HINTS-ON'HORSJEMANSHIP LIBRAKT UNIVERSITYy PENN5YLV^NIA FAIRMAN ^rB^-'^ ROGERS ^'^-^1 COLLECTION ON HORSEMANSHIP H ^ y'yi^ HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP. Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2009 witii funding from Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/hintsonhorsemaOOgree -^' T[ I jn "i; ^ 0 iN' if ()'\i s :: ivi: a.. m s u i v, X Xr^]^fiv mt^ Xvtst. OlFriCER OF TIIIE HOCSEHOILD I^I^^AI OIF CATAXJR.X. X O Ti: D O IT : EDWARD MOXON & C? DOVER STREET, 1861 HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP, 'N/ OF A^ OK, COMMOIs^ SENSE AND COMMON ERRORS IN COMMON RIDING. COLONEL GEORGE GREENWOOD, Lat3 Lieut.-Col. commanding 2nd Life Guards. NEW EDITIOX. LONDON : EDWARD MOXON & CO., DOVER STREET. 1861. 1//^ \ NEW BOLTON / CENTER LOXDON BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFEIAES. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. MILITARY EIDING XOT FIT FOR COMMON RIDING. Tlu'ougliout Europe tliere is only one style of riding taught That is the soldier's one-handed style ..... Tivo hands should be used to the reins .... A soldier's horse must turn on the WTong rein Common riders generally turn their horses on the wrong rein Eesult of this with colts or restive horses .... Indications are not aids . 0 10 12 CHAPTER II. HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS. Eeins at full length . . . . . . . . . . 14 The downward clutch . . . . . . . . . IG The Grecian mode of holding and handling the reins . . . . 18 The side clutch 20 The two reins crossed in one hand . . . . . . . . 21 A rein in each hand .......... 2Z Turn to the right, and left 26 The hunting hand .......... 23 The rough-rider's hand 27 Fixing the hands . 28 viii CONTENTS.- CHAPTER VII. THE BIT. PAGE Place of the bit in the horse's mouth . . . . . . . 74 Principle of the bit . . . . . . . . . .74 Action of the common bit . . . . . . . . . 76 Action of the Chifuey bit ......... 77 The loose eye ........... 77 The nose-baud ........... 77 The horse's defence against the bit by the tongue . . . . . 78 Efiect of the porte against this defence ...... 78 Defence of the horse by th§ lip . . . . . . . . 80 Defence by the teeth ......... SO Bar of the military and driving bit 81 Martingale 81 Danger does not result from povrcr 84 CHAPTER VIII. THE SADDLE AND SIDE-SADDLE. A side-saddle should have no right hand pummel . . . .86 The leaping-horn . . . . . ... . . . . 86 Surcingle ............ 88 Stirrux^-leather ......... 89 Stirrup-iron . . . . . . . .90 Girthing 90 To avoid riding on the buckles of the girths . . . . .91 CONTENTS. is CHAPTER IX. THE SHORT REIN. The short rein should he used when one hand is occupied . . . 93 Its use to a soldier ,..,...... 94 Its use with the restive horse ........ 94 It should not be iised in hunting, or in swimming a horse . . 95 Objection to it for common riding . . . . . . . 95 Used by postilion .......... 96 Short rein of tlie Eastern horseman . . . . . . . 9Q CHAPTER X. COLT-BREAKING. Colt-breaking is the best possible lesson for the rider • . . .97 Thehead-staU 98 The snaffle 99 Longeing . . . . . . . . . ■ . . . 101 Saddling .102 Mounting • . • . . . . 102 Sermon to the colt-brcaker ........ 103 The noblest horse resists the most . . ■ . . . . . 103 The horse has a natural right to resist ...... 103 The colt wants no suppling . . . . . . . . 105 He wants to be taught the meaning of your indications . . .105 And to be brought to obey them . 105 The leaping-bar . . . . . . . . . .110 Fetch and carry ........••• Il3 ^ CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. THE HOKSE AXD HIS .STABLE. PAGE Condition depends on food, work, and warmtlx . . . .115 So does the difference between the Srccffe of hor.ses . . . . 116 The terseness of the Arab, is the result of hard food . . . . 116 So is that of our thorough-bred horse . . . . . . . 117 Different trcccfs result from different natm-al conditions . . .118 Crossing only necessary where natural conditions are against you . 119 We do not attend enough to warmth . . . . . . . 12(i We should get fine \vinter coats by warmth, instead of singeing . 120 No fear of cold from fine coats . . . . . . .121 The horse's foot should be stopped with clay 121 The sore ridge .......... 122 Stable breast-plate . . . . . . . . . . 124 The head-stall 125 Never physic, bleed, blister, or fire your horse . . ... 126 Food for condition .......... 126 Eest for strains ........... 126 Nature for wounds . . . . . . . . . .126 Miles for shoeing .......... 127 The horse should have water always by him ..... 127 And should stand loose ......... 128 No galloping on hard ground, either by master or man . . . 128 He who cripples the horse kills him ....... 128 LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. FhOKTI.SI'IECK To fact' Title. Vig>;ettk '"it'e- FIO. PAGE 1. — Stiuct Kegimental 3 2. — Vaiued Regimental 4 3.— Eeins at full length .15 4. — Down clutch 17 5. — Down clutch, eeix in each haxd 18 6. — Side clutch 19 7.— Side clutch, kein ix each hand 20 8.— Cross 22 9. — Rein in each hand 23 10. — Turn to the right 2.') 11.— Turn to the left 26 12. — Hunting galloi' 27 13. — Rough-rider 28 14. — Fixing hands . 29 HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP. CHAPTEK I. MILITARY EIDING NOT FIT FOR COMMON RIDING. Throughout Europe there is only one style of ridiug taught ; that is, the soldier's one-handed style. — Tvm hands should he used to the reins. — A soldier's horse must turn on the wrong rein, — Common riders generally turn their horses ou the wrong rein. Result of this with colts or restive horses. — Indications are not aids. When you wish to turn to the right pull the right rem stronger than the left. This is common sense. The common error is precisely the reverse. The common error is, when you wish to turn to the right to pass the hand to the right. By this the right rein is slackened, and the left rein is tightened, across the horse's neck, and the horse is required to turn to the right when the left rein is pulled. It is to correct this common error, 2 MILITARY RIDING NOT [chap. this monstrous and perpetual source of bad riding and of bad usage to good animals, that these j)ages are written. England is the only European country which admits of more than one style of riding. But in all Europe, even Only one in England, there is but one st^de of riding tangJit, as a style of rid- ing taught, gygi^gjj^ . ^i^f^t stj^le is the manege or military st3'le. The military style is, and must ever be essentially a one-Jianded That is, H style, for the soldier must have his right hand at liberty one-handed ^ ^ ^' for his weapons. The recruit is indeed made to ride with a single snaffle in two hands, but only as a prepara- tory step to the one-handed style. His left hand then becomes Jiis hridle hand, and that hand must hold the reins in such a manner as Avill require the least possible aid from the sicord hand to shorten them as occasion maj'- require. This is with the fourth finger only between them (Fig. 1). For these reasons, as far as soldiers are concerned, I do not see how the present system can be altered for the better, unless it be by placing the three last fingers of the left hand between the reins (Fig. 2), instead of the fourth !•] FIT FOR COMMON RIDING. finger only. Tlie reins held in this way are as easily and as quickly shortened, by drawing them with the right FIG. ].— STKICT KEGIMEXTAL. hand through the left, as if they were separated by the fourth finger only. I always adopted this mode myself MILITARY RIDING NOT [chap. when my sword was in my hand ; and I should think it worth trial for all soldiers. My two last chargers had FIG. 2. — VARIED EEGIJIEKTAL. been notoriously restive horses, and I could not have ridden them in the strictly reoimental mode. I.] FIT FOR COMilOX FJDIXG. 5 But I see no reason why, because soldiers are com- Two hands should be pelled to guide their horses with the left hand only, and "^.^'^ *° ^^° ■^ ° "^ ' reins. Viith the fourth finger only between the reins, that ladies and civilians should be condemned to the same system. On the contrary, I would have ladies as well as gentlemen use both hands to the reins, whether of the curb or of the snanle, somewhat as the rough-rider or colt-breaker uses the reins of a single snaffle ; but the reins should enter the hands outside instead of inside the fourth fingers, and ih.Qy should quit the hands between the first and second fingers instead of between the fii'st finger and thumb, as will be explained in the next chapter. Fasten the end of a rein to the upper part of the back of a chair ; pull the reins enough to raise two of the legs off the ground, and to keep the chair balanced on the other two. Take your reins as ladies and soldiers are taught to take them (Fig. 1), both grasped in the left hand, the fourth finger only between them, and (I quote from the regulations of the Enghsh cavah-y) " the top of the thumb firmly closed on them — the upper part of the MILITAKY EIDING KOT [chap. arm hanging straight down from the shoukler — the left elbow lightly touching the hip — the lower part of the arm square to the upper — little finger on a level with the elbow — wrist rounded outwards — the back of the hand to the front — the thumb pointing across the body, and three inches from it." In this position we are taught that "the little finger of the bridle-hand has four lines of action — first, towards the breast (to stop or rein back) ; second, towards the right shoulder (to turn to the right) ; third, towards the left shoulder (to turn to the left) ; fourth, towards the horse's head (to advance)." Try the second motion : you will find it a very nice operation, and that you are capable of shortening the right rein only in a very slight degree ; you wdll also find that, if the hand ceases to be precisely opposite the centre of the bod}^ the moment it is passed to the right the right rein becomes slackened, and the left rein is pulled. This is still more the case when the horse's neck is between the reins ; the left rein is then instantly short- ened across the neck. .1.]