FIRST LESSONS IN RIDING.
The walk--Turning--The halt--The trot--The canter--The gallop--Jumping--
Reining back.
THE WALK.
A horse which is held by a groom for a lady to mount, will generally
start off at a walk without any given signal to do so, when the servant
leaves his head, unless his rider desires him to remain at the halt,
when she would give him a command, by saying "whoa!"; and when she wants
him to proceed on his journey, she should say "go on," or click with the
tongue. It is best to put a beginner on an animal which has been trained
to await the commands of his rider, in order that she may from her very
first lesson in riding, learn the rudiments of horse control. She should
never jerk the reins as a signal to start, because this practice is very
apt to confuse and consequently to irritate the animal, especially as
the perpetrator of this _betise_ will, in all probability, use the same
means for stopping him. Before she gets on his back, the instructor
should show how the reins should be held, and how the horse should be
given the order to walk. It is the custom in many riding schools to
place the curb and snaffle reins in the rider's left hand and leave her
to find out their use as best she can, but as the lady will require to
devote almost the whole of her attention to her seat, and as in hunting
she will ride with both hands on the reins, it is better to give her a
snaffle rein to hold in each hand, and not introduce the curb until she
is sufficiently secure in her seat to be able to manipulate it properly.
The unusual feeling of sitting on the back of a moving animal will often
cause a lady to lean forward and grip her crutches, in order to retain
her seat, especially at the turns in the school or enclosure, where she
may be receiving her lesson, but the instructor should watch her
carefully, and should call a halt when the pupil is observed to be
riding her crutches instead of sitting well down in her saddle, and
obtaining the necessary steadying power without bringing the weight of
her body forward. The rider will not require to grip her crutches while
proceeding in a forward direction at a walk, although their aid may be
necessary when executing a turning movement, and she should also be
ready to apply grip at any moment of emergency. She will at first
experience some difficulty in being able to dissociate balance from
grip, and as her efforts to do so may be somewhat fatiguing to her, her
first lessons should be of short duration. Fig. 92 shows an easy,
comfortable position when riding at a walk.
After the rider has mastered the art of sitting comfortably and firmly
in her saddle at a walk, she should be given a whip to hold in her
right hand, which should also hold the right rein. I think the best kind
of flail for a beginner is a long cane. A cutting whip is not
sufficiently stiff to be used as an indication, and it is apt to tickle
the horse's sides, and make him unsteady.
[Illustration: Fig. 92.--Thorough-bred mare at a walk.]
TURNING.
A lady should not be initiated in the mysteries of any other pace, until
she is able to turn her horse at a walk, in any direction, while
maintaining a correct balance of her body, and applying only sufficient
grip to aid the movement.
In turning a horse to the right, she should lower her right hand and
carry it well away from his shoulder, while "feeling" the right rein,
so as to give him as clearly as possible, the indication to turn; she
should press the left rein against his neck, by moving her left hand to
the right; she should grip her crutches, and lean to the right; and
should resume her erect position when the turn is completed. If the
animal answers these indications only by turning his head to the right,
and does not bring his hind quarters round to the left, she should touch
him lightly with the whip on the off flank, so as to make him bring his
hind quarters round. In turning to the left, the opposite indications
are employed; the only difference being that the whip cannot be used on
the animal's left side, owing to the presence of the skirt. This
inability to employ the whip on the left side is not of much consequence
as a rule, because almost all horses readily bring their hind quarters
round to the right, when they are turned to the left.
Having turned to the right, she may ride her horse in a circle to the
right, while inclining her body slightly inwards, and keeping a nice
feeling of the right rein, and a firm grip of her crutches round the
circle, which at first should be large, as the smaller the circle the
more difficult it will be to ride and guide one's mount. The reversed
aids are used when circling to the left.
THE HALT.
In pulling up a horse from a walk, or any other pace, the rider should
say "whoa," should lean back, and at the same time draw in the reins
with an even, steady feeling, while keeping her hands low. If she has
any difficulty in halting with precision, she should practise walking
her horse short distances and stopping him at the word "whoa," which
should be given to him in a tone that he can understand, for he cannot
obey orders unless he knows their meaning.
