MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING.
Directions to place a lady on her saddle.--Directions to mount at a
halt.--In movement.--To dismount in movement.--To vault on at a
halt.--Circus for practising these movements.--To pick a whip from
the ground.--To face about in the saddle.
[Sidenote: To mount a side-saddle.]
To mount, a lady should place her left hand on the pummel or leaping
horn, the right hand on the off side of the cantle, or as far towards it
as possible, and should seat herself between her two hands; she should
give the left foot, this should be kept precisely under the weight; if
it is given forward (which is the common error) each person is pushed
backward one from the other. This should be practised on any piece of
furniture; the man should use both his hands, and in this way a weak
person may put up the heaviest weight. You may put a man of fifteen
stone on the top of a door with the greatest ease,--try if you can do
this in any other way.
[Sidenote: To mount at a halt.]
[Sidenote: Or in movement.]
To mount, a man should place his left shoulder to his horse's left
shoulder, so as to look to the horse's rear; take your whip, reins, and
the mane in the left hand, with the right hand take the lower part of
the stirrup-leather between the fore-finger and thumb, the little finger
on the upper part of the stirrup-iron; take a hop forward facing the
saddle and turning your toe to the horse's front _without touching his
side_, take the cantle with the right hand and up. If the horse moves
on, he only spares you the previous hop, and by walking or running
backward with him you may mount almost at a gallop. In taking the right
stirrup, avoid touching the horse with the spur, or even pressing him
with the leg. If he has been made shy by such usage, place your left
hand on the pummel, and with the right hand place the stirrup on the
foot, keeping both legs from the horse's sides.
[Sidenote: To dismount in movement.]
[Sidenote: To vault on or over in movement.]
[Sidenote: To vault on at a halt.]
To dismount in movement, lay the reins on the neck, one or both knotted
short; take the pummel with the left hand the cantle with the right,
pass the right leg over the neck, shift the right hand to the pummel,
and as you descend, the left hand to the flap. With the strength of both
arms throw your feet forward in the direction in which the horse is
going, this may be done at a gallop. If it is wished to vault on again,
while the right hand holds the pummel take the mane with the left, and
without taking a step you may go up or over, the quicker the pace the
easier. It is difficult to jump on to the saddle at a halt, the easiest
way is to take the mane as directed for mounting and to jump from the
left foot, the right hand coming on to the pummel as you descend into
the saddle.
[Sidenote: Circus for practice.]
To practise these movements, form a circus by placing wattle hurdles on
end, leaning outward against the _shores_ or staves; take the stirrups
off, tie a string over the flaps and the horse's head loosely to this--a
man with a driving whip in the middle. Circus riding, I believe,
originated in England, in the time of our grandfathers; in Germany it is
called "English reiten."
[Sidenote: To pick a whip from the ground.]
To pick a whip from the ground, take the pummel with the right hand,
place the side of the left foot against the girth, the toe between the
horse's elbows, bring the back of the right leg on to the top of the
saddle, and let yourself down to the full stretch of your right arm;
this is very easy at the halt, still easier on the move, _if your horse
is quiet_. If you fail, you only dismount on your hands instead of your
feet, which on turf may be done innocuously at a canter.
[Sidenote: To face about in the saddle.]
To face about in the saddle place the palms of the hands on the pummel,
throw your legs out horizontally over the horse's croupe, turn and come
into the saddle facing to the tail. If M. Cui Bono remarks that the last
two feats are, like others which I might detail, useless, I answer, that
the practice of no feat of activity or strength is useless. Activity and
strength, the unctæ dona palæstræ, form a firm assurance against perils,
not only to your own life but to the lives of others.