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PRACTICAL

HORSEMANSHIP.

BY HARRY HIEOVER,

AUTHOR OF " THE POCKET AND THE STUD ; " AKD

" THE STUD FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES AND

PRACTICAL MEN."

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:

LONGIMAN, BKOWN GREEN, AND LONGMANS.

1856.

London :
Printed by Spottiswoode & Co.,
New-Street-Square.

PEEFACE.

The first inquiry on seeing a book advertised as
" shortly will be published," " in the press," or,
" just published," usually is, Who is the author ?
and happy he who dares hope that his name
may be any recommendation to the forthcoming
work.

But supposing even this to be the case, the
author must not hold such a consummation of
his wishes to be a proof that he is of more than
mediocre general talent ; for the favourable re-
ception his works may meet with, may very pro-
bably arise more from his knowledge of his sub-
ject than from any superior mental qualities ; and
the most flattering compliment he is in such case
Avarranted in taking to himself is, that he has
sense enough to write on such matters only as he

A 2

IV PKEFACE.

is conversant with. Many authors are not con-
tent to thus limit the effusions of their pen, and
when they do not, the pubhc generally gives
them a silent, but forcible lesson, by leaving such
works unpurchased and unread ; and if that awful
tribunal, the press, finds that, so far from being
authorised in exhibiting its usual liberality and
indulgence, justice and impartiality demand a
castigation at its hands, the author must possess
more courage, or vanity, than one in a thousand,
if he can again raise his diminished head.

In bringing forward any work before the
public, it should be no light consideration with
an author what title he selects ; for if the title is
judiciously chosen, it frequently prevents the
reader being disappointed in not finding the
work embrace matter of a different order from
any the author may contemplate. For instance,
had I designated this volume "A Manual of
Horsemanship," — "A Treatise on Horseman-
shl})," — or, worse than all, " The Complete
Horseman," — he would naturally expect to find
in it all the minutiae of manege, principle and
practice ; and on such style of riding, more or
less, have nearly all works on Horsemanship
treated. That such works are of a superior order

PREFACE. V

to that now in the reader's hands, I have not the
slightest objection to admit ; whether to the ordi'
nary rider they may be more useful, is quite
another matter. It is not to the generality of
men that all the perplexing intricacies of any pur-
suit are necessary; to the majority they would be
useless ; and I do not hesitate to say, that two
thirds of what is discussed in elaborate works on
Horsemanship would only perplex the ordinary
pupil, Avithout doing him any good. They are
highly creditable to the professors ; and if my
reader contemplates becoming one of these, let
him read them, and throw this aside, for its title
only holds out as its object the hope of assisting
him in becoming a practical horseman as a
private individual.

The design of the present book did not origi-
nate with myself, but was suggested to me by
others, who flatter me by thinking that I could
write what might be acceptable and useful to
many, on the subject of general practical horse-
manship. Of course, wherever, and whenever,
horsemanship is displayed, be it of what sort it
may, it is practical ; but I mean by the term to
^indicate such horsemanship as is in every -day
use.

A 3

VI PREFACE.

I do not mean to insinuate that I can, or ever
did, " witch the world with noble horsemanship ;"
but having as child, boy, and man, been tumbled
about in all directions, by all sorts of horses, I
certainly became one not easily dislodged by the
animal I bestrode; and from having practically
learned the usual modes by which horses effected
such purpose, I also learned how to counteract
their kind intentions.

It will be judged from what I have said, that I
do not contemplat eany treatise on those peculiari-
ties or refinements in horsemanship once so much
in vogue in school-practice. The high-dressed
mmiege horse exists no longer, at least in this
country. I have, when quite a boy, ridden such ;
but I should be incompetent to give any available
information on this style of riding, and if I could,
it would now be useless. No doubt, those who
could have done so were fine horsemen, but they
were so for the school only. If I, therefore, take
the far humbler walk in instruction, and teach
the novice how to ride in safety from Kilburn to
Cumberland Gate, and to prevent his horse
attempting becoming inside passenger in an
omnibus, such information will really be of more
use than the most elaborate work on a style of

PREFACE. YU

horsemanship that the reader will, most probably,
never have occasion or opportunity to practise, or
perhaps even see.

Some time ago I was told by a valued friend
that he always hired a horse for two months in
the summer, for the benefit of air and exercise.
" But," said he, " the last I hired, if he came
near a wall would always take me up to it : and
for the life of me I could never get him away
from it, till I got some one to lead him oiF for
me. Now," continued he, "if you would write
a book on common ordinary riding, I dare say
you would tell me how I could have managed
this horse ; and depend on it, there are thousands
who ride as I do for health, who know no more
of riding than myself, and to them your book
would be invaluable."

I promised to make the attempt ; the result is
before the reader; and though there are thou-
sands who know quite enough to preclude any
hope on my part that the book will be useful to
them, and thousands to whom it might in some
way perhaps be useful but who will not allow or
consider that it could be so, yet if it is found to
be useful to the thousands whom my friend de-

A 4

VIU PREFACE.

scribes as beino; aware of knowinof no more than
himself, I shall be quite satisfied.

The first thousand I have mentioned may, and
probably will, call it the hornbook of horseman-
ship, — be it so. It was not written for such
persons, but if it teaches A B C to those who did
not know as much before, it will quite answer
my intention, and I sincerely hope it may their
purpose.

H. H.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

I AM not, perhaps, paying a very high compliment to
my pencil in thinking an explanation of its attempts
necessary. This is, however, a matter of no conse-
quence to any one. But at all events, I beg my
readers to believe that I mean no ill compliment to
them ; and this is a matter of very serious consequence
to me.

The difference between the riders and horses in
the two plates will be apparent at a glance, and a
consummate judge of horsemen and horses would
require no explanation of this : but, as the class of
readers to whom alone I dare flatter myself this book
will be found useful do not profess to be either, I
think it desirable to describe to them the particular
points of distinction between " going like workmen,"
and " going like muffs."

If we look at the horse going like a workman, we
see him one of a sort they will find described as likely

X EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

to be able to do any thing a gentleman would require
of a horse in a gentlemanly way. The man would not
be very much to be pitied who had half-a-dozen such
in his stable as hunters in ordinary countries. He
shows he can go lightly, safely, and pleasantly as a
hack; his countenance, and collected, easy style of going
evince the docility, and, at the same time, the spirit,
necessary for a lady's horse ; and I would back a pair
of horses of such breeding, quietly handled, not to
kick if put into a phaeton. His condition shows he
is not indolent enough to be fat, or restless and
fidgetty enough to be thin ; and is just such as a
month's training would make him fit to run a hurdle
race, or steeple-chase ; and he looks like one not to
be quite out of the betting if he started for either.
Though not fleshy, he shows considerable muscular
development : the great strength and size of his
haunches and quarters evince great propelling power;
and his strength of loins shows that, if put at a fence
in a meaning-to-go way, the rider would only have
to " sit tight."

It will be seen he has his fore-legs well and safely
before him, so that he can handle his feet like a pair
of hands, just as he likes ; and his hind quarters are
so collected that he would step handsomely and easily
in any pace. He is going at a nice sweeping canter,
but could evidently spring into three-quarters speed
in three or four strokes. He is going on the snaflSe-
rein, with his head just in a position that gives the
bit a true and fair bearing in his mouth. I have had
several of my own in my mind's eye while I was

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. XI

sketching him ; and, as he is one of the sort I have
particularly recommended to my readers, it is some
proof of my sincerity, whatever it may be of my judg-
ment, when I present him as one of a sort which I used
myself.

The rider is just of a nice hunting weight, about
eleven stone with his saddle ; strong enough to hold
any horse, yet light enough for anything worthy of
being called a hunter to carry ; and actively-made
enough, if he is good enough, to be, in pugilistic phrase^
a troublesome customer to the ordinary run of men on
occasion. His dress shows him a riding man, but still
it is one that would not preclude his entering a draw-
ing-room for a morning call. His legs are just where
they ought to be in the pace he is going. The cut of
his trousers looks more like riding where he is, than
walking in Regent Street. His bridle hand is where
he has perfect command of his horse's mouth, though
in an easy position to himself ; his other is where he
could lay hold of his rein, use his whip, or wave his
hand to a friend with equal facility ; in fact, he looks
like one who gave himself little trouble how he got
up, but would give a horse a great deal to get him
down. But he looks one of the sort to all of whom I
sincerely wish the possession of such a property as he
is cantering over ; like one to be ever ready to put his
hand in his pocket for the shivering applicant, and to
effectually relieve him in private, though he might
not establish a school, and stipulate for a kind of gaol
dress, to brand its objects with the stigma of poverty
and dependence, in order to chronicle his acts of charity
to the public.

XU EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

In the next plate we see quite another sort of ani-
mal. Her breed, like that of her rider, is quite
beyond my powers of conception to suggest ; and,
provided both are the last of that breed, it matters
little from whom or whence they came. Now the
dog, though not what I should select to follow my
horse, shows what he is — nothing sporting, but of a
definite sort, a well-made and handsome one of his
kind ; and, by-the-by, goes in capital form, and, as a
dog, looks like a little gentleman.

The " Maid of Masca," under which title the white
specimen was bought as a pure Arab, though about
as pure as the London liquid of the same colour, is
highly prized by her owner, to whom, if her late
master does not feel he owes an eternal debt of gra-
titude for buying her, he has not a spark of it
within him. She is regarded by her master, and,
doubtless, by such friends as such a master may be
supposed to have, as a " beautiful creature." I do
not say that, as an animal, she is ugly ; on the con-
trary, rather pretty : but, as a horse, may we "never
see " her " like again ! "

Now to pick her to pieces (may she never be put
together again !). Her owner boasts of her fine fore-
hand. I fully agree with him that her neck is long
enough, and a little to spare ; but, from the pommel
of the saddle to her bosom, a well-made donkey is
as long. Her head is of a no-meaning kind, that
might belong, in turnpike term, to any " horse, mare,
gelding, mule, or ass," and is set on so that it is for-
tunate for her master, and her, that the way she

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. Xlll

carries it meets his approbation, for she could cany
it in no other. She does not pull; but from the
position of the piece of mechanism that is meant for
a bit in her mouth, it is evident she bores pretty
comfortably, and costs her owner a new pair of lemon
kids every time he mounts her. She is of that de-
scription of white that an engraving cannot fully
show ; namely, having a flesh-coloured nose, and eyes
of the same hue. She is the " milk-white." Now
there is a breed of " bone-whites," of a bluish tinge,
with blackish muzzles, manes, tails, and legs : some
of which are not only handsome, but good. But the
" Maid of Masca " has a nose precisely the colour of
her master's physiognomy, and if that and the mare's
nose were both protruded through a hole, as much
of energy would be developed in the one as the other.
She is going in a gait that is a kind of mongrel one,
half gallop and half canter ; her fore-legs are like
those of the other horse, sufficiently before her, but
the difference is this : he playfully puts his before
him, hers look as if they were drawn there by some
agency not her own, and appear as if they never
would come back again, while her hind ones are left
behind, as if she held them to be useless to progression.
If she were stopped short, she would come on her
head, and would have abundance of time for this
before her haunches could be brought under her. Of
course, such a man on such a horse never contem-
plates a leap. If he did, the utmost those weak thin
haunches and back could do for her would be to carry
her over a bit of water that, lengthening her accus-

XIV EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

tomed stretch in going, a foot or two would suffice to
cover.

It will be seen she is not going merely totally
uncollected, but unconnected; she is leading with
the left, or near leg ; whereas, to go connectedly with
her hind ones, she should lead with the off one. She
must change this, for her motion to the rider must
be as if her back was broken, and the fatigue to herself
would knock her up in a mile ; it being, at the same
time, a matter of doubt if she could last a mile in a
gallop, go as she might. Her gallop is just that of a
cow ; in truth, I have seen a light heifer a better
goer ; and, if we get treated with a portion of the
Maid of Masca as well as the heifer in sausages, they
will both be turned to their best account.

The simple young gentleman — who certainly had
nothing to. do with the exploits of which the statue
he is passing is a trophy — may be anything for which
no talent at all, plenty of self-esteem, and a propor-
tionate quantity of ignorance, qualify him. One
thing is certain, he cannot be, in its strict sense, a
gentleman. His seat he, of course, calls a military
one ; military enough, against riding like a horseman,
it certainly is ; and, doubtless, with his pair of spurs
for show, he considers he has all the cut of one of a
crack light cavalry regiment. I rather think, if such
a thing got one day into Lord Cardigan's regiment,his
lordship would bolt him, as we do a badger, on the
second. He looks, in short, one of those young gen-
tleman that a man might abstain from kicking lest the
dainty bit of humanity might go home, tell his mamma,

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. XV

and make her miserable. His glass, that is dangling
to show the gold chain to which it is attached, he has,
no doubt, by long practice, learned to support by
sticking it under his eyebrow, a feat that gives a man
the appearance of frowning fearfully on one side of
his face, while he looks somewhat vacant oa the other ;
and of staring straight with one eye, while the other
is in evident confidential communication with his
neighbour the nose.

Reader, Mr. Tickle-me-tenderly and the Maid of
Masca are quite fancy sketches, nor had I any par-
ticular individuals of either kind in my mind in
making them. Probably we shall never see either
in such a locality as the "workmen" are careering
over; but, at any fancy-fair in Hyde Park, they, or
their prototypes, will most certainly be conspicuous
objects.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction. Horsemanship natural to the English. Pe-
culiarities of French Horsemanship. Who is the best
Horseman ? Value of good Nerve and good Temper.
A firm Seat. Comparison between long and short Riders.
Weight no Obstacle to good Horsemanship - Page 1

CHAP. II.

Different Modes of becoming a Horseman — their Results.
Military Riding. Class of Riders who will derive Be-
nefit from this Work. Master Harry Hieover and Mr.
------ 13

CHAP. in.

Different Seats for different Kinds of Horses illustrated.

Racing and Hunting Seats. Illustrative Anecdote. Seat

best adapted for Road-Riding. Long Stirrup Leather

when objectionable - - - - 36

a

XVIU CONTENTS.

CHAP. IV.

Different Effects of learning to ride with or without Stir-
rups. The Kinds of Horses best adapted for Koad-
Riding. The thorough Hack. The general Hack. The
trotting Hack. The Cob. The Foreign Horse. The
Author's " Fancy." - - - - Page 55

CHAP. V.

Horse Equipment. The Bit. Advantage of the Double
Bridle. The Pelham. Leverage in Bits. Efficiency of
the Pelham elucidated. The Single-Reined Curb, or
" the Hard and Sharp " objectionable. The Snaffle. Its
Sufficiency for the Road-Horse. Causes of a bad Mouth.
Insufficiency of the Snaffle for Fox-Hunting. How to
remedy a bad Mouth. The Double Bridle recom-
mended. - - - - - - 78

CHAP. VI.

Good Taste in Horse Equipments recommended. " Finery"
to be avoided. Uselessness of thick Reins. The Lip.
Strap. Round Forehead Bands and Throat-Latches.
Useless Appendages to be avoided. " Latchford's "
Bits. Ribbon on the Forehead Bands abandoned in.
the Field. Best Kind of Saddles. Stirrups and Buckles.

99

CHAP. VIL

Mounting the Horse. Advancing. Usual but absurd
Habits. Position of the Hands. Position of the Body.
Common Errors. Results of Practice. Cross Purposes.
Handy and unhandy Horses. Inclining a Horse to the
Right or Left. Turning to Right or Left. Shying and
Starting - - - - - - 114

CONTENTS. XIX

CHAP. vm.

Blundering on darned Koads. On Stumbling. Its Causes —
and Cures. Keeping a Horse in Hand. Horses addicted
to tripping. Course to be adopted. Curious Analogies.
Prevention better than Cure. A few Lessons in Rotten
Row. Diflference between Blundering and Tripping
illustrated - . _ - Page 146

CHAP. IX.

Rearing. Kicking. Plunging. Their Causes and Cures.
Preparing for a Trot. The Canter. The Gallop.
Conclusion - - . - 186

PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

CHAPTER T.

INTRODUCTION. HORSEMANSHIP NATURAL TO THE ENGLISH.

PECULIARITIES OF FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP. M'HO IS

THE BEST HORSEMAN? VALUE OF GOOD NERVE AND GOOD

TEMPER. A FIRM SEAT. — COMPARISON BETWEEN LONG

AND SHORT RIDERS. WEIGHT NO OBSTACLE TO GOOD

HORSEMANSHIP.

All who have ever ridden will admit that their
first step towards horsemanship consisted in get-
ting astride something or other. Most probably a
stick was the first supposed representative of the
animal over which they hoped some day to exercise
control.

Arrived at mature years, they mounted a horse;
this they will readily also admit as their second
step towards equestrianism. But it may be
somewhat more difficult to find the man who
would admit that his second step was not only the
second, but the last. Yet with thousands such is
the case; but with this exception: in step the

B

2 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

second the horse we will suppose stood still : he
then got into motion ; but though the horse got on
with his rider, it very frequently happened, that,
figuratively speaking, the rider never got on with
his horse — that is, not with his horsemanship.

A wretched half-starved ragged representative
of human nature, factotum to a pettyfogging
attorney, is said to have, on some occasion, pomp-
ously introduced himself as first, principal, and
only clerk to Mr. So and So ; thus has the getting
on a horse's back, and his moving on, been first,
second, and only steps of many towards horseman-
ship.

That England, speaking generally, is a nation of
horsemen, there can be no doubt ; but not more so
than some others: the Arab is as competent a
horseman in his way as we are in ours ; that we
are superior horsemen to any of the nations within
a few hundred miles of us, we may safely boast ;
and here, to be a good horseman, brings a degree
of eclat not found elsewhere.

The term horseman carries with it very dif-
ferent significations, in accordance with the way
in which it is used : if, in distinguishing between a
man walking, another in a carriage, and a third on
horseback, we say there comes or goes a horseman,
it simply states that such a person is on a horse ;
but if, after seeing a few muffs on horses, we saw
the Marquis of Anglesey coming, and should say.

IDEAS FOREIGN AND ENGLISH. 3

" Here comes a horseman," the terms would apply-
very differently, and to the initiated would convey
more than a lengthened description could effect.

There is no people among whom the horse
is so generally used for amusement as in England.
In neighbouring countries he is also used in
various ways for man's amusement; but there
it chiefly consists in parade. A Frenchman
is gratified in riding on the Boulevards or in
the Bois de Boulogne ; but few foreigners would
take a ride on Marlborough Down, or in its
forest. They are pleased in riding where they
and their horses can be seen ; but put them on the
finest hunter that ever crossed country, and let
him lounge along with the gait and quietude of a
racehorse at exercise, they would consider the
horse a positive brute, and riding where " les
belles dames" could not see them, they would look
upon as positive penance. An Englishman in
taking such a ride does so from a love of country
scenery; and such men mostly are attached to
country pursuits. When this is the case, as he rides
along, hunting comes across his mind, and he an-
ticipates many a gallop over the country around
him on the horse he is riding : he sees a tempting
fence present itself ; thinks a little practice will do
no harm to himself or his horse ; gathers up
his reins and has a " shy " at it ; his nag tops it
cleverly ; he pats his neck, and chuckles at the

B 2

4 PRACTICAL HOESEMANSHIP.

thought of shortly mounting the pink and show-
ing the way. He finds he is on soft and elastic
turf; so he gives his horse a gentle breather, and
probably a view halloo or two as his nag goes
snorting and striding along. " Who-ho ! Old
Liberty ! " he cries, pulling up his nag, and again
patting him. The horse on stopping gives a sono-
rous blow of his nose — sure sign that the pipes are
clear. ** That's the ticket, old fellow," cries the
master ; and then quietly lounges along as before,
his spirits heightened by the exercise and the ex-
hilarating thoughts it has brought into play.

The Frenchman has no idea of such feelings or
such excitement from such a cause, for hunting
with an established pack of hounds is, with very
few exceptions, contrary to his habits ; and, in fact,
Englishmen are the only people, speaking of them
collectively, who hunt for the sole pleasure of the
chase. It is one of the most exhilarating plea-
sures an Englishman enjoys; and this renders him,
as a horseman across country, unmatched by any
nation in the world ; and, take him all in all as a
general rider, the man who with a firm seat, fine
hands, and good judgment, can make the most
of his horse in crossing a difficult country is un-
doubtedly the best description of horseman, for
such a man can ride «?zz/where.

Men of education are pretty much the same in
all countries as regards liberality of sentiment;

NONE AEE TOO WISE TO LEARN. 5

and where the habits, manners, or qualities of
others are depreciated merely because they differ
from our own, it is the result of a narrow mind.
This is a prevalent failing among the lower orders
of Englishmen. Our friend Jonathan has it
"pretty considerable;" and, like such orders of
Englishmen, is fully convinced that whatever is
done differently from what he is accustomed to
ee, is worthy of reprehension and ridicule. The
more liberal mind will admire whatever is done
well in its way, without reference to where it is
done or who does it.

I feel, as a sportsman, proud in saying that most
of our hunting men could show Monsieur, or
foreigners from any part of the globe, the nearest
way to meet hounds, and also how to ride with
them ; but let us in candour admit that there is
many a foreigner who could give many a hunting
man in return very valuable lessons in scientific
horsemanship, and particularly as regards '' hands,"
that would be found beneficial in crossing any
country.

The term horseman is both positive and relative.
It is positive ; because it points out a man who is
an adept in horsemanship, as one acquainted with
the habits and capabilities of the animal, and who
can, on scientific principles and by scientific prac-
tice, turn those capabilities to their fullest account,
whether for show or use ; and the man who does

B 3

b PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

this the most effectually, with the least infliction
of pain or suffering on the animal in the shortest
time, is the best horseman ; if he does this, he is a
horseman, let him come from where he may. On
the other hand, the term is relative ; for, in stating
that a man is a horseman, the question might be
put in what way is he such ? For we have horsemen
of all sorts — riding-school horsemen, hussar and
lancer horsemen : Ducrow was perfect in his way ;
we have racing and hunting horsemen, and wager-
trotting horsemen — of all of which classes we have
adepts each in his own walk.

We have men who can ride well enough in
several ways to be called fair, perhaps good, horse-
men in each ; but the chances are they will not be
perfect in such a case in any. It is quite possible
a man may ride a race, ride to hounds, and on the
road, and be a thorough horseman in all these
ways : he will, however, in nine cases in ten, excel
in one more than the others; this superiority
arising from various circumstances. But I should
hold it absolutely impossible for a man to ride
so as to be admired in a German regiment of
hussars, and on the flat at Newmarket : sufficient
practice to render him perfect in the one would
mar his proficiency in the other. Robinson is no
doubt perfect as a jockey ; there are very perfect
horsemen in the German hussars ; but fancy
Robinson in their ranks on a field day, or Corporal

EOAD EIDING EASILY ACQUIRED. 7

Kollman riding the Duke of Rutland's Nina for
the two years' old. Neither Robinson nor the filly
would be the better for the day's work.

If a man contemplates becoming a perfect
horseman, he should consider in what way his
riding will be chiefly required, and make himself
master of that. If he only contemplates road
riding, if he acquire a neat, easy, and firm seat,
with good hands, he will do well enough ; and,
having gained these, he may be satisfied. If he
means to be a hunting man, he will find it will
require a still firmer seat, stronger arms, and
far stronger nerves, without which he will never
become a " workman " across country ; and, as to
race riding, no man need hope to arrive at any
perfection as a jockey, unless from a boy he has
been more or less in the habit of riding race-
horses.

There are two things all but indispensable to the
man who wishes to become perfect as a horseman
— good nerve and good temper : without the first
he will want confidence ; and without the second,
he will neither have patience to be taught himself
or to teach his horse.

So far as seat is concerned, a great deal depends
on the formation of the man. With very few ex-
ceptions, I never saw short chubby-made men neat
horsemen ; and without any exception, I never saw
such persons with an easy and graceful seat. Such

B 4

8 PKACTICAL HOKSEMANSHIP.

men are mostly very round in the thigh ; a forma-
tion very much against a firm seat, without which
no man can be a horseman. I am not now
alluding to this in relation to the probability of
being thrown ; but without a firm seat a man can-
not have either a delicate hand or a strong hold
of his horse's head when necessary.

I will endeavour to illustrate why he cannot.
We will suppose a person endeavouriDg to untie
an intricate knot in a cord, one end of which is
fastened to something moveable or stationary. If
standing steadily on the ground, he would effect
his object ; but, instead of allowing him firm foot-
hold, we will place him standing on the round of a
ladder. Here, not being able to balance himself
steadily, his body inclines forward — his untying
stops while he rights himself. He then begins
again. This time he sways backwards, holds on
by the cord to save himself, of course pulls it tight
— and finds, on again looking at the perverse knot
he had succeeded in loosening, it is drawn tighter
than ever. Thus we see we lose the command of
our hands, unless we can keep our body firm. It
may be said that a seaman will stand on a rope, or
lean against a spar, and in that situation furl or un-
furl a sail. This is quite true ; but let it be remem-
bered that here the man does keep his body firm
against that on which he leans, and he only sways
ivith the vessel and the rope he is altering. So if

BACCHUS NO HORSEMAN. 9

the rider keeps his seat firm, and his body only goes
with his horse, he will have perfect command of
his hands : but I have seen many men standing in
their stirrups, with their body swaying about in
all directions ; and in such a case such a rider is,
in a mitigated degree, in the dilemma of the man
standing on the round of the ladder.

But, as some proof that short round-made men
have not the firm seat of others, I knew a steeple-
chase rider, who rode a good deal a few years
back, in Warwick, Worcester, Stafibrd, and the
surrounding shires, whom I would at any time
back at even, to tumble off: I do not mean because
his horse tumbled also ; but he fairly rolled, like a
fat Bacchus from his tub.

In allusion to short men as riders it may be
said that jockeys are low in stature. I grant they
are so, as to the actual measurement of inches,
and comparing them with men following other
pursuits ; but so far from jockeys being short-
made, as regards proportion, they are tall in
comparison with heavier men. For instance, we
will say a man measures about five feet. This is
unquestionably a low stature ; but let it be borne
in mind this man can ride eight stone, so he is
absolutely tall in comparison with the man who
cannot ride less than twelve. The former, measur-
ing sixty inches, is in height eight inches and a
quarter to the stone : so, to bring the latter to

10 PKACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

the same proportions, as regards height with
weight, he ought to stand eight feet. Thus, when
I object to short-made men as riders, it will be
seen that the fact of jockeys being low in height
is no refutation of my opinion, for they are sym-
metrically made.

There is a current notion that tall men give the
horse more trouble to carry them than short ones.
If this was the firm opinion of those competent to
decide the point, I should not venture a doubt
upon it; but the question is still sub judice,
and I hold the notion itself to be at best but a
half-truih.

Somerville speaks of '^the tall, plump, brawny
youth," as compared with the "light Pygmean
race," and alludes to the former envying the
latter in a clipping run : but if he mentions the
youth as tall, he also concludes him to be '' plump "
and "brawny; " and I have always considered the
distress of horses in carrying tall men to arise
from their usually accompanying weight, not
from their height ; for in what does the difference
of short, middle height, and tall consist ? A man
of five feet five is short ; one of five feet eight,
middle-sized ; and he of six feet, tall. Here the
difference between Nos. 1. and 3. is only seven
inches. This we will suppose to be made up by
length of body, thighs, and legs : so probably
the sole of the foot of the six-feet man is not

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT. 11

three inches nearer the ground than that of the
man of five feet five. But, supposing the differ-
ence in height to consist chiefly in leg and thigh,
so far from that being against the horse, it is
often in his favour ] for it is quite clear that the
inches below the stirrup buckle will not weigh as
much as the same number above it. And in truth,
as some plump gentlemen are made, if we were
to abstract a thick piece all round just above the
seat of the saddle, we should get away, in point
of weight, something like a stone to the inch
slice.

When men are tall and slightly made, though
four inches make a wonderful difference in a
man's height, it would make but little as to his
weight in any thing but a race.

There is one little disadvantage increased
length subjects a rider to: viz. the increased
length of stirrup leather. The shorter this length
is, the easier it is to keep it stationary. A tall
man should, therefore, be particularly careful in
getting a steady seat and a firm hold of his saddle
with his thighs and knees : where they have not,
this increased length of stirrup leather, allowing
longer sway to the leg and foot has given rise to
the idea that tall men are apt to, what is techni-
cally termed, *^ swag " on the horse. Tall bad
horsemen certainly often do this ; but I have
seen short ones work their saddle flaps most per-

12 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

severinglj with their legs, and grind the inside
of their boot tops faster while riding than their
servant did pumice stoning. This motion of the
legs is as odious in appearance as any failing a
horseman can manifest.

Hunting men are quite aware, that being a
heavy weight in no way militates against any
one being a fine horseman ; and when propor-
tionably and properly mounted, such men often
" go " in the field in a most wonderful way — in
short, in the first flight ; but when they do, they
are mostly symmetrically made, in which case
there is no reason why they should not be grace-
ful, as well as good, riders ; but, though I have
seen many thousands of persons with hounds, I
do not call to mind one man of — say sixteen stone
and low in stature — who was such.

13

CHAPTER 11.

DIFFERENT MODES OF BECOMING A HORSEMAN THEIR

RESULTS. MILITARY RIDING. CLASS OF RIDERS WHO

WILL DERIVE BENEFIT FROM THIS WORK. — MASTER HARRY
HIEOVER AND MR. JESSAMY.

There are three modes, by any of which a man
may become a horseman. The one is, by putting
him on ass, pony, galloway, and horse, each
in succession, as a boy, and allowing him to
tumble about till he learns to stick on, in which
case practice will teach him, certainly, a firm seat
and probably good hands ; but, further than this,
by being accustomed, first to suflfer from, and
afterwards to be quite aware of, the various
tricks and habits of horses, he will learn to be
aware of the symptoms preluding their being
brought into practice, and eventually become
competent to counteract them.

The next mode is, supposing a person to have
arrived at manhood without crossing a horse, to
place him under a proper instructor, who will
certainly save him many a fall by putting him
on a docile animal, and step by step leading the
pupil on to horsemanship.

14 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

It may be objected, that the last mode would
only teach the riding of a trained and quiet horse,
and I allow the full force of this objection ; and
if the pupil expressed a wish of simply being
taught to ride well enough to navigate his steed
up and down Rotten Row, as some friend pro-
bably learns to manage a boat on the Serpentine,
the one will probably never be able to encounter
a clipping run in the stiff parts of Northampton-
shire, or the other a chopping sea in any part of
the Bay of Biscay. But if the learner of eques-
trianism says — "Make me a horseman," seat and
hands can certainly be learned in a riding-school
quite as well as in any situation I know of — no
bad foundation (if obtained) to becoming a horse«
man ; and there are means and appliances in a
ridinfic-school to teach something; more than the
mere walking, trotting, and cantering a kind of
automaton horse round its inclosure.

As a boy I believe I may say I could ride any
thing, and cared little for pace, fence, or country,
or whether I could hold my horse or not ; but
when I was put on the back of a very highly
dressed manege horse, and was directed what to
do with rein and heel, and when the voice and
whip of the professor induced the horse to rear,
put his two fore feet on the wall, and in that posi-
tion using hind and fore feet perpetrate a kind of

ASTONISHING A YOUNG ONE. 15

sidelong canter half way down the school, I was
not a little astonished, and found sitting leaps
over hurdles, gates, and fences, much more easy
than balancing my body in this rampant crab-
like pace, if pace it could be called.

I further found, to my unbounded surprise, that
this horse would vault on the plain surface of
the school, when telegraphed to do so, as high as
a hunter at a gate, and this several times in suc-
cession.

Although as obedient to my riding-school tutor
as a conceited young cub who had rode fox-hunt-
ing could be expected to be, there was one point
at issue between us : he advocated the lengthened
stirrup leather, straight knee, and erect military
seat. I pertinaciously adhered to the reverse,
fully impressed with the conviction, that, having
shown the way at fences to some men in the
hunting field, and exhibited with success on a
racecourse, I must know what riding was,
better than all the school tutors in existence.
This would, no doubt, have been fatal to my pro-
gress, had I been learning military horsemanship ;
but as I was only placed there to learn hands, I
condescended to be instructed in this particular ;
and both in that important qualification and,
indeed, in firmness of seat, I profited much by my
school practice.

We now come to the third, and by far the best

16 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

and most certain, mode of making a horseman.
This is by putting a boy on horseback very early
in life, and also putting him under the care of a
good horseman, as his instructor. Practice will
certainly in a general way teach a man of ordinary
ability a good and ready mode of doing that which
he has constant occasion to do ; but it does not
always follow that by practice he learns the very
best mode of doing it : he does it suj0&ciently well
perhaps to answer his purpose ; but if there
is a better and quicker mode of effecting his
object, he loses time by not adopting it, and does
not effect his object nearly so well. If a boy or
man has sense and temper enough to be taught,
he will save an infinity of time, expense, and
probably danger or hurt by learning : if not ; in
the case of riding, let him get a severe fall or
two, or some equal inconvenience ; he will then
learn that there are others who know a little more
than himself, and he will possibly afterwards be
willing to take instruction from any competent
hand.

The result of these three different modes of
learning horsemanship would probably be this : —
The one who learns to ride by sheer practice, will
become very probably a good bold practical rider,
but not a scientific one. The one taught chiefly
by precept may, nay will, become more or less
scientific; but will never get the perfectly easy

ARTISTS AND ARTISTICAL HABITS. 17

and natural seat or look of him who be^an ridinsr
at an early age. He will never look as if a seat
on horseback and on a chair was equally natural to
him ; he will always appear artificial. I do not
mean to say he may not be made to ride well,
possibly boldly ; and, if well mounted, may in two
or three seasons get to ride across country, as well
as many, perhaps most, out. Still he will never
shake off the certain artistical manner of doinoj
things, inseparable from being first taught, and
then practising, instead of the learning and
practising having gone hand in hand from boy-
hood or childhood.

