CHAPTER X.
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 bêtise 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.
