134 MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. 



be present, he may stand In front of the horse and 

 hold him in the way already described for the groom to 

 do (page 125). If the animal shows unwillingness to ap- 

 proach the mounting-block, the man should hold the off 

 cheek-piece of the headstall of the bridle with his right 

 hand, and, with the flat of his left hand, prevent the 

 horse from sw^inging his hind quarters out. When the 

 horse is sufficiently close, the lady should take the whip 

 and reins in her left hand, put her left foot in the 

 stirrup, take the upper crutch with her left hand and 

 the cantle with the right, and spring lightly between 

 both hands into the saddle. The right leg is then put 

 over the upper crutch and the skirt arranged. 



DISMOUNTING, 



in the days of voluminous skirts, was a far more 

 serious business than it is now ; for the '' knee recess " 

 had to be carefullv freed from the crutches of the 

 saddle, and the skirt gathered up in the hands of the 

 rider, so that she might not tread on it. Riding- 

 women of to-day generally prefer to dismount without 

 assistance, for they are no longer hampered with an early 

 Victorian skirt. While a man holds the horse, the 

 rider releases her foot from the stirrup and loop, 

 removes her right leg from the crutch, and placing her 

 right hand on it and her left hand on the leaping head 

 to steady herself (Fig. 69), springs lightly to the 

 ground. If help is required from a male attendant, 

 it is best for him to offer his right arm, on which 

 the rider places her left hand (Fig. 70), as she leaves 



