Riding for Ladies

by W. A. Kerr

RIGHT MOUNT. WRONG MOUNT.

After a lesson or two, if not of the too-timid order, the lady will find herself sitting just so far forward in the saddle as is consistent with perfect ease and comfort, and with the full power to grasp the upright crutch firmly with her right knee; she will be aware of the friendly grip of the leaping-head over her left leg; the weight of her body will fall exactly on the centre of the saddle; her head, though erect, will be perfectly free from constraint, the shoulders well squared, and the hollow of the back gracefully bent in, as in waltzing. This graceful pose of the figure may be readily acquired, throughout the preliminary lessons, and indeed on all occasions when under tuition, by passing the right arm behind the waist, back of the hand to the body, and riding with it in that position. Another good plan, which can only be practised in the riding-school or in some out-of-the-way quiet corner, and then only on a very steady horse, is for the beginner, without relaxing her grip on the crutch and the pressure on the leaping-head, as she sits, to lean or recline back so that her two shoulder-blades touch the hip-bones of the horse, recovering herself and regaining her upright position without the aid of the reins. The oftener this gymnastic exercise is performed the better.

At intervals during the lessons she should also, having dropped her bridle, assiduously practise the extension motions performed by recruits in our military-riding schools. [See Appendix.] The excellent effects of this physical training will soon be appreciated. But, irrespective of the accuracy of seat, suppleness and strength of limb, confidence and readiness these athletic exercises beget, they may, when least expected, save the rider's life. Some of those for whose instruction I have the honour to write, may find themselves placed in a critical situation, when the ability to lie back or "duck" may save them from a fractured skull.

Inclining the body forward is, from the notion that it tends towards security, a fault very general with timid riders. Nothing, however, in the direction of safety, is further from the fact. Should the horse, after a visit to the farrier and the usual senseless free use of the smith's drawing and paring-knife, tread upon a rolling stone and "peck," the lady, leaning forward, is suddenly thrown still further forward, her whole weight is cast upon his shoulders, so he "of the tender foot" comes down and sends his rider flying over his head. A stoop in the figure is wanting in smartness, and is unattractive.

TURNING IN THE WALK—RIGHT AND WRONG WAY.

It is no uncommon thing to see ladies sitting on their horses in the form of the letter S, and the effect can hardly be described as charming. This inelegant position, assumed by the lady in the distance, is caused by being placed too much over to the right in the saddle, owing to a too short stirrup. In attempting to preserve the balance, the body from the waist upwards has a strong twisted lean-over to the left, the neck, to counteract this lateral contortion of the spine, being bent over to the right, the whole pose conveying the impression that the rider must be a cripple braced up in surgeon's irons and other appliances. Not less hideous, and equally prevalent, is the habit of sitting too much to the left, and leaning over in that direction several degrees out of the perpendicular. A novice is apt to contract this leaning-seat from the apprehension, existing in the mind of timid riders, that they must fall off from the off rather than from the near side, so they incline away from the supposed danger. Too long a stirrup is sometimes answerable for this crab-like posture. In both of these awkward postures, the seat becomes insecure, and the due exercise of the "aids" impossible. What is understood by "aids" in the language of the schools are the motions and proper application of the bridle-hand, leg, and heel to control and direct the turnings and paces of the horse.

The expression "riding by balance" has been frequently used, and as it is the essence of good horsemanship, I describe it in the words of an expert as consisting in "a foreknowledge of what direction any given motion of the horse would throw the body, and a ready adaptation of the whole frame to the proper position, before the horse has completed his change of attitude or action; it is that disposition of the person, in accordance with the movements of the horse, which preserves it from an improper inclination to one side or the other, which even the ordinary paces of the horse in the trot or gallop will occasion." In brief, it is the automatic inclination of the person of the rider to the body of the horse by which the equilibrium is maintained.

The rider having to some extent perfected herself in walking straight forward, inclining and turning to the right and to the right about, and in executing the same movements to the left, on all of which I shall have a few words to say later, and when she can halt, rein back, and is generally handy with her horse at the walk, she may attempt a slow Trot, and here her sorrows may be said to begin.