I have, perhaps, used the term artistically, so as
to imply that doing a thing thus, that is, like an
artist, is synonymous to describing it as being done
well. I grant it is so ; but the difiPerent modes
of doing it is great : for instance, a Robinson,
Templeman, or Nat, take hold of their reins artis-
tically ; so do Powell or Oliver ; that is, they do so
like men accustomed to do it ; but they do not do
so like a dragoon. He is taught but one way of
taking up his bridle rein and one way of mount-
ing his horse ; the others take their rein up in a
seemingly careless way, but still in a proper one.
The troop horse is trained to stand still till
mounted, and has a hint to move on ; so the same
precise way of mounting can always be practised.
But the race or steeple-chase horses, and hunter,
c

18 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

are not tlius obedient; some from vice will bite or
kick, if they get a chance, or perhaps plunge
before or after mounting, or sometimes both;
others from excitement fidget about and away
from the rider, before he gets his foot in the
stirrup ; others, the moment he has done so: there-
fore such men are obliged to get on their horses as
circumstances permit, — that is, as they can. Still
they do so like artists. It would not quite have
done for a man to stand twisting his fingers in
Alarm's mane, and then get on, or attempt to
get on him in accordance with prescribed riding-
school practice; he would have been half eaten
before he got into his saddle.

The school-taught pupil gets up, we will say,
quite properly, and rides the same ; that is, if all
the horses he has to mount or ride are in habit
and temper about on a par with the one on which
he took lessons. But suppose they are quite dif-
ferent ; w^hat becomes of the one prescribed rule
he has learnt ? Put him out of this, and he would
be quite astray : he would want the resources
under different circumstances, that varied practice
only can teach ; and in all he does there is ever a
mannerism, or, to use an expression for the occa-
sion, a one-wayism, that detects the man taught
late in life ; for, to take a liberty with a line of
Goldsmith's, —

UNUS ET IDEM. 19

" Let school-taught pride dissemble all it can,"
It leaves its habits stamp'd upon the man.

Let us cast an eye on a squadron or regiment
of cavalry, whether standing, walking, or trotting
their horses : every man's hand is in the same posi-
tion, and in the same place. This looks extremely
soldier-like and well, for uniformity sake; but
let it be remembered that to enable this to be
done, every horse is schooled till they all carry
their heads alike, or at least enough so to enable
each man to have a proper command of his horse's
mouth while holding his rein hand or arm pre-
cisely the same as his right and left comrades.
Thus, with four hundred horses all taught the
same habits, carriage, and evolutions, one general
rule suffices for four hundred men to make them
do all that is required of them ; and the whole
machinery of man and horse, from day to day
and year to year, performs the same thing in the
same way ; and such mode of instruction would
suffice for the private person also, if, like the
soldier, he always rode the same horse, or one
with the same habits ; always rode him under the
same circumstances, and wanted him to perform
merely the same routine of duty.

The soldier requires good hands, and, in a
greater or less degree, they are all brought to
have such ; but he only wants hands, or rather a
hand, to make a particular horse do a particular

C 2

20 PKACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

thing. His business is somewhat like that of the
driver of a locomotive engine : there is a particular
handle to increase or diminish its speed, or stop
it ; each engine made on the same construction is
managed in the same way, with a little variation
as to the facility with which the machinery is pro-
pelled, retarded, or stopped. It is thus with troop
horses ; the same signals of heel and hand, lightly
or forcibly used, as the disposition of the horse
may require, make them all do the same thing.
But the case is far different with the jockey,
steeple-chase rider, hunting man, or even with him
who only rides on the road, if he rides a variety
of horses, for he will find that he will want, not
only good hands for a horse, but hands that are
good for all sorts of horses.

A man may say that he merely wishes to ride
for amusement, the show of the thing, air, or
exercise, or the whole combined, and that he will
only ride horses broken to suit his hand and seat,
or, at all events, that go so as to suit them. Well
and good ; and, if circumstances and his pursuits
enable him to do this, he is quite right in doing it;
but he must not flatter himself that he is a horse-
man : a neat and pretty rider he may be ; and if
so, and he only intends riding in Hyde or the
Kegent's Park, taking a canter to make a morn-
ing call at Fulham, or escorting ladies at a water-
ing place, he is (on a well-broken easy-going

A SHOW OF HANDS. 21

horse) horseman enough for such purposes ; but if
he means '*^to ride among horsemen or in the field,"
he will find that, in old coaching phrase, " he
wants another hand " — meaning that two (such as
he owns) are not enough to be of much use to
him in such circumstances and situations.

I have stated that most cavalry soldiers have
more or less good hands ; but I must unequivo-
cally assert, and this without reservation, that
all good horsemen have. By such I do not mean
mere bold, hard-riding, straight-going men across
country ; many such have hands only fit to wield
a sledge hammer, and the consequence is they
cannot ride a delicate-mouthed, gentlemanly-going
horse, and those they do ride soon get mouths as
dead as the anvil the sledge strikes upon ; such
men are only " bruising riders," but not good
horsemen. What sort of a jockey would a man
be with such hands ? He could only ride a boring
brute like Eclipse ; or, if he merely possessed the
hand of the dragoon, he could only ride a horse
whose mouth was amenable to even the signal the
bit gives. How would he manage if, in the first
race, he had to ride a resolute horse that gets his
head nearly down to his knees, with no more
mouth than a towed barge, about as easy to bring
up, pulling a man's arms from their sockets ? He
must not be let loose, or he would run himself to a
stand. If held too forcibly, he shakes his head,
c 3

22 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

and thrusts it out ; and the reins being knotted,
he would pull a rider out of his saddle unless he
*'gave and took with him." He is then put on a
harum-scarum colt, that wildly throws up his head,
staring at the sky, and, but for the martingale,
making toothpicks of his ears — an accommodation
the jockey avoids by a close seat, the head and
body a little held back, and the hands steadying
his horse's head as best he can. He is then put on
a nervous, meek, timid two-years'-old filly, with
a mouth of silk : a rude touch of her mouth would
throw her all abroad, a sudden shifting of the seat
would alarm her, and seeing or feeling a hand
raised would frighten her to death. How during
such a day would the one-way schooling succeed?
What, in such three cases, becomes of the thumbs
turned up, the hand so many inches above the
pummel, and the elbow fixed to a given point of
the side ? In either of such cases all school rule as
to riding a well-broken horse, would avail but very
little indeed: in either case the best of hands would
be requisite; but in each they must be brought
into effect in a different manner.

The steeple-chase rider requires hands nearly
as good as those of the jockey. I say nearly^ for
these reasons : he does not ride such young, half-
broken animals as the former does. Steeple-chase
horses are not usually colts ; they are practised
before they are engaged in stakes; consequently,

EFFECTS FROM DIFFERENT CAUSES. 23

more or less, know their business. They know
what the bit means ; and if disposed to resist its
influence, it does not arise from sheer ignorance,
so, by force or humouring, they are to be made
amenable to it, without getting alarmed ; and, fur-
ther, it is not calculated upon, in a general way,
that a steeple-chase will come to so nice a point
at the finish as a flat race ; so if a horse is allowed
to, or will, take a little liberty with himself in the
run, it is not so fatal as where it is presumed, or
perhaps known, that, barring unforeseen contin-
gencies, there will not be more than a length dif-
ference between horses at the winning post. Most
determined, headstrong, and sometimes desperate
horses the steeple-chase rider has to contend with ;
but it is not the wild riotous conduct of the colt,
as often proceeding from fright as from vice. We
may sometimes bully an experienced horse out of
his tricks or display of stubbornness ; but it would
not do with a colt prior to starting for a heavy
stake : he must be controlled, but, in a general
way, soothed, even if we know he deserves a sound
thrashing.

Many steeple-chase horses, as well as old race-
horses, are extremely nervous before starting,
and even when going, but it arises from a difierent
cause to that which makes a two-years'*old so : the
former are nervous because they know what they
are going about. Caressing and speaking kindly
c 4

24 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

and encouragingly to such will usually re-assure
and pacify them : they will not be alarmed by a
man moving his hand, or judiciously shifting his
seat, because they have found a rider do so with-
out its producing inconvenience to them. But a
timid two-years'-old is alarmed at every thing ; a
crowd alarms her, so does seeing a dozen horses
by her side and around her. She has no definite
cause of nervousness, like the old race-horse ; but
she apprehends danger, and feels excitement from
any thing new to her. If she only feared the
jockey, his caresses would probably soon pacify
her, but she would be equally alarmed if a crow
flew nearer to her than usual. No school educa-
tion as to horsemanship would, therefore, put a
man on his guard against such vagaries; and
riding a well-trained horse goes a very little way
towards making a man a good general horseman
in difficult situations, or with difficult horses to
manage.

I have stated that there are three ways in which
people become more or less horsemen: by prac-
tice only; by practice joined with judicious in-
struction ; and by instruction as a beginning, and
practice afterwards. I scarcely dare flatter myself
that I can be of any use to the first of these ; for,
in all probability, if he has any faults in his riding
qualifications and habits, practice has so far ren-
dered them habitual to him, that he would not be

ADVICE NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE. 25

willing, or very likely able, to correct them, even
supposing he might be led to think my ideas on
the subject more correct than his own.

To the one who has had the joint advantage of
practice with good instruction I can be of no use ;
for he will know quite as much as I can tell him,
and probably more. I shall therefore confine my
advice to the one who, from beginning late in life,
has had but little practice ; for to him I may pre-
sume I can give advice that may contribute both
to his ease and safety.

I am quite sure there are thousands in the first
situation, as there are men varying in correctness,
or its reverse, as regards taste, judgment, and in-
tentions, in all matters, and of course in those con-
nected with horses and horsemanship ; for how-
ever profoundly ignorant men may be on any
given subject, if it is one they have ever consi-
dered at all, they have formed some opinion on it ;
nor is it by any means an unfrequent case, that
the less a person knows, the more fixed is his
opinion, and the more pertinaciously will he
adhere to it.

If such a man asked my opinion on any subject
(and I knew his characteristic), I should, instead
of giving my opinion, get from him what was his :
be it what it might, I should assure him it was
quite correct, and send him away pleased with
himself and with me ; I should be set down by

26 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

him as a very clever intelligent fellow, instead of
being thought quite the reverse, which would
infallibly be the case had I given an opinion coun-
ter to his own. That some persons do take queer
notions in their heads respecting equitation, and
the equine, the following anecdote will in a cer-
tain degree demonstrate : —

A few years since, a friend of mine, an excel-
left sportsman and very fine horseman, out of
pure mischief, one morning brought a young gen-
tleman ■ with him, who introduced himself with
the flattering exordium, that, as he intended buy-
ing a couple of horses for riding during the sum-
mer, and " taking to " hunting in the winter, he
wished to be introduced to me. I smiled ; it was
of course set down by this Jemmy Jessamy as
one of gratified pride in receiving him, my friend
looking about as wickedly gratified as our arch
enemy can be supposed to look when he has per-
petrated any thing to annoy us. I soon learned
that this delicate slice of humanity was heir to a
rich stock-broker, who had just retired from busi-
ness, and had, like old Norval, kept *' his only son
at home." Like some embryo fox-hunters, he
had picked up a few slang phrases, as Master
Stephen did (from some Bobadilin the horse way),
probably considering them indispensable to a man
who was going *^ to take to " fox-hunting. He
was, in short, a living antithesis to any thing one

A NICE YOUNG ENGLISH GENTLEMAN. 27

could tolerate as companion, or even acquaint-
ance.

A' few days after this he called on me solus,
with the important information that he had pur-
chased a hunter. ^' Can't he go, though? " said
he, with an intended knowing wink. '^ He was
Lord 's favourite hunter."

Now, supposing such to have been the case, it
struck me that the was was rather an indefinite
expression ; and I asked Mr. Jessamy, with sub-
mission, if he had inquired when he was ; for
perfectly well knowing the commission stable
where he told me he had bought the hunter, it
struck me as about the last place in London to
which one of that nobleman's horses would have
found his way ; and further, I knew his lordship
as one not disposed to sell a favourite who loas
so at the time. However, I made no further re-
mark ; nor did Jessamy reply to my question as to
the when, further than he had got from Jem,
without his master's knowledge, all about the
horse from the time he was backed. I thought
I could with safety have backed Jem to have had
the best of the day's work; in short, that he had
sold Mr. Jessamy about a hundred and twenty
lies at a penny apiece, thus giving him fair value
for his half-sovereign.

"Have you ever hunted in Leicestershire?"
inquired Jessamy.

28 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

I had had that honour, but did not pretend
to be a Leicestershire man.

^' Oh ! then you 11 understand me when I tell
you I have got one that can charge an ox-fence,
switch at a rasper, skim ridge and furrow, go in
and out clever, and do all that sort of thing," con-
tinued he, with gesticulatory illustrations of the
way in which he conceived such exploits to be
performed by horses.

"Keally, Mr. Jessamy," said I, "you overwhelm
me with sporting phrases." These I well remem-
bered to have read as a boy, but whether he
had got them from book or Bobadil, I did not
inquire.

Wishing to turn, or rather conclude, his in-
teresting information, I remarked, "You are going
to ride, I perceive," looking at a pair of regular
hussar spurs fastened to his boots.

'^ Yes, I am ; I suppose you guessed so by
my spurs; — tasty, are they not? — the same the
Seventh wear. What do you think of this ? "
continued Jessamy, showing a twisted, party-
coloured, whalebone whip-stick, about the size of
the top of a fly-rod, with a silver collar and ring
to it carrying a silk cord and tassel; — ''neat, is
it not, and rather spicy, eh ? "

I assured him it w^as so ; adding, that I had
promised to send Bill Scott a whip, but after
seeing the Jessamy, I should certainly present him

MONSIEUR TONSON AGAIN. 29

with one of those instead of a jockey whip, being
quite sure he would prefer it greatly.

*' Jessamy," replied my visitor, — " the Jessamy
whip ; not bad that. Come, I'll send you one for
naming it, and will tell the man I got it of to
sell them as Jessamies."

He now put in a strong plea that I should go
and be gratified by the sight of his hunter.
" Come," said he, " a hundred and sixty is worth
looking at — that was the price ; sporting, was'nt
it?"

" Quite sporting," I replied ; " you 've been
laying the long odds."

" What's that?" said Jessy — ^* something new."

" Oh, not at all ! " I replied ; *' I see it done
every day."

" I 'm glad of that," said Jessy.

^'Why so?"saidL

" Because I do like to do sporting-like."

I quite agreed that a hundred and sixty was
worth seeing, but very much doubted seeing what
was equivalent to the sum ; so I pleaded being
particularly engaged at home.

I had not congratulated myself more than an
hour on being left alone, when, to my perfect
consternation, I was informed that the gentleman
who had left me an hour ago had called at the
door on horseback, and begged I would come out
to him. There he was, on aa almost white horse,

30 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

that in point of size might have induced one to
believe it was the one seen from the Devizes road
cut on the turf, but worse proportioned, animated.
The next thing I saw was the twin brother of
the ** spicy " bit of whalebone he fully believed
I should send to our northern jockey, Scott.
"True to the touch," quoted I to myself, on seeing
it. He presented it to me with a burlesqued
military salute. " Pray," said I, " do you intend
to sport this little gem in the hunting field ? "

" Oh, dear no !" said he ; "I have bought a regu-
lar for that, — such a whopper! — won't it rattle the
bushes for 'em when we 're looking for a fox ! "

'^ I am sure," said L " your assistance to the
hounds in finding will be invaluable."

" Now," said he, " own the truth ; you don't
see such a horse as this every day ? "

I most sincerely allowed I did not.

^' Looks like hunting, eh ? " said Jessamy.

" Unquestionably," said I, scarcely able to
keep my countenance ; " he has every appearance
of having been huntedJ'^

" Is that a better term than looking like hunt-
ing ? " said he.

" Sometimes it is," replied I.

*' Nice legs, has'nt he?" said Jessamy, squatting
down directly before the horse, and passing his
hand down the front of the cannon bone.

" Admirable," replied I.

THE AUTHOR TAKING A LESSON. 31

" Now," said Jessy, " do tell me, for this is a
term I don't quite understand : — Jem said he was
very clean in his legs."

" Did Jem mean himself or the horse ? " said I.

" Why," replied Jessy, *' you're rather dull to-
day. Master Harry Hieover; the horse, of course."

" Then," said I, "he meant they had been well
washed, for certainly he could mean nothing else."

" Now," said he, '^ how do you like my saddle ?
— tasty, is'nt it ? "

" Wilkinson and Kidd's," said I, " I am sure,"
seeing a thing quite small enough, but a great
deal too badly made, for a riding boy's exercise
saddle, and this quite on the animal's shoulder,
with an Isle of Skye back behind it.

" Guess again," said Jessy, with a most inde-
scribable look, half quaint and the rest foolish.

I very truly professed my inability to hit on
the maker.

" You see, you don't know every thing. Master
Harry," said the delighted Jessy.

" I own," said I, " the soft impeachment."

** Now," said he, " my friend Jem gave me a
wrinkle in this, and I will give it you. I got it
where they have more practice than most saddlers,
for they make for exportation. I got it in Hol-
born."

" It is really a pity," said I, " they limit their
exportations to saddlery."

32 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

" Oh ! " replied he, " they hav'nt time for any-
thing else-"

" Nor, perhaps," replied I, " would find de-
mand for such articles as came into my idea at
the moment, if they had."

'''Well," said he, "I got bridle, martingale,
and all from the same place."

" I guessed as much," said I ; " but as you have
a nose-band, why not have a rein running to that?
you would then have this advantage — if the ring
martingale broke, you would have the nose one
in reserve."

'^ I never thought of that," said Jessy, looking
most innocently.

" Get it done," replied I ; "it is all that's want-
ing to make you complete."

" But," said I, " Mr. Jessamy, as you told me
you were going to ride, I conclude the Park is
your destination ; I must not take up your time
further."

" Well," said he, with a somewhat mortified
and still more perplexed look, " I must tell you
about that : I did mean to call and give you the
whip after my ride, but my horse would not go
there; for when I got to Cumberland Gate, be
would turn up Cumberland Place."

" Thinking of the stables near Montague
Square and Jem, I suppose," said I.

" Why, I suppose he was," said Jessy ; " so as

PREPARING FOR A CHARGE. 33

he was disposed to come this way, I called on
you, and that's the truth. Now tell me, what am
I to do?"

" Why, get your ride in the Park to be sure,"
said I.

" But I tell you he won't go there, — I'm sure
he w^on't."

*•' Come," said I, '' get up."

" I will if I can, " said Jessy ; '' that's the worst
of hunters, they are all so high."

" That depends on the sort of hunter," said I,
somewhat equivocally ; " but there (getting the nag
in the kennel, and Jessamy on the pavement),
now you'll do." After hopping about some time
on his right toe, by one energetic eiFort he got
into his saddle, gathered up the curb rein (when
he found out which of the two it was), and turning
his thumb knuckle up directly perpendicularly, he
reined in the nag. It struck me that it might
have been something like this mode of reining
in that prevented Jessy making good his entrance
to the Park ; and I concluded that he had probably
reversed the usual proceedings of horsemen, so
the less the horse was disposed to go the way ^
he wanted him, the tighter he lugged at the
reins : the moment he let them loose, the animal
walked someichere, and that happened to bring
him up to me.

Seeing that as Jessy had ordered himself and

D

34 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

his bridle, it was probable that he would have sat
at my door stationary, as one of the sentries at
the Horse Guards, ad infinitum, I recommended
his taking up the snaffle rein, which he effected ;
still he stood stock still.

" Well," said I, " now, good morning."

" Adieu," said Jessj', kissing the disengaged
hand, but without moving.

" Come," said I, ** let us see you in motion."
To effect this, he gave his horse a touch of the
whalebone on his off haunch, but holding hard,
and doubtlessly with the right rein shorter than
the left, — the horse turned his tail to the street,
and stood staring me in the face at my door ;
laughing outright, I took the steed by the head
and put him straight.

" Pray," said I, " Mr. Jessamy, what do you
sport spurs for ? "

" Oh, I'll show you," said he, " when I go a
hunting ; but I don't want them here."

" Then why wear them ? "

" Oh, I think a man looks so spooney without
them."

" And sometimes with, " replied I.

" Not bad that," said Jessy.

" Come," said I, ^* loosen your rein and give him
a touch of the Sevenths." Whether from a desire
to show he was not afraid to use them, or from
not knowing the proper mode of doing so, I

35

know not ; but giving both legs a full swing up
to his horse's flanks, which, from the shortness of
his back ribs, it gave the rider's heels the full
half segment of a circle to effect, and the rowels
being new, I conclude that (to oblige Jessy with
a bit of slang) he " corked him pretty tight :"
oflP started the astonished animal, and was soon
half down the street. Laughing immoderately,
in w^hich some bystanders joined, and a butcher's
boy calling out, " there he goes, " I still could
see a confused sort of motion with Jessy's arms ;
but, like Mazeppa, " on — on " he went, till turn-
ing a corner, — probably the opposite one to that
he wished, — the hunter and his master disap-
peared.

I left town a day or two afterwards, and saw
no more of Jessy till I really did meet him in
the field. Of his exploits there, more at a future
time.

D 2

36 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

CHAPTER III.

DIFFERENT SEATS FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF HORSES ILLUS-
TRATED. RACING AND HUNTING SEATS. — ILLUSTRATIVE

ANECDOTE. — SEAT BEST ADAPTED FOR ROAD-RIDING.

LONG STIRRUP LEATHER WHEN OBJECTIONABLE.

I HAVE endeavoured to show that, so far as
hand goes, — that is, as to its position and fixed
place, — it would be impossible to adhere to strict
rule of this sort in general horsemanship. It is
just the same as regards seat : this must be more
or less varied, in accordance with the circumstances
under which the rider is placed. I must here
again revert to the draooon, for it is with him
alone that fixed rule is adhered to. Every
dragoon has the same kind of seat, and he can
adliere to it, because each man rides the same horse,
— that is, a horse who, with a trifling difference
as to smoothness or roughness of pace, goes like
every other horse in the troop.

Those totally unacquainted with riding may
very naturally imagine that the seat, once acquired,
be it of what sort it may, can be adhered to on
any and every horse; it certainly may be to

VAKIATIONS IK HORSES. 37

some degree, but by no means with the same
ease to the rider. It is thus even with troops ;
for though each horse goes nearly in the same
way, there is a vast difference as to the ease with
which it goes as regards the rider ; for whoever
has closely looked at a troop in a trot, must have
seen some of the men sitting almost without mo-
tion on their seats, while others are tossed six
inches from their saddles at each step the horse
takes. Still that step falls very short, in point of
difference, to that of ordinary broke horses : with
the latter, provided he does it safe and moderately
well, he is allowed to go as he likes, uniformity
of step never being thought of, or called into
requisition. In a charge it is the same thing ;
for though some horses are naturally more im-
petuous than others, troop horses learn by prac-
tice that they are expected to keep in rank with
each other ; and half of them would do so if they
had no bridle on their heads, while horses used
for general, or even particular, purposes vary
much, in their habits, gait, and inclinations, and
each requires, more or less, different management,
and in many cases a different seat on the part of
the rider.

I have heard persons remark that all jockeys
have the same seat. This is to a certain degree
correct, for their initiation into horsemanship is
in most cases the same ; namely, beginning by

D 3

38 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

riding racehorses at exercise ; and these horses
doing most of their exercise or work in company,
get more into the same style of going than such
as are used singly. Racehorses are all ridden, as
far as circumstances and their tempers will per-
mit, in the same manner, in the same sort of
bridle, and, when going together, the pace is
the same. Consequently, with the exception of
some requiring being firmer held than others,
and a firmer seat, and more watchfulness on
the part of the boy, the seat can be pretty much
the same. These lads are not permitted to ride
as they may think proper, or in the way that
rhey might at first find most easy or pleasant
to themselves. Their stirrups are put to the
proper length that is known to give them the
^rmest seat ; their bridles knotted for them ;
so the boy has no choice as to where he might
please to hold his hands. In the course of time
and practice, what is proper becomes habitual ;
and he would do that as the most easy to himself
which at first he did from submission and in-
struction. All this, of course, gives a similarity
of seat to racing riders ; and what perhaps makes
it appear more strongly, is that the seat of a
jockey is most observed when he is singly giving
his horse his canter before the race, or his up
gallop. On such occasions racehorses go pretty
much in the same style; so if we saw ten

THE '^UP GALLOP." 39

jockeys pass "us doing the same thing, the seat
of niost of them would be very similar, — that is
to say, the seat of each would be a racing one,
and such as would at once show the rider as one
accustomed to ride racehorses. Some have cer-
tainly by far a more graceful seat than others,
some sit more closely and firmer on their horse
than others, and some have finer hands than
others ; still they all ride like jockeys. So far
their seats are alike ; but to show that their seat
cannot be always the same, like that of the
dragoon, even while doing the same thing, we
will suppose four jockeys giving their horses, of
different habits and tempers, their preliminary
canter. We shall see here their seats all differ-
ent, each being under different circumstances,
though doing the same thing ; for though the
act is in itself the same, the way in which each
horse does it, renders it very different as regards
its effect on the jockey ; and he is obliged to
effect it in a different manner, in accordance with
the temper, courage, and going of his horse.

The first man we see is raised slightly, and
steadily, in his stirrups ; his body bent gracefully
over his horse ; his head a little inclined to the
near side ; his hands well down ; the back of his
elbows near the centre of his body, and perfectly
still, merely lightly steadying his horse's head and
holding him together ; his feet and legs in an easy

D 4

40 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

position, and steady as if nailed to his saddle-flap.
About sucb, with a little variation, would be the
seat of every jockey under the same circumstances.
Now, if we look at the horse, we shall see why
he can be thus ridden : he comes smoothly and
gracefully along, going (in riding phrase,) "within
himself," just the pace his rider wishes; his neck
gracefully bent ; his head in the right place, in-
clining to his near shoulder ; his nose in, and his
ears in that middle position that shows good
temper, and absence of either alarm, impetuosity,
or sluggishness. This horse is pulled up merely
by a gentle pressure on the bit, which, bringing
the body of the rider quietly into his seat, it is
sufficient to effect, and with such a tempered
horse would be a signal that the canter was
ienojth enough. He turns round and walks back
cool and collected, looking placidly and good-
humouredly around him ; and on the jockey patt-
ing his neck, it is seen that horse and man are on
good terms with each other.

We now see a rider coming along on a resolute
leather-mouthed horse, " who is pulling double : "
he comes with his head low, directly in a line
with his body, and every now and then thrusting
it out between his legs, with a force no arms
could control. There is a determination in his
eye, and a fixed, forward position of the ears,
that shows his pulling has quite as much of

A PLEASANT RIDE. 41

temper as of any willing energy in it ; for pos-
sibly, when really called on, he curs it at once.

On such a horse we see the jockey is neither
standing in his stirrups, nor with his body thrown
back in the seat, but in a middle way, so as to
allow him to " give and take " with the horse,
as his resolute temper may render necessary.
His feet are fixed firmly in his stirrups, and
thrown or rather held forward to give a stronger
fulcrum to the body ; his arms are pulled nearly
straight. This causes him to keep his body in
such a position that he can yield it forward when
his horse gives one of those determined thrusts
out of the head that such horses are very apt to
do ; for the reins being knotted, if the body was
held stiff, the man ^vould be pulled over his
horse's head : and further, by occasionally lessen-
ing for an instant his pull at his horse, he makes
a fresh impression on his dead mouth. No man
could retain a neat or graceful seat on such a
brute as the one I describe. We will now look
at him pulling up. No gentle pressure will do
here, no indication of the rider's wish would be
attended to. We see the man throw his body
back : this checks the horse, but does not pull
him up. It is repeated perhaps again and again ;
and at last he is, as a sailor would say, " brought
to ; '' and in truth, no bad term for pulling up
such a reprobate. He comes back walking, now

42 PKACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

sluggishly and doggedly along. You seldom see
such a horse look about him, but would be found
ready to salute anything within his reach with
his heels. If he does look at a passer-by, it is
with somethino; of the amiable ken of an over-
driven, half-infuriated bullock. We see the jockey
stretch his fingers on his thighs, to get them
suppled after being cramped by the mauling they
have had ; for persons who have only ridden or-
dinary horses have no conception how a thoroughly
resolute racehorse can pull, — as our late friend
Mr. Jessamy would say, " Can't they, though ? "
Nor is this to be wondered at, when we consider
how little the mouths of racing colts are attended
to ; so, if disposed to pull, they are allowed to do
so ; and by constantly lugging at the boy at exer-
cise, who, for such horses, is selected among the
strongest in the stables, their mouths become in-
sensible, and sheer force and management alone
holds them, — and not always that either.

" Here comes a flyer ; that's the woon for moy
money," cries some whapstraw, seeing a third
horse coming ; and a flyer he appears to many just
then. This is a bit of a puller too, but nothing like
the other ; and he does it in a different way. He
comes " star-gazing " along, his nose out, and that
flung from side to side in impatience of control,
not from ill temper, but impetuosity of disposition
and excitement. He gallops somewhat high, and

A BIT OF EXCITEMENT. 43

comes striding along in any thing but a straight
line : from the manner in which he flings himself
about, his ears in constant motion, sometimes
forward, sometimes inclined the other way, as if
catching each noise he hears before or behind
him ; his tail with its end turning upwards, he
comes wildly along, and is only kept straight by
the restraint of the bit, and that depending on the
martingale not giving way ; if it should, no living
man could guide him.

His jockey w^e see quite down in his seat, his
feet forwards, his body thrown back; the reins
held as wide apart as the knot will permit, that
each hand may be the better able to steady the
head, that never allows the same hold of it to be
retained for a minute. This horse is to be pulled
up without much effort, for his mouth is not a
dead one, and the martingale gives the bit a hold
on the bars of the mouth; without it, the bit
would only come against and up to the corner of
the lipsa and give no hold. Coming back, we see
him too impatient to walk, but dancing about
and half-starting at everything he sees. We see
and hear his jockey trying to pacify him, but he is
too excited to be cooled down. Probably we see
symptoms of sweating — odds against the Flyer. I
should say, " if a false start or two take place, a
pony to a fiver he does not win."

Now comes quite a different gentleman, and

44 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

ridden quite in a different manner. He comes his
up gallop at a rattling pace, because he can't help
it; his ears close down on his poll, his tail switching,
not from vice, for he is a good-tempered horse,
but a lurching sluggish rogue ; if he was induced
to show any trick, it would probably be bolting
somewhere, if not well watched, when the pace
became too fast to please him.

His jockey we see sitting down in his saddle,
his legs rather back, so as to be ready to give him
a taste of the spur if necessary. He is kicking and
twisting him along, and shaking him every stride ;
in short, " getting him on his legs," and trying to
infuse some energy into him. He hugs the rails as
if he was looking for some vacancy to bolt through.
His jockey now threatens him ; the rogue under-
stands the hint, and finishes his distance straight
and well. No difficulty in pulling up here : the
moment his jockey stopped shaking him, his pace
slackened, and the only care required is, that he
may not stop too short.

He is now coming back. He walks lazily, as if
the sun was too hot for him. His jockey kicks him
along, and is obliged now and then to give him a
twist and shake to keep him going. This is a kind
of horse some jockeys are famous for riding. Old
8am Darling was one.

I trust, from the description I have given of four
different jockeys riding as many different horses,

KACING AND HUNTING SEATS. 45

it will be seen, that though the seat of each
might very nearly resemble the other under the
same circumstances, the seat must be varied when
circumstances vary also ; therefore, to become a
horseman, it is absolutely necessary that a man
must be put on different horses, to teach him how
to act under different circumstances.

The chief variation in seat between the jockey
and hunting rider consists in the latter riding
with longer stirrup leathers, in proportion to his
length of leg, than the jockey, which enables him
to sit firmer in riding at fences; still, when
galloping over fair ground, the nearer the hunting
man approaches the seat of the jockey, the better
will he look, and the more advantageous will it
be to his horse.

Although the seat of hunting men varies much
more than that of jockeys, and certainly by no
means so unequivocally denotes their pursuit, still
there is an ease and confidence evinced by the
man accustomed to ride to hounds, that is not
seen with the mere road and park rider. With
the latter a walk, trot, canter, and perhaps a
moderate short gallop, are the height of his ex-
ploits ; but the man who has ridden all sorts of
horses, over all sorts of country, and all descrip-
tions of fences, acquires such perfect confidence
in his seat, that, when riding in an ordinary way,
he in fact sits any how ; always, of course, like

46 PEACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

a horseman, but with no appearance of taking
trouble to either appear or act like one. He
does both, because from habit he could not help
doing so if he wished it ; and it is this absence of
all effort that shows the horseman and huntincr
man. He, like other men, uses his left as his bridle
arm and hand; but nothing is more common than
to see such men in a canter, or mere hand gallop,
kicking their horse along with their rein in their
right. Jockeys very commonly do this when on
their hacks. If a man on a steady hunting-like
horse is seen thus going up Rotten Row, ten to
one he is a hunting man ; a mere sitter on a horse
would be afraid, if he did so, people would think
he did not know how to ride; at least I never saw
such men taking such liberties in riding ; and if
they did, simple as the thing in itself is, there
would be a want of ease in their manner of doing
it that would show it was imitation. There are
certain peculiar habits that sit well on peculiar
men, but would not do for every man ; they
would have as incongruous an appearance as a
Newmarket-cut coat on a man with all the look
and o;ait of a sailor.

In stronger elucidation of what I mean, I will
give an instance : — There are few persons who
ever visit the Parks who have not seen tlie Misses
Reynolds riding there ; the eldest in particular
has an occasional habit of riding with her rein in

A DELICATE SUBJECT FOR A HINT. 47

the right hand, and resting the left just below the
hip. This looks well with her ; it is an act indi-
cative of the perfect ease of a most perfect horse-
woman. But I was highly amused by one day
seeing a lady, of an unmentionable age, riding a
nondescript sort of galloway, and sitting on him
as if she had never been on one before, and
certainly would have looked to quite as much
advantage had she been any where but on one
then. This lady was aping the Keynolds' lounge,
while her little brute shuffled along with her
as if he was spancelled: it was the burlesque
burlesqued. But 1 venture a hint, that though
the Keynolds' lounge is extremely well in its place,
there is nothing so peculiarly elegant in it as to
call for imitation by the daughters of aristocracy ;
and some male friend will explain to them what
I mean, when I say, that I consider with them it
might be held as looking a leetle slangish.

