H. L. de Bussigny

“ The difference of progress between classes and individual pupils is so great that one may calculate that, after one hundred private lessons, a pupil will not ride so well as if she had taken fifty lessons in class. In a class she is obliged to keep her horse at a certain distance from the others, and in his own place, and, in her turn, go through exercises directed by a will other than her own, while the constant repetition of principles by the teacher fixes them in her memory. ”

“ There are two very different ways of riding; the more usual, because the easier, consists in letting the horse go forward at a walk, a trot, or a gallop, the rider contenting herself with guiding him, and staying on his back; while, in the other, the will as well as the action of the animal is controlled, and he is carried forward in obedient and intelligent sympathy with his rider. ”

“ Almost all riding-teachers have been educated in the army, where the reins must be held in the left hand, to leave the right free for the saber, and they continue to teach as they were taught, without considering that in civil life the right hand is practically unoccupied. When the horse is moving in a straight line, it is easy to gather the reins into one hand; but when the rider wishes to turn him to the right or left, or make him give to the bit, two hands are just twice as good as one, and I can see no reason for always riding with the reins in one hand. ”

“ I can not too strongly recommend to parents the greatest care in the choice of a teacher for their children, as in later years it always takes more time and trouble to correct bad habits than it would have done to acquire good ones in the beginning. As a general rule, riding-teachers are promoted grooms, or men of that class, who may be able to show boys how to become good rough-riders, but who are quite incompetent to teach a young lady the scientific principles by which alone she can obtain a thorough mastery of her horse. ”

“ During the last twenty-five years many hand-books on equitation have been written for men, but few for women. This is the more remarkable as a woman's seat is such that she can not produce the same effects or use the same means as a man. Instruction for him is therefore largely useless for her. Men astride [Pg 8] of a horse hold him between their legs and hands in a grip from which he can not escape, and can direct and force him with all the resolution and energy they possess. Women, sitting on the left side, must supply the place of the right leg as well as they can. ”

“ But supposing it to be impossible, a pupil may be well taught by exercises in the school, just as officers are taught at West Point or at Saumur. One thing alone is certain: seat can never be acquired by desultory riding or by riding exclusively on the roads or in parks.
Next, as to management. Without doubt the English dash and energy—in a word, rough-riding—is the first essential for any one who hopes to be either safe or happy on a horse. It is the foundation, without which nothing can avail. ”

“ It is the most sensible book on the subject treated we have ever read—simple and intelligible, the language always fitting and delicate in treating subjects requiring judgment and discretion, and pervaded with such a parental and solicitous kindness that it can not fail to win the attention and confidence of every young woman. ”

“ As the horse is galloping with his right foot, the rider will calculate the movement of his right shoulder by watching it without lowering her head, and, when she sees that shoulder move to put down the right leg, she must instantly change her effects of leg and whip, and lift her hands, the right rather more than the left, to support the horse while he pauses with his right shoulder, while an energetic action of her leg will make him bring his left hind leg under him and put it in front of the right ”

“ A horse's mouth is often a very delicate instrument, and the vibrations which it gives to the reins are felt much more readily by the bare hand.
Tailors almost always try to make a habit very tight fitting, especially at the waist; but a lady's position on horseback is at best an artificial one, and unless she is at ease in her habit she will never look at home on her horse. The constraint caused by a tight collar or arm-hole soon becomes intolerable, and the chances are that a tight waist will give the rider a pain in her side if her horse leaves a walk. ”

“ It would be very difficult to foresee all the possible defensive actions of the horse and the means of counteracting them; but, as the rider gains experience, she will get to recognize these actions from the outset, and counteract them so naturally that she will scarcely think about it. To a good rider there is no such thing as a restive horse. The animal either knows what to do, or he does not. If he knows, the rider, by the power of her effects, forces the horse to obey; if he does not know, the rider trains him. If a horse resists, there is always a cause ”

“ Although her single spur is at times a most valuable adjunct to a lady, it should never be worn by beginners, nor until its use has been thoroughly taught in the course of study.
It is with regret that I see the riding-whip becoming superseded by the handle of the English hunting-crop, as this is neither rational nor practical, being too short and light to replace the right leg advantageously or to give efficient punishment if it is needed. A good whip, flexible, without being limp, rather long than short, not too heavy, but well balanced, is best, especially in the riding-school. ”

“ Pupils should be warned to avoid, as much as may be, clasping the pommel too tightly with the right knee, as a constant strain will fatigue them and take away the reserve force which they may need at a given moment; indeed, a rider should be taught from the first to economize his strength as much as possible.
As soon as the pupil can sit her horse correctly, at a walk, holding the reins in both hands, she should practice holding them in the left hand only, in case she should wish to use her right hand during the lesson. ”

“ If he quickens his movement, he must be at once carried vigorously forward with the leg and whip.
When the pupil begins to have a firm seat at the trot, the teacher will gradually let her pass the corners at that gait, and, at his discretion, will also let her execute some of the movements to the right and left. To do this, she will use precisely the same means as at the walk, the only difference being that, as the gait is quicker, the changes of equilibrium are greater for both horse and rider, and the effects should be lighter and more quickly employed and stopped. ”

“ A lady's equestrian education can not be considered complete until she can make her horse leap any obstacle which is reasonable, considering her age and experience and the capacity of her horse. When her seat has become flexible and firm at the walk, trot, and gallop, when she is mistress of her horse in changes of direction, of gait, and of feet, the teacher should allow her to leap a hurdle not less than two nor more than three feet high. ”

