In dismounting, the whip is to be returned into the left hand;—the right hand takes hold of the rein above the left;—the right foot quits the stirrup;—the left hand slides forward on the rein, to about twelve inches from the saddle, feeling the horse’s mouth very lightly;—the right hand, dropping the reins to the off side, takes a lock of the mane, brings it through the left, and twists it round the left thumb;—the fingers of the left hand close on it;—the right hand is placed on the pommel; the body being kept erect. The body is supported with the right hand and left foot;—the right leg is, without touching the horse’s hind-quarters or the saddle, brought gently to the near side, with the heels close, care being take not to bend the right knee, lest the spur should touch the horse;—the right hand passes at the same time to the cantle, to preserve the balance, as in the act of mounting;—the body is gently lowered until the right toe touches the ground;—resting on the right foot, the left stirrup is quitted, and the left foot placed in line with the horse’s hoofs;—the hands remaining as in the former motion. Both hands then quit their holds of the mane and cantle;—and the right hand lays hold of the snaffle rein near the ring of the bit.
In mounting without stirrups,—after taking up the reins, instead of seizing the mane, the rider lays hold of the pommel and cantle, and, by a spring of both legs from the insteps, raises the body to the centre of the saddle. By a second spring of both arms, the right leg is carried over the horse, and the rider enters his proper seat by closing the knees on the saddle, and sliding gently into it.
In dismounting without stirrups, on either side of the horse, the rider throws the weight of the body on the hands placed on the pommel, and, by a spring, raises the body out of the saddle before the leg is brought over the horse.
THE SEAT.
The seat must be understood in an extended sense as the disposition of the various parts of the body, in conformity with the action of the horse; and its effect is the rider’s being firm in the saddle, when he might be otherwise thrown forward over the horse’s head, or backward over his tail.
The fundamental seat is that intermediate one of which all others are modifications, and in which the rider sits when the horse is going straight forward, without any bend in his position. In describing this, it is first necessary to consider the rider’s relation to the horse.—He must sit on that part of the animal’s body which, as he springs in his paces, is the centre of motion: from which, of course, any weight would be most difficultly shaken. The place of this seat is that part of the saddle into which the rider’s body would naturally slide were he to ride without stirrups. This seat is to be preserved only by a proper balance of his body, and its adaptation to even the most violent counteractions of the horse. Turf jockeys necessarily sit further back, that they may employ the pulls.
It is necessary to consider the horseman in various parts, and to explain their different functions: 1st, the lower part, as being here the principal one, namely, the thighs, with the legs as dependent on them; 2dly, the upper part, namely, the body, with the arms dependent on it. The thighs, from the fork to the knees, are commonly called the immovable parts, and upon them the whole attitude depends. They must not wriggle or roll, so as either to disturb the horse, or render the seat loose; but they may be relaxed when the horse hesitates to advance. The legs occasionally strengthen the hold of the thighs by a grasp with the calves; and they likewise aid, support, and chastise the horse. The body, from the fork upwards, must always be in a situation to take the corresponding motion, and preserve the balance. The position of the arms is dependent on that of the body, but they also exercise new functions.
As a good seat is the basis of all excellence in riding, we shall consider these parts in detail.