H O 
By the leg as his head is by. the bridle; and he will ne¬ 
ver difobey the leg, unlefs he happens to be in a refrac¬ 
tory humour; Thus you will acquire an eafy command 
over him ; by a touch of your leg he will move tideways, 
and if you clap both legs to him he will go ftraight for¬ 
wards ; nay, though he Hands Hill, if he perceives j-our 
legs near him, he will be on the watch, and, by the flight- 
eft pull of the bridle upwards, will raife his head, and 
give the fpectators a very advantageous view of his fore¬ 
hand. 
The belt proficients in the manege aflert, that it is on 
the proper ufe of the rider’s legs, and the guidance of 
the croup, that all the airs, as they are called, are taught. 
It is by thefe documents the trooper is inftrufted to make 
the palfage, or fide-motion, to dole or open the files, and 
to praftife all the military evolutions. By this difeipline, 
too, we may lave a horfe that is apt to fall or Itumble. 
If he feels your legs prelfmg on his flanks, and his head 
railed by the bridle, lie will go lighter on his fore legs, 
by which he will be aided and fupported, which will pre¬ 
vent his {tumbling; and, if he actually falls, it will help 
him to regain his footing, if he is not precipitated beyond 
a pofiibility of recovery. Hence this afliltance given to 
the horfe by the rider’s hand and legs, is called aids ; for 
to hold up the weight of a dull horfe, by the llrength of 
your arms, is as impoflible as to bawl him back when 
thrown off a precipice. A horfe is more or lefs fupported 
by the hands and legs of the rider, in every aftion which 
is required of him. When you perceive his fudden mo¬ 
tion to one fide, clafp your leg dole on the fame fide-, 
and his fpring is inftantly flopped. And if you prefs 
him with both legs, he will keep the direction you give 
him, and will not fly back from any trifling object he 
fees. By the fame means, in going down a hill, you will 
keep his haunches under him; relieve his unealinefs on 
the fide of a bank; direft him in avoiding the wheel of a 
Carriage, and to approach gracefully to th.e door of a 
coach, or range by the fide of another horfeman. 
In countries where men have not the advantage of an 
enlightened education, as in England, they know how to 
communicate to the horfe they ride all their defires and 
commands without either whip or fpur, or even a touch 
of the bridle. Mr. Jackfon, in his Journey over Land 
from Bombay, informs us, that in Armenia, he was an 
eye-witnefs to feats of horl'emanfliip by the natives, which 
furprifed him. They could pick up whatever they wilh- 
ed from the ground, without quitting their horfes; and 
had a method of avoiding any obftacle wdiich prelented 
itfelf on one fide, by hanging down on the other, and 
thus expofing only one foot, though ftill going in full 
gallop. He law feveral horfemen on beautiful white Ara¬ 
bians, who appeared to make but little ufe of the bridle, 
tiie horfe being principally governed by the motions of 
the rider’s body. If he lean either to the right or left, 
the horfe will immediately turn to that fide ; and, if the 
motion be made quick, he goes inftatitly into a gallop. 
If the rider lean forward, the horfe takes his courfe ftraight 
on; and when he raifes his body upright, or inclining 
backwards, the horfe, though in full fpeed, will flop in a 
moment, without any check from the bridle. Why lhould 
not horfes be made equally docile in this country J 
To MOUNT a LADY. 
When a lady is firft inftrufted to ride, great care lhould 
be taken to fortify her' mind againff every idea of fear; to 
convince her that there is no danger to be apprehended 
from fo noble and generous an animal; and that exercife 
on borfeback is the lureft means of fecuring health, viva¬ 
city, and a fine complexion. When about to mount, let 
a perfon ftand before the head of her horfe, holding with 
each hand the upper part of the cheek of the bridle. 
Then the muft lay her right hand on the near fide of the 
pommel, and her left hand on the left Ihoulder of an 
attendant, who muft place both his hands together, the 
finger., md thumbs being interwoven with each other. 
