S. (continued 2)

SITFAST

.—A sitfast is an eschar upon the side of a horse, which having been originally a warble, from the pressure and friction of the girth-buckle, (indiscreetly permitted to come upon, or near to, the edge of the pad,) is, by a repetition of the injury, converted into a sitfast; or, in terms of easier comprehension, a circular or oblong space of the integument, so completely cauterized by the repeated heat and friction, that it bears all the appearance of a piece of burnt leather inserted upon the spot. When, by carelessness and neglect, it has acquired the state now described, there is but one mode of cure, which is instrumental extirpation. The edge being raised so as to admit of being taken hold of by either FORCEPS, or common PINCERS, it may be separated from the substance to which it adheres, by any common operator, and healed in a few days, almost as soon, and with as little difficulty, as the most trifling and superficial laceration.

SKITTISH

.—A horse is said to be SKITTISH, who is considerably above himself both in spirit and condition; displaying much more of pleasure in exercise, and the enjoyment of air and conditional freedom, (from the narrow confines of a stable,) than the least tendency to habitual vice. A skittish horse will jump two or three feet at the flight of a sparrow, or dance a saraband upon the rumbling approach of a carriage: he is (unless weary with work) always alive with gaiety and motion, without the least intentional injury to those who ride or drive him. There are those who confound the terms, and consider a SKITTISH and a STARTING horse one and the same thing; but they are in the eye of accuracy by no means synonymous.

SKYSCRAPER

,—the name of a horse of much present celebrity: he was bred by the late Duke of Bedford, and got by Highflyer out of Everlasting. In the Craven Meeting, at Newmarket, 1789, when two years old, he received forfeit from three for a sweepstakes of 200 guineas each across the flat. The same Meeting he beat Mr. Fox's Maid of all Work across the flat for 500 guineas. The second Spring Meeting (then three years old) he won the Prince's Stakes of 100 guineas each, eight subscribers; the Derby Stakes at Epsom, 50 guineas each, thirty subscribers. At the same place he received 70 guineas compromise from the Earl of Egremont's Tag. In the first October Meeting he received 250 guineas forfeit from Mr. Ladbroke's Magpie, two middle miles of Beacon Course, for 500 guineas, half forfeit. In the second October Meeting he won a sweepstakes of 100 guineas each, from the Ditch-in, nine subscribers. The next day he won the 50l. Plate for three year olds, beating nine others. The same week he received 122½ guineas forfeit in a Post Match with Lord Derby. In the Houghton Meeting he received 130 guineas compromise from Mr. Fox's Sister to Lethe, 300 guineas, half forfeit. The same week he received 130 guineas compromise from Mr. Fox's Braggadocio, across the flat, for 300 guineas, half forfeit.

In 1790, at the first Spring Meeting, he won the Jockey Stakes of 100 guineas each, (half forfeit,) fourteen subscribers, of which nine paid forfeit. In the same week for the Claret Stakes of 200 guineas each, half forfeit, he received from his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's Sujah ul Dowlah, his Royal Highness the Prince's Deir Sing, Duke of Orleans's Jericho, Lord Egremont's Calomel, and Sir C. Bunbury's Glaucus. In the first October Meeting he received 100 guineas forfeit from Montezuma. In the same Meeting he won half a subscription of 30 guineas each, (seven subscribers,) beating the famous Escape, then the property of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

In the first Spring Meeting of 1791, he won the renewed 1400 guineas, a subscription of 200 guineas each, half forfeit; beating Pipator; fourteen having paid forfeit. In the second Spring Meeting he received 150 guineas forfeit of four, for a sweepstakes of 300 guineas each, over the Beacon. The first Spring Meeting, 1792, he won the King's Plate at Newmarket, beating those famous horses Coriander, Gustavus, and Toby, with the odds ten to one against him at starting. At Stockbridge he won 50l. beating Thalia. He won the King's Plate at Winchester; walked over for a sweepstakes of 10 guineas each, five subscribers, at Bedford; won the King's Hundred in the first October Meeting at Newmarket, beating Skylark; and in the second a subscription of 60 guineas, beating Skylark and Espersykes, with the odds against him at starting. In 1793 he started but twice, and was beat each time by the celebrated Coriander. In 1794, on the first day of the first Spring Meeting at Newmarket, he won a 50l. plate, beating Serpent and No Pretender; about which time the Duke of Bedford beginning to reduce his racing establishment, Skyscraper appeared no more on the turf. He has hitherto covered at Woburn Abbey, in Bedfordshire; but is now announced for the ensuing season, 1803, at Tytherton, near Chippenham, Wilts, at TEN GUINEAS a mare, and half a guinea the groom.

SLOT

.—The impression of a deer's foot upon the earth, so as to be perceptible, is then called a slot; and when, in consequence of storms, rain, sleet, or extreme drought, the hounds cannot carry on the scent, the huntsman and his assistants have no alternative, but to avail themselves of every possible clue and information from the SLOT, to prevent the disgrace of the HOUNDS being beat, and the deer lost.

SMITHFIELD

—is the name of a most celebrated spot in the Metropolis, from which a SPORTSMAN is not likely to derive either pleasure or emolument; unless it is in the purchase of diseased or emaciated subjects for his HOUNDS. To those in remote parts of the kingdom, it may not be inapplicable to be informed, that Smithfield is the great CATTLE MARKET for the consumption of the infinite body of inhabitants in the cities of London, Westminster, their suburbs, and the environs for some miles round. The principal days are Monday and Friday in every week; on which some hundreds of OXEN, in a state of perfection for slaughter, and thousands of SHEEP and LAMBS, are constantly transferred to supply the immense demand. The afternoons of those days are principally appropriated to the purchase and sale of aged, crippled, and worn-out horses; the greater part of whom are only fit to receive sentence from the INSPECTOR, previous to their being delivered to the nacker, (or slaughterman,) unless it is some few, with still remaining strength enough to drag the carts of the industrious about the inferior streets, with a supply of vegetables in the summer, and potatoes in the winter, for the accommodation of the lower classes of society.

SNAFFLE

.—The simplest and plainest BRIDLE-BIT is so called: it consists of only a single mouthpiece, having a joint in the middle, with a cheek of different lengths at each extremity, and an eye annexed to receive the reins; when which are added, it is then called a SNAFFLE (or single-reined) BRIDLE. When snaffle-bits are made very large in the mouth for breaking colts or fillies, they are then called MOUTHING-BITS.

SNAP

,—the name of a horse, as a STALLION, formerly held in high estimation: he was bred by the late Earl of Sandwich; foaled in 1750; got by Snip; dam by Fox, grand-dam by Bay Bolton; from which the blood of both sire and dam may be traced to most of the Barbs and Turks ever brought to this country. There were also three others of this name, distinguished by different appellations; as Lord Chedworth's Snap; Wildman's Snap; and Latham's Snap. The first was got by Old Snap; his dam by Dormouse, grand-dam by Mixbury. The second by Old Snap; dam by Regulus, grand-dam by Bartlet's Childers; going on both sides directly into Arabian blood. The third by Snap, dam by Cade, grand-dam by Old Partner.

SNIPES

—are well known to the sporting world in winter shooting, and are of two sorts; one nearly as large again as the other, though precisely the same in shape, make, feather, and formation. They frequent the same places, subsist on the same food, and are frequently found near to each other. The larger is called a whole snipe; the smaller, a Jack; the latter of which is not very easily killed, at least by an indifferent shot; of which some proof was recently given by a gentleman of Easthampstead, in Windsor Forest, who very warmly entertained his friend with a description of "a Jack snipe he had found upon the heath, which had afforded him sport for six weeks; and he did not at all doubt but he would serve him for sport during the season, if he was not taken off by a frost; and what was still more convenient, he always knew where to find him within a hundred yards of the same place." They are birds of passage, supposed to breed principally in the lower lands of Switzerland and Germany, though some (particularly the Jacks) remain and breed in the fens and marshy swamps of this country, where their nests with eggs and young are frequently found. They arrive here sooner or later in the Autumn, regulated in respect to time by the wind and weather, but never appear till after the first rains; and leave this country in the spring, so soon as the warmer sun begins to absorb or exhale the moisture from the earth, and denote the approach of Summer.—See Shooting.

SNORTING

.—is a cartilaginous propulsion of sound from the nostrils of a horse, which he avails himself of at different times, to signify sensations seemingly opposite to each other. Upon being led from the light, through a gloomy passage, to a still more gloomy stable, he is frequently observed to SNORT either from fear or surprize; meeting or coming suddenly upon a new, strange or unnatural object, he snorts from absolute dread of injury; taken into a stable or out-house smelling musty, from foul dung and confined air, he snorts with dislike, and enters with reluctance: but snorting in the field at exercise, or in the CHASE with HOUNDS, may each be considered a proof of pleasurable gratification.

SOILING

,—in the more confined signification, applies merely to the supplying a horse with grass, clover, tares, lucern, fain-foin, or rye, cut green, and brought to the stable for his daily consumption; but in a more general acceptation it extends to the act of turning him out in a plentiful pasture, and in the genial season, when and where he may enjoy all the advantages of which the frame is susceptible. It cannot but be known, that liberty, so dear to us, and to every part of the creation, must be equally so to the horse: to have his limbs free from restraint, to expand his frame, and roll upon the earth, to snort and snuff the ambient air, and to have his coat cleansed and purified by the dew of heaven, is to the horse a state of nature, and a life of luxury. Thus free and uncontrouled, although they are equally subject to, yet they are seldom known to be afflicted with pain or disease, in any degree equal to those who are confined within the limits of a small and offensive stable.

