the idea being that the early habituation engenders a confidence which leasts for the rest of life. But the contention, too, cannot be accepted without question. There are two classes of child riders, the bold and the timid. The first are an anxiety to their parents, the second to themselves. It might be supposed that at any rate the bold ones would profit by their early experience, but even this is not invariably the case. Bold children not infrequently lose their nerve, while timid ones sometimes never find it; and we all know of children who, keen enough to begin with, suddenly refuse to get into the saddle again, probably on account of some fright or fall they have experienced. If, therefore, we want our children to ride while young, we should realize that this will not help them to be first-class horsemen when they grow up, and that there is a risk of their being put off riding altogether. It is a matter upon which too much care cannot be bestowed. By all means let them ride but try to see they do not get into bad habits in doing so, and take every precaution to avoid even the possibility of accident or fright. The best advice I can give is to urge that the child be allowed to join the local pony club, where many good hints may be picked up and much value with regard to riding learnt.

BLISTERING AND FIRING

Blistering. We all know of families whose members believe in quack nostrums as the cure for every ailment. In the same way, in many stables, blistering is regarded as a panacea. A horse with a filled leg is blistered; horses are blistered before being put out to grass; and cases actually exist of horses being blistered upon being brought up from grass in order to strengthen their legs before the hunting season! Blistering has become a habit. There seems little justification for it. We do not blister our own legs to strengthen the sinews. And unless the blister is applied as a direct counter irritant to pain or to assist in the removal of synovial deposit it can be of little if any good. In a well run stable blistering should be very rare, for most cases cure themselves without it. Veterinary surgeons sometimes recommend blistering because they surmise that although the horse, left to himself, would trot out sound in a fortnight, the owner would probably want to ride him immediately and not at a walk! With the result that the horse would in a few days be back again worse than ever. The fact that in such circumstances veterinary surgeons recommend blistering does not necessarily mean that they advocate it in itself, but that they know it is the only way to prevent the horse being over-taxed for at least a month. The trouble is that many horse owners do not know how to treat their horses. When a horse is fully grown, which is not until he is about eight, his sinews are of great strength and he can stand an enormous amount of work. But a horse which has been permitted to attain this age without sprain is a fortunate one. Many owners of young horses, without knowing the damage they are doing, consistently overwork them either in the polo field, or the race course, or the hunt; that is why so many stables are full of crocks. Firing. Firing is a very severe expedient indeed; the horse being in great pain for a considerable time after it; it is so severe that it should not be undertaken without an anaesthetic. Modern knowledge and experience have tended to reduce the occasions for firing. Formerly Irishmen used to fire their young horses against curb, whether they had curby hocks or not.

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