All affectation of a particular style of riding
on ordinary occasions, I must consider, should be
avoided, for I hold it indicative of bad taste.
Imitating the seat of a jockey on a racehorse
would be absurd, — that of a huntsman equally so ;
and the affectation of a military seat in a man not
a military character is only exceeded in absurdity
by an Englishman in no way attached to the army
sporting a moustache. With foreigners it is not

48 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

SO : it is the custom of their country ; and what is
customary cannot be held to be ab3urd.

There is a medium kind of seat quite well
adapted to road riding. This only requires the
stirrup leathers a hole or two longer than the
hunting man rides ; indeed even they ride some-
what longer when taking a ride in walking
costume, that is, trowsers and Wellingtons, to
what they do with top boots in the field ; for in
the latter situation most men ride as it is termed
" home," that is, with the stirrup touching the
front of the leg, or perhaps rather instep, and
throw their bodies more on the seat ; whereas
lengthening the stirrup leathers gives something
of a military air to the man, by throwing the
body more on the fork, and thus more or less in
accordance with the length the rider chooses to
adopt. I am not prepared to say but that, with
the most decided military seat, the man accus-
tomed to it might sit the largest leap as firmly
as the hunting man ; therefore, for road riding,
the lengthened stirrup does not become objection-
able as to giving a man a less firm seat ; and,
'indeed, I should for such riding recommend it, if
for appearance' sake only ; for in most things there
is a particular appearance becoming certain situa-
tions, and nothing looks worse than riding too
short in trowsers.

I might be asked by the inexperienced rider, if

NEW LODGE BUT OLD LOCALITIES. 51

he derives advantage in a general way from the
weight being thrown more on them than on his
loins, here it would be against his free use of
the former, to avoid such intricate and serious
obstacles, and, if he did make a mistake, it would
also be against his throwing himself up to rectify
it ; for the uninitiated in the features of the wild
parts of the country must not suppose that ant-
hills are the little fresh thrown up modicums of
light earth seen in a meadow, but regular minia-
ture tumuli, as hard as any part of the ground ;
and if hardly hit, would send a horse head over
heels, risking him a broken back or broken neck.
Any one who has ridden with the Queen's hounds
from New Lodge, near Wingfield, over the com-
mon, can give a fair account of ant-hills.

There is another reason why, over such ground,
a man should sit in his saddle. He wants all the
hands nature and art have given him, and these
he cannot use to the best advantage standing in
his stirrups. He must be ready to give his horse
support and assistance when necessaryo This
an arm held fixedly in one position could not do.
He will find his horse occasionally strike short, —
that is, put down his fore feet perhaps a yard short
of his usual stroke or stride, and at another time
extend his stroke as much beyond its usual length.
This, on the place he is going, he is obliged to do
to put his feet on level ground ; the rider must

52 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

therefore give and take with him, to allow him
to do this. When the horse strikes short, it is
when he finds that his usual compass of stride
would bring him on or against the obstacle, to
avoid which he places his fore feet this side of it ;
when he stretches beyond his usual length, it is
to stride over the object, and he places his feet
beyond it. Now, supposing, on his striking short,
to prevent his doing so the rider was to loosen his
horse's head and in every way urge him, he would
place his feet on the hillock, on this side its crown
or summit ; and, in such case, so great would be
the tension on the back ligaments of the legs, that
a most severe strain, or possibly break down,
would be the consequence. And if, on the horse's
extending his stroke to overstride the difficulty,
the rider kept a fixed arm, instead of yielding to
the pull he finds on his hands, the horse would
most probably be forced to place his feet on the
other and sloping side, and then a tumble would
be all but inevitable. The horse, therefore, in
such a case, must be allowed to pick his own
way, which, if he knows his business, he will do
safely. With an even stroke he could not go,
and he will judge better than his rider could tell
him where to curtail and where to lengthen his
stride.

It is pretty much the same in riding over
meadows with numerous water drains iu them.

PROOF INDISPUTABLE. 49

he was quite wedded to the look of a military
seat, why, if a man could sit firm at fences,
thus riding, should he not ride hunting, adhering
to the mode of sitting on his horse that he held
as most becoming, when all that could be in-
ferred from it (if he rode well) would be that he
was a cavalry man hunting?

Before I presume to tell him why such a seat
would be objectionable, I will give him what I con-
sider proof that it would be so, by begging him to
look at Captain Peel with his regiment on his
charger, and Captain Peel in the field on Proceed :
hide the features, we should not recognise the
same person in the two situations. He could ride
using any seat in any situation, and, as an acknow-
ledged fine horseman, need not study the opinion
of any man in riding matters ; hence, if the
military seat would do in the field, he need not
alter it for that of the hunting man and amateur
race-rider. The reader has, therefore, stronger
authority than my word that a military seat would
not do across country. I have ventured my
opinion on the afiectation and folly of a man as-
suming the appearance of being what he is not ;
and as assuming such appearance would really
be disadvantageous to him in doing that which
he means to do as what he 2s, it would render him
quite deserving of having certain questions put
to him which he might be at a loss to answer.

50 PKACTICAL HOKSEMANSHIP.

There can be no occasion for a person whose
inclination or habits do not render hunting
desirable pursuit assuming the characteristics of
the hunting man, or attempting to contract his
mode of sitting on his horse. I say attempting,
for without practice in the field, he will never
contract it. He has no occasion to do so ; there
is nothing peculiarly elegant in it ; and any pe-
culiarity in doing things, unless very well done,
shows a vast deal of the novice, a trifle of the
simple, and very little of the gentleman.

We will now look to the chief reasons why the
long stirrup leather will not do in the hunting
field. With it a man cannot raise himself in his
stirrups. This it is necessary to do during great
part of a run, to ease both man and horse. It must
not, however, be supposed, as perhaps it might
be by a man who had never seen a chase ridden,
that in hunting a man is always thus riding; this
is not the case, for a great part of a run must be
rode sitting down in the saddle. On fair ground
the close approach to the racing seat is the proper
one ; but in riding, we will say, over a common
where old ant-hills rise a foot from the ground,
not perhaps two feet apart, a horse has to use
his legs very handily to get along at, perhaps,
three parts' speed. He wants, so situated, all the
liberty of his fore quarters that we can give ; con-
sequently, though, from those being the strongest,

55

CHAPTER IV.

DIFFERENT EFFECTS OF LEARNING TO KIDE WITH OR WITH-
OUT STIRRUPS. THE KINDS OF HORSES BEST ADAPTED

FOR ROAD-RIDING. THE THOROUGH HACK. THE GE-
NERAL. HACK.j — THE TROTTING HACK. THE COB. — THE

FOREIGN HORSE. THE AUTHOR's " FANCY."

Having now ventured my ideas as to what, in
general terms, constitutes the groundwork of
horsemanship, we will consider who it is that is
going to ride, the species of riding he will make
use of, and the description of horse he intends or
fancies for his use.

Of boys it would be useless to say much, and
still more so to say much to them, for even in
riding they would never voluntarily take instruc-
tion if they were permitted to ride without it ; so,
in cases where it is determined to make them
horsemen, they must first be told, then obliged to
do that which will enable them to become such,
and be left to find out the eflfect of what they are
made to do by after experience.

There are, however, two modes of teaching
boys to sit firm on their horse ; and as each have
a different eifect, I will mention them ; the one

E 4

56 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

teaches the boy to trust to his hold on his saddle
by his knees and thighs ; this is learnt by his
riding for some time without stirrups. In per-
sonal illustration of this, I rode the whole of one
season and the first half of another with fox-
hounds without stirrups, and that part of my
second season on full-sized horses. The advan-
tage of this mode of instruction is, that it teaches,
or in fact obliges, a boy to balance his body, and
sit still and firm in his seat, without any other
aid than nature has supplied him with ; and it
obliges him to keep his legs motionless ; for should
he hold so loosely by his knees and thighs as to
allow his legs to move or swing backwards and for-
wards on his saddle skirts, they would allow him to
roll over the one or other side of his horse, and thus
^^ the hope of the family " might be turned topsy-
turvy. The next advantage derived from this plan
is, it finally, in riding terms, gives a lad hands; for
so soon as he has learned a firm seat, and got in
full confidence in this respect, his hands are as
free and as much at liberty as if standing on the
ground. For however firm he may want to hold
his horse by the head, to assist, support, or check
him, he wants no hold by his own hand as a sup-
port or stay to his own body. I will mention
an anecdote in proof of this ; where this inde-
pendence of hand, that is, feeling independent of
them, sold a very bad horse at a very good price.

HORSE TRAPS. 53

These are, perhaps, not more than eight or ten
inches wide ; but this is quite wide enough to
admit a horse's foot ; and they are quite deep
enouojh to ojive him and his rider a reo-ular
" purler," when they do so. Here, therefore, the
safest plan is also to sit down in the saddle and
allow your horse to measure his distance himself.
I have often felt my horse take certainly near or
quite twenty feet at one of these, and his instinct
told him when his safety from a fall depended on
his doing so. For instance, we will suppose a
horse extended and stridinor alono; sixteen or more
feet in his stroke ; he finds, if he put down his
fore feet where they would come in accordance
with his then common length of stroke, they
would just come into the drain. He knows the
consequence of this as well as his rider does, and
to avoid it he makes a lengthened stride, a wide
jump, in fact, and alights on the other side. This
he could not do if stiffly held, — and playing roley-
poley in this way is rather a dangerous pastime.

In using the (not) common term oi Jixed hold
of a horse's head, I have so done that it may
not be confounded with those usually made use
of; namely, "firm," "fast," or "steady;" for a
reader might with great propriety say that he has
heard horsemen say, that in such or such a case
a man should have a "firm hold of his horse's
head," that he should " steady his head," or " keep

E 3

54 PKACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

a steady hand on his horse." In going a gallop
at exercise, for instance, when the pace was to be
made stronger, a head lad might say to a boy,
" Now, Tom, catch fast hold of your horse's head,
and come along." These are all proper terms,
and perfectly well understood by those accustomed
to them; but firm, steady, or fast in no way
means fixed. It is quite proper to keep a firm,
or steady, or fast hold of a horse by his head at
a fence, whichever term may be selected ; but in
such case, either only means such hold that, in
accordance with his mouth, enables us to afford
him support ; and this hold should be kept steadily
and uniformly, whether he brings his head in or
in exertion puts it out, — still it is not fixed. This
a man with a firm seat can retain by the extension
or drawing back of his arms ; so, in fact, by pro-
perly adapting the hold to the nature of the
animal's mouth, his hand is at liberty, though
it is steadily held and supported ; but a fixed
pull produces punishment instead of support, and
the horse, in leaping, would probably jump short
to avoid it.

NECESSARY AIDS. 50

to be acquired without the vile habit of *' holding
on by the bridle ; "» which, if once contracted, it
w^ould be difficult, if not impossible, to break a
man of ; and until that was done, he never could
be half a horseman.

If during the last page or two, or for the next,
I write or quote personally, I do so to show that
I write from personal practice, and not from mere
observation or theory.

I in no shape mean to infer that continuing to
ride without stirrups would be advantageous ; on
the contrary, I am clear it would have quite an
opposite effect. It is very well, and I hold it
as very advantageous as a groundwork for begin-
ners ; but the artist will require other aids to
perfect his work. One of these is the stirrup.
Had I gone on riding two or three more seasons
without them, the consequence would probably
have been, that from practice I should have be-
come so accustomed to ride without them, that I
should have been unable to avail myself of their
assistance ; and though, on any thing that is not as
slippery as a saddle, a man might sit an unruly
horse quite as firmly without stirrups as with,
still without their aid he could not ride for or-
dinary purposes to the best advantage, or make
the most of his horse without their use.

An Arab may ride bare-backed, sit firmly, and
do something like twenty miles within the hour,

60 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

on the desert. But he does it in a wild way ; and
his horse, ridden by an English jockey, would, T
am quite certain, do it to greater advantage, that
is, with less fatigue. His doing it, ridden as be
is, is nothing to the purpose ; it is whether he
could not, by being more scientifically managed
and ridden, do it either in shorter time, or in the
same time with more ease.

Racing, or rather exercise riding, boys learn to
ride in the directly opposite way. They are never
allowed to ride even walking exercise without a
saddle and stirrups ; they therefore learn to de-
pend on them ; in short, with their comparatively
little strength, they could not ride the horses they
do if they did not. For in very free-going horses
and hard pullers, by keeping their feet forward,
the stirrup acts with them as the toe-board does
to a coachman with four horses in hand ; and if
we were to select from the best riding boys in all
the stables at Newmarket, we should not find one
who could, like the dealer's lad, jump on a horse
and ride him bare-backed ; at all events, he could
not ride him well ; and indeed I should say the
chances are he would tumble off. So much for
learning in one way only. Now the dealer's lad
could not ride a racehorse as well as the other,
but he could ride him ; and when merely following
a head lad, probably, he would ride him tolerably
well, for he is accustomed to ride both with and

A HOLIDAY LADY. 57

My father, one day hunting, saw a dealer on a
very clever-looking mare. They had but a short
run ; but during that, my father was quite fasci-
nated by the uncommon cleverness of this mare
at all sorts of fences, particularly at timber, or, in
more common terms, gates (which those who
have hunted in the Hatfield part of Hertfordshire
are aware are of frequent recurrence). He
bought her, cheap as he thought, at eighty. He
rode her a few times, and found her but a very
soso one when hounds really went ; in fact, though
a fine and strong-looking mare, she was a weak
one. So, thinking seven stone would suit her
better than twelve, she was turned over to
me. With this weight she could go, as the song
in the Quaker goes, " The first in the throng "
for a time ; but even with my light weight she
would at times all but shut up ; in short, had no
game in her. Yet (and I have found this peculi-
arity in other horses) when a good deal beat, she
would jump as safely as wiien fresh ; in fact, she
never made a mistake at anything.

An elderly gentleman in the neighbourhood,
who was a timid, though good horseman, had for
some time cast an eye on this mare when hunting,
and had sounded me as to whether she was to be
parted with ; for, seeing his hankering after her,
many an unnecessary gate had I popped her over
to captivate him. He called to see her, and before

58 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

asking her price, with many apologies asked if he
might see her over a fence or two when not excited
by hounds. As a boy, I wanted no better fun
than thus obliging him, so I took a little ring round
him, and of course she fenced beautifully. A
gate led into the field where the old gentleman
sat, and a flight of hurdles crossed the next close
by. I was determined to fix him, not by a coup
de main, but by a contre-coup, showing what
she could do without the aid of hands. She was
coming along at a beautiful canter, playing with a
snafile bit. I threw the rein on her neck. She
took the hurdles light as a cork, and easy to the
rider as if sitting in a chair. I put her head to
the gate, threw down my rein, and she topped it
like a deer.

""What does your father ask for her, young
gentleman ? "

" A hundred and fifty guineas."

*' I will give it."

Whether the old gentleman had any nostrum,
in the shape of strengthening powders, that he
administered to her, or whether he gave her milder
doses of going mixture than we had done, is not to
the purpose ; but though he rode her full thirteen
stone, I saw her carry him two seasons as well
and fast as he ever went ; and she was a great
favourite, — so all parties were pleased.

I mention this to show that a firm seat is easily

A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE DANGEROUS. 63

pursuit, would benefit by some advice on the
subject : the one is the man who has never ridden
at all ; the other one who has ridden a little, and,
finding himself in difficulty, is satisfied he knows
nothing about it ; the third is one who has ridden
a good deal, and that very badly. The first
would be altogether the readiest pupil, and very
likely would, in the shortest time, become a
horseman. He will do as he is advised, because
he has no inducement to do, nor does he know how
to do, otherwise ; and, beginning right, the right
way will become his most natural habit, and of
course the one the easiest to him ; and having in
commencing no habits at all, he will have no bad
ones to correct.

The next would give a little more trouble ; for
as he has ridden, whether it may have been
twenty times or two hundred, he must have ridden
somehow; and though a horseman might very
properly consider this as riding nohnv, it will
depend upon the turn of the rider's mind how
far it may or may not be found difficult to
convince him it was so. But, as I have said, he
must have ridden somehow, and that with him has
become a habit ; therefore, supposing he is diffident
enough to be convinced his habits have been bad
ones, he has to forget, or at least to forego, those
while he learns proper ones, the former probably
being by fur the most difficult task. " Facilis

64 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

descensus, sed revocare gradum^'' ^c, ^c, might be
in this case applicable to his situation ; but if he
should not attend to the '* revocare gradum^^ and
from not doing so, get a purler from his horse on
the flagstone, the ^'facilis descensus " might not
be so appropriate to his then situation.

With the third, who has ridden a great deal,
but ridden badly, I wish to have nothing to do.
He will, no doubt, consider he knows quite as
much as I do ; and as I am not prepared to say-
he does not, I will not enter the lists with him at
all.

We will therefore conclude the person who cons
over these pages to be one who thinks the author
able to be of use to him, in giving hints which he
is disposed to adopt and put in practice.

Having asked the question as to what kind
of riding would be his object, and being told that
that object was air, exercise, and amusement, —
or, in other terms, road riding, — he will perhaps
take my advice as to the style of seat and manner
of riding for this purpose. This advice will be
to use that medium style that will give him,
when on horseback, the same advantage that I
give him credit for possessing when on foot —
namely, the appearance of a gentleman ; and to
this a style and demeanour devoid of affectation,
but in good taste, greatly contributes.

This settled, we will suppose he has inquired

NEWMARKET AND HORSEMARKET. 61

without Stirrups, and is indifferent as to which ;
and in point of lightness of hand, and making the
most of a good or bad mouth, the dealer's lad
beats the Newmarket one hollow. This arises
from his being taught and expected to make every
horse he gets on go as well, and carry himself as
handsomely, as he can be made to do ; and as he
rides a dozen or more different horses every day,
he acquires a hand for every horse. The New-
market boy rides the same horse for months
together, and probably not more than half a
dozen different ones in as many years. This is
therefore by no means the best place to learn
hands, though a very good one to teach him to
hold strong pullers, which he can do better than
the dealer's lad, though he may be physically far
stronger.

The remark might very naturally be made, that
if, as I have said, a jockey requires good hands for
all sorts of horses, and that riding exercise is not
the best school to give such, it must be a bad one
to select a jockey from, which I have stated Is
mostly done.

I will endeavour to reconcile this seeming
incongruity. Exercise boys have not^ generally
speaking, fine hands ; therefore, to a certain
degree, it is objectionable as a school for a jockey.
But to set against this, In the first place, there is
no otlier In which the other requisites In a jockey

62 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

can be taught, or of course learnt ; for training
stables are the only places where a boy can
become acquainted with the habits, tempers, style
of going, and powers of speed of the race-
horse ; and, what is of quite as much consequence
as all these put together, it is the best school to
enable him to become a good judge of pace.
Without these acquirements no man can ever be
a jockey.

Having thus far answered the supposed remark,
I hope it will be borne in mind, that, although
I said jockeys have mostly been exercise boys, I
in no way even inferred that exercise boys mostly
become jockeys ; for the fact is, there is not one
in a dozen of these boys that has either head or
hands for the purpose ; and it is because a boy is
found to possess these in greater perfection than
other boys in the same stables that gets him first
put upon a racehorse as a jockey.

I have now laid before my reader what I
conceive to be the different effects of learning to
ride without and w^ith stirrups, and of learning to
ride with them only ; and, whether man or boy,
I should most strongly recommend the beginner
to adopt the former course, satisfied as I am that
for general riding it will give both the best seat
and best hands.

There are three descriptions of persons among
men grown, who, if they mean to make riding a

*' UTKUM HORUM MAVIS ACCIPE." ^5

the kind of horse best suited to his purpose. Of
these there are several kinds, all equally gentle-
manly, and all adapted to the same purpose ; their
difference in appearance and qualifications only
being a matter of consideration as regards the
fancy of the purchaser as to the one, and the pace
he holds the most agreeable to him as to the
latter.

I shall use the term hack in speaking of these
horses, not as indicative of any inferiority, but
as one applicable to saddle horses used only for
road purposes.

There is, then, the thorough (or nearly so) bred
cantering and galloping hack ; and very pleasant
horses such are to men who study their ease
either in going a moderate or fast pace. In
either such a horse's pace is smooth and easy ; and
although, from his going neatly, lightly, and within
himself (if nicely held), he does not appear to be
going fast, his racing-like sweep of his haunches
brings them so well under him, and puts his fore
legs so well before him, that he covers more
ground at each stroke than persons would suppose,
and gets over it much faster than he appears to be
doing, which would be soon seen by cantering a
lower bred horse by his side. The latter, seen
going by himself, would appear to be going the
fastest ; but bring him side by side with the other,
it would soon be seen he lost ground every time

F

66 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

his feet came to it. If wanted to keep pace with
the other, he would appear to be scuttliDg along
welve miles an hour, while the other would only
seem to be going eight, though both went the same
pace, whatever that pace might be. The great
advantage of a horse going in this deceptive way
as to pace is, that if a man wants to go fast along
the road, such horses will do it with ease to them-
selves and rider, without subjecting him to the
truly vulgar, I may say butcher-like, appearance
of pelting along a high road ; and should any fair
treasure be hid in some ivy- covered bijou of a
cottage in the neighbourhood of Fulham, the little
thorough-bred will glide over the four miles in
twenty minutes, appearing to be only going a
park canter ; occasionally a recommendation, but
of course, in these moral times, only to bachelors.

Although doubtless the inhabitant of the bijou
possesses every perfection, I must apprise the rider
that he nmst not expect the same thing in the
thorough-bred, for these galloping hacks are not
usually anything to boast of in their trot; safe
they very likely may be, and may do that pace
moderately well, — that is, well enough to render
an occasional change of pace agreeable to both man
and horse ; but this is as much as must be ex-
pected ; so now the rider may judge how he would
like a galloping hack.

Next comes the more general hack, that is,

*^ SUIT THE ACTION TO THE " — PLACE. 67

general as to paces ; he is not so highly bred, but
perfectly a gentleman's horse. His paces both in
trot and canter are good, and he does them, we
will say, handsomely and easily ; and on such a
hack, by trotting one mile and cantering the
next, the ground is to be got over like a gentle-
man, " and all without hurry or care." But he
cannot slip along like the sly-going bit of blood,
nor is he a trotter either ; he is like many men, —
no brilliant, but a safe, gentlemanly, and pleasant
companion, and, as such, a desirable acquaintance.

Now we come to the trotting hack. These are
of different degrees of breeding, not often very
highly bred. I do not pretend to criticise the
taste of others by the standard of my own, but I
confess that I think riding a trotter at his fast
pace in the public neighbourhood of London has
something of Whitechapel in its appearance ;
and to perpetrate such a thing in the Park, when
full, would induce me to set down the man who
did it as an inferior horse-dealer, and the doing it
the height of vulgarity.

I mean no disrespect by this to men who are
fond of trotters, or to the trotters themselves.
Of the latter I have had many, but I used them
chiefly for harness ; and for such use I would not
own a horse that was not fast ; nor do I in any
way object to a trotter to ride. They get along
the road wonderfully fast ; but to call their qualifi-

F 2

6S PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

cations into use, I should say the country is their
place. As road saddle hacks, these or galloping
ones are equally good as to going a fast pace ; for
let any man try an ordinary fair-going horse in a
gallop, by the side of a trotter, and he will be
surprised to find he must keep his horse at fully
three quarters' speed, for the real trotter is as de-
ceptive as to the rate at which he is going as is
the racing-going galloper ; for fast trotters, though
they may not appear to be doing so, clear an
astonishing length of ground between the periods
of putting their feet to it. I do not mean by a
trotter the mere quick stepper, but the one that
puts his foot well before him, stepping just as
quickly as the other, but covering as much ground
in two steps or strokes as the other does in three ;
they, therefore, like the real galloping one, afford
the advantage of clearing ground at the rate of
twelve or fourteen miles an hour, while they only
seem going at a pace that does not make the rider
conspicuous.

I believe I have, in some other book or article,
mentioned an instance corroborative of the de-
ceptive pace of some fast trotters in one I had.
He had been objected to by more than one master,
from having got them into several scrapes in the
crowded neighbourhood of London, from the
following cause. He threw himself, without ap-
pearing to do so, such an extraordinary distance

A "DUKE," AYE, EVERY INCH A " DUKE." 69

each stroke he took, that unless a man knew his
peculiarity, and was very careful, he was upon
any object he followed before his driver was
aware. Thus, supposing a passenger to be crossing
a street at such a distance in advance as would
have rendered his situation perfectly safe with
most horses, this horse was upon him before he
could get out of the way ; and it was the same
with respect to coming up to other vehicles. This
will be easily explained to, or understood by,
persons who are aware how much sooner a train
on a railroad reaches and leaves an object than
could be supposed to be the case ; taking, there-
fore, the pour and contre into consideration, the
reader can decide how far he would like a trotter.

I must not, however, omit to mention a pecu-
liarity that most really fast trotters have, and
which to many persons would render them objec-
tionable. They are apt to pull strong at the rider
or driver, and the faster they go, the harder they
pull ; in truth, many of them pull awfully. Some
few do not ; for instance, the black mare that I
bought for, and sent to the late Duke of Gordon,
and who beat the famous Birmingham mare, while
the former was in his grace's possession : she had
a beautiful mouth in any pace, but such instances
are not common.

The cob is, we will say, the next votary for the
reader's favour. The term has been so hacknied

F 3

70 PRACTICAL HOKSEMANSHIF.

of late years, that we can only judge of what we
may expect to see by the man who mentions the
animal. A cob, in its true definition, means a
gentlemanly, pleasant roadster, with considerable
strength, but low in stature, varying from (I shall
say) thirteen hands three inches to at most
fourteen and a half. The others below or above
this standard are strong galloways, or strong low
horses; but we constantly see a cob advertised
fifteen hands and a half, and a galloway of thirteen
hands elevated to a cob.

The advantage of using a cob of, we will say,
fourteen hands and an inch high, is greater to a
heavy weight than to other persons. Such horses
are easy of access, are stronger than taller horses,
unless the strength of the latter increases in pro-
portion to his height, and then such horses are
diflficult to find with light action, and are of course
less convenient to mount. The cob, if he is worthy
the name, steps quick, lightly, and pleasantly, the
shortness of his legs making him cover less ground
than the full-sized horse ; so, to enable the cob to
keep up the same pace as the other, he has no re-
source but to step more quickly, and by so doing,
for road work, more safely. But, to be gentl emanly,
he must be very handsome, and as light in hand,
light in step, and handy as a pony. A coarse-
looking cob subjects a man to the appearance of
riding an animal that would have been a cart
horse, had his size fitted him for such work.

A COB (not shakspeare's cob). 71

If the reader has a predilection for a cob, and
means to ride one, he must not found such inten-
tion on any idea that by so doing he will get a
pleasant, safe, and gentlemanly looking animal at
a low price ; for if a cob is fit for a gentleman to
ride, he will find he will have to give as strong a
price for him as has been given for most of the
very fine horses he may see ridden in the Park.
Really nice cobs are worth a large sum of money ;
that is, they will bring such a sum as I would not
give for the best cob that ever stept on iron;
but as better judges of horses than myself do, we
may say the cob is worth it.

A person, some few months since, showed me
one he had just bought, and I was informed of
the price, something over a hundred. I can only
say, had I been buying cobs for friends, I should
have expected to get about two and a half of such
as him for the money given. The owner had not
ridden his purchase half a dozen times, before
some nobleman fell in love with the animal, and
purchased him at a considerably advanced figure,
— " bravo, fancy ! " There is nothing therefore ill
judged, nor is there any thing unhorseman-like, in
a man purchasing and riding a clever cob, if he
prefers him to a higher bred animal. I do not,
never did, and, I think I may safely say, never
shall ; but this is so perfectly a matter of taste,
that I should not attempt to give any advice

F 4

72 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

on the subject ; in fact, it Is a case where none is
wanting.

If, however, a man wants not only to be
carried pleasantly, but fast, and that for long dis-
tances, and wishes to do this on a cob, he must look
for a rara avis, — and, as we learned in Syntax,
*' nigroque simillima cygno ; " not that being black
would make the cob the more likely to do this,
but quite the reverse, for In a general way the
blacker the cob the coarser the breed. If, however,
he does what he does do well, pleasantly, and
handsomely, and does it fast enough to meet the
wishes of the purchaser, let him be bought by all
means, though, as Emilia styled Othello, he be
" the blacker devil."

I have another style of horse to offer to the
reader's notice ; (and, after giving a characteristic
sketch of each, leave It to his discretion how far
any of them will be likely to answer his purpose :)
this is the foreign horse.

Many of the above breed are very beautiful
animals, and good enough for ordinary road
riding, that is, if they are only wanted for pleasure
riding, though they would look a little askew at
such a day's road riding as a dealer or a jockey
would occasionally give them.

We will first introduce the Arab, both as a
perfectly gentlemanly horse, and as the one capable
of beatino: the whole lot of other forelo-ners, w^here

A FAIR TRIAL AND NO FAVOUR. 73

speed combined with game and stamina is called for.
Some of these are doubtless very extraordinary
horses, when of a high caste and in their own
country, though we have never found them equal
ours in this ; no disparagement whatever to a
horse accustomed to and brought from a diame-
trically different climate.

Had the challenge recently made between
English and foreign horses to run in Egypt come
off, even if they had beaten us, it would not have
altered my opinion of our horses, taking into con-
sideration the enervating influence of climate on
them, more than it would that of an Englisli,
Scotch, and Irish labourer, if the three were beat
in a day's work in Demerara by three Negroes.
If we had run even with the Arabs, it would have
shown our horses superior, being able to do so
under great disadvantage; if we had beaten, the
most decided superiority of our horses must have
been for ever admitted. The only really fair thing
would have been to run the same horses (let it
have come off as it might) both in Egypt and at
Newmarket.

We shall not, however, as a road horse, want
such an Arab as any of those we may suppose
will be brought out against ours ; for if we did,
we should not have to calculate by tens in our
purchase, but hundreds ; and, in fact, when a man
fancies he has purchased a high bred one, in nine

/4 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

cases in ten, if the truth could be found out, the
horse is no Arab at all. He is a foreign horse, and
of Eastern breed ; but if the reader could at all
decide by looks from what part of the eastern
hemisphere the horse came, I could not, and
should in this particular be about as good a judge
of him as of an ostrich.

Most Englishmen annex the idea and expecta-
tion of high showy action to a foreign horse. This
is, however, by no means a characteristic attribute
of the Arab : they mostly go near the ground, and
are not at all remarkable for being safe in a slow
pace ; and if a man flatters himself he has got an
Arab with fine action, the chances are he has been
deceived, though not to his disadvantage ; for if
he has got the action, but not the Arab, he is much
better off than if he had got the Arab, but not
the action ; and if the horse looks like one, it is
quite enough for common purposes of riding.

The Hanoverian I cannot permit my reader to
ride ; not but that many of them are very hand-
some, and perhaps good enough for his use, but
their action is so peculiar, that it carries with it a
good deal of Mr. Batty and the circle, when such
horses are used under the saddle. When large and
picked horses, they are magnificent show harness
horses, but of course unfit to ride ; and if even of
a proper size for the latter purpose, though their
action is grand, it wants elegance.

MERIT IS MERIT COME WHENCE IT MAY. i 5

There Is another foreign horse, not often brought
into this country, that though I would not be
seen upon, there is no reason why the reader
should not, if he does not object to a little osten-
sibility. This is the real Spanish jennet. Some of
these are very pretty, gentlemanly little nags, and
very graceful in their movements. They are,
moreover, mostly particularly safe and easy as to
motion, have usually good mouths, and carry
their heads in a good place. They may perhaps
be more of toys than serviceable animals, but, if
handsome, are gentlemanly toys. I grant a man on
one of them might not be taken for a hunting man,
and very probably would be taken for a foreigner ;
no harm in that. There is no absolute merit in
being the first, and certainly not the slightest dis-
grace in being taken for the other ; a taste there-
fore that has nothing really objectionable or in any
way ungentlemanly in it may fairly be indulged
in, if such happens to be that of the reader.

Some very fair hacknies are to be found among
French horses, and closely resembling our own in
appearance ; and I think, from being accustomed
to go on rough pavement, they are usually safe
goers. It would therefore be mere prejudice
to refuse such a horse because he was French ;
for those who hold such to be necessarily bad
horses, do not know them. They are, on the
contrary, very enduring, and many can go fast

76 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

enough for any ordinary use; in fact, they are
very often good and pleasant hacks.

The reader has now before him different sorts
of road horses to select from, any of which, if
well chosen, will answer his purpose. Should he,
however, know so little, or think he knows so little,
as to ask what I would recommend, I will tell him
the sort that, take them all in all for general road
riding, I have found answer the best, and have
fancied, taking them also all in all for a middle
weight, the most pleasant and gentlemanly in
appearance. Let it, however, be understood, that
I have had horses of very different sorts in use
at the same time; and, in specifying the one of
my choice, it is chiefly for the reader who means
to keep but one saddle horse for road purposes.

I would fix the standard for such a horse at fifteen
hands ; certainly not more. The more breeding
he has the better, with as much strength as can be
got without bordering on coarseness. . He should
be particularly neat and pretty ; handsome is a
term I should use to large horses. He should be
long in proportion to his height, that length
made out by the distance from the back of the
wither to the bosom, and from the hip bone to
the extremity of the haunch. This gives strength,
propelling power, and freedom of action. His step
should be light, as if he was stepping on hot
iron ; perfectly quiet and placid, yet so free, that

THE AUTHORS IDEAS OF A HACK. 77

a motion of the leg, or a sound from the mouth,
is enough to set him going. He should take to the
trot or canter at once, on the proper indication
from the rider ; have a light, delicate mouth ; and
be so handy, that the rider, with his reins in one
hand only, could by a turn of the wrist, or the
pressure of a finger, twist and turn him in any
direction. In his walk, he must step fast and
gracefully. His canter should be elegance itself.
And if with these he can trot handsomely at the
rate of a dozen miles an hour, it is fast enough ;
and on such a horse I consider a man is carried
like a gentleman on the road.