To constitute occasional revulsion, to correct acrimony in the blood, to purify the juices, to invigorate the frame, and reanimate the system, it is absolutely necessary the horse should have his annual run of six weeks or two months in a luxuriant pasture, and at a proper season of the year, if either his frame or health is thought worthy protection. In the Metropolis, and in large towns, where the environs are entirely appropriated to HAY FARMERS and COW-KEEPERS, no such convenience can probably be obtained for any pecuniary consideration whatever; in which predicament the only alternative to be adopted, is to supply them with green food daily, and this is termed SOILING in the STABLE. Even this process, simple as it is, requires some previous precaution. The article with which the Metropolis, and other cities and large towns, are supplied, are mostly tares, (in some countries called vetches;) though clover is at some-times, and in some places, to be procured; but whether one, or the other, it is absolutely necessary the supplies should be fresh, and, if possible, never more than thirty or six-and-thirty hours off the scythe; from which time (particularly if laid in a heap) they begin to heat exceedingly fast; and when once the juices are exhaled, become tough, turn black, and rapidly approach putrefaction.

This, however, must be admitted a very inferior substitute for natural pasture; as repeated experiments, and constant observation, hesitate not to pronounce the NATIVE (in its nutritive and exhilarating property) superior to every artificial grass hitherto introduced. The quantities of the latter grown in various parts of the kingdom (and in some it cannot be avoided) is immense; but no doubt need be entertained of the nutritious superiority of the native meadow grass, whether green or dry, if it is cleanly cultivated, and well got in. It is very much the custom in and about London, to send horses to what are called the SALT MARSHES in Essex, from whence some arrive in tolerable condition; but where, from their contiguity to town, or other causes, the land is overstocked, and the summer dry, they come up in a state of wretched emaciation, as if passing in mournful procession to some neighbouring dog kennel. Those marshes, at a proper distance from town, where they are free from offensive filth, and the pasture plentiful, are remarkable for their peculiar property of attenuation, in altering the property of the blood, promoting the secretions, purifying the system, and invigorating the frame. They are well known to act as perfectly as the most powerful antimonial or mercurial alterative, in obliterating the remains of cutaneous disease; and this is readily accounted for by their first effects, which is for many days equal to a state of medical purgation; to which, however, the subject soon becomes superior in health, strength, and an accumulation of flesh; demonstrating the process to have been a very salutary interposition.

Those who wish their horses to avail themselves of every advantage to be derived from SOILING, will certainly retain it in memory, that TWO months in the prime and early part of the season, will be preferable to THREE at the latter end: a dry summer, short pasture, and the infinity of flies, and other insects, constitute a very sensible drawback upon the privilege of liberty, as well as upon the restoration of FLESH, and the renovation of STRENGTH. Horses in a plethoric state, with a cough, full of blood, or the relics of disease about them, will most likely come up in a much worse state than when turned out. Horses of this description should undergo bleeding, and proper evacuations, previous to their being set at liberty; as the nocturnal collapsion of the porous system might probably repel the perspirative matter upon the overloaded vessels, and thereby render the remedy (in turning out) worse than the disease.

What is termed a winter's run, although attended with promised advantages in some respects, is not without the chance of loss, anxiety, vexation, and expence, in others: frozen limbs, and an empty carcase, are not calculated much for the promotion of flesh, strength, or purity of condition. A horse, by such, is in possession of his shivering liberty, perhaps in some contracted spot, wretchedly despondent over the effluvia of his own excrements, 'tis true; but how far that may compensate for the want of shelter, food, care, and attention, in the most severe, dreadful and dreary season of the year, must be left entirely to the decision of those whose pecuniary sensations may prompt them to make the experiment.

SOLE

.—The external part of a horse's foot so called is at the bottom, and situate between the frog in the center, and the wall or bearing which totally surrounds the outside. This will be the more perfectly understood by referring to Fig. 2. of the letter A in the Plate of "Demonstrative Shoeing," where the SOLE, the WALL, and the FROG, being accurately represented, will collaterally explain themselves in the following description. The outer sole (as it is called in contra-distinction to the inner, which is its membranous lining) is a sound and horny substance; but not so very firm and impenetrable in its texture, as the hoof, by which it is surrounded, and is evidently intended as a protection to the inferior structure of the foot. The sole, to assist generally in constituting what is considered a well-formed and substantial foot, should be thick, strong, and inclining much more to a hollow, than the least appearance of prominence; for when a shoe is well set, no bearing whatever should be sustained by the sole, but the whole must positively rest upon the crust or wall of the hoof, which may be seen in the line of articulation accurately represented upon the Plate; where, on the inside of the circle, will be observed the sole, Fig. 2. on the outer, the wall or crust, Fig. 1. When the bottom of the foot has what is termed a crowned sole, with a prominence similar to the convex side of an oyster shell, and the sole projecting above the circular wall of the hoof, the horse is tender, sometimes halts, and is tardy in progress: such horses are said to be fleshy-footed, and require great care and attention in shoeing; and unless the shoe is properly arched or hollowed within, to take off every chance of pressure from the prominent sole, pain and subsequent lameness must inevitably ensue.

SORREL

—is the colour by which certain horses are distinguished, and might, without any degree of inconsistency, be termed a red chesnut: they are a colour nearly between a bright bay and a yellow chesnut, giving and taking a tinge or shade either way, having invariably manes and tails red or white. When tolerably well bred, of handsome shape, make, and symmetry, with full silver mane and tail, they are majestic, commanding figures, and are, in general, secured as cavalry chargers for field officers, when they are to be obtained of size and strength for the purpose.

SOUNDNESS

,—in a horse, is of such extensive meaning, and infinite importance to the sporting world, to dealers in horses, and to individual purchasers, that it is exceedingly necessary some criterion should be fixed by which its present undefined meaning should be more properly and more equitably understood; for want of which, more litigation is carried into the Courts at Westminster for the emolument and amusement of the Gentlemen of the Long-robe, than any other subject whatever, the constantly increasing evil of crim. con. excepted. The general custom between BUYER and SELLER is precisely this; the horse is sold with or without certain conditions in respect to SOUNDNESS, and this is done by what is called a WARRANTY on the part of the seller thus: "He is warranted perfectly sound, free from vice or blemish, and quiet to ride, or draw," as either or both the latter may happen to be. A horse sold without a warranty, and taken as he is, is then purchased (and the purchase abided by) with all faults, and cannot be returned under any plea whatever, unless he can be proved to have been glandered at the time of purchase, in which state no horse can be legally sold.

In the strict and equitable sense of the word, a horse, to be perfectly sound, should be completely perfect: he should have no obstruction to sight, no impediment to action, but be in an acknowledged slate of natural purity; neither diseased, lame, blind, or broken-winded: he should not only be free from impediment at the time of sale, but bona fide never known to have been otherwise. Some there are who support a different opinion, and conceive (or pretend so to do) that a horse may be sold warranted perfectly sound, after he has recovered from a palpable lameness: those should recollect, that such horse is always liable to a relapse, or repetition of the injury; and whoever becomes so obstinate as to defend an action brought under such circumstance, will certainly feel the mortification of having a VERDICT pronounced against him, so soon as sufficient evidence has proved such horse to have been lame at any time whatever previous to the purchase.

Some years since, a late Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench laid it down as a rule, and promulgated the opinion, from the bench during a trial then pending, that TWENTY POUNDS was a good and sufficient price for a SOUND HORSE; and whether a warranty was or was not given, was totally immaterial: that sum implied a warranty, not only for the horse's soundness at the time of his being then sold, but that he should continue so for at least three months afterwards; a declaration so truly ridiculous in itself, and so void of every principle of equity, that any man, to make it now, would lay indisputable claim to the appellation of FOOL or MADMAN.

SPANIEL

—is the name of a dog of which there are different kinds; and even these have been so repeatedly crossed, that, unless it is in the possession of sportsmen who have been careful in preserving the purity of the breed perfectly free from casual contamination, the well-bred genuine cocking Spaniel is difficult to obtain. There are four distinct kinds of dog passing under this denomination; the large water Spaniel, and a smaller of the same sort. Of land Spaniels there are two kinds also; the one larger than the other, much stronger in the bone, but with curly waves in the hair; and the small yellow pied springing Spaniel, (used in pheasant and cock shooting,) whose hair is rather long, soft, and delicately pliable, with ears of the same description, reaching, when extended, beyond the point of the nose. The two kinds first mentioned are chiefly confined to the purposes of wild fowl shooting, in moors, marshes, and the neighbourhood of rivers; where ducks, wigeons, teal, coots, moor-hens, dab-chicks, and snipes, are to be found; to all which they are particularly appropriate; not more for their indefatigable industry in finding the game, than for their surmounting every obstacle to recover it, and bring it to hand when killed. They are also of most wonderful sagacity, fidelity, and observation; their olfactory sensations almost exceed belief, by which alone they are taught the most incredible performances. Sticks, gloves, handkerchiefs, coin, or any other article left some miles behind by the owner upon the road, or any remote spot, (totally unknown to them,) they will retrace to any distance upon a signal being given with the hand, and never relinquish the search till they bring it safe to their master.

