REINS, VOICE, AND WHIP. 107 



would never get had they in the first instance been properly- 

 taught. Therefore, being desirous, as I truly am, that all 

 my lady readers shall excel at an art which is so well worth 

 studying, I have laid down the best practical directions for 

 their instruction, in the hope that they may accept and 

 profit by them ; and I promise fearlessly that by so doing 

 they will be in the first flight when others are on the road- 

 side, and in the saddle when those who trust for safety to 

 rein and stirrup are exploring the slimy depths of some 

 uncomfortable ditch. 



Having now arrived at the question of holding the reins, 

 we shall consider their uses and abuses from a common- 

 sense point of view. You are not to regard them in any 

 degree as a means of preserving your own equilibrium — 

 this I have already taught you. To ride from a horse's 

 head is one of the gravest faults of which an equestrian can 

 be guilty ; nor must you depend altogether upon the bridle 

 for the management of your mount, this is a very general 

 error, and one that I want you strictly to avoid. Horses 

 are controlled by three things : the reins, the voice, and the 

 legs — and a lady rider must make her whip-handle serve 

 her for the management and guidance of her mount on the 

 off side, where a man has the advantage of having his 

 right leg to assist him in the office. Of this more anon, for 

 I mean to touch lightly upon the three controlling powers. 



First, the reins. Teachers of the Jiaiite ecole style of 

 riding may possibly have told you wonders about military 

 horsemanship, and how the movements of an animal may be 

 regulated by certain subtle touches of the thumb or little 



