Hand-book for Horsewomen Part 5

In all the best riding-schools of Europe two posts are firmly fixed into the ground, parallel with and about twenty paces from one of the short sides of the school. These are called pillars, and between them is fastened a horse who is trained to rear or to kick at command, in order that the teacher may explain to his pupils what they must do when they encounter one or other of these resistances. These pillars are almost unknown in riding-schools in this country, and the reason of their absence may be found, I think, in the moral qualities of the American horse, which are really astonis.h.i.+ng when looked at from the point of view of animal character.

A teacher should, however, give his pupils some instructions about the most common tricks or vices of the horse, which are usually only defensive action on his part. Before any active form of resistance, the horse always makes a well-marked pause; for instance, in order to rear, he stops his motion forward, draws his hind legs under him, throws his weight on them, and lifts his fore legs from the ground, holding his head high. When he is almost upright on his hind legs, he stands for a longer or shorter time, moving his fore feet as if beating the air, and then either comes down to earth again or falls backward, which is acknowledged to be the most dangerous thing which can happen on horseback. If the rider feels that her horse is on the point of going over with her, she must instantly slip her foot out of the stirrup, loosen the hold of her leg on the pommel, and lean as far to the right as she can, turning her body to the left in order to fall on the right of the horse, who almost always falls to the left, and, as soon as she is on the ground, she must scramble away from her horse as quickly as possible.

The best way of preventing a horse from rearing is not allowing him to stop; and, if it should be too late or too difficult to manage this, all effects of the hands should stop at once, and the rider should attack his right flank with her whip vigorously. If a horse rears habitually, he should be got rid of.

In order to kick, on the contrary, the horse braces himself with his fore legs, lifting his hind quarters by a contraction of his hind legs; and, when his croup is in the air, he kicks as hard as he can with his hind legs, and brings them suddenly to the ground again, holding his head low and sticking out his neck meanwhile.

An inexperienced rider may be frightened by the shock of this movement, which is very disagreeable, besides being dangerous to people behind; but, with calm presence of mind and a little energy, this trick may be fought without too much annoyance. In this case also the great thing is to hinder the horse from stopping, by keeping his head up; and, if, in spite of the rider, he gets it down and his legs braced in front of him, she should lean very far back and strike one or two vigorous blows with her whip on the lower part of the neck where it joins the chest, trying at the same time to lift the head with the reins.

Some teachers recommend using the whip on the flank, as in rearing, and I usually do this myself; but I have always noticed that the horse kicks again at least once while going forward; so I do not recommend this for a lady.

In bucking, the horse puts his head down, stiffens his fore legs, draws his hind legs somewhat under him, and jumps forward, coming down on all four feet at once, and jumping again almost immediately.

Without being particularly dangerous, this vice is very unpleasant, as it jars the rider terribly. To neutralize the shock, therefore, as much as she can, she must sit very far back, lean her body back, lift her hands vigorously, and try to make her horse go forward and slightly to the right.

When a horse refuses to slacken his pace, or to stop when his rider wishes it, he is running away with her, and he does this progressively--that is, if he is at a walk he will not stop when he feels the bit, but shakes his head, quickens his pace to a trot, throws his head into the air, or holds it down, bearing against the bit, breaks into a gallop, and goes faster and faster until he is at full speed; and, once arrived at this point, he is quite capable of running straight into a wall or jumping over a precipice.

Some high authorities maintain that this state of the horse is one of temporary insanity; and this theory is admissible in certain cases where, when the animal is stopped, the nostrils are found to be very red and the eyes bloodshot; but, in most cases, horses run away through sudden fright, or from fear of punishment, or because they are in pain from one cause or another. When a horse is subject to this fault, his rider should give him to a man, either a skilled amateur or a professional rider, as I have seen very few ladies who could undertake the proper treatment without danger.

Such a horse being put into my hands for training, I take him to some place where the footing is good and where he can have plenty of s.p.a.ce, which means plenty of time for me; and, once there, I provoke him to run away, in order that I may find out why he does so. If he fights against my hand, shuts his mouth, or throws his head in the air, as soon as he has stopped I carefully examine his mouth, his throat, his breathing, his sight, his loins, and his houghs. Sometimes the mouth is without saliva, the lips are rough and irritated, the bars are dry, bruised, and even cut; and in that case I try to see whether the bad habit does not come from severe bitting, or too tight a curb-chain, or perhaps the teeth may be in bad order. A few flexions of the jaw and neck will tell me at once if the mouth is the cause of the trouble; but I must make sure that this bad state of the mouth is the cause, and not the consequence.

The sight of a horse is often defective; the sun in his eyes dazzles and frightens him; or else a defective lens makes objects appear larger to him than they really are; or he may be near-sighted, and consequently nervous about what he can not see; and a moving bird, or a bit of floating paper, is enough to make him bolt.

Sometimes the throat is sore inside, and then the horse suffers from the effect of the bit on the extremity of his neck when he gives his head.

Bolting is often caused by suffering in some internal organ; and in that case the breathing is apt to be oppressed.

