The author has been thus particular in describing the bit and saddle with their proper arrangement, as well as the girthing of the horse, because so few lady riders bestow any attention upon these very important matters; and yet, if one desires to ride safely and well, a knowledge of them is positively necessary. Grooms cannot always be depended upon, and, indeed, seldom know much about the side-saddle; there is an adage which is applicable to many of them: "Too much must not be expected from the head of him who labors only with his hands." In the instructions given by gentlemen writers, useful as they may be in many respects, there is usually a good deal of practical information omitted which a lady rider ought to know, but the necessity of which it is perhaps impossible for a gentleman fully to appreciate or understand; this knowledge the lady will have to gain either from her own experience or from one of her own sex who has studied the subject carefully.
In preparing for horseback riding, nothing should be omitted that can give greater security to the rider, or protect her more completely from accident of any sort. Every article should be of the very best material, so that a breakage or casualty of any kind may be only a remote possibility. The knowledge that everything is right, and firmly and properly placed, creates a confidence which adds greatly to the pleasure of the ride.
CHAPTER IV.
MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING.
"'Stand, Bayard, stand!'—the steed obeyed,
With arching neck and bending head,
And glancing eye and quivering ear,
As if he loved her voice to hear."
Lady of the Lake.
A novice in riding always experiences in a greater or less degree a sense of trepidation and embarrassment when, for the first time, a horse duly caparisoned for a lady rider is put before her, and she is expected to seat herself in the saddle. If she be a timid person, the apparent difficulty of this feat occasions a dismay which the good-natured champing of the bit and impatient head shakings of the horse do not tend to diminish. If, however, she be accustomed to horses as pets, and understand their ways, she will be much less apprehensive about mounting than the lady who has only observed them at a distance and is entirely ignorant of their nature. The author has known ladies, after their horses had been brought to the door, to send them back to the stable because courage failed them when it became necessary to trust themselves on the back of an animal of which they knew nothing. To overcome this timidity the lady must become better acquainted with her horse, and, to do so, should visit him occasionally in his stable, feed him with choice morsels, and lead him about the yard from time to time. By these means a mutual friendship and confidence will be created, and the lady will gradually gain enough courage to place herself in the saddle.