I am being given an opportunity to take a "riding lesson" at a horse camp that thinks people in funny dressed clothes are intriguing.

Some SCA friends of mine are setting up a "period riding" retreat (he feels that knights should know how to ride (heresy! ), and some of the rest of us pouted until he let us in too...). The idea is to get to ride a horse in costume and take a turn at goofy horse games.

These horses are rented all the time by people in medieval, civil war and other wacko costumes, and think the horse games are way fun. The stable is well used to people of varying skill levels, etc so few worries there.

My question for you folks is:
how would a middle class woman (15th centuryflemish) have ridden? Astride, I assume. no pants, of course, but would they ahve had special riding skirts? the standard skirt is plenty full enough I think so its do-able...but I am certainly welcoming other input....

what shoes? your standard medieval shoes are VERy soft and squishy and I seem to remeeber a cardinal rule about hard toed shoes best, not to mention the mud and muck...

and any tips? i ahvent been on horseback since I was a 4Her in the dollar bill trail rides and such, but am looking forward to this veyr much.

again, any ideas on how medieval Anne-Marie would have ridden, and with what kinds of accoutrements, any ideas are appreciated.

--AM
PS I'm told I have a choice of a western saddle or an English one. Neither is right, I'm sure, but which one is better?

I think they wore their regular skirts. I don't think there were any special riding skirts. Gwen?

If the last time you were on a horse was years ago, I would definitely go with the Western, especially as this is something new to you (riding in a medieval style gown). I would be reluctant however, to drape my leg over the pommel as that was not its intended use. I would also take the Western over an English if I were not as practiced a rider as it has something to hold on to should the horse shy. I learned to ride with a general english saddle so it would be my preferred saddle type, but I would ride astride since it has no pommel and I have this aversion to being dumped out of the saddle when a horse spooks.

There is a woman in your area (in the SCA) who has constructed a "medieval" side saddle based on pictorial evidence spanning centuries. She is mentioned in one of the threads in this forum (under side saddles), perhaps she would be willing to bring the saddle to the proposed camp and let the ladies try it out.

Medieval footwear didn't allow for the type of reenforcement I think you are talking about. Most of the people in my barn ride with a paddock shoe, boots, tennis shoes, moccassins, etc... The general concern I think is that your foot might slide out of the stirrup or through it and that the potential is there to be dragged (old cowboy movie comes to mind).

Jeff might have some ideas as far as appropriate medieval footwear.

Some general comments. (Putting on my equine professional/instructor hat)

Remeber that while impression is very important to you, safety is first. Wear a closed toe shoe of sturdy construction with a heel. A heel helps keep your foot from sliding through the stirrup which in turn make it far less likely that you will get drug in the event of an unexpected dismount. If you don't have something appropriate that is also right for your period, please err on the side of safety, rather than correct impression.

If you want to ride in a skirt, make sure it's full and not so heavy you can't easily get on the horse. "Riding Habits" came along during the 17th century but the the beautifully draped sidesaddle skirt came along even later. Make sure you have some kind of drawers on, because chafing riding astride in a skirt is pretty common.

If you haven't ridden in a long time, a western saddle is probably your best bet because most people feel safer because of the chicken handle, er, excuse me, horn.
I personally can't abide the things, to much crap between me and the horse but since a huge portion of riding is mental, you will ride better in whatever you will feel the most comfortable with. DON'T drape your leg over the horn! That is not what they are made for and it will make your seat completely unbalanced. It will also unbalance your horse which isn't a great thing either. For that matter, don't try it in an English saddle either.

Sidesaddles are made and balanced a lot differently than astride saddles. Today's sidesaddles are quite a bit different than ones from the medieval period. In a medieval sidesaddle you literally sat facing sideways with both your feet resting on a plank (called a planchette.) The sidesaddles of the last several hundred years have the rider facing forward with one foot in a stirrup pressed against the leaping horn and the other wrapped around the upright horn. "History" credits Anne of Bohemia or Catherine de Medici with the change from facing sideways and no stirrups to the facing foward with a leg wrapped around a horn. There's very little documentation to support that, but it's a sidesaddle legend that the sidesaddle community pretty much accepts. The second horn, or "leaping horn" is a Victorian invention to help ladies keep their seat while following the hounds. By all means check out Illaria's pages--she actually made a medieval sidesaddle. It's very well researched and there is a bibliography in addition to a number of construction pictures.

