THE LEAPING LESSON (_continued_).
It may fairly be accepted as a general rule, that a horse should not be
ridden over a fence upon the curb alone. The rule, however, has its
exceptions. One of these is the possible case of a lady being placed in
such a predicament that she has no alternative in the presence of
imminent danger but that of leaping her horse to avoid it, and in such
case it may be (and, indeed, in my own experience has occurred) when the
lady was riding her horse with a single curb bridle. If the fair
equestrian so placed lacks the necessary nerve, dexterity of hand, and
firmness of seat, she must come to certain grief. It is therefore highly
desirable that, although on ordinary occasions she should use both
snaffle and curb in leaping, she should also be thoroughly _au fait_ at
doing it, if the necessity arises, upon a "hard and sharp," or single
"Hanoverian."
Again, leaping on the curb rein only teaches the pupil the full value of
every particle of her balance and muscular grasp on the saddle, while it
also shows her that, although as a rule a horse requires to be kept well
together, there are exceptional instances in which it is necessary to
yield the hands freely to him. The above-named is one of these cases.
The leaping lessons, however, which lead up to the point of proficiency
at which the pupil should be permitted to attempt so critical and
difficult a piece of riding must be carefully and inductively given.
Assuming that the fair tyro rides her horse boldly and confidently over
the ordinary fences used in a school, and can execute an "in and out"
jump without derangement of seat or hand, the effort of the master
should next be directed towards teaching his pupil how to cause her
horse to extend himself over a jump where there is considerable width as
well as height. I must repeat that, for this purpose, a horse should be
used that is thoroughly up to his business--one that will stride freely
away and _gallop_ at his fence. The best practice to begin with, in what
I may perhaps call "fast jumping" for a lady, is at an artificial brook.
This is easy enough to arrange in a riding school. It requires only a
sheet of canvas, painted the colour of water, of such dimensions that
the people in the school can increase or diminish its width at pleasure.
This canvas should be long enough to extend from one side of the school
to the other, which can be managed by fastening the canvas to a couple
of light rollers. On the taking-off side of this artificial brook there
should be some low wattles, gorse bound, or otherwise; and these also
should extend quite across the school. There is then no chance of a
well-broken horse refusing.
Before the canvas arrangement is stretched across the riding-house, the
pupil should be instructed to set her horse going at a free striding
canter--as fast as is compatible with safety in turning the corners,
which should be well cut off in this case, the pupil riding a
half-circle at both ends of the school. After two or three turns round
the house at this pace, in order to get the horse well into his stride,
the assistants should arrange the jump while the instructor prepares his
pupil for it. And now let me endeavour to explain the difference in the
position and action of the hands of the rider necessary for a long jump
as compared with that requisite in a short one. In the latter, safety
consists in a horse jumping well together or collectedly, because in a
cramped or crooked place speed is almost certain trouble. Where, on the
contrary, there is a broad sheet of water to be got over, "plenty of
way" on the horse--sufficient speed to give great momentum to his
effort, is indispensable. In the short leap or crooked place, then, the
horse should be made to jump throughout right into his bridle; and for
this purpose the position and steadiness of hand described in the last
article, accompanied by such pressure of the leg as will keep him up to
it, is the true mode of "doing such places."
But to clear a wide jump, it should be remembered that the horse must
not only go a good pace on it, but he must be allowed to extend his head
and neck the instant he takes off. If this is neglected, the fair
equestrian, in attempting a water jump, will inevitably find herself in
the brook.
Now, a man in riding at water has this great advantage over a lady in
the same case, that, having equal power with both legs, he can force his
horse up to any length of rein, no matter how long, in reason, and
compel him to face it, thus enabling the rider to hold him through every
inch of his jump, while he gives him plenty of scope to extend himself.
For a lady to do this is impossible. Too much pressure of the left leg
or repeated use of the spur, even if counteracted on the off side with
the whip, would cause the horse to throw his haunches to one side, and
he would not jump straight. Steadiness of seat, hand, and leg are
therefore indispensable to the lady. The horse ought to be well
practised at the particular jump before she is allowed to attempt it,
and therefore should require no rousing or urging, to get plenty of way
on, for his effort. But before the pupil faces her horse towards the
brook, she should be emphatically but quietly enjoined by the instructor
to respond to his word "now" as follows: Let it be understood that her
elbows should be drawn back until they are three inches or thereabouts
behind her waist, the hands about the same distance below the elbows,
the former about six inches apart, with the fingers closed firmly on the
reins and turned _inwards_ and _upwards_ until they touch the _waist_,
the reins divided, as for galloping, but with the slightest possible
feeling upon the curb. With her hands in the above-named form she should
ride her horse to his jump, never moving them until she hears the sharp
sound of the word "Now!" from the instructor, when at the same instant
the body, from the waist upwards, should be thrown back and the hands
shot forward, the elbows following, until they are just level with the
front of the waist. As the hands go forward, the little fingers should
be turned downwards and the knuckles upwards; this will bring the middle
joints of both hands with the nails downwards against the right thigh,
about four to six inches above (or, as the rider sits, behind) the knee;
and this turning down of the nails and forward motion of hands and
elbows will give the horse free scope of his head and neck, while the
hands coming in contact with the right thigh will still maintain the
proper _appui_, and support the horse when he lands in his jump.
