Riding For Ladies Part 1

Riding for Ladies.

by W. A. Kerr.

PREFACE.

This work should be taken as following on, and in conjunction with, its predecessor on "Riding." In that publication will be found various chapters on Action, The Aids, Bits and Bitting, Leaping, Vice, and on other cognate subjects which, without undue repet.i.tion, cannot be reintroduced here. These subjects are of importance to and should be studied by all, of either s.e.x, who aim at perfection in the accomplishment of Equitation, and who seek to control and manage the saddle-horse.

W. A. K.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

What I have said on the excellence of horse-exercise for boys and men, applies equally to girls and women, if, indeed, it does not recommend itself more especially in the case of the latter. For the most part the pursuits of women are so quiet and sedentary that the body is rarely called into that complete activity of all the muscles which is essential to their perfect development, and which produces the strength and freedom of movement so indispensable to perfect grace of carriage.

The woman who has been early accustomed to horse-exercise gains a courage and nerve which it would be difficult to acquire in a more pleasant and healthful manner. She also gains morally in learning to feel a sympathy with the n.o.ble animal to whom she is indebted for so much enjoyment, and whose strength and endurance are too often cruelly abused by man. Numerous instances have occurred in my experience of the singular influence obtained by ladies over their horses by simple kindness, and I am tempted to introduce here an account of what gentle treatment can effect with the Arab. The lady who told the tale did not lay claim to being a first-rate horsewoman. Her veracity was undoubted, for her whole life was that of a ministering angel. She wrote thus: "I had a horse provided for me of rare beauty and grace, but a perfect Bucephalus in her way. She was only two generations removed from a splendid Arabian, given by the good old king to the Duke of Kent when H.R.H. went out in command to Nova Scotia. The creature was not three years old, and to all appearance unbroken. Her manners were those of a kid rather than of a horse; she was of a lovely dappled gray, with mane and tail of silver, the latter almost sweeping the ground; and in her frolicsome gambols she turned it over her back like a Newfoundland dog.

Her slow step was a bound, her swift motion unlike that of any other animal I ever rode, so fleet, so smooth, so unruffled. I know nothing to which I can compare it. Well, I made this lovely creature so fond of me by constant petting, to which, I suppose, her Arab character made her peculiarly sensitive, that my voice had equal power over her, as over my faithful docile dog. No other person could in the slightest degree control her. Our corps, the 73rd Batt. of the 60th Rifles, was composed wholly of the _elite_ of Napoleon's soldiers, taken in the Peninsula, and preferring the British service to a prison. They were, princ.i.p.ally, conscripts, and many were evidently of a higher cla.s.s in society than those usually found in the ranks. Among them were several Cha.s.seurs and Polish Lancers, very fine equestrians, and as my husband had a field-officer's command on detachment, and allowances, our horses were well looked after. His groom was a Cha.s.seur, mine a Pole, but neither could ride "Fairy" unless she happened to be in a very gracious mood. Lord Dalhousie's English coachman afterwards tried his hand at taming her, but all in vain. In an easy quiet manner she either sent her rider over her head or, by a laughable manoeuvre, sitting down like a dog on her haunches, slipped him off the other way. Her drollery made the poor men so fond of her that she was rarely chastised, and such a wilful, intractable wild Arab it would be hard to find. Upon her I was daily mounted. Inexperienced in riding, untaught, una.s.sisted, and wholly unable to lay any check upon so powerful an animal, with an awkward country saddle, which, by some fatality, was never well fixed, bit and bridle to match, and the mare's natural fire increased by high feed, behold me bound for the wildest paths in the wildest regions of that wild country. But you must explore the roads about Annapolis, and the romantic spot called the "General's Bridge," to imagine either the enjoyment or the perils of my happiest hour. Reckless to the last degree of desperation, I threw myself entirely on the fond attachment of the n.o.ble creature; and when I saw her measuring with her eye some rugged fence or wild chasm, such as it was her common sport to leap over in her play, the soft word of remonstrance that checked her was uttered more from regard to her safety than my own. The least whisper, a pat on the neck, or a stroke down the beautiful face that she used to throw up towards mine, would control her; and never for a moment did she endanger me. This was little short of a daily miracle, when we consider the nature of the country, her character, and my unskilfulness. It can only be accounted for on the ground of that wondrous power which, having willed me to work for a time in the vineyard of the Lord, rendered me immortal till the work should be done. Rather, I should say, in the words of Cooper, which I have ventured to slightly vary--

"'Tis plain the creature whom He chose to invest With _queen_-ship and dominion o'er the rest, Received _her_ n.o.bler nature, and was made Fit for the power in which she stands arrayed."