78 PEACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

CHAPTER V.

HORSE EQUIPMENT. THE BIT. ADVANTAGE OF THE DOUBLE

BRIDLE. — THE PELHAM. LEVERAGE IN BITS. EFFI-
CIENCY OF THE PELHAM ELUCIDATED. THE SINGLE-
REINED CURB, OR " THE HARD AND SHARP." THE

SNAFFLE. — ITS SUFFICIENCY FOR THE ROAD-HORSE.

CAUSES OF A BAD MOUTH. INSUFFICIENCY OF THE

SNAFFLE FOR FOX-HUNTING. HOW TO REMEDY A BAD

MOUTH. — THE DOUBLE BRIDLE RECOMMENDED.

We must now look to the kind of horse equip-
ment to be used ; for as it is quite necessary a
man must get that as well as a horse before he
rides, so it is necessary this should be judiciously
chosen, to evince a uniformity of good taste and
good judgment.

As so much of the comfort, and indeed safety,
of the rider depends on a proper selection of bit
for his horse, I will mention those mostly proper
for road riding with a horse of ordinary good
mouth.

The first I shall mention is, I fearlessly pro-
nounce, the best for the generality of horses, in
whatever vf ay they may be used ; namely, the

A BIT OF UTILITY. 79

double bridle, that is, a curb bit and snaffle, or,
in other terms, bridoon ; this plain or twisted, as
may be required. Any objection to them, on the
score of weight or incumbrance to the horse, is
futile ; for if made of good stuiF, the weight of
the heaviest of the two Avould only be a few
ounces ; and if made light, the difference of bulk
in the mouth is all ideal; and a large heavy bit of
any sort is clumsy and ungentlemanlike in appear-
ance, and of no efficacy as to utility.

Let the reader purchase no bit of any sort
for his own use, but, in trade phrase, a "case-
hardened " one. In the first place, such are
always of good material ; and other bits, however
good or painstaking may be the groom, cannot be
kept to that polish a gentleman's bridle should
show. A common iron one will answer the purpose
of holding a horse, but the difference of appearance
between the two will be something like the
lustre of a court dress' steel buttons and the
leaden look of a kitchen carving knife ; and iron
being, in comparison with steel, a soft material,
its bulk must be increased to prevent its bending.
Independent of the double bridle, made, as
occasion may require, more or less severe, suiting
all sorts of mouths, it aLo, in point of appear-
ance, suits all sorts of horses, from the galloping
thorough-bred to the Spanish jennet ; it never
looks out of place on any horse.

80 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHCP.

Next as a double bridle comes the Pelham.
This is a bit not so much in use as I think it
deserves to be, and its efficacy is less understood,
even by good judges of other things in the horse
way, than might be supposed. It is neither more
or less than an ordinary snaffle with an elongated
lower branch, to which is put a ring for a second
rein ; and to the top of its upper branch is affixed
a curb chain. And this sort of bit may be made so
as just to suit a horse that is not quite what may
be wished in a snaffle, and yet does not want an
ordinary curb bit; or it may be made into a
most powerful engine, that few horses can with-
stand.

" Faute cCautres clioses,^ or, perhaps, in better
words, in place of higher attainments, I have de-
voted a good deal of time to various mechanical
pursuits — and have quite satisfied more than one
practical man that in one particular' in the form-
ation of bits they were in error. For instance, we
will say a person has been riding his horse with a
curb bridle of moderate dimensions, which is three
inches and three quarters in the lower branch,
and two and about a quarter in the upper. He
finds he cannot hold his horse with this, and goes
to a bit-maker and represents his case. Another
is made full six inches below, and three inches and
a half above the mouth ; an awful machine to
look at for a saddle horse. ^' There, Sir, that

MISTAKES OF BIT-MAKERS. 81

will hold him, I warrant," says the artisan : but
it will not, as the rider will find on trial, — for the
mistakes made in its proportions are fatal to its
effect.

I believe I am correct in saying that it is a
principle in mechanics, that the longer the lever
the greater its purchase and force. The bit-maker
w^as quite right in lengthening the lever (which
the lower branch of a bit is) below ; and had he
only done this, the bit would have become more
severe. But he lengthened it also above, doing
which he certainly made a larger bit, but dimi-
nished the effect of the lever ; for leng-thenino: the
upper branch only made the curb chain act higher
up the hind part of the jaw ; and, to make that
purchase equivalent to the former bit, a longer
lever in proportion below was necessary. Now,
had he diminished the height above from two and
a quarter inches to less than two, and added two
to the lever below, the horse's mouth, if properly
curbed, would have been in all but a vice.

We may laugh at the ancients as long as we
please, but they knew what was what with horses,
as well as many other things, though they did
those things in a different way. They rode great
coarse horses, doubtless, with coarse mouths. Let
us look at their bits for such animals. We may
see them represented as not having more than an
inch and a half of bit ah.ove the mouthpiece, with

G

82 PRACTICAL HOESEMAXSHIP.

an enormous branch below, tbus producing a lever
that would, like a dentist's key instrument, break
a jaw if properly handled : — it is just the same,
jnutatis mutandis^ with bits.

Any female may convince herself of the effect
of the lower lever as acting with the upper part
of a bit, by trying to cut a piece of wire ribbon
with her scissors. She tries to do so near their
points ; finds she can make no impression : tries it
lower down ; makes a notch in the wire, but can-
not get through it. She then places the wire as
near the rivet of the scissors as possible, and cuts
it in two easily with the scissors. The blades are
like the part of the bit above the mouthpiece,
the rivet the fulcrum, as is the mouthpiece and
the horse's mouth ; the shanks of the scissors are
the lower branches of the bit ; and both instru-
ments act upon the same principle, — the one on
the wire, the other on the mouth of the horse.

There is an old idea, still extant with many,
that by making the upper branch of a bit short,
we cause the lower to draw under the chin ; so we
should if, with a bit an inch and a half long above
the mouthpiece, we left the curb chain tlie same
length as if the upper branch was an inch longer;
but take u[) the curb chain a couple of links, it
would no more draw under than the other. And
to carry this on, if we only left an inch above,
and pulled the lower branch towards the horse's

PELHAMS VERSUS PULLERS. 80

nostrils, and then curbed him up, the curb chain
would still keep the bit nearly perpendicular with
the cleft of the mouth or lips.

To return to Pelhams, to which what I have
said applies just as much as to ordinary curbs. I
will give an instance of their efficacy.

I believe I have somewhere before mentioned
a horse I once bought, who had been sold and
resold because he could not be held with hounds?
though perfectly tractable, and even light in the
mouth, at other times. He had been ridden by
more than one nobleman, several gentlemen, horse-
breakers, huntsmen, and whips, and had gone
away with them alL I bought him. He had been
ridden with every instrument of force that could
be put in a horse's mouth in the shape of a bit,
had been tortured by whipcord round his tongue,
and vexed in every way. I determined to try
a non-irritative plan with him, and got an enor-
mous Pelham made for him, of immense lever
below, but only a couple of inches, or less, above ;
curbed him up very short ; and, till I found it was
wanted, rode him on the snaffle, which a Pelham
is till the curb rein is used. This did not make
him angry; and when I found it necessary to have
recourse to the curb rein, he yielded to it at once.
And I found I could with this bit hold a horse
that had had curb chains made expressly for him,
as he had snapped ordinary ones innumerable. I
G 2

84 PKACTICAL HOKSEMANSHIP.

never tried him with a regular curb bit, made in
the same proportion as to length of branch below
and shortness above, — so whether it would have
had as much effect I do not know ; nor do I ven-
ture to decide why the Pelham acted so forcibly,
but so it was ; and in another hard puller I tried
the same sort of bit, and found it answer the same
purpose.

It has been objected to Pelhams, that they make
horses go heavy in hand. I doubt not but such
would be the case with a rider who had bad hands;
for in an ordinary way, a Pelham is a less severe
curb bit, and a horse might soon be taught to lean
on them. This is, however, not the fault of the bit,
but the hands ; for however severe the bit may be,
if a horse's mouth is deadened by lugging at it, he
would lean and bear on that, though he might not
be able to face it at first starting.

The Pelham is no more incumbrance in a
horse's mouth than what in that respect it directly
is, a snaffle, with the advantage of its being also,
by taking a second rein, a mild or strong curb bit,
in accordance with how it is proportioned. I must
therefore hold it a useftd bridle.

We now come to the single-reined curb, that is,
the " hard and sharp," a great favourite with
many persons. I never use one ; I dislike them
upon this principle, — if a horse's mouth is so in-
corrigibly dead and heavy, that he cannot at times

HARD AND SHARPS. 85

be ridd«n on the snaffle, he is not fit to be ridden
at all, at least not by a gentleman ; and further,
if it is dead, constantly resting on the curb bridle
will very shortly make it more so ; and if his
mouth is good, why try to make it otherwise, by
always using it to the pressure of a curb ? With
very fine and light hands, a horse may certainly
be ridden with such a bridle without injury to
his mouth ; and as I see so many persons use
such, I suppose I must conclude that fine hands
are more common than I ever thought they were,
or certainly ever saw samples of.

Of "hard and sharps," I should say the jointed,
or, as they were at first called, the Turkish bit,
is the best. This has two joints in the mouth-
piece, with a port, and decidedly, from varying
the pressure on the horse's mouth, does not deaden
it like the common curb bridle, when used singly.
There is moreover more meaning in its appear-
ance ; it is a direct hack's bridle. The other looks
as if your man had taken it apart and forgot to
put it together again, or had started you with one
part keeping the other at home while he cleaned
it, or to ride some other horse with, from wanting
a proper exercise bridle. I do not hesitate in
proclaiming a single-reined curb an unsportsman-
like, bad bridle, let who will use it.

We now come to, perhaps, the most original
of all bits, the snaffle. Of these there are various

G 3

86 PEACTICAL HOKSEMANSHIP.

kinds, — the plain, the easy and sharp twisted,
the roller, the port-mouthed, the double-mouthed,
and the ring snaffle. Of all these, the plain and
the twisted are the only two generally useful ones.
Formerly all hunting men used snaffles, and every
horse called a hunter was rode with one, whether
he carried his nose and head like the arm of a
direction post, or like a pig hunting for beech-
mast. They were then made uncommonly wide
in the mouthpiece, to enable the rider (in the
then used phrase) to saw his horse's mouth ; a
pretty clear indication that, though our worthy
ancestors rode all horses in snaffle bridles, they
did not ride all snaffle bridle horses. What a
treat it must be to ride a brute whose mouth
would bear saiuing, and even require a lengthened
space for that purpose !

I am quite of opinion that most horses could be
so broken, or, in better phrase, "so mouthed," in
the breaking, as to render them quite snaffle
bridle horses for road purposes, if we could also
ensure good hands to those who would ride them.
In proof of this, most amphitheatrical horses will
perform all their intricate evolutions in a snaffle,
if the rider is as well broken as the horse.

"VYe very rarely see a road horse in a snaffle
bridle. Now, with submission to the opinion of
the better informed, my own is, that the road
horse is precisely the one for whom the snaffle is

CANDID BUT NOT COURTEOUS. 87

sufficient, and I will state my reasons for think-
ing so. We only want him to walk, trot, canter,
and very rarely gallop. Speaking of him as a
pleasure horse, his business is little more than
fair exercise ; consequently we have a right to
expect him to do this without trouble to our-
selves, or requiring support at our hands. There
is, therefore, no excuse for him if he bears un-
pleasantly on our hands, unless those hands, from
being bad ones, induce him to do so. Thus there
is no reason why he should not do his business in
a snaffle as handily as the horse on the stage or
in the circle ; and, unquestionably, so he would,
if properly mouthed, and afterwards properly
ridden. The reason why we all but invariably
see a hack with a curb bit in his mouth is not
a flattering one to men as riders, but nevertheless
the truth. Out of the hundreds that ride on the
road, we seldom see a mim with anything border-
ing on good hands. The consequence of which
is, that however w^ell mouthed a colt may be
(or, I should more properly say, might be), his
mouth shortly gets hardened and spoiled by rude
hands ; and then the curb bit is called into re-
quisition, and, if used by the same hands, the
mouth becomes as dead in that as in any other
bridle.

There are certainly some horses that it is
impossible to bring to as fine mouths as others,

G 4

88 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

and some with whom it is a matter of great diffi-
culty to restore a mouth to sensibility that has
been deadened by bad hands and severe bits. I
have, however, never yet found a horse with a
mouth so determinately dead and insensible to
the bit, that, after a few times riding, I could
not bring to go with tolerable comfort to myself
by some contrivance or other.

The perfect tyro will perhaps be somewhat
surprised when I tell him that the shape and
make of the horse are^ in very many instances,
the original circumstances that have produced a
bad mouth. He may say that make can have
nothing to do with tenderness, liveliness, or hard-
ness of mouth. Nor did I say it had ; for a horse
made in one way has, originally probably, the
same sort of mouth as the horse made in any
other. But shape, though not the original cause
of a bad mouth, may be the circumstance that has
led to the production of one. For instance —

There are some horses so peculiarly formed
about the neck, that they have little more plia-
bility in it than a pig. Yet is this horse wanted,
and by some expected, to carry his head in as
good a place, or nearly so, as the finer-made one.
To make him do this, or rather in the attempt to
make him do it, his mouth is tortured and bored
at till it becomes as hard as the hand of a black-
smith or bricklayer's labourer. Any judge of
horses would see whereabouts nature had intended

HE DOES HIS BEST, ETC. 89

and enabled the animal to carry his head and
neck, and would not attempt to make him do
that which it was impossible he could do ; and by
allowing him to carry it in such place, the animal's
mouth would, perhaps, be as pleasant as that of
any other horse. He cannot yield his head hand-
somely, but he would do so as far as nature per-
mitted him, and might be very pleasant and safe
to ride, though carrying himself anything but
handsomely. Such a horse is certainly not fit for a
gentleman's hack, good, safe, and pleasant though
he might be. He should, therefore, never be put
to such a purpose ; to attempt to alter him is
useless and cruel, — for it is punishing an unfortu-
nate beast for the fault or whim of nature. Any
judge, seeing a horse thus made, would say, "ten
to one he has a bad mouth ; " and ten to one he
would be right ; for whatever the mouth might
have been by nature, it is more than ten to one
it has been rendered a bad one by man.

A query might with great propriety be put to
me (from what I have written) to this eifect, — that
if there is truth in what I have stated, that most
hacks might be so mouthed and ridden as to do all
that is wanted of them pleasantly in a snaffle, why
not hunters ? — and why do I advocate the use of
double bridles, particularly for hunters whose
riders are mostly, more or less, good horsemen ?

I have given the reasons on which I found my

90 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

opinion that hacks might be ridden in snaffles, and
also the reason why they are not. Now the rea-
sons why the hack can, or could, be thus ridden
may enable any one, on reflection, to judge why, in
a general way, the hunter cannot. His work is dif-
ferent ; he has to go over all sorts of ground and
fences, and this often when a good deal beat : he
therefore requires assistance and support ; the hack
for pleasure riding does not.

There are perfect snaffle- bridle hunters, ^that is,
perhaps, one in fifty ; but the mouth of the hunter,
from different circumstances arising in his day's
work, must get more pulling about than that of
the hack, who ought, if he is a perfect one, to be
able and willing to do his business with the rein
on his neck.

My objections to the single snaffle for fox-
hunting are these : if a horse pulls what I should
term fairly in his gallop, held by the snaffle, we
should find it unpleasant, and perhaps all but im-
possible with the same bit, to collect him, or occa-
sionally to pull him up as quickly as hunting
occurrences sometimes require us to do ; and if his
mouth is so delicate that a snaffle will throw him
on his haunches, it would probably be too tender
to allow us to give him that assistance that he at
times requires for our safety and his own. I will
give an instance where a mouth may be too
tender.

A COOLEK. 91

I was hunting in a part of a country I knew
little of. The hounds were put into a large cover,
with several rides cut through it. As a stranger,
to be ready to get away with the hounds should
they find, I got into a ride near the centre of the
wood. A fox passed me, and made across a part
where there was no ride cut, but was perfectly
passable. The hounds owned him and came by me.
I got with them, and, on seeing them top the
bank and hedge going out, I heard, as they dis-
appeared, splash after splash on the other side ; of
course I knew it must be water. I put my horc-e
at the fence. He landed on the top of the bank ;
and I then saw about as ugly a looking bit of
sylvan scenery before me as I thought I had ever
beheld, — a running stream, in fact brook, of about
twelve feet water. Though not much like Ctesar,
like him I had here passed the Rubicon ; so I gave
my nag a pull, and clapped the Latchfords to his
sides ; instead of giving his head in the right way
and leaning on the bit, he threw his nose wildly
up, and in we went a souser.

It is extremely rare to find a hunter with that
sort of mouth that will permit a proper hold to be
taken of his head when we want it, and yet go at
other times lightly in hand with the same bridle,
or rather bit. A hunter, to be perfect as to mouth,
should do all we wish him, more from practically
knowing what we wish by the indication of the

92 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

bit, than from extreme tenderness of mouth,
which, as I have shown, is sometimes objection-
able when in difficulty.

An acquaintance of mine makes it a boast that
he rides all horses when hunting in snaffles. He
thinks a good deal of his horses, a great deal of
himself, and something more still of his riding.

Some time since he put me on one of his snaffle
bridlers, begged me to give him a canter, and put
him over a fence or two; probably thinking to
afford me a treat. A more yawing, pully-hauly
brute Thad scarcely ever ridden. He could thunder
along, and thundered over his fences in the same
way. His master valued him at a hundred and I
know not what, though I had been told neither
snaffle, horse, or master was often seen with
bounds after the first twenty minutes. On coming
up to the master, I was asked my opinion of the
horse. Now, in most cases, I certainly should have
sacrificed a good deal of veracity to a little
courtesy ; but, knowing my man, I did not feel it
called for here. So he got the opinion he asked for
as regarded his horse : " He is worth fifty to carry
a whip, and nothing to carry a gentleman ; " so
much, not for snaffle-bridle horses, but riding
such horses in snaffle bridles with hounds.

Having now mentioned all the descriptions of
bit that are really useful for ordinary mouthed
horses, we will see how far any of them can be

rOllTITER IN RE. 93

made useful In remedying the unpleasantness of a
bad mouth in the horse. " Nemo repente fuit
turpissimus ; " nor was a horse's mouth ; and when
by the fault of man it has become so, unjust as
the act may be towards the animal, we must
sometimes be guilty of a little unjust severity to
reform it ; and custom, without referring to kind
feeling, teaches us to somewhat stretch our con-
science, when, by perhaps unmerited severity, we
can in a shortened time produce beneficial results
to ourselves.

We will suppose that a horse has, by constant
use of an ordinary fair bit, become so dead and
heavy in hand as to be most unpleasant to the
rider. There can be little doubt that by putting
a good horseman on this horse, he will in a few
weeks make an astonishing improvement in the
animal's mouth, and would perhaps in the course
of time brino^ it round to be all that could be
wished. I have in various instances produced this
effect in a very short time by a shortened process,
though a very coarse one.

Supposing a horse was brought to me, as many
have been, dead in the mouth as an ass. This
callosity of mouth, no matter from what cause, is
tantamount to the hardness of foot of an Irish
pauper accustomed to walk with his feet bare, or
those of the phenomenon Paddy who runs with
the Queen's hounds. The want of sensibility in

94 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

such feet is the consequence of constant contact
with hard substances ; the callosity of the horse's
mouth from constant contact with the bit. So far
the feet of the man and mouth of the horse are
in the same state, and from similar causes. We
will say we wish to produce sensibility to the
feet. The long process of so doing would be to give
the men shoes and soft stockings. In a few
weeks or months, as the case might require as to
time, they would by this become in point of sen-
sibility something like the feet of other men; and
they would, after a time, find it unpleasant to go
barefooted in a gravel road. Thus in process of
time we have effected what we wanted, — restored
sensibility. So by long continued good riding we
might do the same to the horse's mouth. But we
want by a quicker mode to produce tenderness
in the men's feet. We will therefore oblige
them to run on broken, and consequently sharp-
pointed, flint stones. We should find the men
wince at this ; and their feet would be so bruised
and wounded as to make them dread contact with
the road over which they lately went with perfect
confidence. Thus by a short process we eifect our
end, as to creating sensibility and dread of contact.
We must with the dead-mouthed horse, if we
wish to make short work of it, treat him on the
same principle. On such a horse I put a bit of
such severity as he can not face. Before he
leaves his stall I take the bit by the lower branch,

A FORCIBLE APPEAL. 95

and press it on the horse's mouth. He does not
yield to it, having from habit no fear of a bit.
Finding this, I gave him a smart snatch. The
severity of the bit on the bars of his mouth and
on his jaws astonishes him. I try it again. After
repeating this a few times, the mouth becomes a
little tender; independently of which, the horse
finding that if he does not yield his mouth and
head at once, he gets a snatch that hurts him,
common instinct teaches him to shrink from such
contact. I then mount him, knot my curb rein,
and either keep it in my right hand or let it rest.
I ride him on the snaffle, and if he leans un-
pleasantly I move it in his mouth, and give him
a check, which a motion of the wrist is sufficient
to effect. If he does not answer this, T give him
a snatch with the severe bit, letting it go as soon
as it has effected its temporary purpose. By con-
tinuing this, what with his mouth becoming
tender and sensible to the touch of the bit, and
learning to dread it, he, in a few days, obeys the
snaffle, not altogether from minding such im-
pression as that may make, but knowing a hint
given with that, if not attended to, is a sure pre-
lude to his mouth being punished by the severe
one.

Of course, when giving these sorts of lessons,
we must choose time and place when we devote
ourselves to the horse's tuition, not our own
amusement.

96 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

It may be surmised that the mouth would get
callous during such process. It certainly would
if we permitted the horse to lean on the bit ; for,
like a raw place on the body, if we press the
finger on it and keep it there, the soreness after a
short time is scarcely felt. It is the first touch
that hurts ; so it is by the mouth. By permitting
no continued pressure, we keep up sensibility ; and
having produced that, it is our own fault if we
do not keep it up, till habit brings on that attention
to the indication of the hand on the bit that
punishment first taught.

To carry out such process, a rider should be
quite confident in his own patience and command
of temper, and recollect that he is, by very severe
measures, rectifying what is no fault or vice in
the animal, but merely an unpleasantness that
may arise from natural causes or from injudicious
treatment. We are, therefore, in no way called
upon, or even authorised, in doing what we may
do as a punishment, but as a necessary severity, to
bring about a certain effect ; and it should be done
with as little severity as the production of that
effect will permit, the necessary amount of wliicii,
of course, depends on the nature of the animal's
mouth, his tractability of disposition, and suscep-
tibility of instruction. But, be the horse what he
might, I never found one on whom such rough
lessons failed in making an improvement.

GOING TO THE BAR. 97

There are two pressures of the ordinary curb
bridle : the one on the bars of the mouth, and
sometimes the tongue ; the other by the curb
chain on the jaw. And, lest the novice may get
into a scrape, let me recommend him to put very
little reliance on the effect of the latter, so far as
its acting with severity on the jaw is concerned,
for in itself it makes very little impression ; there-
fore, when we tighten a curb, let it be understood
it is not done with an idea of its acting with in-
creased severity on the jaw ; for when once the bit
is pulled back, so as to let the chain become tight,
it matters little whether it be a link or two shorter
or longer ; for, provided we have lever enough
with the lower branch of the bit to bring the
curb in full force against the back of the jaw, we
increase the severity but in a trifling degree by
shortening it. The severity this occasions is by
giving the bit increased pressure on the bars of the
mouth, by keeping the lever of the lower branch
in a more perpendicular situation. And this the
reader would find out, if he was to put into a
hard puller's mouth an ordinary proportioned bit,
with a very low port. This resting on the tongue,
and the bars of the bit not coming on those of the
horse's mouth, he would have little more to depend
on to hold his horse than the trifling severity of
the pressure of the curb chain on the jaw ; and
for this, after five minutes, a hard pulling horse

H

98 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

would not care at all. The dependence on the
severity of the bit must be placed on the height
of the port and lens^th of lever below. The
novice must not, therefore, always consider himself
safe as regards his being able to hold his horse
because he has a curb bridle in his mouth, for
curb bridles (without differing so much in appear-
ance, when in the mouth, as to be noticed by those
not judges of such things) may be made so as to
be severe enough to risk breaking a horse's jaw,
or so as to be very nearly as easy as a snaffle,
and, indeed, far less efficacious than a sharply
twisted one.

We will suppose a horse with a very tender
moutli poked out his nose, and carried his head
unpleasantly high in a snaffle ; a curb bit may be
made so perfectly easy as, by altering the pressure,
to bring the head down, and yet enable the horse
to face it.

This being the case, I trust my reader will feel
satisfied that I consult his convenience and safety
in recommending to him, in a general way, the
double bridle ; for they may be made to suit all
sorts of mouths, and all sorts of hands, by keeping
in view, " the ruder the hand is, the less severe
should the bit be." And this I confidently give as
a rule ever to be observed by a rider, " Never give
a rude pull or check at a horse's mouth if a less
forcible one will produce the effect w^anted."

99

CHAPTER VI.

GOOD TASTE IN HORSE EQUIPMENTS RECOMMENDED.

" FINERY " TO BE AVOIDED. — USEFUI.NESS OF TBUCK

REINS. THE I.IP STRAP. ROUND FOREHEAD BANDS

AND NECK STRAPS. — THE TUROAT-LaTCH. USELESS AP-
PENDAGES TO BE AVOIDED. — " EATCHFORd's " BITS.

FOREHEAD BANDS ABANDONED IN THE FIELD. — BEST
KIND OF SADDLES. — ^STIRRUPS AND BUCKLES.

In the different descriptions of bit I have men-
tioned, we have, by getting either more or less
severe of its kind, all that can be wanted for
ordinary horses and riding ; but as, doubtless^, the
reader would wish to exhibit good taste as well as
judgment in his horse appointments, I will
venture a hint or two on these.

Any man with good sense would, I should
think, wish to do that which would afford him
credit amono; men of o-ood sense also ; so I should
infer that a man would wish to exhibit good taste
to those who could appreciate it. As I have said
persons of good sense would do that which
they hold to be sensible, it will naturally be
inferred that the taste I recommend is my own.
It is what some persons would call their own ;

H 2

100 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

but / do not, for It is merely a taste that I have
adopted and used from seeing it in use among
men of taste and of good judgment in such
matters. The taste, good or bad, is therefore that
of others, not my own ; and if good, which I hope
it is, the only merit I can claim is havings selected
good samples for imitation.

In the first place then, I hold all and every sort
of finery and frippery about horses to be the
worst possible taste. I do not call the massive
harness of the horses of the sovereign finery —
that is part of a gorgeous pageant befitting
royalty on state occasions ; so are a state carriage,
state harness, and state liveries, quite in character
with a nobleman going to court : but, on ordi-
nary occasions, nothing bespeaks bad taste more
than finery, and particularly so in regard to horse
equipments. Such should ever be in accordance
with circumstances ; for instance, highly and
heavily ornamented harness, brass or plated, would
be execrable taste if exhibited by a lady driving
her phaeton, so would be black with a coachman
wearing his wig.

So on an un-English-looking horse, are round
reins, particularly black ones ; throat-latches, with
loose appendages dangling behind the horse's jaw ;
ornaments of leather roses or stars on the cheek
pieces and forehead band ; fly-catchers, or fly-
fiappers, or whatever they are called, bobbing on

AUT C^SAR AUr NULLUS. 101

the horse's nose ; a bit ornamented, twlstec], and
turned in all useless directions. All this may be
very pretty as an article, but is very bad taste in
a bridle for common use. It would look very well,
and be very appropriate, on the head of an Arab,
ridden by a pacha of Egypt ; but as a private in-
dividual would not be taken for a pacha, it is not
unlikely his finery might suggest the idea of his
being a quack doctor, or perhaps a far less clever
fellow.

If a man really determines to use such an
appendage on his horse's head, I should say to him
this; get a foreign horse, adopt a foreign seat (and
let that seat be a good one) ; let your dress be to
a certain degree foreign ; sport a never-take-me-
alive moustache, and be taken for a foreigner :
you would then not be censured for incongruity
of taste, because the whole would be in keeping.
Look foreign or look English, — I care not which.
— but don't sport a French postilion's boots and
pigtail, and all the rest English, nor fine bridles
on English horses.

But without going to such lengths, there is
taste and judgment to be exhibited in adapting
the direct English bridle to the sort of horse that
is to wear it.

A horse with the look and gait of a racehorse
or sensible-looking hunter, would look extremely
ill-appointed in a hard and sharp. The bridle and

H 3

102 PEACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

horse would not be in character, nor would a
charger or Spanish jennet be so in a hunting
snaffle. The galloping thorough-bred hack I
have mentioned, provided the bridle suited him,
would look well in a light snaffle with a spice
of the racing cut about it. A cob would not,
however well he possibly might go in it ; nor
would a rider who looked as if his fifteen stone
had been got up by the good things of life, accord
with the galloping bit of steel either.

A horse with a coarse head should wear a laroje
bit and bridle. If his mouth is light, have the bit
as easy as will suit him, but let it look in propor-
tion to the head, a small bit and narrow reins
render deformity more deformed in appearance :
'* quasre," what would round ones do ?

This brings us to the subject of reins. These
really, in a minor degree, are of some importance
to the pleasantness of riding. Of all things there
is nothing I more abominate than a rein thick in
substance and coarse in grain ; and the one gene-
rally accompanies the other. Nor is the very thick
coarse one stronger than the one thinner and finer
in texture, for the goodness and toughness of the
one is equivalent to the bulk of the other. We
never see racing reins thick ; for if they were, in
the first place they could not be neatly knotted,
and their sharp thick edges and coarse grain
would gall the naked hand. If you want extra

BKIDLE REINS. 103

strength, get a little extra width ; but a good
rein should be, comparatively speaking, pliable,
and fine in the srrain as a kid glove.

A lip strap to a bit should never be omitted, if
a horse is at all disposed to catch at his bit, that
is, get hold of the branch on his under teeth. If
he once does this, away he goes, if disposed to do
so, for no man could hold him

I prefer round forehead bands and round neck
straps for hunters. The first, having no edges, do
not gall the ear ; the latter may be made of sufifi-
cient strength, and yet not look clumsy. For in
hunting, let a man ride as bold as he may, he will
occasionally find, in some countries, fences so blind
and awkward, that he is compelled to get off his
horse, and let him creep and slide up and down as
he can ; and in doing so, if a horse hangs back, and
the throat-latch gives way, off comes the bridle.

There is also a proper medium to be observed
as regards the proper tightness or looseness of the
throat-latch. I w^ould know a horse-dealer, or,
w^hat is a far less respectable person, a horse-deal-
ing soi-disant gentleman, by the looseness of his.
He leaves his so because he conceives it sets off
the appearance of his horse's head. To a cer-
tain point it does so ; and nothing is worse, or
looks more regular cockneylike, than a tight
throat-latch ; but letting it hang below the larger
half of the jaw looks slovenly, and dealer- in-

H 4

104 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

stead of gentlemanlike. It should hang loose, no
doubt ; but the true medium is, loose enough to
look easy, and just tight enough to prevent the
bridle getting over the ears. If too tight, it looks
as if a man did not know how it ought to be ; if
preposterously loose, it looks very much as if he
was riding a horse for sale — the latter being to a
gentleman the more objectionable of the two in-
ferences. I would recommend every man to do
what he does well, and, if he can, artistically. If
he hunts his own hounds, let him take as much
trouble, and do it as well as a huntsman ; if he
rides a race, let him ride it (if he can) as well as a
professional — let him look perfectly jockeylike
in all he does ; if he drives his four horses, let him
do so in a coachmanlike way, and let him do all
and every thing necessary for that. Whether
huntsman, jockey, or coachman, let him do what
he does as near as he can as well as the profes-
sional ; but in doing that, never let him do any-
thing that calls forth doubt of his being a gentle-
man. I hate to see a man do anything about
horses like a muff; but I detest still more seeing
him do the same thing in a slangy way — for there
is slang of manner as well as of language — both
or either weak and reprehensible in the attempt,
degrading and disgusting in the execution, and
neither evincing any proof of the artist, but a
o-reat deal of low conduct and low mind.

o

USELESS APPENDAGES TO BE AVOIDED. 105

There is another addition many persons have
to their bridles, namely, a goodly assemblage of
billets. Some bring forward, in excuse of these
most unworkmanlike appendages, the advantage
of taking the bits off to clean. The o-room who
cannot clean a bit without soiling the reins is, de-
pend on it, quite unfit to clean horses or bridles.
Again, may be brought forward the advantage of
changinoj bits to the same set of reins. A man
must cut very close indeed, if a bridle or two
make any difference in his annual expenses. Bil-
lets are abominations my reader really must not
contemplate.

I advocate what buckles are necessary to a
bridle being a long square (if I may use the
term) ; whether they are prettier or the reverse
than the rounded ones, is mere matter of taste. 1
think they look workmanlike, because there is a
sensible advantage in them. They do not bend
the rein, do not wear its edges, and when wanted
to be shifted, run more easily, and admit of rollers
to enable them to do so. The reader can now"
use which sort of buckle he pleases. I always
have one each side my throat-latch ; it prevents
the want of a long end, which is usually the case
where there is but one buckle.

I would always recommend bits being bought
of a bit maker, not a saddler : no better man than
Latchford. I should not doubt getting a good bit

106 PRACTICAL HOESEMANSHIP.

of an eminent saddler, but I knoiu I get a good
one from Latchford ; and as his bits neither bend
nor break, one of his will last quite as long as the
purchaser, which I conclude would quite satisfy
him.

Saddlers will all tell you that London bit-
makers do not make their own bits — that most
of them are got up from Walsall. I know that as
well as the saddlers, for I have seen them making
at Walsall. A veterinary surgeon does not turn
the horse-shoe from the bar of iron, or hammer it,
but if he superintends the finishing of it, it is quite
enough ; and it is quite enough if the bit is
finished by Latchford's workmen : bad bits would
not be sent to or received by him to finish.

