attention. Certain of the ornaments are left with

the crevices full of powder, while some parts are wholly neglected;

but, above all, the linings to the various pieces are always smeared

and impressed with dirty finger-marks. A good groom apparently will not

trouble himself to avoid such errors, but, when he has finished, each

portion is equally clean, while the insides are untainted and free from

the smallest soil.

The linings should be cleansed in the same manner as the other

parts, only the blacking and the polishing are unnecessary. In most

situations, leather is employed to cover the under surface; where this

substance is present, no beating is then required. Where cloth is used,

as in the lining of a saddle pannel, this should be daily beaten with

a small cane, and subsequently brushed till all hairs and dust are

removed. The bad servant invariably strives to hide his laziness under

a pretense of excessive zeal for his master’s interest. When ordered to

attend to the lining of his harness, he will endeavor to escape from

the command by pleading the wear which attends the constant friction

occasioned by continual beating and by perpetual brushing.

A collar placed on the horse should be firm, falling easily into its

proper situation. It is stuffed with straw or flock, and is lined with

leather. That the lining may not be stretched and that the stuffing may

not be hardened in parts but may feel equally firm upon every portion

of its inner surface, the article should never be used when moist,

even in the remotest degree. When removed in a wet state, it should

be dried either in the sun or before the kitchen fire, prior to again

being taken into service. When doing this, of course the nature of the

material should be considered; it should only be exposed to such a

heat as will cause the moisture to evaporate, and if that end can be

attained by a brisk current of air in a shady place, such a situation

is to be very much preferred to any natural or to any artificial warmth.

The collar should pass into its situation without requiring the

force which careless grooms seem to delight in exerting, or ignorant

servants, possibly, may regard as necessary to the proper fulfillment

of their duties. Any violence, when daily repeated, must eventually

damage the horse’s appearance by removing hair from the prominences

of the head, and by causing the naturally placid countenance of the

animal to assume a worn or a ragged expression. The collar should be

turned when put over the face, the widest part of the opening being

passed over the ears. When the head is through, and before the article

proceeds lower than the topmost portion of the neck, it should be

righted, or the pointed part should occupy the most elevated situation;

after which it is slid down upon the shoulder.

[Illustration: HAMES WITH DOUBLE EYES.]

[Illustration: A SCROLL-EYED HAME.]

The collar, when fitted to the neck, should sit firmly and closely. The

bearing should be equal and even, because the entire draught is from

the collar; in proportion as the bearing is accurately distributed,

so the weight will be easily propelled. Some people have endeavored

to render the collar more steady by attaching the traces to hames

with double eyes. The hames are the metal rods which repose upon the

collar; the eyes are circular spaces which permit the traces to be

united to the hames. Though double fastenings may occasion the force

to seem better distributed along these rods, the effect must operate

rather upon the spectator’s mind than upon the substance it is meant to

render stationary. If a line is drawn from the point where the trace

should end, and equidistant from those places to which the two bands

are attached, the real seat of bearing will prove not to have been

changed by the angularity of the fastenings, but will either remain

confined to its original situation, or it may act only on one fastening

to the exclusion of the other. That which is known as a scroll eye,

however, is more elegant than the plain attachment, and on account of

its smartness deserves to be preferred.

A breast-collar, when the circumstances permit a free exercise of

selection, should never be adopted. It may, in the eye of inexperience,

look prettier; but it goes directly across a part of motion; it drags

against the muscles, which, being loose in structure, are not made to

endure continual pressure. Moreover, the cartilage of the chest moves

with each respiration; any force operating from without, therefore,

cannot but oppose this normal action. Besides, the chief component of

the chest, the terminations of the ribs, which are inserted into the

sternum, are also cartilaginous. Now, cartilage is highly plastic, and

readily assumes strange shapes, as is seen by the larynx when distorted

by the bearing-rein. (See “Illustrated Horse Doctor,” pp. 108, 109.)

Whereas, when the collar bears against the shoulder, it is supported by

solid bone, as firm and as compact as can be found in most structures

throughout the body.

[Illustration: A BREAST-COLLAR OR STRAP.]

However, when accident or disease makes it impossible to continue the

employment of a collar, the breast-strap, although in itself an evil,

becomes the only substitute.

[Illustration: A MOVABLE AND A FIXED RING FOR THE REINS TO PASS

THROUGH.]

There is connected with the hame a simple arrangement, about which

neither gentlemen nor makers are always sufficiently particular. The

reins are supported in their proper position by passing through a ring

or ferret, which is generally fixed upon the hames. Should the horse,

thus caparisoned, accidentally fall, the loop, being immovable, is

either bent out of all shape, or, more probably, it is broken short off

by the weight of the prostrate animal. It may be replied, that horse

collars are not, when manufactured, made to be violently driven against

stones. The writer does not contradict the assertion; but when a hinge

will not interfere with the aspect, and, by yielding to pressure, will

guard against a possible mischance, the little extra labor which the

addition would require assuredly could not be better expended.

[Illustration: A SADDLE.]

The principal portions of the harness having been considered, some

thought must now be bestowed upon the chief essentials of saddlery.

A good saddle, intended to please the majority of horsemen, should

be seventeen and a half or eighteen inches long, the length being

regulated by the shape of the animal. It is, of course, equally easy

to manufacture a saddle of any given proportions; but one of a sound

working and a thoroughly useful sort should not be much shorter, and

should weigh from ten to twelve pounds. Such things have been produced

of seven pounds weight. Were it desirable, the saddle could be made

much lighter even than the last figure represents; the article at

present under consideration is supposed to be of a lasting description,

and not of the fanciful kind. When gentlemen lay down rules which the

manufacturer is to observe, they should remember that the tradesman,

who merely carries out his employer’s ideas, and is not permitted to

obey his own convictions, is no longer responsible for results.

A broad seat is generally preferred. This should not be so wide as

to disable the grip of the rider; but it ought to be of no greater

dimensions than will allow a firm hold to be taken by the fleshy part

of the thigh. Every saddle has two girths, but all girths have not

three straps. These should always be present; because if one strap

should break, another is ready to supply its place. It vexes most keen

sportsmen, near the termination of a hard run, to lose a good place

because, strained by the accelerated action of the horse’s lungs, a

girth strap shall, when excitement is at its height, give way.

To avoid so irritating an accident, the hunting or the Melton girth

is now commonly employed. This consists of a broad webbing, which is

tightened by two straps, one at either margin. Over the main girth

there runs a narrower length of the same material, which is kept in its

situation by passing through two loops upon the principal binder. The

narrower webbing is fastened by means of the third or central strap.

Thus, should one of the fastenings of the chief girth yield, or even

should both be forced from their holds, the saddle will not necessarily

be displaced, as there is always a supernumerary guard in attendance

ready to officiate as the representative of its incapacitated

principals.

[Illustration: CRUPPER, MELTON GIRTH, AND MARTINGALE.]

Cruppers are generally discarded. These appendages have occasioned

terrible sores, and are of no actual utility to the retention of the

saddle; for the withers should prevent that convenience from moving

too forward. A martingale is occasionally used; but if the animal be

rightly formed for its purposes, and has been carefully broken in,

the head should be carried properly without necessitating compulsion.

The mouth is soon injured and loses its sensitiveness when a tight

rein is constantly in requisition to bring the muzzle into its proper

situation. When the lips are subjected to perpetual pressure it can

hardly be anticipated that the steed can obey the slightest movement of

the rider’s hand. Most people are vexed when obliged to tug and haul

every time it is desired the animal should deviate from the direct

course.

Once the spring stirrup was hailed as a marvelous invention and an

indispensable part of every good saddle. This was designed to release

the foot of a rider who had lost his seat. Such things were very pretty

toys. They acted beautifully in the chamber when first taken out of

paper, but, when exposed to use, these elegant precautions soon got

out of order. Dirt would work into the joint and would interfere with

the mechanism, which thus became useless at the very time its services

were likely to be required. After a hard gallop the joint could not be

otherwise than clogged, especially when the run was across country.

Therefore the spring stirrup has been displaced in public estimation by

the spring bar. This last is the newer and the less costly provision,

the spring being attached to the bar which supports the stirrup leather.

