THE
AMERICAN HORSEWOMAN
BY
MRS. ELIZABETH KARR
Nor hours laid out in harmless merriment."
J. Webster
BOSTON
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
New York: 11 East Seventeenth Street
The Riverside Press, Cambridge
1884
Copyright, 1884,
By ELIZABETH KARR.
All rights reserved.
The Riverside Press, Cambridge:
Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Co.
PREFACE.
In presenting this volume to the women ofAmerica, the author would remark that, at leastas far as she is aware, it is the first one, exclusivelydevoted to the instruction of lady riders,that has ever been written by one of their owncountrywomen. In its preparation, no pretensionis made to the style of a practiced author,the writer freely acknowledging it to be herfirst venture in the (to her) hitherto unexploredregions of authorship; she has simplyundertaken,—being guided and aided by herown experience in horseback riding,—to write,in plain and comprehensive language, and inas concise a manner as is compatible with aclear understanding of her subject, all that shedeems it essential for a horsewoman to know.This she has endeavored to do without any affectationor effort to acquire reputation as anauthor, and wholly for the purpose of benefitingthose of her own sex who wish to learn notonly to ride, but to ride well. She has also[iv]been induced to prepare the work by the urgentsolicitations of many lady friends, who,desirous of having thorough information onhorseback riding, were unable to find in any singlework those instructions which they needed.
Many valuable works relating to the subjectcould be had, but none especially for ladies.True, in many of these works prepared forequestrians a few pages of remarks or adviceto horsewomen could be found, but so scantand limited were they that but little usefuland practical information could be gleanedfrom them. The writers of these works nevereven dreamed of treating many very importantpoints highly essential to the horsewoman;and, indeed, it could hardly be expected thatthey would, as it is almost impossible for anyhorseman to know, much less to comprehend,these points. The position of a man in the saddleis natural and easy, while that of a womanis artificial, one-sided, and less readily acquired;that which he can accomplish with facility isfor her impossible or extremely difficult, as herposition lessens her command over the horse,and obliges her to depend almost entirely uponher skill and address for the means of controllinghim.
If a gentleman will place himself upon the[v]side-saddle and for a short time ride the severalgaits of his horse, he will have many pointspresented which he had not anticipated, andwhich may puzzle him; that which ap