the use of the horse in war (Job xxxix. 18–25), as did the Persians (Cyrus at the battle of Thymbra), Greeks and Romans. The Greeks and Romans, especially the former, were skilled horsemen, and feats on horseback were a feature of their games. They used no stirrup, but had both bridle and bit. They rode bareback, or on a cloth or skin strapped to the horse.
When roads were poor and vehicles cumbersome horseback was almost the only method of travel for both sexes. With the introduction of steam-locomotion and the improvement of roads, however, riding has become to a large extent a sport, rather than a necessity. There are different styles of riding adapted to the different purposes for which horses are riddenon the iroad, in the school, hunting, racing, steeple-chasing and in the cavalry service-just as there are different horses more suitable by conformation, breeding and training for each. In western civilization there is a traditional difference between the riding of men and women, in this particular, that men ride astride and women on a side-saddle. But in the following observations we deal generally with the more important features of riding as practised astride.
After securing an animal of the right height, weight and disposition, with a saddle of a length of tree and a breadth of seat that fits the rider and that is lined to fit the backof the horse, with a bridle bitted to his mouth, the first step is to mount. Having taken up the reins, the rider should stand at his horse's near (left) shoulder, facing towards the tail, and in that position hold the stirrup with his right hand for the reception of his left foot. By standing at the shoulder the rider is out of harm's way in the event of the horse kicking while he mounts. Ladies generally have the aid of a block or a groom's or escort's hand beneath the left foot. But a woman should be able to mount without aid, by lowering her stirrup, so that she can reach it from the ground, and then raising it again when she is seated in the saddle. Riding astride is sometimes recommended for women. The chief argument in its favor—symmetrical development of the figure—is, however, lost if the growing girl be taught to ride on a side-saddle of which the pommels can be shifted to the off side on alternate days.
Having gained the saddle, the necessity arises for seat and hands. Here good instruction is imperative at the outset. The great desideratum in a seat on horseback is that it should be firm. A rider with an insecure seat is apt to be thrown by any unexpected movement the horse may make; and, without a firm seat, the acquirement of good hands is well-nigh hopeless, because, when the balance is once disturbed the insecure rider will have to depend on something else for the maintenance of his seat, and this generally takes the shape of “ riding on the horse's mouth,” a practice as cruel as it is ugly.
Having gained the saddle, the rider should adjust the stirrups to the proper length, depending on the kind of riding, the length of his leg and the roughness of the horse's trot. Sitting well in the middle of the saddle, the thighs turned in, and the heels drawn somewhat back, the stirrup leathers may be let out or taken up until the tread of the stirrup is on a level with the inner ankle bone, and at this length, when the rider stands up, his fork will easily clear the pommel of the saddle. For maintaining his seat the horseman should depend upon his thighs and knees only, and not upon the knee and calf; a proper seat should be a mixture of balance and grip; a man riding by balance only is sure to be thrown, while to grip with all one's might during an hour's ride is to undertake as much exertion as should last for a whole day. The position of the foot exercises much influence on the security of the seat; it should be opposite the girth, parallel with the barrel of the horse, with the heels depressed. A good seat on a horse should not be strong merely; it should be graceful; above the loins the body should be loose, so as readily to adapt itself to every motion of the horse, but it should be upright.
Beginners are advised to practise riding with and without stirrups; thus, let the pupil who has ridden half an hour in a saddle with stirrups have a cloth substituted for the saddle for about ten minutes, care being taken to observe the rules already laid down for the position of the legs; in this way the pfoper seat will be strengthened.
The proper adjustment of the reins is the next thing to be attended to, and as the management of these depends so much upon the seat being firm and independent of the bridle the acquisition of a firm seat is certainly half-way towards the acquirement of good hands. An excellent way to start a pupil is on a sure-footed horse without bridle, the master governing him by a leading rein until the pupil has acquired a Him seat and can be trusted with reins. Assuming that a double-reined bridle is used, the third finger of the left hand should be first inserted between the snafile reins; then the little, third and second fingers should be between the curb reins, the two outside reins being the curb, and the two inside ones the snaffle. In this manner of holding the reins the snaffle is not so likely to slip, While the curb can be easily slackened or drawn tighter. As military riders use the curb only the position of snaffle and curb as just explained is reversed in the cavalry service. The snaffle reins should be drawn up gently until the rider feels that he has an equal and light hold of his horse's mouth on both sides, with just so much pressure that the slightest movement of the left or right rein would cause him to turn to the left or right respectively. The arms from the shoulder to the elbow should hang naturally, close to the sides, and the arms from elbow to wrist should be about parallel to the ground, the wrist being kept loose, so as to yield gently with every motion of the horse. The rider sitting in the position described, square to the front, with his shoulders well back, will be riding with fairly long reins, one of the secrets of good hands.
When the horse is in motion the hands should not be held rigid; as the horse's mouth would thereby become dead, and the horse would lean unpleasantly on the hand; but the rider should give and take, Without, however, entirely relaxing the hold.
In order to encourage the horse to walk the head must not be confined, but a light feeling of the horse's mouth must be kept up. Should the horse, unasked, break into a trot, never snatch at his mouth, but restrain him gently. To trot, press the legs to the saddle, and raise the bridle hand a little, and, after a moment's sitting close, begin to rise (“ pose ”) in cadence with the action of the horse. The rising to the trot should be performed easily; the legs must not swing backwards and forwards, nor should the hands be jerked up and down. To start the Canter, which should always be done from the walk and not the trot, take up the curb rein a little and turn the horse's head slightly to the right, at the same time pressing the left leg behind the girth; the horse will then lead with the off (right) fore leg, which is generally preferred; but a well-broken hack should lead with either leg at command, and if he be cantered in a circle to the left he must lead with the near leg, as otherwise an ugly fall is likely to result from the leg being crossed. Galloping is a pace not to be generally indulged in by road or park riders; when it is, the hands should be kept low, the body thrown back, and an extra grip taken with the knees, as nearly all horses pull more or less when extended.
Hitherto only road or park riding has been considered. When a person has become a fair road rider he has made some progress towards being a hunting man. But if first principles are disregarded, and a follower of hounds believes in the system “ it doesn't matter how you ride so long as you stick on,” he will not only always be a “ sight ” but a menace in the hunting field. Few self-taught riders attain to excellence; they may keep a good place in hunting, if possessed of plenty of courage, and mounted on a bold and not too tender-mouthed horse, but they never will be riders in the proper sense of the word.
Hunting and Riding to Hounds.—For practical purposes the chief difference between a park seat and a hunting seat consists in the shortening of the stirrups some two or three holes. The seat of the hunting man is the most important of any connected with amusement; he must sit firm, so as not to be thrown off when his horse leaps, or makes a mistake, and he must be able to save his horse under all circumstances, and to make as much of him as possible. As with road riding, so with hunting, the actual
