THE HORSE 



121 



him with whip and spur to advance in that 

 half-sitting posture. This violent treat- 

 ment renders a horse obedient in a few 

 days, and if he breaks a leg or strains 

 a muscle in the process, what matter ? 

 The steppes of the Ukraine, or eastern 

 Russia, will furnish plenty more. 



Besides the systems of equitation prac- 

 ticed in circuses and riding schools, there 

 are rules for open-air exercises in which, 

 added to equitation properly so called, 

 there are obstacles to overcome, barriers 

 to leap, and equestrian games to play, in 

 which the rider can exhibit his power 



.Si. WISH Step 



over his steed, together with his method 

 and agility. 



Women rode on horseback in very ancient 

 times, as we see by the sculptures of 

 ancient Greece. One by Phidias, preservetl 

 in the British Museum in London, shows 

 us a Thessalian woman sitting, man fashion, 

 astride a horse of Thessaly, which breed 

 was then held to be the finest of Grecian 

 horses. This fashion of women riding 

 astride continued in Europe until the 

 twelfth century, when ladies' saddles were 

 introduced, enabling them to sit sideways. 

 Sometimes a woman rode en croupe, that 

 is, behind her husband or another man. 

 It is said that Queen Elizabeth of England 



" Interest" 



rode thus behind her grand equerry, the 

 Earl of Leicester. 



The horse is easily trained to assist his 

 rider in the execution of certain tricks of 

 grace and skill. A tale is told of a Gascon 

 horseman who rode a spirited horse hold- 

 ing a piaster under each thigh, between 

 each knee and the horse, and on each 

 spur, without dropping a single one of 

 them. I have myself seen an American 

 cowboy cross at full gallop a field where 

 a piece of money had been thrown upon 

 the grass. Without slackening speed he 

 leaned over and along the flank and belly 

 of his horse, clinging to the animal with 

 his legs, his head hanging low, but every 



Makinc; hi.m Kneel 



