The Barb and the Bridle Part 2

Let me now say something with regard to saddlery and appointments. The most important of these, of course, is the side-saddle, as to the form of which considerable diversity of opinion exists.

My own experiences induce me to believe in a saddle which is as nearly as possible _flat_ from between the pommels to the cantle; any dip in the stretcher of the tree, while it renders the lady's seat less secure, has also the effect of throwing her weight too much upon the horse's forehand, and thus cramping his action. When a lady has acquired skill and confidence in her riding, a saddle with a very low-cut pommel on the off side is best, because it not only admits of the rider getting her hands lower (for which occasion may frequently occur), but on the off side it gives the lady and the horse a far better appearance, the high off side pommel spoiling the graceful contour of figure in both.

Worked or plain off-side flaps are matters of taste, and have nothing to do with utility. The stirrup should be a Victoria, well padded. The leather should be fitted on the near side, in a similar manner to a man's stirrup leather, and be quite independent of the quarter strap.

The reason for this is obvious. If you fit a lady's stirrup leather ever so carefully after she is up, you cannot tell how much the horse "will give up" in his girth after an hour's riding, or even less; and the leather which takes up on the off side may give to the extent of three or four holes, thereby greatly incommoding the rider, especially if she is in the hunting field and has to jump her horse, as it is ten to one, although she has the power of pulling up the leather herself, if, in the excitement of the chase, either she or anybody else will notice the rendering of the leather, and a drop leap may bring the rider to grief, whereas the near side arrangement is a fixture, and always reliable. For really comfortable riding, I believe also that it is quite as necessary that a saddle should be made in such proportion as to _fit the lady_, as that it should fit the horse. Even a thoroughly accomplished horsewoman cannot ride easily in a saddle that is too short from pommel to cantle, or too narrow in the seat. In either case, both discomfort and ungainly appearance are the result; while to a lady of slight _pet.i.te_ figure, a saddle too long from front to rear is equally unsightly, though possibly not quite so uncomfortable to the rider. Broad girths of the best materials are indispensable. There should be three of them. The quarter strap or girth should lead from the near side fork of the tree to a buckle piece attached to a ring on the off-side quarter, the ring giving the quarter strap a better bearing. A crupper should never be used; a horse that requires one is not fit for a lady. Saddle cloths are unnecessary to a carefully-pannelled saddle, and hide the symmetry of the horse. Breastplates or neck straps may be used for hunting, or the fitting of martingales (necessary sometimes). But the less leather about the horse, where it can be dispensed with, the better he will look.

As to bridles, as a rule, I maintain that a lady's horse properly broken should ride right into an ordinary double bridle, bit, and bridoon, the port of the bit proportioned to the contour and setting on of the horse's head and neck, as should also be the length of the cheek piece and jaw of the bit; while the question of a plain or twisted bridoon or snaffle must be regulated by the hand of the rider and the mouth of the horse. For park or promenade riding, fashion of late years inclines to a single rein bridle or "Hanoverian," or hard and sharp. No doubt they are very sightly and neat in appearance; but with a high-couraged horse they require very nice and finished hands, and in the majority of cases, in my humble opinion, are safe only for the most accomplished female riders.

I leave the question of bridle-fronts, bound with ribbon of pink, blue, or yellow, to the taste of my readers; when neatly put on and fresh, they look gay in the park. But either there or in the hunting field, I believe more in the plain leather front, as having, if I may so express it, a more workmanlike appearance.

Having now endeavoured to describe the best preparations on foot for the pupil, the style of dress most suitable for her first lessons in equitation, the stamp of horse a lady should ride, the training he should undergo for the special service required of him, and the kind of saddlery and equipment he will travel best in, in my next chapter I will attempt briefly, but minutely, to detail the first step in the riding lesson proper, namely, the form in which the pupil should approach her horse in order to be a.s.sisted into the saddle, and the mounting motions, all of which are of great importance, as each motion should be executed gracefully, without hurry, and in a well defined and finished manner.

Nothing connected with riding stamps the style and _tournure_ of a lady more than the fashion in which she mounts her horse and arranges her habit; it ought, in fact, to be a matter as carefully looked to by the instructor as her mode of entering a room would be to a master of deportment.

CHAPTER IV.

The manner in which a lady should approach her horse in order to be a.s.sisted to mount should be carefully looked to by the instructor.