THE TROT.
When learning to ride, ladies should endeavour to be thorough, and
should not proceed to study a new pace, before the previous one has been
entirely mastered. If the body is nicely balanced at sharp turns at the
walk, with the weight evenly distributed on the saddle, and both legs
kept perfectly steady and in their right position, a great deal will
have been done towards acquiring a firm seat.
When the pupil is able to ride with ease and grace at the walk, she may
receive a lesson in trotting. I think it is best to teach the trot
before the canter, because the majority of horses trot a few steps
before they strike off into the canter.
[Illustration: Fig. 93.--Preparing to rise at the trot, with stirrup at
correct length].
As an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory, the instructor should
first of all show her pupil how the trot is correctly executed, either
without a skirt or with one pinned back, so that the position of her
legs may be seen. She should try to make her practical demonstrations
perfectly clear, and should encourage her pupil to question her
concerning any points in this difficult pace which she does not
understand. It is a good plan to trot both with and without a stirrup,
in order to show that the weight of the body during the rise should be
placed on the right leg, and not on the stirrup. Reference to Figs. 79,
93, 94, 98, 99, 100, 102 and 104 will show that the right leg remains in
precisely the same position at the walk, trot, canter, and leap. The
great difficulty in trotting is to keep this leg absolutely steady, and
to prevent it from working backwards and forwards with the motion of the
body, which can be done only by maintaining a steady pressure against
the upper crutch with the right knee. When this has been obtained, and
the rise can be made with the right leg held motionless, the rider will
find herself able somewhat to relax this pressure, but in a mild form it
is always necessary to press the right knee against the upper crutch in
trotting, so as to aid the balance and to avoid putting too much weight
on the stirrup. The right leg from the knee down should lie flat and in
a slanting position against the horse's shoulder (Fig. 79), the movement
of the animal's limb being distinctly felt by the rider's leg which is
resting against it. Having ascertained that the stirrup is sufficiently
long to admit of the flat of the hand being placed between the left leg
and the leaping-head when the rider is not exercising grip (Fig.
82)--which will allow the lady to clear the leaping-head when rising at
the trot--she should take rather a short hold of her horse, and induce
him to bear on the snaffle to aid her to rise; for a horse which will
not bear on the reins is not a comfortable animal to trot with. A lady
should lean slightly forward and rise when the animal's near fore leg
comes on the ground. In Fig. 93 we see the horse's off fore on the
ground and the lady preparing for the rise with her body inclined
forward. Fig. 94 gives us the position of the rider at the rise, and
that of the horse's near fore leg. As a well-executed trot can be
acquired only after a great deal of practice, a lady should not be
disheartened if she makes but slow progress. She will find it difficult
to time the rise accurately, and until she can do this it is best for
her to sit down in the saddle and bump up and down _a la militaire_,
keeping her seat by the aid of her crutches, and occasionally making an
effort to rise. If she rises at the wrong time, her effort will be
productive of a churning movement, which should at once be
discontinued, for that slipshod style of trotting is not only incorrect,
but is liable to give the horse a sore back, and will prove very tiring
to the rider. In making the rise she should straighten her left knee as
in mounting, and bear slightly on the stirrup, executing her upward
movement by the aid of the ankle-joint and by simultaneously pressing
the upper crutch with her right knee, when she will return to her former
position without being in any way jerked during the movement. The
stirrup should always be kept in one fixed position at the ball of the
foot, and both foot and stirrup should act with automatic precision,
without the slightest jerk or wriggle, exactly as though the lady were
making an upward step from the ground. The pressure of the foot should
be directed on the inner side of the stirrup-iron, in order that the leg
may lie close to the flap of the saddle. She will not require to lift
herself from the saddle, for the horse will put her up to the necessary
height, if she straightens her left knee and prepares to rise at the
right moment. The height of the rise will vary according to the size and
action of the horse. An animal of, say, 15-3, with a long, swinging
trot, will cause his rider to rise higher in the saddle than a smaller
horse with a short, shuffling gait. Many ponies have a short, quick trot
requiring a hardly perceptible rise from the rider; but they are not, as
a rule, comfortable trotters. The lady, as I have already remarked,
rises when the animal's near fore leg is placed on the ground, and
remains seated while the off fore leg rests on the ground, but the
