Riding for Women and Children 145 



— a hideous fault, because to do it they are not 

 sitting lip in their saddles, but slouching down on 

 their backbones. If you cannot keep the left down 

 and back any other wa}^ have the stirrup strapped 

 to the girth so that it can only move an inch or 

 two. Seize the pommel in the bend of the right 

 knee, and nowhere — and nohow — else. This is 

 your seat, and from it you rise, to it you adhere; 

 and you can perfectly well rise at the trot, if you 

 choose, without stirrups, after a little practice, once 

 you get this idea and habit — that your right thigh 

 is your mainspring, and that you rise from the clasp 

 of your knee aroimd the pommel, even as a jack- 

 knife blade is hinged at one end of the handle. 



Bend far over on both sides, lie down on the 

 horse's back, lurch and pitch about in all directions, 

 that your muscles may become supple, and loosen up 

 before you begin to ride. Do this at a stand and at 

 a walk, finally at a trot and canter. A few minutes' 

 exercise with the lightest kind of wooden dumb-bells, 

 before mounting, is excellent, as it expands the chest 

 and brings all the useful muscles into active play, 



