xt7n8p5v7h2r https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7n8p5v7h2r/data/mets.xml Greenwood, George, 1799-1875. 1839  books b98-57-43602832 English E. Moxon, : London : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Horsemanship. Horses.An officer of the Household Brigade of Cavalry. Hints on horsemanship, to a nephew and niece  : or, Common sense and common errors in common riding / by an officer of the Household Brigade of Cavalry [i.e. George Greenwood]. text Hints on horsemanship, to a nephew and niece  : or, Common sense and common errors in common riding / by an officer of the Household Brigade of Cavalry [i.e. George Greenwood]. 1839 2002 true xt7n8p5v7h2r section xt7n8p5v7h2r 












HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.

  


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HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP,




           A Nepbetu anlt Wiae;


                 oit,



COMMON SENSE AND COMMON ERRORS
             IN

       COMMON RIDING.



             BY



AN OFFICER OF TIHE HOUSEHOLD BRIGADE
          OF CAVALRY.







            , 0N1) ON:
  EDl7'.kRf) MOXON, DOV'ER STREET.

 





































          LONDON:

PRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS,

       WHIThFIJA RS.

 









HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



  WHEN you wish to turn to the right, pull the right rein

stronger than the left: this is common sense. The common
error is precisely the reverse: the common error is, when
you wish to turn to the right, to pass the hand to the right.
By this, the right rein is slackened, and the left rein is tight-
ened, across the horse's neck; and the horse is required to
turn to the right, when the left rein is pulled. It is to
correct this common error, this monstrous and perpetual
source of bad riding, and bad usage to good animals, that
these pages are written.
  England is the only European country which admits of
                            B

 

ITINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



more than one style of riding. But in all Europe, even in
England, there is but one style of riding taught, as a system:
that style is the manege, or military style. The military
style is, and must ever be, essentially a one-handed style, for
the soldier must have his right hand at liberty for his weapons.
The recruit is, indeed, made to ride with a single snaffle, in
two hands; but only as a preparatory step to the one-handed
style. His left hand then becomes his bridle hand: and
that hand must hold the reins in such a manner as will
require the least possible aid from the sword hand to
shorten them, as occasion may require.  This is with the
fourth finger from the thumb only between them.     For
these reasons, as far as soldiers are concerned, I do not see
how the present system can be altered for the better; unless
it be by placing three fingers of the left hand between the
reins, instead of the fourth finger only: namely, the second,
third, and fourth fingers from the thumb of the left hand.

The reins held in this way, are as easily and as quickly



2

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



shortened, by drawing them with- the right hand through the
left, as if they wvere separated by the fourth finger only. I
always adopt this mode myself when my sword is in my hand,

and should think it worth trial for all soldiers. But I see

no reason why, because soldiers are compelled to guide their
horses with the left hand only, and with the fourth finger

only between the reins, that ladies and civilians should be
condemned to the same system. On the contrary, I would
have ladies ride in general with single-curb bridles.  But

they, as well as gentlemen, when double bridles are used,
should ride with only one at a time. The rein of the other
.should lie loose or knotted up on the horse's neck: and they

should use both hands to the reins, whether of the curb or the

snaffle, precisely the same as a rough-rider, or colt-breaker,

uses the reins of a single snaffle; except that the reins
should pass outside the fourth fingers from the thumb,
instead of between them and the third fingers.
  Fasten the ends of a rein, or a piece of tape of the same

                            B3 2



3

 

4HINTS ON' 1ORSEMAN.SHIP.



length, to the upper part of the outside rails of the back of
a chair: pull the reins enough to raise two of the legs off
the ground, and to keep the chair balanced on the remaining
two. Take vour reins as ladies and soldiers are taught to
take them, both grasped in the left hand, the fourth finger
only between them, an(l (I quote from the regulations of the

English cavalry) " the top of the thumb firmly closed on

them-the upper part of the arm hanging straight down from
the shoulder-the left elbow lightly touching the hip-the
lower part of the arm square to the upper-little finger on a

level with the elbow-wrist rounded outwards-the back of
the hand to the front-the thumb pointing across the body-

the hand opposite the centre of the body, and three inches
from it.' In this position, we are taught, " the little finger

of the bridle hand has four lines of action:-First, towards
the breast (to stop or rein back); second, towards the right

shoulder (to turn to the right); third, towards the left
shoulder (to turn to the left) ; fourth, towards the horse's