The large springing Spaniel, and small Cocker, although they vary in size, differ but little in their qualifications, except that the former is rather slower in action; neither catching the scent of the game so suddenly as the latter, or seeming to enjoy it with the same extatic enthusiasm when found. The small cocking Spaniel has also the advantage of getting through the low bushy covert with much less difficulty than the larger Spaniel, and does not tire so soon, whatever may have been the length and labour of the day. Spaniels of each description are frequently used as finders in COURSING with GREYHOUNDS, and are indefatigable in their exertions: from the time they are thrown off in pursuit of game, the tail is in a perpetual motion, (called feathering,) by the increasing vibration of which, an experienced sportsman well knows when he gets nearer the object of attraction. The nearer he approaches it, the more violent he becomes in his endeavours to succeed; tremulative whimpers escape him as a matter of doubt; but the moment that doubt's dispelled, his clamorous raptures break forth in full confirmation of the gratification he receives. And this proclamation may be so firmly relied on, (though in the midst of the thickest covert,) that the happy owner may exultingly boast he is in the possession of one faithful domestic who never tells a lie.

As it is the impulsive principle of this animal to give the most outrageous proof of joy upon finding, or coming upon the foot or haunt of game, so it is his determined disposition never to relax in his perseverance till he brings it to view. It is therefore necessary for all young and inexperienced sportsmen, who take the field with Spaniels, not to be too tardy in their own motions, but to let their agility keep pace with the incessant activity of their canine companions, without which they may expect to cover many a weary mile without a successful shot. Spaniels, when broke for the field, should never be taken out more than one young dog at a time, and that in company with one or more old and seasoned dogs, to whom they will mostly attend in every action, and the sooner acquire the necessary knowledge of the business they are engaged in. If young dogs are taken out alone, and in too great number, their great eagerness, and emulative opposition, frequently occasions them (particularly in covert, where they are safe from correction) to hunt or chase one thing for want of finding another; and in the event of not being corrected when necessary, to become uncertain babblers, and never to be relied upon. The judicious and experienced sportsman will never be seen to hunt Spaniels with Pointers either in or out of covert; for, although it can do little or no injury to the former, it may very materially warp the integrity, if not totally destroy the principles of the latter.

SPARRING

—is a ceremony practised with game cocks during the time they are in feeding (alias training) to fight in any MAIN or MATCH, for which they stand engaged. When COCKS are brought up from their walks, and placed in their pens, some are, of course, too full in flesh; others, as much deficient: in the judgment of equalizing these different degrees, (by reducing the weight of one, and increasing the substance of the other,) does the art of cock-feeding entirely depend. On every second or third day, during the time they are preparing for the match, each cock has a sparring with an opponent of nearly equal weight with himself; and this sham fight continues a longer or shorter time, according to the flesh, weight, and wind, of each cock so exercised, in proportion to the superflux of substance he is required to lose. For the occasion, and that they may not injure each other, they are equally shielded with mufflers upon the parts where their spurs have been sawed off; and that they may be the better inured to labour, and prepared for difficulty, the ceremony takes place upon a truss or two of straw loosely scattered, that, having no firm hold for their feet, they have less power to oppose each other. Cocks too full of flesh, and foggy, that require a great deal of sweating to bring them down to their proper match weight, are sometimes permitted to continue the controversy till nearly exhausted.

SPAVIN-BLOOD

—is a preternatural distension of the vein which runs down the inside of a horse's hock, forming a soft and elastic (or puffy) enlargement, commonly occasioning weakness, if not lameness, of the joint. They are in general produced by sudden twists or strains, in short turns with loads, either in riding or drawing; and not unfrequently by too rapid turning in narrow stalls. The cure is frequently attempted by strong spirituous saturnine repellents, or powerful restringents, with a compress and bandage firmly fixed upon the part: these methods, however, seldom afford more than temporary relief. The former mode of operating, by incision, and instrumental extirpation, is in present practice entirely laid aside; a repetition BLISTER, or slightly FIRING, being the only means relied on to ensure certain obliteration.

SPAVIN-BONE

.—The defect so called, is an enlargement on the outside of the hock, originating in a gristly or cartilaginous protrusion, which increases gradually to a callosity, and ultimately to a perfect ossification as hard as the bone itself. In its early state, but little limping or impediment to action is observed; but as it advances in progress, the lameness becomes proportionally perceptible. A bone-spavin is never known to submit to liquid applications, or solvents of any description; repeated BLISTERINGS, and substantial FIRING, seem the only means by which the enlargement and its painful irritability can be reduced.

SPAYED BITCH

,—is a bitch upon whom an operation has been performed, by which she is deprived the power of generating a farther progeny. An incision being made in the flank, midway between the hip-bone and the belly, the ovaries are extracted through the orifice, and separated from the parts to which they were united: these being returned, the wound is stitched up, and heals in a few days, (if performed by a judicious practitioner,) without farther trouble or inconvenience.

SPEED

—is sportingly applicable to HORSE, HOUND, or GREYHOUND; and upon this depends (in a great degree) the estimation in which they are held. It is customary to say, such a horse has great action, or he is in possession of the gift of going. This is, however, considered applicable only to excellent TROTTERS and hacknies upon the road. Speed is always used in a superior sense, and intended to convey an idea of the greatest rapidity of which the animal is capable, and which enhances his value in proportion to his qualifications. In the art of TRAINING for the TURF, there are ambiguities of such magnitude, that it is averred by those who have made the practical part their study, that one training-groom (from judgment, experience, and observation) shall bring a horse to the post full half a distance better than another, although their speed was considered equal when placed under the racing management of their different superintendants. This is admitted so much, and so truly, an incontrovertible fact, that TRAINING-GROOMS have their lights and shades of reputation and celebrity, in an equal degree with the most eminent artists in the universe. Jockies also are admitted to possess their different degrees of excellence, and to so very great and discriminating a nicety, that when MATCHES are lost by some lengths, and for large sums, offers are frequently made to run the match over again for the same money, or to double the STAKES, provided the WINNING JOCKEY is permitted to ride the losing horse. Thus speed is not always the same, but is evidently dependent upon contingencies, which the utmost human circumspection cannot always either foresee or prevent. The increase of speed with RACE HORSES in this country, is very readily admitted to have been great during the last fifty years; and this is impartially attributed to the introduction of, and judicious crosses from, the Arabian blood with the best bred mares of our own: although the effect of these experiments were held in great doubt for some years, but are now universally acknowledged to have exceeded the utmost expectation, and cannot be supposed to extend much farther.

There are two modes of trial for SPEED, according to the present reformed mode of English racing: the one is to run a mile, which is termed running for SPEED; the other, of going off at SCORE, and absolutely racing the whole four miles, which is called running for speed and bottom. Flying Childers, whose speed was almost proverbial, went one third of a mile in twenty seconds. Firetail and Pumpkin ran a mile in a few seconds more than a minute and a half. Childers ran the distance of four miles in six minutes and forty-eight seconds, carrying nine stone, two pounds; he made a leap of thirty feet upon level ground; and he covered a space of twenty-five feet at every stroke when racing. It was formerly known that any horse who could run four miles in eight minutes, would prove a WINNER of PLATES: this is, however, very materially refined, by judicious crosses in blood, or improvements in training; as Bay Malton ran four miles over York in seven minutes, forty-three seconds and a half. Eclipse ran the same distance over York in eight minutes with twelve stone, though going only at his rate, without any inducement to speed.

The means by which the wonderful velocity of the greyhound can be ascertained are but few: there are, however, well authenticated instances upon record; and as they are again quoted in Mr. Daniels "Rural Sports," are entitled to credibility. In February, 1800, a hare was darted before a brace of greyhounds in Lincolnshire, and upon the distance being measured from her form to where she was killed, it proved upwards of four miles in a direct line; but there having been several turns, as well as some oblique running, during the course, it must have increased the length considerably: this ground was run over in the space of twelve minutes; and the hare fell dead before the greyhounds touched her; which serves to demonstrate the speed and strength of the former. It is known that horses are more distrest (if they keep up) in a moderate COURSE than in a long CHASE; of which an instance lately occurred in the neighbourhood of Bottisham, in Cambridgeshire, from whence the hare being started, took away for the Six Mile Bottom; and although two-and-twenty horses went off with the greyhounds, only one could make a gallop at the conclusion of the course. The hare (who had reached within fifty yards of the covert) dropped dead before the greyhounds; and they were so exhausted, that it was found necessary to bleed them to promote their recovery.

A few years since a hare was suddenly started at Finchingfield, in Essex, when the brace of greyhounds running at her came into contact with so much velocity, that both were killed on the spot. At Offham, in Sussex, a brace of greyhounds coursed a hare over the edge of a chalk-pit, and following themselves, were all found dead at the bottom. The high spirit, persevering speed, and invincible ardour, of the greyhound, not being universally known, (at least to those who have either few or no opportunities to partake of the sport,) it may not be inapplicable to introduce a singular circumstance which occurred in 1792. As Lord Egremont's game-keeper was leading a brace of greyhounds coupled together, a hare accidentally crossing the road, the dogs instantly broke from their conductor, and gave chase, fastened as they were to each other: the pursuit afforded an uncommon and no less entertaining sight to several spectators. When the hare was turned, she had a manifest advantage, and embarrassed the dogs exceedingly in changing their direction; notwithstanding which, she was at length killed at Pikeless Gate, after a course of between three and four miles. In 1796 a similar occurrence took place in Scotland, where a brace of greyhounds, in couples, killed a hare after a course of a mile with intervening obstructions.

Endeavours having been made to acquire some degree of information upon the subject of comparative speed between a greyhound and a RACE-HORSE of superior powers and celebrity, it was at length brought to a decision by absolute matter of chance. It having been previously submitted to the opinion of an experienced sportsman, which would prove to possess the greater portion of speed for a mile, or for a longer or shorter distance, he returned for answer, that, upon a flat, he had no doubt but a first rate horse would prove superior to the greyhound; unless in a hilly country, where he conceived a good greyhound would have the advantage. The information not to be acquired by any direct mode, was brought to trial by an incident which occurred upon the Course of Doncaster in 1800, and was precisely thus.