' Vo I . X. No, 6 6 Sc 
R V S E. ggt 
This being done, let the lady put her left foot firm in his 
hands; and, giving a gentle fpring, Ihe will be vaulted 
into her laddie in a moment. When Hie is thus leafed, 
let her reft the ball of her left foot firm in the ftirrup; 
and, to prevent accidents, Hie lhould wear Italian lhoes 
with very long quarters, and the heel of the llioe coming- 
forward to the middle of the foot. Ladies lhoes made in 
the common falhion are dangerous, becaufe the foot refts 
in the hollow between the toes and the heel. Remember 
that the pommel of the faddle lhould be. made very low, 
that the lady’s knee may not be thrown too high ; and 
the ftirrup lhould hang low ; both which circumftances 
will help to give her a graceful appearance, and add to 
tiiofe charms which nature has bellowed on her. When 
Hie is thus feated, let her take her whip in her j-ight 
hand, near the head, with her thumb upon it, and the 
four fingers under it, holding it obliquely, fo that the ftnall 
end of it may be l’ome inches above the middle of the 
horle’s hind leg. The arm that fupports the whip is al¬ 
ways to hang with a kind of negligent eafe; nothing looks 
more awkward than a lady holding the whip with her 
arm crooked at the elbow. She lhould hold her bridle 
moderately tight, with her little finger under the rein, 
and the other three fingers palling between the rein, 
on the top of which her thumb muft be placed. Being 
thus fafely and fecureiy mounted, let her walk her horfe. 
gently off, and put him into his other paces at her pleafure. 
The pommel of a lady's faddle lhould always be made 
with a turn-again ferew, to take off in cafe the rain, wind, 
or fun, becomes troublefome; for then file may ride on 
the contrary fide of the horfe; which is the method now ’ 
purfued by all the belt liorfewomen in England. When 
a lady has been ufed to riding, the more negligently Ihe 
fits, the more graceful Ihe generally appears; perhaps no 
attitude of a fine woman can upon the whole be more 
captivating, than when riding with grace and elegance 
upon a handfome well-fafliioned horfe. 
In the eallern countries, women ride in the fame man¬ 
ner as the men, and have a kind of pantaloon drefl'es 
adapted for the purpofe. In England, queen Elizabeth 
leems to have been the firft who let the ladies the more 
model!; falhion of riding tideways. Confiderable oppoii- 
tion waS at firft made to it, as inconvenient and danger 
ous; but practice, in time, brought it into general ufe, 
particularly when ladies found they could ride a-hunting, 
take Hying leaps, and gallop over crofs-roads and ploughed 
grounds, without meeting with more accidents than the 
men; befides, it was not only allowed to be more deco¬ 
rous, but in many relpefts more congenial to the eafe and 
comfort of a female rider. The prelent falhion of ladies’ 
rifing in the ftirrup for the long trot, is a very modern 
acquilition. Nothing can impart to woman a more link¬ 
ing air of fire and dafli, than this boldeft of all the paces, 
particularly when Ihe has truly learnt to'adapt her move-, 
ments to the Itroke of the horfe’s foot. 
Of the RACER. 
From what has been Hated under the head of Brees- 
ing, it will be eufy to conceive that the race-horfe is the 
molt valuable of all his congeners; not only on account 
of his fpeed and beauty, but becaufe from him we derive 
the blood and mettle, the fuperior falhion and make, the 
innate ftrength and durability, which more or lefs diftin- 
guilh all the fubordinate breeds of- Englilh horfes. 
A true racing pedigree ought to prove, under the hand 
of the breeder, that the horfe has defcended from ancef- 
tors of genuine racing blood, w-ithout the intervention of 
a fmgle bafe crofs. If the pedigree be long, it is common 
to take it for granted that there is blood fuflicient, al¬ 
though there be no mare mentioned which has proved 
her blood by her having actually raced ; but ufually all 
the horfes are reputed racers, or brothers of fuch. The 
greater number of mares which have raced, contained in 
a pedigree, the furer and more valuable it muft be, parti¬ 
cularly if the hut-mentioned be fpecilied as a reputed 
§ E racer 0 
