Riding for Ladies

by W. A. Kerr

There is no need for the judge to run the rule, or the tape either, over the horse. His practised eye, almost in a glance, will take in the general contour of the animal; it will tell him whether the various salient and important points balance, and will instantly detect any serious flaw. When selecting for a lady who, he knows, will appreciate sterling worth rather than mere beauty, he may feel disposed to gloss over a certain decidedness of points and dispense with a trifle of the comely shapeliness of truthfully moulded form. Having satisfied myself that the framework is all right, I would order the horse to be sauntered away from me with a loose rein, and, still with his head at perfect liberty, walked back again. I would then see him smartly trotted backwards and forwards. Satisfied with his natural dismounted action, I should require to see him ridden in all his paces, and might be disposed to get into the saddle myself. Having acquitted himself to my satisfaction, he would then have to exhibit himself in the Park or in a field, ridden in the hands of some proficient lady-rider. A few turns under her pilotage would suffice to decide his claims to be what I am looking for. If he came up to my ideas of action, or nearly so, I should not hesitate—subject to veterinary certificate of soundness—to purchase. Finally, the gentleman to examine the horse as to his soundness would be one of my own selection. Certain of the London dealers insist upon examinations being made by their own "Vets," and "there's a method in their madness." When such a stipulation is made, I invariably play the return match by insisting upon having the certificate of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, where the investigation is complete and rigorous. The very name of "the College" is gall and wormwood to many of these "gentlemen concerned about horses."

CHAPTER III.

PRACTICAL HINTS.

How To Mount.

Previous to mounting, the lady should make a practice of critically looking the horse over, in order to satisfy herself that he is properly saddled and bridled. Particular attention should be paid to the girthing. Though ladies are not supposed to girth their own horses, occasion may arise, in the Colonies especially, when they may be called upon to perform that office. Information on this essential and too oft-neglected point may not be out of place. Odd as it may sound, few grooms know how to girth a horse properly, and to explain myself I must, for a few lines, quit the side-saddle for the cross-saddle. Men often wonder how it is that, on mounting, the near stirrup is almost invariably a hole or more the longer of the two. The reason is this: the groom places the saddle right in the centre of the horse's back and then proceeds to tighten the girths from the near or left side. The tension on the girth-holder, all from one side, cants the saddle over to the left, to which it is still further drawn by the weight of the rider in mounting and the strain put upon it by the act of springing into the saddle. This list to port can easily be obviated by the groom placing the heel of his left hand against the near side of the pommel, guiding the first or under-girth with the right hand till the girth-holder passes through the buckle and is moderately tight, then, with both hands, bracing it so that room remains for one finger to be passed between it and the horse. The same must be done in the case of the outer girth.

In a modified degree the side-saddle is displaced by the common mode of girthing. The surcingle should lie neatly over the girths, and have an equal bearing with them. When the "Fitzwilliam girth" is used—and its general use is to be advocated, not only on account of its safety and the firmness of the broad web, but for its freedom from rubbing the skin behind the elbow—the leather surcingle of the saddle will take the place of the usual leather outside strap supplied with this girth.

For inspection the horse should be brought up to the lady, off side on. She should note that the throat-lash falls easily, but not dangling, on the commencement of the curve of the cheek-bone, and that it is not buckled tight round the throttle, like a hangman's "hempen-tow." The bridoon should hang easily in the mouth, clear of the corners or angles, and not wrinkling them; the curb an inch or so above the tusk, or, in the case of a mare, where that tooth might be supposed to be placed. She will see that the curb-chain is not too tight, that the lip-strap is carried through the small ring on the chain, also that the chain lies smooth and even. In fixing the curb, if the chain be turned to the right, the links will unfold themselves. It is taken for granted that by frequent personal visits to the stable, or by trusty deputy, she is satisfied that the horse's back and withers are not galled or wrung. A groom withholding information on this point should, after one warning, get his congé. That the bits and stirrup be burnished as bright as a Life Guardsman's cuirasse, the saddle and bridle perfectly clean, and the horse thoroughly well groomed, goes without saying. All the appointments being found in a condition fit for Queen's escort duty, we now proceed to put the lady in, not into, her saddle. She should approach the horse from the front, and not from behind.

After a kind word or two and a little "gentling," she, with her whip, hunting crop, or riding cane in her right hand, picks up the bridoon rein with her left, draws it through the right smoothly and evenly, feeling the horse's mouth very lightly, until it reaches the crutch, which she takes hold of. In passing the rein through the hand, care must be taken that it is not allowed to slacken so that touch of the mouth is lost. Attention to this will keep the horse in his position whilst being mounted; for should he move backward or forward or away as the lady is in the act of springing into the saddle, he not only makes the vaulting exceedingly awkward, but dangerous. Many horses sidle away as the lady is balanced on one foot and holding on to the pommel with the right hand, in which case she must at once quit her hold or a fall will follow.

Having adjusted the rein of the bridoon to an equal length, the whip point down with the end of the rein on the off side, she stands looking in the direction the horse is standing—i.e., to her proper front, her right shoulder and arm in contact with the flap of the saddle near side. The mounter advances facing her, and, close to the horse's shoulder, can perform his office in three different ways. Stooping down, he places his right hand, knuckles downwards, on his right knee, and of it the lady makes a sort of mounting block, whence, springing from the left foot, she reaches her saddle. When she springs she has the aid of her grip on the crutch, supplemented by the raising power of her left hand resting on the man's shoulder. Or the groom aids the spring by the uplifting of both the hand and the knee. The third method is, for the mounter—his left arm, as before, touching the horse's shoulder—to stoop down till his left shoulder comes within easy reach of the lady's left hand, which she lays on it. He at the same time advances his left foot till it interposes between her and the horse and makes a cradle of his hands, into which she places her left foot. Her grip is still on the crutch, and she still feels the horse's mouth. One, two, three! she springs like feathered Mercury, and he, straightening himself, accentuates the light bound, and straightway she finds herself in the saddle.