Читать книгу The Barb and the Bridle - active 1866-1874 Robert Henderson - Страница 8

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The manner in which a lady should approach her horse in order to be assisted 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 prone 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 pronounced 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 manége. 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 pass 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 assistant 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 assistant (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 assistant, 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 assistant 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 assistant 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 assistant 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 pass 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 assistant 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 screwing and unscrewing 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 assistant 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 assists 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 passes them over the full of the left, or, to render the explanation still more simple, passes 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 pass 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 assist 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 passing 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 pass 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.