If the learner be a boy, he should be taught his first lessons without stirrups; but I would not deny the assistance of such support to a little girl, as her position on the saddle would otherwise entail much extra fatigue upon the left leg. Be it understood, however, that the stirrup should be taken away after the first few lessons, and the child be instructed to ride for at least an hour a day without any such aid; otherwise she will trust to it, when riding, for the remainder of her life, and to ride from the stirrup is one of the most objectionable practices into which a young person can possibly fall.
When a firm and even seat has been obtained, without the help of reins or stirrup, the former (of the very lightest description, and single) may be entrusted to the little learner’s hands, but the flap-reins must not by any means be discarded.
YOUNG CHILD’S SADDLE.
When the child is perfectly at home on her horse, and has learned to treat his mouth with the utmost gentleness, and not on any account to pull at the bridle, a canter may be indulged in, by the attendant attaching a long rein to a cavesson and urging the horse to a gentle pace, making him lead always with the right leg, and pulling him up directly he changes to the left. The child should be most carefully watched during the exercise, and any tendency to hang over on one side or the other, or to lift one shoulder, or poke the neck, be at once checked.
The saddle should be level-seated—covered with buckskin, for a beginner—and should have no off-pommel. This latter appendage is happily almost obsolete, except with the most old-fashioned saddles, and is entirely unnecessary, as well as unsightly, for it affords no additional safety to the rider, and youthful learners are especially apt to lay hold upon it in any imaginary danger—an excessively bad practice to acquire.
As the term “level seat” applied to side saddles may not be generally understood, I will give a few words of explanation:—The ordinary side saddle, being made with the arch of the tree raised to clear the withers, is necessarily much higher in front than behind, and as a consequence the knee is thrown up in a cramped and fatiguing position; it is difficult thus to keep the figure erect, an aching back ensues to the rider, and frequently torture to the horse. The level-seated saddle has the steel front-part cut quite away over the withers, and replaced by a pad of soft leather, giving that horizontal shape from front to rear so much desired, yet so seldom found. These saddles were introduced and perfected by Messrs. Nicholls and Co., of 2, Jermyn Street, London, who have carefully studied the comfort of both horse and rider, and assisted by the experience and suggestions of that well-known authority, Mr. Wilson of Albington Manor, late master of the Vale of White Horse Hounds, have produced really admirable side saddles.
Trotting must be taught when the pupil has been perfected in the canter. It is not an easy thing either to teach or learn, but I shall come at the principles of it by-and-by. Trotting should be practised on soft, springy ground, never on a road, and the horse on which the lessons are taken should be very light of action, and of even paces. Otherwise, the punishment to the learner will be great, and the teacher’s difficulties equally trying.
Little girls learning to ride should be dressed in neat skirts, just long enough to cover the feet; loose-fitting jackets—(jerseys are excellent)—hair left flowing, never fastened up; and soft hats or caps, well secured under the chin, in such a manner as to prevent the possibility of their coming off. Whips should not on any account be allowed until some degree of proficiency has been attained, and the proper use of them should then be strictly pointed out, and as strictly adhered to. With this matter I shall likewise hereafter deal, as also with the question of spurs—articles which, I may here observe, should never, under any pretext whatever, be granted for children’s use.
A child should be taught to mount her horse with ease when assisted, as also the expediency of being able to do so without any help at all: this latter by simply letting down the stirrup-leather—taking it up, of course, to the required length, or rather shortness, when seated securely on the saddle. She should likewise practice dismounting without assistance. No active child should ever think of requiring a helping hand. To lift the right leg deftly over the up-crutch, take the left foot from the stirrup, gather the skirt well together with the right hand—making certain that no portion of it is in any way caught upon the pommels—and then to jump lightly down, is the proper method of dismounting. To be lifted—except for very young pupils—is extremely babyish.