The manner in which a lady should approach her horse in order to be
assisted to mount should be carefully looked to by the instructor.
Anything like hurry, while it is calculated to render the horse
unsteady, is at the same time ungraceful, and the beginning of a bad
habit always to be avoided.
Everything in the way of mounting or dismounting a horse, either by a
lady or gentleman, should be done with well-defined and deliberate,
although smart motions. This precision once acquired is the good habit
which becomes second nature to the rider, and is so highly indicative of
good manners in equitation.
To some persons the formula I am about to describe may appear too
punctilious, and possibly carried to too nice a point of precision. But
my idea is that in all these matters it is well to begin by _overdoing
them_ a little. We are all more or less prone to become careless in our
carriage and bearing, both on foot and horseback, as we grow older;
therefore overdoing them a trifle with young people may safely be
pronounced an error on the right side.
I have frequently heard the remark that it is of no consequence how a
man or woman gets upon a horse, provided they can ride when once up. I
maintain that graceful riding is true riding, and that if it is worth
while to ride gracefully, it is equally worth while to mount gracefully.
Let us then suppose the lady to be dressed and ready for her ride in
school or _manege_. She should take the skirt of her habit in the full
of both hands, holding her whip in the right; the skirt should be raised
sufficiently to admit of the wearer walking freely. Then she should walk
from a point in the school at right angles with her horse quietly to his
shoulder, and face square to her left, standing just behind the
animal's near elbow and parallel to his side. Thus facing to the front,
and still holding her skirt with both hands, she should pass her whip
from her right hand into the left, and "make much of her horse" by
patting him on the near shoulder--the best method anybody (man or woman)
can adopt as a first step to acquaintance with a strange horse; at the
same time she should speak soothingly to her new equine friend. The
horse should be held by a groom standing in front of him, and holding
him by both reins. On the assistant approaching to lift the pupil to the
saddle, the lady should return the whip to the right hand and drop her
habit. She should then take the snaffle or bridoon rein in the centre
with the left hand, at the end close to the buckle piece with the right,
and draw them through the left until she has a light and equal feeling
upon both sides of the horse's mouth. The right hand should then be
placed firmly on the near side upper crutch of the saddle, the snaffle
rein held between the pommel and the hand, the whip in the full of it.
The left hand should then grip the reins, and the lady should resume her
position square to the front, without moving her right hand or relaxing
her grasp of the pommel of the saddle. The assistant (who should be _a
gentleman_, not a groom) should then stoop low enough to place both his
hands locked together in such a position that the pupil can place her
left foot firmly on them, the left knee slightly bent. At the same time
she should also place the flat of her left hand firmly on the right
shoulder of the assistant, keeping her arm perfectly straight. The
instructor should then give her the following directions: "On the word
'one,' bend the right knee; on the word 'two,' spring smartly up from
the right foot and straighten the left knee." If the pupil executes
these movements simultaneously, keeping her left elbow perfectly firm
and the arm straight, the assistant can lift her with the greatest ease
to the level of the saddle, where, firmly grasping the pommel, she has
only to make a half turn to her left, and she is seated sideways on her
horse. The assistant should then straighten the skirt down, and taking
the slack of it in his left hand, lift it over the near side upper
crutch while the lady turns in her saddle, and facing square to her
point, lifts her right knee over the pommel, bringing her right leg
close to the forepoint of the saddle, with the leg well drawn back, and
the toe raised from the instep. The assistant should then place the
lady's foot well home in the stirrup. Before raising the right knee over
the pommel, the lady should lift the snaffle reins with her right hand
high enough to admit of her moving the leg without interfering with
them. The right knee being firmly placed between the pommels, and the
left foot in the stirrup, the pupil should then place her right hand
with the snaffle reins between the finger and thumb and the whip in the
full of the hand, firmly on the off-side pommel of the saddle. She
should then draw her left foot well back, and getting a firm bearing on
the stirrup, raise herself well up from the saddle, leaning forward
sufficiently to preserve her balance. She should then pass her left hand
back, and pull her skirt well out, so that there remains no ruck or
wrinkle in it, and then quietly lower herself down to the saddle again.
This act of clearing the slack of the skirt is one which it is so
frequently necessary for the lady to execute when riding that she should
practise it frequently in her early lessons. It is true that when the
assistant first places her on the horse he can arrange her habit as she
rises from the saddle; but, for some time, until she has acquired
firmness and perfect balance, her habit will inevitably ride up,
particularly in trotting, and it is necessary that she should learn to
be independent in this respect of the gentleman who attends her.