Many persons use riband on the forehead-band.
It would not now be considered as strictly sport-
ing in the hunting field, merely because fast men
have left oflP using it. Now I will let my reader
into the true secret of their doing so. It arose
with men who rode the finest horses that could be
got, and the little bit of affectation was, "such
horses as we ride require no setting off ; " for I am
quite certain these coloured bands do give life to a
horse's countenance, and are still used by many on
their London horses, — and very well they look.
But I hold that there are but three admissible
colours — light blue, purple, and crimson, either
of which looks well. Yellow used to be the chief

GIVING A COLOUR TO ADVICE. 107

hunting colour; and I can just remember my
father leaving off yellow fronts when I first took
to riding, though he ever continued them on his
carriage horses. Some few persons use white, but
it looks dealer-like ; and if of white japanned
leather, it is all but Smithfield.

We now come to the subject of saddles. These
are in no degree varied like bits in point of make ;
in fact, I may almost say that, for road riding,
there is but one gentlemanly sort of saddle — the
Shaftoed upper-flapped, and stuffed lower-flapped
saddle. The Shaftoed flap is merely two thin
pieces of leather instead of one stout one ; and the
advantage it has is this — it is pliable, so that in
putting on or off" the stirrup-leathers, it does not
crack, which the common strong one, after a short
time, invariably would do ; and now no good saddle
is made without, though in truth very many bad
ones are often made with.

There is the Anglesey saddle and the mere
stufled seated saddle, — both perfectly gentlemanly
and pleasant to use ; but we seldom see them with
young men ; in short, I should say, they have no
right to such indulo-ence.

The reader will, perhaps, pay me the compli-
ment of asking what I consider a good and gen-
tlemanly saddle. I can do much better for him
than giving my description of one, by recom-
mending him to go to Wilkinson and Kidd's, in

108 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

Oxford Street, see one of their best saddles, and
he will be certain to see as perfectly gentlemanly
and well-made a saddle as manufacture can pro-
duce. In mentioning that house I in no way-
mean to say there are not others that can turn
out as good a piece of workmanship ; but Wilk-
inson and Kidd certainly have the merit of being
the first to introduce a peculiar cut, which has
never gone out since its first introduction. But
of late years there are saddles made by other
makers, quite as good in workmanship, and equally
so in taste.

The reader will, therefore, save himself and me
a great deal of trouble, and will not risk my giving
a bad description of a saddle, or his not under-
standing it, by simply getting his horse fitted in
Oxford Street. He will then be certain he has
as good a saddle, as a man can have ; and by fre-
quently comparing his own with others, will be-
come a far better judge of a saddle than any de-
scription of one I can give would make him.

I will, however, give a few leading observations
about saddles, that I am sure will be useful to the
novice. Never go to any direct military saddler
for a hunting saddle, or one that you wish to look
like one : do not go to a saddler whose workmen
are chiefly engaged in harness making ; and, above
all, if you want a gentleman's saddle, avoid people
who make for exportation. I should no more

SADDLES. 109

think of going to one of those for a hunting saddle,
than I should to Oldacre (who can make one) for
a cart-horse collar.

Never get a small saddle for road or hunting,
whether your weight be light or heavy. If light,
a pound or two as to weight is of no consequence ;
and if heavy, a small saddle w\\\ cut your horse's
back to pieces. Sixteen inches I consider the
smallest saddle that ought to be used, and eighteen
for a heavy or tall man; if smaller, the heavy
w^eight will gall and be carried uncomfortably,
from its not being properly distributed along the
horse's back ; and with a small saddle a tall man
must sit so far on the hinder part of it as to
crush, or rather wound, the loins, — by small I
mean short, that is, measured from the lower
corner of the cantle to the front, exclusive of the
pannel.

If a novice should fancy there is anything
knowing-looking in a small saddle, he is wrong
there, to begin with, — for nothing can be knowing
that is contrary to sense and reason ; and if, to
oppose my assertion that small saddles hurt horses,
he may say racehorses are ridden in such, the
answer is ready, — they are obliged to be ridden in
such to save weight. But racing saddles are made
as long as they possibly can be made, in pro])ortion
to their weight, and in that proportion are much
longer than hunting saddles ; and though jockeys

110 PKACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

are forced to ride on very small saddles, they
much prefer riding on larger when the weight
will allow it. Independently of this, jockeys are,
on an average, little more than as many minutes
on their horse as a hunting man is hours on his ;
but beyond all this, racehorses' backs are often a
good deal chafed, — sometimes very much so during
the racing season, short as is the time they carry
a racing saddle.

Some saddlers are famous for giving a roomy
and easy seat to the rider on the saddles they
make, others quite the reverse, though their sad-
dles are quite as heavy as the well-proportioned
one, and are only fit to send to a West India
planter to ride on about his sugar plantations,
mounted on a mule.

I will give the reader a hint, by attending to
which he will derive considerable advantage ; (it
is on a trifling difference in the lower flap of a
saddle, yet one I never saw attended to by the
best judges in such matters ;) it is this : —

I think it must be quite clear that, supposing
two men — one five feet three, and another five
feet eleven — were both well proportioned, were
both to get into their saddles, the leg of the tall man
must come lower down on the flap of the saddle
than that of the short one. Supposing these
were each to order a saddle of an eminent maker,
desirins: it to be about sixteen or seventeen

A SECRET WORTH KNOAVING. Ill

inches, and with its appendages to weigh twelve
or thirteen pounds, — about the usual weight of
a hunting saddle, — the lower flap of each would
be stuffed and made alike. What is the con-
sequence ? We should see the calf of the leg of
the short man touching — in fact, resting against
— the lower part of the saddle-flap, — and he gets
a firm hold by it ; but the same part of the leg of
the tall man coming still lower down, it is just
opposite to that part of the flap which is the
thinnest, and where, in fact, except before the leg,
there is no stuffing at all ; consequently, the same
part of his leg will be an inch away from that
part of the flap, and not rest on it like the other's
(if on occasion it is wanted to do so), to give an
additional grip of his horse, unless, indeed, he was
bow-lefifofed. A man with a large calf could get
this hold; but suppose, like me, he happens to be
one of "the lean kine," and what over-calf he
carries about with him is anywhere but on his
legs, he can only rely on his knees, in a general
way.

Now if my reader should happen to be one of
the spindle-shanked sort, if he will direct his
saddler to carry his flap stuffing down lower than
usual, it will be tantamount to having a calf to his
leg ; and as the stuffing of a saddle-flap is lighter
than the stuffing of a calf, we light-timbered
gentry must set the advantage our horse gains

112 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

against the loss we sustain by the absence of
handsome legs : however, bless the man who
first patronised trousers for dress ; no doubt he
was one of us.

Most persons prefer stirrups broad in the tread,
and I believe they are, to the greater proportion
of riders, the most comfortable ; but for my own
use, from habit, I prefer a narrow one ; and, again,
I like the feel of a light stirrup. They, like most
other things, have their advantages and the re-
verse. If a man wishes to have the old safety-
spring stirrups, they must, of course, be heavy ;
but spring bars have nearly exploded the spring
stirrup.

Habit has a vast influence on many trifles con-
nected with riding: for instance, I cannot ride
with any comfort with a thick sole to my boot, —
I never feel that I have any hold of my stirrup ;
I do really believe a man with a thick unyield-
ing sole does oftener lose his stirrup than the
man who uses thin ones.

Most stirrups are made with the eye that takes
the stirrup leather the segment of a circle. If a
man will have what the generality of persons use,
merely on that account, of course he can and will
do so ; but stirrups thus made are really objec-
tionable ; they bend the stirrup leather into their
own form ; and then supposing that from use it
stretches, — which, more or less, it will do, — the

STIRRUPS AND BUCKLES. 113

curvature cannot be got rid of, and they are diffi-
cult to alter as to length. The eye should be flat
at the top (barrel-eyed, as it is technically termed),
so as to let the leather bear evenly on it ; it can
then be easily lengthened or shortened, and it re-
tains its original flat form, and wears longer. They
also wear far better made the flesh side outwards,
and, I consider, look more workman-like. All
stirrup-leather buckles should be what is termed
double-barred ; not for the very unsportsman-like
practice of putting the end of the stirrup-leather
through the eye or interstice between the bars,
but because such buckles permit the leather to be
more easily altered, and, being in themselves
longer, the leather lies flatter beneath the upper
flap of the saddle.

114 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

CHAPTER VII.

MOUNTING THE HORSE. — ADVANCING. — USUAL BUT AB-
SURD HABITS. POSITION OF THE HANDS. POSITION OF

THE BODY. — COMMON ERRORS. RESULTS OF PRACTICE.

CROSS PURPOSES. HANDY AND UNHANDY HORSES.

INCLINING A HORSE TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT. TURNING

TO BIGHT OB LEFT. — SHYING AND STARTING.

Having made some observations on the circum-
stances likely to make or mar a horseman, on
habits that should be encouraged or avoided, on
the description of horse I consider best adapted to
ordinary road riding, and on such horse equipment
as I hold to be required for the same purpose, I
will suppose my reader furnished with what he
considers likely to please him ; and we will now
turn our attention to the using of them.

We will now suppose the reader about to mount
his horse. He might ask me the best way of
doing this, or might say, " How do you mount
your horse ? " This last question, if it was put,
would, odd as it may appear, be something of a
poser, and one I really could not answer in a

SAT surnciT. 115

satisfactory way ; for, so that I get between the
head and tail of the animal, I have, in fact, no pre-
scribed rule by which I effect the purpose. Nor
could I exactly say how I sit down on my chair.
I draw it towards me, or move towards it, make
some sort of a genuflexion, and find myself seated.
But my inability to answer the question as to my
way of getting on my horse is no loss to the
reader, as it matters nothing how I do so: but I
believe I can tell him what is of some consequence,
viz., the mode of doing so with convenience and
safety to himself.

There are three ways of mounting. The first is
the military one- The rider stands with his left
breast near his horse. After collecting his reins,
and getting them in his bridle-hand, he twists a
portion of the mane round his thumb, places the
stirrup on his foot with his right hand, which is
then placed on the cantle of the saddle ; he springs
up and stands nearly upright, resting on his one
leg in the stirrup ; the leg is then carried over, and
he seats himself, putting the stirrup on his right
foot with the right hand. This is all very well
and proper for the manege rider or the dragoon,
and for uniformity's sake must be observed by
every soldier ; but it possesses no absolute advan-
tages on all occasions, and may therefore be dis-
pensed with by the general rider when he finds it
convenient to do so.

I 2

116 PKACTICAL HOESEMANSHIP.

The next way is to place the right breast
nearest the horse, by which, to a certain degree,
the back of the rider will be towards .the animal's
tail. In this situation the reins must be held in
the right hand, and that placed on the saddle ; the
left puts the stirrup on the foot ; it then takes the
reins from the other hand. This done, it is placed
on the pommel or neck of the horse ; the right
hand is placed on the cantle ; and by giving the
body a swing round, and springing from the right
foot, the rider gets into the same situation, stand-
ing on his left in the stirrup, as he was in the first
manner of mounting ; then, by one swing you are
in your seat.

The third mode is certainly not secundum
artem, but that is of little consequence to one who
means to please himself in what he does ; and to
this there can be no objection, provided what he
is about does not produce danger or disadvantage
to him or to his horse, or incur ridicule from
others. And, indeed, the absence of studied man-
ner does away, in many things, with a certain
indication of the professor, that is quite unneces-
sary in a private individual ; bearing, however,
in mind, that the fundamental principle of the
right way of doing things, though not strictly ad-
hered to, must not be lost sight of.

The third way of mounting, then, is the most
simple, and certainly shows a man quite at his

MOUNTING. 117

ease as to getting on his horse. In doing this
he neither turns his back to the head or tail
of his horse, but, walking gently up to him, he
takes his reins easily up in his left hand, and
puts his foot in, or here I should rather say
on, the tread of his stirrup, just as he would on
the roller bolt of a carriage, if going to get on
its box. His breast being parallel with the side
of his horse, he accomplishes this easily, as
the stirrup generally so hangs as to offer itself
to the foot without being directed by the hand.
The foot thus placed, one hand, with the reins iu
it, is placed on the horse's mane, grasping a por-
tion of it; the other placed on the cantle, to
direct the body straight up, on the rider springing
from his right lesf. He then, as usual, throws
himself gently into his saddle.

And now, in mounting in any way, let me
mention one circumstance the rider must bear in
mind as a rule strictly to be observed ; — the
hands placed on the horse's neck or on the saddle
are merely to guide the body, but are not placed
there as a hold for the rider to pull himself up by ;
for a fidgetty horse would by no means approve
of his mane beins^ converted into a kind of tow-
rope to a sixteen-stone gentleman, or any gentle-
man; and a man hauling himself by the saddle
up the side of his horse, about as handily as I
should haul myself up the side of a vessel, would

I 3

118 PRACTICAL HOKSEMANSHIP.

have a much worse result than my fresh-water
mode of getting on deck ; for I should in no way
disarrange the deck, but he most probably would
his saddle ; and, should his horse be round in his
body, most certainly would do so. And if, from
the shape of the animal, such was not the result,
the saddle, pressing on the off side of the wither,
would pinch the horse and make him uneasy. The
mounting must be, with the least possible assist-
ance, wholly performed by the spring from the
foot resting on the ground.

Some one particular specimen of obesity may
say he cannot spring from his foot and instep.
In such case, I make no further remark than
mentioning one made by a maitre de danse to a
well-fed juvenile, the son of a friend of mine,
who, when in France, conceived, I suppose, that
the spirit of that saltant nation would be infused
into the heels of young hopeful by contact with the
soil. At a particular part of a lesson, perhaps some
entrechat, le maitre cried out, " Spring, sare !
spring ! " The young gentleman made the attempt
two or three times, with the agility of a young
sucking rhinoceros. *^I can't do it," said the
boy, — " I can't spring," ^' No spring, no springy
sare ! " cried le maitre, looking aghast, " then
what for de d — 1 you come learn de danse ? "

But not to allow the fat gentleman to remain
either in despair or on the pavement, I can

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC TOE. 119

safely recommend two things that will prevent
either catastrophe, — a high mounting block and
a low cob.

In mounting, and particularly in the last mode,
the rider must be on his guard, when putting his
foot on the stirrup, not to let the toe come in con-
tact with the brisket of his horse, as, in that
case, a ticklish one might give, or try to give,
his rider a grip ; and a timid or fidgetty one
would either go on or sidle away from him, —
neither of which are pleasant habits for a horse to
get into.

There are certain inconveniences that may
possibly occasionally occur from any mode of
mounting ; for instance, in mounting in the re-
gular military way, with your back nearly to
the horse's head, unless you hold your reins so
as to feel any tightening of the off rein, you might
get a nibble from a horse disposed to do so while
you were placing your foot in the stirrup; and
many horses would do this perhaps as much
from play as vice. And again, in mounting with
the back to the tail, the rider might get a kick
while his eye was off the horse's hind foot. But
though this certainly does sometimes happen from
a horse with so bad a propensity, fortunately
there is not one in a hundred that has it.

The only objection I could ever perceive to the
third mode would only refer to a short-armed

I 4

120 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

man. He might find some difficulty in keeping
his hands on his horse and saddle while putting
his foot on the stirrup; but for myself, being, I
suppose, distantly related to the long-armed tribe
of animals we see sometimes exhibited, I do not
experience this inconvenience. I do not recom-
mend its adoption, as it is a deviation from rule —
I only say I find it as good as any other.

All persons mount on the near side. This is,
like many other uniform practices, a very absurd
one. Certainly the sensible thing would be for a
man to learn to mount on either side with equal
facility, and the horse should be accustomed to
its being done.

We approach a horse in the stable, and, indeed,
every where else, on the near side. Why do we
do so ? From being aware that the animal, being
accustomed to our doing so, would perhaps be
alarmed, or kick at us, if we went up to him on
the other. Can anything show more the folly of
such uniform practice ?

When horses are standing in their stalls,
grooms oblige them to stand close to the oif
standing ; and if such grooms happen to be
second-rate ones, if they find a horse peaceably
enjoying his quiet on the near side of his stall, a
hit with the fork handle, or a cut on the near
thigh with a wet shammy, sends the astonished
animal across his stall, — where, with a snort and

USUAL BUT ABSUKD HABITS. 121

his ears erect, he turns round and looks at the
fool, wondering what is the matter. If a man
keeps horses for sale, it is all fair to make them
stand to show themselves to advantage, as such
horses have little else to do ; but if a horse is in
work, he has at least the right, when at rest, to
stand as best suits him.

We will now suppose the rider, a friend of
mine, to be mounted, let him have done this in
which way he may ; and, wanting a better, takes
me as his companion and temporary instructor.

Knowing that if I move my horse, his will
follow without any indication from the rider, I sit
still. The horses both stand side by side, — I on the
off one, ** Now," say I, " tighten your near rein a
little, and advance your hand just enough to give
your horse his head, that he may be sensible of the
movement, which probably he will understand
means go on ; if he does not do so, just press him
by your left leg, or heel if he requires it. This
brings his croup towards the pavement, and his
head towards the street ; no difficulty in that :
had we been on the other side of the street, the
movement must have been just the reverse."

" Now, tell me, do I hold my hand right ? "
** Before I look," replied I, " I need only say that
walking quietly, as we are, in a fair open space, it
matters little how you hold it, provided it be not
in such a position as you never see a horseman

122 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

place his, and the less appearance of study there Is
in it, the better and easier it looks ; but now let
us look at you." " Am I right ? " says my friend.
" Yes, right enough for a dragoon, but too right
for a pupil of the author of mere * Practical Horse-
manship.' Why all that stiffness in the position of
your hand ? You look as if you had a perpendicular
iron rising from the pommel of your saddle, and had
it in your grasp ; and you hold the knuckle of your
thumb as directly facing the sky as if you were
holding a sundial on it, and were catching the
sun's rays. Turn your thumb more down, your
knuckles, as it were, nearly across your horse,
which you will find to be about the position your
arm held easily will direct it. And now for the
other arm. Do not let it hano* straio;ht down as if
you had lost it, and it was only your sleeve
dangling there ; nor hold your stick at full length,
hanging downwards like a sword in its scabbard,
and your hand confined by the hilt : hold it a few
inches from the hook, easily, and let your arm,
in an unstudied and easy bent position, rest on
your thigh. Your horse is a free one ; were he not
so, you should hold your stick nearer the crook
with the small end uppermost, ready to threaten
or hit your nag if he wants it. Come, now you
sit a little more as if you were used to it, and, I
should think, more at your ease also."

'' Well," says my friend, laughing, " as you

ABC. 123

seem rather difficult to please, I suppose I carry
my body wrong." " Notwithstanding what you
say about my being difficult to please," said I, " I
can only tell you, that, if you would be as easily
seated as I am easily pleased, you would really sit
much better than you do. You don't sit bolt
upright on your chair, what on earth makes you
do so on your horse ? " " Why," says my friend,
" I have read treatises on Horsemanship that direct
you to do so, and I have seen prints representing
the same thing." *^ So you have," replied I, —
" treatises on military and manege riding, — but
perhaps you have not seen one on ordinary road
riding; and as a set-off to your prints (and I
guess the class that have caught your eye), did you
ever look at any of Alkin's spirited and truly
characteristic sketches ? If you have, I will answer
for it you saw no bolt upright seats there ; or if
you ever carefully looked at the representations of
the Egyptians on their horses, you would see no
stiffness in them. Their seat is ease and elegance
combined ; not quite an advantageous one for a
hunter, I admit, but the beau ideal of an elegant
horseman. Many have, doubtless, also said that
the rider is to look straight between his horse's
ears ; but this is far more requisite for a female
than a male rider, in order to teach the former a
difficult part of their riding, namely, sitting on the
middle of their saddle. But a man, being equally

124 PKACTICAL HORSE .MAIS^SH IP.

poised by his legs, does not require so much at-
tention to this, for he must be a most lop-sided
being indeed if he cannot balance his body. But
to show that sitting stiffly upright has nothing to
do with this, we will look at an artiste on the
tight rope. He is taught to keep his eye fixed be-
tween the cross that supports his rope — and well
may a man want to do this with only about two
inches' diameter to stand on. But necessary as it
is to him to preserve a perfect equilibrium, we do
not see his body stiff; on the contrary, it yields
and bends in various graceful positions : in fact, if
he held himself stiffly, he would fall. And the body
being absolutely straight, does not place the
weight one atom more in the proper place on the
saddle, than of the man who sits in an easy and
somewhat curved position ; in fact, if the body is
held stiff, it feels every motion of the horse,
whereas by yielding to it, as we do to the motion
of a vessel, our bodies actually retain their real
perpendicularity more than by keeping them up-
right. When a horse is standing still, or v/alking,
or trotting on perfectly level ground, the body
should certainly be as near as may be perpen-
dicular, that is, so far as lateral inclination goes;
but sitting with the body quite upright, from the
absence of any flexion of the back, has no ad-
vantage in it to the horse, and many disadvantages
to the rider, independent of its want of ease, both

TIGHT EOPES AND STIFF SEATS. 125

in look and reality. If a man has a firm seat, and
has his saddle so made, and so sits on it, as that his
weight rests nearly in its centre, his body will not
be far from its proper equilibrium, without the
rider taking, or showing that he is taking, any
pains to keep it there. If a lady sits handsomely
on her horse, she will, without taking any trouble
to do so, sit in the proper place on her saddle ; and
if she sits in that place, she will, more or less, in
accordance with the natural grace of her person,
sit well and gracefully on her horse. I am aware
there are ladies who sit remarkably well on their
horses, but not gracefully ; but this arises from their
not being graceful women anywhere. So are
many men good, but not graceful horsemen. But
on one thing you may rely, men who look stiff
Tind ride stiff on their horse are very rarely good
horsemen, and never graceful ones ; and what is
worse, their appearance carries with it a surmise
that they are not as good horsemen as they perhaps
are.

"Come," said my good-humoured companion,
seeing me smile as we went along ; " out with it, —
what am I doing wrong now ? " " You are really
doing nothing absolutely wrong, — you are only
trying to do something." " How do you know
that ? " replies my friend. " I know it," said I,
" by the motion of your hand." " Well, come
now, do tell me what you think I was at."

126 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

" Why," said I, " you were trying to bring your
horse closer up to me, and you could not, — that's
all." "Well," said my friend, "that's true
enough ; but why would he not do as I wished
him ? " " Simply because you did that which was
calculated to make him do what was the reverse
of your wish. This I will easily explain; you will
then at once see why your horse did not do what
you wished him. If a bit is of any use in a
horse's mouth, it is to control, assist, and guide
him, as the case may require. In guiding him, a
pressure on the off side of the mouth inclines him
to the right, and pressure on the near side to the
left ; you know this, and yet, acting in direct op-
position to such principle taught you and your
horse, you expect him to understand what you
want him to do." " Why ! " cried my friend, " I
wanted him to go to the right, and I passed my
hand to that side." " By w^hich, if he acted in
accordance with what he had been taught, he
would have turned to the left ; but, as it happened,
he kept straight on. But I will make you see this
in a very few words. You have your reins in one
hand and very properly of an equal length ; you
pass your hand towards the right, — this, as you will
see immediately, not only loosens the bearing you
had on the right side of his mouth, but, worse than
that, creates an additional bearing on the left ; so
you see, your horse w^ould have actually rebelled

COMMON ERRORS. 127

against the indication of the bit had he obeyed
your wishes. But that you may not find fault with
yourself, or be surprised if you see other horses
obey the same motion you made to yours, I will
tell you how this would occur. Your horse is only
four years old, and has not been ridden much since
he was very well broke : consequently, the lessons
of the breaker are fresh in his memory, — he obeys
the bit. Now, it is a common practice with forty-
nine men in fifty to do just what you did ; so that
in course of time horses learn to obey the pressure
of the rein on either side of the neck, and turn
from that, though the indication of the bit in
their mouths has a direct opposite tendency ; and
they are taught to do this by the folly and in-
justice of their riders in this way. A man wishes
his horse to turn to the right ; he does what you
did, — presses his hand to the right. If the horse is
nicely-mouthed, he obeys, as he supposes, the
wishes of the rider, and turns towards the left :
what is the reward of his docility ? a stripe on the
left shoulder or on his nose, a cram with the spurs,
and then a forcible .pull to the right ; and when
wanted to turn to the left, if he does not obey a
false indication, he is punished in the same way, —
in fact, is beat into disobeying that which a colt-
breaker has been weeks, or perhaps months, in
perfecting him in, namely, — 'strict and immediate
attention to the rider's hand on the bit. Practice

128 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

will teach a horse anything his attributes render
it possible for him to do. I could shortly teach a
horse to turn to the right if I pressed one hand on
his left hip, or to go to the left if I pressed the
right one ; it would only be following the pressure
on the hip by a pull at the rein. This done many
times a day, would in a short time make him turn
on the hip being pressed before we pulled the rein.

" We have no more right to expect a horse to
obey a mere pressure on his neck till he is taught
to know its import, than w^e should have a pressure
on his hip ; yet this is not only expected to be
understood by the horse, but to be obeyed in de-
fiance of all he has been taught to the contrary."

To turn a horse to the right or left readily,
with the rider's reins in one hand, he must be
very well bitted and very handy, unless he has
some inducement to do so of his own accord. If
he has a fine mouth, and is going well up to
his bit at the time, turning the wrist more down-
wards, and bringing the hand nearer to the body,
and at the same time more to the left than it
was held in going straight forward, will readily
turn such a horse to the right, particularly if
aided by the right heel touching him as far back
towards his stifle as convenient at the same time,
the latter act causing him to bring his croup to
the near side. In order to go to the left, the
wrist is turned the reverse way, so as to show the

RESULTS OF PRACTICE. 120

nails of the hand to the rider, and the left rein
pressed by the finger next it, bringing the whole
hand a little to the right, and the left heel used,
the horse will come to the left ; but in all such
cases, unless a horse is very handy, a rein should
be taken in each hand, and then the thing is done
to a certainty, — of course the shortness of the turn
depending on the pressure used on the horse's
mouth.

On any plain and level surface you may turn
your horse in his walk, at any moment, as short as
in reason you please ; but as you may not always
have the advantage of being so situated, there are
circumstances under which a horse would very
properly, if he was a sensible one, refuse to obey
your reins and heel at the precise moment ; — for
instance, whether a horse is walking, trotting, can-
tering, or galloping, there must necessarily ever be
a leading leg. Leading is, perhaps, best applied
to the canter and the gallop ; so in the walk and
trot we will substitute advancing for leading leg.
That such is necessary to easy or useful pro-
gression must be clear to any one who has seen a
donkey with his fore-legs manacled. The ridiculous
efforts the animal makes in lifting up both legs
together, and putting them both down, perhaps a
few inches beyond the place they were lifted from,
shows the advantage of a leading leg : in such case

K

130 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

there is none — consequently there is compara-
tively no progression.

Were we to apply the term leading leg to the
walk or trot, it might, and indeed would, indicate
these paces to be performed as a youngster gets
up stairs, — by stumping up them with always
one leg in advance ; but as the horse moves his
legs equally and alternately in his walk and trot,
one or other is of course the advancing one, which
renders that term the proper one in these paces.

We will suppose the reader to be riding down
a country lane, with a very deep cart rut on each
side of him. He sees something coming. He wishes
to cross the rut, we will say, to the left, to give the
object its right side of the road to pass. If at the
moment he wishes his horse to cross that rut he
happens to be advancing the right leg, he can no
more cross it at that precise moment than he can
fly ; he must wait till he sets his right foot on the
ground. He then raises his left to advance it. He
can now place that where he pleases, provided it be
forwards, backwards, or sideways to the left. He
now obeys the rider's wish, and steps over the rut
safely, which he could not have effected before ;
yet for this trivial and sensible delay, an ignorant
rider will often give him a stroke of the whip, or
one or both spurs, — a proper return, truly, for
havino; more sense than the animal on him.

It is a very common thing to see an awkward

CROSS PURPOSES. 131

fellow, if running a horse in hand, get his foot or
heel trod on in turning round. He looks up at
the horse as if he could annihilate him, and but
for the master being present would most probably
give the horse a blow, venting something against
the horse's " awkward eyes " for treading on him.
Now the horse's awkwardness had no more to do
jvith it than the eyes. I always laugh when I
see a lout come hopping back after, not such a
contretemps, but a contrepas. It does him good.
Having felt the effect, I explain to him the cause,
which saves him a recurrence of it in future, and
saves the horse probably a broom-stick as soon as
the fellow gets him out of sight. The reason the
horse trod on the man was this, he pulled him
sharp round just as the horse was placing his near
foot on the ground; feeling the pull and twist given
him, the horse puts his foot on the ground many
inches nearer the left than he would have done,
and claps it on the man's toes or heel as either
may be in the way : had he gently turned him on
his lifting up the near foot, he would have put it
in advance of that of the man's, and they would
have turned quietly together.

We also frequently see a little confusion in a
horse being turned into a stable-door that he has
approached with his side towards it. This con-
fusion arises from the same cause as the first cir-
cumstance : the man wants the horse to turn in

K 2

132 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

quickly to the left, while he is advancing the right
leg, or vice versa, which he cannot do ; and in his
endeavours to make the animal perform an impos-
sibility, he throws him into confusion, and then
correction, or the fear of it, makes the thing
worse.

It is true, we often see a horse in a canter turn
a corner quickly to the left when leading with
the right leg. If he has been practised to do this,
is very handy and quick on his legs, he can do it
by changing the leading leg just as he makes his
turn ; but a rider should be very certain of his
horse before he trusts him ; for should he not do
this, but attempt to turn by crossing the leading
leg over the supporting one, he will probably come
on his head or side. All horses should be prac-
tised to change their leg handily when neces-
sary. I had a mare that by the hand and heel
I could make change her leg in going straight
on in a canter at any moment. She would
canter in a figure of eight, in a sheep-fold, as
long as you liked, and change her leg at every
proper turn without any signal from the rider ;
but such instances are not common, particularly
in horses that have never been in a riding-
school, as was the case with this mare. I bought
her with hounds, my wife rode her with hounds,
and I sold her with hounds ; and though it has
nothing to do with the subject in hand, I will

HANDY AND UNHANDY HORSES. 133

mention a peculiarity about her that induced me
to part with her. The moment that flies began
to appear, and till they disappeared, it was impos-
sible to ride her in any comfort, and from hearing
them buzz, or feeling one on her in the stable,
she would kick and sweat by the hour together.

Although the horse can turn thus readily in a
canter, if he changes his leg, I will show the
reader why he cannot, or at least will not, do the
same in a walk or trot. Most persons, in walking
v/ith another, have often found themselves doing
so uncomfortably, from not stepping with their
companion, or he with them ; and we often see
persons making most futile attempts to get right.
They, like the horse in turning, should change the
advancing leg ; till they do they never can get
right. The " change step " is very simple when
once learned, but very perplexing till it is. Now
we do teach horses to change, in cantering, but
do not find it requisite to teach them the same
thing while using other paces ; in fact, it would
take so long a time to teach them to do it, that it
would be time thrown away, when the least atten-
tion on the part of the rider renders it unnecessary.
As so many men do not know how to readily
chansje their advancins: lesf in a walk, how can we
expect a horse to do it ? and unless he does, he
cannot possibly, at all times, turn short, either
right or left, in a walk or trot.

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134 PllACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

It strikes me that some authors of instructions
on different pursuits are a little too prone to ex-
pect their mere ipse dixit to be taken by the
reader for the correctness of what is laid before
him. They tell him he should or should not
do a certain thing ; this is merely laying down
a rule, is all right enough, and probably it would
be judicious in the reader to attend to it, but I
consider he is fully entitled to be told why such
rule is to be observed. When even this is done,
it usually merely tells him (supposing the book
to be on Horsemanship), that if he does or does
not do such a thing, he will prevent his horse
doing, or cause him to do so or so. Here, again,
it would seem the author expects his ipse dixit
to be taken, as in the first place. This is more
than I think should be expected. If a rider is
told the consequence of any procedure on his
part, he ought to be shown, to the best of the
author's ability, why such consequence must, or
is likely to occur ; unless such is done the author
is dictating to, not advising his reader. If an
author can in plain and familiar language express,
or by analogous circumstances show, fair reasons,
on w^hich he offers his advice and gives his opinions,
he will probably challenge more or less the atten-
tion of his reader ; if, therefore, I sometimes, by
way of analogical corroboration, bring forward
circumstances, pursuits, and objects of quite a

HINTS TO AUTHORS. 135

different character from the matter in hand, I
do it in the hope of rendering that matter more
familiar to my reader, whose good judgment will
then, by comparison, enable him to judge how far
I am correct or not.

"I beg your pardon, my dear fellow ; but upon
my word I could not help it," said my friend, his
horse coming against mine with the force of a
moderate-sized vessel against the woodwork of a
landing-pier. " Help it," said I laughing ; " my
knee tells me it was quite enough without further
help from you ; and that you could not stop it,
when once begun, I am quite aware ; but you
might easily have prevented it taking place at all.
I saw your horse was preparing to shy, so said
nothing to you, for you might have thought I
was mistaken in feeling certain and saying he
would do so. Your horse did just what horses
would do if preparing to start or shy : he pricked
his ears forwards, and, looking towards a particu-
lar object, he raised his head and stiffened his neck ;
he also somewhat altered his walk — from an easy,
steady, smooth step, he stepped lighter in a miti-
gated sort of march. Perhaps you merely thought
he was carrying himself particularly handsomely
at that moment ; when the fact was, he was pre-
paring himself to shy, start, or bolt, as his fears
or inclination might urge him. But independ-

136 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

ently of this, a barrow decorated with children's
flags flying is not met at every turn ; and for your
own safety take this as a rule- — unless you are on
a horse that you are quite certain will not start
at any thing ever seen in a street, — whenever
you see any thing out of the common way com-
ing or overtaking you, get your horse in hand, if
he was not so before, and watch his motions ; if, on
any thing coming towards you on the right, you
find he is getting alarmed, pull his head gently
towards the hedge, houses, or whatever is on your
left, so as to let the object pass almost without
his seeing it. Do this the moment you perceive
his attention is fixed on the object, and before he
becomes actually alarmed by it ; for in the latter
case he will either bolt round with you, or will be
so terrified by it, that all hopes of diverting his
attention from it are at an end ; whereas, by be-
ginning in time, by speaking to him, bearing on
his mouth so as to turn his head, and pressing
him on the same side you pull him to with your
leg or heel, you at least divide his attention ; and
by so doing and encouraging him you prevent
serious alarm taking place. Had you done this,"
said I to my friend, **when you saw the cargo of
flags catching your horse's attention, you would
have prevented his being quite alarmed, yourself
all but capsized, and I nearly knocked into the
kennel."

