FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE 



shoulders being square ; in one, their being 

 crooked, and the seat askew, after the muscles 

 tire. Take the reins in both hands, therefore, 

 and if you are a beginner have only one rein, 

 and that attached to a large and easy leather or 

 snaffle-bit. You are going to prove an awful 

 nuisance to your mount for the next ten days — 

 make him as comfortable as you can. Let this 

 rein come through the whole hand from outside 

 the little fingers ; shut your thumb on it where it 

 goes over the first fingers ; close your fists, and 

 learn to keep them closed, not by hauling upon 

 the reins, but by using the muscles given for the 

 purpose of shutting your hand. When you can 

 ride for thirty minutes and keep your reins in 

 their places, you have made a big advance, and 

 one most people never make in a lifetime. 



Take the pommel exactly in the bend of the 

 right knee. Have your stirrup at a height that 

 allows three fingers, or two inches, between your 

 left knee and the leaping horn ; carry your left 

 foot back and keep your heel down ; bring your 

 right heel also back against the left shin, and 

 cultivate with care this position at every pace, for 

 upon it depends your security. This constitutes 

 your seat, yet few women have it correctly and 



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