It is just at this critical moment that I would advise my fair readers to lay to heart the necessity of controlling their excitement, because it is at such a time that a horse, especially at the beginning of the season (if allowed), will "take out of himself" just what he will want hereafter, assuming a stout fox that means business to be to the front. A soothing word or two, and "making much" of the excited steed, will generally cause him to settle in his stride and cease romping; whereas, if the rider is excited as well as the horse, we have oil upon fire at once. Again, it cannot be too forcibly impressed upon ladies riding with hounds that the latter requireplenty of room to work.
"Place aux dames" is a rule rigidly observed by gentlemen in the hunting field. Room for the hounds should form an equally inviolable law with ladies in the same place. And it is the more necessary to impress this upon beginners, because many a first-rate man who pilots ladies, although bold as a lion over a country, and cautious to a degree as to the line he takes for his faircompagnon de chasse, is oftentimes far too modest to check her exuberant riding, and the consequence is, many an anathema—not loud, but deep—is bestowed upon both by exasperated masters and huntsmen.
Unlike the professional riding master, a first-rate pilot—such, I mean, as is paid for his services—though well behaved and respectful, is likely enough to lack much education, except such as he has received in the saddle or on practical farming matters; and his awe of a lady, properly so called, is so considerable as to preclude his exercise of thefortiter in realtogether, no matter how much his charge is unwittingly infringing the rules of sport.
I saw an amusing instance of this not long ago. A lady, the widow of a wealthy civil servant in India, having returned to her native land laden with the riches of the East, being still young and excessively fond of riding, purchased a stud of first-class hunters, took a nice little hunting box in Leicestershire for the season, and engaged the services of a very good man to pilot her. As a rule every lady rides in India—some of them ride very well; but a rattling gallop at gun fire, in the morning, over the racecourse at Ghindee or Bangalore, is quite a different matter to a gallop with the Pytchley hounds. The "Bebe sahib" (great lady) had no idea, mounted as she was, of anybody or anything (bar the fox) being in front of her. And be it known to those who have never been in India that "great ladies" there are "bad to talk to," being in the habit pretty much of paying very little attention to anything in the way of counsel coming from their subordinates. Our Indian widow was no exception. So she did all sorts of outrageous things in the field in riding in among the hounds—and, indeed, before them—to the disgust of the master and everybody else, including her pilot, who in her case was certainly no mentor—but the latter was too well paid to risk offending the peccant lady; he ventured a gentle hint or two, and, being snubbed, gave it up for a bad job.
He was so severely rated, however, by the masters of hounds in the district—one of whom declared he would take them home directly he saw the lady and her pilot with them—that the latter was fairly at his wits' end to know how to keep the too dashing widow within bounds. Sorely puzzled, he sat in his spacious chimney nook one night smoking his pipe in moody silence, his wife knitting opposite him.
"What's the matter, John?" began his spouse. "Matter!" he replied; "it's enough to drive a man mad; Mrs. Chutnee's going again to-morrow, and, as sure as fate, she'll ride over the hounds or do something, and get one into trouble."
"What makes her go on so, John?" again inquired thecara sposa.—"Go on! it is go on: I think that the name for it. Go on over everything! no fence is too big for her. I like her for that, but she never knows when to stop. Last week she knocked an old gentleman over, and he lost a spick span new set of teeth as cost, I dare say, a matter of twenty guineas; and the day before yesterday she lamed a hound as was worth a lot of money, to say nothing of hurting the poor brute. I don't know what to be at with her, and that's a fact, because, barring her going so fast, she is the best-hearted lady ever I see."
And John relapsed into silence, blowing mighty clouds of smoke, while his wife plied her knitting-needles. But a woman's wit, in difficult cases, is proverbial; and in the watches of the night a bright notion, based upon knowledge of her own sex, flashed upon the anxious mind of the snoring John's wife. The result was as follows. Next morning, true to time, John was in attendance to accompany the fair widow to the field. They had some distance to ride to covert, and after a smart spurt of a mile or two on the sward, the lady pulled her horse up to walk up a hill.
"John," said the lady (who was in high spirits), "what do people here think of my riding?"—"Well, some thinks one thing, and some thinks another," was the reply.
"That's no answer," observed the fair interlocutor; "what do they say? that is the thing. I know one thing they can't say; none of them can say they can stop me over any part of the country, no matter how big it is."
Opportunity, says some wise man, is for him who waits. Now was John's opportunity to avail himself of his clever little wife's bright idea.