A match was to have been run between a horse and a mare for one hundred guineas. At the time appointed, the former not appearing, the mare started alone, to insure the STAKES; when, after having ran little more than a mile, a greyhound bitch (to the great admiration and entertainment of the company) took to her from the side of the Course, and continued racing with her the other three miles, keeping her regular line nearly head and head, which produced a most excellent match; for when they reached the DISTANCE POST, five to four was betted upon the greyhound; when they came abreast of the stand, it was even betting; and the mare won by only a head.

The speed of the fleetest and highest bred FOX HOUNDS, was brought to public proof in the well-known match made between Mr. Meynell and Mr. Barry, for 500 guineas a side, and decided over Newmarket in the month of September of the year in which it was run. The hounds of Mr. Barry's (called Bluecap and Wanton) were put in training on the first of August with the famous Will. Crane. Their food consisted only of oatmeal, milk, and sheep's trotters. The ground was fixed on at the time of making the match; and upon the thirtieth of September the drag was taken from the Rubbing-house at Newmarket Town end, to the Rubbing-house at the starting-post of the Beacon Course: the four hounds were then laid on the scent: at the conclusion, Mr. Barry's Bluecap came in first; Wanton (very close to Bluecap) second. Mr. Meynell's Richmond was beat more than a hundred yards; and the bitch never ran in at all. The length of the drag was between eight and ten miles; the time it was crossed in was some seconds over eight minutes. Some tolerable idea, in this instance, may be formed of the SPEED, when there were SIXTY horses started fairly with the hounds, and only twelve were up. Cooper, Mr. Barry's huntsman, was the first; but the mare that carried him was rode blind in the exertion. Will. Crane, who rode Rib, (a King's Plate horse,) was the last of the twelve who came up. The current odds at starting were seven to four in favour of Mr. Meynell, whose hounds were reported to have been fed upon legs of mutton during the time they were in training.

Merkin, a famous bitch, bred by Colonel Thornton, was considered far superior in speed to any fox-hound of her time: she was challenged to run any hound of her year five miles over Newmarket, giving 220 yards, for 10,000 guineas; or to give Madcap 100 yards, and run the same distance for 5000. She ran a trial of four miles, and crossed the ground in seven minutes and half a second. Merkin was sold, in 1795, for four hogsheads of claret, and the seller to have two couple of her whelps.

Madcap, at two years old, challenged all England for 500 guineas. Lounger, brother to Madcap, did the same at four years old: the challenge was accepted, and a bet made to run Mr. Meynell's Pillager for 200 guineas. The parties were also allowed by Colonel Thornton to start any other hound of Mr. Meynell's, and Lounger was to beat both; but, upon his being seen at Tattersal's by many of the best judges, his bone, shape, and make, were thought so superior to any opponent that could be brought against him, Colonel Thornton consented to accept a pair of gold dog-couples as a forfeit to the bet.

SPLENT

—is the term given to an ossified prominence when it appears upon the shank-bone of a horse's fore-leg: they are frequently seen upon the legs of young horses, and are sometimes known to disappear without any application whatever. If they do not make their appearance during the fourth or fifth year, they are seldom seen after that time, unless occasioned by blow, bruise, or accident. They are very rarely productive of lameness or inconvenience, unless they curve towards the back sinews, and vibrate in action. Various are the means too hastily and too rashly brought into use for their extirpation, and many times without the least necessity; for when they are not attended with pain or inconvenience, it must be more prudent to let them remain in a state of dormant inactivity, than rouse them into painful action. If some mode must be inevitably adopted, a spirituous saturnine solvent is the most safe and efficacious application.

SPORTSMAN

—is the appellation, for time immemorial, annexed to any man whose partiality to the SPORTS of the FIELD are universally known: they are evidently marked out for him by the dispensing and benign hand of Providence, for the promotion of health, and the gratification of pleasure, of which, enjoyed with moderation and rationality, he is never ashamed. The name of SPORTSMAN has ever been considered concisely characteristic of strict honour, true courage, unbounded hospitality, and the most unsullied integrity. However the character may have been broken in upon by time, or mutilated by the innovations of fashion, caprice, or folly, the original stock was derived solely from the blood of the true old English country Esquire; who, uncontaminated by the curse of insatiate ambition, is only happy himself in the happiness of his domestic dependents, the corresponding smiles of his tenants who surround his mansion, and an hospitable association with his numerous friends.

His HOUNDS are kept from an instinctive attachment to the sport itself, as well as to perpetuate the respectable and exhilarating establishment of his ancestors, (hitherto transmitted to their posterity without a stain,) and not from the least desire of having his name blazoned through every part of the county in which he resides, for keeping what he has neither PROPERTY to SUPPORT, or spirit to enjoy. Personally frugal, (amidst the most spirited hospitality,) he never suffers his mind to be disquieted by the pecuniary applications of people in trade: having a soul superior to the idea of living beyond his income, and running in debt, it is an invariable maxim, never to let his tradesmen be a single quarter in arrear. The guardian of his own honour, he never affords a chance of its becoming degraded by the officious and unprincipled pride of a subordinate, under the appellation of STEWARD; or to be disgraced, or prostituted, by the barefaced, unqualified denial of a menial bedaubed with lace and variegated finery, under the denomination of a footman.

Innately philanthropic, the true, well-bred, liberal-minded SPORTSMAN is always equally easy of access to friends, neighbours, tenants, and even to necessitous parochial solicitants; and never countenances false consequence amongst his domestics in one department, or impertinent pride in another: by a persevering adherence to which system, his rustic mansion seems the summit of all worldly happiness and earthly gratification: not a dependent but eyes him with the warmest sensations of gratitude; not a servant within, or a labourer without, but looks awefully up to him as their best friend. The pleasures of the field he extensively and judiciously engages in with all the fervency of a well-informed and experienced sportsman; but by no means with all the unqualified enthusiasm, and fashionable furor, of an indiscreet and determined devotee. Capable of distinguishing between the use and abuse of what is so evidently and benignantly placed before him, as an excitement to exhilarating action, bodily invigoration, and general health; he enters into all its spirit, avails himself of all its import; not more as a personal gratification (in respect to sport) than a mental perusal of one of Nature's many instructive volumes, displaying to the ruminative and expansive comprehension, the applicable and coinciding speed of the HORSE; the instinctive impulse, invincible ardour, and corresponding perseverance of the HOUND; the various shifts and evasions of the GAME; and lastly, the firm and manly fortitude of those who join and surround him in the CHASE. These are the distinguishing traits by which the true and generous sportsman may be known: and it must be freely admitted, that so congenial are the feelings, so sympathetic the liberality, and so uniform the hospitality of SPORTSMEN in the scale of universality, that no friendships are better founded, none more disinterested, few more permanent, and none more sincere.

SPRAIN or STRAIN

,—is a preternatural extension, and forcible elongation, of the tendons, beyond the power of immediately recovering their previous elasticity; or a sudden twist of some particular joint, by which the ligamentary junction sustains an injury, and produces lameness. Whenever they happen in the hip, stifle, round-bone, or shoulder, they then become serious considerations; the injured parts being seated too deep for the effect of external applications. In such cases it is seldom of use to lose time, and encounter disappointment, by persevering stimulants; time and rest constitute the best foundation for permanent relief. Horses having encountered such accidents, should be turned out in a still and quiet pasture, where they may be free from alarm and disturbance; and this should be adopted before any stiffness is brought upon the joint, by too long standing in one position; which they mostly do, when confined in a stable as invalids. When at unrestrained liberty, it is natural to conclude, he adapts the gentleness of his motion to the state of his case, and exerts himself no more than a proper respect to his own safety may render secure. It is a self-evident fact, that a restoration of elasticity or strength of the part, is more likely to be obtained by rest, and the efforts of nature, than any superficial or topical applications that can be made.

Strains (or LAMENESS) in the shoulder require nice investigation to discriminate between such as arise from accident, rheumatic affection, or chest-foundering. It is remarked, that when a horse has sustained a severe injury in the shoulder, by wrench, slip, twist, short turn, or any other accident, the pain prevents him from bringing the leg on that side forward, in a parallel line, or in an equal degree with the other; which being sound, is much more firmly set to the ground, with an evident intent to save from pain the side that is lame. When a horse in this situation stands still, the leg of the lame shoulder is almost invariably placed before the other; and if he is trotted in hand, he generally brings forward the leg of the shoulder affected with a kind of circular sweep, and not in a direct line: if any attempt is made to turn him short on the lame side, he instantly dreads it, and becomes almost repugnant to the exertion: when compelled to make it, he will almost sink on the lame side, to support himself entirely on the sound one.

Bleeding should in such accidents immediately precede every other consideration; it unloads the vessels, prevents local stagnation, and sometimes a general stiffness of the quarter in which the injury has been sustained. Where either the season of the year prevents, or an opportunity to turn out cannot be obtained, the only alternative, hot fomentations, and stimulative embrocations, must be adopted. In strains of the hip, the horse in general draws his leg after him with a painful reluctance; and if impelled to a trot, is observed to drop upon his heel. If the injury is in the stifle, by treading on the toe, his motion is a kind of hop with the side affected. Strains of the hock are easily discovered, by a sort of limping twist in that joint at every motion of the leg. Lamenesses of the hip, stifle, and hock, are more likely to be assisted by external applications, judiciously prescribed, than those which are more deeply seated.

