MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING.
MOUNTING.
Supposing, as is usually the case, that there is a groom to hold the
horse, and a gentleman to put the lady up; the groom, after the reins
are placed on the animal's neck just in front of the withers, should
stand in front of the horse, and should keep the animal's head up by
holding the snaffle reins, one in each hand, close to the rings. If a
double bridle be employed, as is usually the case, he should on no
account hold the bit reins, lest an accident may happen from the curb
hurting the horse's mouth. If there be no snaffle, the cheek-pieces of
the headstall of the curb or Pelham should be held. With a strange or
uncertain tempered animal, it is best for the lady to approach him from
his "left front," and she will do well to speak kindly to him and pat
him on the neck, for these two forms of conciliation are greatly
appreciated by horses. Having arrived alongside her mount, she should
stand just behind his near foreleg, close to, but not touching him, and
facing to the front, with her shoulders at right angles to his side.
She now places her right hand, with the whip in it, on the upper crutch,
and raises her left foot about twelve inches from the ground, while
keeping the leg, from knee to ankle, in a more or less vertical position
(Fig. 67). The whip should be held as in this illustration, so as to
avoid alarming the horse. The gentleman who is to put her on her horse,
places himself close to, and in front of her, bends down, and places the
palm of one hand (generally the left one) under the ball of her left
foot, while he supports that hand by putting the palm of the other hand
under it. The lady then places her left hand--with the elbow turned out
a little, so as to be able to utilise that arm in raising herself--on
his right shoulder (Fig. 68).
[Illustration: Fig. 67.--Foot raised for mounting.]
Having finished the "prepare to mount" stage, she straightens her left
knee by lightly springing upwards off the ground by means of her right
foot, and at the same time pressing on her cavalier's shoulder so as to
straighten her left arm. The moment he feels her weight on his hands, he
should raise himself into an erect position, so as to bring her on a
level with the saddle, on which she places herself by turning to the
left while she is being raised, and bearing on the upper crutch with her
right hand. It will be difficult for the gentleman to do this lift
properly, unless the lady keeps her left knee and left elbow straight
during the ascent. The gentleman's task will be greatly facilitated if
he takes advantage of the lady's spring; but even if he lets that
helpful moment pass by, he can do the lift in a satisfactory manner with
the small drawback of an extra expenditure of muscular effort. The fact
of the lady exerting a strong downward pressure on the gentleman's left
shoulder, makes the lift much easier for him than if he had to do it
entirely by his arms. It is most important for the beginner to
understand this extremely simple method of mounting, so that, if failure
results, she may know who is in fault. Her only serious error is that of
neglecting to straighten her knee. His crimes in this respect are many.
_First_, he may catch hold of the heel of her boot in the preliminary
stage, and will thus prevent her utilising the play of her left ankle
joint in her spring. Experiment will show that this trick of catching
the heel hampers a lady's movements in mounting much more than might at
first be thought possible. _Second_, from knowing no better, or from a
desire to show off his strength, he may use only one hand to lift the
lady, and will then almost always have cause to regret his superfluity
of self confidence. _Third_, he may stand too far away from her, and
thus bring her left foot too much forward, in which case it will be
almost impossible for her to straighten her left knee. _Fourth_, he may
also prevent her from doing this indispensable part of the performance,
by trying to raise her before she has put her weight on his hands.
_Fifth_, he may stand too far away from the side of the horse, in which
case he is liable to throw her over to the off side of the horse (as
happened once to me), by giving her an oblique instead of a vertical
propulsion. A minor form of this mistake is attempting to put the lady
on the saddle, instead of raising her to the height at which she can
easily take her seat. After a lady has suffered from clumsy attempts to
put her up, it is not to be wondered at if she regards the feat of
mounting as one which requires some peculiar knack to accomplish; and,
as failure in mounting is particularly ungraceful, she naturally becomes
nervous about attempting it. If she has any doubts as to her
capability to mount easily, she might make some preliminary attempts to
stand and support herself for a few seconds on a gentleman's hands, with
her left hand on his shoulder and her right hand on the upper crutch.
