The woman should visit her horse in the stable, and there she cannot talk to him too much. If it be a private one, I assume that it is constructed on hygienic principles; but as horses are frequently boarded at livery-stables, a woman should not leave the choice of a stall to her groom. She should see that of those procurable it is the best drained and ventilated, though free from draughts, and well lighted. If these conditions are not obtained, sickness and incapacity may be looked for in the horse. She should notice the feed occasionally, and see that her horse is supplied with all he requires, and of the best quality, and that he has an abundance of good bedding. A frequent or indiscriminate use of physics is to be deprecated. Pure air, good food, careful grooming, and regular, moderate exercise are the best tonics.

She must learn to pick up her horse's feet, as she should examine his shoes personally, and ascertain that they have been made to fit the feet, instead of the horn being rasped away to fit the shoes. The soles must be pared, but the frogs and bars should not be interfered with. She cannot expect to have the shoes on more than a month; although, if the horse has not had enough work to wear them down, they may be removed and put on again, for were they worn too long, corns and inflammation, causing lameness, would be the result. Another reason for knowing how to lift his feet is that he might pick up a stone on the road, and if alone she would be obliged to take it out, or run the risk of seriously laming him. While a woman is playing with him is an excellent opportunity for her to look at her horse's feet, which should be taken up in the following manner.

She must stand on his near side, a trifle back of his fore-legs, and facing his hind ones. She should run her left hand from his knee to his fetlock, behind, and inside of his near fore-leg, grasping just below his fetlock, with the fingers on the coronet and the thumb above on the pastern. A horse which has been broken will yield his foot, bending his knee at once, but sometimes with such force that she must keep her head held up, so that there be no chance of contact with his heel. With the right hand she can examine his foot, after which she may pass to his off fore-foot, and then to the near hind-leg.

For this she must stand close to his side, and stroke him firmly from the quarters to the hock. Passing her right hand under his hock to his fetlock, and grasping his foot as she did the fore one, she must raise it, letting the hock rest in the angle of her arm, while with her right hand she turns up the foot for inspection. She must not lean too far over or get back of the horse, or she is likely to be kicked if he offers any resistance.

Then, too, she may unfasten the roller and throw back his blanket, that she may be sure the saddle has not rubbed his back. A slight abrasion of the skin, if treated at once, will require only a day or two to heal; but if neglected for some days, the time will be greatly prolonged. If any soreness is detected, the saddle should be looked to immediately and the cause of the trouble remedied.

A shining coat is not positive proof that the horse is properly groomed. The hair should be rubbed the wrong way, and if the skin leaves a whitish deposit on the fingers, it will be well for the horse's owner to watch the groom the next time the horse is dressed, and to insist upon its being thoroughly done.

Much of what seems to be vice in a horse comes from his having been imperfectly bitted when young, or from subsequently having his mouth roughly handled. He should always be ridden in as easy a bit as possible, as some horses go well and quietly in a plain snaffle, and will pull, bolt, or run in a curb or any severe contrivance. No rule can be given as to what bit will best control certain tendencies. Experimenting with each kind will be the only means of finding out, but pulling is as likely to arise from an over-sensitive mouth as from a hard one, in which case a rubber snaffle might prove efficacious where a Chifney would fail.

Sometimes certain parts of the mouth become callous, and a bit bearing on a different place might produce the desired result. Most horses will go well in a bit and bridoon, varied to suit their peculiarities by the height of the port, the length of the branches, and the pressure of the curb-chain. There are certain points which should always be regarded. The mouth-piece must fit the horse's mouth exactly, being neither so narrow as to pinch him, nor so wide as to lose its power. The port should be the same width as the tongue-channel, and no higher than required to leave room for the tongue. The curb-chain must be sufficiently tight to furnish leverage for the branches, yet not so tight as to pinch the jaw when no force is applied.

Clipping horses in winter I have heard objected to on the ground of its being unsafe to deprive them of the thick coat which affords protection from the cold. If their coat is thick and long, it is, in my opinion, much wiser to clip them, and for several very good reasons. Their work is rarely continuous, and the alternating of the heated with the cooling-off condition is very liable to work more or less injury. A heavy-coated horse which has been driven until very warm, and then left for half an hour to stand outside of a shop or house and become chilled by the wind striking the heavy wet coat, which frequently does not dry for hours, is likely to become a subject for the veterinary.

On the other hand, if the horse is clipped, he does not get so warm in the first place, and, in the second, would cool off more quickly and without danger of becoming chilled. In very cold weather quarter blankets will furnish all the protection necessary, and prevent the wind from striking the horse while standing.

With saddle horses, although not so important, it is an advantage to have them clipped, because a cold day is certain to make the rider go steadily to keep warm, and the horse, becoming overheated (if his coat is heavy), is in great danger of taking cold if permitted to stand for a moment in a draught.

No woman who rides should be without a practical knowledge of how to saddle and bridle her horse, as the groom often turns him out imperfectly bitted or girthed; and unless she knows how to do it herself, she will not perceive that anything is wrong until too late to prevent mischief. She should learn to hold the bridle by the headstall, in her left hand, as with the right she slips off the horse's halter, and throws the reins over his head. Then change it to the right hand, putting her left on the bits, which she gently inserts between his jaws. With the right she must pull his ears under the headstall, and then turn her attention to fitting the bridle.

