Four Positions in Mounting. 279 



According to military directions, the horseman, before mounting, is to twist a lock of the 

 horse's mane round one finger of his left hand. This may do with trained troop-horses, but 

 adopted with a high-spirited fresh hack or hunter might end in an unpleasant drag, and a 

 broken fiiiger or dislocated wrist. A grasp of the mane with the reins will usually be found 

 sufficient. 



The following successive motions seem very long and tedious in detail, but so would detailed 

 instructions to a savage king on the use of a knife and fork : — 



The first position of the accompanying sketch is more easy and relaxed than military 

 rules would allow. The reins hang loose, it being supposed that the horse has either learned 

 to stand still or is held by a groom ; if not, it will usually be found safer to have the curb rein 

 drawn through the fingers, so as to feel the mouth and render it easy to stop the horse if he 

 move during the operation. 



In No. 2, the rider balancing lightly on his right toe springs to position No. 3. With a fourth 

 movement he throws himself into the saddle, appears as in No. 4, and takes up the reins in 

 one hand. 



The sketch on this page shows the square seat, the upright carriage, the fall of the legs, 

 and position of the toes, which a well-made man ought to assume on horseback. 



In hunting most men thrust the foot home. A man must be very strong to retain his 

 foot half way in the stirrup in a very bustling run, with a variety of up, down, and wide leaps ; 

 yet I have seen an Irish horse-dealer's feet swing in the stirrups while his horse cleared six 

 feet. 



THE REINS. 



A firm seat having been attained by continuous practice and close attention to the style 

 of such horsemen as the one delineated in the preceding illustrations, the pupil has arrived at 

 the stage where he may learn to guide his horse. 



Until a pupil has acquired that firm attachment to the saddle which is the combined result of 

 grip and balance, only obtained by patient practice, he does not guide his horse ; on the contrary, 

 if any difference of opinion arises, his horse guides him. 



Horses are managed by the use of the reins, the legs, and the voice — the voice to soothe, 

 to encourage, and sometimes to threaten. 



Military and haute ecole instructors have written very elaborate descriptions of the modes 

 of holding the reins in one hand and regulating the motions of the horse with the little finger. 

 No doubt, those who have thus written can do what they attempt to explain ; but pupils can 

 no more learn these extraordinary feats from written rules than to play like Halle or Arabella 

 Goddard. 



A neat way of holding double reins in one hand is shown in the illustration, page 283. 



A DOUBLE BRIDLE IN ONE HAND. 



The bridoon or snaffle rein is divided by the third finger, the bridoon rein being upper- 

 most ; and thus you may ride a perfectly-trained horse who has learned that he is to turn to 

 the right when the left rein is pulled, and to the left when the right is pulled, as well as possible 

 by a turn of the wrist and a pressure of the leg. But as even a colt, whether he obeys or not, 

 can understand that when the left rein is pulled he is intended to go to the left, a pupil is 

 saved a great deal of unnecessary trouble by commencing in the style of colt-breakers and cf 

 common sense, and taking the reins in both hands. 