“ If he should be really ill-tempered, I would mount him in the same place with sharp spurs and a good whip, and before long his moral condition would be much more satisfactory.
But often a horse takes fright and runs away when one least expects it. Allow me to say that nothing which a horse can do should ever be unexpected. On horseback one should be ready for emergencies; and the best way to avoid them is to prevent the horse from a dangerous initiative. ”

“ As soon as the pupil can rise without too much effort, and tolerably quickly, she may practice it at the walk, and then at the trot, counting for herself, one, two, three, four; and she must put a certain amount of energy into it, for all the theory in the world will not teach her to rise in time with the horse unless she also helps herself. The theory of the rhythmical cadence is easy enough to give: the rider rises when the horse takes one step, and sinks back at the second, to rise again at the third ”

“ The pause before a leap is more noticeable at a walk than at a trot, and least of all at a gallop. The most favorable gait for leaping is what is known as a hand-gallop, which is an intermediate pace between a riding-school canter and the full gallop of the race-track, as, while he is at this gait, the horse is impelled forward with his hind legs constantly under him. ”

“ Ladies certainly do not care to passage in the streets, but they do want to know how to stop their horses cleverly when they take fright, to turn their corners neatly at the trot without danger of a fall, and to avoid instantly any obstacle they may unexpectedly meet. It is also well to understand something of the simpler methods of regulating gaits. All these things may be learned best by studying the rudiments of the school system, and it is with rudiments only that this treatise pretends to deal. ”

“ The pupil should be mounted on a very quiet horse and led into the middle of the school, where the teacher, standing on the left side, takes in his left hand her right foot, and draws it very gently, and without any jerk, back toward the left leg; the pupil should then place her left hand in his right, and her right hand on the first pommel, and, thus supported, lean back until her body touches the back of the horse, straightening herself afterward with as little aid from the teacher as possible, and chiefly by the pressure of the right knee on the second pommel. ”

“ For many years two styles of riding have prevailed in Western Europe—the English and the continental or school system. The two are usually supposed to be somewhat antagonistic, so much so that the followers of each are not unapt to regard the other with feelings of more or less dislike, not to say contempt; the one side being sneered at as pedants, the other despised as barbarians. ”

“ When the teacher is fully satisfied that his pupil has advanced far enough to profit by it, he may begin to teach her to rise at the trot; but he must not be in too great a hurry to reach this point, and he must make her understand that to rise is the result of a good seat, and that a good seat does not result from rising. ”

“ Be prudent; accidents always happen too soon. Be calm, if you wish your horse to be so. Be just, and he will submit to your will. Remember that, in riding, the greatest beauty consists in being simple in your means of control; do not appear to be always occupied with your horse, for you and he should seem to have the same will. ”

“ Yet it is for these very reasons far more important for women than for men to understand the art of management, since they must rely entirely on tact, skill, and knowledge, not only to overcome the difficulties of the cramped and unnatural seat imposed on them by fashion, but to supply their lack of physical strength. ”

“ From the very beginning of the lessons the teacher should suppress all the little chirpings and clackings of the tongue, which, however useful they may be to a coachman or a horse-trainer, are out of place in the mouth of a lady. ”

“ After the first five or six lessons they may be gradually lengthened, day by day, until an hour is reached, and one hour in the riding-school under instruction, if the pupil holds herself in the correct position, is sufficient. When the lesson is over, the pupil should rest for a short time before changing her dress, and walk about a little in order to re-establish a free circulation of the blood. It is always wise for a lady to walk her horse for at least ten minutes before she dismounts, both for his sake and her own. ”

“ She is apt to ruin her own horse; and gentlemen who have spirited animals are likely to avoid riding with her. Except in the prescribed effects of the whip and leg, there is no definite position in which a lady is obliged to hold her whip, and she should learn to carry it as suits her best. She should be able to arrange her skirt while at a walk, without assistance, and also to shorten or lengthen her stirrup by the strap on the right side of the saddle, without taking her foot out. ”

“ To accomplish the result, the rider is taught so to use his own legs and spurs as to bring the animal's hind legs under him, and thus carry him forward, instead of letting him go forward in his own way, as the English do. By balancing the effect of leg and spur upon the hind quarters, against the effect of hand and bit upon the mouth, the horse is brought into a position of equilibrium between the two, either at rest or in motion ”

“ I offer here a few suggestions for the use of any gentleman who may wish to assist a lady to mount. He should stand facing her at the left side of the horse, his right foot slightly in front of his left. He should then stoop and offer his left hand for her foot. Unless the lady is an experienced rider, he should place his right hand lightly under her left arm to steady her as she rises. He should count aloud with her, one, two, three, and at three he should straighten himself, giving a strong support for her left foot. ”

“ There is not, nor can there be, any approximate calculation of the height to rise, as that depends entirely upon the gait of the horse. If he takes short steps, the rider must rise oftener, and consequently not so high; but, if he is long-gaited, she must rise high, in order not to get back into the saddle before he is ready to take his second step. ”

“ A lady will probably never in her life be called upon to mount alone in a flat country, but she can never have too many resources, and it is easy to make the attempt some time when riding alone in the school.
DISMOUNTING.
The horse having come to a full stop, the pupil may let the reins fall on his neck if he is very docile, slip her left foot out of the stirrup and both feet out of their elastic straps, pass her right leg over the second pommel, and sit sideways on her saddle for an instant ”