height and duration of the rise will depend on his power of forward
reach. Some ladies exert themselves far too much in rising, and flop
down on their saddles with a noise which attracts attention to their
faulty riding, and which must be very uncomfortable both to them and
their mounts. The chief cause of this faulty style is the adoption of a
long stirrup (Figs. 95 and 96), by which the weight of the body is
brought so much to the near side that the rider can rise only with great
muscular exertion, and with the risk of giving her mount a sore back, by
the downward drag of the saddle to this side. If the horse were to break
into a canter, the lady with a long stirrup would obtain her grip by
bringing back the left leg as in Fig. 97 and pressing against the
leaping-head high up on the thigh, which would give her a very insecure
and ungraceful seat. I have seen ladies trying to trot with the left
leg, from hip to foot, swinging about like the pendulum of a clock, as
if they had no knee-joint at all. When we see an effort to trot with a
stiff left leg swinging along the horse's shoulder, we may safely
conclude that the rider has her stirrup too long, and knows nothing
about the art of trotting, or that the leaping-head of her saddle is
placed so low down on the near side that she is unable to ride in it,
and has to stick on as best she can. As we do not use the leaping-head
in trotting, its position on the saddle may appear unimportant, but this
is not the case; for, even if a lady has her stirrup at its correct
length, the fact of the leaping-head being placed low down on the near
side, compels her to ride with her stirrup longer than she would have to
do if this crutch were properly placed. The farther it is away from the
upper crutch, the greater difficulty will a lady have in rising at the
trot. I have tried to ride in saddles in which I have found trotting
such a tiring business, and requiring so much muscular exertion on my
part, that it was much more comfortable for me not to rise, but to bump
in military fashion. Many ladies, probably from the same reason, never
rise in the trot. It is both wrong and unkind to put girls on bad
saddles and then reproach them for not sitting straight at the trot, for
I have found it absolutely impossible to do so in some saddles. Much of
the soreness and misery which ladies suffer in their efforts to trot,
would be obviated if the leaping-head of their saddles were placed as in
Fig. 16.
[Illustration: Fig. 94.--Rising at the trot, with stirrup at correct
length.]
[Illustration: Fig. 95.--Preparing to rise at the trot, with stirrup too
long.]
Although a well-executed trot looks nice, it should be only sparingly
indulged in, because it is more fatiguing to the rider than the canter
and is particularly liable to give a horse a sore back; for, do what the
lady will to sit "square," the saddle, supposing she rises, cannot fail
to have some side motion. Of course the rider should walk or trot, and
not canter, on metalled roads and hard ground, but she should always
take advantage of any bit of soft "going" and indulge in a nice easy
canter on it.
A lady learning to trot will require to do her hair up securely with
plenty of hair-pins, pay attention to the fit of her hat, and see that
it is provided with elastic an inch wide (p. 114), because she will find
her head jerked about a good deal during her first lessons. The trot
should be properly studied in a school or enclosure before a lady is
taken out on the roads, for she can learn nothing by "slithering" along
anyhow, and will be liable to contract a bad method of riding, which
will probably prevent her from ever becoming a good horsewoman. We must
remember that the trot is the most difficult of all paces, and can be
correctly acquired only after much patient practice; but it is worth
doing well. Very few ladies excel in this art, for the simple reason
that they do not care to go through the drudgery of it. Some ladies are
so impatient that they give up the study of a pace as soon as they can
stick on their saddles. How few who hunt can really ride well! In
Leicestershire a fine horsewoman remarked to me that several ladies ride
hard who are indifferent horsewomen--a fact which I think we may see
demonstrated in every hunting-field; but what is worth doing at all is
surely worth doing well, and a lady should strive to be a good
horsewoman as well as a plucky rider. When a horse increases his pace
without being ordered to do so, he should be at once checked by a pull,
not a jerk, on the reins, which should be accompanied by a word, such as
"steady," uttered in a warning, determined tone that he will understand;
because he should never be allowed to take the initiative, which he
would do by breaking into a canter. The trot should be slow at first,
until the rider is secure in her seat, when it may be increased
gradually to its fullest limit. The faster a horse trots, the stronger
bearing should we have on the reins, but when we find the pace
degenerating into a rocking movement, the animal should be steadied and
collected, because he is exceeding the limit of his speed, and is
probably trotting with his fore and cantering with his hind legs, as we
may frequently see with horses which are being overdriven in harness.
