HANDS. 565 



remainder of the right leg should hang easily. This and 

 nothing else, gives the firm, square seat, and if the right, 

 knee is in the proper place, the right shoulder (the most 

 defective part) will not be forward or down, but in line, and 

 the shoulders will be as square as a man's. The left knee 

 should not be pressed up against the pommel, or leaping 

 horn, but should be held in firmly against the saddle in the 

 same position as a man's knee. The stirrup foot should be 

 held with the heel down and the toe up and turned a bit 

 toward the horse's side. I do not approve of a very long 

 stirrup for a woman as it is inclined to make her ride too 

 far forward in her saddle and upon her horse's withers. 



If these important things are remembered and practised, 

 correct position will be insured in the saddle, the rider will sit 

 squarely and gracefully on her horse, the proper amount of 

 work will be done with the right leg, and the right knee will 

 stay firm in the canter, while all the riding will not be done 

 with the left leg, and the weight will not be thrown on the 

 stirrup. 



HANDS. 



The hands should be held in line with the waist, neither 

 above nor below, the elbows in, not out, and the wrists must 

 be supple. Both hands should be kept in position and neither 

 of the arms should ever be allowed to hang straight at one's 

 side. 



Light hands are a great gift, and if not possessed every 

 care should be taken to cultivate them. But with their light- 

 ness should be combined firmness and a quick sympathy with 

 the horse's mouth. In many cases it is the pulling rider, 

 not the pulling horse. It is the delicate firmness that the 