The ligamentary junction of the pastern joints are sometimes greatly weakened by incessant work and little rest; in unerring proof of which, they frequently make sudden drops, as if falling to the ground. The knees of many are affected in the same way, and overhang the shank-bone and fetlock-joint; the moment a tendency to which is perceived, any horse should be turned out to enjoy the rest he is so individually entitled to, for want of which salutary and humane attention, very many good and useful horses have been completely ruined and destroyed. There is no part of a horse more liable to strains, than the back sinews of the forelegs; they are materially concerned in every description of labour, and are always in proportional danger. Whenever these happen, there is no difficulty in making the discovery; there is an evident enlargement, with inflammatory tension; and if one leg only is affected, it is generally placed before the other, and rather upon the toe. In slight cases of this kind, fomentations of hot vinegar, and strengthening embrocations, assisted by rest, may produce a restoration; but, in general practice, without blistering, firing, or both, a permanent cure is seldom obtained.

SPUR

—is the well-known weapon with which the heel of the horseman is armed to enforce his authority; and which the well-broke horse will always instantly obey.

STABLE

.—Stables are the receptacles for horses in general, and are of very different descriptions; not only in respect to the various sorts of horses for which they are intended, but the improved mode of construction, and the numerous conveniencies they are now made to contain. As horses were never in such high estimation, or of such intrinsic worth, as at the present moment, so never was so much money expended upon their preservation. There can be no doubt, but the health and condition of valuable horses, may depend much upon the situation and structure of the stable; and although every person will appropriate the size of the stable, and the number of stalls, to their own wants, yet there are certain judicious rules, and desirable conveniencies, which should admit of no deviation. Whether a stable consists of two stalls, four, or six, it may be rendered equally uniform, and confidently replete with every thing that can possibly be required.

It is an established opinion, that a building of BRICK (lined or not lined with deal) is preferable to STONE for the purpose; the former being dry, and always in the same state: the latter is influenced, or acted upon, by the changes of weather; and in a hazy atmosphere, generally damp; and in constant (or continued) rains, the walls are frequently streaming with water. This, however, depends much upon the aspect to which they are erected; a circumstance not always sufficiently attended to, till it is found too late to repent. Stables are paved with bricks, clinkers, flints, pebbles, or stone, as may best correspond with the conveniences of the country in which they are erected, and where, perhaps, some of those articles are difficult to obtain. Stalls should never be less than six feet wide; nor the stable less than nine feet high: eight feet in the clear should be allowed from the heels of the horse to the wall behind him; and iron hay-racks are preferable to wood, as the latter (wherever spirited horses stand) are always in want of repair. No stables can be called good, unless they have proper rooms annexed for the reception of SADDLES, BRIDLES, HORSE CLOTHS, and every article necessary to the proper support of such an establishment; each of those become more perishable amidst the nocturnal steam of the horses than by daily use.

Experience has demonstrated the advantages of general cleanliness, temperate air, (according to the season,) and regular exercise: to the want of these, in part, or all, may be attributed the ills at INNS and LIVERY STABLES, as well as the fashionable increase of Veterinarians. Upon entering the stables of these public receptacles, (particularly if the door has been a few minutes closed,) the olfactory sensations are instantly assailed by such a profusion of volatile effluvia, as to extract moisture from the eyes, in opposition to every endeavour made to restrain it. Here stand rows of poor patient animals, absolutely fumigated with the perspirative transpiration of their own bodies, broiling with heat, and panting with thirst, in a degree beyond the temperature of a common hot-house, in the severity of the winter season. Each horse is observed to stand upon a load of litter (clean at top, and rotten underneath) very little inferior to a common cucumber-bed in heigth, with all the advantages of equal warmth from the dung below!

In this unexaggerated state stand hundreds within the environs of the Metropolis; their owners the complete dupes of ignorance, indiscretion, and imposition; the animals themselves in a constant state of languid perspiration, and bodily debility: deprived the comforts of pure air, and regular exercise, they become dull, sluggish, and stupid, as if conscious of, and depressed with, their almost perpetual imprisonment. All this erroneous mode of treatment instantly affects the eye of experimental observation. The carcase seems an incongruous accumulation, evidently full, and unnaturally overloaded, for want of gentle motion, and general friction; the legs become swelled, stiff, and tumefied; and, sooner or later, terminates in cracks, scratches, grease, or some more vexatious disorder. The hoofs, by being constantly fixed in a certain degree of heat, begin to contrast, and get narrow at the heels, holding forth the pleasing promise of hoof-bound lameness. The eyes, from a constant watry discharge, give proof of habitual weakness; the lassitude of the body, the heat of the mouth, the general gloom, and every corresponding circumstance, seems to display a frame the reverse of those whose health is preserved, and condition promoted, by a system of discipline opposite in practice, and different in effect. See Groom.

STAG, or RED DEER.

—The STAG and HIND are the male and female of this tribe, as the BUCK and DOE are of the fallow deer. The latter are mostly the natives of parks, and bred for domestic purposes, producing venison for the table; the former are the majestic inhabitants of those extensive and sequestered tracts called FORESTS and CHACES, where they are preserved as more peculiarly appropriated to the pleasures of the chase, in which even his Majesty, with his hunting retinue, condescends to engage. The STAG, individually surveyed, is one of the grandest and most stately figures in the animal creation; his very appearance instantly exciting attention and admiration. Naturally disposed to solitude, he never obtrudes upon the haunt of man, but revels in the remote and obscure shades of abstrusity. When caught sight of amidst the umbrageous stillness of his abode, the grandeur, lofty look, and commanding aspect, of his first survey, cannot be encountered without the most aweful and impressive sensations. With ample power to oppose, he has pliability to submit, and, after a few moments interview, deliberately retires to his protecting covert, seemingly more surprized than alarmed at the sight of the HUMAN SPECIES.

In the dignity of his deportment he stands unrivalled, and may, with allegorical propriety, be considered the hereditary MONARCH of the WOODS, as every other animal is observed to give way upon his approach. In his peaceable and undisturbed retirement, he is perfectly tranquil and inoffensive, displaying no antipathy or opposition to those who come not in hostility to him. His form is the most sublime and beautiful that can possibly be conceived; the elegance of his figure, the commanding effect of his stature, the flexibility of his frame, the elasticity of his limbs, the velocity of his motion, and the proportional immensity of his strength, in addition to the impression made upon the mind by the magnific grandeur of the antlers, branching from his brow, all seem uniformly calculated to render him an object of the most serious and pleasing attraction.

The RED DEER, formerly so plentiful to be found in different remote parts of England, the Highlands of Scotland, and the Lake of Killarney, in Ireland, are greatly reduced, and but very rarely to be found in a wild and unpreserved state in either. This must of course be attributed to the more advantageous distribution and cultivation of land, and the improved state of every country. Stags, or HINDS, were then found singly, and hunted or pursued by those who happened to find them; but now in the Forest of Windsor, and the New Forest in Hampshire, where they are bred and protected for the ROYAL CHASE, they assemble together; and upon Ascot Heath, near Swinley Lodge, (the official residence of the Master of his Majesty's Stag Hounds,) may be seen the largest herd in the King's dominions.

The colour of both STAG and HIND is a dingy red, with darker tints about the eyes and mouth: down the upper part of the neck, and over the points of the shoulders, is a shade of dark brown, bordering upon black: the countenance is commandingly expressive; the eye beautifully brilliant, even to poetic celebrity; and his senses of smelling and hearing equal to any animal of this country. When in the least alarmed, his position is the most majestic; he raises his head to the highest pitch, erects his ears, swells his neck, extends his nostrils, and snuffs the air, as if in curious and impatient investigation of the cause by which it was occasioned. Let this be what it may, he never takes to sudden flight, without first measuring, by his eye and ear, the magnitude of the danger, and proceeds accordingly. If dogs are not of the party, men, cattle, or carriages, seem to give him little or no concern; for, after turning twice or thrice, to take a repeated survey with a kind of confused admiration, he moves off very deliberately, without any alarming sensation.

The season for copulation with the deer tribe (see "Rutting Time") begins at the latter end of August and beginning of September, and terminates in the beginning or middle of October; depending, in that respect, a little upon the state of the season, and the ages of the different head of deer; those of two and three years old being backwarder, of course extending the time beyond those who are older. From the moment of conception with the hind, to the time of parturition, is nearly nine lunar months; as they produce in the last week in May, or one of the two first in June. Immediately after impregnation, she separates herself from the STAG; no intercourse takes place; even common association ceases; and nothing during the period of gestation ensues, but mutual and marked indifference. The hind is seldom or ever known to produce more than one, (which is called a CALF:) this she deposits in the most remote, sequestered, and best sheltered spot to be procured, for the purpose of secretion from its numerous enemies, amongst whom there is none more determined or malicious than the masculine occasion of its existence, even the sire himself. Mysterious as this may appear, it is an unexaggerated fact; and the dam, perfectly conscious of the stag's unnatural propensity, is more industrious to conceal the calf's retreat from him, than the aggregate of its other enemies.

The CALF, when once it is of strength sufficient to accompany its dam, never leaves her side during the first summer; and the ensuing winter, none but the HINDS, and males under a year old, remain together; the annual separation between the STAGS and HINDS invariably taking place as before described. During the months of infancy, the courage of the dam, in defence of her offspring, is equal to any maternal affection of our own species; she opposes every force, encounters every enemy, exposes herself to every danger, and hazards her own life to insure the safety of her young. The hind has but little protection upon the score of self-preservation, nature having left her without horns, those useful and ornamental weapons with which the stag is so powerfully armed. The first year the male has no horns; the second they are straight, and single; the third, they shew two branches; the fourth, three; the fifth, four; and the sixth, five; when the stag is reckoned complete, and at his full growth: notwithstanding this, the antlers continue to increase till there are six or seven on each side; and though the age of the deer is mostly ascertained by the number, yet it is not always certain, but is more nicely to be depended on from the thickness and size of the trunk or body by which they are sustained.