"Stop you, my lady! no, that's just what they do all say; and what's more, they say you can't stop yourself—that you ain't got no hands, and your horse takes you just where he pleases, if it's even right over the hounds."
The "Bebe sahib" was bitterly chagrined, for she prided herself justly upon her capital hands upon a horse. She was silent for a few minutes, and then she said, "I want you to tell me what to do, just to let these people know, as you do, that I have hands."—"Then I will tell you, my lady," said John, brightening up. "Just you do this: when the hounds get away, you let me go first, and keep your horse about a hundred yards behind me. I'll pick out a line big enough, I'll warrant, and that will show them all about your seat and your jumping. Then about the hands; if you please, whenever I pull up, you do the same. They say as you can't stop your horse, you know."
"Can't I?" said the little lady, "can't stop my horse when I like! I'll let them see that. Can't stop! I should like to know what a woman can't do if she makes up her mind to do it."
John's wife was a capital judge; there was no more riding over hounds or disarranging of elderly gentlemen's teeth. But the "Bebe sahib" has taken me to the extremity of my space, and I must pull up, reserving further observations and suggestions on the hunting field for my next chapter.
On reading my previous observations on Fox-hunting, it may occur to many ladies that in order to enjoy the sport, great nerve and physical power, as well as a thorough knowledge of the principles of equitation and long practice, are indispensable, and that in default of either of the above qualifications they ought not to venture into the field. This, however, would be an extreme view of the case. It is quite true that to go straight to hounds and take the country and the fences as they come it is necessary that a lady should be in vigorous health, as well as a thoroughly accomplished horsewoman. But, grant the latter condition, those of even more delicate constitutions, and consequently lacking the nerve and strength to take a front-rank place and keep it, may still participate to a great extent in all the enjoyable and healthy excitement of the chase, if they follow it out in a grass country, and put themselves under the guidance of a man who knows that country well.
It cannot be too generally known to those who are not strong enough to sail away with the hounds over big fence or yawning brook that one great advantage as regards hunting afforded by a grass country is that a lady who is attended by a man well up at the topography of the district can generally find her way through easily opened bridle gates from point to point, from whence, throughout the best part of even a long day, she can witness and enjoy the sport, although she is not with the hounds; and this without pounding on the macadam and shaking her horse's legs; for all our Leicestershire roads are set, as it were, between borders of green velvet in the hunting season. All that is necessary to a most enjoyable day (if it is fine) is a horse that can get over the ground in tiptop form—a good bred one that can gallop and stay. On such a one, lots of grand hunting may be seen if it cannot be done by even a timid lady who dare not essay jumping.
Turning, however, from the delicate and timid to those whose health and physique enable them to hold their own in the front rank, I venture to point out a possible casualty that may happen in hunting, which, although not of frequent occurrence, may easily be attended with dangerous results if the fair rider with hounds is unacquainted with the means of counteracting it. I allude to the possibility of a horse in crossing a ford, where the stream is rapid and the bottom uneven, losing his footing. I have seen this occur more than once, both to good men and to ladies, and the result was not only an immersion over head and ears, but considerable danger as well. This is easily to be prevented, as follows: The fact of a horse losing his footing in deep water is at once apparent by his making a half plunge, and commencing to swim, which instinct teaches him to do directly he feels that he is out of his depth. At such a moment, if the rider confines the horse, he will inevitably roll over in his struggle. The great thing, therefore, on such an occasion is at once to give him his head, quitting the curb rein entirely, and scarcely feeling the snaffle, "while any attempt to guide the horse should be done by the slightest touch possible" (see "Aid Book"). The reins should be passed into the right hand, with which, holding the crop also, the rider should take a firm hold of the upper crutch of the saddle. She should, at the same time, with her left hand raise her skirt well up, disengage her left leg (with the foot, however, still in the stirrup), and place itover the third crutch. By these means she will avoid any risk of the horse striking her on the left heel with his near hind hoof, which otherwise in his struggle he would be almost certain to do. If a horse is left to himself he will swim almost any distance with the greatest ease, even with a rider on his back; and there is no more difficulty in sitting on him in the form above named than in cantering onterra firma. It is absolutely necessary, however, to get the foot—and especially the stirrup—out of the way, otherwise there is always danger of his entangling himself with them or with the skirt. When the horse recovers his footing on the bottom he will make another struggle, but the hold of the right hand upon the pommel will always preserve the seat of the rider. To be quite safe in such a predicament is simply a question of knowing what to do, and having the presence of mind to do itquickly. To show that the necessity for swimming a horse may occur to a lady as well as to a gentleman the following case, I trust, will suffice.