Strongly as I advocate early tuition, if a girl has not mounted a horse up to her thirteenth year, my advice is to postpone the attempt, unless thoroughly strong, for a couple of years at least. I cannot here enter the reason why, but it is good and sufficient. Weakly girls of all ages, especially those who are growing rapidly, are apt to suffer from pain in the spine. "The Invigorator" corset I have recommended under the head of "Ladies' Costume" will, to some extent, counteract this physical weakness; but the only certain cures are either total cessation from horse exercise, or the adoption of the cross, or d.u.c.h.ess de Berri, seat--in plain words, to ride _a la cavaliere_ astride in a man's saddle. In spite of preconceived prejudices, I think that if ladies will kindly peruse my short chapter on this common sense method, they will come to the conclusion that Anne of Luxembourg, who introduced the side-saddle, did not confer an unmixed benefit on the subjects of Richard the Second, and that riding astride is no more indelicate than the modern short habit in the hunting field. We are too apt to prostrate ourselves before the Juggernaut of fashion, and to hug our own conservative ideas.

Though the present straight-seat side-saddle, as manufactured by Messrs. Champion and Wilton, modifies, if it does not actually do away with, any fear of curvature of the spine; still, it is of importance that girls should be taught to ride on the off-side as well as the near, and, if possible, on the cross-saddle also. Undoubtedly, a growing girl, whose figure and pliant limbs may, like a sapling, be trained in almost any direction, does, by always being seated in one direction, contract a tendency to hang over to one side or the other, and acquire a stiff, crooked, or ungainly seat. Perfect ease and squareness are only to be acquired, during tuition and after dismissal from school, by riding one day on the near and the next on the off-side. This change will ease the horse, and, by bringing opposite sets of muscles into play, will impart strength to the rider and keep the shoulders level. Whichever side the rider sits, the reins are held, mainly, in the left hand--the left hand is known as the "bridle-hand."

Attempts have frequently been made to build a saddle with two flaps and movable third pommel, but the result has been far from satisfactory. A glance at a side-saddle tree will at once demonstrate the difficulty the saddler has to meet, add to this a heavy and ungainly appearance.

The only way in which the shift can be obtained is by having two saddles.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NAOMI (A HIGH-CASTE ARABIAN MARE).]

CHAPTER II.

THE LADY'S HORSE.

There is no more difficult animal to find on the face of the earth than a perfect lady's horse. It is not every one that can indulge in the luxury of a two-hundred-and-fifty to three-hundred-guinea hack, and yet looks, action, and manners will always command that figure, and more.

Some people say, what can carry a man can carry a woman. What says Mrs.

Power O'Donoghue to this: "A heavy horse is never in any way suitable to a lady. It _looks_ amiss. The trot is invariably laboured, and if the animal should chance to fall, he gives his rider what we know in the hunting-field as 'a mighty crusher.' It is indeed, a rare thing to meet a perfect 'lady's horse.' In all my wide experience I have met but two. Breeding is necessary for stability and speed--two things most essential to a hunter; but good light action is, for a roadster, positively indispensable, and a horse who does not possess it is a burden to his rider, and is, moreover, exceedingly unsafe, as he is apt to stumble at every rut and stone."

Barry Cornwall must have had something akin to perfection in his mind's eye when penning the following lines:--

"Full of fire, and full of bone, All his line of fathers known; Fine his nose, his nostrils thin, But blown abroad by the pride within!

His mane a stormy river flowing, And his eyes like embers glowing In the darkness of the night, And his pace as swift as light.

Look, around his straining throat Grace and shifting beauty float!

Sinewy strength is in his reins, And the red blood gallops through his veins."

How often do we hear it remarked of a neat blood-looking nag, "Yes, very pretty and blood-like, but there's nothing of him; only fit to carry a woman." No greater mistake can be made, for if we consider the matter in all its bearings, we shall see that the lady should be rather over than under mounted.

