instantly respond to the rider’s will, and thus the rider and horse are at all times in sympathy, and the horse acting with, and not against, his rider, and the rider with, and not against, her horse.
Lightness does not in any way denote weakness, for, behind the light touch, there must always be firmness, decision, and strength. Nor does lightness mean a touch so vague that it produces upon the horse’s mind an impression of vacillation. In riding it is most important for the rider, once she has made up her mind what to make the horse do, to make the horse do that thing and not allow him to do anything else. One might, indeed, say that lightness of hands is very closely akin to tact and that it is a means of inducing a horse to adopt as his own the will of his rider.
I spoke a moment ago of strength. By this I mean firmness and not brute force. If a rider is fortunate enough to be gifted with lightness, she will be able to control her horse by a spirit of love instead of adopting the brutal method of controlling him by fear and having him prepared at every moment to obtain his revenge upon his rider, as a horse that has been treated brutally is almost certain to do when he has the opportunity.
Coupled with the lightness of hands should be fearlessness in the mind of the rider, and the horse
must know both that the rider is fearless and that she trusts him. If the rider shows a lack of confidence in the horse and acts as if she were suspicious of him, the horse will soon know it, and will do exactly what the rider fears that he will. A horse has a mind which very readily receives impressions from the rider’s mind. For instance, a rider expects a horse to shy at some object; she will unconsciously impart that thought into the horse’s mind and the horse is almost certain to shy; but if she will say to herself, “there is nothing to shy at, we will simply go quietly by this”; if she does not interfere with the reins and gives the horse absolutely no sign that she has any thought of shying in her mind, the horse will, nine times out of ten, if not ten times, pass by the object without showing the slightest alarm. It is usually the rider that shies and not the horse. Some riders make the great mistake of first thinking that a horse is going to shy at some object, then forcing him, by whip and spur, to go up to that object and pass it. They will thus bring the horse to a state of the most pitiable excitement and panic, and, while they may succeed, they may be quite sure that the next time he sees that object, or goes by the same place, he will be far more afraid, for he will dread not only the object itself, but a repetition of the whipping and spurring.
CHAPTER III
MOUNTING—SIDE-SADDLE
There are two ways of mounting with the side-saddle—from the ground and from the block. The former method is preferable, as a block is seldom available, and a woman should always be able to mount from the ground with or without assistance. To mount from the ground without assistance, stand at the horse’s near side, facing the saddle. Lengthen the leather to the last hole, take up the reins in the left hand and then place it on the upper pommel. Place the left foot in the stirrup, assisting with the right hand if necessary, then grasp the cantle with the right hand and spring from the right foot, pulling yourself up with both arms, and throw the body into the saddle, letting go with the right hand just as you reach the saddle. Then raise the right knee and place it over the pommel, shorten the leather to its proper length, adjust the skirt, and place the loops over the feet. While this is easy for a tall woman with a pony, it is very difficult for a short woman with a large horse, so in that case the best
thing to do is to stand your horse downhill or in a ditch, or to stand yourself on a stone or a fence—if one is available.
