104 HORSEMANSHIP FOE WOMEN. 



tween said ears (an excellent habit), look straight along 

 the road> and not off obliquely to one side of it, then 

 the seat, whatever else it may not be, is at least in the 

 middle of the saddle. 



The Hand. — As to the manner of carrying the arms, 

 Colonel Hayes remarks that he has seen of late (in Eng- 

 land) some ladies sticking out their elbows, but that he, 

 for his part, decidedly approves of the old rule which 

 forbade that daylight should be seen between a lady's 

 arms and body. The sight which annoyed Colonel 

 Hayes is not unknown in America, but probably most 

 observers correctly attribute it either to ignorance or 

 affectation. Certainly there is no reason for it, whether 

 practical or aesthetic, as the raising of the elbows lifts 

 the hands into a position in which the reins act less 

 correctly on the horse's mouth, while substituting angles 

 for curves in the outline of the figure, and quite de- 

 stroying the air of well-bred repose which is one of the 

 great charms of a finished horsewoman. The arms 

 should hang naturally by the sides, with the hands, a 

 few inches apart, just above the knee, and as low as pos- 

 sible without resting on it, the nails turned down, the 

 knuckles at an angle of forty-five degrees with the hori- 

 zon, the wrists bent inward so as to permit of a little play 

 of the wrist joint at each tug of the horse on the reins. 



The Poise. — All this is not very difficult so long as 

 the horse keeps quiet, or even when he merely walks; 

 but how is this much-admired statuesque repose to be 