[Illustration: SPRING BAR FOR THE STIRRUP LEATHER AND SPRING STIRRUP.

BOTH BEING EXHIBITED DURING REST AND WHEN IN ACTION.]

The situation where the machinery is lodged protects it from dirt, from

wet, or from dust, being doubly sheltered from all such intrusion. It

is covered by the skirt of the saddle, and is likewise shielded by

the thigh of the rider. The article thus placed is removed from the

operation of that objection which has thrown the spring stirrup into

disuse. The purpose of both inventions is equal, being exactly similar.

When the rider was unseated, the stirrup was _intended_ to yield

before the drag of the imprisoned foot. When the horseman is thrown,

the smallest traction _does_ occasion the spring bar to act, and the

leather is released, the limb forcing the stirrup iron and the leather

to quit their relative situations.

The stirrup iron was formerly made of various shapes, each of which

was imagined to possess some special advantage. At present, however,

the public appear to disregard peculiarities of form in such articles,

and to pay no attention to those contortions concerning which our

forefathers were so extremely precise. It is now considered quite

sufficient if the stirrup iron afford a firm rest to the foot of the

rider, if it be not disposed to glide away from the pressure of the

boot, and if it be as light as possible, but nevertheless possesses the

strength necessary for its purposes. All these intentions are embodied

in a plain, three-barred stirrup iron, which presents an ample surface

of bearing, while, being slightly roughened upon its upper surface, it

is readily retained by pressure; but for the strength of the article

the respectability of the salesman must afford the only possible

guarantee.

Also appended to the saddle is an adjunct frequently of no

inconsiderable utility in the field. It is comparatively of modern

invention, and is known as the hunting breast-plate. One extremity is

attached by means of a hold to each side of the saddle, near to the

pommel. The straps proceeding thence are short, and soon unite, when

the medium of junction proceeds to the chest. The two leathers, one

from either side, are there joined to a single strap, which, after

passing between the forelegs, is finally attached to the girth. The

intention of this addition is to retain the saddle in its proper

situation, an object not always easy to accomplish even with this

provision, as high withers and violent muscular exertion naturally

incline to its backward movement.

[Illustration: A HUNTING BREAST-PLATE.]

The breast-plate, for the full development of its use, necessitates

much care in the groom when caparisoning the quadruped. The two

short upper straps, on which all stress must center, join directly

under the windpipe. Because of this all parts necessitate the most

accurate adjustment; where a breast-plate is used, the servant should

particularly notice the position of the girth when securing the

fastening. If the leather should be loose or even slack, the backward

motion of the saddle will of course dispose the two side pieces to

assume the straight line, or it will force their junction upward as

well as render its pressure more stringent. The consequence will be,

the strap must press upon the trachea and blood-vessels; the animal may

be choked, and the hunting of one day spoiled, even should the rider

and his horse ultimately escape all injury.

The upper reins of the martingale are sometimes made to spring from the

center fastening of the breast-plate. But the use of the martingale

is to force the head downward. To do this requires a firm hand and

a straight rein, which consequently pulls the restraining strap of

the breast-plate upward, and thus destroys the purpose of the last

invention. The two articles are, in their uses, perfectly distinct;

such things cannot be profitably blended. The martingale is designed

to counteract an upward traction. The fastening of the breast-plate

should drag only in the downward line, whereas the head strains in the

contrary direction. When a martingale cannot be dispensed with, one

should be worn totally distinct and separate from the breast-plate. It

is, however, always desirable to join the meet with as few floating

gear as possible; since, when the pace grows hot and the fences are

high, such loops are little better than baits for accident.

[Illustration: FELT UNDER-PANNEL.]

A good addition to the saddle, and one no rider should be without, was

introduced into this country by Messrs. Gibson. It was originally used

in India, where its utility was largely tested, and amply proved by

the British cavalry. This improvement consists of a felt under-pannel;

which is made of such dimensions as to be perfectly concealed when

lying between the pannel and the skin. As an adjusting medium it

answers admirably. Should the saddle not exactly fit, the motion chafes

the felt, and does not gall the body. Besides, horses are not, more

than their masters, of the same size at all times; the felt, being

elastic, allows of slight variations in bulk without imperiling the

safety of the proprietor.

The felt under-pannel should always be used whenever a side-saddle

is employed; it renders the adjustment more easy, and makes it more

secure. Such an advantage cannot always be attained, even with the

extra girth, with which all side-saddles should be provided. Every

possible care ought to be exercised that the seat of a lady’s saddle

may be rendered firm; because, as the make throws the bearing upon the

near side, and the fixedness of the position must incapacitate the

lady for freedom of action, therefore any movement of the saddle is

likely to be attended by serious consequences.

[Illustration: A LADY’S STIRRUP WITH THE KNEE CRUTCH AND THE VICTORIA

STIRRUP.]

For the foregoing reasons, the maker should bestow the greatest

attention upon the shape of the saddle-tree; no artifice should be

neglected that is calculated to render the side-saddle more fixed upon

the horse’s back. The seat should be longer as well as broader than is

usual in those articles which are manufactured to sell quickly and to

look prettily. It should be covered with soft, unpolished leather, and

be quilted, so that its partial roughness and trivial inequalities may

present a more secure and an easier seat for the fair equestrian.

Every aid would, however, be useless, were it not for the crutches.

The female rider must cast her bearing upon the near crutch; hence

horses, when forced to work under an ill-made side-saddle, often suffer

terribly, and exhibit as the consequence severe examples of fistulous

withers. Experience has proved that the off crutch is of small

service, save as it may confirm the confidence of the lady; although,

by rendering the leg more stationary, it is in reality calculated to

increase her danger. Its utility lies in calming the timidity of the

horsewoman; for the instant a horse gets into motion, the bearing is

entirely toward the near side; therefore most modern saddlers, although

they dare not remove the useless crutch, have its height materially

diminished.

The third or knee crutch is a comparatively recent improvement. It

offers a point for pressure to the left knee, or of bearing for the

stirrup leg. It is of every service, enabling the lady to retain a

firm seat. During the perils of leaping it prevents the lighter weight

of the female body being, by the violence of the motion, so shaken as

to lose all hold upon the upper crutches. Thus, in some degree, it

compensates for the advantage that gentlemen enjoy in the grip which

their position enables them to take of the saddle.

[Illustration: THE LADIES’ PATENT STIRRUP. EXHIBITED AT REST AND IN

ACTION.]

The slipper was the favorite stirrup in use with the side-saddle a

few years ago. Its adoption then was all but universal, and so at the

present time is its rejection. The Victoria stirrup, or an iron of the

shape which is adopted by Her Majesty, now engrosses public patronage;

it being generally employed, with the addition of the previously

noticed spring bar.

The patent stirrup for ladies is not liable to those objections which

were urged against the spring stirrup, when employed for the saddles

of gentlemen. The habit protects the machinery, which is not therefore

exposed to the intrusion of mud. Its action is almost certain; but,

should it not answer the occasion, the next invention, when employed

with the foregoing provision, would probably set the malice of “luck”

at defiance.

The following should also be appended to every lady’s saddle. Male

equestrians may esteem the spring bar to afford the gentle sex

sufficient protection. However, where there is a possibility of

question, no expense ought to prevent the more fearful rider from being

guarded by the latest additions, which may promise even the remotest

chance of security. The common spring bar rarely fails to act; but, on

particular occasions, it has retained the stirrup leather. The patented

improvement shown on the next page appears to provide against such

an accident, and when employed with the stirrup represented in the

previous engraving, it assuredly affords an almost certain immunity

from those accidents which each is assumed to render an impossibility.

[Illustration: PATENT SAFETY SPRING PRESSURE STIRRUP BAR. DEPICTED AT

REST AND IN ACTION.

The dotted lines indicate the relative positions of the stirrup

leather.]

No lady’s saddle should be used without being accompanied by the

hunting breast-plate; for nothing which might possibly increase

security should in that case be neglected. For the last reason, also,

a felt under-pannel should never be absent; because firmness of seat

lends assurance to the rider, and because the provision prevents that

unsteadiness which is known to provoke one of the worst evils to which

the horse is exposed.