Anything like hurry, while it is calculated to render the horse unsteady, is at the same time ungraceful, and the beginning of a bad habit always to be avoided.

Everything in the way of mounting or dismounting a horse, either by a lady or gentleman, should be done with well-defined and deliberate, although smart motions. This precision once acquired is the good habit which becomes second nature to the rider, and is so highly indicative of good manners in equitation.

To some persons the formula I am about to describe may appear too punctilious, and possibly carried to too nice a point of precision. But my idea is that in all these matters it is well to begin by _overdoing them_ a little. We are all more or less p.r.o.ne to become careless in our carriage and bearing, both on foot and horseback, as we grow older; therefore overdoing them a trifle with young people may safely be p.r.o.nounced an error on the right side.

I have frequently heard the remark that it is of no consequence how a man or woman gets upon a horse, provided they can ride when once up. I maintain that graceful riding is true riding, and that if it is worth while to ride gracefully, it is equally worth while to mount gracefully.

Let us then suppose the lady to be dressed and ready for her ride in school or _manege_. She should take the skirt of her habit in the full of both hands, holding her whip in the right; the skirt should be raised sufficiently to admit of the wearer walking freely. Then she should walk from a point in the school at right angles with her horse quietly to his shoulder, and face square to her left, standing just behind the animal's near elbow and parallel to his side. Thus facing to the front, and still holding her skirt with both hands, she should pa.s.s her whip from her right hand into the left, and "make much of her horse" by patting him on the near shoulder--the best method anybody (man or woman) can adopt as a first step to acquaintance with a strange horse; at the same time she should speak soothingly to her new equine friend. The horse should be held by a groom standing in front of him, and holding him by both reins. On the a.s.sistant approaching to lift the pupil to the saddle, the lady should return the whip to the right hand and drop her habit. She should then take the snaffle or bridoon rein in the centre with the left hand, at the end close to the buckle piece with the right, and draw them through the left until she has a light and equal feeling upon both sides of the horse's mouth. The right hand should then be placed firmly on the near side upper crutch of the saddle, the snaffle rein held between the pommel and the hand, the whip in the full of it.

The left hand should then grip the reins, and the lady should resume her position square to the front, without moving her right hand or relaxing her grasp of the pommel of the saddle. The a.s.sistant (who should be _a gentleman_, not a groom) should then stoop low enough to place both his hands locked together in such a position that the pupil can place her left foot firmly on them, the left knee slightly bent. At the same time she should also place the flat of her left hand firmly on the right shoulder of the a.s.sistant, keeping her arm perfectly straight. The instructor should then give her the following directions: "On the word 'one,' bend the right knee; on the word 'two,' spring smartly up from the right foot and straighten the left knee." If the pupil executes these movements simultaneously, keeping her left elbow perfectly firm and the arm straight, the a.s.sistant can lift her with the greatest ease to the level of the saddle, where, firmly grasping the pommel, she has only to make a half turn to her left, and she is seated sideways on her horse. The a.s.sistant should then straighten the skirt down, and taking the slack of it in his left hand, lift it over the near side upper crutch while the lady turns in her saddle, and facing square to her point, lifts her right knee over the pommel, bringing her right leg close to the forepoint of the saddle, with the leg well drawn back, and the toe raised from the instep. The a.s.sistant should then place the lady's foot well home in the stirrup. Before raising the right knee over the pommel, the lady should lift the snaffle reins with her right hand high enough to admit of her moving the leg without interfering with them. The right knee being firmly placed between the pommels, and the left foot in the stirrup, the pupil should then place her right hand with the snaffle reins between the finger and thumb and the whip in the full of the hand, firmly on the off-side pommel of the saddle. She should then draw her left foot well back, and getting a firm bearing on the stirrup, raise herself well up from the saddle, leaning forward sufficiently to preserve her balance. She should then pa.s.s her left hand back, and pull her skirt well out, so that there remains no ruck or wrinkle in it, and then quietly lower herself down to the saddle again.

This act of clearing the slack of the skirt is one which it is so frequently necessary for the lady to execute when riding that she should practise it frequently in her early lessons. It is true that when the a.s.sistant first places her on the horse he can arrange her habit as she rises from the saddle; but, for some time, until she has acquired firmness and perfect balance, her habit will inevitably ride up, particularly in trotting, and it is necessary that she should learn to be independent in this respect of the gentleman who attends her.