But in seven cases out of ten the cause of a horse's running away is to be found in his hind quarters. The loins are too long, weak, and ill-attached, so that when he carries a heavy weight the spinal column feels an insupportable pain. What man would not become mad if he were forced to walk, trot, and gallop, carrying a weight which caused him frightful suffering? The remembrance of an old wound made by the saddle is sometimes enough to cause a nervous and sensitive animal to bolt. The legs are sometimes beginning to throw out curbs or spavins, or they may be too straight and narrow, lacking the strength necessary to carry the horse at a regular gait; so he suffers, loses his head, and runs away.

We will suppose the horse to be well-proportioned, with his sight and organs in a normal condition, his mouth only being hurt as a consequence, not as a cause. I change the bit, and subst.i.tute an easier one, treating the mouth meanwhile with salt, or alum, or marsh-mallow; and yet my horse still runs away. In that case it is from one of two reasons: either it is from memory and as a habit, or else it is the result of ill-temper. If the former, I take him to some spot where I can have plenty of s.p.a.ce and time, preferably a sea-beach with soft sand, or a large ploughed field; and there I let him go, stopping when he stops, and then making him go on again, and in this way he soon learns that submission is the easiest way for him. If he should be really ill-tempered, I would mount him in the same place with sharp spurs and a good whip, and before long his moral condition would be much more satisfactory.

But often a horse takes fright and runs away when one least expects it.

Allow me to say that nothing which a horse can do should ever be unexpected. On horseback one should be ready for emergencies; and the best way to avoid them is to prevent the horse from a dangerous initiative. Besides, the horse does not get to his full speed at once; and, if the rider keeps calm, she will probably be able to master him before he reaches it. But, if, in spite of herself, her horse is running at a frightful pace, what should be done? In the first place, she must try to see that he does not slip and fall; and, in any case, she should take her foot out of the stirrup, let her whip drop if necessary, choose at once a straight line, if that be possible, and give to her horse with hands and leg, calming him with the voice, and speaking loud, in order that it may reach his ear. She should endeavor to remain calm, and to take long breaths; then, when his first rush is over, she should lift her wrists, holding the reins short, lean very far back, and saw his mouth vigorously with the bridle, two reins being in either hand.

"Sawing" is the successive action of the two hands acting separately on the mouth of the horse, and, by pulling his head from side to side, it throws him out of his stride and checks his speed. I can not say too often that it is easier to prevent a horse from running away than it is to stop him when he is once fairly off.

It would be very difficult to foresee all the possible defensive actions of the horse and the means of counteracting them; but, as the rider gains experience, she will get to recognize these actions from the outset, and counteract them so naturally that she will scarcely think about it. To a good rider there is no such thing as a restive horse. The animal either knows what to do, or he does not. If he knows, the rider, by the power of her effects, forces the horse to obey; if he does not know, the rider trains him. If a horse resists, there is always a cause; and that cause should be sought and destroyed, after which the horse will ask no better than to behave himself.

If a horse fidgets and frets to get back to the stable (which is a common and annoying trick), he should be turned round and walked for a moment or two in an opposite direction, away from home, and in a fortnight he will have lost the bad habit.

Horses often have a trick of fighting the hand by running out their heads and trying to pull the reins through the fingers of their riders.

This comes from stiffness in the hind quarters, and will stop as soon as the horse has been taught, by progressive flexions, to keep his hind legs under him.

A timid horse may always be rea.s.sured and quieted by a persevering rider, provided his sight is not bad; and he should never be punished for shying, as that comes from fright; he should be allowed time to get used to the sight or sound of a terrifying object, and, when he is convinced that it will not hurt him, he will disregard it in future, as, although timid, he is not a coward. For instance: if a horse s.h.i.+es at a gnarled stump in a country lane, his rider should stop and let him come slowly up to it, which he will do with every appearance of fear. She should cheer him with her voice, and caress him with her hand; and, when once he has come near enough to smell the dreaded shape, he will give a contemptuous sniff, and never notice it after.

If a horse should fall with his rider, she should at once slip her foot out of the stirrup, lift her right leg over the pommel, and turn her body quickly to the left. If the horse falls to the right, she will fall on him, which will deaden the shock, and, as his legs will be on the left, she can get away from his feet easily; if he falls to the left, she must try to let her head fall to the right, and, if she has time, she will attempt to fall to the left, on her knees, and must get away from the horse on her hands and knees with all speed.

If she should be thrown from her saddle, she must not stiffen herself, and must keep her head as high as possible.

CONCLUSION.

Before closing this slight treatise, I would most respectfully say a parting word to the ladies for whose use I have prepared it.

The principle of the proper control of a horse by a lady may be thus roughly summed up: Keep him well under your control, but also keep him going forward; _carry_ him forward with the pressure of your left leg and with the whip, which must take the place of the right leg. Never let a horse take a step at his own will; and, as soon as he shows the first sign of resistance, try to counteract it. Great care and tact must be used to avoid sudden changes of gait, which irritate a horse by throwing him off his balance and measure; and he should never be teased with the whip and spur in order that he may prance and fidget, for such foolishness on horseback proves nothing, and is only fit to amuse ignorant spectators.

Be prudent; accidents always happen too soon. Be calm, if you wish your horse to be so. Be just, and he will submit to your will. Remember that, in riding, the greatest beauty consists in being simple in your means of control; do not appear to be always occupied with your horse, for you and he should seem to have the same will.

Do not read or study one method only; there is good to be found in all.

THE END.