Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1889 — WASHINGTON'S EQUESTRIAN CRAZE [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON'S EQUESTRIAN CRAZE

Wbsr. lit Costa to Own a Mount—Well Kn|>wu Washington Riders. Washington Star. No one need make excuses lor horseback riding, as the doctors adl recommend it on the score of health. ’ A hotter condensed exercise is not to be had. It,, is far more beneficial than an equal amount of gymnasium exercise, for the reason that it is usually taken in the open air. Even the patrons of tfie riding school take to the road on pleasant days, iand when the weather is such that they have to remain on the tanhark the big building is so well ventilated that the aif is equal to outdoors. As to the cost of horseback riding, it ia not so great that many persons who suffer from poor health, the result of confining office work, could not afford it if they wished to economize in other ways. A person who wants to ride regularly will find most economy in owning a horse, which, of coarse, is much more satisfactory than riding livery horses, however good they may be. Riding horses may be had at any price from SIOO up. A good, serviceable horse ought to be had for $l5O, and occasionally a real y good horse may be picked up for $26 less. Horses are cheaper now than at any other time of the year, as many persons do not eve to carry them through ths winter. A person desiring a horse, who has reliable friends in the country, may, through the latter, be able to get a genuine bargain at this season of the year, as the farmers arc generally anxious to realize on their stock now. At auction* or forced sales bargains in horseflesh may also be picked up occasionally, but no one who. does not understand horses shonld venture to invest in one until a competent veterinary surgeon, or other expert, has examined it Even then the horse may turn out badly, for there are few trades in which more trieks are practiced than in horse dealing. So it is better to pay a little more money for a good, well broken young horse, that will be salable at any time, than to buy an old, unsound animal, however cheap he may seem. Most of the horses raised about here are taught to trot and lope, and these are all the gaits a reasonable rider can desire. If a rider is ambitious to join the paper hunts across the country, he can put his horse into the hands »f a competent riding master for a few weeks, and have him trained to take fences and ditches. Then the rider may consider himself as regulafly in nomination as a candidate for a cot in the hospital. A good saddle is the next consideration. A saddle is another thing that should not be bought cheap, unless you happen on a second hand English saddle. This you are not likely to do in Washington, as the dealers say they have ten times as many applications for secondhand English saddles as they can attend to. So-called English saddles, with pigskin seat and safety bars, can be had as low as sls. These are not bad-looking affairs, but by paying $lO more, a saddle that will outlast two of them, look much better, and be more easy to sit, may be had. The trouble with the chteap saddle is that while it looks well and is easy to sit at first, it quickly loses its shape under use, and tires the thighs on long rides. Of courße, if a person has plenty of money, still finer saddles are to be had for S4O, SSO or SBO, made all of pigskin or of alligator skin, with buckskin seats as soft as a kid glove, springs underneath, and the prettiest trimmings and finishings. Bridles with curb bit, two reins, and martingale, are to be had from $4 to $lO. A good one ought to be got from $6 to $6.50. It is better with most horses to use a saddle cloth, and this will cost from $1.25 to $5, according to quality and whether it is shaped to the saddle or not. A neat shaped saddle cloth costs $2.50. Then there are halter, sheet and blanket for use in the stable, and these will cost $6 or $7 more. Riding whips, or, if you wißh to be fashionable, crops, may be had at a>l prices.and with these the expenditures are abcut at an end. If you go in for riding boots and breeches, $25 more will have to be sunk, but just as much fun and benefit may be.had with an old pair of trousers and walking shoes. Unless you are an expert rider, you will need straps on the bottoms of your trousers to keep them from climbing up around your thighs. All your permanent investments made, the next thing is the keep of the horse. Most stables will take care of a saddle horse for $lB a month; some do it for sl6; hut it is best not to take any changes, if your -horse is a fal liable one, of having him poorly fed and g oomed. Shoeing costs $1.50 a month more, and a half dollar bestowed now and then on the man who has the immediate care of your horse will be found an excellent investment . . It Will Not Be a Regular Hoe-Down Atlanta Constitution. At about 11 o’clock the music of |b« first dance will start up. It will be a quadrille. Gen. Harrison and his party will form a set and walk through the figures. Mrs. Cleveland will be Gen. Harrison’s partner, Mr. Cleveland will 'dance with Mrs. Harrison. It will, however. be a tame affair, about as lively a shaking of the feet as the rehearsal of an old-fashioned minuet. When the quadrille is over, Mr. Harrison and nis party will go to the White House. It will thus be seen that the next President a ill not indulge.to any great extent in the gayeties of the evening. He is not much on the dance anyway.