Saddles are covered by what the public denominate pigs’ skins, but

which the trade, aiming at a distinction without being able to indicate

a difference, persist in calling hogs’ skins.

These are always procured from the currier in large lots when purchased

at first hand; but they are a hazardous article to buy. Out of two

hundred, of which a parcel shall consist, there may not be more than

two dozen really sound skins; therefore no tradesman has hitherto been

able to establish a reputation for dealing in so uncertain a commodity.

The wholesale merchant, consequently, knows but few customers.

Established houses alone can afford the requisite outlay to obtain

goods of so notoriously uncertain a character. From the larger parcels

the best specimens are carefully selected by the first buyer; the

remainder are cast upon the retail market, and are distributed among

the numerous class of trades-people, whose limited capital does not

allow them to speculate with the articles which they employ.

A good saddle is recognized by the accuracy of the fit. When let

fall upon the back, it at once finds the proper situation. There it

remains stationary and firm before a girth is fastened. When the maker,

having brought home a new article, finds occasion to interfere with

the groom, shifts about the saddle, and concludes his performance

by tugging at the girths before he requests the employer to feel how

firmly the new production is located, it is always an evil omen. The

saddler, supposing the groom to be competent to his position, should

never be suffered to volunteer assistance; the horse owner had better

ride bare-backed than be seated on a badly-constructed saddle, for the

last is hardly less unpleasant to a good horseman, while the first is

infinitely more safe for the rider and the quadruped.

A good fit presupposes excellent workmen, and of course the larger

houses attract the greater number of such artificers, because in such

shops men expect to be employed on that particular branch of work

in which each excels. Such masters, likewise, can afford to pay the

highest rate of wages, and can alone tempt with constant employment.

Add to these reasons that money in the saddlery and harness trades

commands rather more than its just influence, being able to select the

pick of every market, and it must be apparent how many advantages the

established firm enjoys over the ordinary beginner, who has to struggle

against the lack of pecuniary ability, against a want of regular

customers, and against those difficulties which are peculiar to his

calling.

Hogs’ skins are easily cleansed by washing quickly with a little

soap and water; but washing and drenching are not here regarded as

representing the same process. Water is not beneficial to leather of

any sort, therefore as little fluid as will accomplish the object

should be used; the more speedy the operation the better. It should be

concluded by a clean cloth immediately wiping the surface quite dry.

This finished, a sponge damped with good milk should be passed over

the exterior; the saddle then should be hung up (not before the fire

or in the sunshine) to expel the moisture. The more seldom, however,

this process is adopted the better; consequently, it is only to be

recommended upon urgent necessity.

Bridles, and every strip of harness which bears the slightest

resemblance to a rein, should be cut only from the best, the strongest,

and the choicest of English leather. Struggling tradesmen do not all

possess the ability, however powerful may be the desire, to exercise

selection in this article. Some have sent forth reins made of so faulty

a material as stood exposed the moment it encountered the glance of

a practical or an educated eye. The head-piece, requiring shorter

straps, may possibly be cut from a partially imperfect hide; but for

the reins, length and toughness are essential. The merest crack will,

with constant wear, become a fissure; and no horseman can foretell the

moment when personal safety shall depend upon the power which he shall

be able to exert through the reins.

A fair proportion of the injuries which happen to riders or to drivers

are aggravated by faulty reins. A contest arises between a restive

horse and an intemperate master. The contest, which from the earliest

period alarmed timidity in the animal, has just excited the man, when

the reins fly asunder. The scared quadruped finds itself suddenly

released. The creature understands nothing of the cause; but the first

impulse natural to fear is to fly from the presence of the power

against which it has been struggling. Whenever the horse displeases

its master, pain inflicted by whip, bit, or spur generally ensues as

a natural consequence. It is from such torture that the poor life

endeavors to escape. Motion increases its terror as the unshackled

being dashes blindly onward. An accident is the probable result.

The coroner and the jury assemble; a verdict, which all approve, is

formally delivered; but no one thinks of inspecting the reins to

discover the real cause of injury.

Reins should always be attentively examined. If good, they look

pleasant to the eye, and are yielding to the touch. Any roughness,

harshness, or hardness denotes the presence of defective leather. It

may not break to-morrow or the next day, but before long the rein

will separate. The slightest indication of a crack will gradually

become an extensive division. Messrs. Gibson have often been honored

with commands to export reins, the foreign leather being harsh and

inelastic, therefore feeling unpleasant to English hands; but more

frequently the natives of this country are afraid to employ reins

exhibiting innumerable cracks, everywhere displaying the roughness

which should not exist, and being totally deficient in the suppleness

which ought to be abundantly present.

[Illustration: A LADY’S BRIDLE.]

When reins are intended for the use of ladies, their character

should be unexceptionable. Many girls, before they have conquered

the seat, depend, in no slight degree, upon the reins for retaining

their positions in the saddle. They of course understand nothing

about saddlery. They accept anything which is offered; but the sudden

snapping of the reins always terrifies the steed, while it greatly

alarms the gentle being on its back, whose fears are increased by

finding herself instantaneously deprived of a support on which her

inexperience had depended. Ladies’ reins, being made lighter, should

be cut from better leather than those intended for gentlemen; if there

be a possible choice, it should be accorded to the weaker party. Some

horsewomen like the reins and the head-piece to be formed of rounded

straps. Thus made, they certainly have a lighter and a more graceful

appearance; but Messrs. Gibson do not recommend such a form of bridle

to those ladies who delight in mounting and in subduing high-spirited

animals.

Martingales are generally complained of as troublesome appendages when

added to the trappings of either the saddle or of the gig horse. These

articles, however, can be so manufactured as to lend a dignity to the

quadrupeds which run before carriages; though, where a martingale is

used, the bearing-rein becomes unnecessary, since both restraints aim

at the same object. Perhaps of the two, the martingale is the better,

because, while obliging the head to be held in the proper position, it

enables the coachman, by slackening the reins, to rest the muscles of

the neck when the vehicle pauses. The martingale certainly requires the

better driver, and imposes the greater exertion upon him who drives,

the latter circumstance being likely to interfere with the digestive

serenity of most servants.

There is, however, one species of martingale, without which few

ladies’ saddles appear to be fully equipped. Some animals necessitate

no restraint to improve the carriage of the head, but these,

nevertheless, acquire a habit of throwing the muzzle suddenly up and

of jerking the foam from the lips into the face of the rider. This

propensity communicates no pleasure to the person who occupies the

seat. It generally causes the equestrian to lower the head whenever

the quadruped evinces a disposition to exalt its countenance; such

being the precise moment when the human vision is of double value;

for the eye of the horse, being directed heavenward, can then take no

cognizance of earthly objects; hence the great need for the guidance of

the rider.

[Illustration: A FRENCH MARTINGALE.]

To correct this, the French martingale, which consists of a single

strap, is attached to the nose band. The band passes over the nasal

bones, and under the forward part of the lower jaw. To the lowest

part of this band the French martingale is fixed. The operation is

obvious. The horse, by raising the head, causes the martingale to act

on the bridle: the nostrils are compressed; the breathing is interfered

with; and, as the quadruped resents the slightest hinderance to its

respiration, the fruitless effort to indulge an obnoxious habit is

relinquished, so that the annoyance of the tightened nose band may be

avoided. French martingales, which were once largely in use, are now

never employed with a gentleman’s saddle, although they have not been

discarded by equestrians of the gentler sex.

[Illustration: BITS USUALLY ATTACHED TO LADIES’ BRIDLES.]

The bits which accompany the ladies’ bridle are more fanciful in shape,

and more ornamental in appearance, though hardly so heavy as the

articles manufactured for the use of gentlemen, because the generality

of ladies seldom resort to this instrument of positive torture: indeed,

these severities seem to be losing their attractions over the harsher

natures. Many men, however, employ them; most regard a bridle as

incomplete without a bit; but very few are so fond of the restraint as

to order it to be sewn to the head-piece.

[Illustration: BUCKLED AND SEWN ON.]