Moreover, as to arrange the habit gracefully requires considerable practice, it should form a distinct part of the lesson at first when the horse is standing perfectly still, afterwards at a walk, and finally at a trot. In cantering it cannot be done.

Having arranged the hind part of her skirt, the lady should then take the front in her left hand, and pull it well forward, raising her right knee at the same time, to insure that she has perfect freedom of action for it. The left knee should then be placed firmly against the leaping crutch (or, as it is generally called, the third crutch) of the saddle; although with saddles devoid of an off-side pommel, it is, in fact, the second crutch. This important adjunct to a lady's firmness and security in riding should always be most carefully looked to by Paterfamilias when purchasing the saddle, and by the master after it is bought. I can well remember when the third crutch was unknown; and in these days, when its efficiency has been so abundantly proved, it really seems marvellous how ladies years ago could not only ride well without it, but even acquit themselves creditably in the hunting field. The secret of the matter, however, lies in this: First, although there was no third support for the rider, the off-side and near-side pommels were much closer together than those now made; the off-side one was well padded, and in most cases where ladies rode hunting it was usual to have an extra pad, which fitted on to the off-side crutch, and again narrowed the interval, according to the size of the lady, until her leg fitted tightly between the two crutches, thus giving her a very firm hold with the right knee. Nevertheless, it is evident that only the truest balance would enable the fair equestrians of those days to maintain their seats.

When a young lady is first put on horseback, I believe in anything that can give her confidence, and for this purpose the third crutch is admirable, because she finds a firm purchase between the crutch and the stirrup. As this hold, however, is apt to degenerate into a complete reliance on the third pommel, it is necessary in a more advanced stage of the lessons in equitation to use a saddle without any such support for the pupil. The third crutch, when forming part of a side-saddle, _should never be removed_, as is too frequently done by grooms for the purpose of cleaning the saddle. The crutch itself is so constructed as to screw into a socket in the tree. By constantly s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g and uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g it, the thread of the screw wears out; in fact, this will occur much sooner than would be supposed. The consequence is that, let the lady or her a.s.sistant turn the third crutch to what angle they may in order to suit the length and formation of the lady's leg, the crutch will not remain in its proper position, but is continually shifting, turning, and wobbling, to the great discomfort of the rider; nay, I have seen more than one case where the crutch has turned edgeways to the rider's leg, and caused severe pain and bruising of the delicate limb.

Let it be a strict injunction then, to your groom, "Never unscrew the third crutch;" and if you find the support shifting in its socket, shift the groom as soon as possible, and send the saddle to the saddler to be firmly fixed in.

Why saddlers should fit these supports to turn at all, I can see no good reason. Some men, it is true, say that in putting a lady on horseback it is necessary to turn the third crutch round, so as to prevent it from catching the skirt; but for my own part I could never find any necessity for this, or any difficulty in clearing a lady's skirt when lifting her to the saddle. In purchasing a side-saddle, I repeat, the greatest judgment is necessary as regards the third crutch; while it should be long enough to give a good purchase and be well padded, it should be but _slightly curved_. A crutch that forms a considerable segment of a circle is both inconvenient and dangerous--inconvenient because it is a support of this description (if any) that is in a lady's way in mounting, and dangerous because, if in the hunting field a horse should chance to fall with his fair rider, she would be unable to extricate herself from her fallen steed, inasmuch as the nearly half-circular crutch would completely pin her leg to the horse. It is, in fact, almost as dangerous as if a man were to strap himself to his saddle (which, by the way, I once saw a very determined hunting man do when suffering from weakness in one leg). He had no opportunity, however, of testing his experiment, as the master of the hounds very judiciously told him that, if he persevered, he (the master) would take the hounds home.

Nor is there any possible use in the enveloping of the leg by the thick crutch of the side-saddle. With the slightest possible bend, the support is sufficient if the rider sits fair and true in her saddle, while plenty of stuffing is necessary to avoid bruising the leg, especially in leaping. These "stumpy-looking" third crutches are certainly less sightly in the saddle-room than the more circular ones; but I submit that, inasmuch as it is not seen when the lady is up, it is of more consequence to consult her comfort and safety than the eye of the groom.

