Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 June 1886 — Horseback Riding the Best Exercise. [ARTICLE]

Horseback Riding the Best Exercise.

There is a saying among the Russians that a man who is fond of his horse will not grow old early. The Arab and Cossack are examples of the truth of the proverb. They generally live long, enjoy robust health, and have no use for liver pads and blue pills. That vigorous octogenarian, David Dudley Field, tells us that he attributes his remarkable vitality to the habit of horseback riding, and if the truth were known it would doubtless appear that our sturdiest old men are.those who have been fond of the paddle. .The taste for equestrian sports and exercise, which has lately made such progress in Brooklyn, is, therefore, a hopeful and healthful sign. It is not a mere freak of fashion, but a development in the direction of rational enjoyment and an assurance that the rising generation will be less of an indoor and more of an outdoor people. It means less headache hereafter, better appetites, stronger lungs, rosier cheeks, brighter eyes, sounder sleep, happier spirits, and total oblivion of that organ which, according to Sydney Smith, keeps a man a good deal ,lower than the angels— the liver.