Many years ago I was riding with a lady from the village of Renteriaen routeto San Sebastian, in the north of Spain. The way was round a couple of headlands, between which was a deep bay, running up to the hamlet of Lezo. This bay was all fine sand up to some low but rather precipitous cliffs at the head of the inlet, but at the extremity of either headland careful riding was requisite by reason of rough rocky places. On the occasion I allude to the tide was flowing when we rounded the first point. Having been long accustomed to the place, however, we both considered that we had ample time safely to turn the other extremity of the bay; but a lively spring tide, aided by a brisk north-easterly wind, caused the sea, running in through the narrow gut of "Passages," to increase in velocity to such an extent that we were completely out in our reckoning. Seeing the tide gaining rapidly on us, we set our horses going at top speed over the level sand, racing (as it were) with the "hungry waters" for the distant point. When we neared it, however, I saw at once that it was hopeless to attempt rounding it, for our horses were already above the girths in water, keeping their feet with difficulty on the level sand, and I knew that to try to keep them on their legs on the shelving and rocky bottom at the extremity of the point would result in their rolling over us. There was nothing, therefore, for it but to try back, endeavour to regain the head of the inlet, and make the attempt, however difficult, to clamber up the steep but still sloping face of the cliff. Long before we reached our point, however, both horses were swimming; but they made scarcely a perceptible struggle in doing so, as the rising water lifted them from the level sand bodily off their feet. The lady (who was at first a little flurried) lost no time in getting her habit and her leg out of the way of mischief, and quickly regaining her nerve laid fast hold of the saddle, and laughing, declared it was "capital fun." I confess, on her account, and that of the horses, I did not think so; but encouraged her in her fearlessness. We gave the horses their heads, and they struck out bravely towards the cliff. As soon as they recovered their footing, the lady, having been previously cautioned to extricate her foot from the stirrup, slipped off her horse, the water taking her up to her waist. I lost no time in following her example, and turning the horses loose, we drove them at the sharp and slippery incline up the hill. Both horses scrambled up, with no further damage than the breaking of a bridle; but to get the lady (encumbered as she was with her wet garments) up the steep hillside was a task I have not forgotten to this day. The face of the cliff was studded with patches of gorse here and there, which assisted us certainly at the expense, of my companion, of severely scratched hands and torn gloves. But the ground was so slippery that our wet boots caused us continually to slip back, both of us in this respect being at a great disadvantage with the horses, whose iron shoes and corkings enabled them to obtain better foothold. Partly, however, by dragging, partly by cheering the lady to persevere, I succeeded in gaining the level ground with her, while the sea broke in heavy, noisy surges below, and sent the spray flying over us. The lady, who had borne up bravely so far, fainted from reaction when we gained the level sward, where the horses were grazing quietly, none the worse for their bath. But there were three stalwart Basque peasants at work hard by, turning up the soil with their four-pronged iron forks. Their cottage was close at hand, and having partially revived the fair sufferer, we carried her to the house, where she received every attention from the padrona, and no further evil resulted, except scratches and torn garments. But while I was sensibly impressed with the courage displayed by my companion, who was a slight, delicate woman, I am quite certain that ignorance of the right thing to do at the right time would have been fatal to both of us. As the tide gained so rapidly upon us, had the lady allowed her horse to flounder or plunge in it, she would inevitably have become entangled with him and drowned, despite any effort of mine to save her.
I have witnessed many other instances of the facility with which horses will extricate their riders from difficulties in deep water. Among these I know none more worthy of record than the following.
Some years ago a large Government transport, conveying troops and horses, was wrecked at Buffalo, Cape of Good Hope. Among the troops was a detachment of light cavalry. The ship parted on the rocks, and despite the efforts of the people on shore, the greater part of the troops (officers and men) were drowned. An officer of the cavalry party, however, determined to make an effort to reach the shore, upon which a heavy sea and tremendous surf were breaking. He launched his horse overboard, and, plunging quickly after him into the tumbling sea, seized the horse by the mane, and succeeded in retaining his grasp, while the plucky and sagacious animal gallantly dragged his master in safety through the surf.