After practice has been acquired in trotting in a forward direction, and
the rider is able to sit with ease and grace, she should trot in a
circle to the right, taking care to keep a good grip, incline her body
inward, and guide her horse with precision. The circle, which should be
large, may then be made to the left, which will more strongly test the
rider's seat, and particularly her command of her right leg. If she does
not ride correctly, this circling should be stopped, and the mistake
rectified by more practice in a forward direction.
[Illustration: Fig. 96.--Rising at the trot, with stirrup too long.]
If a horse, during the trot, suddenly breaks off into a canter, the
rider should sit down in her saddle as in the walk, and grip her
crutches as may be required. She should not be the least bit alarmed at
this new pace, supposing that she has not been taught to canter, for all
she will have to do will be to sit down and allow her body to follow the
movements of the horse by the play of her hip joints, as explained in
the first lesson (p. 159). The lady who has practised leaning back (p.
158) will be able almost at once to adapt herself to the requirements of
the canter; but as the trot is the subject of her study, the horse
should be instantly pulled up. In order to do this safely, she should
lean slightly back in her saddle, and stop him gradually, employing her
usual word of command, and, while keeping her hands low down and well
apart, exert a firm and fixed pressure on the reins. The rider must
never allow herself, however disobedient her mount may be, to "job" his
mouth with the reins, or to use them at any time as a means of
punishment. Also she must not try to pull him up suddenly, but always
gradually, in order that he may not strain the ligaments or tendons of
his legs. If a horse hears and understands his rider's word of command,
he will pull up in a manner most easy to himself. In practising the
trot, the pupil should try to look between her horse's ears, and should
keep her elbows as close to her sides as is comfortable, for she would
lose power over her mount by turning them out. If she interferes with
the horse's mouth, and does not keep her reins at one fixed length, the
animal will naturally become unreliable in his paces. If she feels a
pain in her side or gets a headache while trotting, the lesson for that
day should be at once stopped, because she will not be able to ride
properly if she is enduring any kind of discomfort. Parents should pay
great attention to this matter, especially if the riding instructor is
a man, because a girl would naturally be disinclined to mention any
personal ailment to him. Whoever the teacher may be, he or she should
always humour a nervous pupil, and not, as many do, start with the idea
of getting her "shaken into her seat," at the risk of ruining her riding
nerve for ever and causing her to loathe her lessons. If a pupil during
her first trotting lesson suffers from nervousness, it is best to
discontinue the trot and finish the lesson at the walk, in order to
settle her nerves and not frighten her out of her wits. Her next
trotting lesson should be commenced at the walk, and an occasional
effort be made to trot a short distance, so that she may gradually
obtain the necessary confidence, and an encouraging word should always
be given her when she does well.
[Illustration: Fig. 97.--Canter, with right leg hooked back, and stirrup
too long.]
THE CANTER.
After the pupil has mastered the difficulties of the trot, she will
appreciate the enjoyable motion of an easy canter, which is the lady's
pace _par excellence_. In the canter a horse should lead with his off
fore leg, except when he is turning or circling to the left, and a
beginner should be given a horse or pony which has been trained to
canter correctly. As the majority of horses are not taught to start from
a walk to a canter, the pupil should proceed at a smart trot, and, while
holding the reins somewhat slack, turn her horse's head slightly to the
left, and touch him on the right shoulder with her whip, to make him
break into a canter with his off fore leading.
[Illustration: Fig. 98.--Good seat at canter or gallop.]
