Riding and Driving for Women

by Belle Beach

The hands should be held on a level about six inches in front of the waist; the forearms horizontal, the upper arms hanging naturally from the shoulders, so as to keep the elbows level, and in a vertical plane with the shoulders. Bowing the elbows out, or, on the other hand, clapping them too close to the sides, are common faults, and are equally bad not only for the sake of appearances, but because, in either of these positions, the strength of the arms is lessened. Similarly, the elbows should not be carried back when the hands are in position, for, if they are, you cannot pull the horse up should he stumble, or, on occasion, stop him suddenly; nor should they be carried forward over the knee, for that position is stiff and tiring and gives the body a tendency to bend forward.

In jumping a horse trained to jump in the American fashion, when approaching the jump, the hands are carried well forward and, at the same time, the body is also carried forward. The reason for this is partly to help the horse over the jump, and partly

because the horse, before he rises, throws his head far to the front, and the rider’s hands and body move with him. On landing, the horse’s head and with it the rider’s body and hands resume their normal position.

Both hands should be kept in position, and neither arm should ever be allowed to hang at the side in military fashion. Nothing looks worse in park riding for either a woman or a man. In riding a horse that is bridlewise and perfectly broken so that he will obey the slightest movement of the reins and can make all the changes of action and of gait by a mere suggestion from one hand, the other hand should still be kept in almost the same position as if it held the reins, and remember that if it is necessary to rearrange the hair or the hat, or if you wish to make any gesture with the right hand, to be sure to transfer the whip to the left hand. By neglecting this precaution and carrying the whip in the right hand, when it is moved about, your horse, or your companion’s, may see the whip and think he is about to be struck, and a serious accident may result.

The left hand is the bridle-hand and the one in which the reins should habitually be carried. After mounting, and in first taking up the reins, remember that the snaffle rein is a trifle longer and wider than the curb rein and that the ends of the snaffle reins

are joined with a buckle while the ends of the curb are stitched together.

There are different ways of first taking up the reins. One of the best is to grasp them together in the right hand, the curb reins in the middle and the snaffle reins on the outside, drawing them sufficiently tight to feel the horse’s mouth very lightly, with the ends passing through the hand and out under the little finger; then, holding them all horizontal, to pass the left hand down on them vertically, the near snaffle rein outside the little finger, the near curb between the little finger and the third finger, the off curb between the second and third fingers, and the off snaffle between the first and second fingers. Then let go with the right hand and turn the left hand into its position with the ends of the reins coming out between the thumb and forefinger.

Another way is first to take up the snaffle reins with the right hand, the off rein outside the little finger, the near between the first and second fingers, feel the horse’s mouth lightly, and then pass them into their correct position in the left hand, the near snaffle outside the little finger, the off snaffle between the first and second fingers; then pick up the curb reins with the right hand and pass them to the left hand separated by the third finger.

A third way is first to pick them up in the right

hand in the same position in which they should finally be in the left hand, except that the off and near reins are reversed; that is, the off snaffle rein comes outside the little finger, and the near snaffle rein between the first and second fingers, and similarly with the curb. Then drop the left hand over them, in front of the right, as above described, with the fingers in their correct final position. This position has been already described, but I will state it again: The near snaffle rein comes outside of the little finger, the near curb rein between the little and third fingers, the off curb rein between the third and second fingers, the off snaffle rein between the first and second fingers; the ends of the reins come up through the hand and fall to the right between the thumb and forefinger.