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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: mount.[1] We will now prescribe certain rules to be observed in the
interests not only of the horseman but of the animal which he
bestrides. First, then, he should take the leading rein, which hangs
from the chin-strap or nose-band,[2] conveniently in his left hand,
held slack so as not to jerk the horse's mouth, whether he means to
mount by hoisting himself up, catching hold of the mane behind the
ears, or to vault on to horseback by help of his spear. With the right
hand he should grip the reins along with a tuft of hair beside the
shoulder-joint,[3] so that he may not in any way wrench the horse's
mouth with the bit while mounting. In the act of taking the spring off
the ground for mounting,[4] he should hoist his body by help of the
On Horsemanship |