I repeat, then, Be always on your guard in crossing deep water with a horse, or in fording a stream where the current is rapid. In India and other tropical countries the necessity for being able to swim a horse occurs more frequently than at home; and, in the monsoon time especially, it behoves everybody who is going a journey on horseback to be extremely careful how they attempt to cross a swollen stream, as the freshets come down with such rapidity that I have frequently seen a horse carried off his legs by the force of the current when the water has not been more than knee-deep, and, when once the foothold is gone in such places, it is extremely difficult frequently to find a place at which to get out again, on account of the precipitous formation of most of the banks. In any case, however, the above-named directions will be found effectual, and the horse, if left to himself, will find a landing place, even if he swims a considerable distance to gain it.
A point of considerable importance as regards hunting also is for ladies to avoid riding home in open carriages, no matter how fine the weather may be, or how well they may be wrapped up. Ridingtothe meet on wheels is all very well, particularly if the distance is great and by a cross-country road, and the time short. But, after galloping about during the greater part of the day, no conveyance home other than her horse is fit for a lady, except the inside of a close carriage on rail or road, and a good foot warmer at the bottom of the carriage; and if there has been much rain, riding home on horseback is by far the safest plan. I have frequently ridden home sixteen and eighteen miles after dark with a lady whom I had the honour of escorting on her hunting excursions, sometimes in very bad weather, and I can safely say that, rain, snow, or sleet, she never took cold. After leaving the hounds my first care was always to make for some hospitable farmhouse near the road, or in default thereof, some decent roadside inn, where we could have the horse's legs well washed, and the lady's waterproof carefully put on if there was rain about. I always carried for her a second pair of dry knee boots, carefully folded up in a waterproof havresack. These boots were made with cork soles within and without, and, as such boots are easily carried by any man who pilots a lady (of course I don't mean the pilot who rides in scarlet), I specially recommend them to consideration. The most difficult thing after riding a long day's hunting, in which, now and again, a good deal of it will be in wet weather, is to keep the feet warm. Throughout all the rest of the system the circulation may be kept going by the exercise even of slow steady trotting; but the wet, clammy boot, thoroughly saturated, it may be, by more than one dash through a swollen rivulet, strikes cold and uncomfortable in the stirrup iron even to a man, who has a better opportunity of counteracting it by the use of alcoholic or vinous stimulants. It is therefore highly conducive to a lady's comfort after her gallop with hounds, if she has far to go home, to change her boots; and this, with a little care and foresight on the part of her attendant, can always be accomplished. With a dry pair of boots, a good waterproof overcoat, and a cambric handkerchief tied round her neck, a lady may defy the worst weather in returning from hunting.
A word now about second horsemen, in a country like this, where thehabituésof it know tolerably well, if hunting is to be done in a certain district, that a fox, given certain conditions of wind, is most likely to make for certain points, and that if a covert is drawn blank, the next draw will be in a certain locality, it is not difficult for a good second horseman to be ready at hand when the lady requires a fresh charger. But (assuming always that she can afford to have a second horse out) nothing connected with her hunting requires more discrimination than the selection of a second horseman. Any quantity of smart, good-looking, light-weight lads, who can turn themselves out in undeniable form, and ride very fairly, are always to be had, with good manners and equally good characters; but one thing requisite is that they should know every inch of the country they are in. Thus a lad, however willing, from Scotland or Ireland, would be of very little use as a second horseman in the midland district of England; and therefore weight, up to ten stone at all events, is of less consequence than an intimate knowledge of the topography of the surrounding country.
To have a second horse at the right spot at the right time, and with little or nothing taken out of him, requires in most cases considerable foresight and judgment on the part of the lad who is on him, and therefore a fair amount of intelligence, in addition to careful riding, is indispensable, as well as natural good eye for country. The different form in which second horses are brought to the point where they are required is conclusive as to the foregoing, for one constantly sees two animals, up to equal weight and in equal condition, arrive at the same spot, one not fit to go much further, and the other with scarcely the stable bloom off his coat.
As the value of most of the foregoing suggestions as regards a lady riding to hounds is more or less dependent upon the form and condition in which the horse destined to carry her in the chase is put, I trust a few words upon this important subject may be acceptable.
In the first place, then, experience proves that the getting of a horse into really good condition is a work of considerable time, and that when once the animal has arrived at the desired point of physical health which will enable him to make the most of his powers, as a rule, it is considered to the last degree undesirable that anything should be done to throw him out of his form.