A bit permanently attached certainly appears lighter, and necessitates

the employment of less obvious force, though at the same time it must

be more acute when in operation. Nevertheless, it is to be doubted

whether one foot passenger out of ten thousand would notice the only

peculiarity for which such an arrangement is to be commended. Moreover,

every animal does not require the exertion of extraordinary power;

while the irremovable character of the bit is not without attendant

disadvantages. The article can no longer be changed at pleasure. A

rider may grow to dislike the constant employment of one form of

coercion. The animal’s education may not need the perpetuation of such

severity; the temper may improve, or the steed may accommodate itself

to the personal peculiarities of its proprietor; or the quadruped’s

mood may change, for horses, like their masters, are swayed by strange

influences, and are sometimes impelled by eccentric impulses.

When the metal has to be washed, cleaned, and polished, should the bit

be sewn to the head-piece, the leather cannot be removed during the

processes. Water is not beneficial to a leathern material; therefore

the bit must either be imperfectly renovated, or the head-piece must

be soiled during the requisite labor demanded for the purification of

its adjunct. These annoyances are avoided when the bit is made to take

on and off by the means of a buckle. Each part can then be properly

attended to without hazard to the rest. Should the bridle not appear

clean, the owner recognizes a legitimate cause for complaint; but when

the bit is fixed, the groom has always ready an excuse for idleness,

while the consequent wear will be found altogether more rapid.

There are various kinds of bits, and each has its admirers; but a

well-broken and a good-tempered animal requires nothing more powerful

than a snaffle. Restraints of needless severity, employed with

extravagant exertion, are by no means required, though such are far

too general with the great majority of professed horsemen. The animal

is spoilt by such tuition. It is educated to understand nothing but

coercion; whereas gentleness and firmness combined can accomplish much

more than brutality can compel.

There is a well-known tale, which, being illustrative of this subject,

may here be aptly quoted. A farmer, intending to break a colt for sale,

mounted the animal; but hardly was he in the saddle before the ears

were laid upon the neck, and the frame rendered rigid by the presence

of obstinacy. The intention of the attitude was recognized by all;

but offers of stick, whip, or spur were as stubbornly rejected. “No,

no, no,” replied the kind-hearted proprietor to the proposal of such

favorite persuaders. “Jane, lass! bring I the afternoon’s mug and

pipe.” These were discussed. Another pipe was filled and exhausted,

without the honest fellow descending to earth. Then the colt was

invited to proceed; but the humor of the quadruped continued unaltered;

accordingly it remained stationary, with the master on its back.

“Father! tea is quite ready,” cried Jane, peering from the kitchen

window. “Bring it here, lass, for I shan’t get down!” was the response.

The tea was brought and partaken of. The day was drawing toward its

close, and the air was becoming cold. “I should not mind having my

great-coat, a pipe, and a glass,” shouted the farmer. Everything was

brought, and the man endeavored to make his position comfortable;

but apparently took no heed of the creature beneath him. “For,” he

observed, “if I could strike, the colt could fling and prance; so it

might not be certain which would master; whereas, while I be quiet,

I’ve the best on’t.”

Supper was eaten where the tea had been swallowed: the master showed he

was resolved, unless the colt moved, to pass the night in the saddle.

The animal became uneasy, and shifted about; but without progressing

until some time after the clock had struck eleven. Then the colt was

suddenly disposed to progress. “Whoy!” shouted its master, “you have

stayed so long to please yourself, now remain a little longer to

pleasure I!”

At length the rider was disposed to move, but in an opposite direction

to that which the colt was inclined to travel. The animal was also

willing to trot briskly, but the farmer would sanction nothing faster

than a walk. Accordingly, the pair slowly moved five miles out, and

trotted five miles home. Then the quadruped was placed before an empty

manger, and left, tired and hungry, to its night’s meditations on the

evils of disobedience. The above narrative, of course, concludes by

stating that the animal proved docile “forever afterward.”

The obvious intention of the above is to discourage the employment of

force. The strongest man cannot physically contend against the weakest

horse. Man’s power reposes in better attributes than any which reside

in thews and muscles. Reason, alone, should dictate and control his

conduct. Thus guided, mortals have subdued the elements. For power,

when mental, is without limit: by savage violence nothing is attained,

but the man is often humbled through a conviction of defeat.

[Illustration: A PLAIN SNAFFLE.]

[Illustration: A TWISTED SNAFFLE.]

[Illustration: A CHAIN SNAFFLE.]

Every species of bit is evidence of a human mistake, and the wrench

which it can exert is only the measure of the error. Many valuable

animals are annually ruined, under a prejudiced notion about subduing

a stubborn spirit. The horse is born submissive. It by nature

acknowledges the superiority of man. When the animal refuses to obey,

the disobedience only expresses the creature’s ignorance of the desires

of its master; or declares the presence of some more potent influence

than human authority. In either case, patience is the best remedy. Let

the rider be passive until the slow understanding of the quadruped

comprehends his pleasure; or until a sufficient pause has destroyed

the spell by which the servant was enthralled. Pat the neck; speak

encouragingly to the alarmed timidity. Then gently walk the fearful

life a few steps. In shorter time, with less trouble and with far

greater safety, will such measures restore composure, than violence

possibly can compel submission; upon recovery, the acknowledgment of

the master’s sway will be revived and strengthened by that sense of

gratitude which, in animals, reason is powerless to pervert.

The snaffle is the gentlest indicator which the bridle possesses. It

is generally sold in two forms--either plain or twisted. The latter

supposed improvement renders its action upon the lips more sharp, the

sharpness being proportioned to the fineness of the twist. The chain

snaffle is, however, still more terrible in its operation, and is

certainly better calculated to punish than to guide. A plain snaffle

is, therefore, much to be preferred, the fact being well illustrated by

the circumstance that the gentlemen who depend upon the milder species

of check encounter fewer accidents than those riders who place their

reliance in such mechanical restraints as are warranted to break the

jaw-bone of any restive animal.

[Illustration: THE HACKNEY AND BIRDOON BIT.]

[Illustration: THE PELHAM BIT.]

The mildest of the many bits in general use is called the “Hackney.”

It is a curb bit and birdoon, having a double reined bridle. The last

instrument is, however, gradually being superseded by the “Pelham bit,”

which is capable of creating terrible agony. This restraint riders

commonly employ with double reins; but it can be used with a single

head-piece. In general it is manufactured smooth or plain, but it also

can be twisted to any desired degree of severity.

[Illustration: THE HANOVERIAN BIT.]

The “Hanoverian bit,” like the majority of imported inventions, is a

terrible exaggeration of the worst properties that once were thought

sufficiently powerful. Its nature is best expressed by the phrase

“hard and sharp,” which it has almost solely appropriated. A horse

cannot grasp this novelty in its teeth, and thus render futile an

unscrupulous master’s efforts to punish. “The Hanoverian” enables a

rider to continue the agony which may have driven a sensitive creature

to the confines of madness. As the sides are movable at pleasure, it is

esteemed to be an admirable check for a pulling quadruped.

[Illustration: THE SEGUNDO BIT.]

[Illustration: THE CHIFFNEY BIT.]

Should none of the foregoing embody the desires of some desperate

horseman, there remains another, which is an ugly thing to be put

into a living mouth; it is called the “Segundo bit,” and is the most

barbarous of all the cruelties in general use. It is manufactured of

three sizes; the longest of which enables any Christian gentleman to

inflict the most lively torture upon the meekest of living creatures.

The “Chiffney bit” was once highly esteemed, and, assuredly, was fully

equal to its pretensions; but it seems lately to have sunk low in

public favor. The “Sliding Mouth bit” is the last invention of this

kind. It is thought to operate beneficially upon animals which are

employed in harness. The mouth piece is reversible, having a rough and

a smooth side, and it is much approved of, because it professes to

afford the horse something for the mouth to play with.

The actions of the dumb, however, are easily mistaken. Anything which

pains the angles of the mouth, whether it should be a roughened bit

or a tight bearing-rein, will provoke the horse to toss the head into

the air. This motion is regarded by most persons as evidence of spirit,

and as signifying a playful disposition; but it is in reality an effort

to relieve for an instant the tension which drags against the lips.

Another action which gratifies the majority of spectators is to behold

a steed move the lips which are whitened with foam. Foam, however, only

indicates the presence of thirst, and the reader will, upon reference

to “Scald Mouth” in the previous volume, discover that rapid labial

motion is not, in the horse, characteristic of amusement.