. FIT FOR COMMOlSr EIDING. -7 I will not assert tliat the art of riding thus is impos- A soldier's liorse must sible, tliouffh it has ever been so to me; and thoucih, *^™ °^*.'^'*^ ' o ' !D ' wrong rem. in my own experience, I never saw a cavalry soldier, rough-rider, riding-master, or any horseman whatever, who turned his horse, single-handed, on the proper rein. But I may assert that it is an exceedingly nice .and delicate art. It is the opera-dancing of riding. And it would be as absurd to put the skill of its professors in requisition in common riding or across country, as to require Tagiioni to chasscr over a ploughed field. For single-handed indications, supposing them to be correctly' given — which, as I have said, I have never known ; but supposing them to be correctly given — they are not suffi- ciently distinct to turn a horse, except in a case of optimism. That is, supposing for a short time a perfectly broken horse, in perfect temper, perfectly on his haunches, going perfectl}^ up to his bit, and on perfect ground. Without all these perfections — suppose even the circum- stance of the horse being excited or alarmed, or becoming violent from any other cause ; that he is sluggish or sullen ; MILITARY EIDING NOT [ciiAr. that lie stiffens his neck or pokes his nose — single-handetl indications are worth nothing. But as for riding a horse perfectly on his haunches through a long day's journey, or in rough or deep ground, or across countr}', one might as well require infantry to make long forced marches at ordinary time, and to strictly preserve their touch and dressing; or, still to compare it to opera-dancing, Coulon to go through a day's shooting with the pas de zephu". But correct single-handed indications, with the fourth finger only between the reins, Avill not he obeyed by one horse in ten thousand. Try them in driving. There the terret-pad prevents their being given incorrectly, and a bearing-rein, a severe bit, and a whip, give you ever}^ advantage in keeping your horse collected ; yet you will find them wholly inefficient. The soldier, who is compelled to turn to the right by word of command, when the correct indication is unanswered, in despair throws his hand to the right. The consequence is, that no horse is a good soldier's horse, till he has been trained to turn on the wronn; rein. I.] FIT FOR COMMON RIDING. 9 Without the same excuse for it, the same may be said Common riders turn of all ladies and civilians ayIio ride with one hand onlv, °" ^^'^ . " wrong rem. and of almost all who ride with two hands. For, strange to say, in turning, both hands are generally passed to the right or left, and I have known many of what may be called the most perfect straight-foncard hands ; that is, men who on the turf v/ould hold the most difficult three- year-old to the steady stroke of the tvv^o-mile course, and place him as a y/inner to half-a-length — who in the hunting- field would ride the hottest, or the most phlegmatic made hunter, with equal skill, through all difficulties of ground, and over every species of fence, with admirable precision and equality of hand — or who on the exercise ground would place his broken charger on his haunches, and make him walk four miles an hour, canter six and a half, trot eight and a half, and gallop eleven, without being out in either pace a second of time, but who marred all by the besetting sin of side-feeling — of turning the horse on the v\'rong rein. The consequence is, that they can ride nothing but what has been trained to answer the wrong indications. 10 MILITARY EIUING NOT [chap. This is something like steaming without steering. Eesultof gg|^ them on a finely broken horse, on a colt, or a restive this with resUve^ liorsG, and they become helpless children — the i^owerless prisoners of the brutes they bestride. How often does one see one's acquaintance in this distressing situation, with courage enough to dare what man dare, but without the power to do what the rough-rider has just done ! First comes the false indication of the rider, then the confusion and hesitation of the horse ; next the violence of the rider; then the despair and rebellion of the horse. The finish is a fractured limb from a rear or a runaway. The poor brute is set down as restive and in fact becomes more or less a misanthrope for the rest of his days. I have seen the gentle and brave, under such circumstances, act very much like the cruel and cowardl}' ; that is to say, first rough an innocent animal for their own fault, and then yield to his resistance. It is in consequence of this that we find so many restive horses ; that so few thorougli-bred horses — that is, horses of the highest courage — can be made hunters ; that, in fact. I.] FIT FOE COMMON RIDING. .11 almost all liigli-couraged young horses become restive after leaving the colt-breaker's hands. It is, indeed, in consequence of this that the class of people called colt- breakers exists at all. For if we all rode on their principle, which is the true principle, any groom or moderately good rider could break any colt or ride any restive horse. No horse becomes restive in the colt-breaker's hands ; nor do any remain so when placed in his hands. The reason is that he invariably rides with one bridle and two I hands, instead of two bridles and one hand. When he wishes to go to the right he pulls the right rein stronger than the left. When he wishes to go to the left he pulls f the left rein stronger tlian the right. These are indica- tions which, if the colt will not obey, he will at least understand, the very first time that he is mounted, and which the most obstinate will not long resist. But as may be supposed, it takes a long time to make him understand that he is to turn to the right when the left rein is pulled, and to the left when the right rein is pulled. And it is only the meek-spirited and docile who will do 12 MILITARY RIDING KOT [chap. this at all. Such, however, is the general docility of the half-bred horse, that a great proportion of them are, after long ill-usage, taught to answer these false indications, in the saiiie way that a carthorse is brought to turn right or left by the touch of the whip on the opposite side of the neck, or the w^ord of the driver ; and indeed such is the nicety to which it may be brought, that you con- stantly hear people boast that their horses will " turn by the weight of the reins on the neck." This, however, only proves the docility of the horse, and how badly he has been ridden. For a horse which has been finely broken should take notice only of the indications of his rider's hands on his mouth, not of any side-feeling of the reins against his neck. Indications By indications generally, I mean the motions and are not auis. applications of the hands, legs, and whip, to du-ect and determine the paces, turnings, movements, and carriage of the horse. I have used the word throughout instead of aids, as being more explanatory and certainly less liable to abuse. For common sense tells us that a horse I.] FIT FOR COMMOI^ RIDING. 13 receives no aid from a pull in the mouth with a piece of iron, or a blow with a whip, or a lack in the side with an armed heel, however these may indicate to him the wishes or commands of his rider. I have also used the term hearing on the horse's mouth instead of apjnii, since to those who do not understand French appui will convej' no meaning at all, — and to those who do miderstand French it will convey the false ideas of the necessity and power of the rider to support his horse. I promise my pupil every aid and support from his horse. But I beg him not to think of offering either aid or support to his horse. I beg him to believe that the horse carries the rider, and not the rider the horse. But this we will discuss in another chapter. That the horse supports the rider is common sense : that the rider supports the horse is the common error. 14 [chap. CHAPTER II. HOLDING AND HANDLING THE EEINS. Reins at full length. — The downward clutch. — Grecian mode of holding and handling the reins. — The side-clutch. —The two reins crossed in the hand. — A rein in each hand. — Turn to the right, and left. — The Imntiug hand. — The rough-rider's hand. — Fixing the hands. — Use of both bridles at once. — Shortening the reins when held, one in each hand, mode of taught and of untaught horsemen. — Use of the whip. — Horses swerve, turn, and refuse only to tlie left. — Faidt in "the great untaught," English, two-handed rider. To practise the indications of the hands, take the Eeius at bridle which is attached to the chair at full length full length. (Fig. 3), with the tips of the four fingers of the left hand between the reins at the centre, the first and fourth fingers detached to facilitate their working on the rein proper to each ; the hand pendant, with the back to the front, and balance the chair on two legs. If the length of the rein suits, it may be so held in long rides when the horse is going quietly at an extended n.] HOLDmG AND HANDLING THE EEINS. 