PREVENTION. 137

" If an object approaches from behind, act the
same as if it was meeting you. Your horse does
not see it till it is nearly by his side, but he hears
it coming ; the noise attracts his attention. Your
first object then is as far as possible to attract
that attention from it ; and as any movement of
the hand of the rider that actuates the bit is like
^attention' to the soldier, so it tells the horse
he must prepare to do something ; and this attracts
his attention first ; and the turning his head away
from that which, if he hears approaching, will
alarm him, prevents that alarm taking place, or,
at all events, greatly diminishes it."

I have, in what I have said, supposed the rider
to be in a fairly open space, such as a street or
road of usual width, where the only usual effect
of his horse's shying or starting is a sudden un-
pleasant movement to the rider ; but there are
situations where a horse doing such things really
places the rider in very great peril. For instance : —
We will suppose a person to be riding in a narrow
road on a horse he knows to be addicted to shying.
If he sees any carriage coming at a slow pace, there
is no danger to be apprehended ; for if the driver
possesses manners beyond those of a bear, he
will, on seeing how matters stand, stop his vehicle.
Supposing this to be done, the rider has only to
encourage his horse ; at the same time, soothingly
urge him up to the side of the carriage ; and when

138 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

there, if it can be done, let the rider stop him for
a moment, which will afford the double advantage
of giving him opportunity to acknowledge the
courtesy of the driver, and will show the horse
that he sustains neither hurt nor inconvenience by
his vicinity to the object of his alarm. Such an
occurrence, if accompanied by great encourage-
ment on the part of the rider to his horse, would
be so advantageous a lesson to him, that its good
effects would be perceived, on the recurrence of a
similar case, by the decreased alarm of the animal.
But we will now suppose the person placed in
a very different situation in the same narrow lane,
for a carriage turns a corner, and is within fifty
yards of him, before rider or driver see each other.
This is a most critical situation, and one really
fraught with absolute peril to the rider, and he
has not half a minute to decide on how to act.
If he has reason to suppose his horse will become
ungovernable by the rein, on coming close to
the vehicle, or rather on that coming close to
him, the risk would be too great to trust to the
driver's pulling up, — for, in fact, he might not
be able to do so in time to prevent an accident.
In such a case, I beg to remind my reader of a
saying he has often heard, — " in flight there is
safety." This may not sound very heroic, perhaps;
but however brave a man may be, or however
properly cool when shot are flying about his ears.

A CRITICAL SITUATION. 139

if he sees a cannon-ball coming, he shows himself
a fool instead of a hero, if he stands in its way ;
and if he jumps up, bobs aside, or ducks to avoid
it, he is no worse soldier. He must not run away ;
but if he coolly marches on, he has done all that
his honour or duty demands, though I have heard
(but not seen) some fire-eaters, as soldiers, say
they would act more heroically.

But as in such a case as I suppose to occur to
my rider he has his safety, and not honour, to con-
sult, I do advise him to run away, or rather cause
himself to be carried away, and to do so in this
manner. He finds, or thinks, the carriage cannot
stop in time, and knows his horse will not go by
it, but would turn round, and he and his rider get
crushed by his doing so. Do not hesitate a second,
nor give your horse the privilege of starting;
wheel him round before he does so, and canter
back to some place in the road where it is wide
enough for the vehicle to go by without alarming
your horse. He will not know why he is turned
back ; and as such a case might not recur in six
months, there is no fear that he would become
accustomed to turn back on seeino; a carrias^e. He
would very shortly learn to do so if permitted to
do it of his own accord ; but doing it by command
of the rider on an emergency would no more
bring on such habit, than if the being turned
round at such a moment had arisen from the rider

140 PRACTICAL HORSEHAIR SHIP.

just recollecting he had left something behind him,
or had other reasons for turning suddenly back.
In all our transactions with horses, it is the not
permitting them to do things by the impulse of
their own will that keeps them in subjection and
prevents rebellion ; and when this cannot be done,
or it would be injudicious that it should be done
by force, we must have recourse to stratagem, and
deceive them into the conviction that they do
nothing against our will ; thus, if we find, or think
we shall not be able to prevent a horse doing a
something we see he is inclined to do, by forcibly
making him do what he intended, he then in fact
does so as an act of obedience, and not of rebellion.

There is another way in which a man may
escape such a collision as the going forward would
bring about, in such a situation as I have sup-
posed a rider to be. If the fence on either side
of the lane is a fair one, and you know your horse
will not refuse, put his head at it, clap the spurs
to him, and leave the whole lane to the carriage.
Even should the fence be an awkward one, a roll
over is better than being crushed by a carriage.
But let me remind my reader he must, before he
attempts this, be quite certain there is no baulk
in his horse, which in such a case is a matter of
much greater importance than his jumping safely^
— an instance of which I will mention : —

I was, about seven years since, placed in a

DECEIVING THE DECEIVEK. 141

similar situation to the one I suppose my rider to
be in, when riding up a very narrow lane that
leads to the Bar Beacon in Warwickshire. I
was on a horse particularly shy of carriages. But
here, had he not been so, the danger would have
been the same; for in the centre of the lane I
saw a large cart coming, with a horse, galloping
and kicking, without a driver. To hesitate was
probably death. My horse was a particularly fine
timber jumper, and would refuse nothing his head
was put to. A gate was close to me. I put him
at it ; but being a high one, the beat to it up hill,
and very close to us, he could not quite clear it,
but caught the top bar, I suppose, with his stifle :
we rolled over into a field, and right glad I was
to find myself " anyhow " out of the lane. —
Mem. " I did not jump the gate back."

But we will suppose a man to be in a still
worse situation, where there is no fence that can
be jumped, gate that can be rolled over, and that
he has not time to turn round, and get away.
Such a situation is perhaps as truly dangerous a
one as a rider can well be placed in, and is one
where strong nerve, a strong hand, perfect cool-
ness, and a knowledge of the effect of different
acts of the rider on his horse alone can save him.

In all ordinary cases of passing, or being passed,
by any object that alarms a horse, I have recom-
mended the rider, as a general rule, to keep his

142 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

horse's head, and of course, in doing so, his eyes
away from it ; but we now come to a case where
a diametrically opposite act must be adopted (for
desperate cases call for desperate acts), that would
be quite improper on other occasions.

We will suppose in a lane where there is just
room enough for a carriage to pass a horse and
his rider, and no more, that a turn in the road
and the pace the vehicle comes at (say a carriage)
brings the pole pieces level with the horse's
shoulder before it can be avoided. There is no
hoping that by turning his sight from an object
so close he can be prevented seeing or being
alarmed by it. He begins plunging, and his first
impulse will be to turn round, which, in nine cases
in ten, he attempts to do by turning away from
the carriage. If permitted to do this, as he turns
he is sure to be caught by it, and, as it were,
doubled up, and crushed between the bank, wall,
paling, or whatever fences in the lane, and the
carriage. To prevent this, pull his head strongly
up to the object, and clap your heel or spur, as he
may require, to him on the same side. This sends
his croup away from the object, and as much
towards the fence to your left as the space will
admit of; probably, feeling the heel or spur, he
will rush on, — so much the better, provided you
keep his head well to the right, for he will thus
pass it in safety. If he does not do this, but re-

A DESPERATE CASE. 143

mams dancing or plunging, it will not matter, for
so long as you keep his head well turned towards
it, that will keep your knee and his quarters out of
danger ; and if the space is not sufficient to allow
him to get much on the oblique, the spur to his
right side, and the rein firmly held on that side
also, will, at all events, keep him straight, which
will be sufficient to prevent contact with the
passing vehicle. But if the rider was to relax his
hold of the right rein even for a second, the horse
would bolt round to the left to a certainty, and
then of course the collision would be awful.

The inexperienced rider might fear that by
thus strongly pulling his horse towards the car-
riage he might cause him to bring his head or
shoulder in contact with it : no fear of that, for
he will pull as hard to the left to get away from
it as the rider can to keep him up to it ; and
although he has not reasoning powers enough to
reflect that by turning he must bring his croup
against the carriage, he has quite sense enough to
keep his head and shoulder far enough away from
it to prevent either being struck. Such a situa-
tion is, no doubt, most critical, so is the mode of
getting out of it ; but it is the only one, or, at
least, the only one I know of, and is a situation
in which I have been often placed, and sometimes
when on horses not to be trusted on such occa-
sions ; yet having escaped unhurt, I feel justified

144 PRACTICAL HOnSEMANSHIP.

in recommending to my readers what got me out
of such scrapes.

To meet all contingencies, we will suppose that
which very rarely indeed is the case. The horse
is inclined to bolt round to the right, which he
might attempt if not as yet quite alongside the
coming vehicle. In such case the rider has only
to prevent his doing so by steadily holding him
hard with the left rein ; but in this case he need
not touch him with his right heel, for the horse,
by attempting to turn to the right, will bring his
croup quite sufficiently towards the left hand
fence ; so that, what between his keeping his croup
in that direction, in his endeavours to turn to the
right, and the rider pulling his fore parts to the
left, he will, on the whole, be pretty near straight,
which is all that is necessary.

Supposing a carriage to overtake the rider in a
similar situation : if he has notice of its approach,
his best plan is to go on in advance till he comes
to some place where it can pass with safety to
himself; if, however, it should get alongside him,
he must do just the same as if he had met it; that
is, keep his horse from turning round or throwing
himself obliquely with his croup towards the
passing object; so long as he can keep him straight,
there is little chance of contact or danger.

In doing these things, and, in fact, most things,
with a horse, the great nicety is knowing the

TOO NEAR TO BE PLEASANT. 145

mouth and temperament of the animal, so as to
regulate the hand and heel accordingly. Too
rude a pull on a tender-mouthed one will confuse
him, and prevent his acting as the rider wishes ;
and a too slight indication of the bit would be
totally unheeded by a heavy-mouthed one. And
so it is as regards the heel, — a pressure of the leg
is sufficient for many horses ; others will bear a
kick with the heel ; while, again, nothing but the
rowel up to the head of the spur will rouse others
to immediate and sudden exertion ; and these in-
dications and stimulants being sufficiently applied,
but not overdone, show the horseman and insure
his safety.

146 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

CHAPTER Vm.

BLUNDERING ON DARNED ROADS. ON STUMBLING. ITS

CAUSES — AND CURES. KEEPING A HORSE IN HAND.

HORSES ADDICTED TO TRIPPING. — COURSE TO BE

ADOPTED. CURIOUS ANALOGIES. PREVENTION BETTER

THAN CURE. A FEW LESSONS IN ROTTEN ROW. DIF-
FERENCE BETWEEN BLUNDERING AND TRIPPING ILLUS-
TRATED.

There is a mode of keeping our present roads
in order, that I have heard termed *^ darning "
them ; this is, if a part is seen somewhat lower
than the general surface, the unbroken pieces of
granite are got up to it, and there left to be
crushed by the wheels of carriages passing over
them. The under stratum of ground is left hard;
so these three, four, or five cornered pieces of
stone are left to be trodden on by the first or any
horse that is obliged to go over them. The hard-
ness of the under surface prevents their sinking
with any weight on them, so a horse might, in
fact, as well tread on an iron peg fixed and left
an inch or two high. Let the rider, above all
abominations as to ground, avoid a piece that has
been thus darned ; for unless the sole of his horse's
foot is as hard as the granite itself, the chances
are, if he is not exceedingly on the alert and
quick on his legs, that he comes on his nose,

147

though on all other occasions as safe as a cat on a
carpet. Not to wince from the pain the pressure
on such a surface occasions is impossible ; and if
after doing so he keeps on his legs, all the credit
he gets is being accused of having made a stumble,
and perhaps a blow is the reward he gets for his
activity in not, as a dull horse would have done,
coming down headlong.

If a portion of road is covered by cart-load upon
cart-load of broken granite, perhaps six inches
deep, this may be traversed by a sound horse
with impunity, for the mass will yield with his
weight. He will step on it as they say " a cat "
does " on a hot griddle ; " but his stepping short
does not arise from his feet being actually bruised,
but to insure his safety on an unequal and un-
steady surface. It would injure a horse's feet less
to gallop him a mile on such a bed of accumulated
stones, than it would to walk him a quarter of the
distance where the stones lay singly on a hard
under stratum.

I was led into making the foregoing remarks
from being aware that as many accidents happen
to inexperienced horsemen from not knowing
where danger lies in things with which their
horse has nothing to do, as from the different acts
of the animal or themselves; and one of these
darned roads led, the next time my friend and I
rode out together, to a conversation on stumbling.

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148 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

On his horse making a false step, he gave him
a stroke with his stick, and in a somewhat sten-
torian voice bid him "hold up." Whether my
friend did this to show how resolute a horseman
he had become, and his proficiency in stable terms,
or thought that what he did would prevent his
horse wincing when hurt, I know not ; but it set
him curvetting about in a way that I could plainly
see would insure his not being struck while he
continued doing so, for my friend had occasion
for all the hands he had for his bridle, and would
have wanted a third if he wished to strike his
horse.

" Pray," said I, " do you hold a stripe on the
shoulder to be a sovereign preventive to a horse
wincing when hurt ? " " Certainly not," replied
my friend ; " but my horse was not hurt ; he made
a stumble, and I hit him to make him more
careful in future." '^ Come," said I, " we will
investigate this a little. In the first place, how
do you know he was not hurt ? Did you see
what occasioned his making, not what you call
a stumble, not even a false step, but_ merely an
unequal one ? Pray did you ever with your bare
foot tread on a pin or nail?" "Yes, indeed I
have," replied my friend. " And, I dare say,"
said I, " were glad enough to catch your foot up
and clap the other down. Now, your horse did
just the same thing; he trod on a sharp stone, and

MISAPPLIED CORRECTION. 149

very cleverly (instead of rolling down, which a
sluggish, heavy brute would have done) he
quickly brought his other foot to his support; and
for doing this you have corrected him, the chief
effect of which is that it is lesson the first towards
teaching him, when the next time he makes a
failing step, which he cannot avoid, to turn his
attention to the fear of being beat, instead of
to the saving himself and perhaps you a fall.
Striking a horse for making a false step, stumble,
or blunder is, as you will see on reflection, one
of the inost absurd acts a rider can be guilty of,
can possibly do no good, and is certain to do
harm. It is ias useless as it would be for a man to
dodge after he hears the report of a gun pointed
at him ; if he is unhurt, he need not move, — if
wounded, the mischief was done before he heard
the report : so with respect to a horse stumbling,
— he is either on his nose or all right again before
the rider can hit him. But suppose he was not,
hittino; him would distract his attention from re-
covering himself, and induce him, instead of
throwing up his fore parts, to blunder forwards
too far to save himself."

Let the rider call to his reflection the causes of
stumbling ; he will then judge how far correc-
tion will remedy these. The usual causes are
infirmity, peculiar formation, gait, indolence, and
bad roads.

L 3

150 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

If he blunders from weakness or infirmity, a
blow with the stick will not render the infirmity
less. Keeping such a horse a little on his mettle
will in many cases make him go safely to a certain
extent, — that is, it may, by preventing him
dwelling long on either weak limb, also prevent
it giving way under the weight imposed on it ;
but hitting him when it has so given way, as to
cause a stumble, cannot recall the stumble, but
will very probably increase its effects.

If blundering arises from formation, no stick
or spurs, apply them when you will, can alter
that ; and if from formation the horse cannot put
his foot fairly on the ground, blunder he will and
must ; he cannot help it, — so how can correction
do any good in this case ?

When arising from gait, correction with the
whip or stick, when he stumbles, will not alter
gait ; but the hands, with the whip and spurs as
aids, may, if properly used, when he is 7iot
stumbling. Correcting the cause may do a great
deal of good ; but correcting, or rather punishing,
the animal will not prevent or remedy the effect,
which is stumbling ; therefore can do none.

Should he blunder from sheer indolence, correct
the indolence as much as you please. If he will
not be roused to energy, or, at all events, to quick
motions, from a switch, lay a tough ash plant
about him ; and if a touch of the spurs will not

APPLYING A REMEDY TO THE CAUSE. 151

stimulate, give him a pair of good new rowels,
and they will, by making so lazy a brute move
more quickly, make him move more safely. We
often find unsafe horses tolerably the reverse
in their fast paces. Why is this ? If v^e make
a lazy horse trot three miles in twelve or fifteen
minutes he must move his legs quickly ; this
causes such horses going more safely in fiist paces :
if they would also step quickly in their slower
paces, they would be safe in them. If a horse
will walk cheerfully four miles and a half an
hour, we generally find him as safe in a walk as
a trot. The lazy horse has not energy enough to
do this, nor are pains enough taken with him in
his walk to make him do it; he must when
the whip and spurs force him into a fast trot.
But no longer pipe no longer dance ; and as these
cease so soon as he is allowed to walk, all his
energy ceases also, and then he blunders again, —
and so he will as long as he is a horse.

Bad roads will make the safest horse trip
occasionally, perhaps frequently; and in such
cases riders are apt to do what renders the
matter worse. They hold their horse tight in
hand ; the effect of which is, it prevents all
freedom to his action, and the making use of
that instinct nature has endowed him with in
picking his way with safety. It is a very common
thing to see a horse blunder into a rut when his

L 4

152 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

rider makes him cross it at an injudicious moment;
but if a horse voluntarily crosses it, I would back
him at a hundred to one that he does it safely.
If, from there being no place where he can place
his foot securely down, the horse falters in doing
it, what good can result from tugging at the
mouth of the animal because the foot-hold is bad ?
and if he has not sense enough to put his feet on
safe ground, if there is any, holding his head tight
will not put sense in it ; and striking him for
tripping on such occasions is worse still, for that
will neither mend the roads nor give him instinct,
though it may frighten what little he has out of
him.

There is yet another and very frequent cause
for a horse tripping, blundering, or even falling —
which is fatigue. In this case, striking him for
doing what he cannot avoid is absolute cruelty
and injustice, and, as on all other occasions done,
when he has tripped or blundered, is perfectly
useless. No doubt the whip and spur, plied when
he is not blundering, force the poor brute to in-
creased action, and from that probably prevent
his tripping as often as he might otherwise do ;
but to ride a willing, good horse till he requires
this, is so unjustifiable, that if I knew anything
that would save such a rider a severe fall I should
glory in concealing it from him ! What to do
with a tired horse I may mention on another

TECHNICAL TERMS. 153

occasion : here I merely say, if he blunders, don't
strike him.

What I had been saying respecting not holding
a horse tight in ground difficult to travel over in-
duced my friend to ask me, if a horse was to be
allowed to go at liberty, what was meant by keep-
ing a horse in hand.

This is an expression quite calculated to
mislead the uninitiated in such matters, as num-
berless terms and expressions used in most pur-
suits are. It is, however, a perfectly explicit
one to a horseman ; for instance, suppose I put a
person on a horse that was a little careless in his
paces, and from that was apt to make a false
step occasionally, or, being a little shy, would be
disposed to turn round or bolt on one side, I should
say, " he is a little careless in his walk, — so just
keep him in hand a little." Or, to use another
technical expression, " keep your hand on him ; "
or, in using the same terms, I should say, " he is a
little shy." A horseman would at once know what
1 meant. A bystander, who was not one, on seeing
this person ride off, and having heard my caution to
him, would be very much surprised to see him let
the horse walk off with a comparatively loose rein ;
for were this bystander in the other's place, and
similarly cautioned, he would screw up the horse's
head as if he had both a bearing and gag rein on.
He does not see that, by the position of the horse-

154 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

man's hands, he has the horse most perfectly in
hand ; that is, his hands are in such a position, in
accordance with the length of rein he allows the
horse, that though he merely just feels his mouth,
and by this allows him full freedom of action, he
can in one second bring the bit to bear on the
horse in its full force ; and though he may be
riding by the side of a friend, in conversation, and
seem to be paying no attention to his horse, his
eye is on him, and his hand also. By his seemingly
careless hold of his horse's head, he keeps his
mouth alive, prevents his hanging heavy or boring
on the hand, and by these means feels every in-
dication of the horse's mouth on his hand, and
keeps the horse, or rather keeps his mouth, in that
state that renders both sensible to any influence
of the hand of the rider; and easy, or even careless
as such a horseman may appear to be, let his horse
make the slightest attempt at a turn, bolt, or trip,
it would be seen he would be on his bit, and more
or less on his haunches, by an almost invisible
movement of the rider's hands. And here, while on
the subject of " keep a horse in hand," I will en-
deavour to show where, in case of stumbling, the
rider's hand may prevent a catastrophe that it
cannot remedy ; and I must, in doing this, revert
to tripping and stumbling. When I was on that
subject, in the last two or three pages, it was in
allusion to correctinsj a horse for it. Here we are

TRIPPING. 155

on the subject of preventing his doing it, or
checking its effects if he does.

Tripping is a habit or fault common to multi-
tudes of horses who are nevertheless perfectly
safe. It usually arises from striking the toe
against some surface; and a horse well on his
haunches may do this ad infinitum without once
being in danger of coming down. He would,
naturally enough, alarm a person not used to ride
him, for he would not know how far it might go;
and even supposing a stranger to be riding such a
horse in company with his master, though the latter
might say, *^ Don't pull him about, — he is quite
safe," a man must be an experienced horseman,
a good judge of what is or is not unsafe, and must
also have a good opinion of the owner's judgment,
to feel confidence on such a horse.

The rider may be quite sure that a horse of any
spirit has as great an objection to falling as his
rider has to his doing so ; and the quick way in
which such horses catch themselves up, if they
make a mistake or unavoidable stumble, shows
that such is the case. Now a trip merely occasions
a horse to bring the foot that he has not tripped
with sooner to the ground than he would have
done had he carried the tripping foot forward to
its regular length of step, be that more or less ; —
something has stopped it in its progress, so instead
of putting it forward, say fourteen inches, it is

156 PRACTICAL HOESEMANSHIP.

Stopped at ten. This produces a somewhat unplea-
sant sensation to the rider, and an unequal step in
the horse. This is a trip : if the horse is light and
airy, he catches himself up ; and, as the more
spirited he is the more quickly and energetically
will he do so, this very often leads an inex-
perienced horseman into the belief that he has
narrowly escaped a most serious fall, when, in
fact, it is only the spirit and activity of the horse
that have induced him to make a considerable effort
to remedy a very inconsiderable mistake, and one
that a more indolent horse, not noticing himself,
would scarcely have been noticed by the rider.
It will therefore be clear that, with a horse w^ho
has spirit enough to do of his own accord all that
we could make or wish him to do if he does make
a trip, any check on his mouth would only confuse
him, and could possibly do no good ; and if a
horse happens to be at all " a loose-necked one,"
— that is, one inclined to throw up his head on any
strong pull on his mouth, — we can do no good by
checking such a horse, however bad a blunder he
may make ; but by doing so the rider would run
great risk of bringing his horse's head in contact
with his own ; and should this happen to any one
who does me the honour of reading my books and
papers, the least grateful return I can make him,
is a perfect conviction that his head would suffer
the most severely by the collision !

HORSES ADDICTED TO TRIPPING. 157

I have generally found (singular as the asser-
tion may at first appear to the reader) that very
light-hearted, cheerful horses are more apt to
make trifling mistakes, or trips, than more steady
and methodical steppers ; and the reason they
may do so I take to be this — such horses are
constantly looking about them; the least thing
attracts their attention; and if that is fixed on
different objects, it is called from looking at the
road, or where they are going; so they come in
contact with inequalities, stones, and so forth, on
the ground, that the more staid, sober, and plod-
ding goer carefully avoids.

I had one of these light-hearted, mercurial sort,
who was so careless in his choice of ground in his
walk that he would trip twenty times in a mile,
but he was always too much on the alert to let
the trip generate into a stumble. If he made a
trip he was up in a second, as if his feet had
touched iron at a white heat. But, as I said
before, speaking of such horses, it required know-
ing him well to feel perfect confidence in a horse
that did such things. And he had other peculiarities
that did not suit every man. In proof of which : —

A friend, a capital sportsman and horseman, but
many years older than myself, came to spend
a couple of days with me. The second day I
mounted him on a very good and particularly
steady, perfect horse as a hunter. He carried my

158 PEACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

friend well ; and well and straight he rode him.
I rode my fiivourite, the tripper. My friend
wanted a horse. I recommended the one he had
ridden. " He liked him, but he was too big "
(he certainly was a big one, — sixteen two, good) ;
he must have the one I had ridden. I told him
he would not like him ; told him of his heedless
way of walking ; that he went freer at his fences
than he would like ; and, to crown all, if he let his
mouth get at all dead, he would go away with
him to a certainty. But it would not do ; have
him he must ; and he bought him at a price, he
told me, that was nearly double to that he had
usually given for horses.

A month afterwards I called on my friend at
his town house. " Well ! how goes on the horse ? "
— " Oh, well enough, for all I know; he is in York-
shire. I ought to have taken your advice, and
bought the other; he was a hunter." " So was
the one you bought, " said I, '* and, I think, could
go as fast and do as much in the field as any
horse in England." " He was a devil untied,"
said my friend. " But what did he do ? " I replied.
" Do ! '* said he : " in the first place, I thought he
would have been on his nose twenty times, riding
him three miles to meet the Derby. On the
hounds going ofiP, the second fence I came to,
when I got near it, I would not have ridden at it
for a hundred pounds ; but his head being to it, I

THE TKIPPER. 159

might as well have attempted to stop a tornado as
him ; and when he came to it, instead of taking
it at twice, which I thought was as much as most
horses could do, he took it altogether in a swing,
till I thought I should never come to the ground
again. To finish, the brute pulled till my arms
could not hold him, and away he went. The
hounds came to a check, luckily very soon, or I
suppose we should have been going at this minute.
I had had quite enough of him, and sold him to
go into Yorkshire." " I hope you did not lose
money by him ? " I said. " No, I did not," replied
my friend ; " but I lost all the skin between my
fingers, and two days' hunting, from being unable
to hold my reins. "

Now, this horse I always rode in a plain,
moderate-sized Pelham, and could always hold
him with perfect comfort, though, as my friend
found, not if he saw a large fence before him, was
going fast at it, and he had got within three or
four strides of it ; but so much for horse and
man being accustomed to each other.

In riding a horse inclined to trip, and supposing
he is not on the alert enough to catch himself up
immediately, the rider, by having him in hand,
can generally make him do so, and assist, or, I
would rather say impel him, in the doing it. But
to effect this, the hand of the rider must be as
quick as the horse ought to be ; he must not wait

160 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

till he feels the horse coming on the bit, from his
fore parts being impelled forward by the contact
of his foot with an obstacle ; for then it is too late :
but if, the instant the rider feels the concussion
occasioned by the foot striking, he catches his
horse's head, he induces him to give that upward
lift of his fore parts that stops their forward pre-
ponderance ; and, this checked, all is safe. This,
if a man has not his horse in hand, he cannot do ;
for the pull most riders are seen to give when a
horse blunders comes so late, that it is of no more
use than if they had a cord to a heavy loaded
coach after it had got over far enough to be
beyond its equilibrium — the strength of a man,
at the critical moment, would have prevented its
coming to this ; but that moment passed, and the
balance lost, twenty men would not stop three
tons going over in full swing. Nor could a man's
arms hold up a few hundred-weight of bone and
horse flesh going down in full swing either; though,
under such circumstances, should the horse, by
great exertion, save himself, the rider will set the
result down to the pulling and hauling he gave
the mouth of his horse, when, in nine cases out of
ten, when matters, or rather the horse, had pro-
gressed thus far towards the ground, the hauling
tended to counteract the efforts of the animal to
save his knees and nose. By way of analogy —
Suppose our horse gets into a bog, and we hold

161

his head fast by the bridle, he will make energetic
efforts to get it at liberty, that he may have full
freedom of his fore parts to scramble out as best
he may. Now, let us further suppose a horse in
harness, with a bearing-rein on, to get into such
a scrape ; unless the rein and bearing-hook were of
most unusual strength, we should find he would
soon snap the one or the other. This shows how
necessary freedom of the head and neck is to a
struggling horse. If the rider, with a bogged
horse, was to pertinaciously hold these confined,
the chances are, his horse, by his struggles in the
same place, would sink himself deeper and deeper ;
loose his head, he struggles and plunges forward,
and gets out. This exertion is quite enough,
without its being increased by struggling also
against the rider's hand. It is all very well if
the rider, like a jockey when he '* sets to " to finish
a race, gets his arms up, and supports his horse's
head; but supporting and confining are widely
different in their effect ; — the one counteracts ;
the other, to a certain degree, assists the animal
in his efforts.

Now, a horse struggling to save himself when
coming nearly on his knees is somewhat similarly
situated to the horse in the bog, and would be
equally prevented using his best efforts to save
himself if controlled in the freedom of his head.

A person may ask. In what way can the
M

162 PKACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

liberty of putting his head down facilitate his
efforts to rise, which is wanted of him ? This is
a question I am not prepared to answer in a satis-
factory way j but I can only say, it does. There
is some sympathy between the motions of the
head and neck and limbs of the horse that we, or
at least I, cannot either explain or account for ;
but the freedom of the first is unquestionably
necessary to the action of the other in struggling.

Most persons have often seen horses fall in
harness in the street. The moment it is proper
to permit the horse to use his exertions to rise,
the first thing a man who knows what he is about
does is to loose the bearing-rein. If this is not
done, unless it has been broken, the animal would
find the utmost difficulty in rising, if he could do
so at all. Now, it might be supposed that, as
the horse wants to rise, his head being supported
by the bearing-rein would assist him in doing so ;
but experience, and indeed, on reflection, reason,
tells us it has the opposite effect. A man taking
the horse by the head and supporting it does
assist him, because he supports it, but does not
confine it, which the bearing-rein does. This
exemplifies what I have said is the difference be-
tween the rider confining or supporting his horse
in difficulties.

It might be asked, How do I account for a race-
horse going at nearly his best pace, hard held, if

GENTLE RESTRAINT, WHEN NECESSARY. 163

confining the head prevents freedom of action in
the horse ? This is to be answered in the follow-
ing way : —

We do not confine the head of the racehorse by-
pulling at him, at least not as the primum mobile
of the act. The horse pulls at us ; and we only
pull at him to prevent his making too free with
himself, that is, with his powers of going. He
would go faster if only supported, but not held ;
and it is to prevent his doing so he is held. And
it must be borne in mind, that a horse galloping
goes with an even uniform stroke, to do which a
raised position of the head and neck is not neces-
sary ; but in the last few strides, where sudden
and increased exertion is called for, and the
horse is, in technical phrase, " called upon," if the
contest is a severe one, it does become necessary
to give him, to a certain degree, his freedom of
head. It is then only supported, not confined.

The harness horse can trot along the road
borne up by the bearing-rein, and fast trotters
can go their best when hardest held; they, like
the racehorse, do not want absolute freedom of
head to do a uniform act. But the horse near
falling, or the horse in a bog, wants to make
raised and sudden exertion ; in doing which, they
will be seen, if permitted to do so, to make raised
and sudden movements of the head and fore parts ;

M 2

164 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

and for this, absolute freedon of all these is
necessary.

The great distinction between tripping and
blundering is not so much in the act itself, as it is
in the way in which it affects the horse, or the
horse is affected by it. Supposing a horse was
well on his haunches, light in his forehand, and,
above all, light in his heart, he might play at
bowls, if he pleased, with cannon balls ; and I
should have no fear of riding him during his
game. He would not come down ; he might bruise
his toes a bit, no doubt ; but each time he struck
a ball, he would fling himself up and on his
haunches ; and while he did that, if he hopped a
step or two on three legs, he would make no ab-
solute blunder. Mere tripping in his going is by
no means so serious an objection to a horse as
many people hold it to be. If they are as parti-
cular as regards any trips of their own, they are
of no ordinary sort of men.

Blundering is more the effect of shape, carriage,
and disposition of the horse than any thing else.
Many people consider a trip to arise from the
horse meeting a trifling obstruction, or striking an
obstruction lightly, and hold a blunder to be oc-
casioned by a more important obstruction, or the
horse hitting it with greater force. This is some-
times the case, but not so in a general way.

Blundering chiefly arises from the body of the
horse having a forward preponderance, so that

LEANING TOWERS ANALOGOUS TO HORSES. 165

when he trips it occasions him very strenuous ex-
ertion to prevent its balance being overpoised ; if
it becomes so, down he comes.

The celebrated leaning towers we read and see
drawings of, stand perfectly secure as they are,
but a slight lever to their base would send them
toppling over ; whereas a hundred such levers to
a perpendicular one, if applied to its base, even if
it was moved by it, it would not fall : take away
the levers, it would right itself; but once give
motion to the other, down it irretrievably goes.
This is really analogous to the distinction between
a trip and a blunder, and also between an habit-
ually blundering or merely tripping horse. The
first is the leaning tower, the last the perpendicu-
lar one.

But I will enable my reader in his own person
to test the correctness of what I say, as to form
and position of the body of the horse causing the
difference between dangerous blundering and mere
unpleasant tripping, more than the mere obstruc-
tion his foot meets with.

Find a particularly uneven piece of turf, with
sudden and frequent little inequalities in it, as we
often see on a common ; shut your eyes, lean for-
ward as if walking up a very steep hill, and walk
on ; I will answer for it you are on your nose in a
hundred yards. Nor will you be able to save
yourself; for the forward tendency of the body

M 3

PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

will,, on the foot striking against a rise or being put
into a hole, bring you down before you can make
an eifort to save yourself ; and once out of equi-
librium, if you blunder on a step or two before
you come down, it is not once in ten times you
will be able to save yourself. To make this more
convincing, let a cord be fastened to each arm, and
give that to a boy of say eight years old, to hold
behind you as a pair of reins. When you have
once overbalanced, you will, in blundering for-
ward, pull the reins out of the boy's hand, or, if
he hold firmly, he will be pulled down ; but he
will not be able to pull you up ; and you would
find the more he, by holding hard, confined your
arms, the less effort could you make to save your-
self. Here you are the blundering horse.

