288 THE HORSE. 
MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. 
‘THE CELEBRATED Rarey has recently given us a new light upon the 
subject, which is quite at variance with those directions which have 
hitherto been considered to be the correct ones in this country. ‘Thus, 
Captain Richardson, in his valuable work on Horsemanship, advises as 
follows :—-“Stand opposite the near fore-foot of the horse, place the left 
hand on the neck near to the withers, having the back of the hand to the 
horse’s head, and the reins lying in front of the hand. Take up the reins 
with the right hand, put the little finger of the left hand between them, 
and draw them through until you feel the mouth of the horse; turn the 
remainder of the reins along the inside of the left hand, let it fall over 
the fore-finger on the off-side, and place the thumb upon the reins. Twist 
a lock of the mane round the thumb or fore-finger, and close the hand 
firmly upon the reins. Take the stirrup in the right hand, and place the 
left toe in it as far as the ball; let the knee press against the flap of the 
saddle, to prevent the point of the toe from irritating the side of the 
horse; seize the cantle of the saddle with the right hand, and springing 
up from the right toe, throw the right leg clear over the horse, coming 
gently into the saddle by staying the weight of the body with the right 
hand resting on the right side of the pommel of the saddle; put the right 
toe in the stirrup.” Now this is in the main applicable to a man of five 
feet ten inches or six feet, but to a shorter individual attempting to mount 
a horse of fifteen hands three inches, it is an impossibility, simply because 
he cannot reach the cantle from the same position which enables him to 
hold the stirrup in the left hand. The Captain is also wrong, in my 
opinion, in directing that the body should be raised into the saddle directly 
from the ground, with one movement. This will always bring the rider 
down into the saddle with a very awkward jerk; and the proper direction 
is to raise the body straight up till both feet are on a level with the 
stirrup-iron, and then with the left leg held against the flap of the saddle 
by the left hand on the pommel, the right leg is easily thrown over the 
cantle, and the body may be kept in the first position until the horse is 
quiet, if he is plunging or rearing. A short man can generally place his 
foot in the stirrup while held in his hand, but it should be known that all 
cannot do this, because I have seen young riders much vexed at finding 
that they could not possibly do what is directed. Most of our writers on 
horsemanship are of the military school, and endeavour to cut every one’s 
cloth by their own coats. They are able to do certain things easily, and 
so are their men, because they are mostly of the height already specified, 
but as sportsmen and civil equestrians are of all heights, I shall endeavour 
to accommodate my remarks to all heights and classes. In all cases the 
rider should stand at the shoulder, though with a short man it is much 
easier to mount a tall horse from the hind-quarter, but the danger of 
kicking is very great; and even in mounting with “a leg,” in the jockey 
style, I have known the thigh very nearly broken by a kick. If the hand 
can steady the stirrup it should do so, but if the person is too short, the foot 
can be placed in the stirrup without its aid; then taking the reins between 
the fingers, much as directed in the passage already quoted, and grasping 
a lock of the mane with the finger and thumb, the body is raised till the 
right foot is brought to a level with the left, when the right hand seizes 
the cantle, and with the left grasping the pommel, the body is steadied for 
a short time, which, in the ordinary mount, is almost imperceptible, but in 
