Dismounting
Right leg over cantle, left foot clear
This method is safer than the last
Many riders step off the horse; that is, they keep the left foot in the stirrup, disengage the right foot,
throw the right leg around the horse’s quarters, then step down in the reverse of the way in which they mount. This, however, is rather dangerous, for, if the horse should start when you are in the act of dismounting, you are in a position where there is almost no control and you are likely to have an accident through being dragged with the left foot in the stirrup.
It goes without saying that no reliance whatever must be placed on the reins for keeping the seat. Many beginners, and even some experienced riders who should know better, whenever they feel themselves losing their balance, hang on by their reins. This invariably results in giving the horse a hard mouth, and is very dangerous with a spirited horse or one whose mouth has not been spoiled by this practice, as it is almost sure to make him rear, which causes the inexperienced rider to lose her seat completely. It is the principal cause of the hard mouth of the typical “riding-school horse.” No rider with good hands will ever hang on by the reins, and in nearly every case in my experience it has been the pulling rider and not the pulling horse.
The secret of the close seat in the position astride is to turn the legs inward from the thigh joints so as to open the legs to their utmost capacity. This brings the rider’s body in the closest possible contact with
the horse’s back and brings the feet parallel, or nearly so, to the horse’s body, and puts the knees and thighs in the best position for gripping when necessary. There is a great deal of knack about this. It is not difficult to put one’s legs in this position at a walk, but it is difficult to keep them so while the horse is trotting or cantering, without having the muscles rigid, whereas the leg should be kept in this position with all the thigh muscles completely relaxed, especially those underneath the seat. While in gripping it is necessary to contract the muscles on the upper inner sides of the thighs, these are the only thigh muscles which should be contracted. The contracting of the other thigh muscles tends to throw the rider out of her seat. This seat can certainly be acquired by practice and, once acquired, it becomes second nature. The majority of riders and nearly all women, instead of turning the legs inward from the thigh joints, turn their knees out and grip with the calves of their legs, with all their thigh muscles rigid. Obviously, as the only joint in the leg on which the leg can rotate is the thigh joint, turning the knee out twists the whole leg the wrong way. This results in the large muscles of the thigh being contracted and in the rider sitting on them, instead of sitting down close to the saddle. The difficulty is that, with a beginner, it seems natural to
turn the knees out and grip the horse with the calves, but it is impossible to acquire a firm seat in this way, and the position is not only awkward and insecure but very tiring.
I cannot say too often that the seat must be acquired by balance and all the muscles of the legs and of the body and arms must be relaxed. If the leg muscles are rigid and the legs are not turned inward from the thigh joints, the rider will be lifted off the saddle by the contraction of the muscles of the thigh and will not be in balance. Dependence will then be placed on gripping, and this gripping will be done with the calves instead of the knees. A sure indication that the legs are thus held is when the feet are turned outward, for they cannot be unless the whole leg from the thigh joints is so turned.
The legs should be kept well forward, with the knees in front of the leathers, and the legs from the knees down vertical and hanging naturally. At the canter the legs from the knees down should be carried forward rather than back. The body should be well back in the saddle about two inches in front of the cantle and resting comfortably.
Most beginners, although they may take this seat while the horse is standing or at a walk, lose it the moment he takes up a trot. They then begin to lose their seats by leaning too far forward, contracting