Читать книгу The Horsewoman: A Practical Guide to Side-Saddle Riding, 2nd. Ed - Alice M. Hayes - Страница 5

Table of Contents

Instruction based on experience assists us in the attainment of all arts, and hastens the process of learning. Although a specially gifted individual who has not been taught, may be able to sing in a pleasing style, no one has ever become an accomplished pianist without competent instruction; the former being somewhat in the position of a man, the latter in that of a lady, as regards riding. In all countries we find good untaught horsemen who have got “shaken into their seats” by constant practice, with or without a saddle, which in most cases is chiefly a protection to the animal’s back. A side-saddle, on the contrary, is as artificial a production as a musical instrument, and a full knowledge of its peculiarities often cannot be acquired during a lifetime. Here the great difference between men and women is that the former ride the horse; the latter, the saddle. The tyranny of the side-saddle would not be so marked as it is, if this article of gear were of a uniform pattern of the best possible kind. Unfortunately it is generally built according to the fantastic ideas of fashionable makers who have no practical experience of side-saddle riding. Unaided learners have such difficulty in acquiring security and grace of seat and good hands, that many ladies who have ridden all their lives, and have lots of pluck, are poor performers, particularly in the hunting-field. A beginner who is put on a properly made saddle and suitable horse, and is taught the right principles of riding, will make more progress in a month than she would otherwise do in, say, five years. The artificiality of side-saddle riding extends even to the horse, which must be free from certain faults, such as unsteadiness in mounting, that would not render him unsuitable to carry a male rider.

Competency in the instructor is of the first importance. Nothing is more absurd than for a man who cannot ride well in a side-saddle, to try to unfold to a lady the mysteries of seat. Such men, instead of getting into a side-saddle and showing their pupils “how to do it,” generally attempt to conceal their ignorance by the use of stock phrases. If asked “Why?” they invariably reply, “Because it’s the right thing to do,” or words to that effect. I have never heard of women venturing to teach men how to ride.

Davis, a young groom we had, was a rare instance of a man who was thoroughly competent to teach ladies how to ride, because he had lots of practice in side saddles, and had ample opportunities of learning the theory of the art, while I was teaching pupils in a riding school, where I rode and jumped horses without a skirt. Fig. 1 shows Davis riding in a side saddle over a gate, on my grey horse Gustave. The fact of his not hanging on to the horse’s head is a good proof that he had a strong seat.

Fig. 1.—Man riding a horse over a fence in a side-saddle.

The first lessons in balance and grip should be given by a competent horsewoman, and the riding-skirt should either be taken off or pinned back (for instance, with a safety-pin), in order that the lady instructor may be able to see and at once correct faults in the position of the legs, which is hardly a task fit for a man, even were he competent to perform it. After the pupil has acquired a good seat at the various paces and over small fences, her further education in the guidance and control of her mount might be entrusted to a competent horseman, preferably to a good cross-country rider, and not, as is frequently the case, to an ex-military riding-master, who, having been taught that a cavalryman’s right hand has to be occupied with a sword or lance, considers that ladies should also adopt the one-handed system of riding! As a rule, the services of a good horseman are desirable when the pupil is fit to ride in the open, because he is more helpful than a lady rider in rendering prompt assistance on an emergency. Besides, riding men usually know more about the bitting and handling of horses than women, and are therefore better able to impart instruction in this branch of equitation.

It is as impossible to lay down a hard-and-fast rule as to the age at which a girl may be allowed to mount a pony or donkey, as it is to control the spirits and daring of a foxhound puppy. Those who possess the sporting instinct and the desire to emulate the example of their hunting parents or friends, should certainly be encouraged and taught to ride as soon as they manifest their wish to do so. Many hunting women allow their children to occasionally attend meets in a governess car or other suitable conveyance, and the budding sportsmen and sportswomen in the vehicle keenly follow the hounds, as far as they can do so, by the roads. On non-hunting days during the season, it is no uncommon sight in hunting districts to see ladies walking by the side of their tiny daughters who are mounted on ponies, and giving them instruction in riding. In cub-hunting time we may often see the good results of such lessons, when parent and daughter appear together, and the little girl on her pony follows the lead over small fences which “mother” knows can be negotiated by both with safety.

Twenty years ago, infants were often carried in panniers or baskets, one on each side of a led pony or donkey, with the supposed object of initiating them to horse exercise. The pannier training was followed by the little girls being placed on a pilch, and conducted about by a mounted groom with a leading-rein. This leading-rein system is absolutely worthless as a means for teaching horse-control to children, and should be used only as a safeguard with an animal which the young rider may be unable to hold.

At whatever age a child is taught to ride, we should bear in mind that the exercise always entails a certain amount of fatigue, and should be taken in moderation. The many lamentable accidents which have occurred to young girls from being “dragged,” show the vital necessity of supplying the small horsewoman with the most reliable safety appliances in saddlery and dress. The parent or guardian often overlooks this all-important point, and devotes his or her entire attention to securing a quiet animal.

Girls who do not possess any aptitude or desire to ride should not be compelled to practise this art, for, apart from the cruelty of subjecting a highly nervous girl to the torture of riding lessons, such unwilling pupils never become accomplished horsewomen. In the same way, a child who has no ear for music, and who is forced against her wish to learn the piano, never develops into a good player.

The same remark applies to older ladies, who, with the usual angelic resignation of my sex, try their best to obey the command of their lords and masters by learning to ride. I fear that success in this art is seldom attained by ladies over thirty years of age, for by that time they have generally lost the dashing pluck of their youth; their figures have become set and matronly; and, as a rule, they find great difficulty in mastering the subtleties of balance and grip. Also, a state of nervous anxiety is apt to add to the general stiffness of their appearance, and to suggest discomfort and irritability.

We read from time to time alarming rumours of “spinal curvature” as a result of side-saddle riding, but I have never known a case of this to occur, either to old or young, although the near-side position of the leaping-head has a tendency to develop the muscles of the left leg more than those of the right leg, a fact which I discovered as soon as I began to ride a bicycle, after having had many years’ experience on horses. Riding alternately on a saddle with the leaping-head on the near side and on one with the leaping-head on the off side, would help to save the back and legs of a lady’s horse. In cantering or galloping, the animal puts more weight on the leading fore leg, which is consequently more liable to suffer from the injurious effects of work than the non-leading leg; and, as we all know, to canter or gallop comfortably, a lady’s horse has to lead with his off fore when the leaping-head is on the near side; and vice versâ. Also, the vulnerable side of the back and withers of an animal which carries a side-saddle, is the one which is opposite to that on which the leaping-head is fixed. I am afraid that these practical considerations would not outweigh the dictates of fashion and the expense of having two saddles for one horse. The Young Lady’s Equestrian Manual, which was published in 1838, tells us that in the early part of the last century, a plan which was similar to the one in question was adopted of having movable crutches, “in order to afford a lady, by merely changing their relative positions, the means of riding, as she might please, on either side of her horse,” and that this change of crutches was found advantageous. I do not think that a side-saddle built on this principle would look neat enough for modern requirements.