Many years ago it was considered that a horse that had been hunted regularly through a season should be turned out to grass throughout the summer, and that if he was taken up when the crops were off the ground, there was time enough to get him fit by November; while it was considered altogether unnecessary to give him more than one feed of corn a day while turned out. In numerous cases I have known he had none from April to September.
The present form of treating hunting horses is diametrically the reverse of the foregoing. A horse once "wound up" (as it is technically called) for hunting is generally kept up all the year round; his spring and summer training consisting of long, slow, steady work, principally walking exercise.
Now, my own opinion, based upon many years of experience and close observation, does not agree with either of the foregoing practices.
The first evidently was wrong, because a horse, even running in and out throughout the entire summer, though well kept on corn, will put up an amount of adipose substance, which cannot be got off in two months, with due regard to the preservation of proper quality and muscular fibre. While, on the other hand, I believe that, although by keeping your horse up all the year round you will bring him out in rare form in November, yet still he will not last you so long as one that has had fair play given to his lungs by a few weeks' run when the spring grass is about; for, however good the sanitary arrangements of our modern stables and the ventilation of boxes may be, the air breathed in them cannot be so pure as that of a fresh green meadow. Men and women require a change of air once a year at least, and everybody who can afford it looks forward with pleasurable anticipation to their autumn holiday. Why should the noble animal who has carried us so well and so staunchly through many a hard run be denied his relaxation and his change of air in the spring?
As a substitute for turning horses out for a brief run in the spring, it is customary in some stables to cut grass and give it, varied by vetches and clover, to the horse in his box. These salutary alteratives are good in themselves, but there is still wanting the glorious fresh air of the open paddock, which, when all nature is awakening from the long slumber of winter, is so renovating to the equine system.
It is best to fetch your horse up at night, because it is in the night when turned out that he eats the most; but the object of giving the animal his liberty is not that he may blow himself out with grass, but that, in addition to the purifying effect to the blood of spring herbage, he shall also breathe the spring air unadulterated. If this is carried out, I believe those who practise it will find that their hunters will last them many years longer than those that are kept at what may be called "high stable pressure" all the year round.
Prejudice, however, is strong as regards the foregoing matter, as in others connected with the stable treatment and general handling of horses. People are far too apt to go into extremes and adopt a line of treatment because it is in vogue with some neighbour or friend who is supposed to be well up on the subject, and must therefore be right in everything he does. The best way, I submit, is to call common sense into play, and be satisfied that the oracular friend has some good reason "which will hold water" for what he does.
I respectfully recommend the spring run then, by all means; and, if I may venture so far to infringe the imperious laws of fashion, I would venture to suggest that hunters might be allowed just a little bit more tail, for the purpose for which nature intended it—namely, to keep off the flies, which in summer will find them out, in or out of the stable. Extremes in fashion as to the trimming of horses are nearly as absurd as one sees from time to time in the dress of ladies and gentlemen, and quite as devoid of sense or reason. Who has not seen the old racing pictures in which Diamond or Hambletonian figure with a bob tail, and who has not laughed at the grotesque figure (according to modern notions of a racehorse) of these "high-mettled ones," all but denuded of their caudal appendages?
As a matter of taste and good feeling, therefore, I venture to plead for a trifle more tail for hunters than is at present allowed. To a good stableman it gives no trouble, and in spring and summer time it is of great use to the horse. When the latter is brought up from the spring run, the question of restoring his hunting form (if, indeed, he can be said to have lost any of it) is simple enough; in fact, there are few subjects on which more twaddle is talked than about the "conditioning of hunters," stablemen being particularly oracular and mysterious about it. Roomy, clean, and well-ventilated boxes, good drainage, four and five hours' walking exercise every day, the best oats procurable givenwhole, not crushed, with a moderate allowance to old horses of good beans, and a fair allowance of good old hay or clover, perfect regularity in exercise and stable times, the attendance of a thoroughly good-tempered cheery lad who knows his business, and the total prohibition of drugging or physicking of any sort, unless by order of a veterinary surgeon—these are the arcana of the much talked-of "conditioning." Some tell you that a hunter should have scarcely any hay. I have yet to learn why not, because I am quite sure that really good hay assists a horse to put up muscle. Of course he is not supposed to gorge himself with it, as some ravenous animals would do if allowed. But the same thing may be said of a carriage horse or a charger. Waste of forage is one thing, the use of it another; and as there has been considerable discussion of late as to the cost of feeding a horse, I beg to say that on a fair average those even in training, requiring the best food, can be kept, when oats are 32s. or 33s. a quarter, for 15s. a week. I speak of course of the absolute cost of forage of the best kind.
