MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING 325 



upon. They arc based, as any cavalryman will recognize, upon the 

 military commands, " stand to your horses," " prepare to mount," and 

 " mount," bufc the objection has been urged that civilians do not always 

 come up to the recognized standard of height to be able to carry out those 

 directions in their entirety, and a certain amount of latitude must therefore 

 be allowed for the short, thick, successful merchant who begins to ride for 

 the benefit of his liver at fifty. As such a man will choose a very quiet 

 cob for his constitutional ride, he may be permitted to mount with his back 

 to the horse's quarter since that position is the more easy, but it is a method 

 to be condemned in the young and athletic who may ride restive animals. 

 One cannot be kicked in mounting from the front, but the position above 

 described is attended with considerable danger, and a kick may easily 

 fracture the thigh. Professors of horsemanship, in writing on this subject, 

 assume that their readers are already horsemen, and in giving Captain 

 Richardson's advice we suppose that the reader is not, but that he wishes 

 to adopt the best method. " 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 horseman- 

 ship 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 



