122 RIDING FOR LADIES. 



CHAPTER XL 



RIDING ON THE ROAD. 



I HAVE hitherto been surmising that your rides have been 

 upon your own horse : one specially purchased for you, and 

 perfectly trained for a lady's use. If such a state of things 

 could always be ensured, equestrianism would be a safe 

 and delightful pastime for the gentler sex — but, unfortu- 

 nately, it cannot be so. Ladies who are much in the saddle 

 are called upon often to ride a variety of horses, and 

 under such circumstances their position is an awkward 

 one, if unaccustomed to manage any save thoroughly- 

 trained and well-mannered animals. To have none other 

 for one's own use is at all times advisable, so far as it 

 can be done, but occasions may arise when you will 

 have to prove your claim to a higher title than that 

 of merely a " nice " or *' ladylike " rider. Say, for instance, 

 that you are stopping at a country house, your invi- 

 tation to which has not been extended to your horse, 

 or yet to your groom, and that there are riding parties 

 every day, which you are invited to join, your host some- 

 times supplying you with a mount, and a neighbour occa- 

 sionally offering to lend you one, it is scarcely probable 

 that, having a different animal to carry you every time 