The average weight of English ladies is said to be nine stone; to that must be added another stone for saddle and bridle (I don't know if the habit and other habiliments be included in the nine stone), and we must give them another stone in hand; or eleven stone in all. A blood, or at furthest, two crosses of blood on a good foundation, horse will carry this weight as well as it can be carried. It is a fault among thoroughbreds that they do not bend the knee sufficiently; but there are exceptions to this rule. I know of two Stud Book sires, by Lowlander, that can trot against the highest stepping hackney or roadster in the kingdom, and, if trained, could put the dust in the eyes of nine out of ten of the much-vaunted standard American trotters.

Their bold, elegant, and elastic paces come up to the ideal poetry of action, carrying themselves majestically, all their movements like clockwork, for truth and regularity. The award of a first prize as a hunter sire to one of these horses establishes his claim to symmetry, but, being full sixteen hands and built on weight-carrying lines, he is just one or two inches too tall for carrying any _equestrienne_ short of a daughter of Anak.

Though too often faulty in formation of shoulders, thoroughbreds, as their name implies, are generally full of quality and, under good treatment, generous horses. I do not chime in with those who maintain that a horse can do no wrong, but do a.s.sert that he comes into the world poisoned by a considerably less dose of original sin than we, who hold dominion over him, are cursed with.

Two-year-olds that have been tried and found lacking that keen edge of speed so necessary in these degenerate days of "sprinting," many of them cast in "beauty's mould," are turned out of training and are to be picked up at very reasonable prices. Never having known a bit more severe than that of the colt-breaker and the snaffle, the bars of their mouths are not yet callous, and being rescued from the clutches of the riding lads of the training-stable, before they are spoiled as to temper, they may, in many instances, under good tuition, be converted into admirable ladies' horses--hacks or hunters. They would not be saleable till four years old, but seven shillings a week would give them a run at gra.s.s and a couple of feeds of oats till such time as they be thoroughly taken in hand, conditioned, and taught their business. The margin for profit on well bought animals of this description, and their selling price as perfect lady's horses, are very considerable.

In my opinion no horse can be too good or too perfectly trained for a lady. Some Amazons can ride anything, play cricket, polo, golf, lawn-tennis, fence, scale the Alps, etc., and I have known one or two go tiger-shooting. But all are not manly women, despite fashion, trending in that unnatural, unlovable direction. One of their own s.e.x describes them as "gentle, kindly, and _cowardly_." That all are not heroines, I admit, but no one who witnessed or even read of their devoted courage during the dark days of the Indian mutiny, can question their ability to face terrible danger with superlative valour. The heroism of Mrs. Grimwood at Manipur is fresh in our memory. What the majority are wanting in is nerve. I have seen a few women go to hounds as well and as straight as the ordinary run of first-flight men. That I do not consider the lady's seat less secure than that of the cross-seated sterner s.e.x, may be inferred from the sketch of the rough-rider in my companion volume for masculine readers, demonstrating "the last resource," and giving practical exemplification of the proverb, "He that can quietly endure overcometh." What women lack, in dealing with an awkward, badly broken, unruly horse, is muscular force, dogged determination, and the ability to struggle and persevere. Good nerve and good temper are essentials.

Having given Barry Cornwall's poetic ideal of a horse, I now venture on a further rhyming sketch of what may fairly be termed "a good sort":--

"With intelligent head, lean, and deep at the jowl, Shoulder sloping well back, with a skin like a mole, Round-barrelled, broad-loined, and a tail carried free, Long and muscular arms, short and flat from the knee, Great thighs full of power, hocks both broad and low down, With fetlocks elastic, feet sound and well grown; A horse like unto this, with blood dam and blood sire, To Park or for field may to honours aspire; It's the sort I'm in want of--do you know such a thing?

'Tis the mount for a sportswoman, and fit for a queen!"

My unhesitating advice to ladies is _Never buy for yourself_. Having described what you want to some well-known judge who is acquainted with your style of riding, and who knows the kind of animal most likely to suit your temperament, tell him to go to a certain price, and, if he be a gentleman you will not be disappointed. You won't get perfection, for that never existed outside the garden of Eden, but you will be well carried and get your money's worth. Ladies are not fit to cope with dealers, unless the latter be top-sawyers of the trade, have a character to lose, and can be trusted. There has been a certain moral obliquity attached to dealing in horses ever since, and probably before, they of the House of Togarmah traded in Tyrian fairs with horses, hors.e.m.e.n, and mules. Should your friend after all his trouble purchase something that does not to the full realize your fondest expectation, take the will for the deed, and bear in mind "oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises."

