Instead of pulling his head away, rein him back and keep his head straight.
If you have occasion to raise your right hand to adjust your hat or hair, be sure first to place the whip in the left hand, as otherwise your horse or your comrade’s horse is very apt to be frightened by seeing the whip flourished in the air.
A most important point to be remembered is that your horse should be girthed before you mount him, and never after mounting—first, because it is very dangerous to mount with the girths loose, for if the horse should break away from the groom, or whoever is holding him, or even swerve or buck suddenly, the saddle is almost sure to twist and there may be a very bad accident; and, secondly, because girthing a horse after the rider is mounted generally results in the girths being drawn too tight, and too tight girths not only cause the horse great pain but make him apt to stumble or lag in his gait and become unduly exhausted. Tight girthing has very much the same effect on the horse as tight lacing has on the rider.
If you have occasion to look to the rear, always turn your body toward the right; not only is it much easier to look around in this way, but you cannot turn to the left without raising your right knee more or less, and you are apt to raise it so high that if the
horse should start suddenly you would lose your hold of the pommel.
Safety Stirrup, Open
Safety Stirrup, Closed
With the side-saddle, safety skirts and stirrups should always be used, as with them a fall is very unlikely to injure the rider. With the plain skirt a bad accident may be caused through the skirt catching on the pommels, and with a plain stirrup there is great danger of being dragged by the foot.