Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-12-03
The Saddle Horse.

In order to make a good, riding
horse after he has been carefully
gentled and his mouth brought to feel
the bit properly, and through that and
the reins, the riders hands, he requires
to be ridden by good horseman who
is at home on a horses back and who
has fine sense of touch, for on this
depends the fine senses of feeling in
the horses mouth. Hence it is often
said Of rough riders and of many COM
mon riders in England, "He can sit on
horse very well but he has no hands,
In England, no gentleman would ride
any horse which was used at all in har-
ness; therefore, beautiful young horses
in the United States should be used ex-
clusively as saddle horses, and if such
animals age not raised for expectation,
the Americans of the next generation
will have found the difference between
genuine nag and one having been
spoiled by leaning against collar.
In the Southern States there are
great many horses used exclusively un-
der the saddle, but it is French or Span
ish riding and not the English. The
saddles are not like those of England.
There are but four PAGES in which a
horse is allowed to 60 among good rid.
ers-the walk, which is generally five
and a half miles an hour; the trot,
which is from eight to twelve miles
an hour, according to the in
clination of the rider; the canter,
which is as slow as the animal can be
brought to gallop-by some called a
hand gallop, but in England, or at least
in the Midland counties, the pace is
termed "canter," and for a lady's nag
or palfrey it is always required that the
animals must be trained to canter with
the right leg first; in fact it is custom
airy to teach most of the nags to can
ter or gallop with the right leg first.
The fourth pace in England is the gal
lop, which means at any rate from
brisk gallop twenty miles an hour to
the greatest rate of speed. In the
Southern States here the horses are
used to what is called pace rack
which is not done in England, except
ing that many old farmers accustom the
nags they ride to weekly market to
move at jog trot,' which is called a
'shOg,' but although this makes a fifth
pace, yet it is not countenanced by
good riders, and any horse having been
INDUCED in this way of going is not so
desirable. 1t may thus be said that
there are four legitimate paces-the
walk, trot, canter and gallop.
Farmers in the United States who
wish to breed and bring out good sad
die horses, should ride daily, or have
sons who can constantly ride. Boys,
when quite children, are allowed to ride
ponies, and thus they become so accus-
toned to riding and guiding their nags
that they feel as much or more in their
element in the saddle than boys in this
country do when driving horse before
a buggy. The French are becoming
much better equestrians than they were
formerly, and it is to be hoped that the
Americans will improve, if only for the
sake of making money by perfecting a
fine class of saddle horses. -Egchange.
Is THE Pacific higher than the Allan
dispute on this question having
arisen, the editor of the Scientific
was asked to decide. One
argued that the Pacific was higher,
and that if canal was cut through
the Isthmus an immense current from
the Pacific to the Atlantic would re-
suit, The answer given was that there
was no difference of level between the |
oceans at mean tide. The tides on the |
Pacific side are about three feet; on the |
side they are five or six times
as great