A Resident's wife in Nigeria

by Constance Belcher Larymore

The new doki-boy, too, has no idea how to put on a saddle and bridle, and for many days I fear you will have to take them off, as every strap will be united to the wrong buckle, and put them on yourself before him, which usually ends in broken nails, dirty hands, much heat and a lost temper. But never trust the doki-boy’s powers until you are quite sure of them, as it is really dangerous to life and limb; you can hardly imagine how many subtle ways he can invent of putting on a bridle the wrong way. He also prefers to drag it off without undoing the curb-chain or throat-lash, a most reprehensible piece of laziness that has to answer for many a docile pony showing temper and refusing to be bridled without an unpleasant struggle. It is an excellent thing to cultivate an unforgettable habit of loosening girths, curb-chain and throat-lash oneself on dismounting.

One word more of warning: water must not be given after food. It seems an absurdly superfluous caution, but I can assure you it has been done, is done to-day, and will be done as long as the pony’s welfare is not cared for personally by his owner. It is, as every one knows, most dangerous, on account of colic and indigestion, and may frequently account for the ingenuous statement of the doki-boy that ‘Allah has given the doki a pain in his stomach!’ Water should be given quite half an hour before the corn, the latter being well spread out on the ground to ensure slow feeding and thorough digestion.

Saddlery must, of course, be brought out from England, and should be selected with the greatest care; all metal work must be non-rusting, and head-stalls and girths chosen to fit ponies from thirteen to fourteen hands. I have found it a very satisfactory plan to adopt the Richards’ numdah (I believe the patent is called the ‘Wykeham’); the saddle itself has no stuffing and fits on to the numdah, which, being specially soft, adapts itself to the shape of the pony, and thus avoids the only too frequent cause of a sore back or wither. It is about three inches in thickness and, having absorbed all the perspiration, can be easily dried in the sun, the under surface being well beaten and brushed to prevent it from getting hard or caked. I have ridden over two thousand miles on one of these numdahs, and I will venture to say that it is practically impossible to give a pony a sore back. It can be imagined what a blessing that is on the march, when it is so difficult to lay him up for a few days even; besides, all the bother of continually re-stuffing a saddle is done away with. Any saddle can be fitted with a ‘Wykeham’ numdah by Messrs. Richards, at Winchester, for a guinea.

When choosing a saddle, take care to select one (with a cut-back tree, of course) that is not longer than necessary; the Nigerian ponies are much shorter in the barrel than English horses, and are apt to get their backs rubbed with a long saddle.

As the result of my own experience, I most strongly advise every woman who intends to do much riding out here, especially in the way of marching, to abandon her side-saddle altogether, and adopt the ‘astride’ position. In the first place, it is far more comfortable and less tiring on a long march; secondly, it does away with the necessity of bringing out special saddlery for oneself, it makes one quite independent of being ‘put up,’ and also enables one to march in the most comfortable of clothes, a short divided skirt or bloomers, putties and shooting boots; thirdly, and most important of all, it is the greatest blessing to the pony. No matter how straight you sit, sooner or later the strain of a side-saddle begins to tell on a pony, from the mere fact that the weight of the rider’s two legs is on one side of him! I noticed this especially at Katāgum when riding horses which had never carried a side-saddle before, and so sensitive were they to the innovation that it was almost impossible to keep them in the road at all—they bored so badly to the near side.

Bring out also picketing gear; it is much more durable than country rope, and does not rub the hair off the ponies’ feet. It consists of a stout iron ring, with a short chain, attached to a wide padded leather bracelet, buckling round the pony’s fetlock. You will have to teach the horse-boys how to clean saddlery; I think there is nothing better than beeswax and soft soap, but saddle soap can usually be bought. The mai-doki’s incorrigible laziness comes out here; unless frequently watched and stood over, he confines himself to giving the seat of one’s saddle a polish like a mirror, and never touches one of the out-of-sight straps and parts, which need far the most care and softening. Bits must be well dried and wiped directly they are taken out of the pony’s mouth, and the whole of the saddlery should be kept in the house. A saddle stand is easily made by any native carpenter, and is by no means an eyesore in the verandah, if the saddles are well polished and the bridles shining.

Only on one occasion on the march I lost sight of my saddle, which was carried off to the doki-boys’ quarters, and to what use it was put I cannot fathom; I only know that, the next morning, it appeared with the seat deeply scratched and scored, and looking five years older! The African servant is utterly devoid of respect for valuable belongings; he possesses nothing himself that is worth taking care of, and he listens with polite but bored submission while you very forcibly point out his crimes of destruction, but he is obviously indifferent, really, to the damage done, and thinks it all rather a silly fuss. ‘Is not a saddle still a saddle even if it is hideously scratched and ill-treated?’ When removing a saddle from a pony, he delights to dump it down on the ground, anywhere, in sand, dust or mud, the side flaps crushed underneath anyhow, although there may be half a dozen people standing by, ready to carry it off to its proper place.

I fear these pages may seem full of dismal discouragement and gloomy warnings, so, before leaving the subject, I will repeat once more that the doki-boy is a criminal only from ignorance, that he is teachable, and that, possibly, he appears a greater sinner because his evil deeds, as a rule, are—or should be—committed before his master’s eyes, which is, in itself, some little comfort!

The rainy season, from June till November, is the most unhealthy time for ponies, especially in the Niger valley. They are very subject to colic and to the peculiar form of horse-sickness which is attracting so much attention from the medical and veterinary officers. It shows itself in fever, weakness of the loins, swollen glands, and wasting away, accompanied by a voracious appetite, and, so far, has not been definitely diagnosed, though every effort is being made to understand its nature by examining specimens of blood, etc. Arsenic has been suggested as a cure, but at present it seems to me that, once the doctor or veterinary surgeon has discovered the peculiar bacillus in the blood, there is little or no hope of the pony’s complete recovery, and the best thing for the unfortunate owner to do is to sell him for what he will fetch, or give him away to a native. The native can frequently patch up a sick pony till he is quite fit enough for the light work they give him, though he would be quite useless for polo or hard marching. I have seen only too many good little ponies die, and, once they sicken, I always feel that the dosing and nursing is rather hopeless work, and the sure bullet the kinder way; though, if it is determined to make a fight for the pony’s life, the only way is to employ a native horse-doctor—he may know more about it than we do, and he certainly cannot well know less!