15 walk, for directly as the slowness of the x^ace is the length of the horse, and so should be the length of the rein. FIG. 3. — EEIXS AT FULL LENGTH. The horse is at his gi'eatest length when standing still, and if j'ou force him to collect himself then, he will be 16 HOLDING AND HANDLING THE EEINS. [chap. uneasy and fidget* But tlie reins must never be loose. The bearing on tlie moutli, however lightly, must still be felt ; and if the horse, in attempting to stare about, as colts and ill-ridden horses will, should throw his head to the right, it must be stopped by the feeling of the tip of the fourth finger on the left rein ; if he throws his head to the left, by the feeling of the first finger on the right rein. But provided that the bearing on the horse's mouth, and this x^ower of keeping his head straight, are preserved, a horse cannot have too much liberty under the circumstances supposed. To turn to the right both reins must be pulled, tlie right the strongest, by feeling the tip of the first finger towards you; both legs must be pressed, the left the strongest ; the whip shown on the left. To turn to the left the reverse indications. Down To take up the reins use the downward clutch t (Fig. 4); clutch. that is, place the two first fingers of the right hand * Tliis is one reason against an unalterable bearing-rein. + Have mercy on tliis liltlc word, great reader, and do compound a sesquipedalian clutch for me, out of digitus and ^axrvXos. II.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS. 17, between the reins at the greatest convenient distance, and slide them smoothly back. Kepeat this movement, FIG. ■i. — DOWN CLUTCH. changing from hand to hand, and keeping the chair balanced and steady. This clutch is excellent for a straight-forward, hot horse ; it shortens the reins any c 1? HOLDIKG AND HANDLING THE EEINS. [chap. lengtli at one movement, with a very low, steady bearing. Two hands may be used (Fig. 5). I conceive this to be FIG. 6. — DOWX CLUTCH, EEIN IN EACH HAND. Grecian the Grecian mode of holding and handling the reins (see mode. frontispiece and vignette, from the Elgin Marbles), except II.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE EEINS. 19 that the Greeks had one finger between the reins instead of two ; and they hekl the reins, whether together or FIG. 6. — SIDE CLUTCH. divided, between the thumb and the second finger. The first finger was thus detached, and used only for guiding, c 2 20 HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS. [chap. by which yery distinct indications may he given on either rein when both are in one hand. FIG. 7. — SIDE CLUTCH, EEIN IN EACH HAND. Side cluicb. At a walk, with a quiet horse, this doivn clutch may be turned into the s/f/c- clutch (Fig. 6 and Fig. 7) ; it is nearly II.] JIOLDING AND HANDLmG THE REINS. 21 the same as the English mode of driving, but the right rein is uppermost, which facilitates the dividing the reius and placing them together again, and when the reins are in the left hand, the right rein quits the hand between the second and third finger. This allows you to hold one rein while you slip the other, besides that the left rein is not disturbed in taking the right rein in the right hand, and in returning it to the left hand. But the following position (Fig, 8) is the foundation of Cross, all fine handling, and therefore of all fine riding. And if the pupil will only thoroughly acquire this one movement he shall have my leave to consign the rest of my book " protervis in mare Creticum portare ventis," We will call this movement cross, because the reins, when in one hand, are crossed inside the hand. Take the left rein with the three last fingers of the left hand, so that it enters the hand outside the little finger, and quits the hand between the first and second finger. Place the right rein in the left hand over the first and second finger, so that it enters the hand outside the first HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS. [chap. finger and quits the hand between the second and third finger, so that the whole hand is between the reins FIG. 8. — CROSS. where they enter the hand, and the second finger is Rein in between them where they quit the hand. Fig. 9 shows each Land the rein in each hand. II.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS, 23 At eveiy change from liand to hand the reins may be shortened to any extent. To lengthen them they must be FIG. 9. — REIN IN EACH HAND. slipped while a rein is in each hand, turning the two fore fingers towards you. You cannot pay too much attention to practising the cross from hand to hand on 24 HOLDING AND HANDLING THE EEINS. [chap. the balanced chair. There shonhl he nothmg api^roacli- ing to a jerk or shake of either rein. Neither rein shoukl be for an instant loosened, but an equal tension kept on both, and both should be of precisely equal length when crossed in one hand. Be assured, however childish it may appear to you, this practice will teach you the true principle of handling your horse, and will give to the bearings and indications of your hands on his mouth a delicate elasticity and resilience resulting from the play of every articulation from the tips of the fingers to the shoulders. At the same time if power is required, instead of having the left hand only, with the fourth finger only between the reins, by taking them in the full grasp of the hands it allows you to employ the whole strength of both shoulders. The cross together with the rein in each hand should be so constantly going on as to give the appearance of plaj'ing with the reins whenever anything like riding and handling is required. In fact, he who can use his reins in this,' manner with a riotous horse, without disturbing the 11.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE EEINS. ?5 bearing is a rider, lie wLo cannot is not. Fig. 10 sbov.-s Tmutotlie right and the turn to the right when the reins are crossed in the ^^^^' FIG. 10. — TUEX TO THE EIGHT. left hand, with the use of the whip. Fig. 11 the turn to the left. Fig. 12 for holding the horse to a hunting or lluntiuj 26 HOLDmG AND HANDLING THE EEINS. [chap. anil rousli- racing gallop on a snaffle is the same as Fig. 9, but with rider's Land. ^.lie fists closed. Fig, 18 is the same in a different FIG. n. — TURN TO THE LEFT. position. It is the rough-rider's hand for working a horse up and making him collect himself with a snaffle. And this is the only case where a little u-orJdrig of the bit on II.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE EEINS. 27 his moutli (the scier le bridon of the French) is to be allowed. Fig. 14 is the same, witli the thumbs fixed on Fixing the hands. FIG. 12. — HUNTING GALLOP. the back of a chair. If a thumb is fixed in this way behind the lower part of each ijummel, the lady acquires a 28 HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS. [chap. hold wliicli no horse can force ; at the same time it gives the lowest possible and the steadiest possible bearing. FIG. 13. — ROTJGn-KIDEE. The hand should be as open as is possible and as much closed as is necessary. Modifications of this position, II.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE EEINS. 2a with the hands closed, are used in holding the horse to his gallop in hunting and racing. FIG. 14. — FIXIXG HANDS. To use the two bridles at once, that is, the four reins, Use of both bridles at place the little fingers between the reins, the snaffle °"°®' 30 HOLDING AND HANDLING THE EEINS. [chap. inside, the curb outside. Let them quit the hands over the first finger, the thumb on them. In the left hand, the snafile to the left of the thumb, the curb to the right. In the right hand the snafile to the right, the curb to the left. This keeps them distinct, and allows the power of slipping or dropping either, by pressing the thumb only on the other. The two bridles should be always in two hands, except when placed together to shorten them. In a storm, that is, till you have time for nicety, treat the two bridles as if they were one. Two hand- 'X'he mode of shortening the reins in two-handed ed sliorten- taur^bt and aiding, which I have seen rough-riders use, and which I untaught. . . , . , rvi • have seen recruits taught when usmg tiie smgie snaffle m all riding-houses, civil or military, foreign or English, and which is detailed in the ucole du cavalier in the French cavaby ordonnance, is wholly vicious. There are no directions at all given for this in the treatise on military equitation in the regulations for the English cavahy, nor have I ever met with any in any book, foreign or English, except in the French ordonnance. II.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE KEINS. 31 To shorten the right rein on the French system, bring the thumbs together, take the right rein with the thumb and first finger of the left hand, the thumbs touching, raise the left hand, and let the right rein slip till the thumbs are one inch apart. With the right rein thus, one inch shorter than the left, when it is required to shorten the left equally, by management you may bring the two thumbs together again without loosening the left rein. I say, by management, you may do so, but the chances are that the longest rein is invariably thus slackened previously to being shortened, and conse- quently, that the bearing on the horse's mouth is dis- turbed. But supposing it possible to manage this by an inch at a time, it is quite impossible to manage it at a greater distance. If, therefore, you have to shorten both reins a foot, you cannot effect it without twenty-four operations. This is not at all an unlikely occurrence in riding unruly horses, for such horses are commanded by being made to bend or collect themselves. Their most frequent defence is jerking their heads away and HOLDING AND HANDLING THE KEINS. [chap. extending themselves ; and the facihty of adjusting the length of the reins to the degree in which they extend or collect themselves, makes the difference of whether you can ride such horses or not. If, in riding a half-broken, hot, or violent horse, he jerks his head down so as to draw one rein six inches longer than the other, it is impossible to bring the thumbs together without slack- ening the longest rein — at the moment you wish it tightened — four or five inches. I need not dilate on the effect of this in riding sucli a horse as I have supposed. This French military system, then, of shortening the reins in two-handed riding is actually ridiculous. But a ridiculous system is better than no system at all. And except this French system, I know of none faugJit save those which I have attempted to teach in tliis chapter. What mistakes are made in this way, even by the finest untancjht horseman, are shown in the last para- graph of this chapter. In all the practices enjoined above, the hand which II.