She should sit firmly into her saddle, should lower her hands (Fig. 98)
more than in the trot, and should fix the speed at which she wishes her
horse to proceed, while keeping an easier feeling on his mouth than when
trotting. She should indulge in no snatches at the reins, but should
always preserve one fixed length of rein, unless she requires to alter
the pace. The legs should remain perfectly still as in the walk, the
knees should be kept ready to grip the crutches at any required moment,
and the body from the hips upward should conform to the motion of the
horse. Figs. 98, 99 and 100 show a nice easy position in the different
phases of the canter. It is absolutely essential for a lady to acquire a
good strong seat at this pace, because it is practically the same as in
the gallop and jump, and must therefore be regarded as her hunting seat.
One of the first things to remember in the canter is to allow no
movement of the seat, which should remain nailed as it were to the
saddle, the hip joints supplying all the necessary motion to the body,
and, as I have already said, the legs should be kept perfectly steady.
To increase the adherence of the left knee against the flap of the
saddle, the left foot should be carried a little outwards away from the
horse's side, and its pressure chiefly applied to the inner side of the
stirrup-iron, which will consequently be more depressed than the outer
side. It has been remarked that an ugly seat at the canter is a sight
that would spoil the finest landscape in the world, so a lady who
desires to ride well should not be satisfied if she can merely stick on,
like the lady in Fig. 101, but should try to ride correctly. Her head
will perhaps at first be jerked to and fro like a "vexed weathercock,"
but practice will enable her to overcome the tendency to fix the muscles
of her neck and to allow her head to follow the motion of her body. She
should take care that her elbows do not flap up and down like the
pinions of an awkward nestling learning to fly, but should keep them
close to her sides, where they will be of more assistance to her in
controlling her horse. In cantering on a circle to the left, a horse
should of course lead with his near fore, for if he then leads with his
off fore he will be liable to cross his legs and fall. If the canter is
false--that is to say, if a horse is leading with the wrong leg--the
movements of the limbs will be disunited, and the rider will find the
motion rough and unpleasant, in which case she should pull him up and
make him lead with the correct leg. When the pupil feels herself
becoming tired or unsteady in her seat, she should give the horse her
verbal signal to stop, at the same time taking an even and gradual pull
at the reins. As I have already said, a horse should be gradually pulled
up from a canter into a trot or walk. Although a beginner's mount will,
or at least should, allow a certain amount of liberty to be taken with
his mouth, it must be remembered that every horse will go better with a
rider who tries to save his mouth as much as possible when conveying
her orders to him by means of the reins. When he is going too fast, the
warning word "steady" should always accompany any restraining action of
the reins, until the horse is accustomed to his rider's handling, when
the pull may be taken in silence. As the voice is a valuable "aid" in
riding, I would strongly advise the inexperienced horsewoman never to
speak to her horse when he is at work, except when giving him an order.
He will then be able to understand the meaning of her words of command.
Particular attention should be paid to the observance of this rule, for
a lady who is incessantly talking to her horse, reproving or caressing
as the case may be, renders him more or less indifferent to the voice as
a means of control on an emergency. After he has carried her well, a few
pats on the neck will establish a feeling of good fellowship between
horse and rider, and the animal will always regard these caresses, and
the kindly words that accompany them, as a sure sign of his mistress's
approval. After she has dismounted she may "make much" of him, but while
on his back it is wiser to reserve her voice for giving orders. A
"funky" rider as a rule keeps continually talking to her mount, and the
animal gets to know that she is nervous, and soon becomes the master. A
horse, like a domestic servant, will not be obedient and respectful
unless he thoroughly understands that his first duty is to obey. Neither
a horse nor a servant who fails to recognise this fact is worth his
keep. Every girl who is learning to ride, naturally desires to
establish a feeling of friendship between herself and her mount, because
she knows that he can get rid of her off his back any time he likes; but
she should remember that a horse, like a servant, is always ready to
take a liberty, and therefore any kindness she may bestow on him should
be tempered with discretion and forethought as to its future results.
She may pet him as much as she likes, but she should never allow him to
have his own way, in opposition to her expressed command. The adoption
of a conciliatory method with horses which deliberately refuse to obey
orders is fatal, because the lady who takes that course literally allows
the reins of authority to slip through her fingers.