These horns, enormous as they appear, are shed annually, which happens in the latter end of February, or during the month of March; of which there is a most perfect regeneration before the commencement of the RUTTING TIME, when they fight for the hind with the most determined and incredible ferocity. After the season of rutting, the stags having been found too weak to stand long before the hounds, the operation of castration was adopted; and the stag thus deprived of the means of propagation, (by the loss of the testes,) feeling no stimulative propensity to copulate, is never debilitated, but always ready for the field, and affords runs of great duration. Thus operated upon, they are then called HEAVIERS; and it is a remarkable fact, that if a stag is castrated while his horns (alias antlers) are in a state of perfection, they will never exfoliate: on the contrary, if the operation is performed when the head is bare, the horns will never return.

STAG

,—the sporting term for a young GAME COCK during his second year. For the whole of the first year, he is called a chicken; from which time to the completion of the second, he is a STAG; and from thence forward, a COCK. In regular matches and mains for considerable sums of money, very few are brought to Pit before they are of that age; unless it is made, and so agreed on both sides, in which case it is called a stag main, or main of stags. See Cocking, Game Cock, and Cock-pit Royal.

STAG-EVIL

—is a disorder of the most distressing kind, to which horses of the draught kind are more particularly subject: it partakes of the paralytic stroke and spasmodic affection, coming on suddenly, without the least previous indication of approaching disease. The muscles become so instantaneously contracted, that the head is raised to its utmost heigth, the jaws are fixed, the neck stiff and immoveable, the eyes are turned upwards, leaving only the whites to be seen; the palpitations of the heart are exceedingly violent, and the laborious heavings of the flank incessant. This disorder, difficult as it is in its cause to define, is always more or less dangerous, in proportion to the mildness or severity of the attack. If it proceeds from a profuse flux of blood to the BRAIN, in consequence of too great and powerful exertions, plentiful bleeding, and nervous stimulants, will be the most expeditious and likely means to relieve.

When its symptoms are so exceedingly severe and alarming, that the jaws are locked, and no medicines can be administered by the MOUTH, recourse must be had to collateral aids. Strong hot fomentations, with a decoction from the most fragrant aromatic garden herbs, under the jaws, behind the ears, and both sides the throat, followed by fumigations from myrrh, ammoniacum, and assafœtida, grossly powdered, and sprinkled upon a hot iron, or fire-shovel, held below the nostrils; glysters of gruel, in which valerian root has been boiled, and assafœtida dissolved, with an addition of liquid laudanum and olive oil to each, and repeatedly frequently; are the only means, properly persevered in, that can afford any hope or expectation of success. These exertions are in general too much trouble for the lower order of the Veterinary tribe, who fly to their favourite and contemptible introduction of a ROWEL, many hours before which can become productive in its effect, death closes the scene, and relieves the subject from its accumulated misery.

STAGGERS

.—This is likewise a disorder of the head, to which horses of the same description are constantly liable, bearing in many respects no distant affinity to the former; for although it cannot be deemed the very same disease, yet, as it is known to derive its origin from the same cause, it is evidently entitled to rank in the same class. Bracken, who speaks of it with more scientific and professional precision than any writer before or since, assimilates it to the apoplexy and epilepsy of the human frame, and enters into an anatomical disquisition of many pages to justify his opinion. He most judiciously attributes it to its proper and only cause, a plethoric state of the body; and that by the preternatural distension of all the vessels, the blood is more forcibly propelled upon the brain, from whence inflammation (in a greater or less degree) consequently ensues; making the following remark, to which every experienced practitioner will yield his unqualified approbation.

"That where one creature dies of a distempered brain from the loss of too much blood, there are twenty lives lost for want of taking away a sufficient quantity." In direct conformity with the opinion of Bracken upon the subject of REPLETION, may be quoted a plain and true, but less scientific remark of Captain Burdon, in his Pocket Farrier; who, for want of more polished terms, and technical phraseology, thus expresses himself: "Don't let your horse stand too long without exercise; it fills his belly too full of meat, and his veins too full of blood; and from hence the staggers, and many other distempers, proceed."

Admitting the affinity between the DISEASES, as lethargy, or sleeping-evil, falling-evil, or convulsions, frenzy and madness, stag-evil, or staggers, all practitioners consider them individually a species of APOPLEXY, originating in nearly the same cause, and to be relieved only by the same means. Under which conjunctive authority, plentiful bleedings, repeated stimulative glysters, and internally, assafœtida, camphor, valerian, castor, and such other ingredients as powerfully act upon the nervous system, constitute the whole that can with consistency be introduced in all cases of a similar description.

STAG-HUNTING

—is one of the most rapturous and enchanting pursuits within the privilege or power of the human frame and mind to enjoy. As HUNTING, in its general sense, is known to comprise an imaginary view of different kinds under that concise term, so various remarks will be found upon each, under the heads of Chase, Fox-Hunting, Harriers, and Hunting; rendering unnecessary the introduction of new, or repetition of former matter, more than what may strictly appertain to the distinct sport now before us.

Opposite opinions have always been entertained by the advocates for each particular kind of chase, as may have proved most applicable and convenient to their situation, occasions, residence, and time of life. That every description of HUNTING has its proportional attraction to its distinct and different votaries is well known; but the constant struggle for superiority in vindication of their respective sports, has ever been between those who hunt FOX and those who hunt STAG; each being equally violent in defence of the cause his private or personal reasons prompt him to espouse. Mr. Daniel, in his "Rural Sports," when animadverting upon the STAG, makes the following remarks: "At the present day, as an object of chase to the sportsman, the stag requires but cursory mention: those, indeed, who are fond of pomp and parade in hunting, will not accede to this opinion; but the only mode in which this chase can recommend itself to the real sportsman, is, when the deer is looked for, and found, like other game which hounds pursue. At present very few hounds, except those of the royal establishment, are kept exclusively for this amusement; and were the King once to see a fox well found, and killed handsomely, he would, in all, probability, give a decided preference in favour of fox-hounds; for what a marked difference is there between conveying, in a covered cart, an animal, nearly as big as the horse that draws it, to a particular spot, where he is liberated, and cheerly riding to the covert side with all the ecstacy of hope and expectation!"

After quoting a few lines of beautiful imagery from the poetic sublime of Somervile, descriptive of throwing off, the drag, the unkenneling, and breaking covert with fox-hounds, he proceeds thus: "The most impassioned stag-hunter must confess, that no part of his chase admits of such description. The only variety he can fairly expect, depends upon the wind and the temper of the deer, who, by being either sulky, or not in condition to maintain a contest with the hounds, (to whom he leaves a burning scent, that gives them no trouble in the pursuit,) shortens or extends his gallop; but there is none of the enthusiasm of hunting, which the sportsman feels, when he is following an animal, upon whose own exertions of speed and craftiness his life is staked; and where no stoppages, but the checks arising from the two sources above mentioned, intervene."

Without the most distant intent of endeavouring to depreciate the noble, exhilarating, delightful, and universally admitted excellence of FOX-HUNTING, (of which, by the bye, no adequate description can issue from the pen,) such few remarks may be made, as will display the sport of STAG-HUNTING in a different point of view to that in which the writer just mentioned has been pleased to place the picture; and probably rescue it from any little stigma of disgrace, or inferiority, which his promulgated opinion may have stamped upon the canvass. There is positively no instance in which the philosophic decision of Sir Roger de Coverley ("much may be said on both sides") could have been more strictly applicable, or more truly verified, than upon the present occasion. The candid, judicious and experienced sportsman will readily admit, that each retains its attractions too powerful to resist, as well as some inconveniencies impossible to remove: these, however, are reconcileable to the modification of those whose motives induce them to engage in either.

Previous to the recital of a chase with the STAG-HOUNDS, a few preparatory and comparative remarks are due to the observations already quoted from the justly popular work of Mr. Daniel. That there are but "few establishments" of the kind is certainly true, and for a most substantial reason; if they were numerous, the question would instantly present itself, from whence are they to be supplied with GAME? The idea of "the King's giving the preference to FOX-HUNTING, if he had once seen a fox well found, and killed handsomely," is an entire new thought; and affords immediate mental reference to the degradation of MAJESTIC DIGNITY, should it ever be found making its dreary way through the bushy brambles of a BEECHEN WOOD two or three miles in length, following the chase by the reverberating sounds of distant holloas! but without the sight or sound of a single hound. This is a constantly occurring trait in FOX-HUNTING, constituting no small drawback on its boasted perfection.

Whichever kind of chase is pursued, the ultimatum of enjoyment is much the same; horses, hounds, air, exercise, health, society, and exhilaration, constitute the aggregate: and TIME, which, to the opulent and independent, seems of trifling value, is to the scientific inquisitant, or professional practitioner, neither more nor less than a LIFE ESTATE, no part of which should be wasted or squandered away. The former class, in general, are industriously engaged in killing time: the latter, who know and feel its worth, are as constantly employed in its preservation. The loss of time in the enjoyment of the two chases, is nearly or full half between the one and the other: this is a circumstance, however, not likely to attract the serious attention of the gentleman who has thus attacked the "pomp and parade" of hunting the STAG; for as a clerical character, he had, of course, all the week upon his hands, being particularly engaged only on A SUNDAY. To one of this description, who has most of his time to kill, and very little to employ, a long and dreary day through the gloomy coverts of a dirty country, without a single challenge, or one consolatory chop of drag, must prove a scene of the most enchanting enjoyment; and in the very zenith of exultation, it must be acknowledged by professed and energetic FOX-HUNTERS, that riding thirty or forty miles in wet and dirt, (replete with alternate hope, suspense, and expectation,) to enjoy the supreme happiness of repeated disappointments, terminating with a blank day, is equal, if not superior, to a STAG HUNT of even the first description.