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS. 33 quits the rein should slide along it behind the hand which receives the rein. And in all these positions the hand should always be at right angles with the reins ; you then have the play of all the joints. If the hand is in the same line with the reins, the play is only from the elbow. The thumb should not be used where delicacy is required, since it acts in a contrary direction to the fingers, and entirely stops the play of all the joints of the hand and fingers. Close your thumb on your fingers and you wdll see. Where power is required^ the change from the utmost resiliance to the utmost rigidity is effected in the time necessary to close the fists. Every gradation, however, between the closed fists and the tips of the open fingers is at the option of the rider. Gentlemen having a leg and spur on each side of the horse to urge and to guide him, should ride without any Useof tlie ■whip. whip at all if the horse has been subjected to the leg, so as to have the right hand as free for the reins as the left : there should be no such thing as " a bridle hand."' 34 HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS. [chap. If a whip is carried, it sliould be as light as possible. It should be held up like a hunter or a rough-rider, not down like a jockey; and so completely between the /^««r^ and tlie thumb as to leave the fingers free for the reins. To carry that club called the handle of a hunting whip is a frightful enormity. The excuse is, to open gates ; but if you put your horse's side against a gate, it is better opened by the hand, but keep your leg from your horse's side. The fingering of the reins should not be impeded even by thick gloves ; as thick muffettees as you like, but no gloves thicker than kid. The action of the whip, bj^ the turn of the wrist, on either side of the horse, is of every importance in lady's riding, in colt-breaking, in riding the restive horse, and I had well nigli said, in hunting and race riding. For Horses liow often do we see the race lost by a swerve to the left swerve and tnra only (attributed to distress). The hunter invariably refuses by turning to the left. The restive horse invariably turns to the left. Have all horses joined in Holy Alliance to fight on one plan ? If not, why do they all turn to the II.] HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS. 35 kft ? Because the whip is only used oh the rigid. There is, however, another cause which acts in conjunction with this. Even our finest two-handed English riders (w^ho, Fault in English in my opinion, are the finest riders in the world), when ^^^'^^^^^^ they use the right hand on the right rein, continue to hold hoth reins with the left hand, and they slip the right rein a little through the left hand in order to place hoth hands even. This is a most vicious habit. When they quit the right rein to use the whip, or to throw the arm back at a fence (another most vicious habit), by their system of holding and handling the reins they have not the power to place the lengthened right rein short in the left hand. Alas ! poor horse ! He is then pulled to the left by the left rein, driven to the left by the whip on the right, and then abused for answering these natural indications, which he has been trained habitually to ohej. D 2 36 [chap. CHAPTER III. EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. Ketaining, urging, and guiding indications. — To make the horse collect himself. — Canter, right turn, right j^ass. — Left shoulder in. — Bearing on the mouth. — The horse must be made to coUect himself in turning. — And should not be turned on one rein only. — Lady's canter. — The quicker the pace, the greater degree of collection. — French and English mistake here. — The shy horse. — The restive horse. — Truth may be paradoxical. Retaining, There are three sorts of indications, retaining, urging, urging, and guiding in- and guiding. (hcations. The indications of the hands are of two sorts, guiding and retaining. Those of the legs and whij) are also of two sorts, guiding and urging. Suppose a horse standing still with full liberty and fully extended. If the retaining indication of the hands only are given, he will go back- ward in a loose and extended form. If, on the contrary, the urging indication of the legs or whip only are given. ui.] EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. 37 he will move forward in a loose and extended form. If these two opposite indications (that is, retaining and To make the horse urging) be given equally at the same time, the horse will, collect him- as it is termed, collect himself; that is, being pulled back- ward, and urged forward, at the same time, in obeying both indications a sort of condensation of the horse results, he bends his neck and brings his head in, and brings his haunches under him. If both indications are continued and increased, the horse will piaf, that is, continue collected, in motion, without progressing, or he will make the courbette or terre a terre or rear. If both indications are discontinued, he will resume the extended position of repose. If, again, from this position, both indications are given, but the retaining the strongest, the horse will go backward in a collected form. If both are given, but the urging indication the strongest, he will move forward in a collected form, at a walk, trot, or canter, according to the vivacity with which the indications are given. As far as this is clear enough. But now come some 38 EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. [ckap. Canter, niceties whicli I am puzzled to explain. If the retaining right turn, right pass. ^^^ urging indications are given, but the right rein is felt the strongest, which is the guiding indication of the hand to the right, and the left leg is pressed the strongest, which is the guiding indication of the leg to the right, the horse should either turn to the right, or canter with the right leg, or he should ^>«s.s, that is, cross his legs and go sideways to the right, bending and looking to the right. When the same indications are given it seems monstrous to require the horse to discover which of three different movements is required of him. In practice the skilful horseman finds no difficulty in making himself clear to his horse, by different modifications of the indications, and of the position of his weight. In theory I can give no rules for it sJwH enough, to he read. When the horse is passing to the right, if the indi- cations of the legs are continued the same and those of hands reversed, that is, if the left rein is felt stronger Left than the right, the liorse changes from right pass to " left shoulder in. shoulder in " (in towards the centre of the school) that is, III.] EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. 39 he continues to cross liis legs and go sideways to the right, but he bends and looks to the left. As the hands alone make this change, they may be said to guide here. If, from the left shoulder in, the indications of the hands are continued the same, and those of the legs reversed, that is, if the right leg is pressed stronger than the left, the horse changes from left shoulder in to left pass, that is, he continues to look to the left, but crosses his legs and goes sideways to the left. As the legs alone make this change they may be said to guide here. These are useful lessons, and, together with reining back, should be taught to all horses and all horsemen. Tie a string from eye to eye of the snaffle behind the horse's chin, hold his head by this' against a wall, and make him pass, the head leading, by showing him the whip. Make him do the same mounted in obedience to the leg, with the snaffle as in Fig. 13. When the horse is in movement there should be a Bearing r.n "the mouth, constant touch, or feeling, or play, or bearing between his mouth and the rider's hands. It is impossible to bestow 40 EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. [chap. too mucli pains and attention on the acquirement of this. It is the index of the horse's actions, temper, and intentions. It foreicarns the rider of what he is ahout to do, and by it the rider feels muscularly without mental attention whether his horse requires more liberty or more collecting. And it is impossible that in this bearing on the horse's mouth, or in the indications of the hands and legs generall}^ or in shortening and lengthening the reins, the rider can be too delicate, gradual, smooth, firm, and light. The hands should be perfectly free from any approach to a jerk, a loose rein, or uneven feeling on the mouth. The legs sliould be kept from any action approaching to a kick, except when the spur is given ; that should be always present, and when used should be given smartly and withdrawn instantly, but the pressure of the legs should be perfectly smooth and gradual, though, if necessary, strong. If good riding is w^ortli your attention do not think these things beneath your notice. For the acquirement of the bearing on the horse's mouth, the turning your m.] ■ EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. 