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of the assistant while her left hand rests on his right shoulder from 

 which she pushes herself upward as the assistant erects himself afte r 

 stooping' to receive her foot. 



This method is quite generally used in Kurope, but if the assistant 

 should be very short and the horse and woman very tall the push from 

 the formers shoulder would not add much to raising the woman into 

 position and the lifting frdm the hands alone is no guarantee that the 

 woman may not be raised so high and so far, to almost go over to the 

 rig-ht after being' seated in the saddle. 



The womans seat in the saddle should be such as to place her hips 

 and shoulders in a right angular position to the horses spine ; the right 

 lenee or the thigh a little above the knee resting against the pommel 

 with the lower part of the leg hanging downward over the saddle flap 

 and the toe of the right foot pointed downward. 



The left thigh rests closely against the saddle flap while the ball of 

 the left foot holds the stirrup with the heel slightly depressed to pre- 

 vent slipping of the foot into the stirrup. The position of the left foot 

 should be parallel with the horse. 



The adjustment of the stirrup as to its length, depends first upon 

 the length of a woman's thigh from the hip to the knee, the latter acting 

 as a lever in the act of rising, secondly, upon the stride and action of the 

 horse in a trot, thirdly upon the weight of the rider which, if great, and 

 the angle between the thigh and the lower leg very acute will fatigue 

 because of the increased effort in straightening the leg for the rise. 



The adjustment of the stirrups therefore may be most effectually 

 attempted after the first trot, particularly, when the horse is a strange 

 one and the woman is not acquainted with its gait. 



The Riding Master of course who is familiar with these details may 

 easily adjust a stirrup for the pupil by using his own judgment. 



At all events it should be long enough to permit an almost complete 

 straightening of the leg and at no time should the left leg be cramped 

 under the leaping horn by too short a stirrup. 



The woman's arms should rest against the sides of her body and the 

 forearm be raised to about a right angle •with the upper arm, when 

 holding the reins. 



The position of the hands should be close together ; but their dis- 

 tance from the riders body depends entirely upon the carriage and 

 position of the horse's head and neck and tinder all circumstances should 

 the reins be held short enough to give sufficient purchase on the horse. 



For the holding of the reins I refer to Lecture IV on "The Aids". 



Gymnastic exercises, while halting on horseback, are an invaluable 

 aid to give relaxation and suppleness to the beginners body and limbs. 



In all cases where the time is not too limited, I insist on the use of 

 the simple snaffle for the beginner until the hands have become indepen- 

 dent enough of the horse's motion and are steady enough, to be entrusted 

 with the curb. 



The exercises of seat and guidance for wqman's riding and the aids 

 are the same, as in mans riding, but the whip in the woman's case 



