ty of
tightening it--by the hard, unyielding, leather surcingle. The use of
this surcingle is to prevent the small flap on the off side from turning
up, and the large flap on the off side from being blown about with wind;
and it should not be drawn tighter than is sufficient for these
purposes. The part coming from the near side should not be attached, as
at present, to the small flap, but to the lower part of the large flap
on the near side. This will leave the small flap on the near side loose,
as in a man's saddle, _and will allow liberty for the use of the spring
bar_. It will also lessen the friction against the habit and leg, by
rendering the side of the saddle perfectly smooth, except the
stirrup-leather. To lessen the friction from that I recommend a single
thin strap, as broad as a man's stirrup-leather, instead of the present
double, narrow, thick one. Of three sorts of single stirrup-leathers the
smoothest is with a loop to go over the spring-bar, and with an
adjusting buckle just above the stirrup-iron: or the strap may take off
and on the iron by a slip loop, and passing over the spring-bar as
usual, be fastened, and its length adjusted, by a _loose_ buckle, which,
though it is only attached to the strap by the tongue, is perfectly
secure. For hunting I always use a single strap, sewn to the iron, with
a =D= above the knee, and with a double strap and buckle between the =D=
and the spring-bar. The lady's stirrup-leather, which passes under the
horse's body, and is fixed to the off side of the side-saddle, is
supposed to prevent the saddle from turning round. This is a mechanical
error. But the great objection to this sort of stirrup-leather is, that
it cannot with safety be used with the spring-bar; for when off the bar
it remains attached to the saddle, and acts as a scourge to the horse. I
once saw a frightful instance of this. The lady's stirrup-iron should be
in all respects the same as a man's, and, to make assurance doubly sure,
it should open at the side with a spring. This might be useful in case
of a fall on the off side, when the action of the spring-bar of the
saddle might be impeded. But if the stirrup is large and heavy, it is
next to impossible that the foot should be caught by it. It is the
common error to suppose that persons are dragged owing to the stirrup
being too large and the foot passing through it, but the reason is its
being too small and light, it then sticks to the foot and clasps i