From the book...those who have lived in the saddle from their earliest child- hood. The advocates of early practice hold that early famili- arity with ponies and horses, and the habit of riding them, give advantages to the very youthful beginner that no teaching or practice in after life can ever supply. It is chiefly from instructors of the art that objection comes to these childish...Having got our young friend into the saddle, we now come to fitting her stirrup. Some ladies ride with a very short stirrup and bend the left leg short back, so that the whole of the sole of the boot is visible, if the habit flies up in the least, to those behind her. This is very bad, and the greatest care must be taken to avoid it, for fear it should become a rooted manner- ism, all the more difficult to...