Now change the case. Hold yourself perfectly
upright ; walk with a light step over the same
ground. Your foot strikes something ; the moment
it does, you give a kind of jump upwards, and the
foot that has not struck the obstacle instantly
supports you. And supposing, before this is done,
the concussion has thrown you a little forward, a
check from a much weaker boy on the reins on
your arms brings you back to the perpendicular,
merely because your deviation from it has been
trifling. In figurative terms, by walking upright
you are " on your haunches." Here you are the
mere tripping horse.

1

MOKE ANALOGIES. 167

But to adduce another analogous illustration be-
tween man and horse, and having said I have
found cheerful, light-hearted horses more prone
to mere tripping than the more plodding goer,
we will see how men are affected in the same
particular.

A ploughman is walking home in his heavy
stooping way, thinking a great deal of nothing at
all (but perhaps his supper), and though walking
amidst the most lovely scenery nature can ex-
hibit, paying no more attention to it than he would
to a bare heath. He keeps his eyes on the path,
and from that rarely makes a trip or false step.
So far so good ; he is the safest horse. But if,
from taking his eyes off the path or any other
cause, he does make a trip, with him it becomes a
blunder, — down he comes, and on getting up ex-
claims, "By Goom, I bleeve I've broak my noose."
Where is the safe horse now, though he does not
often trip ? but once is enough.

An intelligent cheerful man walks along, look-
ing on all sides at the treat nature has afforded by
the same scenery our " Ghee- who " friend disre-
garded. The admiring traveller is more attentive
to what he sees, and the reflections it gives rise
to, than his path. He hits things on it with his
foot repeatedly. At last he hits something that
makes him wince again ; he hops a step or two on

M 4

3 68 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP. ^

one foot, and exclaims, " Confound that stone,
how sharp it was ! " but he does not fall.

My reader may mount which of the two per-
sons he thinks the best of; for my own riding, I
should prefer the tripping gentleman for a hack.

My friend laughed at my transformation of men
into horses, but paid me the compliment of saying
that my similes and analogies made him fully
understand what he wished to know. I sincerely
trust that they may have the same effect upon
those who con over my pages.

Meeting him again, he had his knee bandaged ;
and on my inquiring the cause, he said his horse
shied and ran him against a wall. "I am afraid,"
said I, " you have forgotten the flags and the bar-
row we lately met." " No, I have not," replied my
friend ; '^ but a dog rushing out of a shop I could
not look for." '^ I cannot let you off so easily,"
said I ; " where were your hands? " " Why, the
fact is, my horse was too quick for me." " And
you too slow for him?" **I believe you are right,"
good-humouredly said my friend ; " but supposing
I had been quicker, what should I have done to
prevent the accident? " "I will tell you," said I.
'^ If you ever find your horse likely to run you
against a wall, or anything else, pull his head to
it ; he cannot then place himself sideways to it. In
the first place, he will not go near enough to it to
let his nose get a rasping by it, even if you

THE STRONGEST GOING TO THE WALL ! ! 169

wished it, and that he must do if his head is
brought sufficiently round before he reaches it;
thus your knee is kept at least a foot from it.
Should he fight with you, and resist the bit in
order to get alongside, supposing it to be your
right, clap your spur to his off side ; if he still
persists, snatch at his mouth severely with your
right hand, and stick the rowel into him in ear-
nest : not one in a thousand will stand this. If it
is a ditch, do the same thing ; he might back into
a deep one, but he won't walk into it, unless there
is no danger, — and in that case it matters little
whether he does or not.

" The same thing should be done if a horse tries
to back on to the foot pavement of a street —
keep his head to it. Should he, by your doing so,
walk on to it, and a passing vehicle be danger-
ously near, it is as safe a measure, as you could
adopt when in such danger, for then you have
only to let him alone, and he will walk off again.
You need not fear his slipping, if you do not
frighten or flurry him when on. But if a horse
backs on to it, the chances are he comes down,
and for this reason — in backing, his hind legs are
of course much under him ; they slip, and for a
moment he gets into the position of a dog sit-
ting, and then rolls over on one of his sides ; or
should he struggle to right himself, having no
foothold, he is sure to slip in some direction or

170 PEACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

Other, probably a very dangerous one to the rider;
therefore, on no occasion, if it can by any possi-
bility be avoided, allow your horse to back on to
pavement or any other slippery surface. But if
he has done so, be perfectly quiet till he gets off
of it."

"Well," said my friend, " I think I shall now
be a match for my horse if he again attempts the
same thing he did as to getting me against a wall ;
but now I want a wrinkle or two given me under
the circumstances of a horse wanting to go any
particular road that I do not wish to go."

'^ In such a case," said I, " 2/ou must be very
particular that he does not do it ; for if he does, he
will very probably ever afterwards insist on going
wherever he likes, which you would probably
not like."

Before a man undertakes to contend with a
wilful horse, he must consider whether he is ih a
situation to do so ; and, if not, whether he can
make his cunning counteract that of the animal ;
to do which he must be thoroughly conversant
with the manoeuvres the animal is likely to put in
practice ; otherwise the rider will be beat by his
horse even at this game. If it is a case where
such proceeding will not avail, and force to force'
must be brought into play, the rider should assure
himself how far he possesses nerve, strength,
seat, and proper appliances for the contest. If he

TEMPT NOT THE SINNEE. 171

is not quite certain of possessing these, leave the
battle to be waged by some one who has, or your
horse will be spoiled.

There is one very mistaken plan that many per-
sons go upon to cure a horse of any bad habit, —
which is, to place him purposely in a situation
that they are certain will call this bad habit into
play ; and this they do to have the opportunity,
as they hope, of correcting it. This is a very bad
practice ; one that, in the long run, gives the
most trouble, is attended with the most danger,
and frequently leads to, and ends in, the person
practising it being beat in the contest.

I have no doubt but the reader will agree with
me, that if we can correct a bad habit in any
animal by moderate coercion and moderate cor-
rection it is far. preferable to doing so by brute
force or brutal chastisement, which in the plan I
deprecate is most commonly contemplated, and by
the plan sometimes eventually rendered necessary.
But I must again have recourse to elucidating
what I mean by analogy ; the reader will then
understand what I am at, relative to this subject.

I suppose myself to have a dog addicted to
chasing sheep. He must be cured of that. If I
depute a servant to do this, I know how he will
set about it. He will take the dog on to a common,
where sheep are running at large. The moment
they see the dog, they begin running. This is just

172 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

what the man wished they might do. The dog of
course immediately sets off after them, and the
man after the dog. Probably after the latter has
ceased chasing, he is caught; and at a moment
when he is not in fault he is most brutally
thrashed, knowing or not knowing what he is
thrashed for. He is cowed for the day, and sore
for three or four afterwards, when he forgets the
beating ; and the next time he sees the sheep, he
feels the same excitement and propensity, and
away he goes after them ; so probably it would be
so long as he lives.

I now take the dog in hand, and as sedulously
avoid taking him where he has a chance of seeing
sheep running as the other sought for a place
where he should; for I know, with his present
habits the temptation will be too strong for the
dog to resist. I put a collar round his neck, with
a cord to hold him by, and a good dog whip in
my hand. I take him to a sheepfold : here the
sheep cannot run ; and not being wild, the utmost
they will do, on seeing the dog, is to huddle all
together. On entering the fold, I cry in a warn-
ing voice, " Ware sheep, Don." The dog looks
up. " Ware sheep," I cry again. If he appears
in the least elated or fidgety, " Ware sheep," I
cry in a voice of anger. If he attempts to make
any hasty advance towards them, a smart stroke
or two of the whip make him find " ware sheep "
must be attended to. If after this he pulls to-

WARE SHEEP. 173

wards or jumps at them, I give him a good jflog-
ging: he deserves it, for he knows he is doing
wrong, and has not over-excitement as an excuse.
In a day or two, more or less, as he is more or less
corrigible, he will cease not only to jump at the
sheep, but will walk quietly among them. He
has learned perfectly one lesson, which is, that he
must not touch sheep standing still. Probably
being now cowed by the warning, ^^ ware sheep,"
if I took him on the common, he would, if he
saw sheep running, stop at being hallooed to (if
not too far off) ; but it would be highly injudicious
to trust him, for if he broke away, my three or
four days' lesson would go for nothing — he would
be nearly as bad as ever.

I now take him where sheep are wild, but not
even yet near enough to set them running. But
suppose they were to do so, I am prepared, for I
have him in a cord of some twenty yards long.
This length gives him something of a feeling of
liberty. If he looks towards the flock, " ware
sheep " reminds him of his lessons. In a day or
two, I approach them ; they begin to run ; Don
gets fidgety, but the warning, and showing him
the whip, most probably controls him : if it does
not, and he breaks away, I let him reach the end
of the cord, and with a stentorian " ware sheep "
I pull him head over heels, pull him up, and,
getting hold of him, give him a second thrashing

174 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

A lesson or two more, and he, in nine cases in
ten, will be broke of the habit. But if, without
the cord to check him, he had got in full career,
flaying the poor brute alive would not have pre-
vented his doing it again ; but his propensity
having been diminished gradually, moderate cor-
rection will reform him, which it would not have
done while that propensity was in full force.

On the same principle, it is advisable to begin
breaking a horse of a habit by keeping him out of
situations where that habit is sure to be shown ;
for instance, your horse is disposed to go the road
he pleases to go, when you wish him to go
another. Now, if you had an engagement at a
certain place, it would be very injudicious to take
such a horse to carry you to fulfil it ; for in so
doing, at some turn or other, you would put him
in disposition to rebel, without being, perhaps, in
a situation to dispute with him, much less over-
come him ; and to seek occasion to ensure his
propensity to rebellion would be equally un-
wise, till something had been done to mitigate that
inclination.

It may be truly said, unless a contest takes
place, victory cannot take place either : granted ;
but he is a bad general who volunteers an engage-
ment in an unfavourable position; and if, by a
little delay, victory can be obtained at diminished
loss of life to the victors, it is bad judgment.

PREVENTING IS NOT ERAI)ICATING. 175

not bravery, if he does not avail himself of such
circumstance.

We will say a horse has the very bad habit of
resisting the wishes of the rider, in taking every
left or right turn he comes to, and resists violently
when opposed. The rider's horse, we will sup-
pose, bolts round every left-hand one, and fights
against the bit if turned towards the riojht. If a
rough rider chooses to try and cure the horse of
this habit by brute force, let him do so. He w^ill,
perhaps, restrain the horse and prevent the act, or
he may not ; but if he does, he does not cure
him of the propensity or wish to do it. But we
are not on the subject of colt-breaking, or absolute
restive horse-breaking, but on that of familiar
advice to a young rider, and putting him, or
hoping to put him, in the best mode of riding and
managing his horse, not breaking him ; and in
speaking of bad habits of the animal, it is only
supposing them to be such to an extent that a
little management will overcome and perhaps
eradicate.

With a horse disposed, as we say, to be violent
to a degree that puzzles or intimidates a young
horseman, if he is wanted to turn to the right, I
should say, while he has this habit on him in full
force, do not attempt to turn him forcibly the
contrary way to his wishes, but ride him when
and where you have no fixed route you wish to

176 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

take. We will say, therefore, that you ride for a
few days solely to cure a horse you like of a bad
habit you have found him to possess, and in such
a case it is time very well bestowed.

Take your horse into Rotten Row — as good a
place as any to have a contest, if one should be
necessary. It is wide, fenced in: the ground
affords the best of foot-hold, and is neither hard,
or, of course, slippy ; so, if a man selects an hour
when scarce any one is there, I could not wish a
better breaking ground than Hyde Park. Many
a gallop have I given my horses on the enclosed
part of it, when the turf was in good order. It is
true, I have heard a keeper's halloo, but that was
of no consequence. I got my " spin," and the
horse that jumped in also jumped out, where no
keeper was by. Should a man be recognised
afterwards, and accused of such a breach of regu-
lations, swear roundly it was not you, though it
might be somebody like you. Get the accuser to
alter your curb chain, and give him five shillings
for doing it. I do not say I did so ; but as I fre-
quently got my gallop, the reader may infer what
he pleases.

I should be sorry to introduce any proceedings
contrary to ranger regulations : but if a man dis-
guised his person so as not to be known, a breath-
ing of a fine morning on the turf of the park,
hunted by half a dozen green coats and as many

AT SCHOOL. 177

blue ones, really is, in fun and excitement, next
to a burst with hounds ; and the hurrah and
bravos of any spectators, when }^ou take your de-
parting tilt over the rails, is a little bit of triumph
worth having ; and those who know the thoroughly
kind heart of the royal ranger will feel quite cer-
tain, could he see the chase and escape, he would
enjoy it as much as any man living.

Having your horse in a safe schooling ground,
remember your object is to make him obedient to
the hand and rein in turning as the rider wishes.
We will say the particular horse brought to be
schooled fights against turning to the right, that
is, taking a turning that leads that way. We
will not investigate his motives, for, be they what
they may, he must be taught to obey. Now,
there being no turning for a long way up the
Row, he would most probably not care whether he
crossed the wide space of it obliquely to the right
or left ; make him do this both ways, but be par-
ticular that he obeys quickly when you cross to
the right. Supposing he does not absolutely
resist, but hangs a little on being pressed by the
bit to the right side, give him a sharp pull ; if he
does not instantly obey that, give him a stripe
with your cane or ash plant on the near side of his
nose, or on his near shoulder, speaking sharp to
him. On this making him go as directed, when
he does so, caress him, and speak to him, as.

178 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

" That's good, lad," " good man, good man,"
patting him and bearing on the right rein all the
time. While doing this, press stronger and
stronger, thus getting him more and more directly
across ; if you find him quite amenable, still ca-
ressing him, turn him quite round and let him
stand.

Now, in resuming your way up, do not as yet
attempt to turn him round to the right, for he
might resist, as it would be going away from
home, or the part he entered the Park, which he
knows leads there ; but turn him to the left, speak-
ing to him as you motion him to move by the
pressure of the bit and indication of the leg or
heel. Do this encouragingly, as " Come, good
man ; " " Come, good lad ; " " Come, my man," or
something in this way. Repeat this manoeuvre
often enough during your ride, to show your horse
what you mean him to do, and that you will be
obeyed, without, however, overdoing it, so as to
irritate him. In returning home, make your route
there one that will not require disputes about right
hand turnings, and this, by a little circuition can
always be done.

The day's lesson has taught your horse that
obeying your wish brings encouragement, and
rebellion brings chastisement, — two of the funda-
mental principles of inculcating both instruction
and good conduct in biped and quadruped. Had

PROGRESSION. 179

you done this in a situation where the temptation
to resist had been strong, probably he would have
got the better of you.

It would greatly exceed the limits I have laid
down for myself in this book if I was to follow
the every day's tuition it might be necessary for
a rider to give a horse to cure him of any habit :
for some two days would suffice ; for others as
many weeks would barely produce the same effect,
dependent on the quickness or obtusity of appre-
hension in the animal, and also on the tractability
or intractability of his nature ; I must therefore
push on the the supposed present tuition as fast
as I can consistent with probable results.

The next day take your horse again to the
same school and repeat his lessons. The chances
are greatly in your favour that he will be much
more ready in his compliance than before ; and
now, being sure that he perfectly understands the
indications you give him, if he does not comply
readily, it is obstinacy and open rebellion. If you
find he at all fights against you on the disi3uted
point of inclining to the right, stand now on no
ceremony with him ; pull your right rein tight
into your left hand, give him a stripe or two on
the left shoulder, ditto, if that does not do, on the
left side of his nose, and cram the right spur into
his side. He must come round. He may plunge;
if he does you are now in for a contest, and must

N 2

180 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

go through with it. Sit tight, and lay your a^h
plant well into his ears. This will give him some-
thing else to think about (for nothing is more
sensitive than the ears) ; he cannot go to the left
from your having him tight held. He will become
astonished and not know what to do; you will find
him stop his gambols and shake his ears. Now
sit quiet, calling to him in an angry tone, " Who
ho, then!" "What are you at, eh?" "Who ho!"
When he is quite quiet, gently turn him, or rather
give him an indication to turn to the right, not
forgetting to speak to him, as " Come along ! " or
" Come round ! " If he hesitates, raise your stick,
crying loudly, " Would you, eh ? " The chances
are, seeing the stick, he not only wheels as you
wish, but shoots round to the right to avoid the
threatened blow. When he does, let him go, say-
ing, " Good lad ! " " good lad ! " " gently ! " " who
ho ! " and caress him.

I should say you may now venture as far as
the garden wall. Here is a turn to the right, but
not a sharp one, or one that he can, we may sup-
pose, have any reason to object to take. Make a
circuitous turn to it, which the wide space will
allow you to do. All the time you are thus
wheeling to the right caress your horse. After
passing the bridge you have another turn. This
leads towards home, and doubtless your horse will
readily take it, and you arrive near the Achilles.

FESTINA LENTE. 181

Now an impatient man, and a bad judge of
horses' tempers, might be disposed to see how far
he had conquered his horse, by trying if he would
turn up Kotten Row again. Do no such thing.
It is, in the first place, a short turn to the right,
which he dislikes, and it leads from home, which,
depend on it, he very well knows ; so he would
very probably resist you ; for though horses do
not mind going from home, they have a great
dislike to going again over ground that has taken
them from it

The reason why it is always judicious, in at-
tempting to cure a horse of any vice or habit, to
take him where we suppose he has the least in-
ducement to show such vice or habit, is this, —
whenever a horse exhibits resistance to our reason-
able wishes, he has always some motive, incentive,
or cause that perhaps we cannot guess at for his
doing so. His resistance, be it from what cause it
may, becomes a vicious habit, and he learns by
resistance a vicious, or at least wilful propensity.
The first cause of his objection to turn to the
right we may not know; but to show it might
have a cause, I will instance two possible ones.
He may have been run against and hurt in so
turning, or he might for some months have been
used by a person living, we will say, at Shepherd's
Bush, and was daily ridden in and out of Lon-
don, where his stable was to the left of Oxford

sr 3

182 PRACTICAL HOESEMANSHIP.

Street, and used for no other purpose. !N'o
occasion occurred for his being turned to the
right, but was accustomed to turn to the left to
both stables. This would induce the horse to take
left turnings. We will say, to make the case
worse, he was sold ; and, showing his propensity
to his new master, a contest ensued, in which the
horse got the best of it. This makes a pretty
piece of business of the affair, which my rider has
to set to rights.

Now, if instead of taking the horse to the Park,
the rider had taken him into or along the streets,
he would have had two things to contend with
— the horse's inclination to take every left-hand
turning, and his dislike or refusal of going to the
right, from having got his own way when wanted
to do so. But in the Park he had but the latter
to overcome; so the diflSculty is diminished one
half, from the animal having only one incentive to
refusal instead of two. And I will venture to say
by doing this he saves time ; and in this case it is
literally making out the saying that sometimes
the "longest way round is the nearest way
home ; " for if my rider, while his horse had his
propensity full on him, had taken the nearest
way, if that happened to present many left-hand
turnings, it is likely he would not have got home
at all unless he had led his nag and walked.

I will endeavour to further show why it is by

TACTICS. 183

no means losing time not coming at once to full
contention with a horse on any particular point ;
and I think I shall be able to further show that
we may even assist our carrying out our object,
in making him do what we wish, by forcing him
to do the diametrically opposite act, bearing in
mind that to make him do anything that he is
not prompted to do by self-will, the first thing to
teach him is to obey.

We will say that a horse always hesitates,
without absolutely refusing, in turning to the
right. Why does he hesitate ? It arises from his
wanting a motive to obey more quickly. The
motive in question would be either self-inclina-
tion, expected reward, or fear of correction. In
the case of turning to the right, it is quite clear
he has no inclination to do it ; we have no abso-
lute reward to offer him. It only, therefore,
remains, in this case, to teach him to obey from
fear of correction. To carry this point, I bear on
the left rein. He yields ; but to make him do so
more quickly, I touch him with my heel, and
speak to him ; this quickens his movement. The
next time I bear, as before, gently on the rein,
but speak sharper to him, and touch him with the
spur ; this again quickens his motion. I increase
the harshness of voice, and prick him with the
spur, or give him the rowel, as his vivacity or
dulness may require, till he will turn moderately,

N 4

184 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

or fly round as on a pivot, in accordance with the
pull I give on the rein, the mildness or severity
of my voice of command, and the pressure of the
leg or the feel of the spur. This has taught him to
obey, to obey without hesitation, and to do so
when desired as momentarily as his powers will
allow.

This has certainly in no way taught him to
turn to the right, which he dislikes, but it has
taught him instant obedience ; and finding any
want of this in one case produces punishment,
will create a fear of disobeying in another.

I in no way recommend the kind of tuition last
mentioned as one generally to be adopted. I have
recommended a middle course ; but even the one I
do not recommend, would be better than beginning
fighting with the horse at once, with every pro-
pensity, energy, habit, and recollection of having
got the better of a rider in full array against us.
In such case, it becomes a sort of kill or cure
business, the risk of injury to rider and horse
great, and the risk of victory great also.

" I believe," said I to my friend, " I have now
told you how do correct your horse of the habit
you mentioned, that is, going one way when you
wish him to go another ; but you must recollect
that no plan will succeed with all horses without
its being varied as circumstances may require ; but
I think you will find the system I recommend a

PERSEVEKE, TO CONQUER. 185

good principle to work upon. I may have been
lucky, perhaps, but I have had to do with a great
number of sulky, violent, and restive horses ; but
I never was beat by one I set about getting the
better of. I mention this in no way as boast,
further than having, I believe, a very uncommon
share of patience and command of temper. By
these, I may say, I literally wore the violence
or obstinacy of such horses out. If one thing did
not do I tried another, and if one hour's practice
failed I worked on two or three more ; and would
have done so for the four and twenty, if I had
thought it necessary or judicious to do so ; at all
events, I think," continued I, "by adhering to
something like what I recommend, you will
render any horse amenable, that is, fit for a gen-
tleman to contest with. I know but one thing I
could call all but infallible in teaching horses what
we wish, or in breaking them from what is badj
and that is, patience."

186 PEACTICAL HOESEMANSHIP.

CHAPTER IX.

REARING. — KICKING. — PLUNGING. — THEIR CAUSES AND

CURES. PREPARING TOR A TROT. THE CANTER.

THE GALLOP. — CONCLUSION.

A FEW days after the conversation narrated in
the last chapter, I accidentally met my friend,
who, after a few preliminary remarks, asked me to
tell him what to do in three cases where he was
at a loss — namely, rearing, kicking, and plung-
ing.

" Really, my friend," said I, ^^ you are plung-
ing into a pretty considerable mass of matter for
consideration; but we will see into it, beginning,
however, with one thing at a time."

The first I will dispose of shortly. If your
horse does not rear so as to cause any just appre-
hension of danger, it is not a matter of much
consequence ; you will find he usually does so on
being forced to go where he does not wish to go,
or on being prevented going where he does wish.
To sit him when he does rear, lean quite forward,
give him all his head, and just before his feet
reach the ground clap both spurs to him and hit
him under the flank with a jockey- whip or good
tough bit of ash plant. He cannot rise again till
his feet reach the ground ; he may plunge forward.

REARINa. 187

but if he does, it matters little. Serve him so
whenever he rears. But, as you value your life,
neither touch him with whip, spur, or bit while
be is up or rising ; for being made angry, he will
rise higher on being touched by either than he
otherwise would have done, and possibly high
enough to fall over, or at least, sideways. If,
however, you find your horse only to rear a little
at times, more from play, excitement, or impa-
tience than any thing else, do not punish him at
all, for with such a horse you would make things
worse ; let him alone when he does rear, and pat
him whenever he does what you want without.
All you have to guard against with such a horse,
and the only place where his sort of rearing
would become dangerous, is smooth flag-stones :
keep him off these, and slight rearing is not dan-
gerous.

When horses rear dangerously high, there
are violent modes of awing them from it that
sometimes succeed with young horses, but rarely,
indeed, with old ones ; so it would be useless to
mention them here. I can, with such a horse,
only mention one safe plan to be adopted — " get
rid of him."

If your horse kicks with you, be sure first to
ascertain that your saddle does not hurt him, and
that it is particularly well and softly stuffed, for
a hard saddle will make a horse disposed to kick

188 PEACTICAL HOESEMANSHIP.

do SO in a very increased degree. There is very-
little danger to the rider by this nasty trick, for
it is such — it is rarely vice — so punishment seldom
succeeds. If he stands still and kicks, this must
not be allowed under any circumstances ; lay the
whip well into him across his neck and over his
ears ; it will remedy the standing still at all events,
and very often stop the kicking also. Many men
use the spurs on such occasions, but they seldom
do any good ; they make him go on certainly, but
they usually make him kick more violently. If,
on starting, he goes on but kicks as he goes, all
the rider has to do, or, indeed, well can do, is to
sit iirm, well back in his seat, and, getting his
hands up, keep the horse's head well up also ; in
such a case it is not a bad plan to punish him by
snatching at the bit also. It frequently stops the
kicking by preventing him leaning on it or getting
his head down, which, when he wants to kick, is
the first thing he will try to do ; and to show how
much depends on keeping it up, there is a point
of elevation of it at which a horse cannot kick
with both heels at once at all ; that is, he cannot
raise them two feet from the ground; therefore
the best advice I can give is, get your horse's
head up to the utmost height your strength and
uplifted hands and arms will enable you to do,
and punish it by the bit till he ceases kicking.
If, the very first kick he gives, you snatch his

KICKIKG. 189

head up with severity and rate him with " Would
you ? " — '^ what now ? " — " have done !" and such
terms as horsemen use, you often stop him at once.
Before a horse kicks he usually begins wriggling a
bit with his hind quarters. The moment he does
this, give him an up-pull, with " What are you at^
eh?" " quiet you, sir !" and so forth ; this shows him
you know what he intends doing and are prepared
for him. It is very rarely a horse is cured of the
propensity to kick under the saddle when he has
once taken to it, but by management he may be
ridden with perfect safety and but little incon-
venience. If you find a horse too determined to
get his head down for you to be able to get it, or
at all events, keep it up, put a gag-bit on him ; but
I never found a horse whose head I could not get
up with a severe twisted snaffle. I have seen
many men attempt to do this with the curb ;
but be it known to the young horseman, a curb
bridle has a tendency to pulling a horse's head
down, not up. It is true, he will sometimes throw
it up on its being too rudely pulled at ; but this is
from the pain it suffers ; and chucking the head
up, for the moment, not only loosens the pressure
of the bit, but alters the bearing of it. And when
he does chuck it up, it will be found he brings it
down again ; so the tossing it up is an act that, to
avoid pain for the moment, he perpetrates con-
trary to the general tendency of the bit. In proof

190 PKACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

of which, if he once gets his head down nearly to
his knees, which some horses will do when held
hard by the curb, a rider would find he could
not pull it up by the same bit ; drop that, lay hold
of the snaffle, and up comes the head — at least, it
is so with most horses.

The next question, — as to plunging, — I can
only offer one mode of management in reply to,
and that is a very simple one as to directions,
but sometimes very difficult to adhere to ; it is
simply this, — '* sit still and sit fast."

Plunging proceeding from various causes, it
is impossible to give general advice to a rider, how
to attempt remedying the fault. If it proceeds
from being used ill by a colt-breaker or rider,
of course, correction, that is chastisement, would
make it worse. In such case, all the rider has to
do is, what I say he must do in all cases of plung-
ing, " sit fast," and sit quiet ; instead of striking
or even rating the horse, speak encouragingly to
him, but, at the same time, not timidly, for horses
are extremely cunning in perceiving whether the
rider is afraid of them or not. If, to quiet a horse
thus plunging, in an assured and cool tone, you
speak to him something in the following way,
"Who ho, foolish, — quiet now, — who ho, — come,
have done you ! who! " — the tone of your voice
shows him you are not angry enough to hurt him,
or frightened enough to let his plunging induce

PLUNGING. 191

you to get off, but that you wish him to stop his
nonsense. But if, like a gentleman I once knew,
who, if his horse only got pleasantly elated, would
begin " Who, Prinny, who Prinny ! who, who,
there, softly, Prinny ! " and this said in a voice of
pitiable terror, Prinny will attend to you about as
much as a foxhound in chase would to a lady, if she
called to him " Bijou, Bijou, come here little dog!"
Precisely the same thing must be done if he
plunges, which is sometimes the case from having
had a very sore back. I once knew a horse be-
longing to a friend, a welter weight, who plunged
on being first mounted. I suggested, as a pos-
sible palliation, the getting a very soft-stuffed
saddle-cloth or sheep-skin, with the wool, of
course, next the horse's back, put under the
pommel of the saddle. He got the latter. It
succeeded far beyond what I at all anticipated.
The horse soon stopped plunging the first time it
was put on, and gradually left off the habit. This,
of course, might not succeed in the generality of
cases ; but if the trick did arise from the back having
been naturally tender or ticklish, I make no doubt
but, in a greater or less degree, it would be found
advantageous, and is certainly worth trying.

It is pretty easy to decide whether a horse
plunges from determination not to be ridden, if
he can help it, and to get the rider off, or whether
he does so from merely a contracted bad habit.

192 PRACTICAL HOESEMANSHIP.

If he is good-tempered, cheerful, and amenable
in riding, after he has had his frolic out, we may
infer he got into the habit first from frolicking
as a young one, and not being checked for it.
When the plunging proceeds from something like
such cause, before he begins he will usually shake
his head, throw it about, impatient of restraint ;
he will be found to dance and fling himself about,
and then plunge forwards and sideways, as his
whim induces him. There is no vicious determina-
tion in this, consequently he must not be punished.
You must give him liberty of head, for you may
with this horse venture to do so, in all ways but
one — do not let him get it down. He will soon
cease his game — so soon as he does, pat him and
speak applaudingly to him.

It might be suggested that caressing a horse
after he had been doing wrong would be en-
couraging him to do wrong again. It would if,
from timidity, a rider was to caress him while
plunging, in the hope of quieting him ; but after
he has stopped, he feels he is caressed while he
is walking off quietly, and not while he was
plunging.

Suppose a horse had taken his rider safely and
handsomely over a large and difficult fence, it is
very common to see a person, if he is a good-
natured man, and fond of his horse, caress him
as soon as he has got settled into his stride again.

CORRECTION WORSE THAN USELESS. 193

I like to see a man do so, and should like the
man. The act can do no harm ; but it will do
no good as to encouraging the horse to leap well
again, for he naturally considers the encourage-
ment is for galloping, because it is given while he
is doing so; for it requires a retrospection and
combination of ideas that a horse does not pos-
sess, to be sensible that he is encouraged for
having done one thing while he is doing another
— that is, for doing what is past, while he is
doing what is present. But if this does no good,
I will mention what does a great deal of harm.

I have often seen a man punishing a horse
across a whole field because he made a blunder at
the last fence ! Nothing is more absurd ; it is only
indulging a contemptible, impatient ill-temper in
the man, without doing the slightest good as to
prevention of a similar act. The horse beino-
whipped, spurred, and rated at while galloping, of
course supposes he is doing something wrong, or
is not galloping fast enough, — for how is the poor
brute to know he is flogged because he did some-
thing wrong some time past, and at nearly a
field's distance from where he is? An ignorant man
may, and I doubt not would, say, " he knows well
enough what he is punished for ! " Such a man is
a greater beast than his horse ; he is an idiot if he
does think the horse knows what he is punished
o

194 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

for, and lie Is a brute for punishing him if he
thinks he does not.

But I think I can prove that the horse does not
know this. It will be found that a horse, being
punished in the way and situation I describe,
invariably increases his speed from the punish-
ment. Now, if the animal had powers of reflection
enough to know he was punished for jumping
badly, he would not exert himself by increasing
his speed, knowing it was the bad jumping, not
the slowness of his galloping, that he was punished
for ; consequently, going faster would not miti-
gate that punishment. But he does go faster, —
and that shows that, so far from " knowing loell
enough what he is punished for," he knows nothing
about it ; and it is ebullition of temper, petty ty-
ranny, and ignorance on the part of the rider,
inflicting punishment when its cause is not
known. If a horse goes lazily at a fence, and
falls, it is not the time to cure him of it after it
is done ; but if on coming to the next fence, he
goes lazily at that, clap the spurs to him, and use
your whip more or less, as his laziness deserves.
He will then know what he is punished for,
because he is punished for doing that which he is
doing at the time^ — namely, going lazily; and
finding that, he will go more freely at the next.
Here the rider has justice and reason on his side ;
he does not strike his horse for any improper

WARE HAWK. 195

gratification of temper or resentment, but to make
him do what he ought to do. The horse under-
stands him, and will get out of a bad habit by
proper and properly-timed correction.

To return to plunging. The horse who does
so from a sullen disposition and vicious deter-
mination to unhorse his rider, commences quite in
a different way to the one who does so from the
same kind of wickedness we find in boys, but
without amounting to anything like vice. The
vicious plunger does not begin by any lively
motions — there is no dance in him; but as some
men, in firm determination, set their teeth, so he
sets himself, and with his fore legs fixed for-
wards, he stands dogged and motionless. The
chances are he lets the rider mount quietly
enough, and lets him sit on his back, if the rider
was to sit still. When he had done so as long as
the horse chose to let him, he would begin. He
sets his mouth against the bit, gets his head down,
claps his tail between his legs, hogs up his back,
swells himself out, and without any previous
motion, *'he sets to," vaults off the ground all
fours, and plunges forward, clearing ten, twelve,
or fifteen feet at a bound. " "Ware hawk ! " rider, if
he has not a firm seat, or gets nervous; he wants
arms strong as anchors. This brute must be held
firm, for he will plunge madly any where ; and if
he gets his head down, not one rider in a hundred
o 2

196 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

could sit on his back, which he hogs up till the
saddle and rider are on the segment of a half-
circle. If the vider can keep his seat till the horse
ceases, he will probably go quietly afterwards
during the day, — that is, if he is not wilful as to
the road he is wanted to go ; if he is, he will
plunge again. He is a brute not worth the risk
of breaking ; his temper will always prevent his
going pleasantly, and it will render him dangerous
on the slightest provocation.

