THE HORSEWOMAN 235 



this is riding with too long a stirrup ; another is 

 rising at the trot for too long a time. Now both 

 these faults though very difficult to eradicate 

 should never have been acquired and it is not too 

 much to say that they never would have been 

 acquired if the ladies had been taught by a com- 

 petent person. But having once been acquired 

 they are a fruitful source of sore back. 



It must be understood that in the following 

 remarks I am not referring to those who are 

 to the manner born as it were, — who have been 

 amongst horses all their lives and may be expected 

 to know and who generally do know at any rate 

 a good deal about horses and riding. But many 

 ladies take to riding who have not had these ad- 

 vantages and in their cases something like this 

 frequently happens. 



The ladies of the family think it would be nice 

 to ride. The head of the family, like the cele- 

 brated Barkis, is wilhng. Now that estimable 

 gentleman knows absolutely nothing about 

 horses and their equipment, so he asks his friend 

 X whose wife and daughters ride, what he did. 

 X tells him that Y — '' fine horseman Y," has 

 looked after his family till they could manage for 

 themselves — " helped them " he calls it. Some- 

 times, but rarely, the ladies have a few preliminary 

 lessons at the Riding school and then Y takes 

 them in hand. He is a good fellow is Y ; he 

 would teach his friends if he could, but he cannot. 

 He does not know — he is a shocking bad horse- 

 man himself who blames his horse for everything 