When the lady has arranged her dress to her satisfaction, as above described, the next section of the lesson should consist in teaching how she should take up her reins; and here again the greatest care should be taken by the instructor that this is done coolly and _gracefully_, without hurry or "fumbling." A great deal of trouble in this way may be saved by the instructor teaching the lady how to take up her reins on foot. Thus, take an ordinary double bridle, let a lad hold the upper part of the head-stall in one hand, and the bits in the other, and stand opposite the pupil. Hang both reins over your left arm just as they would rest on the neck of the horse, the curb rein underneath, the bridoon rein above. Let the pupil then take hold of _both reins_ at the end with the right hand; place the second finger of the left hand between the bridoon reins with the nearside rein uppermost, and the little finger of the same hand between the curb reins, the near-side curb rein uppermost. Let her then place both bridoon and bit reins perfectly flat over the middle joint of the forefinger of the left hand, and drop the end of the reins over the knuckles, then close the thumb firmly down on them. She will find then both bit and bridoon reins equally divided, and an equal facility of causing them to act on the horse's mouth, according to the direction in which she turns the wrist of her left or bridle hand proper, or a.s.sists it with her right hand, according to the aids hereafter to be described. The mode of holding the reins above laid down is called in the French school "Mode de Paysanne,"

or civilian method. The military fashion, which is far more elegant, but not so well adapted at first for a beginner, is as follows.

The pupil takes the end of the bridoon reins between the finger and thumb of the right hand, and pa.s.ses them over the full of the left, or, to render the explanation still more simple, pa.s.ses all the fingers of the left hand between them, the off side rein above, and the near side one below; the buckle piece on the knuckle of the forefinger, the rest of the rein hanging loosely down. Let the lady then take the bit or curb reins between the finger and thumb of the right hand, and pa.s.s the little finger of the left between them, the near side rein uppermost.

With the right hand then let her draw the reins through the left, until--keeping the left hand perfectly quiet--she has a light, almost imperceptible, feeling on the horse's mouth. Let her then turn the bit reins over the middle joint of the forefinger of the left hand, and close the thumb down closely and firmly on them. The reins will then be precisely in the form in which a dragoon's reins are arranged when he is riding a finished horse at a field day or elsewhere. This method is therefore called the "mode militaire." But inasmuch as only a highly-finished horse can be ridden on the bit rein alone by an equally finished rider, in order to a.s.sist the latter, and to prevent the horse unduly feeling the action of the curb on his mouth, it is necessary that the rider should draw up the bridoon reins so as to obtain an equal feeling upon both bit and bridoon. Nothing can be more simple than to do this, as the rider has only with the right hand to take hold of the bridoon rein on the left or near side of the buckle or centre, and draw it up until the part pa.s.sing under the lower edge of the hand is of equal length with the bit reins. She then closes her left thumb on both reins, and shortens the right bridoon rein until it is of equal length with the others. The rider has then an equal feeling of all four reins.

She should then hold the ends with her right hand, and let the reins slip through the left until both hands are drawn back close to her waist, the wrists slightly rounded outwards, the back towards the horse's head, and the elbows drawn slightly back behind the waist.

The instructor having placed the pupil's hands, should then proceed to correct her general position. The figure should be well drawn up from the waist, shoulders perfectly square and well thrown back, head and neck erect, the upper part of the arm hanging almost perpendicular from the shoulder, the elbows well back, so that a thin rod would pa.s.s between them and the waist; the obvious reason for this position of the hands and elbows being that, if they are allowed to go forward, the whole flexibility of the waist--upon which depends the comfort, grace, and security of the pupil's riding--is destroyed, and the lithe figure of the fair rider becomes rigid and wooden in appearance, and stiff in action.

The upper part of the figure being thus placed, the master's attention should be directed to the position of the feet and legs. That of the right leg I have already described. The left leg, with the knee well bent, should be placed firmly against the third crutch, the heel well sunk, the toe raised from the instep, the foot at first well home in the stirrup. By well stretching down the heel the rider braces all the muscles at the back of the leg, and this, joined to drawing the figure well up from the waist, secures that true balance so indispensable to good riding. The right leg should be well bent and drawn back as near as possible to the left leg.

This should be the position at a walk, the aids for which, and the turns I leave for another chapter.

CHAPTER V.

