round-bellied horses. Many an owner of a trained saddle-horse would gladly have him ridden carefully by one capable of keeping him "in good form," while every horse-owner, no matter how poor his nags, dreads an ignorant rider as he does the epizooty. Probably scores of country stable-keepers and thousands of farmers, after a season's experience with ordinary city riders, have vowed never to let a woman mount one of their horses again. One of the former, at a popular summer resort, said to the writer, "Two ladies hurt my hosses more last summer than all the rest of the work. They ain't no more saddles to be found in my stable!" A neighboring farmer, who had at first thought to reap a golden harvest from his five excellent horses at a dollar a ride, hereupon remarked, "They hain't no sense. They think a horse will go like a machine, and all they've got to do is to turn steam on with the whip." Very different would have been the verdict had the riders but possessed even a slight experience in training, for the horses would have come from their hands improved in mouth and gait, and almost certainly uninjured by bad usage.
