The Young Lady's Equestrian Manual   By: Anonymous

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of corrections is found at the end of the text.

THE YOUNG LADY'S EQUESTRIAN MANUAL.

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[Illustration: THE YOUNG LADY'S EQUESTRIAN MANUAL.]

E.LANDELLS.S.

LONDON. WHITEHEAD AND COMP^Y. 76, FLEET STREET. MDCCCXXXVIII.

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PREFACE.

The following pages contain a Treatise on the Art of Riding on Horseback, for Ladies, which originally appeared in the Publishers' well known Manual of elegant feminine Recreations, Exercises, and Pursuits, THE YOUNG LADY'S BOOK; with, however, various additions to the Text, and a number of new Illustrations and Embellishments.

In offering the Treatise, thus improved and adorned, in a separate form, the Publishers, it need scarcely be said, have been influenced, materially, by that high and most extensive patronage, which, under Royal auspices, has been conferred by the ladies of this country, since the commencement of the present reign, on the Art of which it is the subject.

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CONTENTS.

Page INTRODUCTION 7 EQUESTRIAN TECHNICALITIES 23 THE LADY'S HORSE 26 PERSONAL EQUIPMENTS 31 ACCOUTREMENTS FOR THE HORSE 33 RULES OF THE ROAD 34 MODE OF MOUNTING 36 MANAGEMENT OF THE REINS 41 THE SEAT AND BALANCE 44 AIDS AND DEFENCES 51 SOOTHINGS AND ANIMATIONS 55 CORRECTIONS 58 VICES 60 EXERCISES IN THE PACES 71 THE WALK 73 THE TROT 79 THE CANTER 81 THE GALLOP 84 STOPPING AND BACKING 85 LEAPING 87 DISMOUNTING 91 CONCLUDING REMARKS 95

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THE YOUNG LADY'S EQUESTRIAN MANUAL.

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Our Virgin Queen, peerless Elizabeth, With grace and dignity rode through the host: And proudly paced that gallant steed, as though He knew his saddle was a royal throne.

INTRODUCTION.

Riding on Horseback is, confessedly, one of the most graceful, agreeable, and salutary of feminine recreations. No attitude, perhaps, can be regarded as more elegant than that of a lady in the modern side saddle; nor can any exercise be deemed capable of affording more rational and innocent delight, than that of the female equestrian. Pursued in the open air, it affords a most rapid, and, at the same time, exhilarating succession of scenic changes, at a degree of personal exertion, sufficient to produce immediate pleasure, without inducing the subsequent languor of fatigue.

Nor is riding on horseback attended with that danger to ladies, attributed to it by the indolent, the melancholy, and the timid. Accidents, indeed, in the side saddle, are of extremely rare occurrence. Strange as it may seem, it is, however, an incontrovertible fact, that horses, in general, are much more docile and temperate, with riders of the fair sex, than when mounted by men. This may be attributed, partially, to the more backward position, in the saddle, of the former than the latter; but, principally, perhaps, to their superior delicacy of hand in managing the reins.