With nineteen ladies out of every score, the looks of a horse are a matter of paramount importance: he must be "a pretty creature, with beautiful deer-like legs, and a lovely head." Their inclinations lead them to admire what is beautiful in preference to what is true of build, useful, and safe. If a lady flattered me with a commission to buy her a horse, having decided upon the colour, I should look out for something after this pattern: one that would prove an invaluable hack, and mayhap carry her safely and well across country.

Height fifteen two, or fifteen three at the outside; age between six and eight, as thoroughbred as Eclipse or nearly so. The courage of the lion yet gentle withal. Ears medium size, well set on, alert; the erect and quick "p.r.i.c.king" motion indicates activity and spirit. I would not reject a horse, if otherwise coming up to the mark, for a somewhat large ear or for one slightly inclined to be lopped, for in blood this is a pretty certain indication of the Melbourne strain, one to which we are much indebted. The characteristics of the Melbournes are, for the most part, desirable ones: docility, good temper, vigorous const.i.tution, plenty of size, with unusually large bone, soundness of joints and abundance of muscle. But these racial peculiarities are recommendations for the coverside rather than for the Park. The eye moderately prominent, soft, expressive, "the eye of a listening deer."

The ears and the eyes are the interpreters of disposition. Forehead broad and flat. A "dish face," that is, slightly concave or indented, is a heir-loom from the desert, and belongs to Nejd. The jaws deep, wide apart, with plenty of s.p.a.ce for the wind-pipe when the head is reined in to the chest. Nostrils long, wide, and elastic, exhibiting a healthy pink membrane. We hear a good deal of large, old-fashioned heads, and see a good many of the fiddle and Roman-nosed type, but, in my opinion, these c.u.mbersome heads, unless very thin and fleshless, are indicative of plebeian blood.

The setting on of the head is a very important point. The game-c.o.c.k throttle is the right formation, giving elasticity and the power to bend in obedience to the rider's hand. What the dealers term a _fine topped horse_, generally one with exuberance of carcase and light of limbs, is by no means "the sealed pattern" for a lady; on the contrary, the neck should be light, finely arched--that peculiarly graceful curve imported from the East,--growing into shoulders not conspicuous for too high withers. "Long riding shoulders" is an expression in almost every horseman's mouth, but very high and large-shouldered animals are apt to ride heavy in hand and to be high actioned. Well-laid-back shoulders, rather low, fine at the points, not set too far apart, and well-muscled will be found to give pace with easy action.

He should stand low on the legs, which means depth of fore-rib, so essential in securing the lady's saddle, as well as ensuring the power and endurance to sustain and carry the rider's weight in its proper place. Fore-legs set well forward, with long, muscular arms, and room to place the flat of the hand between the elbows and the ribs. The chest can hardly be too deep, but it can be too wide, or have too great breadth between the fore-legs. The back only long enough to find room for the saddle is the rule, though, in case of a lady's horse, a trifle more length unaccompanied by the faintest sign of weakness, will do no harm. For speed, a horse must have length somewhere, and I prefer to see it below, between the point of the elbow and the stifle joint.

Ormonde, "the horse of the century," was nearly a square, _i.e._ the height from the top of the wither to the ground almost equalled the length of his body from the point of the shoulder to the extremity of the b.u.t.tock. Horses with short backs and short bodies are generally _buck-leapers_, and difficult to sit on when fencing. The couplings or loins cannot be too strong or the ribs too well sprung; the back ribs well hooped. This formation is a sign of a good const.i.tution. The quarters must needs be full, high set on, with straight crupper, well rounded muscular b.u.t.tocks, a clean channel, with big stifles and thighs to carry them. Knees and hocks clean, broad, and large, back sinews and ligaments standing well away from the bone, flat and hard as bands of steel; short well-defined smooth cannons; pasterns nicely sloped, neither too long nor too short, but full of spring; medium sized feet, hard as the nether millstone. If possible, I should select one endowed with the characteristic spring of the Arab's tail from the crupper.

Such a horse would, in the words of Kingsley, possess "the beauty of Theseus, light but ma.s.sive, and light, not in spite of its ma.s.ses, but on account of the perfect disposition of them."

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 pa.s.ses through the buckle and is moderately tight, then, with both hands, bracing it so that room remains for one finger to be pa.s.sed 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.