Different horses have different little peculiarities, and may have been taught by various signals. The person who has had experience with that particular animal can give you valuable hints as to his training and the signals for changing gaits, etc., to which he is accustomed.
The horse being now ready for you, mount him and start him off quietly; first walk him, then try his trot and his canter, and if the gaits prove pleasant the next step is the “vetting.”
Stallions, even the most tractable of them, are not suitable for women either to ride or drive. The choice of a horse should therefore be confined to mares and geldings. There are many who consider the gelding preferable to the mare, but with this I do not quite agree. The mare has a peculiar lightness of foot, vivacity, and élan which are seldom if ever found in the gelding.
RIDING AND DRIVING FOR WOMEN
PART II—DRIVING
CHAPTER XII
FORM
Before stepping into the trap, the horsewoman should make it a habit to inspect the horse, harness, and trap, and see that everything is as it should be: that the horse is properly put to, that the bit is right, that the girths are neither too tight nor too loose, that the traces are neither too long nor too short, and if there is a stop on the shaft that it is just back of the tug. Be sure also that the trap is properly turned out, that the rubbers are in, that there is no accumulation of dust, that the nuts on the wheels are tight, and that every detail has been properly attended to. Not only is this a wise precaution to use with hired traps, but it shows your own coachman that you know what you are about, and it keeps him up to his work. Having made this inspection, which ought really to be done at a glance,—except that a careful examination should always be made of the horse’s head to be sure that the curb chain is neither too loose nor too tight, the bit not too far up nor too far down, and the mouthpiece the width of the horse’s mouth—neither too wide nor too narrow—and that the check or bearing
rein, if one is used, is not too tight,—the next thing is to step into the trap. If you are driving a lady’s trap, such as a George IV, a Peters’, or a basket phaeton, the groom who has driven the trap up from the stable should, before getting out, have left the reins across the middle of the dash with the end of the reins on the seat, and the whip to the left of the reins, leaning against the seat and pointing to the rear. The groom should then stand at the horse’s head. You should step into the trap with the left
foot, putting the right foot on the step, then sit down, and at the same time gather the reins in the left hand and the whip in the right.