Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-25
HORSES FOR WOMAN
HER DEMAND FOR A BETTER SAD
DIE ANIMAL.
The Type Generally Sought After
Points for Choosing the
Proper Mount.

From the New York Evening Post.
A few years ago anything in the shape OF
horse was considered suitable for a wo-
man to ride. Whispers were heard of the
way woman ruined any horse with her
side-dragging weight due to the side-sad-
die; the hard mouth resulting from her
riding on the bit;'' the way she insisted
on treating it like pet child, making it do
everything at most inopportune times; any
thing for momentary display, urging and
curbng in twenty yards; while, as to gaits,
there was utter decentralization. In fact
an added punishment to the Inferno cata-
logue was supposed to be the eternal riding
of ladies horse"
This has all changed. Woman has to a
certain extent taken the reins into her
own hands. Always great on mere appear
ances and the eternal fitness of things
which at times odd fit-she now
wants horse with good appearance Eth
er country life and closer association with
horses has given the more or less correct
idea she now holds, or she has picked it
up at horse shows, and in that general
channel of intuition, which, after all. is the
sheet anchor of a smart wemans opinion In
most things She does not know why, but
she gets pretty near the correct line in
most things in which she is vitality inter-
ested Thus today she throws aside the
old-time no-account steed, and insists on
that the horse must have that definite har
mony of parts and proportion which gives
the capacity for the work desired, and. also,
to some extent, presages the even temper
and good disposition natural to the we'll
bred, well-caredfer equine. 1t is sound.
common sense. One would not choose a
club-footed man to win a sprint race.
An average woman of today either wants
an out-and-out hunter or she leans to a
distinct hunter type. even for park work.
Such horse should be temperate-that is
to say, easily handled and not easily ex-
cited, strong, safe, clever at fences, and
fast enough for whatever the country may
be- With the Meadow Brook he will need
greater speed than in a rather cramped
southern section. 1t is vital feature that
he be up to his weight more than in the
case of a mans horse, simply because a
man rides 'to his ight,'' but woman on
a side-saddle inevitably rides ''over, near
ly twenty pounds over it.
Animal Should Conform.
The animal should to some extent con-
form to the height of the rider; a tall
woman should have horse about sixteen
hands, and SO down in proportion; but it
must be remembered that the larger
horses take more holding together than
do the smaller ones. Witness the full
sized hunter and the polo pony. He
should be longer in the back than is a
mans horse. this because the side-saddle
covers more area; the seat of a woman
with habit spreads over greater space
and with short back or with a short
coupled horse everything looks eramped
and squeezed up, which is to be avoided
for several reasons, the chief one being
that the long back gives greater elias
ITCHY of motion
He should above all things be able to
walk fast, accomplishment only too
rare these days He should trot freely,
with an even and level movement and be
broken to canter, right foot first, at the
touch of the heel. He ShonId
fat; oblique shoulders, and a fairly high
forehead, as a side-saddle is a great deal
of trouble on high-crouped horse-it
will slip. He should be easy to control
and patient, by reason of long waits" at
a gate, gap, or other Inconvenience,
and: If not temperate in this respect, he
Is likely to become very FESTIVE at con-
troll and then rear. which is the unpar-
donable vice of woman's mount.
A Rearing Horse Useless.
Any horse that rears with a woman
should be at once relegated to other
divisions of the riding family. This is be-
yond appeal! Neither should woman
ever ride roarer or kicker, although
a fairly large experience in several coun-
tries shows that more kickers are ridden
by woman than by man, and several high
authorities have justly included woman
and her horse as one of the three evils
to avoid contact with when riding. This,
however. was more applicable to past
days, and the great number of woman's
horses today are very good specimens
and well behaved.
He should have much greater jumping ca
pacity than he will ever be called upor to
use IN the hunting field. because one NJ yer
knows what may happen, and the we nan
on side-saddle cannot help herself and
take care Of herself to the same extent as
man. although. even with the best, in a
tight place 1t is more often the high intel
ligence OF the animai-coupled will the
riders full appreciation Of that won lerfui
instinct-which safely and Success sfuliy
solves the problem. AZ Whyte II slviiie