As for tips ...head up, heels down and don't balance off the reins too much--they are attached to a piece of metal in your horse's mouth! Especially if the horse is in a shanked bit or a hackamore. (Sorry, as a riding instructor that is a pet peeve of mine )

Okay, sorry, this was way longer than I meant to be. Mostly, have fun and be safe.
Brenna

I have some observations/questions now that I've actually DONE it....

1. horses think medieval clothes are goofy and like to chew on pilgrams badges
2. no way would my medieval shoes have survived, even with pattens. I ended up wearing my leather desert boots which came home caked in thick mud above the ankle. They had a small heel and a nice pointy toe, but I still found them slipping through the stirrup. Perhaps my feet werent in the right place, or the stirrup was too long?

3. I wore my flemish dress. Once on the horse it worked beautifully, but I ended up having to hike it up to my waist to get on and off. (most fun when the hem is caked with thick cold mud. ugh!)

How did medieval women get on and off horses? I wore sweat pants under my dress, butI assume medieval women did not (it is contrary to everything I know about medieval mindsets regarding clothing)

Ideas? I plan on doing this again (it was TOO much fun ), and I want to stick with wearing girlie clothes (all the other women copped out and wore boys clothes or else non European clothes where pants were ok).

1. Horses live to see if what you wear and have is edible. They also have this uncanny knowledge of ways to slime you. Which includes eating hay while waiting till you've dressed up in clean white shirts and breeches (just before you're going into the arena), then tactically sneezing at you.

2. Heel problems? It could be a couple of things. First, "heels down, toes up!". Iron should be centered (or just a tad forward of it) on the ball of your foot. Second, big heels (not period) always help against sliding through. Third, it could be that the stirrup leathers are too long or you are clenching the horse for security and lifting your lower leg and causing your toes to point down. One other thought is that regular stirrup irons (modern) have grips on them where the ball of your feet go. With smooth leather shoes, maybe put some anti slip strips (they use these on stairs) on the bottom of the iron?

3. Ask if they have a mounting block. Of course it doesn't help if you fall off on the trail. Then look for a big rock or something. A leg lift might work (someone giving you a help up).

4. Mud. Part of equine life.

As Brenna said, "be safe!".

Friedrich

The biggest probablity is that your stirrups were too long. However, nerves might have made you draw your legs up so you were standing on your toes in the stirrups. Keep your stirrups on the ball of your foot. Also, were you boots "slick" soled? That may be a problem as well. Wide heels are much better than narrow ones. ("Wider is Better") A "grippy" sole is much better for riding. As you progress and your leg position firms, you might find you are better able to keep your position with a slick sole and narrow heel--I still don't recommend it but it might improve.

Hmmm, the "underwear" issues rears it's head once more. To me that falls under the "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" category. However, as an equestrian, unless riding bareback or on a "pad" type of sadddle, lack of underwear causes chafing and other discomforts. If a medieval woman rode regularly, common sense says she made herself comfortable. Then again, one can't always apply modern common sense to a medieval situation.

Me, I wear pants because my equestrian portrayals are either as a 12th century squire in service to my knight, Sir Jerald or 17th century English Cavalier. Doublets and slops were perfectly acceptable riding gear for a 17th Century Royalist Lady---it's one of the things the Roundheads (Christmas cancelling spoil sports!) railed against.

Mud? LOL, don't you think Medieval Europe under the influence of a mini-Ice Age, lack of paved roads and bad sanitation had LOTS of mud? Savor the real period experience. If you're working on an accurate portrayal use every accurate thing you're presented with and believe me, that includes mud.