41 horse on the proper rein, smoothness of indications, and, in shortening the reins, the power of making your horse collect himself, and the working together of your hands and legs, are tlie unseen and unappreciated foundation on which good riding stands. These, and not strength or violence, command the horse. With these your horse will rely on your hand, comply to it, and, without force on 3'our part, he will bend to your hand in every articulation. Without these, however unintentionally on your part, you will be perpetually subjecting him to the severest torture, to defend himself against which he will resist your hand, poke his nose, and stiffen his neck, and every other part of his body. The horse can endure no greater torture than that resulting from an uneven hand. Tliis is known to every hack-cabman. Every hack-cabman has hourly experience that a joh in the mouth will compel his jaded slave into a trot, when the solicitations of the whip have been long unanswered. The single case in which a jerk in the mouth is admissible is when your horse is about to kick, and 42 EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. [chap. some one is within reach of his heels. The jerk causes him to throw up his head, and he cannot without difficulty raise his croupe at the same time. But except to save life or limh — sujiposing no one within reach — hold your hands high, and pull severely, but smoothly; do not jerk. This Avill in general be sufficient to prevent his kicking, but it is better that j^our horse should occasionally kick than that he should always go as stiff as a stake, which is the inevitable result of jerking. To keep the horse when in movement to a collected pace, the opposite indications of urging and retaining him Collect the must be continued. This working together of the hands borse to *"'"°- and legs and the power of making the horse collect himself are also most essential in turning. A horse should never be turned without being made to collect himself — without being retained by the hands, and urged by the legs, as well as guided by both. That is, in turning to the right both hands should retain him, and the right guide him by being felt the strongest, both legs should urge him, and the left guide him III.] EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. 43 by being pressed the strongest. The rider should also lean his weight to the right, and the shorter the turn and the quicker the pace, the more the horse should be made to collect himself, and the more both he and his rider should lean to the right. This is well seen, when a man standing on the saddle gallops round the circus. There the man must keep his position by balance alone, and were he not to lean inward — were he for a moment to stand perpendicularly, he would be thrown outside the circle by the centrifugal force. In turning suddenly and at a quick pace to the right, unless tlie rider leans his weight to the right, he will in like manner have a tendency to fall off on the left. If, by clasping his legs, he prevents this, his horse will be overbalanced to the left when turning to the right. It is Do not turn on one rein bad, in turning to the right, to run into the contrary "'^^y- extreme to the one-handed system, and, slackening the left rein, to haul the horse's head round with the right rein onl}'-. The horse's head should not be pulled farther round than to allow the rider to see the right eye ; both 44 EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. [chap. legs, and particularly the left leg, should then urge the horse to follow the guiding rein. A lady, till very skilful, should ride with one bridle only at a time. The other bridle should be knotted loosely, and should lie on the horse's neck. Lady's can- The indications for a lad^^'s horse to canter are an over ter. collection and a tapping on the mane with the whip ; that is, take your reins too short in the left hand, and tap the horse's mane till he canters. When off, if the reins are too short, take one in each hand, turn the fore fingers towards you, and let the reins slip. If the horse goes freely up to your hand, keep a rein in each hand. If not, return the right rein to the left hand, and keep the whip ready to urge him up to his bit. If a lady has her reins at full length at a walk she should clutch, cross, canter. If the lady has her reins already crossed in the left hand at a walk, she should by two changes place them too short in the left hand before she uses the whip. Thequicker Every change of pace from slow to quick should be the pace the greater indicated to the horse by a greater collection : the " bride collection. JO ^ , III.] EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. 45 abattue," and the " reines flottantes " sj'stem is a great French and English mistake. So is the direction to the English cavah-y mistake ° •' here. (quoted p. 6), to advance the little finger to make the horse advance. To make the horse advance the reins should be tightened ; he should be made to collect himself, or he will advance in a loose and extended form. On account of ease to the rider, a lady's horse is only permitted to canter with the right leg. He should never be cantered circles to left, or turned at a canter to the left, as unless the horse shifts his leg it will be an unfair exertion to ask of him. Cantering circles to the right, in open ground, where the horse has nothing to bias him but the indications he receives from the rider, is an admirable practice for a lady. An occasional race — who can canter slowest — is also good practice both for horse and rider. This must not be often repeated, nor must the horse be forced from a fair canter into a hobble or amble. Parade riders are too apt to be contented with wooden paces provided they are short. This is very 4<5 EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. [chap. vicious. Really to collect himself, a horse must bend himself. We cannot too often repeat Ovid's line, — Flectitis aut freuo colla sequacis equi. With horses obstinately addicted to the left leg, which is frequently a result of being longed only to the left, it is a good plan to canter them side -footed to the right, that is, on a level line, on the side of a hill which rises to the right. In this case a very slight slope will incline the horse to take his right leg, and on the side of a steep hill he can scarcely avoid it. The shy There are three gradations in riding the shy horse. horse. A man who pulls his horse's head towards what he expects him to shy at, and uses violence, makes his horse sll3^ A man who leaves his horse's head entirely loose, kfs his horse sll3^ And a man who turns his horse's head from what he expects him to shy at, 2)revcnts his horse from shying. Do not imagine that there will be any danger of the horse getting into trouble on the side opposite to Avliat he shies at: the very contrary will be in.] EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. 47 the case. If, indeed, you pull liis head towards the object of his alarm, and oblige him to face it, there is every probability that he will run blindly backward from it. And while his whole attention is fixed before him, he will go backward over Dover cliff if it chance to be behind him. Under such circumstances you cannot too rapidly turn your horse's head and his attention from the fancied, to the substantial ill. But on common occasions the turning his head from what he shies at should be as gradual and imperceptible as possible. No chastisement should be allowed in any case. If he makes a start, j^ou should endeavour not to make a return start. You should not, indeed, take more notice of a shy than you can possibl}^ avoid ; and unless the horse has been previously brutalised, and to re-assure him, j^ou should not even caress him, lest even that should make him suspect that something awful is about to happen. The common error is the reverse of all this. The common error is to pull the horse's head towards the object of his fear, and when he is facing it, to begin with whip and spur. Expecting 48 EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. [chap. to be crammed under the carriage -wheel, the horse probably rears or runs back into a ditch, or at least becomes more nervous and more riotous at ever}^ carriage that he meets. Horses are instantaneously made shy by this treatment, and as instantaneously cured by the converse of it. It is thus that all bad riders make all high-couraged horses shy, but none ever remain so in the hands of a good horseman. The restive There is a common error, both in theory and practice, horse. with regard to the restive horse. He is very aj)t to rear sideways against the nearest wall or paHng. It is the common error to suppose that he does so with the view of rubbing his rider off. Do not give him credit for intellect sufficient to generate such a scheme. It is that when there, the common error is to pull his head from the waU, This brings the rider's knee in contact with the wall, consequently all farther chastisement ceases ; for were the rider to make his horse plunge, his knee would be crushed against the wall. The horse, finding this, probably thinks that it is the very thing desired. in.] EFFECT OF INDICATIONS. 