Stag hounds are very rarely kept, and the sport but little known in many parts of the kingdom: those of the most celebrity are the Royal Establishment upon Ascot Heath, in Windsor Forest, (see "King's Hounds;") the Earl of Derby's, near the Downs, in Surrey; and the Subscription Pack near Enfield Chace. The greatest inducement to hunt with either of which, is, the invariable certainty of sport, that first object of desirable attainment, not to be insured with hounds of a different description; the great gratification of going away with the pack, and covering a scope of country, without perpetual interruption from frequent intervening coverts, where checks, faults, delays, and a repetition of wood riding, so often ensue. Stag-hunting, indifferently as it is spoken of by some, is too severe and arduous for others to pursue: laborious as it is to the HORSE, it is in many cases not less so to the RIDER: difficulties occur which require great exertions in one, and fortitude in the other, to surmount, and none but those can lay at all by the side of the hounds.

Rapturously transporting as is the moment of meeting and throwing off with fox hounds, no less so is the awefully impressive prelude to turning out the deer. The scene is affectingly grand, far beyond the descriptive power of the pen, and can only be seen, to be perfectly understood. Unless an outlying deer is drawn for, and found in the neighbouring woods, as is sometimes the case, a STAG, HIND, or HEAVIER, is carted from the paddocks of his Majesty at Swinley Lodge, (where they are previously and properly fed for the chase,) and brought at a certain hour, (ten o'clock in the morning,) to the place appointed, of which the surrounding neighbourhood have been sufficiently informed. At the distance of a quarter or half a mile from the covered convenience containing the deer, are the hounds, surrounded by the Huntsman and his assistants, (called Yeoman-Prickers,) in scarlet and gold; a part of these having French horns, and upon which they must be good performers.

In a very short time after the expiration of the hour agreed on, his Majesty is seen to approach, attended by the Master of the Horse, and Equerries in waiting; it being the official duty of the Master of the Stag-Hounds to be with them, and ready to receive his Majesty when he arrives. So soon as his Majesty resigns his hack, and is remounted for the chase, the Huntsman receives an injunctive signal from the Master of the Hounds to liberate the deer. The moment which is obeyed, the usual law, amounting to ten minutes, (more or less,) is allowed for his going way: during this interval the sonorous strains of the HORNS, the musical melodious echo of the HOUNDS, the mutual gratulations of so distinguished an assemblage, and the condescending kindness and affability of the Sovereign to the loyal subjects who love and surround him, is a repast too rich, a treat too luxurious, for the side of a fox-hunting covert to be brought into the least successful similitude.

The anxious crisis thus arrived, and every bosom glowing with emulative inspiration, a single aspiration of acquiescence, and a removal of the horse who heads the leading hound, give a loose to the body of the PACK; and superlatively happy he who can lay the nearest to them. Upon the DEER'S going off from the cart, two of the YEOMAN-PRICKERS start likewise, in such parallel directions to the right and left, as not to lose sight of the line he takes so long as they can keep him in view; by which means they get five or six miles forward to assist in stopping the hounds at any particular point where they happen to run up to them: and if it was not for this prudent and necessary precaution, half or two thirds of the horsemen would never see the hounds again in the course of the day.

The joyous burst, and determined velocity of every hound, followed by upwards of a hundred horsemen, all in action at a single view; the spot embellished, or rather variegated, with carriages containing ladies, who come to enjoy the ceremony of turning out; and the emulative exertions of HORSES, HOUNDS, and MEN; afford a blaze of sporting brilliancy beyond the power of the utmost mental fertility to describe. At this moment of rapturous exultation only it is, that the kind of horse indispensibly necessary for this particular chase can be ascertained; for out of a hundred and twenty, thirty, forty, or a hundred and fifty horsemen, seven or eight only shall lay any where near, or within a hundred yards of the hounds; for the longer the burst, the more the slow-going horses tail; so that when the hounds are stopt upon the heath, or in an open country, by the few who are up, lines of horsemen are seen behind, more than a mile in length, getting forward in a variety of directions, bearing no inapplicable affinity to various teams of wild ducks crossing from one country to another. These horses, to whom it is all labour, are so distrest even with the first burst, that if the hounds break away, and the deer crosses the country, they are seldom to be seen at the end of a second. This is a most palpable and incontrovertible demonstration, that any horse may follow, but none, except THOROUGHBRED horses, can go with the hounds.

During the time the chase is suspended, and the hounds are at bay, (which is till the King gets up,) the exhilarating sound of the horns before them, and the clamorous impatience of the hounds to proceed, constitute a scene so truly rich and ecstatic, that the tear of excessive joy and grateful sensibility may be frequently observed in almost every eye. After this relief of a few minutes to both HOUNDS and HORSES, in which they collect their wind, and become proportionally refreshed, the hounds are permitted to break away, which they do with a redoubled ardour, as if it had absolutely increased by their recent restraint. The same scene of racing and tailing continues during every burst to the termination of the chase, the longer which is, the more the field of horsemen become reduced; while the blood horses only move in perfect unison, and, at their common rating stroke, lay with ease by the side of the HOUNDS; and this is the reason why, in long runs, so many are completely thrown out, and left to explore their way in different parts of the country through which the chase has passed. One material difference is known to exist between this kind of sport and every other; the utmost fortitude and indefatigable exertions are here made to save: in all the rest, the summit of happiness, the sole gratification of local ambition, is to kill: so that, at any rate, STAG-HUNTING has the plea of HUMANITY in its favor; in proof of which, the hounds are never known to run from chase to view, but every individual is feelingly alive to the danger of the DEER, who have so largely and laboriously contributed to the completion of his own most ardent happiness: a secret inspiration operates upon every latent spring of human sensibility; and no difficulty at the moment seems too great to surmount, for the preservation of a life in which every spectator feels himself most impressively concerned. This final burst of a chase is most dreadfully severe, particularly if the last mile or two is run in view; when which is the case, the deer exerts all his utmost and remaining power to take the soil, if water is within his reach: this he sometimes does with the hounds so close to his haunches, that it is impossible to prevent their plunging with him into the stream. In such predicament, if it is found impracticable to draw off the body of the hounds, to insure his safety, the Yeoman Prickers, and others, are frequently seen above their middles in water, (uncertain of its depth,) to preserve the life of the DEER, at the hazard of their own. This may be considered, by the recluse and callous Cynic, a degree of valour beyond discretion; but the debt of humanity, like the Hibernian Major's word in the Comedy, is "a DEBT of HONOUR, and must be paid."

The most moderate chases with the stag extend from an hour and a half to two hours; though from three to four hours is by no means uncommon in the course of the season. Horses too deficient in speed, too heavy in formation, too full in flesh, or foul in condition, frequently fall martyrs to a want of judgment or prudence in their RIDERS during the chase: every man ought to know when his horse is dangerously distressed, and of course should bow implicit obedience to the occasion: there are times when self-denial would add lustre to the brow of a MONARCH; and it never can be displayed with a more humane effect, than when in the defence and preservation of so useful an animal; who, being deprived the privilege of free agency, is not possessed of the power to protect himself: under the influence of which consideration, there is not a SPORTSMAN of EXPERIENCE or HUMANITY existing, who would not philosophically retire with patience from the field, to save the life of a faithful persevering companion, than to see him sink (never more to rise) a victim to inadvertency, folly, or indiscretion. In a severe chase of more than four hours, recited in the former part of the Work, (where the stag was taken at Tilehurst, near Reading, in Berkshire,) one horse dropped dead in the field, another died before he could reach a stable, and seven more in the course of a week. The concluding ceremony of the chase is the preservation of the deer, the baying of the hounds, and the melodious concert of the horns; after which the former are drawn off, and the stag, hind, or heavier, is deposited in a place of safety, from whence he is taken the following day, in a convenient vehicle constructed for the purpose.

The regular hunting days with the STAG hounds of his Majesty, are Tuesdays and Saturdays, from Holyrood Day (Sept. 25) to the first Saturday in May; except in Christmas and Easter Weeks, in each of which they hunt three times. The two grand or most public days, are Holyrood Day and Easter Monday, when the field is uncommonly numerous; particularly if the weather favourably corresponds with the occasion.

STALING

—is the evacuation of urine by either horse or mare, which is at some times partially obstructed, and at others totally suppressed. The secretion of urine may be retarded from a variety of causes; such as injuries sustained in the spine, particularly in the LOINS, near which the kidnies are seated; and these, from their irritability, are also easily susceptible of disease, by which the discharge may be affected. The urine, with a horse or mare in a healthy state, should flow in a moderate stream, of a transparent colour, midway between a brown and red; not inclining to a milky, foul consistence, or tending to a tinge of blood. The evacuation should take place with ease, perfectly free from laborious groanings, and equally so from partial dribblings, or periodical trifling stoppings, which always denote a something imperfect in the secretion, or some obstruction in the urinary passages.

Staling, when the urine is strongly impregnated with appearance of blood, should be early attended to, as it is mostly occasioned by some serious injury to the kidnies, or elsewhere. It is very frequently brought on by hard, long and immoderate riding, or drawing; and may be the effect of a rupture of some blood-vessel, the seat of which it may be impossible to ascertain: if it should be a discharge of nearly pure blood, and that in any considerable quantity, great danger may be apprehended. Bleeding (to constitute revulsion) is a preliminary step to every degree of hope, followed by small quantities of nitre in powder, blended with equal parts of gum Arabic in the same state. Gelatinous fluids, as oatmeal gruel, or malt sweet-wort, with nursing, rest, and small doses of LIQUID LAUDANUM, are the only means to be pursued.

