Читать книгу The Barb and the Bridle - active 1866-1874 Robert Henderson - Страница 6

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I proceed now to describe the suppling and extension exercises I have before alluded to.

These are simple enough in themselves, certain not to be forgotten when once learnt, and easy to impart in the way of instruction. Their great efficacy depends, however, upon the judgment with which the instructor varies them, so as to call into action alternately opposite sets of muscles and ligaments, as it is by such a process only that complete supplesse can be attained. The first suppling practice is performed as follows: Place the pupil in a position perfectly upright, the heels close together, the toes at an angle of 45 (military regulation), the figure well drawn up from the waist, the shoulders thrown back, chest advanced, the neck and head erect, arms hanging perpendicularly from the shoulder, elbows slightly bent, the weight of the body thrown upon the front part of the foot.

Then the instruction should be given thus: On the word "one," bring both hands smartly up to the full extent of the arms, in front and above the forehead, the tips of the fingers joining (Fig. 1); on the word "two," throw the hands sharply backwards and downwards until they meet behind the back (Fig. 2). This exercise should be commenced slowly, and gradually increased in rapidity until the pupil can execute it with great quickness for several minutes consecutively. The object is to throw the shoulders well back and give expansion to the chest.

Second practice.—On the word "one," bring the hands together (from their position perpendicular from the shoulder) in front of the figure, the tips of the fingers joining (Fig. 3). On the word "two," raise the hands, still joined, slowly above and slightly in front of the head, to the full extent of the arms (Fig. 4). "Three," separate the hands, and, turning the palms upwards, lower them to the level of the shoulders, the arms fully extended (Fig. 5). Simultaneously with the lowering of the hands the heels should be raised slowly from the ground, so as to bring the weight of the body upon the toes. On the word "four," lower the hands gradually to the sides, carrying them at the same time well to the rear (Fig. 6). The heels are also to be lowered to the ground as the hands are carried backwards. This exercise should always be done slowly, as its object is the gradual flexing and suppling of the shoulder and elbow joints, and giving mobile action to those of the feet. In using dumb-bells the first practice with them may be identical with the above, the dumb-bells being grasped firmly in the centre.

Third practice.—On the word "one," close the hands firmly by the sides; "two," raise them up quietly, bending the elbows until the hands are touching the points of the shoulders (Fig. 7); "three," carry the hands, still firmly closed, forwards and upwards, to the full extent of the arms, well above and a little in front of the head (Fig. 8); "four," bring the hands with a quick, sharp motion down to the level of the shoulders, carrying the elbows well to the rear (Fig. 9). The first two motions of this exercise should be performed very slowly, the last very rapidly. It can also be practised with advantage with the dumb-bells, and is then of great service in strengthening and developing the muscles of the chest and arms.

There are a great many other suppling practices, but the above, varied occasionally by the use of the dumb-bells, will be found sufficient for all practical purposes.

Coming now to the extension exercises, I select the third as being most effective. 1st motion. Bring the hands together in front of the figure, as in the second suppling practice, the points of the fingers joining, the whole frame erect and well drawn up from the waist. 2. Raise the hands slowly above the head to the full extent of the arms, turn the palms of the hands outwards, and lock the thumbs together, the right thumb within the left (Fig. 10). 3. Keeping the body, head, and neck perfectly erect, place the head between the arms, the thumbs still firmly locked together. 4. Keeping the knees perfectly straight, lower the hands, and bend the back gradually and very slowly forward and downwards, until the points of the fingers touch the instep (Fig. 11). 5. Raise the body and head (the latter still between the arms), quietly up in the same slow time, bringing the hands again well above the head (Fig. 12). 6. Lower the hands gradually (turning the palms upwards), first to the level of the shoulders, making a momentary pause there, and then quietly to the sides, carrying the hands in their descent from the shoulder as much as possible to the rear, while the weight of the body is thrown entirely upon the front of the foot.

In this exercise all depends upon keeping the knee joints perfectly straight, and the head, in the bending-down movement, as much as possible between the arms.

The object of the practice is to give suppleness to the waist, freedom to the knee joint by well suppling the ligaments at the back of the knee, and at the same time to expand the chest. For these purposes, if carefully and judiciously carried out, it is most effective, calling alternately upon every portion of the frame wherein suppleness is indispensable to easy and graceful riding.

Great care should be taken not to hurry this lesson, and if the pupil is of a figure that renders it difficult for her to reach her instep in bending down, it should not be insisted on; but it is necessary that she should bend the back as much as possible without bending the knees, as any yielding of the knee joint destroys the whole value of the exercise.

To perform the above named practices comfortably, the pupil should wear a loose dress which throws no constraint upon any part of the figure. Slippers, too, are better than boots, as the latter confine the foot and ankle too much for complete liberty of movement.