[Illustration: Fig. 99.--Good seat at canter or gallop.]
[Illustration: Fig. 100.--Good seat at canter or gallop.]
GALLOP.
An experienced hunting man remarked to me that a large number of ladies
who hunt, fail in ability to make their horses gallop, which is a pace
never taught by riding masters. The gallop is not only necessary to
acquire, especially by a lady who intends to hunt, but it improves the
strength of seat more than any other gait. Besides, a rider who is
unaccustomed to it, is always in danger of coming to "grief," if her
horse breaks away with her, either from being startled or from mere
"light-heartedness." For a lady's first lesson in galloping, a piece of
nice soft smooth ground, free from stones and holes, and, say, a quarter
of a mile or three furlongs in length, should be selected. The pupil
should be provided with a rather sluggish horse, which requires some
"riding up to his bridle," and should be told to canter her horse at his
highest speed, for the canter and gallop merge imperceptibly into each
other. The seat in the canter is precisely the same as that in the
gallop, except that when the horse is going very fast, a lady will find
it easier to lean slightly forward, take a good steady hold of the
reins, and keep her hands in one fixed position, as low down as
possible. If she has any difficulty in getting her mount to extend
himself, the instructor should ride with her and set the pace. When the
lady's horse is really galloping, he should slacken speed a little, and
let the animal pass him, in order that the pupil may learn to ride a
gallop without a lead. The chances are that her horse will want to
follow the example of his companion and go slower; but she should keep
him going at the same fast pace by a touch with the whip and a click of
the tongue, until she has arrived at the end of the specified distance.
As a fast gallop is very trying to a horse's legs, it should be limited
to occasional short spins on soft and smooth ground. In the next lesson
the instructor should assume the lead, and tell his pupil to pull her
horse up at a given distance, while he gallops away from her. This would
be excellent practice for testing her power of horse control, because in
hunting it is of vital importance that she should always have her mount
in hand, and be able to stop him when necessary, even if a crowd of
horses are galloping away in front of her. To do this when riding at a
fast gallop, she should gradually slacken his speed, using the word
"steady," and taking an even pull on the reins. It may be necessary for
her to ride at this pace with a double bridle (curb and snaffle). Fig.
100 shows how the curb and snaffle reins should be held. I have not
advocated giving a beginner a bit and bridoon, because in hunting she
should always ride with the snaffle, and reserve the curb for use in
cases of emergency, such as steadying her mount when galloping over
plough or heavy ground, or in slackening his speed. The pupil who is
learning to gallop should try the effect of the curb in stopping her
horse while another horse is galloping away from her. As it is a severe
bit, she would be wise to "feel" her horse's mouth with it only just
enough to induce him to slacken his speed according to her indication.
It should be used with the object of reminding him that it is in his
mouth. If he does not obey the hint, the lady should take a stronger
pull, and be ready to release her pressure when she feels her horse
restrained by its influence, and then she should ride on the snaffle. My
husband, in _Riding and Hunting_, says:--"With a double bridle we may
ride on the snaffle as much as we like, and keep the curb for
emergencies; although, from not knowing how to hold the reins properly,
men frequently get into the habit of always riding on both reins, and
then they blame the double bridle for being too severe.... A curb is
indispensable with many horses for crossing an English hunting country
in good style. We must also remember that out hunting, and with large
fields, like what we see with the Quorn and Pytchley, the ability to
obtain instant control over one's mount, even in the midst of exciting
surroundings, is essential for the safety of one's self, one's horse,
and one's companions, and for avoiding interference with sport.... I
have known some horses, whose mouths had evidently been spoiled by
injudicious, if not cruel, treatment, that would go quietly only in a
snaffle." Whyte Melville, discussing the merits of the snaffle,
says:--"This bit, the invention of common-sense going straight to its
object, while lying easily on the tongue and bars of a horse's mouth,
and affording control without pain, is perfection of its kind." Of the
double bridle he says:--"I need hardly explain to my reader that it
loses none of the advantages belonging to the snaffle, while it gains in
the powerful leverage of the curb a restraint few horses are resolute
enough to defy. In skilful hands, varying, yet harmonising, the
manipulation of both, as a musician plays treble and bass on the
pianoforte, it would seem to connect the rider's thought with the
horse's movement, as if an electric chain passed through wrist, and
finger and mouth, from the head of the one to the heart of the other."