Where horses are delicate feeders, and this is the case with some who are rare performers in the field, the appetite should be coaxed, by giving small quantities of food at short intervals, making the horse, in fact, an exception to the ordinary stable rule of feeding four times a day. A really good groom will carefully watch the peculiarities of such a horse as regards feeding, and come in due course to know what suits the animal, the result being plenty of good muscle, equal to that of more hearty "doers." But stimulating drugs, I repeat, should never be permitted. Carrots as an alterative are good, but they should be given only when ordered by a veterinary surgeon, in such quantities as he orders. They should be put in the manger whole, never cut up, as there is nothing more dangerous than the latter practice in feeding, because numerous instances are on record of horses choking themselves with pieces of carrot.
When hunting time approaches, a little more steam as regards pace at exercise may be put on. Trotting up hills of easy ascent serves materially to "open the pipes," and, despite a very general prejudice to the contrary, I maintain that, for some weeks before hunting commences, a horse is all the better for a steady canter of moderate length every morning. A very good reason why stud grooms as a rule object to this is, simply because it involves a great deal more work in the stable.
If horses are only walked or trotted at exercise, one man generally can manage very well to exercise two horses, riding one, and leading the other with a dumb jockey or bearing reins on him; but, if the horse is to be cantered, there must be a man or boy to every horse, and, consequently, exercise would occupy considerably more time.
It is quite clear that the horse will have to gallop when hunting begins, and, as all training should be inductive, it is absurd to say that he should do nothing up to the 31st of October but walking and trotting, while on the first day of November his owner may come down from town and give him a rattling gallop with hounds. Surely such extremes are not reconcilable with common sense!
Let me now say a word about washing horses, about which also considerable diversity of opinion exists, some maintaining that the brush and wisp alone ought to keep the horse's skin in proper form, and others advocating washing partially.
In my time I have tried all sorts of stable management, and I believe the truth is as follows: Nothing is more conducive to a horse's health than washing, with either cold or tepid water. But if you adopt the cold water system, you must be sure that it is done in a place where there is no draught. It should be commenced in summer time. There should be two thoroughly good stablemen in the washing box, and a boy to carry water from the pump. The horse's head and neck should be thoroughly washed, brushed, scraped, sponged, and leathered, and a good woollen hood put on. His body washed thoroughly in the same way, and a good rug put on. Then his legs equally well done, and bandaged. Let him then be put into his box for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes, stripped and dressed by a man who will let his shoulder go at him, not one who will play with him. When thoroughly dressed his coat will shine like new satin, and his whole manner will tell you how refreshed he is by his bath. The washing cannot be done too quickly consistent with thorough good work. Two good men and a smart boy ought to wash, clothe, and bandage a horse in five minutes, or they are not worth their salt.
If the cold water system is begun in summer, and regularly followed up, it can be carried on throughout the winter, no matter how severe the weather may be, and an incalculable advantage of the system is that a horse so treated is almost impervious to cold or catarrh.
But to carry the treatment out, a lot of first-class stablemen are indispensable, men who—no "eye servants"—do their workcon amore, and take a genuine pride in their horses. If the thing is negligently done, or dawdled over, it is likely enough to be productive of mischief.
Where the stable staff is limited in number and not first-rate in quality, if washing is resorted to, tepid water must be used, because one smart man can wash a horse in tepid water in a proper washing house unassisted. But a special veto should be put upon washing a hunter's legs, as is too often done, outside in the yard, the horse tied to a ring in the wall, with the cold night air blowing on him. No matter if warm or cold water is used, whether or not mischief follows is mere matter of chance if the foregoing bad treatment is permitted.
Briefly, then, it may be said, if you have good men about you and enough of them use cold water, beginning in the summer and continuing it regularly. If you are short of really good stablemen, use tepid water; but use it in a washing box built for the purpose, and never let it be done out of doors.
Having endeavoured to mark out the course of equitation from the preparatory suppling practices to the orthodox conventionalities of the hunting field, I conclude this series of papers with a few hints which I trust will be useful to ladies about to proceed to India or the colonies.
In the first place, as regards riding habiliments, I recommend ladies going to India to procure everything in the shape of habits, trousers, and hats in this country. In India they cost a hundred per cent. more than at home, and the natives can only make them by pattern. Riding boots can be procured in the East quite as well made and as durable as those made in England, and at a fifth of the price.