49 and remains there ; at least lie will always fly to a wall for shelter. Instead oi from the wall, pull his head towards it, so as to place his eye, instead of your knee, against it ; continue to use the spur, and the horse will never go near a wall again. To pull a horse from what he shies at, and towards the Truth may be para- wall he rubs you against, are very paradoxical doctrines. -e should still believe, as, till some few centuries ago, the world did believe, that the diurnal motion was in the sun, and not in the earth. Otherwise we must subscribe to the philosophy of the Turk, who " Saw with his own eyes the moon was round, Was also certain that the earth was square, Because he'd jouniey'd fifty miles and found No sign of its being circular anywhere." But these errors are not harmless errors. They induce Harm is done by the an ambitious interference with the horse at the moment ^*'^*^'°i'*- in which he should be left unconfined to the use of his E 2 52 MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER. [chap. own energies. If by pulling, and giving him pain in the mouth, you force him to throw up his head and neck, you prevent his seeing how to foot out any unsafe ground, or where to take off at a fence, and in the case of stumb- ling you prevent an action practically dictated by nature and theoretically justified by philosophy. When an unmounted horse stumbles, nature teaches him to drop his head and neck ; philosophy teaches us the reason of it During the instant that his head and neck are dropping the shoulders are relieved from their weight, and that is the instant in which the horse makes his effort to recover himself. If by giving him pain in his mouth, you force him to raise his head and neck instead of sinking them, his shoulders will still remain encumbered with the weight of them ; more than this, as action and reaction are equal and in contrary directions, the muscular power employed to raise the head and neck will act to sink the shoulders and knees. The mechanical impossibility of the rider assisting his horse when falling may be demon- strated thus : no motion can be given to a body without a v.] MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER. S3 foreign force or a foreign fulcrum. Your strength is not a foreign force, since it is emplo3'ed entirely on the horse. Nor can it be employed on the foreign fulcrum, the ground, through the medium of 3^our reins ; as much as you pull up, so much jou. pull down. If a man in a boat uses an oar, he can accelerate or impede the motion of the 'boat, because his strength is employed through the medium of the oar on the water, which is a foreign fulcrum. But if he takes hold of the chain at the head of the boat, his whole strength will not accelerate or impede the motion of the boat, because there is neither foreign force nor foreign fulcrum. His whole strength is employed within the boat, and as much as he pulls backward with his hands, he pushes forward with his feet. The baker can lift his basket, but not when he is himself in it. All the arguments which I have heard adduced against the doctrine here laid down would also go to prove that a horse cannot fall which has a bearing-rein and a crupper, that is, whose head is tied to his tail. Sir Francis Head's 5i MECHAITICAL AID OF THE RIDER. [cnAr. Bearing- observations on bearing-reins, in the " Bubbles of the rem. Brunnen," are quite philosophical. They should only be used for purposes of parade, or to acquire greater power over a difficult teciDi, or loose/i/ to keep cart-horses " out of mischief." Sir Francis's observations are also true of the liarness used by the peasantry of Nassau which he describes, but this arises from the poverty, not the philo- sophy of the peasants ; those among them, who have money enough to buy smart harness have the most elaborate bearing-reins that I have ever seen. One, a chain, from the lower part of the collar, which binds the horse's chin to his breast, and another over tlie upper part of the collar, along and above the back to the tail, independent of the terret-pad and crupper. This is tying the horse's head to his tail with a vengeance.* To * Of all stupid appliances of man to his horse, the most dense is the Austrian and south German mode of driving the einspanncr or single horse or a leader. The rein goes single from the driver's hand, and divides into two at the horse's neck. The driver, therefore, has no power of making a distinct indication on either rein : and to turn, he whips and jerks till the liorse guesses his uioaning. IV.] MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDEE. 5.5 be consistent, the opponents of the theory which I have laid down should act on this principle — though I have never known them go quite so far. Sed quis custodes custodiet ipsos ? AYhat is to prevent the tail from falling forward with the body ? They indeed argue, " Surely if you throw back the weight of the shoulders over the croupe of the horse, you relieve his fore-hand, and diminish the chance of his falling." This is rather to propose a new method of preventing a horse from falling, than to ^rove the advantage of pulling at the mouth while he is falling ; for if it is of any advantage to throw your weight back, then the less you pull at the mouth the better, for the more you pull, the less you are at liberty to throw the weight back. But, in truth, it is of no advantage to throw the weight back when the stumble is made. If a position is previously taken up on the croupe of the horse, the pressure will be less on the fore-hand than if you were placed in a forward position. But during the time that the position is in the act of being shifted, that is, during the time that the horse is falling, the act of throwing your 56 MECHANICAL AID OF THE EIDER. [cHAr. own weight back produces an exactly equivalent pressure forward, in all respects the counterpart of your own motion backward, in intensity and duration. It is useless to dwell on this subject, or to adduce the familiar illus- trations which it admits of. It is a simple proposition of mechanical equilibrium, and any one who is conversant ■with such subjects must assent to it. Mechanical The question whether a iockey can mechanically assist o j-jcey. j^^g horse, does not rest on the same footing. I believe he can, thus. If a man sits astride of a chair, with his feet off the ground, and clasps the chair with his legs, by the muscular exertion of his lower limbs he can jump the chair along. The muscular force is there employed on the foreign fulcrum, the ground, through the medium of the legs of the chair. Tlie muscular action strikes the chair downward and backw^ard, and if the chair was on ice it would recede, so also would the feet of a horse in attempting to strike forward. If the chair was on soft ground, it would sink, so also would a horse, in proportion to the force of the muscular stroke. But if IV.] MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER. 57 the resistance of the ground is complete, the reaction, which is precisel}^ equal and in a contrary direction to the action, will throw the body of the man upward and forward, and by clasping with his legs he will draw the chair also with him. But he can only accomplish in this way a very little distance with a very great exertion. If the jockey made this muscular exertion every time that his horse struck with his hind feet, his strength would be employed on the foreign fulcrum, the ground, through the medium of his horse's bony frame. Thus the jockey would contribute to the horizontal impulse of his own weight, and exactly in proportion to the muscular power exerted by the jockey, the muscular system of the horse would be relieved. At the same time no additional task is thrown on the bony frame of the horse, since, if the jockey had not used his muscular power on it in impelling his own weight, the muscular system of the horse must have been so employed. It is true, that not much is done after all with a prodigious exertion, but if that little gains six inches in a hardly contested race 58 MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER. [chap. it may make the difference of its being lost or won. Thus an easy race is no exertion to a jockey, but after a hardly contested one, he returns with his lips parched, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth, and every muscle quivering. The working a horse up with both hands'on his mouth is easier to the jockey than using the whip, and more effective in rousing the horse to his greatest exertion. standing What is Called " standing on the stirrups " consists on the stirrups, chiefly in bringing the weight forward on to both thighs. In this position the rider has a greater power of adjusting the balance of his weight to the movements of his horse. In racing it is practically^ proved to be essential. And it is of infinite service to the horse in the long and severe galloping of hunting. It is surprising that the English are the only people who rise in the stirrup at a trot; it is not surprising that other nations are beginning to follow their example. Difference In galloping, the horse's legs catch the eye most when between the gallop and they are from under him, and he is drawn with all tlif leap. IV.] MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER. 59 four from under him. In trutli, Lis bind legs are under liim when his fore legs are from under him, and his fore legs are under him when his hind legs are from under him; his hind feet pass over where his fore feet rested, so that from footprint to footprint he clears very little space. In fact, owing to what is called leading with one leg, the line between his two fore feet and the line between his two hind feet are by no means at right angles to the line of his direction ; so that the greatest distance from footprint to footprint is not nearly half his stroke. The leap differs from the gallop not only in the greater «, sjmce of ground cleared by the feet, but in the greater space of time for which the feet quit the ground ; this last difference is of more importance than might be imagined. Antffius was not peculiar in his dependence