[Illustration: Fig. 101.--Bad seat; right leg hooked back, stirrup too
long, and foot "home."]
JUMPING.
After the pupil has mastered the art of trotting, cantering, and
galloping, and understands how to handle and control her mount with
correctness and precision at these paces, she should be given a lesson
in riding over fences. We may put up a small hurdle, or some easy
obstacle, in an enclosed place, and tell her to canter her horse
straight to the centre of it and jump it. All that she need be
instructed to do, is to give the horse his head when he is rising at the
jump, and to lean well back when he is about to land over it. By giving
her horse his head, I mean that she is to extend her arms to their
utmost length, and bring them again into position after he has landed.
Fig. 102 shows a lady leaning back and extending her arms at a fence.
The pupil will not require to alter the length of her reins when riding
over fences, presuming, of course, that she has been taught from the
first to keep a nice easy feel on her horse's mouth. She should be
careful to leave the curb alone, and always ride over fences on the
_snaffle_. The lady in Fig. 102 is riding only with a snaffle, and with
a nice easy length of rein. I must pause here to draw attention to the
fine riding of the lady, Miss Emmie Harding, of Mount Vernon, New
Zealand, who is jumping this formidable wire fence on her hunter
Marengo. Our hard riding Colonial sisters have nothing to learn from us
in the matter of sitting over stiff fences, even high wire barricades
that would certainly stop a whole field in the Shires. Some critical
ladies may consider that her left foot is carried too far back, but this
is not the case, as she is riding with her stirrup at the ball of the
foot and obtaining her grip of the leaping head without depressing the
left knee. When we require to obtain the maximum amount of grip, as in
jumping, we instinctively draw back the left foot, as shewn in Fig. 102,
in order that the ankle joint may exert its utmost power in pressing the
leg against the leaping head. In Fig. 104 the position of the legs is
identical with Fig. 102. We can see that Miss Harding rides with her
right leg forward, in the manner I have advocated. The rider should take
a good grip of her crutches, and keep her legs perfectly steady and
close to her horse. She should always ride him straight, not sideways,
at his fences. There should not be the slightest movement of her seat in
the saddle. As I have already explained, she should try to imagine that
she is nailed down to the saddle and cannot be shifted, and that the
movement of her body must come from the play of the hip joints.
[Illustration: Fig. 102.--Miss Emmie Harding jumping wire.]
If her small brother possesses a rocking-horse, she should mount it and
rock herself on it, if she does not entirely understand what is meant by
"the play of the hip joints." If she rides over her first fence
incorrectly, she should not be allowed to do so a second time without
being put right. It would, therefore, be advisable for her to have her
skirt pinned back, in order that the instructor, who should be standing
by the fence at the near side, may see exactly how she obtains her grip.
It is obvious that this lesson in jumping should be given either by, or
under the supervision of a person experienced in side-saddle riding. The
pupil may be allowed to hold a whip, but she should not use it, for she
might acquire the bad habit of hitting her horse every time he jumps a
fence. The whip in hunting should be kept for use at specially big
fences, and as a reminder to the horse that he must exert his best
efforts to clear them with safety. Even then it is employed as an aid,
but not as a means of inflicting punishment. No good horsewoman cuts her
horse about the body with a whip. If the fence has been nicely jumped,
the pupil extending her arms properly and keeping her hands low, we may
"make much of her," and that will recompense her for any uncomplimentary
things we may have said about her riding. After the small fence has been
jumped nicely, it may be replaced at the next lesson by one somewhat
higher; and when the lady has had practice over it on her steady horse,
she may ride another mount who is a bigger jumper. No extra instructions
need be given to her except that the higher the fence, the more must she
lean back on landing. This jumping practice will probably teach her to
always lean back when riding over a drop fence, or going down a steep
hill. Some ignorant people shout, "Sit back," when a lady is riding at a
fence; they should say, "Lean back," which means quite another thing.