[Illustration: THE SLIDING MOUTH BIT.]

Bits of all sorts are decided mistakes, and the blunder is the greater

as the restraint becomes the more severe. The occasional employment

of such things is highly dangerous; their perpetual use destroys the

sensibility of the mouth. That continued pain should deaden feeling is

a wise institution, kindly ordained to prevent the sensibilities of

this world becoming the playthings of barbarity. Nature protects her

creatures from the incessant use of the goad by causing it to provoke

numbness in the region on which torture would operate. The knowledge of

this law should instruct mankind in the inutility of habitual severity;

while the conviction that the same Tender Parent has, in madness,

ordained a refuge for sudden agony, should teach all people not to lash

the horse into that state which can alone render it truly dangerous.

With the last sentence the main subject of the present volume has

concluded. The reader, as he reviews the topics which have been

submitted to his judgment, is probably surprised to perceive how

little of mystery legitimately appertains to the horse, but how much

its requirements accord with the dictates of “common sense.” In

short, “common sense” may be said to indicate all that the proper

comprehension of the stable or its inhabitants need at the hands of a

proprietor.

Yet, is it not surprising that society at large regards “horse

knowledge” as a mysterious attainment, to be gained only by a long

course of actual experience? Such a prejudice is without the slightest

foundation. Antiquated customs and exploded notions are common enough

in every mews. Filth is, in such places, supposed to be endowed with

strange medicinal attributes, and cruelty is patronized as though the

perfection of wisdom laid in the total absence of humanity. The horse,

as at present treated, is the victim of ignorance, and is exposed to

every abuse. Nature and her dictates are disregarded. The animal is

tortured till it submits to abhorrent brutalities. Its instincts,

as a created being, are not respected; neither are its necessities,

as a living creature, ever considered. Its welfare is secondary to

the convenience of the master, and its custody is transferred to the

unscrupulous cupidity of the servant.

“_Common sense_,” however, demands these things should be amended; and

the main purpose with which the foregoing pages were indited was a

hope, through a plain statement of facts and an appeal to the reason of

the public, of awakening those intrusted with authority over the equine

species to the errors attendant upon the present system of Stable

Management.

[Illustration]

INDEX.

A.

PAGE

Abnormal condition of horn induced by the present mode of nailing, 99

Absence of the groom watched for, 255

Accidents are more rare since mutilation is less common, 381

might be avoided by masters being more gentle, 263

occasioned by injudicious breaking, 460

Accomplishments which fit to take charge of a dealer’s yard, 368

According to the position of the elbow so the hoofs must incline, 412

Action natural to a slanting shoulder, 408

necessitated by a straight shoulder, 405

often witnessed before private cabs in London, 407

Actions of the dumb are likely to be misinterpreted, 271

Active animals are always disliked in the stable, 215

Activity constitutes the horse’s pleasure, 206

Adapted for speed and exertion, 19

Additional bonds only provoke additional struggles, 228

Advantage of, and peculiarities of the new slipper shoe, 111

Advantages and disadvantages of all horns to give drinks with, 74

of the tin bottle, 75

Advantages of having the stable well regulated, 339

of nailing the new shoe to the toe, 113

of shoeing racers with tips, 473

Advantages secured by adopting the Arabian mode of nailing, 105

secured by movable mangers, 191

Advice to purchasers, 121

Affections of the horse, 201

After-meath, or rowen, 174

Age ought to be accurately observed, 147

renders the jaw-bone thin and narrow, 153

Ages have produced no change in the horse’s treatment, 223

Agony is evinced by a “kidney dropper,” when the spine is pressed, 269

Air-passages, the, can alter their dimensions, 25

All animals are spoilt if too greatly petted, 453

in the same stable are subjected to the same usages, 288

creatures play with food when not hungry, 213

feeding and drinking compartments should rest upon the ground, 310

hands should help the groom when the horse is exhausted, 348

horses are fully worked during the fourth year, 150

horses do not consume the like quantities of food, 197

needful security assured by open trevises in private stables, 306

Alteration in the nippers consequent upon old age, 136

Alterations are made to suit the declining breed of horses, 432

in the incisors, 159

Aloes, the retention of this medicine within the body, 165

become hard by keeping, 57

Aloes cannot be given to some horses, 56

often kill, 56

the purgative of the stable, 54

very uncertain in its action, 55

Always choose a horse having good haunches, 418

see the horse led out of the stable, 278

Ambulatory, an, anticipates the necessity of mounting in

the stable, 310

Anatomical considerations, 18

Anatomists, were horses extinct, could tell their characters from

their bones, 17

Ancient Arabian shoe, 95

Anecdote, about breeding horses, 429

concerning swerving in the horse, 291

illustrative of the evils generated by the present mode

of exercise, 303

of a jibbing horse, 284

of the author and Van Amburg, 434

to illustrate kicking, 272

Anger excited by the colt’s restlessness, 209

Angular prominences are upon the grinding surface of the new

molar tooth, 156

Animal, an, at five years old, pronounced to be in its prime, 153

not fitted for the saddle, is said to be suitable for harness, 421

Animals roll when their hair is uncomfortable, 230

after being conditioned are often passed by hacks, 464

are beaten when master complains of waste, 213

are guided by their experiences, 264

are incapable of conjecturing consequences, 264

are said to eat their own heads off, 367

brought to market at three years old, 146

drink less, having water at command, 314

having ewe necks are generally weak, 391

knowing no future, act on their experiences, 218

love most those who instruct them, 283

may be deeply diseased, and therefore called “vicious”, 271

the, are secondary to household duties in genteel families, 327

when procured, become members of the purchaser’s family, 379

Apparatus for steaming the horse’s food, 186

Appearance, the, of horses is the strongest evidence against

modern stables, 231

Appliances needed to cleanse a carriage, 488

Arab horse, the, conforms to no arbitrary mould, 395

Arabian mode of fastening the horse’s shoe, 100

Arab tail is well set on, active, and powerful, 387

Arnica lotion used for rick of the back, 275

Arrangement in the components of the teeth, 157

of the gutters within stables, 298

Art cannot amend a natural development, 450

Ascertain, to, if the horse has been properly groomed, 340

Aspect of the mouth materially changes after the first year, 138

At grass, horses enjoy free communication, 307

Attempted cures of jibbing are uncertain and expensive, 283

Attends at fairs and on market days, 431

Attend to the heels on the following morning, 352

Author’s plan of nailing, 105

suggestions should be tried for their own sakes, 297

B.