4

 

                  hINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.                  5

 head (to advance)." Try the second motion: you wvill find it
 a very nice operation, and that you are capable of shortening
 the right rein only in a very slight degree. You will also
 find that, if the hand ceases to be precisely opposite the
 centre of the body,-that the moment it is passed to the
 right, the right rein becomes slackened, and the left rein is

 pulled. This is still more the case when the horse's neck is
 between the reins; the left rein is then instantly shortened

 across the neck.
 I will not assert that the art of riding thus is unattainable
 and impossible, though it has ever been so to me; and though,
 in my own experience, I never knew a cavalry soldier, rough-
 rider, riding-master, or any horseman whatever, who turned
 his horse, single-handed, on the proper rein.  But I may

 assert, that it is an exceedingly nice and difficult art. It is
 the opera--dancing of riding; and it would be as absurd to
 put the skill of its professors in requisition, in common
ridling or across country, as to require Taglioni to chasser over

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



a ploughed field:-for single-handed indications, supposing
them to be correctly given, which, as I said before, I have
never known; but, supposing them to be correctly given,
they are not sufficiently distinct to turn a horse, except in a
case of optimism: that is, supposing for a short time, a
perfectly broken horse, in perfect temper. perfectly on his

haunches, going perfectly up to his bit, and on perfect ground.
Without all these perfections,-suppose even the circum-
stance of the horse being excited or alarmed, or becoming
violent from any other cause; that he is sluggish, or sullen;
that he stiffens his neck, or pokes his nose,-single-handed
indications are worth nothing. But as for riding a horse

perfectly on his haunches, through a long day's journey, or in
rough or deep ground, or across country, one might as well
require infantry to make long, forced marches at ordinary
time, and strictly preserving their touch and dressing, or
-still to compare it with opera-dancing-Coulon to go
through a day's shooting with the pas (le Zwphir.



6

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



  But correct, single-handed indications, with the fourth
finger only between the reins, will not be obeyed by one horse
in ten thousand. Try them in driving: there the terret-
pad prevents their being given incorrectly, and a bearing
rein, a severe bit, and a whip, give you every advantage in
keeping your horse collected : you will find them wholly
inefficient. The soldier, who is compelled to turn to the
right, by word of command, when the correct indication is
unanswered, in despair throws his hand to the right. The
consequence is, that no horse is a good soldier's horse, till he
has been trained to turn on the wrong rein.
  Without the same excuse for it, the sanie may be said of
all ladies, and all civilians, who ride with one hand only; and
of almost all who ride with two hanlds; for, strange to say,
in turning, both hands are generally passed to the right or
left; and I have known many of what may be called the most

perfect straiqlidforward hands--that is men, who, on the turf,
would hold the mIiost difficult three-year-old to the steady

 
HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



stroke of the two-mile course, and place him as a winner to
half a length; who, in the hunting-field, wvould ride the
hottest, or the most phlegmatic made hunter, with equal skill,
through all difficulties of ground, and over every species of
fence, with admirable precision and equality of hand; or, who,
on the exercise ground, would place his broken charger on
his haunches, and make him walk four miles an hour, canter
six and an half; trot eight and an half, and gallop eleven,
without being out in either pace a second of time; but who
have marred all by the besetting sin of side-feeling-of turning
the horse on the wrong rein. The consequence is, that they
can ride nothing which has not been trained to answer wrong
indications.
  This is something like steaming without steering. Set them
on a finely-broken horse or a colt, and they become helpless
children,-the powerless prisoners of the brutes that they
bestride. How often does one see one's acquaintance in this
distressing situation, with courage enough to dare what man

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



dare, but without the power to do what the rough-rider has
just done ! First comes the false indication of the rider;
then the confusion and hesitation of the horse; next the
violence of the rider; then the despair and rebellion of the
horse. The finish is a fractured limb, from a rear or a

runaway; the poor brute is set down as restive, and in
fact becomes more or less a misanthrope for the rest
of his days.  I have seen the gentle and brave, under
such  circumstances, act very much    like the cruel and

cowardly; that is to say, first rough an innocent animal
for their own fault, and then yield to his resistance.  It

is in consequence of this that we find so many restive
horses ; that so fev thorouogh-bred horses-that is horses of
the highest courage-can be made hunters ; that, in fact,
almost all high-couraged young horses become restive, after
leaving the colt-breaker's hands. It is, indeed, in consequence

of this that the class of people called colt-breakers exists at
all. For if we all rode on their principle, which is the true



9

 


HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



principle, any groom, or moderately good rider, could break
any colt, or ride any restive horse.
  There is a common error, both in theory and practice,
with regard to the restive horse. He is very apt to rear side-
ways against the nearest wall or paling. It is the common
error to suppose that he does so with the view of rubbing his
rider off. Do not give him credit for intellect sufficient to
generate such a scheme. It is, that when there, the common
error is to pull his headfrom the wall. This brings the rider's
knee in contact with it; consequently all farther chastisement
ceases. For were the rider to make his horse plunge, his
knee would be crushed against the wall. The horse, finding
this, probably thinks that it is the very thing desired, and
remains there; at least he will always again fly to a wall for
shelter. Instead of from the wall, pull his head towards
it, so as to place his eye, instead of your knee, against it;
continue to use the spur, and he will never go near a
wall again.



10

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANS\I1P.



   No horse becomes restive in the colt-breaker's hands; nor
 do any when placed in their hands remain so. The reason
 is, that they invariably ride with one bridle and two
 hands, instead of two    bridles and   one hand.    When
 they wish to go to the right, they pull the right rein
 stronger than the left.  When they wish to go to the
 left, they pull the left rein stronger than the right. These

 are indications which, if the colt will not obey, he will at
 least understand, the first moment he is mounted; and
 which the most obstinate will not long resist. But, as may
 be supposed, it takes a long time to make him       under-
 stan(l that lie is to turn to the right when the left rein
 is pulledl, and to the lcft when the right rein is pulled; and

 it is only the meek sI)irited and docile who will do this at all.
 Such however is the general docility of the animal, that a
 great proportion are, after long ill usage, taught to answer
 these false indications. In the same way that a cart-horse is
brought to turn right or left, by the touch of the whip on the



I I

 

12              HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.

opposite side of the neck, or by word from his driver; and
indeed, such is the nicety to which it may be brought, that
you constantly hear persons boast that their horses will " turn

by the weight of the reins on the neck." This, however, only
proves the docility of the horse, and how badly he has been
ridden; for a horse which has been finely broken, should take

notice only of the indications of his rider's hand on his mouth,
not of any feeling of the reins against his neck.
  By indications generally, I mean the motions and applica-

tion of the hands, legs, and whip, to direct and determine the

paces, turnings, movements, and carriage of the horse. I
have used the word throughout instead of " aids," as being

nerhaps more explanatory, and certainly less liable to abuse.
For common sense tells us that a horse receives no aid from

a pull in the mouth with a piece of iron, or a blow from a
whip, or a kick in the side from an armed heel, however

these may indicate to him the wishes or commands of his
rider. It is the common error to suppose that he is aided

 

HINTS ON HORSEIMANSHIP.



and supporte(l both by the hand and leg. I beg my pupil to
believe, that the horse's legs support the rider, and not the
ridser's the horse; that the horse carries the rider, and not
the rider the horse -- more than this, that the rider cannot
lift the horse, nor hold him up, when in the act of falling.
How often do wve hear a man assert, that he has taken his
horse up, between his hands and legs, and lifted him over a
fence; that he has recovered his horse on the other side, or
that his horse would have fallen with him forty times, if he
had not held him up! These are vulgar errors, and mechanical

impossibilities.  Could ten men, with hand-spikes, lift the
weight of a horse  Probably. Attach the weight to the thin

rein of a ladlys bridle ! Could a lady lift it with the left
hand I think not. Though it is commonly supposed she
could. A pull from a curb will, indeed, give the horse so
much pain in the mouth that he will throw his head up; and
this so flatters the hand that its prowess has saved him, that
the rider exclaims, " It may be impossible, but it happens



13

 


HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



every day. Shall I not believe my own senses " The answer

is, No, not if it can be explained how the senses are deceived:

otherwise we should still believe, as, till some few centuries

ago the world did believe, that the diurnal motion was in

the sun, and not in the earth. Otherwise we must subscribe

to the philosophy of the Turk, who

         "Saw with his own eyes the MAoon was round,
            Was also certain that the Earth was square,
          Because he'd journey'd fifty miles and found
            No sign of its being circular any where."

But these errors are not harmless errors. They induce an

ambitious interference with the horse at the moment, in
which he should be left unconfused to the use of his own

energies. If by pulling, and giving him pain in the mouth,

you force him to throw up his head and neck; you prevent

his seeing how to foot out any unsafe ground, or where to

take off at a fence: and, in the case of stumbling, you pre-
vent an action dictated alike by nature and philosophy.



14

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSSI1P.



