Of spurs (very necessary in an advanced state of proficiency, and inadmissible, of course, to a beginner) I shall say something hereafter.
Of gloves, the best kind for riding is a dogskin glove or gauntlet two sizes too large. Six and a-half kid gloves do not admit of sufficient freedom in the hand properly to manipulate the reins.
The pupil should be provided with a straight riding whip which is not too flexible, because with a very supple whip she may inadvertently touch the horse at the wrong time and upset him.
Having said thus much as to the equipment of our fair tyro, I leave all observations as to dress fit for the hunting-field, or such promenade riding as that of Rotten Row, for a future paper, and proceed to say something about that very important consideration, the matter of the riding master.
In the first place, then, it is necessary that the professor of equitation should be one who has been regularly brought up to his business. If such a man is not within reach, then I submit that it is better to entrust the riding education of the young lady to any staid middle-aged gentleman who is a thoroughly good horseman, and who will undertake the task con amore. If the gentleman has daughters of his own, all the better. I do not recommend young men for the office, because, naturally enough, they are more likely to be engrossed with the charms of their pupils than the progress they are making with their riding. Youthful preceptors, too, have a tendency to "make the pace a trifle too good," and there are not even wanting instances where they have "bolted" with their pupils altogether. This by the way.
To return to the professional riding master. I may add that, in addition to thoroughly understanding his craft, he should be a man of education and a gentleman. Of such men there are several in the metropolis; in the provinces they are few and far between. In most of our fashionable watering-places one sees very neatly got-up horsey-looking men, duly booted, spurred, and moustached, tittuping along with a small troop of young ladies, who, with their skirts ballooned out with the fresh breeze from the "briny," and "sitting all over the saddle," are making themselves very uncomfortable, when they could have enjoyed the bracing air just as well, for less money, in an open fly. The riding master, in all probability, has promoted himself from the office of pad groom. He knows how to saddle and turn out a lady's horse, and how to put the lady into the saddle; he knows, also, the cheapest market in which to go for fashionable-looking screws upon which to mount his customers. There his qualifications as a riding master end. The inductive steps by which a lady should be taught, the reason for everything she is asked to do, the "aids" by which she should control her horse and establish a good understanding with him, are all sealed mysteries to the stamp of man I speak of. From such men and their ten-pound screws there is nothing to be learnt in the way of riding.
Assuming, then, that some of my fair readers may be so placed as to render access to a professional riding master impossible, I have ventured upon this brief manual of "Equitation for Ladies," because I believe that there are many gentlemen, good horsemen, who would willingly undertake the teaching of their young friends, but that the former are unacquainted with the readiest way of going to work. Let me hope that the following may be of use in such case, both to preceptor and pupil. Addressing myself first to the former, let me advise him to be guided from first to last by the following maxims: 1st. Never do anything to shake the confidence or nerve of your pupil, and never give away a chance of doing it to the horse she rides. 2nd. Never talk to her about lesson No. 2 until she thoroughly understands lesson No. 1. While tittuping hacks are useless, and it is necessary to have an animal, even for a beginner, that has still plenty of life, vigour, and action in him, such a horse requires to be thoroughly well-broken to carry a woman, and should have plenty of work, so as to do away with the possibility of his flirting when she is mounted. It should be borne in mind that, although a woman who has had years of practice will be equally at home on almost every horse upon which you can put her, yet only a particular stamp of animal is adapted to carry her in her earlier essays.
Let me endeavour to give my idea of him. In height he should be from 15.2 to 15.3. A very tall woman may look better on a taller horse, but it is rarely that one finds an animal over 15.3 with the requisite proportions to ensure good action. Colour is of little account, except that grey horses in the summer time part with their coats so freely as to spoil a lady's habit. Quality is indispensable. A three-part-bred horse, however, is the best, because he is likely to have more substance in the right place than a thoroughbred. A good blood-like head and neck are warranty for fashion. Good shoulders, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, are not always good shoulders for a lady's horse, because while they should be clean and sloping as to the scapula, the withers should not be too fine. A little thickness there causes a side saddle to fit better for the comfort of the rider. There should be plenty of depth in the girth and rare good back ribs, for a woman's riding calls very much on a horse's power. A short back is not conducive to ease for the rider, whatever it may be as to the staying powers of the horse. On the contrary, what is generally called a long-backed horse carries a lady most pleasantly; but there must be plenty of power in the quarters, muscular upper thighs, and strong hocks. The quarters, too, should be good, and the setting on of the tail such as finishes the topping of the horse well, and gives him a fashionable appearance. If conjoined to the above-named points he stands on moderately short legs, with plenty of bone, and has good round and sound feet, he will be found as nearly as possible what is required.