Back-bone of the horse, 382

Backing on to the gangway, 278

the horse out of the stall, supposes the spine to be injured, 278

Back of the stables, 317

the, as seen from above, 381

the, is often injured, 275

the, is supported by eighteen ribs on either side, 40

Bad hay and corn commonly given to horses, 179

Bad hay often cut into chaff, 177

Bad qualities of the cow-bellied horse, 404

Balling, blistering, firing, and bleeding in veterinary practice, 85

Balling irons, common form of, 62

improved form of, 62

only of use to timidity or inexperience, 60

Professor Varnell’s newly invented, 62

Balls, arguments in favor of, 73

caustics often employed in large doses with, 58

commonly intrusted to grooms, 54

horse, how made, 54

how prepared, 57

how moulded before delivery, 58

how to administer, 63

quiet mode of giving, 67

the form of, 58

the swallowing of, should be watched for, 68

Barouche and landau, 482

Bars or open trevises admit of equine familiarities, 307

Battering and fixedness aggravate the weakness of the fore limbs, 417

Beans, bad sample of, 188

Egyptian, 188

Egyptian, free from objection, 188

English, are too astringent, 188

English field, unwholesome when new, 187

good and bad sample of, contrasted with each other, 187

should be steamed, 188

Beard is sometimes present on good oats, 180

Bearing-rein, the, interferes with the use of the head, 389

Beating the horse in a stable is dangerous, 209

Beauty in horses generally coincides with excellence of spirit, 399

Be brief in your inquiries in the dealer’s yard, 374

Bed, a, is uncomfortable when not horizontal, 257

Beer recommended for the horse with a sensitive skin, 290

Behavior of grooms requires amendment, 338

to be exhibited toward dealers, 373

Bell, a, connected with the grooms’ cottages, enables assistance

to be summoned, 325

Benefits derived from having a stock of frosted shoes, 127

secured by a new mode of nailing, 105

Better division of work for the horse, 342

have no carriage than one kept in a damp shed, 324

Bird, the, returns to its cage, and the horse seeks its stable, 251

Birthday of all horses arbitrarily fixed by the Jockey Club, 146

Bishoped teeth, 134

Bishoping easily detected, 134

described, 134

Bit, the Pelham, its recommendations, 522

the Hackney and birdoon, 522

the Hanoverian, 523

Bits attached to ladies’ bridles, 519

buckled and sewn on, 519

Blackguards who sell horses are not horse dealers, 138

Black mail is exacted by most grooms, 329

Blacksmith’s forge, a, during frost, 127

Bleeding can, its form and use, 88

fleam, described, 89

horses should be blinded before, 91

lancet not recommended for, 89

not necessary in many cases, 87

strange love of, 86

was formerly fashionable, 85

Blistering and firing often united, 78

a stable right through, 80

often resorted to, to please the owner, 80

Blistering oil should be procured of a chemist, and diluted, 82

oil should be quite clear, 82

ointment is made with old flies, 82

omnibus horses, 81

Blisters and oak bark proposed for rick of the back, 275

and the firing iron counteract each other, 78

are at present too powerful, 78

only of late years have been reduced in strength, 78

Blood horses draw weight by strain upon the muscles, 401

can should be pressed against the neck, 91

if cold, and exposed to the air, becomes oxygenated, 24

mare and foal, 430

stick depicted, 90

when cold, has lost its living properties, 245

Bloods want an infusion of a little cocktail, 433

Body, horse’s, beautiful when skinned, 45

the, anatomically considered, 17

the, should be judged of as a whole, 386

Boiler-house between the gig-house and first loose box, 321

Bolting commonly ensues after a fit of jibbing, 280

through the stable door, 239

Bone bears the burden when the body descends a slope, 253

Bones, character of the animal pronounced by, 17

of the fore extremity, how retained in their places, 42

of the spine described, 38

of the forelegs, their action is regulated by the shoulders, 408

Bones, the, of the leg do not uphold each other, 408

Boy picking hay, 172

Boys should not be employed to lead horses through stable doors, 240

the, about training stables are not trustworthy, 470

Bracy Clark’s jointed shoe, remarks on, 118

Bray of the donkey and neigh of the horse, how produced, 47

Brain, the, becomes congested by moving in circles, 451

Branch drains also oppose the ingress of rats, 300

Branches of the lower jaw contract with age, 136

Bran mashes, how to prepare, 55

more gentle and more safe than aloes, 55

Breaches of stable decorum by young horses, 207

Bread, given to horses in Germany, might be used as food, 195

Breaker, the, operates only on the fears of the colt, 453

Breaking and training, 449

begins at three years old, 147

loose, 217

should be gradually enforced from the earliest age, 455

Breaks are not often publicly used to exercise horses in, 304

Breast collar-strap, 507

Breathing life treated as it were an inanimate chattel, 200

Breeders should take example from the agriculturists, 428

Breeding, its inconsistencies and its disappointments, 427

of horses is at present altogether wrong, 437

suckling, and living on grass, 446

Bricks and mortar are valueless in comparison with horse flesh, 298

Bricklayer’s trowel likened to the teeth, 158

Bringing the sole near to the ground, danger of, 102

Brittle hoof, 99

Brougham horse, a, 371

Brougham or phaeton harness, 503

Brushing or cutting about the pastern joint, 121

Bulk is not always an assurance of strength, 419

merely distends and injures the stomach, 177

Bull neck, a, 391

Bustle hails the appearance of a stranger in the stable, 204

Buy a young horse by the teeth as regards age, 164

C.

Calkins destroying the even bearing of the foot, 109

in the slipper shoe made by thinning the quarters, 111

Can, bleeding, its form and use, 88

blood should be pressed against the neck, 91

horses have aristocratic predilections, 215

Capacity of most doors to stables, 235

Capital and tact required to job carriages successfully, 368

Carriage, a, without C springs, and a brougham, 483

harness, a full suit of, 504

horses are not kept by the London dealers, 367

houses are always large enough, 233

the treatment required for, when in its house, 492

Carriages, 477

congregate on wet nights before fashionable mansions, 323

Carrying round the food to the stables, 192

Carters sit upon the loins of young horses, 265

Cart horse, a, 401

with a Roman nose, 394

horses are not formed to trot, 273

have long mustaches, 394

Cartilago nictitans, 36

its special use and action, 36

Carts should never exist without springs, 386

Cast in the stall, 231

under the manger, 259

Cause of chink of the back is the greed of proprietors, 273

Cause of odd hoofs in the horse, 413

Causes of cutting, 121

which increase the liability of the foreleg to injury, 416

Caustics dangerous as internal medicine, 59

Cavity of the pulp in the molar teeth, 157

Ceiling of stables, how it is formed, 316

Certain steeds snap and bite when being dressed too violently, 289

Channel diminishes with age, 136

Character and color of upland hay, 173

lowland hay, 173

Cheap harness is generally dangerous, 496

horses are not to be bought in London, 359

Cheapness is not economy when buying oats, 182

Chiffney bit, the, 523

Child, a, might sit the thorough-bred trot, 421

Chink of the back, 266

Circular chest, the, good for slow work, 401

exercise, 452

motion induces blindness, 451

Clark, of Edinburgh, his old shoe preferred to new inventions, 121

Classic mind, the, recognized the signification of the horse, 242

Clean saddle, how to, 516

Cleaning harness, the proper method of, 504

Cleansing and cooling with hot and cold water, 349

an exhausted horse, 348

an unclipped horse, 347

Clearing the fence, 462

Cleveland bays are a dangerous property, 368

Clinches are more secure when made upon the toe, 114

Clicking or forging common toward the end of a long journey, 124

Clipped horse, a, is a deformity, 346

Clipping and singeing, 343

induce many terrible disorders, 344

Clock-loft and lumber-room above the sheltered space, 320

Closing the wound after having bled the horse, 92

Clothes and saddle cannot be retained on the herring-gutted horse, 404

Clover hay, first crop of, 174

second crop of, 175

Coal-cellar, 319

Coaxing the foal to feed, 444

Coax the horse when giving medicine, 78

Collar-rope is bitten through without design, 216

Collar-strap disfigures the neck and mane, 218

Colt at three years may cut sixteen teeth, 149

Colts are wayward creatures, 207

Comminution of the food described, 155

Common form of horn employed to administer drinks, 74

Common sense is alone necessary to understand horses, 524

Common stallions are generally led through the country, 431

Comparison between the wild and domesticated horse, 201

Complex calculations required of the horse dealer, 362

Composure returns only when the rug is destroyed, 287

Compound soap liniment recommended for rick of the back, 275

Condition of horses referred to, 432

of stable windows generally, 315

of the blood explains the diseases of the foot, 246

Conduct of most drivers when the horse bolts, 293

Conjunctiva, nature and distribution of, 35

Consequences of being cast in the collar-rope, 224

of being cast under the manger, 259

of too much paring, miscalled disease, 106

Contents of the abdomen and thorax, 403

Continued standing is a bad symptom, 352

Contraction of the jaw-bones forces the teeth into the mouth, 158

Contrast between a three-year old and a bishoped sixteen-year old

mouth, 135

between the permanent and milk incisor teeth, 160

Cooking food for horses no novelty, 193

Copers esteem a kidney dropper a valuable horse, 269

the, always flurry a horse when pretending to show it, 277

Corner incisors first cut at nine months old, 141

milk incisors, being shed, announce five years old, 153

Corns are natural to upright hoofs, 415

Corn promotes fat, 187

should be crushed on the premises, 184

when crushed, requires further preparation, 186

Corpora nigra, present in the horse and camel, 31

Cost of a separate house for the groom would be fifteen pounds

per annum, 333

of horse flesh is much increased by hard food, 166

Coughing, its danger during the administration of a drink, 75

provoked by raising the head, 76

Countenance during a fit of jibbing, 282

Countersinking for driving nails, 113

Course of the food, how arranged, 28

Covered ride round the stable, 302

Cow-bellied or pot-bellied horse, the evils of, 404

Cribbing induced by confinement and indigestion, 205

Crime is the climax of social frailty, 426

Crowded forges prevented by laying in a stock of frosted shoes, 127

Cruel imprisonment, 201

Cruelties undergone at three years old, 148

Cruelty and roguery are associated, 425

cannot promote development, 164

is practiced to coerce the jibber, 280

of rasping the hoof to fit a small shoe, 131

of the present mode of breaking in, 141

resorted to after bleeding, 94

sometimes changes the action of the straight shoulder, 406

unintentionally inflicted on all horses, 168

Cruiser and Mr. Rarey, 453

Crusta petrosa, 157

is endowed with a limited power of growth, 158

Cures proposed for cutting from exhaustion, 122

Curry-comb should be abolished, 337

Curveting and lunging are alike in their influences, 449

Customers are protected by the author’s recommendations, 378

should be better suited than pleased, 364

Custom of the drivers attached to the former fly wagons, 265

Cutting away the horny sole, 103

often produced by exhaustion, 123

D.