When an unmounted horse stumbles, nature teaches him to

drop his head and neck; philosophy teaches us the reason of

it. During the instant that his head and neck are dropping,

the shoulders are relieved from their weight, and that is the
instant that the horse makes his effort to recover himself. If,

by giving him pain in his mouth, you force him to raise his

head and neck instead of sinking them, his shoulders will
still remain encumbered with the weight of them:-more than

this, as action and reaction are equal and in opposite direc-

tions, the muscular power employed to raise the head and

neck, will act to sink his knees.
  The mechanical impossibility of the rider assisting his horse

when falling may be demonstrated thus :-No motion can be

given to a body without a foreign force, or a foreign fulcrum.
Your strength is not a foreign force, since it is employed
entirely on the horse; nor can it be employed on the foreign
fulcrum, the ground, through the medium of your reins. As
much as you pull up, so much will you pull down. If a man



1 _

 
IHINTS ON HIOIRSEMANSIIIP.



in a boat uses an oar, he can accelerate or impede the motion

of the boat, because his strength is employed, through the
medium of the oar on the water, which is a foreign fulcrum;
but if he take hold of the chain at the head of the boat,
his whole strength will not accelerate, nor impede, the motion
of the boat, because there is neither foreign force nor foreign
fulcrum. His whole strength is employed within the boat,
and as much as he pulls backward with his hands, he pushes
forward with his feet.
  All the arguments which I have heard adduced against
the doctrine here laid down, would also go to prove that a

horse cannot fall which has a bearing-rein and crupper, that is,
whose head is tied to his tail. Sir Francis Head's observations
about bearing-reins, in the " Bubbles of the Brunnen," are
quite philosophical. They should never be used except for
purposes of parade, or to acquire greater power over a dif-
ficult team. Sir Francis's observations are also true of the
harness used by the peasantry of Nassau, which he describes;



1 6

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



but I think this arises from the poverty, not the philosophy,

of the peasants. Those among them, who have money enough
to but smart harness, have the most elaborate bearing-reins.

One-a chain-from the lower part of the collar, which binds
the horse's chin to his breast, and another over the upper part
of the collar, along the back, to the tail, independent of the
terret-pad and crupper:-this is tying a horse's head to his
tail with a vengeance.-To be consistent, the opponents of the
theory which I have laid down should act on this principle,
-though I have never known them go quite so far: Sed quis
custodes custodiet ipsos  What is to prevent the tail from
falling forward with the body  They indeed argue, " Surely if

you throw back the weight of the shoulders over the croupe of
your horse, you relieve his forehand, and diminish the chance
of his falling." This is rather to propose a new method of

preventing a horse from falling, than to prove the advan-

tage of pulling at the mouth while he is falling; for if it
be of any advantage to throw back your weight, then the less
                             C



17

 

HINTS ON HORSEFMNNSHIP.



you pull at the mouth the better; for the more you pull,

the less you are at liberty to throw back your weight. Bat,
in truth, it is of no advantage to throw back the weight, when

the stumble is made. If a position be previously taken up on
the croupe of a horse, the pressure will be less upon the fore-
hand than if you were placed in a forward position. But

during the time that the position is in the act of being shifted;

that is, during the time that the horse is falling, the act of
throwing your own weight backward, produces an exactly

equivalent pressure forward; in all respects the counterpart
of your own motion backward, in intensity and duration.
It is useless to dwell on this subject, or to adduce the familiar
illustrations that it admits of. It is a simple proposition of
mechanical equilibrium, and any one who is conversant with
such subjects will assent to it.

  The question whether a jockey can mechanically assist
his horse, does not rest on the same footing. I believe
he can. Thus:-If a man sits astride a chair, with his



8s

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



feet off the ground, and clasps the chair with his legs,

by the muscular exertion of his lower limbs lie can jump

the chair along. The muscular force is there employed on

the foreign fulcrum, the ground, through the medium    of
the legs of the chair. His muscular action strikes the chair
downward and backward; and if the chair be on ice, it will

recede, so would also the feet of a horse in attempting to
strike forward. If the chair be on soft ground, it will sink; so
would also a horse. in proportion to the force of the muscular

stroke. But if the resistance of the ground be complete, the
re-action, which is precisely equal, and in opposite directions
to the action, will throw the body of the man upward and for-

ward: and by clasping with his legs he will draw the chair
also vaith him. But he can only accomplish in this way a very
little distance, with a very great exertion.
  If the jockey made this muscular exertion every time his
horse struck with his hind feet, his strength would be em-
ployed on the foreign fulcrum, the ground, through the
                            c 2



