The Horsewoman: A Practical Guide to Side-Saddle Riding, 2nd. Ed.

by Alice M. Hayes

MILITARY METHOD OF HOLDING THE REINS.

In almost all riding schools, ladies are taught to hold the reins in military fashion, which enacts that they should be held in the left hand, with the little finger dividing them, and their ends brought up between the finger and thumb ([Fig. 77]). Thus, the hold on the reins is chiefly maintained by the lateral pressure of the fingers and by the downward pressure of the thumb on them. As the muscles which draw the fingers laterally together, are far weaker than the muscles which cause the hand to become clenched, it follows that this method of holding the reins is much less secure and a good deal more tiring than the crossed plan ([Fig. 73]), which has the further advantage of utilising the friction between the opposing surfaces of leather. This method is also unsuitable for two-handed riding, because it violates the principle laid down on pages 136 and 137, that the manner of holding the reins by one hand should be the same as that by the other hand (compare Figs. [71] and [78]).