86 



MODERN HORSE MANAGEMENT 



[CHAP. 



beyond my control, i.e. out of hand. There is 

 nothing gained by using sharp spurs if the same 

 result can be obtained with blunt ones. This 

 is the case with most old horses, but with young 

 ones the results that could be obtained with 

 sharp spurs are really not worth anything. If 

 the horse requires punishing, then I use the spur 

 or whip as an instrument of reproof ; but 

 directly he is obedient I caress him, and con- 

 tinue to use the spur or whip as an indicator. 

 The whip is used as an extra indicator on one 

 side or the other while training horses, hence it 

 must be rigid. This indicator is of the utmost 

 service to ladies using the side saddle, as it takes 

 the place of the right leg. 



An objection to the present abuse of this 

 valuable indicator, the spur, was brought home 

 to me a short while ago when I overheard an 

 observant lady say concerning me, " Oh, look 

 how he is spurring that poor horse ! " As a 

 matter of fact, I was riding a high-spirited horse 

 who objected to pass a street car, and I was 

 passaging him past. I had no rowels to my 

 spurs. 



The word " indicator " as applied to hands 

 and legs is better than the word " aid," because 

 the latter rather implies the application of 

 physical help, which, generally speaking, the 

 hands and legs do not and cannot apply. If one 

 dismounts and by mere force pushes a horse 

 over, then he applies an aid. Our hands and 

 legs would have little effect on a horse unless 

 it acquiesced in the movements we ask him to 

 perform. 



338. On Ladies Riding Astride. Ladies, as a 

 rule, have better hands than men, and for this 

 reason they often manage horses, both riding 

 and driving, better than men. Ladies are often 

 handicapped by riding side-saddle. Custom and 

 appearance cause many people strongly to con- 

 demn ladies riding astride ; they say it is un- 

 becoming, too manly, and so forth. But in 

 horse matters I think humanity and common 

 sense should stand ahead of fashion or " what 

 used to be done." It may be unbecoming to 

 some ladies, especially those who are corpulent, 

 but my point is, as stated above, that comfort, 

 safety and humanity should stand first. Riding 

 astride is not improper any more than cycling, 

 and no laws of common propriety or etiquette 

 can be laid down against riding astride for 

 ladies. (See P. 63.) 



Laying aside custom and appearance, we will 

 look into the subject from a practical point of 

 view. There are three important points: the 

 comparative ease of properly learning side- 

 saddle and astride-saddle riding, the harm to 

 the rider that may result, and the harm to the 

 horse that may result. Of the former, there is 

 no doubt that astride-riding is more easily 

 learned. The number of ladies that ride really 

 well on a side saddle is extremely small. Pro- 



fessor Savigear, my old instructor, was one of 

 the strongest advocates of abolishing the side 

 saddle, and he has been partly responsible for 

 many ladies taking up riding astride. I had the 

 pleasure of assisting him at Earl's Court in 

 teaching some of his lady pupils to ride astride 

 from the beginning, amongst whom were many 

 ladies of the nobility, and after comparing the 

 results with those of teaching side saddle there 

 is no doubt which is the easier, with few excep- 

 tions, to become proficient at. Very few ladies 

 sit square to the front, rise square to the front, 

 and rise at the right time. The second point, 

 that of damage to the rider ; I have quite 

 enough proof of a number of ladies who have 

 been seriously, or even permanently, injured in- 

 ternally and otherwise by bad side-saddle 

 riding. I do not suggest for one moment that 

 a graceful side-saddle rider will do herself or 

 her horse any harm, far from it ; but what I do 

 emphasise is that these graceful riders are so 

 few and far between. (See P. 776.) It must 

 be remembered that a seat cannot be judged 

 while at rest alone ; a bad rider may sit well 

 at the halt. 



339. A lady while riding side-saddle is 

 handicapped in that, as a rule, she cannot mount 

 or dismount as easily as a man can. If she is 

 run away with, her life is in far greater danger. 

 If she is a bad rider, she endangers herself 

 every minute by tending to "upset" the horse. 

 She has no right leg to rely upon as an aid or 

 indicator ; at the best she can only have a stiff 

 whip or stick. 



Some state that a lady has not the grip or 

 the flat thigh that a man has, but we must 

 remember that a great number of male riders 

 have round thighs, so I do not think this plea 

 carries any weight. 



340. In the west of Canada and the United 

 States practically all women ride astride. They 

 would not be of any use if they rode side- 

 saddle. 



My third point, which is more suited to this 

 book, is the terrible cruelty inflicted upon the 

 horse by bad side-saddle riding. I wonder how 

 many ladies I have ridden behind and watched 

 the side oscillations of the saddle on the horse's 

 back, due to crooked rising, or to rising off the 

 wrong leg of the horse. The lady should rise 

 from the saddle as the horse's near leg comes 

 to the ground ; that is, she should sink into the 

 saddle as the off leg comes on the ground. The 

 sights that I have seen in hunting stables and 

 livery stables, due to side saddles, have taught 

 me quite enough to advocate astride riding for 

 all ladies except the few who are accomplished 

 in the art of side-saddle riding. The number of 

 sore backs from such bad riding is simply 

 appalling. The question is then brought up : 

 How is a lady to know that she will never 

 become a good side-saddle rider? This can 