I have in a very few instances known a horse
awed from this habit by bullying him out of it.
To do this few directions are necessary. Get him
into a light ploughed field, or on soft turf that
gives good foot-hold, — but the ploughed ground is
by far the best, not being elastic, — so as to assist
him in his plunges. When there mount. Begin by
uro-ino" him to move. The moment you do, he
plunges. Set to with him. Let him plunge in any
direction he likes. Hold him hard with one hand,
and flog him over head, ears, neck, shoulder, and
flank till he is tired and ceases. When blown,
make him go as you wish. The moment he at-
tempts to stop, set to at him again at once. This
will sometimes bully a cow-hearted one, but nine
times in ten it fails. Violence of temper may be
palliated, and even cured, by time, temper, and
patience in the rider — and with a nice horse it is
time well bestowed ; but sulk is never eradicated ;
therefore, though I have given the best instructions

GETTING UP THE STEAM. 197

and advice I am master of how to manage a horse
addicted to ordinary plunging, the real sulky one I
can only advise being got rid of, for horsemanship
will not avail with him ; or, at least, it is very
rarely that it will. There is one thing I recom-
mend to the notice of any rider who has a kicking
or plunging horse — ride with three girths to your
saddle ; for such horses often burst their girths.
Let two be moderately tight, the third slacker ; so
if the two break, you have one to hold the saddle
till you can dismount.

" Well," said my friend, '' as luckily I have not
at present a very violent horse to contend with,
have you any objection to a trot round the Park ? "
" None in the world," said I ; and there we went.
Arrived at Cumberland Gate, and turning to the
right, I saw my friend begin working his arms,
and rising up and down on his saddle, something-
like a tame duck in the water preparing for a fly.
I was aware he saw me smile, so I began at once ;
" What on earth are you making all that piece of
work about ? " " Why," said my friend, " is it not
right to rise In my stirrups in a trot ? " " Cer-
tainly," said I ; " but not In a walk." " Well,"
said he, *^ but my horse must walk before he trots."
^^ Granted," said I ; " then I am to conclude your
manoeuvres are a kind of working the steam up."
" Confound you," said my friend, sitting down in
his saddle ; "you make me laugh, so I can't ride."
o 3

198 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

" I am glad," said I, " if I have made you do any
thing but what you were at." " But/' said he,
" now seriously, is not rising in one's stir-
rups the way to make a horse start in a trot ? "
" About as much," said I, " as walking from the
poop to the figure-head of a steamer will make
her start. Your horse trotting induces you to
rise in your stirrups, but rising in your stirrups
won't make your horse trot. You may ride from
London to Windsor, and, if you please, rise in
your stirrups at the rate of, and fancy you are
going, sixteen miles an hour, while your nag com-
posedly takes his five hours to walk the distance.
Capital exercise I grant ; and to a man who wants
exercise it would be better than trotting, because
it would be harder work, for he would not have
the motion of his horse to help him, but must
depend on his own legs and arms for action ; and
a pretty profuse sweat he would be in by the time
he got half his journey. But, really, for this sort of
horse exercise it would be quite unnecessary for
a man to come to the Park or any where else ; he
could ride just as fast in the stable."

My friend took all this at my hands un-
commonly good-humouredly. " Well," said he,
" perhaps you will tell me what I ought to do,
since you have so ridiculed what I have done.'*
" Au contraire," said I, taking off my hat ; " you
do not appreciate the value of what you have
shown me. Why, I shall challenge the recom-

^^ TAKE YOUR TIME, MISS LUCY." 199

mendation of all the medical faculty, get the
patronage of all invalids advised to horse exercise,
and make my fortune. Your hint is worth all the
books, papers, doggrel rhymes, songs, &c. I ever
wrote, or ever shall write. Listen :

I shall buy three or four horses, — five pounders
will do. They shall stand on the Pedlar reins, —
no danger to my customers, invalids or not. Very
corpulent gentlemen, I expect, will be a great pot
to the Antimovable Equine Gymnasium. I let
my nags per hour. Each gentleman works away
in his stall at eight or sixteen miles an hour, as
he pleases. No charge for extra speed — no ex-
press train prices, for each gentleman goes ex-
pressly as he likes ; therefore, of course, they
must all express their approbation of my new
establishment. And now, in gratitude, I will see
about starting in a trot.

Nothing more is necessary to do this with the
generality of horses, than to sit down in your seat,
ease your horse's head, and just press him with
your legs, or make the unspellable sound K L K
with the mouth, and he trots ofi" at once. If he is
addicted to canter, start him with the greater
quietude ; if he rises sit still, and putting your
hand somewhat strongly on his mane, speak to
him, " so then, soho then.'^ When he is quite
composed and settled in his trot, divide your reins,
— that is, take one in each hand, — and rise in your
o 4

200 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

stirrups just as the action of your horse inclines
your body to do so. If you rise too quickly on a
slow goer, you will look like one of my anticipated
patrons of the Antimovement Equine Establish-
ment ; if you rise too slowly on a quick stepper,
you will be equally out of time with each other,
— for remember, the horse will not accommodate
his action to yours, but it will be for your accom-
modation to suit your action as to rising in your
stirrups to his ; for nothing looks more odious,
indeed ridiculous, to a bystander than to see
rider and horse going disjointedly, or not har-
monising in their movements ; nor when or while
this is the case, do rider or horse go comfortably
together.

Never rise suddenly or with an apparent jerk
from your saddle. Let the motion of the horse give
7J0U the impetus, and do it smoothly ; for in this as
in dancing, it is far better to underdo movement
than to overdo it. The faster the horse goes, ge-
nerally speaking, the easier he goes, and the less
is the rider necessitated or induced to rise from
his saddle ; in fact, with some fast trotters it would
be almost impossible to rise at all.

Foreigners seldom rise in their stirrups in the
trot ; but then they ride but little for amusement,
though a good deal for show. Nor do I wonder at
their not riding much, for to be bumped on a
saddle as they must be in a ten-mile trot would

EATE AND PACE. 201

be quite sufficient punishment to most men for
burglary.

" You will think I am always finding fault, I
fear," continued I ; " but I must do so now."
^'Well," replied my friend, "what am I doing
badly now ? " "I cannot say you are doing any
particular thing badly," I replied ; " but you are
letting your horse go badly. You must, I am sure,
feel you are not riding comfortably, — in fact, you
cannot keep an even motion with your horse. This
arises from your letting him go, in technical phrase,
unconnected. He does not step true with his fore
legs, and is, as it were, half-cantering with his hind
ones. He is not going collectedly, or, in further
horse phrase, within himself; he is hanging on
your hand, but not facing his bit, — in fact, he is
not going with energy ; he is dawdling in his pace.
Move the bit in his mouth, and catch fresh hold
of his head ; press him with your legs, and steady
him till you find he goes true. He is, as it were,
going faster than his legs, or, rather, his legs do
not move quick enough for the pace. Where he
takes five long steps he should take six shorter
ones, but quicker. The rate of going will be the
same, but the manner of going will be widely
different. He would tire in seven miles as you have
been riding, more than he would in going ten
properly within himself, and would tire you to
death in riding him ; and, further, if the ground

202 PEACTICAL HOllSEMANSHIP.

was at all heavy, he would go worse every hundred
yards he went.

" Now you have done as I advised, you find
how very differently he goes ; he brings his nose
in, steps clean, light, and evenly. You and your
horse go together; before he went with his hind
legs like a pig in a string.'' " And pray," said
my friend, laughing, " what did I go like ? "
" Why," said I, " something like the man driving
him, — when piggy pulls one way, and the man
another. You went deucedly uncomfortably ; and,
what is more, any one could see you did."

Whenever you find a free horse ceases to face
his bit, unless he does so from fatigue, it arises
from your overpacing him. You may by holding
him, and putting the spurs to him, make him in-
crease his speed for a short time, but it will be for
a very short time. He cannot, as it is termed,
" live " at his best speed for one mile, though that
speed may not exceed twelve miles an hour, or
ten. The trotter that does eighteen miles in an
hour is not oroino; at his best. The horse that does
his mile in two minutes and forty-five seconds,
does not do the mile at extreme speed ; he does it
in the quickest time he can do a mile. But possibly
a hundred yards of the ground were done at the
rate of a mile in two minutes and a half; could
he have kept it up for the whole distance, he
would have done the mile in that time. Thus the

DISTRESS RULED BY CAPABILITY, NOT PACE. 203

horse who, at his extreme speed, can only go at the
rate of twelve miles an hour would tire, if kept
up to that, as soon as the horse that could rate
eighteen, if kept up to his maximum speed.
People are very apt to overlook this ; and because
the rate of going is comparatively slow, they fancy
their horse is going at his ease, when he really is
going in distress. They are then very much sur-
prised in finding him tire, and set him down as a
bad horse, when, perhaps, he is no such thing.
He is an unfairly and injudiciously ridden one —
there has been a bad rider in the case, instead of
a bad horse.

It is very common to see a man urging his
horse in a trot, and if he " breaks up," — that is,
gets into a gallop — he hauls him up, strikes him,
and rates him, and forces him again into a trot. He
breaks up again very shortly ; he is pulled up more
severely than before, and still worse treated — for
what ? Not for being unwilling and refusing to go,
but because he is tired to death of the one same
continued strain on his sinews and muscles, and has
sense enough to wish to vary the exertion. If such
a man had sense enough to let him do so, even if
he galloped the next mile faster than he trotted
the last, he would be fresher at the end of it than
when he broke out of the trot.

This is why horses will gallop over a considerable
length of ground in very short time with com-

204 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

paratlve ease ; they are not at their best, or near it,
in doing so.

We read of or see a horse doing a gallop match of
twenty miles in the hour, — and a great deal is
thought of it. No doubt it is a great exertion, and
a kind of thing I most thoroughly deprecate ; still
I know any good, game, fast horse, in proper
condition, will do it, and perhaps without any
extraordinary distress.

We then hear of some butcher on his old mare
doing fourteen miles ^* in the hour in a trot."
" Well, that's nothing to do," says some one. We
know that as well as some one does ; but this said
fourteen miles was very likely done under the
cruellest distress — yet the poor brute excites no
pity for her suffering, because nature had not
given her speed to do eighteen.

One of the most dead-beat and shamefully-
spurred horses I ever had the unpleasantry of
seeino^ was a mare losino; a wao;er that she did
seven miles out and back within the hour. The
only consolatory part of the business was, her
master, who rode her, lost his wager. I most
sincerely wish it had beggared him ; a hope I
always fervently aspirate towards the makers of
long matches against time, when they know they
must or will be done in great distress.

Let me tell the young rider, also, that if he
wishes to break his horse's knees, and get a fall.

"CHARGE, CHESTEE, CHARGE!" 205

he can scarcely do what is more likely to produce
such results than keeping a tired horse to a trot.
If he does make a mistake, down he goes, from
wanting powers and energy to save himself.

I had great pleasure, a few days afterwards, in
seeing my friend trotting along from Chesterfield
Gate with a neat, very horsemanlike seat, — his
horse and he going with one mind and motion, as
easily as the Siamese twins. I congratulated
him. " Well," said he, '' I am glad you see
nothing of the man and his pig about us now."
" Pardon me," said I, " but I do — I see you are
on as good terms with your nag as Paddy is with
his pig Avhen he is ready to pay the rint 1 "

" Well," said my friend, *^ you can't say I am
like some young ladies — practising a bravura by
themselves, instead of the Solfa^ as directed by
the master. I have not perpetrated a canter yet,
but mean to try one with you to-day."

" Here's with you," said I, putting my horse
into a canter. My friend meant to do the same
with his, but the horse (as he had lately been
doing) trotted off. His master kicked him with
the one heel, then with the other ; tried both bits ;
chucked at his horse's mouth ; leaned forward, and
tried to raise himself in his stirrups, but could not ;
bobbed down on his seat again, his horse going a
not-to-be-described pace, and my friend looking as
comfortable in his saddle as a cat in a bowl on the

206 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

water ! At last, he gave his horse a stripe with
his stick, which drove him into a sprawling gallop,
wrong leg first — my friend, in his confusion,
pulling to stop him with the near-side curb and
off-side bridoon-rein in one hand.

" My dear fellow," said I, " if you mean to
charge the bushes and wall into Kensington
Gardens, well and good ; but, if not, let me re-
commend you to halt, and when you have come
to a halt, we will see if we can't get to the quick
step in better order."

After my friend had succeeded in — I can hardly
call it puUing his horse up, but rather bringing
him to, and each had recovered the fluster they
were in from their rather forcible outset, I put
him on what I conceive to be a better plan for
usual practice as to putting a horse into a
canter.

" As," said I, *^ you were not quite successful in
your last attempt ; not to fail again, we will use
precautions that are not always necessary, but are
advisable if a horse is at all difficult to get into a
canter out of a walk.

" Now, without doing it so as to be perceived by
bystanders, or persons riding with you, as your
horse walks along, get him a little more in hand ;
and while he continues walking prior to cantering,
having a rein in each hand, hold him a trifle firmer
with the left than the right, and also just press

PREPAHATION. 207

him very gently with your left leg. This induces
him to walk in a trifling degree obliquely to the
left, causes him to step more short and quick, and
puts him altogether a little on the alert, so as to
be ready to obey your signal, when given, to go
off promptly, and brings him somewhat into that
direction of head, neck, and body he should go in
when in his canter. The quicker and shorter he
steps while walking, the more readily can he go
off into the other pace ; and further, it prepares
him that you are going to make him do something,
and puts him in readiness to obey. All this,
though it takes some time to describe, is to be
done invisibly, and only relates to a dozen steps of
your horse. But take this as a fundamental rule,
never to be departed from where or when it can be
avoided, — whatever you want a horse to do, or mean
to make him do, always, in a greater or less degree,
as may be requisite, prepare him for it before you
actually call upon him to do it, otherwise you
may do so at a moment when it is physically
impossible he can obey.

'' Your horse being now prepared, bear stronger
on your left-hand rein, bring your leg closer to
him, and, just as you feel he is about putting his
near foot to the ground, make the sound ^ klk '
with your mouth, and, giving a gentle, quickened
pressure of the left rein, touch him with your left
heel, and off he goes at once.

208 PEACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

" Why it is best to give these signals to canter
as he is about putting the near leg down is this :
if he had continued his walk, of course, after he
had put the near foot down, he would have ad-
vanced the off one still in the walk, but on your
signal being given to change the pace, he advances
it in the canter ; but if you give that signal when
the off leg is coming down, of course he cannot go
off with it at that moment — he must either lead
with the near leg, or wait another step till the off
one is in its turn ready to advance.

" If your horse is handy, you need not do this ;
you have then only to gather him together, hold
the near rein the firmest, and pressing him with
your leg, and giving the ' klk,' he will, the mo-
ment his step allows him to do so, go off of him-
self into the canter, right leg first.

^' If you find your horse, as some will frequently
do, trot a step or two before they break into a
canter, it is hardly worth while to have any con-
tention for so trifling a matter, unless the horse is
for a lady's use ; but if he is in a trot, and you
insist on his breaking at once into a canter, re-
member it is absolutely impossible he can do so,
unless at the moment when his step enables him
to do it.

'^ If you find him all but refuse to go from the
trot to the canter, do not attempt to drive him by
force into the canter ; for all you get by that will

THE CANTER. 209

be this — you drive him to the top of his speed in
his trot (say that is at the rate of twelve or thirteen
miles an hour) ; from this he bursts not, of course,
into a slow, neat, connected canter, but into a
thundering gallop, at a still faster rate. This
shows how little those persons know of horseman-
ship whom you daily see going in so preposterous
a manner. If we want a horse to canter at the
rate of six miles an hour, and he is trotting ten,
one would think the commonest sense would tell
any man that he must stop his horse's rate of
trotting before he can canter, and not drive him
on faster ; for, in the latter case, suppose the
animal to be willing to canter, what must he do ? —
why, slacken his pace in defiance of the stick
that is being applied to him !

" If you find he continues to trot, and refuses to
canter from simple pressure of the near rein and
heel, pull his head to the right ; let him go a few
steps thus ; then quickly and forcibly, in accord-
ance with the sort of mouth he has, pull his head
well round to the left, and clap the near-side spur
to him, well back towards his flank. This sends
his croup away to the right, and you pulling his
fore-parts to the left, the motion is so sudden, he
can scarcely avoid breaking into the canter, right
leg first ; but mind, while you do this, hold him
back that he does not quicken his pace, otherwise
of course he gallops, not canters.
p

210 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

" By practising your horse in this way, you will
soon render him so handy, that, on holding your
reins in one hand, you have only to press with
the finger of the bridle hand on the near rein, and
on his hearing your ' klk,' or saying, ' come,' he
will go off as smooth as a duck into the water.

^^ If on any occasion you find your horse begin
to hang in hand in his canter, instantly move
the bridle in his mouth ; if you are riding on the
bridon, move it from side to side, raising your
hands as you do so. If this does not suflSce, catch
hold of the curb, and press your horse with your
legs or heels. A horse may pull, and pull very
strongly, yet go most handsomely and pleasantly ;
but, the moment he hangs on his bit he ceases to
do either, and generally also ceases to go safely."

I have mentioned, when on the subject of the
trot, that a horse cannot at once turn right or left,
if at the turn he is leading with the opposite leg.
This holds equally good as relates to his canter.
A horse cannot turn quickly to either side in his
canter, unless he is leadi];ig with the leg on the
side he is wanted to turn.

It is true a person may see a horse cantering or
even galloping with the right leg leading, and
might see him, a moment afterwards, take a short
turning to the left. This would appear to him a '
total refutation of my assertion, that he could not
turn quickly in an opposite direction with the
leading leg ; but it would not be so, for such horse

THE RIGHT FOOT FOREMOST. 211

did not turn while leading with the right leg, he
changed it the moment he found he was to turn
to the left ; so that, in point of fact, at the turn
he was leading with the left leg, though the
stroke before he was leading with the right. This
very handy horses will do of themselves when
practised to do so; but a rider should be quite
certain his horse is thus handy before he trusts
him, for should he not change his leg, he would
in all probability come down headlong.

All horses should be taught to change the
leading leg handily, when motioned by the rider
to do so ; but further, they should be taught to do
this of their own accord, whenever convenience or
safety requires it ; and all this it is very easy to
teach them to do, by riding them in an inclosed
place, and making them practise a figure of eight.
Why an enclosed place is far the best is this — if
in a field, the horse has room all round him, so
may hesitate in turning quickly ; but if, by going
straightforward, he would knock his head against
a wall, of course he would turn. An excellent
out-of-doors breaking school is made in a few
hours, by merely wattled sheep-fold hurdles placed
endways up.

After walking and trotting a horse in any small
inclosure a short time, he knows the turns as well
as his rider, and will make them of his own accord.
Then he may be put into the slowest canter he

P 2

212 PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP.

can be made to go, with, say, his usual right leg
first. This, if started in the right place, makes
the first turn come handy, being to the right ;
but crossing the inclosure brings on the difficulty.
He has now to turn to the left. Just before doing
so, force him on by your heels gently. He finds he
cannot turn if he does not change his leg. He very
likely makes a boggle, but in such situation that
matters little. If he has broken off his canter, put
him into it again, and take him across your school.
Then comes the right turn. If he has the wrong
leg for this, he will boggle again ; but if you perse-
vere, and do not flurry or frighten him, he will very
soon learn to change his leg at each turn, with-
out being made do so by the rider ; which has
this advantage — he will on all occasions do it
when necessary, should the rider fail or forget to
motion him to do so. It is almost needless to say,
in such practice, the rider must be very careful
not to counteract the action of the horse by his
hand ; but, if he does anything, he should facili-
tate his turn and change of leg, and somewhat lean
his own body towards the side the horse turns.

" Your horse is now cantering just as he ought
to do," said I to my friend ; " you now know how
to make him commence, and also, as I see, to
continue to do so. This being the case, I do not
see I can be of any more use to you."

" But," said my friend, " there is galloping and
leaping." " Oh !" replied I, '^ as to galloping, it

WE PART TO MEET AGAIN. 213

is what no gentleman does in public in the Parks
or on a road if he can help it ; if obliged to do
so, a hand-gallop is the most he will perpetrate,
and that is only an extended canter, to which you
are quite equal ; — and as to leaping, that is not
much wanted in London."

" I thought it was sometimes," said my friend,
" when gentlemen got a * spin ' in the Park, in
defiance of the keepers, eh ? "

" 'No more of that, Hal, if you love me," said I,
kissing my hand and cantering off.

Some months after my friend told me he in-
tended next season to go with hounds. " Said like
a trump," said I. " * Aquila non captat muscas.
I find you mean to go on the same principle I
do with my books. You have shown yourself
before your friends and the public on the road,
have been fortunate enough to have escaped cen-
sure, so you now mean to venture into the field ;
do so ; and if I should be fortunate enough to find
this book escape censure, at a proper time you and
I, under such favour, will have a turn at Field
Eiding, as we have had on ordinary Practical
Horsemanship."

H.H.

THE END.

London:

Printed by Spottiswoode & Co.,
New-street- Square.

ALSO BY HARRY HIEOVER.

STABLE TALK AND TABLE TALK;

SPECTACLES FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN.

New Edition. "With Portrait of the Author, and Index.
2 Vols. 8vo., price 24s.

Opinions of the Press.

" This work will become a great favourite with all persons who are con-
nected with the turf, the chase, and the world of manly sports. It is written
in a pleasant, off-hand, dashing manner, and contains an immense variety of
information and entertaining matter." Weekly Dispatch.

" These lively sketches answer to their title very well. They have the
proper ease and unaffectedness of table talk, and the thorough sporting know-
ledge which should belong to talk of the stable. Wherever Nimrod was wel-
come, we think there should be cordial greeting for Harry Hieover. His book
is certainly a very clever book of its class, with many instructive hints, as well
as much agreeable light-hearted reading." Examiner,

*' An amusing and instructive book. With everything connected with horse-
flesh, the road, the turf, the fair, the repository, Harry Hieover is thoroughly
familiar; and his anecdotes of coaching (alas ! that we should write reminis-
cences), of racing, of horse-dealing in all its varieties, of hunting and field
sports in general, will be read with pleasure by the old sportsman, and may
be pursued with profit by the young one, if he will take warning from one
wide awake." The Times.

We spoke favourably of the first volume of this work, and we are enabled
to do the same of the second. The author is an old favourite of ours, because
he writes sensibly, and does not addle our brains with a confused mass of
sporting sentimentalism. Like all men of true talent, experience, and know-
ledge, he writes diffidently, and disarms criticism by premising his own de-
fects. Will the author be satisfied with our judgment ? Here it is. He has
produced a work that warrants higher anticipations than his own, and all
readers having common sense will think it not only ' in some,' but in many
parts useful, and in others, not occasionally, but frequently amusing."

Bell's Life in London.

" The author of these very agreeable volumes is quite a Democritus in his
way ; he cannot philosophise without a chuckle, neither can he chuckle with-
out philosophising. He is always in excellent humour both with himself and
with his subject, and as pleasantry is — thanks to a merciful dispensation ! —
as contagious as the potato murrain, his readers are unconsciously infected
witti the spirit of the chapters, and resign the book at last on equally excellent
terms with themselves, with sporting generally, with ' Stable Talk and Table
Talk' in particular, and especially with Harry Hieover himself. Besides
being of this well-tempered character, these volumes afford a comprehensive
coup d'ceil of the histories and mysteries of everything relating to the turf, the
stable, or the road — of everything equine in short." Sun.

London: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS.

Also BY HARET HIEOVEE.

THE POCKET AND THE STUD;

OR,

PKACTICAL HINTS

ON

THE MANAGEMENT OF THE STABLE.

With Portrait of the Author on his favourite Horse " Harlequin."
Second Edition. Fep. 8vo., price 5s.

Opinions of the Press.

" A book which all purchasers and sellers, and lovers of horses, will read or
should read." Carlisle Patriot.

"'The Pocket and the Stud' — a small book with great information, has
all the advantages of appearing before the public in excellent form. Seldom
have we witnessed so agreeable a turn out. May it run through several
editions, no matter how swiftly ; for in this instance, it will no/ be the pace
that nills." Sporting Magazine.

" A most interesting and useful little volume, full of detail and anecdote, on
the cheapest and most efficient methods of stable management. The pur-
chase of a horse, the arrangements of his house, his food and general economy
of the subject, are here all discussed by one who speaks with all the confi-
dence of ample experience." Gardeners' Chronicle.

" We have done enough, we hope, to recommend this writer's octavos to
such lovers of horses and hunting as have not chanced to encounter them ; his
new duodecimo to all who desire to consult the interest of their purse in the
arrangements of their stable. Few books are so sure to save large amounts of
£ s. d. to those who duly study their precepts as ' Pocket and the Stud ' of
Mr. Hieover." Quarterly Review.

" With respect to the treatment of horses generally, the work contains some
excellent advice. The author has evidently had much experience in the
matter, and the hints and suggestions which he gives, are first-rate. We
should recommend all who have anything to do with the management of
horses to con over the pages of the ' Pocket and the Stud ' and to attend to
the advice therein contained." Sunday Times,

" We think no man, however extensive his practice in matters contained in
this work, can read it without obtaining additional information, and we are
perfectly sure that it will prove of great service to the mass of the owners of
horses, be they hunters, carriage-horses, roadsters, or park chevaux de parade.
These subjects are dealt with in minute detail, with great ability, and in that
easy and pleasant style exhibited by the author in his ' Stable Talk and
Table Talk.' " Bell's Life.

" Very few persons have had such opportunities as the author, for becoming
intimately acquainted with the management of every description of horse.
The author is no theorist ; but a man of very long and varied experience
touching stables and their quadruped inhabitants. Respecting horses for the
hunting-field, the road, the parks, the street, and every kind of equipage, the
author is a first-rate judge ; and in purchasing such animals, treating, lodging,
feeding them, we know of no writer whose advice it would be safer to follow.
The book is portable, cheap, and pleasantly and candidly written." Observer.

London: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS.

BOOKS ON RURAL SPORTS, &c,

1.
Colonel HAWKER'S INSTRUCTIONS to YOUNG SPORTS-
MEN in all that relates to GUNS and SHOOTING. Tenth Edition,
improved by the Author's Sonj with numerous Illustrations. 8vo. 21*.

2.

BLAINE'S ENCYCLOPEDIA of RURAL SPORTS. New

Edition; revised by Harry Hieover, Ephemera, and Mr. A. Graham :
"With above 600 Woodcuts. 8vo. 50s.

3.

The STUD FARM ; or, Hints on Breeding Horses for the
Turf, the Chase, and the Road. By Cecil. Fcp. 8vo. 55.

" The rules and treatment laid down by this little work are simple and concise.
They are not overlaid by scientific directions, but furnish the advice along experience
in breeding horses affords in an easy and judicious manner, sufficiently scientific
without being pedantic, and instructive without wearying." County Chroniclb .

" This is a purely practical book, invaluable to the horse-breeder and trainer, from
the pen of a practical man, who evidently understands his subject thoroughly. That
"he is no novice at the science upon which he writes appears from our author having
devoted twenty-five years to the management of horses. . . . We cannot better convey
oiur opinion of our author and his performance, than by expressing the high value at
which we rate his experience, and the great pleasure we have derived from the perusal
of a book full of useful information, conveyed in a clear, forcible, and perspicuous
style." Court Journal.

" We never saw a work which more thoroughly answered the purpose for which it
was intended. The whole science of breeding, crossing, rearing, and breaking— the
building of paddocks— the best kind of land suited for mares and foals—the most eco-
nomical, and at the same time the best description of food— these, and in short every
direction the young breeder can look for or profit by, are given in plain, concise, and
most suitable language, further illustrated by cases and examples that have occurred
either to Cecil himself or to some of his many acquaintances amongit sportsmen. The
book is eipecially addressed to tenant-farmers ; but there are none, we imagine, but
must profit by a perusal of the ' Stud Farm,' calculated as it is to supersede many old
and now obsolete works on the same subject." Spobtino Maoaiine.

London: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS.

Books on Rural Sports, ^c.

4.

HINTS on SHOOTING, FISHING, &c., both on SEA and

LAND, and in the FRESH- WATER LOCHS of SCOTLAND: Being
the Experiences of Christopher Idle, Esq. Fcp. 8vo. 5s.

5.
RECORDS of the CHASE, and MEMOIRS of CELE-
BRATED SPORTSMEN. By Cecil. With Two Plates by B.
Herring. Fcp. 8vo. 7s. 6d,

6.

The STUD for PRACTICAL PURPOSES and PRAC-
TICAL MEN: A Guide to the Choice of a Horse for Use more than for
Show. By Harry Hieover. Fcp. 8vo. 5s.

7.

The HUNTING-FIELD. By Harry Hieover. With Two

Plates. Fcp. 8vo. 5s.

8.
STABLE PRACTICE ; or. Hints on Training for the Turf,

the Chase, and the Road. By Cecil. Fcp. 8vo. 5s

" The style of composition is easy and perspicuous, and the anecdotes are well told.
.... There have been many tomes of greater pretension and more elaborate embel-
lishment than ' Stable Practice ' oiiered to the sportsman, yet not possessing one tithe
of the solid claims to his patronage as a [work of] practical reference."

Morning Advertisek.

"This is one of those practical works which cannot fail to be of ser\ace to all those
who have an interest in the well-doing of that noble animal the horse. We notice it
chiefly for the purpose of recommending it to our professional brethren, who will find
much more information on points of importance to the keepers of horses than the title
would lead them to expect." Lancet.

" The little book we have been examining is one of that light class which a veteri
narian may read after the business of the day is over, without drawing too largely on
his thoughts, and yet sufficiently so to keep him from napping. He may and will,
out of his own immediate department, get a few wrinkles ; and with them he will find
himself better armed against the trainer, should chance bring him into his company ;
as well as better at.le to cope with the sporting man, with whom he is more likely to
find himself associated. ' ' VErERiNARiAN.

London: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS.

Books on Rural Sports, S^c.

9.

The ANGLER and his FRIEND ; or, Piscatory Colloquies
and Fishing Excursions. By John Davy, M.D., F.R.S. Fcp. 8vo. 6«.

10.
EPHEMERA'S HANDBOOK of ANGLING ; teaching Fly-
Fishing, Trolling, Bottom-Fishing, Salmon-Fishing. With many Wood-
cuts. Fcp. 8vo. 5s.

11.

RONALDS'S FLY-FISHER'S ENTOMOLOGY, iUustrated by
coloured representations of the Natural and Artificial insect. 8vo. 14s.

12.

EPHEMERA'S BOOK of the SALMON; comprising the

Theory, Principles, and Practice of Fly- Fishing for Salmon : With
copious Lists of Flies, coloured Plates, &c. Fcp. Svo 14s.

13.

CAPTAIN RICHARDSON'S HORSEMANSHLP for the

SCHOOL, the ROAD, and the FIELD; or, the Art of Riding and
Managing a Horse. Square crown Svo. with Illustrations, 14s.

" The writer of this volume has furnished the horseman with every species of infor-
mation which may be of use to him in the keep, the treatment, and management of
his stud. A scientific treatise on the equestrian art, it contains at the same time
useful hints as to the character of horses, their various qualities, the points to be ob-
served by a purchaser, and other matters of a similar description , the whole illustrated
by plates and woodcuts. No gentleman's library should be without so valuable a
manual." John Buli.

" Contains much sound and classical information on the subject of equitation, is a
guide to ladies and gentlemen riding on the road and in the field, and contains also
instructions for breaking-in colts and young horses. . . . The instructions in all
these lessons are exceedingly precise, and, if carried into practice, must make the
accomplished horseman or horsewoman. . . . We consider Captain Richardson a
most intelligent, sensible, and accomplished instructor in the art of riding, and re-
commend his lessons to the practical study of aU who wish to ride artistically,
gracefully, and well." Observer.

London: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS.

Books on Rural Sports, S^c.

14.

REMINISCENCES of a HUNTSMAN. By the Hon.
Grantley F. Berkeley. With 4 Etchings by John Leech, (1 coloured).
8to. lis.

15.

The RIFLE and the HOUND in CEYLON. By S. W.

Baker, Esq. With numerous Illustrations. 8vo. 14s.

" Its literary merits are great : there is a manly and fine-hearted tone about the
book which gives it a permanent interest. You are led to like the author himself,
and can with pleasure look forward to a futiu-e day when you will take down his
work from your shelves to renew your acquaiatance with him." Eka.

" We can promise the general reader much amusement from the volume, and a
good deal of instruction besides, on many points respecting the climate, capabilities,
native races, and natural produce of Ceylon— all introduced incidentally to sporting
matters, but not the less adding to the value of the book on that account." Globe.

" This book is entirely sport, and would probably become monotonous, were it not
for the constant change of the object of attack, and the exciting character of all the
adventures, which will probably conduct even the least sportsman-like reader from the
first page to the last ; and to the enthusiast in field sports it wiU prove more enter-
taining than the most exciting melodrama," Fibid.

16.

EIGHT YEARS' WANDERINGS in CEYLON. By S. W.

Baker, Esq. With 6 coloured Plates. 8vo. 15s.

" The reader who merely seeks for a few hours' amusement will find Mr. Baker's
book full of entertaining anecdotes concerning the people, the hvmting, the shooting,
and all the out-of-door pursuits of beautiful Taprobane; while he who is seeking for
an emigrant's home in a tropical island wiU gather a rich harvest of sterling im-
formation concerning the farming, the mining, and other industrial occupations of
the island." Gabdenbrs' Chronicle.

17.
The GREYHOUND : A Treatise on the Art of Breeding
Rearing, and Training Greyhounds for Public Running. By Stone-
HENGE. With many Illustrations. Square crown 8vo. 21s.

18.

The CRICKET-FIELD ; or, the Science and History of the

Game of Cricket. Second Edition. With Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo. 5s.

London: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS.

/)

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