Moreover, as to arrange the habit gracefully requires considerable
practice, it should form a distinct part of the lesson at first when the
horse is standing perfectly still, afterwards at a walk, and finally at
a trot. In cantering it cannot be done.
Having arranged the hind part of her skirt, the lady should then take
the front in her left hand, and pull it well forward, raising her right
knee at the same time, to insure that she has perfect freedom of action
for it. The left knee should then be placed firmly against the leaping
crutch (or, as it is generally called, the third crutch) of the saddle;
although with saddles devoid of an off-side pommel, it is, in fact, the
second crutch. This important adjunct to a lady's firmness and security
in riding should always be most carefully looked to by Paterfamilias
when purchasing the saddle, and by the master after it is bought. I can
well remember when the third crutch was unknown; and in these days, when
its efficiency has been so abundantly proved, it really seems marvellous
how ladies years ago could not only ride well without it, but even
acquit themselves creditably in the hunting field. The secret of the
matter, however, lies in this: First, although there was no third
support for the rider, the off-side and near-side pommels were much
closer together than those now made; the off-side one was well padded,
and in most cases where ladies rode hunting it was usual to have an
extra pad, which fitted on to the off-side crutch, and again narrowed
the interval, according to the size of the lady, until her leg fitted
tightly between the two crutches, thus giving her a very firm hold with
the right knee. Nevertheless, it is evident that only the truest balance
would enable the fair equestrians of those days to maintain their seats.
When a young lady is first put on horseback, I believe in anything that
can give her confidence, and for this purpose the third crutch is
admirable, because she finds a firm purchase between the crutch and the
stirrup. As this hold, however, is apt to degenerate into a complete
reliance on the third pommel, it is necessary in a more advanced stage
of the lessons in equitation to use a saddle without any such support
for the pupil. The third crutch, when forming part of a side-saddle,
_should never be removed_, as is too frequently done by grooms for the
purpose of cleaning the saddle. The crutch itself is so constructed as
to screw into a socket in the tree. By constantly screwing and
unscrewing it, the thread of the screw wears out; in fact, this will
occur much sooner than would be supposed. The consequence is that, let
the lady or her assistant turn the third crutch to what angle they may
in order to suit the length and formation of the lady's leg, the crutch
will not remain in its proper position, but is continually shifting,
turning, and wobbling, to the great discomfort of the rider; nay, I have
seen more than one case where the crutch has turned edgeways to the
rider's leg, and caused severe pain and bruising of the delicate limb.
Let it be a strict injunction then, to your groom, "Never unscrew the
third crutch;" and if you find the support shifting in its socket,
shift the groom as soon as possible, and send the saddle to the saddler
to be firmly fixed in.
Why saddlers should fit these supports to turn at all, I can see no good
reason. Some men, it is true, say that in putting a lady on horseback it
is necessary to turn the third crutch round, so as to prevent it from
catching the skirt; but for my own part I could never find any necessity
for this, or any difficulty in clearing a lady's skirt when lifting her
to the saddle. In purchasing a side-saddle, I repeat, the greatest
judgment is necessary as regards the third crutch; while it should be
long enough to give a good purchase and be well padded, it should be but
_slightly curved_. A crutch that forms a considerable segment of a
circle is both inconvenient and dangerous--inconvenient because it is a
support of this description (if any) that is in a lady's way in
mounting, and dangerous because, if in the hunting field a horse should
chance to fall with his fair rider, she would be unable to extricate
herself from her fallen steed, inasmuch as the nearly half-circular
crutch would completely pin her leg to the horse. It is, in fact, almost
as dangerous as if a man were to strap himself to his saddle (which, by
the way, I once saw a very determined hunting man do when suffering from
weakness in one leg). He had no opportunity, however, of testing his
experiment, as the master of the hounds very judiciously told him that,
if he persevered, he (the master) would take the hounds home.
Nor is there any possible use in the enveloping of the leg by the thick
crutch of the side-saddle. With the slightest possible bend, the support
is sufficient if the rider sits fair and true in her saddle, while
plenty of stuffing is necessary to avoid bruising the leg, especially in
leaping. These "stumpy-looking" third crutches are certainly less
sightly in the saddle-room than the more circular ones; but I submit
that, inasmuch as it is not seen when the lady is up, it is of more
consequence to consult her comfort and safety than the eye of the groom.
