Another point to be considered in the selection of a horse is, what gait or gaits are best suited to the rider, and here again the lady should take her figure into consideration. The walk, trot, canter, and gallop are the only gaits recognized by English horsewomen, but in America the walk, rack, pace, and canter are the favorite gaits. If the lady's figure be slender and elegant, any of the above named gaits will suit her, but should she be large or stout, a brisk walk or easy canter should be selected. The rapid gallop and all fast gaits should be left to light and active riders.
The fast or running walk is a very desirable gait for any one, but is especially so for middle-aged or stout people, who cannot endure much jolting; it is also excellent for delicate women, for poor riders, or for those who have long journeys to make which they wish to accomplish speedily and without undue fatigue to themselves or their horses. A good sound horse who has been trained to this walk can readily travel thirty or forty miles a day, or even more. This gait is adapted equally well to the street, the park, and the country road; but it must be acknowledged that horses possessing it rarely have any other that is desirable, and, indeed, any other would be apt to impair the ease and harmony of the animal's movements in this walk.
The French or cavalry trot (see [page 203]) should never be ridden on the road by a woman, as the movements of the horse in this gait are so very rough that the most accomplished rider cannot keep a firm, steady seat. The body is jolted in a peculiar and very unpleasant manner, occasioning a sense of fatigue that is readily appreciated, though difficult to describe.
The country jog-trot is another very fatiguing gait, although farmers, who ride it a good deal, state that "after one gets used to it, it is not at all tiresome." But a lady's seat in the saddle is so different from that of a gentleman's that she can never ride this gait without excessive fatigue.
A rough racker or pacer will prove almost as wearisome as the jog-trotter. Indeed, if she wishes to gain any pleasure or benefit from riding, a lady should never mount a horse that is at all stiff or uneven in his movements, no matter what may be his gait.
The easiest of all gaits to ride, although the most difficult to learn, is the English trot. This is especially adapted to short persons, who can ride it to perfection. A tall woman will be apt to lean too far forward when rising in it, and her specialties, therefore, should be the canter and the gallop, in which she can appear to the greatest advantage. The rack, and the pace of a horse that has easy movements are not at all difficult to learn to ride, and are, consequently, the favorite gaits of poor riders.
In selecting a horse his temperament must also be considered. A high-spirited, nervous animal, full of vitality, highly satisfactory as he might prove to some, would be only a source of misery to others of less courageous dispositions. First lessons in riding should be taken upon a horse of cold temperament and kindly disposition who will resent neither mistakes nor awkwardness. Having learned to ride and to manage a horse properly, no steed can then be too mettlesome for the healthy and active lady pupil, provided he has no vices and possesses the good manners that should always belong to every lady's horse.
It is a great mistake to believe, as many do, that a weak, slightly built horse is yet capable of carrying a woman. On the contrary, a lady's horse should be the soundest and best that can be procured, and should be able to carry with perfect ease a weight much greater than hers. A slight, weak animal, if ridden much by a woman, will be certain to "get out of condition," will become unsound in the limbs of one side, usually the left, and will soon wear out.
Before buying a horse, the lady who is to ride him should be weighed, and should then have some one who is considerably heavier than herself ride the animal, that she may be sure that her own weight will not be too great for him. If he carries the heavier weight with ease, he can, of course, carry her.