Damp stables are equally costly and dangerous, 322

Danger consequent upon the internal use of caustics, 59

of casting the entire weight upon the wall, 103

of coughing during the giving of a drink, 75

of getting the hind leg beyond the post of the stall, 230

of gorging on dry wheat, 169

of standing in the manger, 209

Dangers of racing plates, 114

of the present method of nailing, 100

Darkness does not incapacitate the horse’s eye, 32

Date is apt to deceive the breeder, 440

Dead donkeys not rare, 47

Dealers buy with a view to certain purchasers, 375

do not show all their stock to every chance customer, 138

generally possess one or two blood-weeds, 369

horses are exercised in front of the house windows, 304

take much trouble to buy horses, 359

visit horse fairs and breeders of stock, 364

will not submit a horse of known unsoundness to a veterinary

examination, 378

Deformity consequent on neglect of the hoof, 102

Deglutition described, 29

Degree of motion permitted in the stable, 202

Deluging with water does not please the horse, 346

Dentine, 157

Depth of the lower jaw in the young horse accounted for, 157

Deranged stomach denoted by fastidious and by voracious appetite, 196

Detailed description of the surface-gutters of the stable, 299

Development of the hyoideal muscles, 400

Diagrams of the opposite formation of thorax, 402

Difference between fullering and countersinking, 113

between man and horse in their lodging, 233

in the food of man and horse when in training, 170

of head in a one and a two-year old, 144

Different articles eaten by horses, 166

forms of pasterns, 410

kinds of ears, 396

kinds of snaffles, 521

Digestion deranged by modern stables and present food, 196

of the horse is frequently impaired, 342

Disease in the horse is exposed to the conjectures of ignorance, 285

Discovered in the morning with the head under the manger, 258

Dishonest dealers always demand a written warranty, 365

Disposition of the horse should be studied, 77

Dock, the, should be regarded as a continuation of the back-bone, 386

Domesticated animals generally live on prepared food, 167

horse is very old by its thirtieth year, 165

Donkey, the, belongs to the equine race, 46

Donkeys natural to the sandy desert, 48

have to toil after man’s day of labor has ended, 51

prejudices concerning, tend to their misery, 51

serve only the poor, 49

the loins of, uphold riders, 51

thrust into any hole for the night, 49

work before the master begins to labor, 50

Do not coax a tired horse to feed, 351

Do not punish the horse for jibbing, 281

Doors of stables should fold, or be divided through the center, 307

open on to the ambulatory, 307

size of, according to Professor Stewart, 235

Double coach-house, 319

Doubt as to the weakness of a hollow back, 384

Down in the hip, 237

Drag on the clinches the consequence of the thin heel shoe, 120

Draught horses require high and good haunches, 421

Draughts in crowded stables enable the horses to live, 81

Draughtsmen, their qualifications, 478

Dress, a, carriage and a chariot, 482

Dressing the heels, 353

the horse, 340

Drinking, the manner of, explained, 71

Drinks or draughts, a form of horse physic, 68

danger of administering, 69

generally objected to, 68

reasons for these objections, 68

sometimes poured down the nostril, 69

the objection to so giving medicine, 73

usual mode of giving, 74

Driving a nail too fine, 100

Dry fodder prematurely wears down the teeth, 133

Drying the heels, 350

Dryness affects the nature of the horse’s food, 171

Dusk, and at ten o’clock, duties of, 341

Duties of the night watcher, 325

E.

Each groom should lead two horses to exercise, 306

Earning its keep during lactation, 436

Early and late is the best time for exercise, 466

Ears, different kinds of, 396

Eastern elevation of the contemplated stables, 325

Education, modern, makes men knowing and not good, 198

should commence with birth, 455

Effects of living upon grass in the field, 430

Egyptian beans are mild and sweet, 188

Eight months’ solitary imprisonment is not rest, 475

Eight o’clock duties, 340

Employers should be blamed for the groom’s debasement, 330

Employment of the drawing-knife a necessity, 106

Enamel, 157

English mode of paring the foot, 102

thorough-bred tail approaches to the Arab, 387

Entire horses are not necessarily savages, 433

Entreaty not to credit the possibility of a “vicious animal”, 294

Equine race, the, are treated as creatures without habits

or instincts, 241

Estimable qualities of hollow-backed horses, 384

Even man’s generosity causes the horse to suffer, 475

Every gentleman his own horse-breaker, 453

Everything in the stable yields tribute to the groom, 330

Evils of long nights to horses and to grooms, 198

of modern stables, 200

Ewe neck, an, 391

Exaggerated view of a weakly animal with dangerous action, 424

Examine the angles of the mouth before purchasing, 398

Excellence of the racer’s action in the trot, 420

Excessive weakness has lost many a race, 472

Exchanges, with horses, are very expensive, 373

Excited horse, mouth of an, 288

Excitement ensues upon first sniffing the pure air, 334

prevented by rapidly and silently distributing the food, 312

Exercise, during training, is given at mid-day, 466

can be given in all weathers under the ambulatory, 303

Exhausting labor renders bleeding unnecessary, 87

Exhaustion in youth is a bad preparative for the stud farm, 428

Expense of feeding the horse, how increased, 193

would not be increased by proper treatment, 463

Experiments, uselessness of, as a test for medicine, 60

Experiment, testing the effects of a thick and of a thin covering, 344

Explanation of the doctor’s difficulty, 303

of the term “May bird”, 364

of the word “nicking”, 387

Expression of the ears, 396

Extended view obtained by mounting into the manger, 210

Extravagance of hard food, 166

Extreme age rare in the horse, 88

Eye, the, is a certificate of the horse’s origin, 30

Eyes, the, of the horse are much exposed to injury, 291

various sorts of, 397

F.

