72 LADIES MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. 



might take a notion to kick. Gentleman within one foot 

 of lady, he puts up both hands to her elbows, she gives a 

 slight spring off, his hands receive her weight, enough to 

 permit her to alight on the ground without a jar. Or, 

 another way : gentleman standing six inches farther off, 

 turns half around, she puts both hands on his shoulder, 

 gives a little spring off, breaks her fall by the pressure on 

 his shoulder, and alights necessarily lightly and with per- 

 fect ease. Now she gives her horse a few gentle pats on 

 the neck or face to assure him of her satisfaction, which 

 he appreciates fully. It is an incontrovertible fact that a 

 horse often restive and uneasy under a gentleman's con- 

 trol will be just the reverse under a lady's; simply on 

 account of her lightness of hand he will be submissive 

 and tractable as possible. 



A few words on the subject of her saddle : horns on 

 pommel should be reasonably low; the old-fashioned high 

 horns are in the way of the hand, somewhat difficult to get 

 the leg over or off, and in beginners are sometimes wrongly 

 used too much for support : the seat not so high as in the 

 modern ones, by which she is perched up a foot above her 

 horse's back. There should be a sweep of the seat, up from 

 greatest point of depression, of at least one and a half 

 inches at that point, and lower by that much than between 

 the horns. The modern knee crutch is also desirable. Of 

 girths there should be three : two inside and one outside, 

 the latter with side strap attached to back of seat on the 

 off or right side, the two former only should be buckled 

 tightly, the latter quite loosely, as the side strap draws 

 that back and makes it tight enough over withers. And 

 about the padding, the same general precaution as in a 

 gentleman's saddle; but in front it should be so raised as 

 that the shield in front of pommel should not rest on, 

 but only lightly touch, the neck. 