Saddlery should be taken out from England. It is also just a hundred per cent. dearer in India. One good side-saddle, such as I have previously described, will with care last a lady many years. Of bridles she should take at least half a dozen double ones (bit and bridoon). Horse clothing of any sort as used in England is not required in India.
As regards the horse itself on which the fair emigrant to the East will take her health-preserving morning gallop at gun-fire, I must say little. I have endeavoured elsewhere to give some idea of what Arab horses are; and, as every lady going to India is certain to know some male friend who is well up at buying a lady's horse, I need only say that, if the animal purchased is a young unbroken one, the best plan is to send him to the nearest cavalry or horse artillery station, and have him broken precisely in the same form as an officer's charger. The Arab dealers from whom the horse, if unbroken, is most likely to be purchased, know nothing, and care less, about breaking, and the people about them have the very worst hands upon a horse I have ever seen.
All riding in India, except in cases of absolute necessity, should be done very early in the morning. The lady should be in the saddle soon after gun-fire (five o'clock). By the time she arrives at the galloping ground (in a large station or cantonment generally the racecourse) the sun will be up, so quickly does it rise, with scarcely any twilight, in India; but its rays are not then vertical, nor is the heat either oppressive or injurious until much later in the day.
A couple or three hours' riding is sufficient for health, and the great thing is to go home quite cool; the bath and breakfast are then most enjoyable. Evening promenades are as a matter of fashion, and indeed, of reason, usually attended by ladies in carriages. There are many, however, who prefer riding on horseback again in the latter part of the day; but experience proves that evening riding on horseback is not good, as a rule, for ladies. Exposure to the sun on horseback, or indeed in any way, should be specially avoided, as should also violent exercise of any kind, that on horseback not excepted. The rattling gallop, which is not only exhilarating but healthful in Leicestershire, is inadmissible in most parts of India, where extremes of any kind are injurious. Finally, I would respectfully impress upon every lady who is likely to go to India, those especially who, having been born there, have been sent home for their education, that they should avail themselves of every opportunity in this country of becoming efficient horsewomen. To be able to ride well is very desirable for a lady who is to pass her life in Europe, in India it is absolutely indispensable; and if the lady's equitation is neglected in early days at home, she will find herself sadly at a loss when she arrives in India; for although there are plenty of thoroughly competent men there who could instruct her, their time is taken up with teaching recruits at the early time of the day at which a lady could avail herself of their services. As regards riding in Australia, the Cape, New Zealand, Canada, or the West Indies, briefly it may be said that again it is best to take out saddlery from this country, because, although it can be procured in any of the above-named colonies far cheaper than in India, it is still considerably dearer, and generally not so good as at home. At the Cape, in Australia, and in New Zealand—the two former colonies especially—long journeys have frequently to be done by ladies on horseback; and if a thoroughly practical education in the saddle is necessary to health, as regards a sojourn in India; it is equally so as a matter of convenience in other of the British dependencies abroad.
Let me, then, close my humble efforts at carefully tracing out the readiest way for a lady to become a thorough horsewoman by again recommending them all to begin early, and to pay implicit attention to the tuition of a first-class instructor; always to throw their whole heart into their riding, fixing their minds rigidly on it while learning, and never, however proficient or confident they may be, venture, unless upon a life-and-death emergency, upon half-broken horses. During the Indian mutiny instances occurred in which ladies owed their lives to their nerve and courage in mounting horses ill-adapted to carry them, and by dint of sheer determination urging them into top speed and safety to the fair fugitives. In such desperate emergencies there is no alternative but to accept the lesser risk; but in ordinary cases my advice (the result of long experience) is to all lady riders, never mount an untrained horse, and never allow your horse to become too fresh for want of work.
A casualty which may be attended with trifling consequences to a man may have the most serious results in the case of a lady; while I am firmly of opinion that no such thing as an accident ought ever to occur to her on horseback if due care and foresight are exercised by those about her, and if the lady herself will be careful whenever or under whatever circumstances she approaches or mounts a horse to be always on her guard, torideall the time she is on him, to remember that in all matters that relate to riding the homely old adage, "Afterwit is not worth a penny an ounce" is strictly applicable, and that the golden rule is, "Never give away a chance to your horse."
Transcriber's Note: Hyphen variations left as printed.