Fœtus, the, is injured by the mother being sucked while breeding, 445

False nostrils, situation, nature and uses of, 25

Fancy is most active in the weakest intellects, 227

Fangs of the milk teeth are absorbed, 160

Farmers, the, idea of a breeding mare, 447

Fat is laid on, although lameness exists in the foreleg, 243

is promoted by the food--horses are sweated to remove fat, 467

Faults inseparable from stables, 233

Fearful change takes place when a horse is “thrown up” to breed, 435

Fed between the bursts, 472

Feeding of the grazing and the stabled horse, 429

the mare, 455

the newly-born foal, 443

Feeling, instincts or inclinations of the horse are never heeded, 198

Feet of farm horses are generally sound, 246

of thorough-breds generally bad, 115

Felt under-pad, 512

Few gentlemen’s stables are supplied with the best grain, 181

grooms live in the house, 327

horse dealers die rich, 367

horses reach their thirtieth year, 155

human beings should be exposed to the groom’s temptations, 330

tails are well set on, 387

Fleam, the, as made to be struck by the hand, 89

the, is preferable to the lancet, 89

the, described as used for bleeding, 89

Field (newspaper) description of roughing, from, 129

Fifth molar present by the second year, 145

Fired, sometimes, and blistered after it, 78

Fire has been kindled under a jibbing horse, 281

First crop of clover, 174

drops of blood taken from the forefoot are cold, 243

lessons in breaking should commence with the foal, 141

permanent tooth appears at one year old, 142

the, harness put on a foal, 456

Fittings needed for the interior of a carriage, 490

of the sheltered space, 320

Five-feet wide doors do very well for sleepy animals, 237

Flattery is much relished by all lower life, 456

Flesh is only another name for muscle, 381

Flexor muscle, the, influences the direction of the foot, 412

Flooring of the proposed stables described, 298

Foal first nips the grass when four months old, 141

one fortnight after birth, 139

the, may accompany the mare in her work, 436

Foals are generally crippled before they are born, 428

should be taught to regard men as friends, 444

teeth at birth, 139

Folly of docking, 380

of employing blisters to the legs, 79

of ornamental scroll work instead of plain bars, 306

of tying a horse by its head to the manger, 225

Food, 168

for the foal if the mare’s milk is tardy, 443

not thoroughly digested when presented dry, 165

of horses is contaminated in modern stables, 318

proper for an exhausted horse, 347

should be proportioned to the animal’s fatigue, 351

the greatest of many evils under which horses suffer, 169

when too abundant is wasted, 212

Foot, the, perspires through the horn, 353

Foreleg over the collar-rope, 221

Forelegs in the manger, 208

Forelimb is not a straight pillar, 409

the, is joined to the trunk by muscle, 41

Forge, horse’s dread of, 109

strange custom of charging different prices in, 110

the state of the, during a sudden frost, 127

Formation of the soil of stable, 301

Former shoes, unsuit for modern use, 96

Form of thorax which is best suited for slow and for fast work, 402

the, of a mare for breeding, 438

Four fully-grown permanent incisors only denote three years

of age, 147

miles an hour is a fair exercising pace, 305

or five o’clock duties, 341

permanent incisors in each jaw announce four years old, 152

Four “roomy” stalls may be converted into three loose boxes, 332

Fourth molar is the first permanent tooth, 142

year, at the, the horse should be taught to leap, 416

Four-year olds are thought to need no indulgence, 151

Four-year old colt may be placed between shafts, 459

Fracture of the haunch disqualifies for a gentleman’s service, 238

Freedom is naturally desired by the horse, 220

Freemasonry, the, which exists between steed and rider, 372

French martingale, the use of, 518

revolution, the nobleman and Bastile, 252

Frequent change of shoes injures the feet of thorough-breds, 473

Friction, when brisk, warms more than slow walking exercise, 352

Frog and sole injured by the wedge-heeled shoe, 119

Front of the new stable has no intermediate rails, 319

teeth appear to be but temporary, 145

teeth stick out like spikes at thirty years of age, 167

Frosted shoes worn out in three or four days, 128

Frosting or roughing as generally performed, 128

Fullered shoe, 113

Full loins are generally associated with a stout dock, 393

set of horse clothes, 498

Furzy tail disappears at one-year old, 143

G.

Gangway, the, should be kept clean, 338

General complaint of the roguery of horse dealers, 425

mode of leading the horse out of the stable, 236

view of the shoulder and foreleg, 416

Gentlemen like the springy seat afforded by a young spine, 146

should respect their station when treating with dealers, 378

when ignorant of horse flesh, should not attempt display, 370

Gentleness and caution requisite when trying a fresh horse, 372

should be displayed during a fit of jibbing, 282

Gentle riding and proper grooming would sustain condition, 475

German silver makes the best ornaments for harness, 496

Gestation is opposed to lactation, 445

Get up, 351

Gig, a, and a two-wheeled dog cart, 485

Gig harness and kicking-strap, 502

house, 319

Girths of saddles generally considered, 509

Giving a horse a quart of malt liquor, 347

out macerated food, 191

Glycerin and rose-water removes scurf, 290

wash, the mode of applying it to the skin, 337

Gnawing the manger rail the result of long captivity, 204

Good bridle, the characteristics of, 517

feeders are too commonly sluggish animals, 352

form, a, generally requires little aid in foaling, 439

horse, the, is good for every purpose, 420

oatmeal, how to recognize, 178

oats display no vast difference in size, 180

reach, a, in the trot, a valuable quality in a hack, 420

saddle, a, should fall into its proper place, 515

shoes are spoiled by being roughed, 128

Gowing’s, Mr., mode of giving a ball, 65

its advantages and defects, 66

Graced with the sweetest manners, sells the horses, 362

Grass, horses are generally shod with tips when out at, 116

suggests the food of the horse, 20

the natural food of the undomesticated horse, 133

Great muscular power is necessitated to move the head, 388

Greenhorns disliked by the regular dealer, 373

Green meat and mashes are better than aloes, 469

Grooms, 327

conceive the horse injures them, 222

display the union of innocence and knowingness, 354

doing house work generally neglect the stable, 355

flog the horse for standing in the gutter, 257

generally manage their nominal masters, 229

imagine the foot to be a mystery, 353

like fat in horses, 212

like the horse to have hard meat, 193

never regard cutaneous sensitiveness as a disease, 285

pretend to comprehend impossibilities, 355

pride themselves upon being “_close_”, 355

regard see-sawing as a fearful “vice”, 205

report effects, and never hint at causes, 229

ride as they please when exercising horses, 303

singe the hairs inside the horse’s ears, 395

should not ride when exercising horses, 306

Groom’s room is situated over the boiler-house, 324

idea of a horse’s long imprisonment, 211

secret mixtures are the originals of patent food, 196

Ground plan of the proposed stables, 321

Gruel is proper for an exhausted horse, 351

Guess only at the age after the fifth year, 163

H.

Hair should never be inclosed in the wound after bleeding, 93

Hairs from oats are felted together in the stomach, 183

on the oat, 182

Half an acre of close grass should be attached to each loose box, 309

Hames with double eyes, 506

Handling the feet, 457

Hand-over-hand pace, the, is bad, 423

Hard food must be a tax on the muscular system, 467

provender wears the teeth and shortens the life, 165

substances derange the horse’s digestion, 186

Hardships undergone at three years old, 148

Harness and food are benefited when separated from stables, 317

and stable sundries, 494

for the young, 456

horses are usually imperfectly broken, 459

Hat, the, should be removed before a horse is led out of

the stable, 240

Haunch-bone is often broken by striking against the door post, 238

Haunches, the, will express the qualities of the horse, 419

Hay, after-meath, 174

clover, first crop, 174

second crop, 175

from legumens might cost more, but would be better, 189

heated, 175

loft, the, should be over the coach-house, 333

lowland, 173

musty, 176

promotes fat, 189

should be sorted before it is placed in the rack, 171

upland, 172

weather beaten, 176

Head, carried straight out is ungraceful and unsafe, 390

the, must be retracted before the horse can rise, 260

the, by its movements inclines the body in certain directions, 380

the, denotes the treatment of the horse, 393

Health suffers from improper food, 169

Heaped manger unsuited for a famished horse, 178

Heat and impurity naturally provoke cuticular irritability, 224

and moisture correct the unwholesomeness of food, 190

Heaving at the flanks, 440

Heavy animals were formerly used for gentle purposes, 422

carts having long reins are injurious to the horse’s spine, 273

Heels are left unprotected if the shoeing is neglected, 106

Herald painting--how its charges are regulated, 478

Herbs, when dried, retain their properties, 171

Herring-gutted horse, the disadvantages of, 403

High-spirited horses are the most troublesome when confined, 215

stubborn horn the author prefers in the horse’s foot, 414

Hind hoofs enjoy a freedom denied to the forefeet, 244

legs, the, have a tendency to increase the burden of the

fore limbs, 417

Hinge of the spine for rearing, 44

Hobble the hind legs of a mare, 441

Hogs’ skins are seldom perfect, 515

Hollow-backed horse, 383

cavity at the toe of the slipper shoe, 111

Home, a, for a horse is not the same thing as a home for a man, 298

Hoofs are spoiled by roughing during frost, 128

Hopeless struggle of mankind, 200

Horn for giving drinks, common form of, 74

improved form of, 74

of the hoof described, 98

whalebone and wood are best for stable instruments, 336