The Barb and the Bridle: A Handbook of Equitation for Ladies, and Manual of Instruction in the Science of Riding, from the Preparatory Suppling ExercisesHenderson, Robert, active 1866-1874
Science
The Barb and the Bridle: A Handbook of Equitation for Ladies, and Manual of Instruction in the Science of Riding, from the Preparatory Suppling Exercises
Henderson, Robert, active 1866-1874
Horsemanship
After the usual walking lesson (abridged, however, to allow more time
for what is to follow), the pupil should ride her horse to the centre of
the school, and halt him there, so that the instructor has perfect
facility of getting at the horse on any side, and seeing the exact form
in which his pupil moves. The lady should then be instructed to take a
firm hold with the right knee on the upper pommel of the saddle,
grasping it well between the thigh and the lower part of the leg, and
carrying the latter well back, with the heel sunk as close as possible
to the left leg. By sinking the heel well, she will give great firmness
to her hold with the right leg upon the upper pommels. To accomplish
this, however, she should get well forward in her saddle, and care
should be taken that her stirrup is not too short, otherwise she will be
thrown too far back to enable her to take the necessary grip with the
upper leg. The left leg should then be well drawn back, the front of the
thigh pressed firmly against the third crutch, the left heel well sunk,
and the toe raised from the instep, because a firmness is thus given to
the leg and thigh which would otherwise be wanting. The body, from the
waist upwards, should be inclined slightly forward, and the angle at
which the left foot is drawn back from the perpendicular line from the
knee to the foot should be regulated by the inclination of the body
forward, so as exactly to balance it.
Having placed his pupil in this position, and seen that her hands are
well drawn back and arms firm, the instructor should then _take her foot
out of the stirrup_, and give the following concise instructions: "On
the word 'one,' raise the body slowly from the saddle as high as
possible." Now, to do this without the aid of the stirrup can only be
accomplished by keeping the heel well down and the leg back (in the
first place, in order to balance the body), and then raising the figure
by the action of the right knee and its grasp upon the upper pommel. At
first the pupil will find this difficult, even when the horse is
perfectly motionless, and when the riding master assists her by putting
his left hand under her left elbow; but after a few efforts she will
succeed. This is the first step in learning the rise with precision.
Having accomplished it, the pupil should not lower herself again to the
saddle until the instructor gives her the word "two," when she should
lower herself as slowly as she rose.
If she has been well tutored in the extension and suppling practices
alluded to in my second chapter, she will understand what "one, two"
time means in this way as well as in dancing, and her knowledge of
balance on foot will assist her on horseback. These rising and falling
motions should be continued until the pupil executes them with
precision, fair intervals of rest being allowed. The master should then
place the lady's foot again in the stirrup.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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