Let me now offer a few remarks on a subject upon which considerable diversity of opinion exists, namely, whether the teaching of a young lady in riding may or may not be entrusted to a female professor of equitation in preference to a man. At the first glance, there seems to be good reason for preferring the tuition of the lady but, on careful consideration, I believe most of those interested in the matter will agree with me that, under many circ.u.mstances likely to occur, one lady, however good a horsewoman herself, is likely to be quite unable to render the desired a.s.sistance to a pupil, conceding, at the same time that, as regards the details of dress, the opinion of a lady who has had long practice in the saddle may be very useful.

In the first place, the placing of the pupil on the horse and taking her off cannot possibly be as well done, to say the least, by a lady instructor as it can by a gentleman; neither would the performance of such an office be graceful or convenient to either. Secondly, all that portion of the instruction which should be given by the instructor on foot while the pupil is on horseback can be better given by a man who understands his business than by a lady, because, although the tone of voice in which the instruction is conveyed should be kindly, and the manner cheerful and encouraging, a degree of _firmness_ and _conciseness_ is necessary, which few ladies possess, for the reason that the art of teaching riding, like riding itself, requires a considerable practice and long drilling into the instructor in a school where smartness of diction and expression form part of the education of an intended professor of equitation. Thirdly, a.s.suming both instructor and pupil to be in the saddle, a lady, although thoroughly mistress of her own horse, is unable to aid her pupil as easily as a man can.

In the early lessons given (the instructor being on horseback), it is necessary that the latter should be close enough to the pupil's horse on the off side to be able at any moment to place the hands of the learner, to check any exuberant action of the horse by laying the left hand firmly upon the reins; and in the first essays made by the pupil in the trotting lesson, to a.s.sist her by the left hand of the instructor placed under the right elbow of the beginner.

And finally, should any necessity arise during a ride for dismounting the pupil, a lady instructor labours under this difficulty, that having dismounted herself, and both pupil and teacher being on the ground, the act of mounting again by two ladies, unattended by a man, is one of considerable difficulty and possible danger.

From the very necessity of her position in the saddle, a lady teaching another cannot, without inconvenience to both legs (the left especially), approach near enough to her pupil's horse to a.s.sist the latter with her left hand, because her left leg is always in danger of coming in contact with the other horse; while on a windy day the skirt of her habit is likely enough to be blown into his flank, and thereby make him unsteady. Not long since I saw two ladies who were riding, unattended by a man, in a very awkward predicament. Both are practised riders, possessing capital seats and hands, and are equal to any contingency likely to occur as long as they are in the saddle; nay, one of the ladies is, I believe, the most accomplished horsewoman I ever saw. Her seat is both fine and graceful to a degree; her hands perfection, her nerve first-rate, and her experience in riding even difficult horses with hounds considerable. This lady was the elder of the two; her companion was considerably younger, but although a very accomplished rider, she lacked the experience of her friend. Something had gone amiss with the younger lady's saddle, and both ladies dismounted to arrange it. The elder was quite equal to this, for I have seen her many times saddle and bridle her own horse, and with one that would stand quietly (being herself exceedingly supple and active), she can put her hands on the upper pommel and vault into the saddle without any a.s.sistance. But in the case I allude to she was completely fixed.