for strength steeple- chases uni- on contact with his mother earth. In leaping, neither fair on the horse. man nor horse can draw breath while in the air, that is, from the time the feet leave the ground till they again touch it. But quick breathing (the creber anhelitus) 60 MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER. [chap. is not only a consequence of distress for wind, but it is a vital necessity wlien distressed for wind. And the im- possibility to draw breath when off the ground is the reason of the death of horses in steeple-chasing and hurdle-racing ; they die of suffocation. The reason is a sufficient one for the discontinuance of such i-acing and chasing. A mounted horse will overtake a dismounted horse, his superior in speed. It is the common error to suppose that this results from the mechanical assistance J of the rider. The real reason is, that the dismounted horse goes off, hke an inexperienced jockej-, at his utmost speed. I do not believe that a horse can do this for more than a hundred yards without being distressed for wind (and I speak from experience with INIr. Drummond Hay's barbs at Tangier, which were trained to the feat). The rider starts at a pace which he knows his horse can keep, and the dismounted liorse, though he gains on him at first, comes hack to him as the jockeys say : for a liorse which has been distressed for wind in the first hundred IV.] MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDEE, 61 yards, will not arrive at the end of a mile nearly so soon as if lie had gone the whole at the best pace he could stay at. Here the assistance from the rider is mental not mechanical. When mounted it never happens to any horse but an arab or a barb to go his best muscular pace. What we call best pace is the best pace a horse can stay at for uind. If a common hack were started fresh for the last hundred yards against the best horses in England when finishing their race, he would have it hollow. Woe to the sportsman who ambitiously attempts to lift The rider should not his horse mechanically over a fence on the principle dis- J^^* ^^^ cussed above ; he is much more likely to throw him into it. He had better content himself with sitting quietly on his horse, holding him only just enough to keep his head straight and to regulate his pace, and trust the rest to his horse's honour. The horse should feel sufficiently commanded to know that he must go, and sufficiently at liberty to know that he 7nay use all his capabilities. The body should not previously be thrown back, but as the 62 MECHANICAL AID OF THE EIDER. [chap. horse springs, the lower part of tlie rider being firmly fixed in the saddle, and the upper part perfectly pliable, the body will fall back of itself; and with strong jumping horses, or at doAvn leaps, the shoulders of fine riders will constantl}'^ meet their horse's croupes. A bad horseman throws his horse down, which a good one does not. That is, because the bad horseman hurries his horse over hard or rough ground, or down hill, or over loose stones — allows him to choose his own ground — lets him flounder into difficulties, and when there, hauls him so that he cannot see, or exert himself to get out of them, and expecting chastisement, the horse springs and struggles to avoid it before he has recovered his feet, and goes down with a tremendous impetus. If he has to cross a rut to the right he probably forces his horse across it when the right foot is on the ground. In this case, unless the horse collects himself and jumps — if he attempts to step across it, the probabilit}- is that in crossing his legs he knocks one against the other and f.ills. The reverse of all this should be the case. If IV.] MECHANICAL AID OF THE EIDER. 63 you have not sufficient tact to feel which of j^our horse's feet is on the ground, you must allow him to choose his own time for crossing, which will be when the left foot is on the ground. You should habitually choose your horse's ground for him, for, notwithstanding his pften vaunted sagacity and safety, the wisest among horses will, to avoid a moving leaf, put his foot over a precipice. This will become as easy to you as choosing j'our own path in walking. If your horse has made a false step, or is in difficulties, you cannot leave him too much at liberty, or be too quiet with him. The only notice to be taken is to re-assure Mm by caressing him, if 3"ou see that he expects chastise- ment from previous brutal treatment. I will add that you should habitually prevent your horse out-walking or lagging behind his companions ; he is either ver}?- unsociable or a bad horseman, who does not keep abreast of his companions. Besides, horses, being gregarious, are apt to follow one another. This should not be. Your horse should be in perpetual 64 MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER. [chap. iv. obedience to the indications which your hands and legs give him, and to nothing else. These indications should not only decide the pace which he is to take, but deal out to him the rate at which each pace is to be executed, and also determine his carriage during the performance of it ; that is, the degree in which he is to collect himself, or the degree of liberty which is to be allowed him. CHAP, v.] 65 CHAPTEE V. THE SEAT. There is one direction which applies to all seats. — Different seats for different styles of riding. — The manege and the Eastern seats are the extremes. — The long stirrup is necessary for cavalry to act in line. — Medium length of stirrup for common riding. There is one direction which, I think, applies to all One direc- tion for all seats. Turn the thigh from the hip, so as to bring the ^^^*^- hollow to the saddle ; this places the foot straight to the front, with the heel out and the toe in. Trotting without stirrups, on the thigh only, with the heel down and the toe up, shoulders back, a snaffle-rein in each hand, like a rough-rider (Fig. 13), is the best possible practice for sitting. Farther than this I abstain from giving any particular Different seats for directions about the seat ; because, though I consider the different styles of rules here laid down for the hands as applicable to every ^^ ^°^" 66 THE SEAT. [chap. species of riding (I have excepted the soldier with his weapon in his right hand), I think there is a peculiar seat proper to many different styles of riding. The extremes Manege of these are the manege and the Eastern styles, both and East- the ex-*^ admirable in their way, and perfectly practical, but each tremes. wholly inapplicable to the performances of the other. What can be more perfect than the seats of M. de Kraut and the Marquis de Beauvilliers, in De la Gue- riniere's work, or the engraving of M. de Nestier ? But I do not think that a man in such a seat would look well, or perform well, in a five-pound saddle, over the beacon course : still less that he could lay the reins on the neck of a well-bred horse, and at full speed lie along his horse's side, and with his own body below his horse's back, prime and load a long Persian gun, jump up and use both hands to fire to the right or left, or over his horse's croupe ; or that he could wield a long heav}^ lance with the power of a Cossack ; or at full gallop hurl the djerrid to the rear with the force of a Persian, and again, without any diminution of speed, pick it from the v.] THE SEAT. 67 ground. On the other hand, his peculiar seat renders the Eastern horseman so utterly helpless in the per- formances of the manege, that he is unable to make his horse rein back, or pass sidewaj^s a step. And I have seen three hundred Mussulman troops from the northern parts of Persia (each of whom would perform forty such feats as I have mentioned) take more than an hour to form a very bad parade line, in single rank. When one of them was the least too far forward, or had an interval between him and the dressing hand, however small, as he could neither make his horse rein back, nor pass side- ways, he was obliged to ride out to the front, turn round to the rear, and ride into the rank afresh, and so in succession every man beyond him. This was an affair of Long stir- rups are seat : the Eastern horseman's leg does not come low ^^'^^^^^^'J ° lor cavalry. enough to give his horse what are called sides. On sides depend reining back and passing ; on reining back and passing depend closing and dressing, and conse- quently the power of acting in line. On sides also depends the central wheel of threes on their own ground. F 2 68 THE SEAT. [chap. This is an invaluable attribute to cavalry, regular or irregular. On the plain, the central wheel of threes affords the only true principle of correcting intervals between squadrons, regiments, or brigades, whether in line or in line of columns. Threes also supply the most perfect principle of retiring in line in the presence of an enemy, with the power of instantly showing front, pro- vided that (according to regulation) leaders are appointed to the rear, the same as to the front. In the defile, for advanced or rear-guard movements, threes alone afford the power to occupy the entire width of a lane, road, street, or defile, with the perfect facility of constant and instant alternation of retiring and advancing. Without some central wheel, columns or divisions occupying the width of a road or street, can not retire ; or when retiring, cannot show front to the enemy. With reining back and passing (and they are easily acquired) irregular cavalry might move with the precision of regular cavalry. I should say, that the most perfect seat for the manege should be shortened for the soldier to give him power v.] THE SEAT. 69 with his weapons ; that the mihtary rider should take up his stirrups when he goes hunting ; the hunter the same when he rides a race ; and for tours de force, I consider the short f^irrup -leather and the broad stirrup -iron of the East indispensable — they give, in fact, the strength of the standing instead of the sitting posture. The Cossack retains this standing posture even at a trot ; few Eastern horsemen allow that pace at all, but make their horses walk, amble, or gallop. The English hunting seat is, in point of length, the Medium for common medium of those mentioned ; and perhaps that seat, or "^"^"^s- something between that and the military seat, is the best adapted to common riding. It unites, in a greater degree than any other, ease, utility, power, and grace. 