Although the foregoing appears prolix in description, it occupies little
time to explain _viva voce_; and with the instructor by her side the
lady may practise the action two or three times while her horse is
standing still before he faces his jump. The instructor should then quit
the lady's side and place himself near the brook in such a position that
he has a fair view of the horse as he takes off. The pupil should turn
her horse quietly about, and ride to the _left_ into the corner of the
school, and as soon as the horse's head is square to the jump, and
himself square to the boards, the master should give the word smartly,
"Canter." With plenty of vivacity, the pupil should immediately strike
her horse into a striding pace, keeping her hands well back and hitting
him smartly once with the spur. An assistant with a whip should also
crack it slightly behind the horse.
Let the master then closely watch the moment at which the horse's fore
feet quit the ground, and give his word quickly and sharply, and in nine
cases out of ten the jump will be a success.
The artificial brook should be arranged about two-thirds of the distance
down the school, so as to give the horse plenty of space to get into his
stride before he comes to it, while there will be sufficient room to
collect him after he lands. If he does it well the first time (and with
the above described handling he will scarcely fail to do so), and the
rider performs her part moderately well, the jump should not be
repeated. If, however, it is necessary again to go through the
instruction, the horse should not be put at the place back again, but
the end of the canvas be rolled up and the wattle removed, so as to
admit of his passing to the longer reach of the school. These lessons
should be given daily until the pupil executes them with the requisite
energy and correctness of riding, the instructor taking special care
never to ask his pupil, however, to do such jumps unless he sees that
she is quite equal in health and good spirits to the occasion. For
riding which requires any extra "dash" about it must never be attempted
by anybody if they are at all out of nerve.
After the pupil does the brook well, it may be replaced by a double set
of gorsed hurdles, placed just so far apart as to necessitate their
being done at a single jump. In this case, however, the pupil, while
giving her horse by the action of her hands sufficient scope to allow
him to jump a considerable distance, should not be allowed to ride so
fast at the obstacle, about half the speed necessary to do water being
quite sufficient; and the off-side hurdles should be so placed that if
the horse strikes them they will give way.
As a rule ladies do not perform, even in Leicestershire, over big double
fences, or very strong oxers, and the _indication_ of what is required
to do them should be sufficient for riding school practice.
As I have elsewhere observed, a horse will jump higher and further when
going with hounds than you can with safety ask him to do when in cool
blood, or when only roused to extraordinary effort by the use of the
spur or whip. And no man in his senses in the hunting field would ever
think of piloting a lady to a place which he would only ride at himself
at a pinch. Such jumps, therefore, as I have endeavoured to describe
within doors should represent the biggest which most ladies are likely
to encounter with in a fair hunting country. As regards riding over a
fence, with the curb rein unrelieved by the snaffle, the practice should
be as follows:
A hurdle should be well sloped, so as to render the leap a very moderate
one. The rider should quit her hold of the reins, which should be
knotted and fastened by a thong to the mane. A leading rein should then
be attached to the ring of the snaffle, and the horse led quietly up to
the fence, and halted. The pupil should then draw her hands back until
they are in the same position as she would place them in putting her
horse at his jump, with the hands closed firmly, which will give
steadiness to the body. She must take a determined hold of the upper
pommel with her right knee, and be ready with the figure perfectly
poised to throw her weight back at the proper moment; placing her left
thigh also firmly against the third crutch, her foot well home in the
stirrup and well forward, the shoulders perfectly square, and the waist
quite pliant. An assistant should then crack a whip smartly in rear of
the horse, without hitting him; this will cause him to spring lightly
over the hurdle. If the position of the pupil before the horse takes off
is carefully looked to, there will be little derangement of seat.
This lesson should be repeated until it is executed with precision. At
the same time, two or three jumps of this sort are quite sufficient in
one day, because, if repeated too often, the horse, missing the support
of the hand, is apt to blunder. When the lady can ride over her fence in
the above-named form, she should take up and arrange her reins, so that,
while that of the snaffle is not in the horse's way, she feels him on
the curb only. She should give him fair length of rein, draw her left
hand back to her waist, and place the right hand lightly on the left,
just in front of the knuckles; but the reins should be held military
fashion--the little finger between them, the leather over the middle
joint of the forefinger, the thumb closed firmly on it, the little
finger well turned up towards the waist. The horse must be ridden at a
smart walk, well up against the curb, until he is close enough to the
hurdle to jump. The whip must again be used, and the instructor's word
again sharply given, when the pupil should yield both hands freely,
turning the little fingers downwards, and slipping the elbows forward.
Great firmness and steadiness of seat are necessary to do this lesson
well, and considerable practice is necessary to insure complete unity of
action in the body and hands, the former being yielded quickly as the
latter is actively thrown back. To assist the pupil in her first
attempts at this portion of the leaping lesson, the curb chain should be
slackened as much as possible, and it should be one that is broad and
well padded.
