agged. By an extraordinary piece of good luck she
was saved from a horrible death by her boot coming off.

All that can be said in favour of safety stirrups, is that they are
less liable to cause accidents than ordinary stirrups. The fact remains,
that the danger of being dragged by the stirrup can be entirely obviated
only by the use of an efficient safety bar.

[Illustration: Fig. 28.--Foot caught on off side.]

GIRTHS.

In referring to this subject, I cannot do better than give the following
extract from _Riding and Hunting_:--

"Girths, while fulfilling their duty of efficiently keeping the saddle
on a horse's back, should be as little liable as possible to hurt the
surface on which they press. Hence they should be broad, soft, and
constructed so that their tendency to retain sweat between them and the
horse's skin may be reduced as far as practicable. They can best fulfil
the last-mentioned important condition when they are absorbent and open
in texture. It is evident that sweat retained between the girth and the
skin will have the effect of the moisture of a poultice in rendering the
part soft and unusually liable to injury from pressure or friction.

"As a material for girths, wool is superior to cotton or leather,
because it is softer, more absorbent, and does not become so hard on
drying after having become wet. The only drawback to ordinary woollen
girths is that they are not sufficiently ventilated, an objection which
has been overcome in specially constructed woollen girths that are sold
by many good saddlers.

"The plan of giving ventilation by slitting up a broad leather girth
into several narrow straps, or by using a number of cords of cotton or
of plaited or twisted raw hide often acts well; but its adoption may
give rise to girth-galls, if care is not taken to smooth out, when
girthing up, any wrinkles there may be in the skin underneath the girth.
It is evidently more difficult for the pressure to be evenly distributed
by these cords, than by a broad girth which consists of one piece.

"Great care should be taken to keep girths clean and soft, and to oil
them from time to time, if they be of leather.

"I prefer a broad girth attached at each side by two buckles to two
narrow girths. The Fitzwilliam girth, which consists of a broad girth
with a narrow one over it, is handy with a martingale or breast-plate,
through the loop of which the narrow girth can be passed."

In a Fitzwilliam girth,