When she finds that she can do this successfully, she may, when her leg
is again straight, give him a signal (or take one from him) to raise her
to the necessary height, so that she may sit in the saddle. If she be
very timid, she may practise mounting indoors, with her right hand on
the top of an upright piano, and her left on a gentleman's shoulder as
before. Although it is usual for the gentleman to give the words, "One,
two!" as a signal for her to make her spring and straighten her knee
before he raises her, no such caution is necessary; for he will know, by
feeling her weight on his hands, when she is in a proper position to be
raised.
[Illustration: Fig. 68.--Ready to mount.]
Having arrived on the saddle, the lady places her right leg over the
crutch, while her attendant puts her left foot in the stirrup, adjusts
any elastic loops that may be present, and straightens her skirt, as may
be required. She then takes up the reins. It is advisable for the lady
not to touch the reins until she is securely placed in the saddle and is
ready to use them, because the act of placing her right hand on the
crutch while holding the reins in it, is liable to render the horse
unsteady, and the reins are of no use to her until she is firmly seated.
If there is only one man to help the lady to mount, he should place his
left arm through the snaffle reins, so as to prevent the animal from
getting away while putting her up.
I think all hunting men should know how to put a lady up, because
accidents in the field are constantly occurring, and some poor Diana who
has had a tumble is always grateful to any good Samaritan who renders
her this small service. A well-meaning sportsman who kindly offered me
his help on such an occasion, knew so little about the mysteries of
side-saddle riding, that he attempted to give me a "leg up," as if I
were a man!
It would be well for every school where riding is taught to be supplied
with a wooden horse, on which pupils could learn the method of getting
into the saddle, and would thus avoid becoming flurried or nervous when
mounting, especially if the horse is a stranger. Also, a dummy horse
would be an admirable subject on which to do preliminary practice in
other details of riding, such as grip, length of stirrup, leaning back
(as when going over fences), position of the hands, holding and handling
the reins, etc. In this way, beginners would learn what they had to do,
before getting on a horse.
_Mounting from the ground unaided_ depends for its success chiefly on
the respective heights of horse and rider, although a lady can be helped
considerably in this attempt by letting out the stirrup leather, which
she will have to shorten after climbing into the saddle. Unless a lady
is tall and athletic, it will be almost impossible for her to perform
this feat on a full-sized horse. This method of mounting should, as a
rule, be avoided, because, apart from its not being very graceful, it
is apt to disarrange the position of the saddle, by pulling it to the
near side, and the animal would then be liable to get a sore back,
especially if he had to go through a long day with hounds.
[Illustration: Fig. 69.--Dismounting without help.]
_Mounting from a block_, low wall, or other suitable object, may be done
without help, if the animal is "confidential" and accustomed to the
work. If a man be present, he may stand in front of the horse and hold
him in the way already described for the groom to do (page 125). If the
animal shows unwillingness to approach the mounting-block, the man
should hold the off cheek-piece of the headstall of the bridle with his
right hand, and, with the flat of his left hand, prevent the horse from
swinging his hind quarters out. When the horse is sufficiently close,
the lady should take the whip and reins in her left hand, put her left
foot in the stirrup, take the upper crutch with her left hand and the
cantle with the right, and spring lightly between both hands into the
saddle. The right leg is then put over the upper crutch and the skirt
arranged.
DISMOUNTING,
in the days of voluminous skirts, was a far more serious business than
it is now; for the "knee recess" had to be carefully freed from the
crutches of the saddle, and the skirt gathered up in the hands of the
rider, so that she might not tread on it. Riding women of to-day
generally prefer to dismount without assistance, for they are no longer
hampered with an early Victorian skirt. While a man holds the horse, the
rider releases her foot from the stirrup and loop, removes her right leg
from the crutch, and placing her right hand on it and her left hand on
the leaping head to steady herself (Fig. 69), springs lightly to the
ground. If help is required from a male attendant, it is best for him to
offer his right arm, on which the rider places her left hand (Fig. 70),
as she leaves the saddle. If there is only one man present, he should
take the snaffle reins in his left hand, before offering his right arm
to the lady. Another plan is for the lady to give her hands to the man
who assists her to dismount, but that would not be pleasant in the case
of an ordinary groom. An old-fashioned way of helping a lady to
dismount, was to put an arm round her waist and lift her from the
saddle!
[Illustration: Fig. 70.--Dismounting with help.]