S7 0- H O 
give him a cadenced pace, to teach ham to rein back, or 
retreat, to move Tideways, to ftand fire,' and to leap.—In 
our days, this bufinefs forms a part of military taciics. 
Of RIDING, or the ART of HORSEMANSHIP. 
Feats of horfemanfhip, fuch "as are exhibited to the ad¬ 
miring multitude by the celebrated equeftrians Aftl.ey and 
Hughes, are by no means of modern- date or invention. 
Thefe bold manoeuvres, performed on the backs of horfes 
in full fpeed, appear to have come originally from the Eaft. 
At any rate, (lays profefior Beckmann,) thofe equeftrian 
youths, who, in the thirteenth century, furprifed the By¬ 
zantine court with their feats of horiemanfhip, and who 
from thence travelled all over Europe, came fir ft from 
Ef>ypt. They could ftand on the horfe in full gallop 
without any (addle; mount and difmount while on full 
fpeed in the chafe, and tumble on the backs of fcveral 
horfes in full fpeed together, while going abreaft. — -What 
more is achieved in the prefent day ? But this fpecies of 
horfemanfhip is not the inquiry of the prefent pages; our 
objeft is to lliow the precifion with which gentlemen and 
ladies are to maintain their feats well on horfeback, and 
the rules by which they may acquire the art of riding- 
with pleafure, eafe, and elegance- Thefe rules having 
been laid down in a clear and judicious manner by Mr. 
Hughes of the Royal Circus, we cannot do better than to 
give them in his words. 
If a rider would mount a horfe fafely and properly, he 
is not to ftand near the croup or hinder part of the horfe, 
with the bridle at a great length in his right hand ; for fo, 
you are liable to be kicked before you.are mounted, or 
the horfe may go on, and play fome gambol or trick, be¬ 
fore you can fhorten the rein to prevent him. If you 
would mount with eafe and lecurity, ftand rather before 
the ftirrup than behind it. 'Then with your left hand, 
take the bridle fliort, and the mane together, help your- 
fielf into the ftirrup with your right, fo that in mounting 
your toe do riot touch the horfe. Your foot being in the 
ftirrup, raife yourfelf, till you face the fide of the horfe, 
and look directly acrofs the faddle. Then with your 
right hand lay hold of the hinder part of the faddle, and 
with your left lift yourfelf into it. Thus having a fure 
hold with both hands, you may either difmount fafely, or 
throw your leg over, and feat yourfelf, without danger 
of difturbing your horfe. On getting off the horle’s back, 
hoid the bridle ^nd mane in the fame manner as when 
you mounted ; hold the pommel of the faddle with your 
right hand, to raife yourfelf; bring your right leg over 
t’ne horfe’s back, let your right hand hold the hind part 
of the faddle, and ftand a moment on your ftirrup, juft as 
when you mounted. 
You muft always hold the bridle at a proper length. 
Let your pofition on the faddle be fquare, and the pur- 
chafe of your bridle fuch as not to pull jmur fhoulder. 
Let your body be in fuch an even pofture, as if you held 
a rein in each hand. Grafp the reins with your hand, 
putting your little finger between them. Your hand muft 
be perpendicular, the thumb uppermoft, upon the bridle. 
Your wrift fiiould bend a little outward, and in pulling 
the bridle, lift your hand toward your breaft. Hold your 
bridle in your hand at fuch a length, that, if the horfe 
ftumble, you can raife his head, and fupport it with your 
arms, by throwing, your body backwards. If you give 
the rein too much length, the rifing of the horfe may oc- 
cafion your falling backwards. If you ride with a curb, 
hook it on yourfelf: for, however quiet your horfe may 
be, fiiould the curb hurt him, he may endanger his -rider's 
neck. When you fix the curb, turn the chain to the 
right, and the links will eaiily unfold. Let the chain be 
put on fo loofe as not to prefs upon his jaw, till the reins 
are drawn fomewhat tight. 
if the horfe be gentle in temper, and lias been taught 
to ftand ftiil when mounted, a groom to hold him is ufe- 
lefs ; however, fuffer-Tiim not to finger the reins, but 
- only to meddle with that part of the headftall which 
R S E. 
