Knee and Thigh Grip 61 



Where there is a constant flow of pupils, a small 

 number of dummy horses will well repay their initial 

 cost. They can be made from a short piece of the 

 trunk of a tree, having approximately the same girth 

 as a horse, or a small barrel standing on four props. 

 The top of the trunk or barrel should be fitted to 

 take a saddle, and should be about four feet from the 

 ground. The place where the knee lies may be hol- 

 lowed out and stuffed with hay to give a softer 

 grip. The wood below the level of the knee should 

 be cut away to prevent the rider from obtaining any 

 assistance from the lower part of the leg. Supervi- 

 sion is simpler if a dummy horse is used, as the in- 

 structor is more on a level with his pupil ; the latter 

 will not be preoccupied with the management of 

 his horse, and will learn from the first to be entirely 

 independent of his reins as far as his seat is con- 

 cerned. 



Dummy horses are also useful for teaching 

 mounting and saddling, besides bridling and hold- 

 ing the reins if there is a head; their employment 

 for instructional purposes is not a new idea : Vege- 

 tius wrote that wooden horses were used in early 

 times to teach vaulting on to the horse (Berenger). 