Her horse was a chesnut thoroughbred, only four years old; and, although, despite all difficulty I believe, had she been alone, she would have succeeded in mounting, her friend and her horse placed her in an awkward dilemma. She was compelled from time to time to use one hand to disengage the folds of her habit, and she had to hold both horses, even if her friend could have gained her saddle una.s.sisted. Neither horse would stand still; the one, as is invariably the case in such little difficulties, setting a bad example, which the other was not slow to follow. To hold two horses, keep clear of her own habit, while the horses were shifting their positions continually, and give her friend even the least help in mounting, proved too much even for the highly-finished lady equestrian, and as the _contretemps_ occurred on a lone country road, I believe they would have been compelled to lead their horses a considerable distance, had I not chanced opportunely to arrive. In such places as Rotten-row a lady instructor may get on tolerably well with her pupil, because, in case of any mishap, there are plenty of men always at hand who know what a horse is; but in out-of-the-way country places it is very different. The British rustic, whatever other good qualities he may possess, is not celebrated, as a rule, for over politeness to ladies--strangers particularly. In proof of the above, there is a story current in this neighbourhood which is likely enough to be true, although I cannot vouch for it myself. The tale runs thus:--A lady (one of the daughters of a n.o.ble house) having married, had gone abroad with her husband, and been absent from the home of her early days so long that the uprising generation of young people about the estate knew her not. She was taking a ride one day unattended, and mounted on a steady cob, had been visiting the long-cherished scenes of her childhood, when she came to a very awkward bridle gate, seated on which was a juvenile "wopstraw" in duck frock, leather leggings, and wideawake. The boy jumped down and opened the gate for the lady, at the same time taking off his hat. Now the fair recipient of this delicate attention was well aware of the fact that the village people on the paternal estate were celebrated in the county for their rough manners to strangers, ladies forming no exception, so she was agreeably surprised at the exceptional good behaviour of the youngster, the more so as she was quite sure he did not know her. Taking a shilling out of her purse she gave it to him, observing: "You are a very good boy," and added, laughing, "I am sure you were not born at D." (the name of the princ.i.p.al village on the estate). But to the donor's horror the youngster, grasping his hat firmly in one fist and the shilling in the other, with a fiery glare of indignation in his fat face and flashing eye, replied, "Thou be'st a loyar (liar), I wor."

_Verb.u.m sap._ All rustics are not so ill behaved as the one above mentioned. But as very few of them will go far out of their road to a.s.sist a stranger, it is as well that ladies riding in remote country parts should be attended by a gentleman; and I repeat, for all purposes of instruction, the attendance of a man will be found far more efficient than that of a lady.

CHAPTER VI.

The frontispiece represents the stamp of horse best calculated to carry a lady, and is a very truthful likeness of a five-year-old horse, named Prince Arthur, a son of the celebrated racehorse Stockwell, his dam a half-bred Arab mare.

The subject of the plate, therefore, has some of the very best English blood in his veins, in conjunction with that Eastern strain from which in all probability our magnificent British thoroughbreds derive a considerable proportion of their power of endurance, or, in turf phraseology, their staying quality.

The horse is a first-cla.s.s hack, as good a performer over the great Leicestershire pastures and formidable oxers which so often bar the way in that sporting county, as he has already proved himself in the _manege_; and, as he possesses, in addition to true and most elastic action, fine temper and indomitable courage, I venture to present his likeness as my type of the sort of animal adapted either for Rotten-row or to hold his own in the "first flight" over a country.

A common error is that any weedy thoroughbred, too slow for racing, and without the "timber" and substance to enable him to carry a 10-stone man to hounds, is good enough for a lady's riding. There can be no greater mistake. While quality and fashion are indispensable in a woman's horse, strength and substance are equally necessary. As I have before observed, the very conditions upon which the comfort and safety of a lady's riding depend, leave her horse without that support in his action which he would derive from the riding of a good man; while, however true the balance of the lady may be, still the horse's powers are called upon in a long ride, either on the flat or over the country, in a way which tests him severely. There must therefore be plenty of wear and tear in the right place--great strength in the loins, a back _not too short_, aided by strong and well-arched back ribs, which are at the same time not too closely locked up.

The Arab horse proper, despite his great capability of endurance, his symmetrical contour and extraordinary sagacity, is still a trying mount for a lady unaccustomed to him. With great power in his hind quarters (as a rule), he is short in the back, low and short in front of the saddle. The consequence is that from his powerful back action, he pitches too much in his collected paces to ride pleasantly to a woman, although when striding away at top speed he is easy enough.

On the other hand, the English horse that possesses length enough to enable him to travel easily under the fair equestrian too often has the length in the wrong place, and cannot stay--a defect fatal to enjoyable riding for a lady, at all events in the hunting field.

It is to the admixture of Eastern and Western blood, therefore, that one has to look for symmetry of topping conjoined to length in the right place, power, and substance.

I now proceed to say a few words as to the "aids" to be employed to put the horse in motion. In order to impress these thoroughly upon the memory of the fair tyro, the preceptor should adopt a form of question and answer to the following effect:

Q. What are the aids to make a horse walk?--A. A pressure of the leg to his side, at the same time easing the hand.

Q. How is the hand to be eased?--A. From the wrist; the arm being kept perfectly steady, and the little finger yielding towards the horse's neck.