A large number of men’s saddles have recently been purchased in London for the use of American ladies who desire to adopt cross-saddle riding. They intend wearing frock coats and breeches made exactly like men’s hunting breeches, and top boots; but as the frock coats are tight-fitting and follow the contour of the figure, I do not think that the costume will enhance the elegance of the wearer. In the Tiergarten at Berlin I saw a German lady riding astride in a kind of divided skirt, and as she was rather portly, her palfrey appeared to be fully caparisoned. If the cross-saddle were to be generally adopted by women, it would be but a revival of an ancient custom which was in use before the side-saddle with a leaping head rendered it possible for women to ride across country. According to Audry, English ladies discarded cross-saddle riding, and began to ride with the right leg over the crutch, about the middle of the seventeenth century, which style the Countess of Newcastle is said to have been the first to adopt. In the Encyclopædia Londinensis we read that Queen Elizabeth “seems to have been the first who set the ladies the more modest fashion of riding sideways,” but I think the honour of its introduction is due to Ann of Bohemia, the consort of Richard the Second. Garsault tells us that during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, ladies of the French Court usually rode astride on donkeys. Whatever may be said in favour of cross-saddle riding, we must bear in mind that it was not until the introduction in 1830 of the leaping head that women were able to ride over fences, and it would be a most reactionary measure to try to dispense with this valuable improvement on the ancient and incompetent order of things.
CHAPTER XXI.
RIDING DIFFICULT HORSES.
General Remarks—Shying—Stumbling—Dancing and Prancing—Throwing up the Head—Habit-shy—Jibbing—Shouldering—Backing—Pulling—Refusing—Boring—Kicking—Buck-jumping—Rearing.
GENERAL REMARKS.
As ladies are not supposed to have to ride “difficult” horses, a chapter on the best means of managing such animals may appear superfluous; but even the steadiest animal is apt to go wrong at times, and as forewarned is forearmed, it is best for us to know how to act in cases of emergency. I do not think that there exists in this world an absolutely perfect horse, or faultless human being for that matter, although many members of both the human and equine race nearly approach the ideal standard, especially among our own gentle sex. A woman who rides a great variety of horses finds that each of her mounts has his or her special peculiarity of temper, which often sorely taxes her supply of patience and tact in keeping it under control. All horses, even the quietest, try to show their authority when ridden by a stranger, and still more so when they find themselves carrying a rider who sits in a side-saddle, which must be a most unnatural burden to a horse that has been broken and ridden by men. Apart from considerations of side-saddle gear, the extra steadiness which is required of him in standing “stock” still while a lady is being put up on his back and her habit arranged, necessitates more patience on his part than with a male rider. On the other hand, he may be impressed with the idea that he is being asked to carry a more precious burden, and that he must prove himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him. I think this feeling of honour exists in horses, for I am reminded of a charger which an officer in India lent me, with somewhat anxious misgivings, to ride. He told me that the animal would be sure to buck at a certain spot, and, as he rode with me, he warned me when I came to this debateable ground to be ready for the usual performance. We cantered along quietly, as we had been doing, for I thought it best to pretend nothing, and my mount, to his owner’s great surprise, made no attempt to buck, either then or subsequently, while I was riding him, and we remained the best of friends. A hunter mare which I had in Cheshire, gave another instance of this honourable feeling among equines. When ridden by my husband or myself, she loved to show off by shying at a white gate, a heap of stones, a piece of paper, a bird, or any imaginable thing that she could find as an excuse to dart suddenly from one side of the road to the other. When we got to the hunting field, with all its noise and turmoil, she was as steady as possible, and the violent shying, which was her way of showing off, seemed to be quite forgotten. She would carry my son to his school, a distance of about five miles, and bring him home without making any attempt to shy with the child, but if an adult person rode her on the same route, she would play up as usual. I can only infer from this experience that, as I have already said, many horses possess a certain sense of honour. As shying is the most common vice among horses, we may consider it first.
SHYING.
I have called this habit or trick of becoming violently startled without adequate cause a vice, because in old horses who frequently shy with the object of unseating a rider thus suddenly taken unawares, it certainly is a very bad vice, and one for which the only cure is good horsemanship—that is to say, a seat sufficiently secure in the saddle to enable us to treat such conduct with indifference. If we attach importance to it by losing our temper and hitting an artful offender of this kind, punishment may cause an unpleasant exhibition of temper on his part, besides letting him see that his object has been accomplished. In the case of young and nervous horses, shying arises from timidity and not from vice, and therefore it behoves us to exhibit patience and kindness in inspiring confidence in such animals and assuring them that there is no reason for terror. The best means of doing this is to ride on and take no notice, although we may see by the behaviour of our mount, as he keeps his ears pricked, snorts at the terrifying object in front of him, slackens his pace, and prepares to either stop or dart away, that he will require encouragement to induce him to go on. As long as he answers the indications of the reins and pressure (not cuts) of the whip we should keep silent; but when he falters as if his heart were failing him, it is time for us to encourage him with the voice, softly at first, and louder, in a determined tone of command, if he still hesitates. With a young horse it is well to continue speaking to and soothing him until he has falteringly passed the cause of alarm, as the sound of his rider’s voice often inspires him with confidence at the critical moment by withdrawing his attention from the object of his fright. If a lady is riding with a friend and is engaged in conversation when her horse begins to show fear at some object of alarm, she should continue her talk, because it will give him more encouragement to go on, than sudden silence on her part, which he might take as a sign that she shares his fear. If she finds it necessary to shorten her reins in anticipation of his “playing up,” she should do it in an easy and gradual manner, so as not to let him know her intentions, and above all things she should refrain from speaking to him until it is absolutely necessary, which will be at the moment he is getting ready to swerve. I have at present a very amiable and steady hunter, which will invariably shy at any high vehicle, but will pass traction engines, trains and even motor cars quite quietly. No doubt his unsteadiness is nervousness and not vice, and is the result of an accident. It is not a good plan to wrestle with a horse until he can be induced to go up to and smell what he was shying at; for besides attaching too much importance to a trivial failing, it is not always possible to do this, in the case of moving objects, which cause animals far more terror than stationary ones. The whip should never be used on a shying horse with the object of hurting him, because it is unjust to inflict pain for an unintentional mistake, and idiotic to regard the exhibition of his fear as a personal affront, which is often done by ignorant riders. Almost all horses when they are very fresh, and especially on cold days, will shy and jump about on first being taken out, partly with the desire to keep themselves warm, and also with delight at being able to come out and enjoy a scamper. Dogs exhibit much the same skittishness; even old animals gamble like puppies when they are taken out, and the shying which results from freshness in horses should be tolerated within, of course, reasonable limits. Exercise will take away the superfluous playfulness, and it is one of the best of cures for equine failings, because even young horses which are regularly ridden, soon give up their habit of nervous shying and become steady conveyances. However terrified an inexperienced horsewoman may be on finding herself on a horse which shies badly, she should take care not to divulge her secret to him, as the animal would then try to usurp the reins of authority and refuse to obey her tremulous exhortations. She should always bear in mind that horses, young or old, nervous or bold, require as much keeping in their place as do domestic servants. Therefore, in all critical situations in which our ability to govern is directly challenged, we should assume the virtue of power if we have it not, and hang our banners on the outer walls, even though we may not have a shot in the locker.