STALL

.—The partitions into which a stable is divided are denominated STALLS; and the space allotted to each horse is called a stall. These, in stables constructed with judgment, and erected with a necessary respect to health and convenience, should never be less than nine or ten feet high, and six feet wide: the heighth will contribute much to the equal temperature of the air; and the width will contribute to the comfort of the horse in an occasional extension of his extremities, as well as prevent many of those injuries sustained in too suddenly turning in narrow and confined stalls, particularly in the common livery stables of the Metropolis. In many large equestrian and hunting establishments there are single stalls (called loose boxes) of such dimensions as are adapted to the accommodation of horses either sick or lame, where they are then at liberty to expand at full length, and enabled to roll at their ease: these are of great utility, and few sportsmen continue long without them.

STALLION

—is the appellation given to a perfect horse, not mutilated by the operation of castration, but preserved in a state of nature, for the purpose of propagation. Stallions should be of great strength, according to the distinct breed they are intended to promote, of correct shape, uniform make, and corresponding symmetry; free from every kind of hereditary taint; good eyes, long forehand, short back, round barrel, wide chest, straight legs, free from splents before, and spavins behind. Although it is a difficult task to obtain perfection, some little circumspection may be necessary, in coming as near to it as circumstances and situation will permit. Experimental observation has produced demonstration, that stallions really blind, or with eyes defective, have produced colts of similar description; such defects not appearing in their first two or three years, nor, indeed, till they have been worked, and the powers brought into action. Instances are never wanting of the great number annually disposed to breed, who as annually repent for want of these prudent precautions. Not only the above points, but the temper and disposition of a stallion should be also attended to: vicious and restive horses should be equally avoided; those imperfections are very frequently transmitted from sire to son, and continued to posterity.

Stallions of the racing kind were never known to have covered at so high a price as in the memory of the present generation. Marsk, after the appearance of that prodigy Eclipse, covered a certain number of mares at 100 guineas each; and none now of the first celebrity, cover at less than ten, fifteen, or twenty. Those in the highest sporting estimation, and announced for the present season, 1803, are Alexander, at 10 guineas; Ambrosio, 10 guineas; Beningbrough, 10 guineas; Buzzard, 10 guineas; Coriander, 10 guineas; Dungannon, 10 guineas; and Sir Harry, at five. Hambletonian, 10 guineas; and Patriot, at five. Volunteer, at 10 guineas; and Shuttle, at five. Pegasus, Precipitate, and Sir Solomon, at 10 guineas each. Stamford, Idris, Meteor, and Mr. Teazle, at five. Sir Peter Teazle, 15 guineas; Young Eclipse, 20 guineas; Whisky, Worthy, and Waxy, at 10 guineas; Trumpator, eight guineas; Oscar, at six. Grouse, Gouty, Fidget, Totteridge, Don Quixote, and Old Tat, at five guineas; and Petworth, Stickler, Warter, Gamenut, Moorcock, (brother to Grouse,) and Zachariah, at three.

The following famous stallions died at or about the dates annexed to their names. Old Fox, in 1738, aged 23 years. Old Partner, 1747, aged 29. The Godolphin Arabian, 1753, 29. Old Cade, 1756. The Bolton Starling, 1757. Snip, the same year. Young Cade, 1764. Old Marsk, July 1779. King Herod, May 12, 1780. Matchem, February 21, 1781. Imperator, 1786. Morwick Ball, January 4, 1787, aged 25 years. Eclipse, February 26, 1789, in his 26th year. Goldfinder, in 1789. Fortitude, the same year. Conductor, in 1790. Phlegon, the same year. Faggergill, 1791; and Florizel, the same year. Fortunio, Jupiter, and Soldier, all died in 1802.

STANDARD

—is the name of an instrument by which the exact heighth of a horse is taken (to the eighth of an inch) when engaged to carry weight for inches, or entered to run for a GIVE and TAKE PLATE. The standard is about six feet six inches high, and so constructed with a line and pendulum, in the centre of a circle, that no mismeasurement, by fraud or imposition, can take place. The standard is one straight square piece of oak or mahogany, and divided, from the top to the bottom, in figured spaces of four inches each; every space of which is termed a HAND; so that a horse of fifteen hands is precisely five feet high. From the standard branches horizontally a projecting arm, of about twenty inches, or two feet in length, which sliding upwards or downwards, is raised higher, or sunk lower, with the hand, till it rests easily upon the extreme point of the wither; when, by looking at the proper suspension of the pendulum and the figures at the same time, the heighth of the horse is instantly ascertained.

STAR

—is the white centrical spot in the forehead of a horse, directly between, and rather above, the eyes. These are considered great natural ornaments in bays, chestnuts, browns, and blacks; inducing DEALERS to remedy the deficiencies of nature by the obtrusion of art. This is effected by scraping off the hair carefully with a razor, from the part where the intended star is to appear, when, by wetting the surface with oil of vitriol, an eschar will soon appear, when which exfoliates, it is followed by a growth of hair of the colour required.

STARING of the COAT

.—This external appearance in a horse, so strikingly denotes him out of condition, or diseased, that it never escapes the eye of the most superficial observer. It is originally occasioned by a sudden collapsion of the porous system, from an exposure to cold chilling rains, after having been previously heated; a change from a warm stable to one less comfortable, and a consequent viscidity of the blood; or from a low, impoverished, and acrimonious state of the circulation. See Hidebound, Surfeit, and Mange.

STARTING

,—in horses, is an imperfection, if it becomes habitual, that is of the most dangerous description. It is exceedingly different from a horse skittish, wanton, and playful only, for which the rider is always prepared; and if a good horseman, it is generally as pleasing to one as to the other. But when a horse is eternally in fear, and alarmed at every object unlike himself, he not only sometimes snorts and stops suddenly in the midst of a rapid career of either trot or gallop, but, by an instantaneous spring of five or six feet, brings the rider over his head, or dismounts him on one side or the other. It is not at all matter of surprise, that most of the young horses brought from the country, should at first be alarmed at the infinite variety and velocity of carriages, as well as with other strange and unaccountable objects, to which they must have been entirely unaccustomed before they reached the environs of the Metropolis. Horses of this description, (good-tempered, and not viciously inclined,) are never known to be long so disposed, provided they are treated tenderly, and encouraged mildly to pass the object by which they have been so suddenly, accidentally, and perhaps unnecessarily, alarmed; but when the fools who ride them permit passion and inhumanity to predominate over reason, obstinacy on one side often begets opposition on the other, and accident or death frequently ensues; in confirmation of which, the following fact may be applicably introduced, as a check to the impetuosity of those heroes on horseback, with which every road, and every country, so plentifully abound.

Some few years since, a medical practitioner, of much celebrity in the town of Putney, not many miles from London, being suddenly called from home upon a professional occasion, happened to meet a broad wheel waggon upon the turnpike road, at which the horse being greatly terrified, immediately started, and sprung to a considerable distance, producing, in fact, no small degree of alarm and passionate mortification in the rider; who most inconsiderately adopted the usual mode of attempting to obtain by violence, what might have been probably acquired in an equal space of time with patience and philosophy. Not affording time to recollect that the horse had his sensations of joy, fear, surprise, and dread of danger, in an equal degree with himself, he immediately proceeded to the use of whip and spur, till the horse approached the waggon, which the poor complying animal no sooner did, in obedience to his master, than a sudden gust of wind passing under the tilt, raised it in such a manner just in the face of the horse, that so strange and aweful a renewal of the first alarm repeated the start, and with such violence, that the rider was dismounted, and the wheels going over his body, he lost his life upon the spot. A retention of this transaction in the memory of every juvenile or inexperienced reader, may, perhaps, prove an applicable preventive to unmanly passion at the very moment of its intentional exertion.

STERN

.—The tail of the HOUND, or GREYHOUND, is sportingly so called.

STEW

—is a small reservoir of water, to which fish are brought from larger receptacles where they are bred or caught, and there deposited for the daily use of the family, the supply being constantly kept up in proportion to the domestic consumption.

STIFLE

.—The part of a horse called the stifle, is the projecting point of the hind-quarter, which comes forward under the flank towards the belly, forming an angular joint from the round bone above to the hock below. Injuries are not often sustained at this junction; and when they are, it is much oftener by neglect, a blow, or inadvertence, than by unavoidable accident. Lameness in this part can receive no assistance from bandage; fomentation, embrocation, and rest, are the only means that can be adopted to obtain relief; for when a lameness in the stifle is severe, or of long standing, a perfect cure is seldom obtained.

STIRRUP

—is the well-known polished iron convenience suspended from each side of the saddle; of a proper shape, make, and size, to receive and support the foot, for the joint promotion of ease and safety. Upon the length of the leather strap (called stirrup-leather) entirely depends the graceful position of the rider, and his command of the horse; if which is too short, he is in danger, upon any start or sudden exertion of the horse, of being thrown over his head: if they are too long, he is in an equally aukward predicament; for having then no assisting support, but the internal part of the knees, they must, if the horse is a rough goer, be soon in a state of laceration. The proper length of the stirrup-leathers, for either field or road, is so as to be able, when sitting firm upon the saddle, to disengage the foot from the stirrup with one action of drawing back, and to receive it again with the reverse. In racing, the stirrups are required a degree shorter; as it is by the joint and corresponding support of the knees, and the strength of the arms and shoulders, that the horse is held to his stroke.