As the lady acquires the requisite lightness of manipulation and
additional firmness in the saddle, the curb (link by link) may be
tightened until it is in its proper place, namely, so that it admits of
the play of one finger only between it and the jaw of the horse. But the
greatest care on the part of the instructor is necessary in watching how
both horse and rider behave before this can be accomplished.
The lesson is called technically "jumping from the hand," and once
thoroughly acquired, the pupil has little to learn, as regards indoor
work, in the way of riding over her fences. She may in that respect be
considered fit to take her place any time at the covert side, and hold
her own, under proper pilotage, with hounds, where of course she will
use snaffle and curb reins equally, or according to the temper and
breaking of her mount.
During the leaping lessons, and in fact throughout the whole course of
equitation up to this point, the pupil should be put upon as many
different horses as possible consistent with her progress, care always
being taken that she is thoroughly master of one before she is put upon
another. The action of horses varies so much in degree, no matter how
much from similarity of breed and form it may assimilate in kind, that
to attain anything like proficiency the rider's mount requires frequent
changing; otherwise, when put upon a strange horse, she would find
herself sorely at a loss.
With the exception of one practice, which in some degree resembles the
leaping lesson, we may now safely dismiss our fair pupil from technical
indoor instruction, except in the way of an occasional refresher,
whenever those about her discover any inclination to lapse into a
careless form of riding. This both men and women are so apt to do
(imperceptibly to themselves), that an occasional sharp drilling does no
harm to the most practised rider of either sex.
The final instruction to be given in the school is called the "Plunging
Lesson," and maybe briefly described as follows, premising that although
it is the bounden duty of every man who has anything to do with a lady's
riding to avoid by every means allowing her to be put on a restive
horse, yet it is always possible that, from some unavoidable cause, a
lady (especially in the colonies) may some day find herself on a
bad-mannered animal that will "set to" with her. In order, therefore,
that in such an undesirable case she may not be at a loss, it is well
that when thoroughly practised in leaping, she should be put upon a
horse that will kick smartly whenever he is called upon by the master.
Such a horse is useful for the above purpose, and is generally to be
found in most riding establishments. The trick is easily enough taught,
and requires no description. Neither is it at all incompatible with
general good manners.
The first thing, then, as regards the pupil, is to impress upon her that
whenever a horse "sets to" kicking with her, that her tactics should
consist first in keeping his head up, and, secondly, in finding him
something else to do than kick.
A horse cannot have his head and his tail up at the same time,
therefore, when he kicks, his first effort is to get his head down. This
should be immediately counteracted by the rider sitting well back,
keeping her hands up as high as her elbows, feeling the horse firmly on
the curb reins as well as the snaffle held in one hand, while she
applies the whip vigorously across his neck. This will have the effect
of causing him to keep his head up and go to the front. The same firm
treatment will be successful in most cases where a horse attempts to
plunge. But in the latter case the hand must be yielded if there is any
attempt to rear, and if the last-named dangerous vice is carried to any
length, the rider should not hesitate to take fast hold of the mane, or
put her hand in front of the horse's neck. Both rearing or plunging,
however, may be effectually prevented by the use of the circular bit and
martingale, described under the heading "Rearing Horses and Runaway
Dogs" in the _Field_ of Nov. 11, 1871. In my humble opinion, every lady
going to India and the colonies should have one or two such bits among
her outfit of saddlery, and if properly fitted in the horse's mouth, all
risk of rearing or even violent flirting is done away with. Such tackle,
however, does not prevent a horse from _kicking_, and although no lady
should ever attempt to ride one that is possessed habitually of this
vice, a sudden accession of kicking may arise in an otherwise
good-meaning horse from some ill-fitting of the saddle, or similar
casualty, causing tender back or otherwise upsetting him. Of course, no
punishment should be resorted to in these cases; but it is as well for a
lady to be able to keep her seat in such an emergency, and this she will
easily do if she keeps the horse's head up, and her leg well pressed
against the third crutch.
On Brighton Downs, some years ago, I saw a young lady thoroughly master
a kicking horse in the manner above described, accompanied, however,
with a considerable amount of punishment, most resolutely applied with a
formidable whalebone whip. No second glance was necessary to perceive
that in this case the lady was well aware of the horse's propensity, and
had come out for the purpose of thoroughly taking it out of him, which
certainly she did effectually, and as he was a vicious-looking weedy
thoroughbred, "it served him right."
But I must again enter my protest against ladies running such risks,
however accomplished they may be as horsewomen. Let them accept the
respectful advice of a veteran, and avoid vicious horses. Brutes that
run back, plunge, rear, or kick from sheer vice (and there are many that
do) are fit only for the riding of the rougher sex, and only of such of
them as have the ill fortune to be compelled to get their living by
riding. The so-called plunging lessons above alluded to, however, will
give a lady a thorough insight into the form in which to ride in case of
emergency.