She must see that the headstall fits, that the forehead-band is not too tight, and that there is plenty of room between the throat-latch and the throat. The snaffle-rein is fitted by the buckles of the cheek-piece, and should fall a trifle below the angle of the mouth. The curb needs careful adjustment, that the mouth-piece may rest exactly on the bars of the mouth. Then the chain must be hooked when quite flat on the chin-groove, but not tight enough, unless used vigorously, to inconvenience the horse. The lip-strap should pass through the small ring attached to the curb-chain, thus keeping it in place. I like a bridle with buckles, or billets as they are called, rather than one which is stitched to the rings. In the first place, it is frequently desirable to change the bits, especially in a large stable, and being sewed would necessitate a bridle for each bit. Furthermore, when the bits are washed, the leather gets wet, and the stitching is apt to become rotten, and unexpectedly give way at a critical moment, when some unusual strain is put on it.

A noseband furnishes additional control over a horse; but it should not be attached to the bridle, or it may interfere with the action of the bit. It should have a headstall and cheek-pieces, and be buckled tight enough to prevent the horse from opening his mouth too wide, but it must not restrain his breathing.

If a martingale is used, I much prefer a running to a standing one. It is useful with star-gazers or horses that get their noses out too far. Some horses need one to steady them in hunting, but the running martingale is the only one which should be tolerated in jumping, and then not be used unless necessary. It is attached to a girth, and at the two upper ends are sewed rings through which the snaffle passes. With a running martingale there must be a stop on each snaffle, considerably larger than the rings of the martingale; otherwise there is danger of these rings getting caught in the bits, frightening the horse, and making him rear or back, as there is no way to release the pressure thus brought on his mouth. The length should be carefully regulated, so that it will keep the horse's head at the desired height. This admits of considerable play to the horse, but within control of the rider, while with a standing martingale no liberty is attainable. Once mounted, the rider cannot influence its bearing; and should the horse trip, he cannot fling up his head, as he must to regain his balance.

For ordinary riding a breast-plate is not always used, but in hunting it is almost indispensable, and is always a safeguard against a woman's saddle slipping back. It is put on over the horse's head with the reins, and one strap passes between his fore-legs, through the loop of which one of the girths passes. Two other ends buckle, one on each side of the saddle, near the horse's withers, and it should be loose enough to admit of free movement in galloping and jumping.

The saddle should be very plain in appearance. It must have a level seat, which can only be obtained in those having the tree cut away above the withers; otherwise, to clear them, the saddle must be so elevated in front that it is sometimes six inches higher than the cantle, placing the knee in an awkward and fatiguing position, and it is impossible to rise without an unusual amount of exertion, which will lead to arching the back, thrusting the head forward, and probably galling the horse's withers. There should be no third pommel, such as there formerly was on the right side of the saddle, bending to the left over the right leg.

The two pommels must fit the knees exactly, or the circulation will be impeded, and a cramp brought on which renders the muscles powerless to grip the pommels. The seat must extend about an inch beyond the line of the spine, and, although I usually object to it, for a child the seat should be covered with buckskin. No more padding should be used than is required to fit the horse's back, as it looks badly for the top of the saddle to be several inches above the horse. Moreover, the nearer one is to the animal's back, the greater will be the control. It enables one more readily to detect the stiffening of the muscles when mischief is contemplated, and to be prepared to thwart it. It should not have any superfluous straps, stitching, or attempts at ornamentation: the simpler the style the better; even the slit on the saddle-flap for the pocket is now frequently dispensed with. A safety pommel-band is sometimes fastened from the extreme upper forward end of the right saddle-flap to the top of the right pommel, thence to the left. This lessens the likelihood of a skirt becoming caught.

On no account should a slipper stirrup be used, but a safety stirrup without any padding, and one which does not work by having the bottom drop out, as these are apt to come to pieces when least desired, leaving the foot without any support. The best kind have the inner half-circle jointed in the middle and working on a hinge at both sides, so that it can open only on being pulled from below, as in case of a fall. Next to this in safety comes a plain, small racing stirrup.

The Fitz-William web girths are the best for a woman's saddle, white being used in preference to darker shades. There are braided raw-hide and also cord girths, the former being very serviceable, but they do not look so well as either of the others.

When the saddle is in position, free from the play of the shoulders, the first girth is taken up, then the back one, and kept clear of the horse's elbows, that his action may not be impeded. Although pulling the girths excessively tight is to be avoided, it will not do to leave them loose, as a woman's unevenly distributed weight might cause the saddle to turn. Any wrinkles in the skin caused by the girthing should be smoothed away by passing the fingers between the girths and the horse. Then the stirrup-leather is buckled, after this the outside leather strap that keeps the saddle-flap in place, and finally the balance-strap, which must be fairly tight, assists in keeping the saddle in position. Before mounting she should always glance at the saddle and bridle, and be sure that they are properly put on; otherwise her ride may be rendered uncomfortable, if not dangerous.