When the lady has arranged her dress to her satisfaction, as above
described, the next section of the lesson should consist in teaching how
she should take up her reins; and here again the greatest care should
be taken by the instructor that this is done coolly and _gracefully_,
without hurry or "fumbling." A great deal of trouble in this way may be
saved by the instructor teaching the lady how to take up her reins on
foot. Thus, take an ordinary double bridle, let a lad hold the upper
part of the head-stall in one hand, and the bits in the other, and stand
opposite the pupil. Hang both reins over your left arm just as they
would rest on the neck of the horse, the curb rein underneath, the
bridoon rein above. Let the pupil then take hold of _both reins_ at the
end with the right hand; place the second finger of the left hand
between the bridoon reins with the nearside rein uppermost, and the
little finger of the same hand between the curb reins, the near-side
curb rein uppermost. Let her then place both bridoon and bit reins
perfectly flat over the middle joint of the forefinger of the left hand,
and drop the end of the reins over the knuckles, then close the thumb
firmly down on them. She will find then both bit and bridoon reins
equally divided, and an equal facility of causing them to act on the
horse's mouth, according to the direction in which she turns the wrist
of her left or bridle hand proper, or assists it with her right hand,
according to the aids hereafter to be described. The mode of holding the
reins above laid down is called in the French school "Mode de Paysanne,"
or civilian method. The military fashion, which is far more elegant, but
not so well adapted at first for a beginner, is as follows.
The pupil takes the end of the bridoon reins between the finger and
thumb of the right hand, and passes them over the full of the left, or,
to render the explanation still more simple, passes all the fingers of
the left hand between them, the off side rein above, and the near side
one below; the buckle piece on the knuckle of the forefinger, the rest
of the rein hanging loosely down. Let the lady then take the bit or curb
reins between the finger and thumb of the right hand, and pass the
little finger of the left between them, the near side rein uppermost.
With the right hand then let her draw the reins through the left,
until--keeping the left hand perfectly quiet--she has a light, almost
imperceptible, feeling on the horse's mouth. Let her then turn the bit
reins over the middle joint of the forefinger of the left hand, and
close the thumb down closely and firmly on them. The reins will then be
precisely in the form in which a dragoon's reins are arranged when he is
riding a finished horse at a field day or elsewhere. This method is
therefore called the "mode militaire." But inasmuch as only a
highly-finished horse can be ridden on the bit rein alone by an equally
finished rider, in order to assist the latter, and to prevent the horse
unduly feeling the action of the curb on his mouth, it is necessary that
the rider should draw up the bridoon reins so as to obtain an equal
feeling upon both bit and bridoon. Nothing can be more simple than to do
this, as the rider has only with the right hand to take hold of the
bridoon rein on the left or near side of the buckle or centre, and draw
it up until the part passing under the lower edge of the hand is of
equal length with the bit reins. She then closes her left thumb on both
reins, and shortens the right bridoon rein until it is of equal length
with the others. The rider has then an equal feeling of all four reins.
She should then hold the ends with her right hand, and let the reins
slip through the left until both hands are drawn back close to her
waist, the wrists slightly rounded outwards, the back towards the
horse's head, and the elbows drawn slightly back behind the waist.
The instructor having placed the pupil's hands, should then proceed to
correct her general position. The figure should be well drawn up from
the waist, shoulders perfectly square and well thrown back, head and
neck erect, the upper part of the arm hanging almost perpendicular from
the shoulder, the elbows well back, so that a thin rod would pass
between them and the waist; the obvious reason for this position of the
hands and elbows being that, if they are allowed to go forward, the
whole flexibility of the waist--upon which depends the comfort, grace,
and security of the pupil's riding--is destroyed, and the lithe figure
of the fair rider becomes rigid and wooden in appearance, and stiff in
action.
The upper part of the figure being thus placed, the master's attention
should be directed to the position of the feet and legs. That of the
right leg I have already described. The left leg, with the knee well
bent, should be placed firmly against the third crutch, the heel well
sunk, the toe raised from the instep, the foot at first well home in the
stirrup. By well stretching down the heel the rider braces all the
muscles at the back of the leg, and this, joined to drawing the figure
well up from the waist, secures that true balance so indispensable to
good riding. The right leg should be well bent and drawn back as near as
possible to the left leg.
This should be the position at a walk, the aids for which, and the turns
I leave for another chapter.