The duration of any of these lessons should at first be carefully proportioned to the strength of the learner, and gradually increased as to time day by day, until she can stand an hour's work without fatigue; but be the lesson long or short, it should be practised every day.

It will be found that, with plenty of fresh air and walking exercise, the pupil, by the aid of these suppling and extension practices, will develope rapidly in elasticity of movement and in general health, and that a couple or three months of such preparation will help her very much as an introduction to her course of equitation.

Any good drill master who might be employed to "set up" a young lady would most likely teach her all the above, and much more; but I have ventured to detail these practices, assuming that a family may be located in a neighbourhood in which no such man is available, in which case the exercise can be imparted and superintended by the governess of the family. These ladies are always clever and intelligent enough to master in a few minutes such very simple details as those above described.

Before quitting this subject a word about gymnastics may not be out of place. Many heads of families consider them highly beneficial when practised with bars and similar apparatus. My experience induces me to differ from this notion, and I believe my view of the matter would be borne out by the highest medical authority.

For boys even, gymnastic exercises should be most carefully watched, in order that no undue strain should be thrown upon the yet unset muscle and cartilage of the frame. For young ladies I believe gymnastics to be not only unnecessary, but injurious, and that every practical result desirable can be arrived at by the use of such exercises as I have endeavoured to describe, varied occasionally by the moderate use of the dumb-bells, a few minutes of which at one time is always sufficient. Where there is a number of young people together, there is sure to be a tendency to outdo each other whenever physical exercises of any kind are introduced; and, while it is easy enough to control the pupils in the simple suppling practices I speak of, it is very difficult for any but the most experienced persons to determine how far a young lady may go without injury to herself in the exercises of the horizontal bars or trapeze ropes. If any kind of gymnastic exercises are allowed for a young lady, the best, in my opinion, are those practised with the "Ranelagh," because no hurtful strain can possibly be thrown upon the pupil; and for boys I believe the Ranelagh to be a first-rate invention, as is also the "Parlour Gymnasium," and several others on similar principles, which ignore the practice of the bars.

The full practice of the gymnasium, however, for young men whose frames have attained a certain amount of maturity, is no doubt good if not carried to excess. I speak, however, only of young ladies of tender age.

Assuming then, that our pupil has been prepared for riding as above described, let us proceed to consider the style of dress most suitable for her early attempts in the saddle. For very young ladies, say under twelve years of age, I believe in hair cut short in preference to flowing locks, because the latter are very apt to blow into the eyes and seriously interfere with riding. For the very juvenile equestrian tyro, the hat should be one that fastens under the chin with ribbon or something that is not elastic. Nothing is more important in beginning with young people on horseback than to give them confidence, and nothing so completely puts them out as anything loose about the head. For young ladies over fifteen or sixteen, hats which are fastened to the hair may be worn. But, having regard to the progress of the pupil rather than to appearance, I recommend every beginner, no matter what her age, to leave no doubt about the security of her headdress. As regards riding habits, to begin with, while they should fit sufficiently to indicate the outline of the lady's figure, all tightness should be avoided. Tight habits are very sightly to the eye; but, in common with tight corsets, steel or whalebone anywhere about the dress is fatal to that perfect liberty of movement so essential to success in a beginner.

Loose jackets of course should not be worn, because the instructor would be unable to see in what form his pupil was sitting. Nothing is better, in the first place, than a jacket, of any coarse material the rider chooses, made in the ordinary form, with plenty of room, especially about the waist and shoulders. The skirt should not be too redundant or too long, as in the latter case it is apt to get trodden on by the horse, and in windy weather blows about, to the great annoyance of the rider. A skirt that reaches about 12in. below the foot is amply long. As to breadth, it should be just large enough to give space to move easily in. A more voluminous garment is unsightly. The skirt, made independent of the jacket, should fasten under it with a broad band. No clothing should be worn under the skirt except riding trousers. Under-skirts of any kind will utterly spoil the appearance of the fair equestrian, and render her ride one of discomfort.

Riding trousers, the making of which should only be entrusted to people who are well accustomed to it, may be made of cloth or chamois leather, booted with cloth.

The boots, whether Wellingtons (if they are not out of date), side springs, or lace boots, should be made purposely for riding. Fashion is imperious, and that of the present day dictates a boot with a very high, narrow heel, and a waist which is almost triangular; both are quite unsuited for riding. The heel of a riding boot should be quite as broad as the foot of the wearer, and should come well forward into the waist, after the manner of a man's hunting boot, and the waist itself should be perfectly flat, so as to give a firm level bearing on the stirrup-iron. A sharp, narrow-waisted boot will be found not only impossible to keep in place in the iron, but will hurt the sole of the foot very much.