comes down the horfe’s cheek. The management of the 
reins belongs only to the rider; and to hold a horfe by the 
curb when he is to ftand ftiil, is very wrong, becaufe it 
puts him to needlefs pain. As foon as the rider is 
mounted, let him fit quietly a few feconds, left any hid¬ 
den motion fiiould diforder or difturb him, till the rider 
is well fettled in the faddle, with his nofe direfty oppofite 
to the horfe’s fore-top, betwixt his ears, his legs hanging 
ftraight down, neither thrlifting forward the toe, nor lifting 
up the heel, but with'the ball of his foot flat in. the ftir¬ 
rup, as if he ftood upon the ground, the ftirrup-leather 
rather fliort than long, winding his toes fomewhat nearer 
to the horfe’s fide than tlio> heel, holding the reins even 
with his creft, and with the point of the withers, a little 
above the mane, with his thighs and knees clofe to the 
faddle; fitting with his body erect, his ridge-bone an- 
fwering to the ridge-bone of the horfe ; fo that the horfe 
and rider may ever feem as one body in all motions. 
The difpofition of the legs and thighs being effential to 
the keeping a graceful feat, it may be proper to defcribe 
their ufe fomewhat diftinftly. To fit on that part of the 
horfe, which, as he fprings, is the centre of motion, is to 
have a good feat ; and from, which, it naturally follows, a 
weight could not eafily be fliaken. The true feat is cer¬ 
tainly in that part of the facldie into which the body na¬ 
turally falls in cafe you had no ftirrups ; and this you can 
no other wife preferve, than by a juft poife of the body. 
Many riders however hold the miftaken opinion, that it 
may be done by the grafp of the thighs and knees. We 
may form a judgment of the true feat by pointing out the 
two extremes of a bad one : and the firft of thefe extremes 
is, when a rider places himfelf fo far back on the faddle., 
that his weight preffes hard on the horfe’s loins; the 
other, when he throws his body To forward, that it hangs 
over the pommel of the faddle. Neverthelefs a good feat 
cannot be obtained unlefs the (addle fits well; and per¬ 
haps it is not very eafy to prefcribe a certain rule in this 
cafe. However this may ferve as a direction, that your 
(addle fiiould prefs as near as poffible on that part already 
defcribed, as the point of union between the man and 
horfe, yet fo that the motion of the horfe’s (houlders be 
not obftrufied. The middle or lowed part of it, is your 
proper feat. Sit ere<ft, unconftrained, or as free as in your 
ordinary fitting. The true horfeman is always known by 
the eafe of his action. 
When you are troubled with a horfe that is vicious, 
which (tops (liort, or by rifing or kicking endeavours to 
throw you off", you muft not bend your body forward, as 
is commonly praclifed; becaufe that motion throws you 
from your fork or twift, and cafts you out of your feat; 
but the right way to keep your feat, or to recover it when 
loft, is, to advance the lower part of your body forward, 
and bend back your (houlders and upper part. So alfo in 
jlyin° or Jlandivg leaps, a liorfeman’s bed fecurity is, the 
bending back of the body. The rifing of the horfe does 
not affeft the rider’s, feat ; he is chiefly to guard againft 
the la(h of the animal’s hind legs, which is btft done by 
inclining the body backward. Obferve farther, that your 
legs and thighs are not to be ftiffened, and as it were 
braced up, but your loins fiiould be lax and pliable, and 
perfectly at eafe. By fitting thus, every rough motion of 
the horle will be eluded ; but the ufital method of fixing 
the knees only ferves, in great (hocks, to aflift the vio¬ 
lence of the fall. To fave yourfelf in this cafe, you muft 
yield a little to the horfe’s motion ; by which means you 
will recover your feat, when an unlkilful horfeman would 
be difmounted. / 
If you find your thighs are thrown upwards, open your 
knees, whereby your fork will come lower on the horfe. 
Let the hollow or inner part of the thighs grafp the fad¬ 
dle, yet fo as to keep your body in a right poife. This 
will be a means to keep your (purs from the horfe’s fides, 
and to bring your toes in properly. Let your heels hang 
ftraight down, for, while your heels are in this pofition, 
there is no danger of your falling. This will fecure the 