[Illustration: Fig. 103.--Maximum amount of pressure on leaping head.]
If a lady, when taking her riding lessons, finds herself in any way
uncomfortable in her saddle, she should at once stop and have the fault,
whatever it may be, rectified. She should always be careful, when
dressing for riding, to see that all her garments are put on correctly,
so that nothing may get displaced and cause discomfort when she is in
the saddle. If this does happen, she should dismount, if possible, and
arrange matters without delay; otherwise she may be severely cut or
rubbed and be unable to ride again for some time. After she has been
taught to ride, she should be given a nice horse and a safe jumper, for
she well deserves one, and will be able to ride him. She should hack him
along quiet roads and bridle paths and learn to open gates and go
through them nicely, always shutting them after her.
[Illustration: Fig. 104.--Position of legs in jumping.]
REINING BACK.
As a lady will be unable to open gates correctly unless her horse will
rein back readily, it will be necessary for her to obtain practice in
this useful exercise. A horse which has to carry a woman should have
previously been taught to rein back, chiefly by word of command and with
only slight indications of the reins, because in the rein back a lady is
greatly handicapped by her want of control over the animal's hind
quarters. In this movement we should above all things avoid leaning back
and putting an equal feeling on both reins, for that would be the very
thing to prompt him to rear. It is evident that as a horse has to be
light in front when going forward, he should be light behind when
reining back. Therefore, the rider should lean forward. Also, she should
feel the reins alternately, turning the horse's head towards the fore
leg which is more advanced than the other fore leg. When she takes a
steady pull with her right rein and finds that the horse draws back his
off-fore, she should slacken the right rein and take a similar steady
pull with the left rein to induce him to bring back his near fore, and
so on. During this alternate feeling of the reins she should keep her
hands as low as practicable, so that the horse may lower his head and
put weight on his forehand, and consequently facilitate the movements of
his hind legs. For each step the lady should use the words of command,
"rein back," in a decided tone of voice, supposing of course that the
animal has been taught the meaning of this verbal order. However well a
lady may carry out these directions, she may not effect her purpose with
precision, because the side pulls of the respective reins will prompt
the horse, if he has not had previous training, to bring round his hind
quarters in the opposite direction. The rider can prevent him doing this
to the right by pressure of the whip on his off-flank; but owing to the
necessary shortness of her stirrup, she will not be able to prevent him
from swinging his hind quarters round to the left. Here, the fact of a
man having a leg on each side of his horse and fairly long stirrups,
makes him far more capable of reining back a horse properly, than a lady
seated on one side of the animal. A man obtains command of a horse's
hind quarters by the pressure of his legs, especially when the feet are
drawn back. As horses very much dislike reining back, I would caution
the rider not to disgust her animal by continuing it for too long a
time. He should be occasionally reined back a couple of times for four
or five paces, and after each rein back should be allowed to go forward,
and he should be rewarded for his obedience by a few pats on the neck
and some words of encouragement. If the animal's temper be upset by too
much reining back, he will probably adopt the dangerous habit of running
back, when he would be very liable to fall, or he may rear. As
inconsiderate people will persist in taking kickers into the hunting
field, every lady who desires to hunt should be able to rein back her
horse, in order to remove him, if possible, from the dangerous vicinity
of an animal whose tail is adorned with a red bow, which is a sign that
he is a kicker, and not that he has been recently vaccinated.
Her next lessons should be devoted to obtaining practice in jumping
various kinds of fences, and in riding up and down hill, over ridge and
furrow and difficult ground, which we will deal with in another chapter.
A lady should remember to always keep an eye on her mount, and never let
her attention be diverted from the order of his going, however much she
may be otherwise occupied. To people who have had much practice in
riding various horses, this forward outlook becomes almost automatic.
I would advise my imaginary pupil to learn the following ancient rhyme
by heart, and to observe its teaching, although it is not entirely
applicable to ladies--
"Your head and your heart keep boldly up,
Your hands and your heels keep down,
Your knees keep close to your horse's sides
And your elbows close to your own."