I 9

 

HINTS ON IIORSEI.1ANSHIP'.



medium of his horse's bony frame. Thus the jockey would
contribute to the horizontal impulse of his own weight; and

exactly in proportion to the muscular power exerted by the
jockey, the muscular system of the horse would be relieved.
At the same time, no additional task is thrown on the bony
frame of the horse; since, if the jockey had not used his
muscular power on it in impelling his own weight, the mus-
cular system of the horse must have been so employed on it.
It is true, not much is done after all with a prodigious
exertion, but if that little gain six inches in a hardly contested
race, it may make the difference of its being lost or won.
Thus an easy race is no exertion to a jockey, but after a
hardly contested one, he returns with his lips parched, his
tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth, and every muscle
quivering. Chifney, and perhaps one or two first-rate jockeys,
may attempt this at the end of a race, for the last four or
five strokes, for no strength would stand it longer; but woe
to the moderate jockey who attempts it at all! For without



20

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



the nicest tact in timing the operation, the confusion, over-
balancing, swerving, and shifting of legs resulting from it,
would lose the best horse his race.
  A mounted horse will overtake a dismounted horse, his
superior in speed.   It is commonly supposed     that this

results from the mechanical assistance of the rider. The

real reason is, that the dismounted horse goes off, like an
inexperienced jockey, at his utmost speed.  No horse can

(10 this for five hundred yards without being distressed for
wvind. The rider starts at a pace which he knows his horse

can keep; and the dismounted horse, though he gains at

first on him, comes hack to 1im, as the jockeys say. For a
horse, which has been distressed forwind in the first five hun-
dred yards, will not arrive at the end of a mile nearly so
soon as if he had gone the whole at the best pace he could

stay at. Here the assistance from the rider is mental, not
mechanical. Woe also to the sportsman who ambitiously
attempts to lift his horse mechanically over a fence, on the



21

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



principle discussed above! He is much more likely to throw
him into it.  He had better content himself with sitting

quietly on his horse, holding him only just enough to keep his

head straight and regulate his pace, and trust the rest to his
horse's honour. The body should not previously be thrown
back; but, as the horse springs, the lower part of the rider

being firmly fixed in the saddle, and the upper part perfectly
pliable, the body will fall back of itself. And with strong

jumping horses. or at down leaps, the shoulders of fine riders
will constantly meet their horse's croupes. The more vertical

the thigh, the greater the strain in taking this position:-the
disciples of the Duke of Newcastle would break in two in the
performance.   I abstain, however, from giving any parti-

cular directions about the seat; because I think good

handling is the cause, and good and graceful sitting the

consequence, of good riding; and because, though I consider
the rules here laid down for the hands as applicable to every
species of riding, (I have excepted the soldier with his



22

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



weapon in his right hand), I think there is a peculiar
seat proper to many different styles of riding. The ex-
tremes are the man ge and       the Eastern   styles, both

admlirable in their way, and perfectly practical, but each
wholly inapplicable to the performances of the other.
  What can be more perfect than the seats of M. de Kraut
and the Marquis de Beauvilliers, in De la Gueriniere's work 
or the engraving of that of Al. de Nestier  But I do not
think that a man in such a seat would look well, or perform
well, in a five-pound saddle, over the beacon course; still less
that he could lay the reins on the neck of a well-bred horse,
and at full speed lie along his horse's side, and with his own
body below his horse's back, prime and load a long gun, jump
up and use both hands to fire to the right, or left, or over his

horse's croupe; or that he could wield a long heavy lance with
the power of a Cossack; or, at full gallop, hurl the djerid
to the rear with the force of the Persian, and again, without
any diminution of speed, pick it from the ground.



23

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



   On the other hand, his peculiar seat renders the Eastern
 horseman so utterly helpless in the performances of the
 manege, that he is unable to make his horse rein back, or
 passage sideways a step; and I have seen three hundred
 Mussulman troops, from the northern parts of Persia, (each
 of whom would perform forty such feats as the above,) take
 more than an hour to form a very bad parade line, in single
 rank. When one of them had an interval between him and
 the dressing hand, however small, as he could not make his
 horse passage sideways, he was obliged to turn round to the
 rear, and ride into the ranks afresh; and so in succession
 every man beyond him.
   I should say, that the most perfect seat for the manege
should be shortened by a hole or two for the soldier, to give
him power with his weapons; that the military rider should
take up his stirrups a hole or two when he goes hunting; the
hunter a hole or two when he rides a race; and for tours de
force. I consider the short stirrup-leather, and broad stirrup-



