Riding for Ladies

by W. A. Kerr

THE TROT.

Varying the speed in the trot will be found excellent practice for the hands; the faster a horse goes, generally speaking, the easier he goes. He must be kept going "well within himself," that is he must not be urged to trot at a greater speed than he can compass with true and equal action. Some very fast trotters, "daisy cutters," go with so little upward jerk that it is almost impossible to rise on them at all. Any attempt at half-cantering with his hind legs must be at once checked by pulling him together, and, by slowing him down, getting him back into collected form. Should he "break" badly, from being over-paced, into a canter or hard-gallop, then rein him in, pulling up, if need be, into a walk, chiding him at the same time. When he again brings his head in and begins to step clean, light, and evenly, then let him resume his trot. If not going up to his bit and hanging heavy on the hand, move the bit in his mouth, let him feel the leg, and talk to him. Like ourselves, horses are not up to the mark every day, and though they do not go to heated theatres and crowded ball-rooms, or indulge as some of their masters and mistresses are said to do, they too often spend twenty hours or more out of the twenty-four in the vitiated atmosphere of a hot, badly ventilated stable, and their insides are converted into apothecaries' shops by ignorant doctoring grooms. When a free horse does not face his bit, he is either fatigued or something is amiss.

The Canter.

Properly speaking, this being, par excellence, the lady's pace, the instruction should precede that of the trot. The comparative ease of the canter, and the readiness with which the average pupil takes to it, induces the beginner to at once indulge in it. It is, on a thoroughly trained horse, so agreeable that the uninitiated at once acquire confidence on horseback. Moreover, it is the pace at which a fine figure and elegant lady-like bearing is most conspicuously displayed, and for this, if for no other reason, the pupil applies herself earnestly—shall I say lovingly?—to perfect herself in this delightful feature of the art. On a light-actioned horse, one moving as it were on springs, going well on his haunches, and well up to this bit, the motion is as easy as that of a rocking-chair. All the rider has to do is to sit back, keep the body quite flexible and in the centre of the saddle, preserve the balance, and, with pressure from the left leg and heel, and a touch of the whip, keep him up to his bit. She will imperceptibly leave the saddle at every stride, which, in a slow measured canter, will be reduced to a sort of rubbing motion, just sufficient to ease the slight jolt caused by the action of the haunches and hind legs.

Many park-horses and ladies' hacks are trained to spring at once, without breaking into a run or trot, into the canter. All the rider has to do is to raise the hand ever so little, press him with the leg, touch him with the whip, and give him the unspellable signal "klk." The movement or sway of the body should follow that of the horse. As soon as he is in his stride, the rider throws back her body a little, and places her hand in a suitable position. If the horse carries his head well, the hand ought to be about three inches from the pommel, and at an equal distance from the body. For "star-gazers" it should be lower; and for borers it should be raised higher. Once properly under way the lady will study that almost imperceptible willow-like bend of the back, her shoulders will be thrown back gracefully, the mere suspicion of a swing accommodating itself to the motion of the horse will come from the pliant waist, and she will yield herself just a little to the opposite side from that the horse's leading leg is on. If he leads with the off-foot, he inclines a trifle to the left, and the rider's body and hands must turn but a little to the left also, and vice versâ.

It is the rider's province to direct which foot the horse shall lead with. To canter with the left fore leg leading, the extra bearing will be upon the left rein, the little finger turned up towards the right shoulder, the hint from the whip—a mere touch should suffice—being on the right shoulder or flank. It is essential that the bearing upon the mouth, a light playing touch, should be preserved throughout the whole pace. If the horse should, within a short distance—say a mile or so,—flag, then he must be reminded by gentle application of the whip. He cannot canter truly and bear himself handsomely unless going up to his bit. The rider must feel the cadence of every pace, and be able to extend or shorten the stride at will. It is an excellent plan to change the leading leg frequently, so that upon any disturbance of pace, going "false," or change of direction, the rider may be equal to the occasion. The lady must be careful that the bridle-arm does not acquire the ugly habit of leaving the body and the elbow of being stuck out of it akimbo. All the movements of the hand should proceed from the wrist, the bearings and play on the horse's mouth being kept up by the little finger.

Ladies will find that most horses are trained to lead entirely with the off leg, and that when, from any disturbance of pace, they are forced to "change step" and lead with the near leg, their action becomes very awkward and uneven. Hence they are prone to regard cantering with the near leg as disagreeable. But when they come to use their own horses, they will find it good economy to teach them to change the leading leg constantly, both during the canter and at the commencement of the pace. To make a horse change foot in his canter, if he cannot be got readily to do so by hand, leg, and heel, turn him to the right, as if to circle, and he will lead with the off foreleg, and by repeating the same make-believe manœuvre to the left, the near fore will be in front. The beginner, however, had better pull up into the walk before attempting this change. When pulling up from the canter, it is best and safest to let the horse drop into a trot for a few paces and so resume the walk.

There is no better course of tuition by which to acquire balance than the various inclinations to the right and left, the turns to the right and left and to the right and left-about at the canter, all of which, with the exception of the full turns, should be performed on the move without halting. In the turn-about, it is necessary to bring the horse to a momentary halt before the turn be commenced, and so soon as he has gone about and the turn is fully completed, a lift of the hand and a touch of the leg and heel should instanter compel him to move forward at the canter in the opposite direction; he must no sooner be round than off. When no Riding-school is available, one constructed of hurdles closely laced with gorse, on the sheep-lambing principle, will answer all purposes. Should the horse be at all awkward or unsteady, the hurdles, placed one on the top of the other and tied to uprights driven into the ground, closely interlaced with the gorse so that he cannot see through or over the barrier, will form a perfect, retired exercise ground. A plentiful surface dressing of golden-peat-moss-litter will save his legs and feet. In a quiet open impromptu school of this description, away from "the madding crowd," I have schooled young horses so that they would canter almost on their own ground, circling round a bamboo lance shaft, the point in the ground and the butt in my right hand, without changing legs or altering pace, and they would describe the figure eight with almost mathematical precision, changing leg at every turn without any "aid" from me, a mere inclination of the body bringing them round the curves. A horse very handy with his legs can readily change them at the corners when making the full right-angle turn, but there is always at first the danger of one not so clever attempting to execute the turn by crossing the leading leg over the supporting one, when the rider will be lucky to get off with an awkward stumble—a "cropper" will most likely follow. When at this private practice, "make much of your horse"—that is, caress and speak kindly to him, when he does well; in fact, the more he is spoken to throughout the lesson, the better for both parties. So good and discriminating is a horse's ear that he soon learns to appreciate the difference between kindly approval and stern censure. A sympathy between horse and rider is soon established, and such freemasonry is delightful.