70 [chap. CHAPTEE YI. MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. Directions to place a lady on her saddle. — Directions to mount at a halt. — In movement. — To dismount in movement. — To vault on at a halt. — Circus for practising these movements. — To pick a whip from the ground. — To face about in the saddle. To mount a To mount, a lady should place her left hand on the sidesaddle. pummel or leaping horn, the right hand on the off side of the cantle, or as fai- towards it as possible, and should seat herself between her two hands ; she should give the left foot, this should be kept precisely under the weight; if it is given forward (which is the common error) each person is pushed backward one from the other. This should be practised on any piece of furni- ture ; the man should use both his hands, and in this way a weak person may put up the heaviest weight. You may put a man of fifteen stone on the top of a door VI.] MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. 71 with the greatest ease, — try if you can do this in any other way. To mount, a man should place his left shoulder to his To mount at a bait. horse's left shoulder, so as to look to the horse's rear ; take your whip, reins, and the mane in the left hand, with the right hand take the lower part of the stirrup-leather between the fore-finger and thumb, the little finger on the upper part of the stirrup-iron ; take a hop forward facing the saddle and turning your toe to the horse's front without touching his side, take the cantle with the right hand and up. If the horse moves on, he only Grin move- ment. spares you the previous hop, and by walking or running backward with him you may mount almost at a gallop. In taking the right stirrup, avoid touching the horse with the spur, or even pressing him with the leg. If he has been made shy by such usage, place your left hand on the pummel, and with the right hand place the stirrup on the foot, keeping both legs from the horse's sides. To dismount in movement, lay the reins on the neck. To dis- mount in one or both knotted short ; take the pummel with the movement 72 MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. [chap. left hand the cantle with the right, pass the right leg over the neck, shift the right hand to the pummel, and as 3'ou descend, the left hand to the flap. With the strength of both arms throw your feet forward in the direction in which the horse is going, this may be done at a gallop. To vault on If it is wished to vault on again, while the right hand or over in movement, j^olds the pummel take the mane with the left, and without taking a step you may go up or over, the quicker To vault the pace the easier. It is difiicult to jump on to the on at a saddle at a halt, the easiest way is to take the mane as directed for mounting and to jump from the left foot, the right hand coming on to the pummel as you descend into the saddle. Circus for To practise these movements, form a circus by placing practice. wattle hurdles on end, leaning outward against the shores or staves; take the stirrups off, tie a string over the flaps and the horse's head loosely to this — a man with a driving whip in the middle. Circus riding, I believe, originated in England, in the time of our grandfathers ; in Germany it is called *' English reiten." VI.] MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. 73 To pick a whip from the ground, take the pummel with To pick a wbip from the right hand, place the side of the left foot against the *^^ ground, girth, the toe between the horse's elbows, bring the back of the right leg on to the top of the saddle, and let yourself down to the full stretch of your right arm ; this is very easy at the halt, still easier on the move, if your horse is quiet. If you fail, you only dismount on your hands instead of your feet, which on turf may be done innocuously at a canter. To face about in the saddle place the palms of the To face about in hands on the pummel, throw your legs out horizontally ^^^ saddle. over the horse's croupe, turn and come into the saddle facing to the tail. If M. Cui Bono remarks that the last two feats are, like others which I might detail, useless, I answer, that the practice of no feat of activity or strength is useless. Activity and strength, the unct?e dona palaestrae, form a firm assurance against perils, not only to your own life but to the lives of others. 74 [chap. CHAPTER VII. THE BIT. Place of the bit in the mouth. — Principle of the bit. — Action of the common bit. — Action of the Chifney bit. — The loose eye. — The nose- band.— The horse's defence against the bit by the tongue. — Effect of the porta against this defence. — Defence by the lip. — Defence by the teeth. — Bar of the military and driving bit. — Martingale. — Danger does not result from power. Place of bit To give the bit its most powerful action it should be in the mouth. placed SO low as only just to clear the tusks in a horse's mouth, and to be one inch above the corner teeth in a mare's mouth. The curb-chain should be so tight as not to admit more than one finger freely between it and the chin ; these rules are simple, and should be attended to by all riders ; a horseman should no more mount with his bit improperly placed, than a seaman should set sail with his helm out of order. Principle A twitcli round tlie lower jaw, mider the tongue, on the of the bit. Til.] THE BIT. 75 bars or parts of the mouth hare of teeth, is perhaps the most certain, powerful, and severe instrument to hold a horse with, and it may be tightened till it becomes a dreadful implement of torture. Next to this is what is called the dealer's halter, which is merely a narrow thong of leather in like manner tied round the lower jaw, under the tongue, but incapable of being tightened or slackened like the twitch. The bit is a most ingenious attempt to grasp the lower jaw by the same bare parts, with the capability of contracting or of perfectly relaxing the grasp, by the appKcation or withdrawal of the powers of the lever. This is the intended action of the bit, — the philosopher's stone, — after which all bit-projectors and bit-makers have laboured; the obstacles to be overcome are various and perhaps insuperable, and indeed could the powers of the lever be employed on such exquisitely sensitive parts as the bare jaws, when within this iron vice, perhaps no hand could be found sufficiently delicate to use them. By pressing j^our finger-nail against your own gums, you 76 ' THE BIT. [chap. may form some idea of the agony such an implement would have the power of giving to a horse ; anything approaching to harsh, hard, handling with it would drive him desperate, and force him to throw himself over backward ; the idea of lifting his weight by such parts grasped with iron is absurd, still more preposterously barbarous that of arresting the headlong impetus of a falling horse by them. Fortunately the power of the rider is here very limited, and the horse defends himself against it by throwing his head upward and backward, and thus the rider only breaks his horse's knees instead of his jaws. Action of But a common bit placed in the common way never common bit. touches the horse's bars at all, it is usually placed higher than as directed above, and, as it pivots on the eye (that part to which the headstall is attached) when in use, it rises in the horse's mouth — higher directly as the length of the cheek (the upper part of the branch or side of the bit) and inside the mouth it has a mixed action, on the fleshy part of the gums above the bars, on the lips, and Til.] THE BIT. 77 (owing to the narrowness of the porte) on the tongue. Outside the mouth, the bit acts on the coarse part of the two jawbones, above the fine part of the chin, where the two jawbones meet, where the curb-chain was originally placed, and where it should act ; and I consider this sort of upward grating action as calculated to excite, rather than to restrain a horse. A Chifney bit, as it pivots on the Action of a Chifney mouthpiece, avoids this ; its action is quite independent ^^*' of the headstall, and is precisely on the parts where it is originally placed. The square-cut eye of the regimental bit greatly The loose eye. impedes its action, besides cutting the leather of the head- stall ; to remedy this, about a quarter of a century ago, I placed on the bit of the 2nd Life Guards what has since received the name of " the loose ej-e," and I am proud to see it still where I placed it. It was not intended for common bits ; the round eye and the snap hook give them perfect freedom of action. " The loose eye " has, however, become common on common bits. A noseband prevents the cheek of the bit and of the The nose- band. .78 THE BIT. [chap. headstall from going forward, and so impedes tlie true action of the bit. To close the horse's mouth, in order that a high porte may act against the roof of the mouth, is a monstrous notion. I had the honour to abolish nosebands in the 2nd Life Guards. Defence The liorse employs his tongue as a defence against the against tlie ton