Of spurs (very necessary in an advanced state of proficiency, and inadmissible, of course, to a beginner) I shall say something hereafter.

Of gloves, the best kind for riding is a dogskin glove or gauntlet two sizes too large. Six and a-half kid gloves do not admit of sufficient freedom in the hand properly to manipulate the reins.

The pupil should be provided with a straight riding whip which is not too flexible, because with a very supple whip she may inadvertently touch the horse at the wrong time and upset him.

Having said thus much as to the equipment of our fair tyro, I leave all observations as to dress fit for the hunting-field, or such promenade riding as that of Rotten Row, for a future paper, and proceed to say something about that very important consideration, the matter of the riding master.

In the first place, then, it is necessary that the professor of equitation should be one who has been regularly brought up to his business. If such a man is not within reach, then I submit that it is better to entrust the riding education of the young lady to any staid middle-aged gentleman who is a thoroughly good horseman, and who will undertake the task con amore. If the gentleman has daughters of his own, all the better. I do not recommend young men for the office, because, naturally enough, they are more likely to be engrossed with the charms of their pupils than the progress they are making with their riding. Youthful preceptors, too, have a tendency to "make the pace a trifle too good," and there are not even wanting instances where they have "bolted" with their pupils altogether. This by the way.

To return to the professional riding master. I may add that, in addition to thoroughly understanding his craft, he should be a man of education and a gentleman. Of such men there are several in the metropolis; in the provinces they are few and far between. In most of our fashionable watering-places one sees very neatly got-up horsey-looking men, duly booted, spurred, and moustached, tittuping along with a small troop of young ladies, who, with their skirts ballooned out with the fresh breeze from the "briny," and "sitting all over the saddle," are making themselves very uncomfortable, when they could have enjoyed the bracing air just as well, for less money, in an open fly. The riding master, in all probability, has promoted himself from the office of pad groom. He knows how to saddle and turn out a lady's horse, and how to put the lady into the saddle; he knows, also, the cheapest market in which to go for fashionable-looking screws upon which to mount his customers. There his qualifications as a riding master end. The inductive steps by which a lady should be taught, the reason for everything she is asked to do, the "aids" by which she should control her horse and establish a good understanding with him, are all sealed mysteries to the stamp of man I speak of. From such men and their ten-pound screws there is nothing to be learnt in the way of riding.

Assuming, then, that some of my fair readers may be so placed as to render access to a professional riding master impossible, I have ventured upon this brief manual of "Equitation for Ladies," because I believe that there are many gentlemen, good horsemen, who would willingly undertake the teaching of their young friends, but that the former are unacquainted with the readiest way of going to work. Let me hope that the following may be of use in such case, both to preceptor and pupil. Addressing myself first to the former, let me advise him to be guided from first to last by the following maxims: 1st. Never do anything to shake the confidence or nerve of your pupil, and never give away a chance of doing it to the horse she rides. 2nd. Never talk to her about lesson No. 2 until she thoroughly understands lesson No. 1. While tittuping hacks are useless, and it is necessary to have an animal, even for a beginner, that has still plenty of life, vigour, and action in him, such a horse requires to be thoroughly well-broken to carry a woman, and should have plenty of work, so as to do away with the possibility of his flirting when she is mounted. It should be borne in mind that, although a woman who has had years of practice will be equally at home on almost every horse upon which you can put her, yet only a particular stamp of animal is adapted to carry her in her earlier essays.

Let me endeavour to give my idea of him. In height he should be from 15.2 to 15.3. A very tall woman may look better on a taller horse, but it is rarely that one finds an animal over 15.3 with the requisite proportions to ensure good action. Colour is of little account, except that grey horses in the summer time part with their coats so freely as to spoil a lady's habit. Quality is indispensable. A three-part-bred horse, however, is the best, because he is likely to have more substance in the right place than a thoroughbred. A good blood-like head and neck are warranty for fashion. Good shoulders, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, are not always good shoulders for a lady's horse, because while they should be clean and sloping as to the scapula, the withers should not be too fine. A little thickness there causes a side saddle to fit better for the comfort of the rider. There should be plenty of depth in the girth and rare good back ribs, for a woman's riding calls very much on a horse's power. A short back is not conducive to ease for the rider, whatever it may be as to the staying powers of the horse. On the contrary, what is generally called a long-backed horse carries a lady most pleasantly; but there must be plenty of power in the quarters, muscular upper thighs, and strong hocks. The quarters, too, should be good, and the setting on of the tail such as finishes the topping of the horse well, and gives him a fashionable appearance. If conjoined to the above-named points he stands on moderately short legs, with plenty of bone, and has good round and sound feet, he will be found as nearly as possible what is required.