24

 
HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



iron of the East, indispensable. It gives, in fact, the strength

of the standing, instead of the sitting, posture. The Cossack
retains this standing posture even at a trot. Few Eastern
horsemen allow that pace at all, but make their horses walk,

amble, or gallop. It is singular that of all people the English
only rise in the stirrup in trotting. It is not so singular that

most European nations are beginning to follow their example.
The English hunting seat is, in point of length, the medium
of those mentioned; and perhaps that seat, or something

between that and the military seat, is the best adapted to
common riding. It unites, in a greater degree than any other,
ease, utility, power, and grace. The most perfect exemplifi-

cation of this seat is Lord Catheart's.
  A bad horseman throws his horse down, which a good one

does not. That is, because the bad horseman hurries his horse
over hard or rough ground, or down hill, or over loose stones;
allows him to choose his own ground; lets him flounder into

difficulties, and, when there, hauls him so that he cannot see,



25

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



or exert himself to get out of them; and expecting chastise-
ment, the horse springs to avoid it, before he has recovered

his feet, and goes down with a tremendous impetus. If he
has to cross a rut to the right, he probably forces his horse
across it, when the right foot is on the ground. In this case,
unless the horse collects himself and jumps-if he attempts to
step across it-the probability is that in crossing his legs, he
knocks one against the other, and falls. The reverse of all
this should be the case. If you have not sufficient tact to feel
which of your horse's feet is on the ground, you must allow
him to choose his own time for crossing, which will be when
the left foot is on the ground. You should habitually choose
your horse's ground for him, for notwithstanding his often
vaunted sagacity and safety, the wisest among horses will, to
avoid a moving leaf, put his foot over a precipice. This will
become as easy to you as choosing your own path when walking.
If your horse has made a stumble or is in difficulties, you cannot
leave him too much at liberty, or be too quiet with him. The



26

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



only notice to be taken is to reassure him by caressing him, if
you see that he expects chastisement from previous brutal
treatment. I will add that you should also habitually prevent
your horse out-walking, or lagging behind, his companions.
He is either very unsociable, or a bad horseman, who does
not keep abreast of his companions. Besides, horses being

gregarious, are apt to follow one another. This should not
be. Your horse should be in perpetual obedience to the indi-
cations that your hands and legs give him, and to nothing
else. These indications should not only decide the pace
which lie is to take, but deal out to him the rate at which
each pace is to be executed, and also determine his carriage

during the performance of it, that is, the degree in which he
is to collect himself, or the degree of liberty which is to be
allowed him.

  The indications of the hands are of two sorts-guiding and
retaining. Those of the legs and whip are also of two sorts--
guiding and urging. Suppose a horse standing still, with full



27

 

28               HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.

liberty, and fully extended; if the retaining indication of the
hands only be given, he will go backward in a loose and
extended form; if, on the contrary, the urging indication of
the legs or whip only be given, he will move forward in a
loose and extended form, at a walk, trot, or gallop, according
to the vivacity with which the indication is given. If these
two opposite indications be given at the same time, the horse
will, as it is termed, collect himself. That is, being pulled
backward and urged forward at the same time, in obeying
both indications, a sort of condensation of the horse-I know
nothow toexpress it otherwise-will result. If both indications
be continued and increased, the horse will piaff; that is, con-

tinue collected, in motion, without progressing; or he will
make the courbette, or rear.  If both indications be discon-
tinued, he will resume the extended position of repose. If
again, in this position, both indications be given, but the
retaining one the strongest, the horse will go backward in a

collected form. If both be given, but the urging indication

 

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.



the strongest, he will move forward in a collected form, at a
walk, trot, or canter, according to the vivacity with which

the indications are given. If the retaining and urging indi-
cations be given equally strong, but the right rein be felt the
strongest, which is the guiding indication of the hand to the
right, and the left leg be pressed the strongest, which is the
guiding indication of the leg to the right, the horse will
passage, that is, cross his legs and go sideways to the right,

bending and looking to the right. in a collected form. If both

indications are given equally strong, but the right rein and
the right leg the strongest, the horse will perform what is
called " the right shoulder in," (in towards the centre of the
longe or man6ge,) that is, he will cross his legs and go side-

ways to the left, bending and looking to the right, in a
collected form.
   When the horse is in movement, there should be a constant
touch,