The saddle-horse. A complete guide for riding and training

Front matter

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Chapter I. How To Use A Horse

It is a matter of congratulation that the Americans are each year taking more kindly to horseback riding, with a growing desire, in all parts of the country, for a practical knowledge of the foundation of horsemanship. This is largely owing, doubtless, to the pleasure and benefit derived from the exercise, as well as to the fact that now considerable attention is being paid to breeding good saddle-horses, while the improvements in American saddlery have been so great, much of the discomfort and danger 01 hcrseback riding has been overcome. At the present time, there is an active demand for fine, handsome, mettlesome, and gentle saddle-horses. Horseback ndmg is now considered by all classes as a graceful accomplishment, and since people of wealth and culture have set the fashion, all the world follows it, as a matter of course. Fox-hunting, polo, and other horseback amusements are on the increase, necessitating a knowledge of horsemanship on the part of those who participate. Every American city now has its beautiful parks, (9)

with bridle paths, and the pastime of horseback riding is largely indulged in by residents of the town, who find this one of the most delightful forms of exercise at their command. It is not so difficult to learn how to ride horseback properly as many people suppose. In most countries school-riding has advanced with the age, and it is now recognized, by the professors of the art, that each man has a seat peculiar to himself, and those movements only are practised that are necessary to give the rider control over his horse under all circumstances.

When we see that school-riding, in one form or another, is used in all armies, and, indeed, wherever the horse must be under command, it is hardly necessary to argue the importance of a knowledge of its laws by all who desire to ride well. And although, in the extended gallop of the hunting-field, it is impossible to retain the equilibrium of the manege, the horse will be the more amenable for his schooling, and the rider will always have the resources of his art.

Some writers upon horsemanship think it is a mistake to place children of a tender age upon horseback, while others are of the opinion that a child is none too young to learn as soon as it is able to sit upon a horse's back. In the South, and many parts of the West, children are often placed upon the back of some old and gentle horse while yet very young. The result is, they become accustomed to the movements of the animal, and gain a seat at a very early age. There is little danger, or risk of injuries, from such a course. As with the languages, music, and dancing, a child can hardly begin to learn how to ride horseback at too early an age. An active

HOW TO USE A HORSE. 11

man may learn to ride well at any age ; and a bold boy of fourteen, who comprehends the system upon which he is taught, may in six months become a good horseman. It is not given to all men to excel in riding : courage, activity, a perfect temper, and aptitude for the exercise are requisite for the acquirement of the highest skill. But a knowledge of a proper method will give to every one comparative immunity from the dangers that attend horsemanship. A schooled-horse, confiding in his master and obedient to the spur, is not apt to try his powers in rebellion ; and when in hand and properly gathered he will recover from a mistake that might otherwise prove disastrous.

In these pages we present a system of riding and training by which the pupil may become his own master.

The whip and the spur are necessary aids in the education of the horse, and in compelling his obedience after he has been trained. The first should be seldom used, the latter never, to inflict punishment. For instance, if a horse rears, the spurs must be employed to force the action of the hind-quarters, and so to drive him forward ; but having brought about that result, they must not be thrust into him to punish him for rearing. The horse is to be taught that the spur is applied to make him bring certain forces into action, and when used with discretion he will respond to it ; but unnecessary strokes with the spur will rouse his resentment, and he will stubbornly refuse to obey its indications. It serves no good purpose to irritate a horse, as he will never yield while angry. A contest between horse and rider should always be avoided, for, in addition to the chances that the former will prove

1% EIDTKG A^D TKAItflKG SADDLE-HORSES.

the victor, a high-spirited animal may be made incurably vicious, when, by milder treatment, he could be subdued without endangering his usefulness. A rebuke in a harsh tone of voice will generally suffice to correct a horse, and he will not know how to resent it. The best way to control the horse is through firmness and kindness, but timidity is worse than severity in inducing vice.

The young horse soon becomes tractable, and, as long as his temper is unruffled, he desires to do that which is required of him. Until the spirit of rebellion is awakened, he is as anxious to avoid the perils of battle as his master should be. If, upon an occasion, he declines to perform some movement that is required of him, let his attention be turned to that which will please him, and his obedience in this will induce his obedience afterwards to the first demand. To give up to him after a battle will confirm his obstinacy, but he will soon forget his unnoticed defiance. Under proper treatment he will in time yield to the will of his master, without dreaming of resistance.

The story of Tarleton taming his savage steed with bloody spurs, and the vivid descriptions of the manner in which the Mexican breaks the spirit of the mustang, may pass to adorn the pages of a romance, or to heighten the interest of a traveller's tale. But, aside from the cruelty and peril of such methods, there remains the fact that horses so broken submit for the time only, and the struggle is to be repeated more or less often. Except in those rare cases of horses naturally vicious, and they are lunatics, fear is the mastering passion of the horse. It is cowardice that drives him to desperate resistance

HOW TO USE A HORSE. 13

against the sway of his master ; the effort that is successful in ridding him of his tyrant suggests his favorite vice.

If the horse is taught to calm his fears at the sound of the yoice of man ; if he is never ill-treated, in or out of the stable ; if he docs not perceive timidity upon the part of his masters ; and if, with all these conditions, he is given plenty of air and exercise, he will rarely show vice.

Chapter II. In The Saddle

In a little book, called "Man and Horse," published in England, the author, Mr. March Phillipps, gives most sensible directions for learning to ride. Most books on the subject are of such a professional character as to be nearly useless to an ordinary reader who wants to learn about riding in a common-sense way.

Mr. Phillipps says : "You want to learn how to sit a horse. Very good ; then put aside for the present all anxiety about managing and guiding him. Yonr present business is, wherever he may go or whatever he may do, to continue steady upon his back. Therefore, leave it to some one else to take care that he goes where he ought and does nothing which he ought not. You are at present in the situation of a landsman going to sea, and must not think of steering until you have got yonr sea legs."

This injunction suggests the fundamental principle of the whole art of learning to ride, which is to learn one thing at a time, and to learn that thing well, before attempting anything else. As there can be no good riding without a good seat, the learner's whole attention should be devoted for days or weeks or months, as may be necessary, to acquiring it, giving no thought to anything else. Never mind the management of the horse, that will come in due time. Learn to be as perfectly at (14)

IK THE SADDLE. 15

home in a constantly moving saddle as in a stationary arm-cliair — so that, whether the horse walks, trots, or canters, shies or jumps, you will either remain immovably in the saddle, or get back to your proper position when disturbed from it, without effort or loss of time. Bear in mind, too, that in acquiring a seat, it is just as easy to acquire a good one as a bad one, while only the good seat (and there is but one good seat) will enable you under all circumstances to ride safely and well. Without a good seat, no amount of skill in the management of a horse will be of much use. So begin at the beginning, and devote your whole attention to acquiring an easy and secure position under all circumstances. Do not even trouble yourself about the manner of mounting and dismounting.

The proper seat on horseback is one in which the crotch and the hips ate as firmly attached to the saddle as it is possibly for them to be ; the legs below the knee as free and independent as possible ; and the body, from the waist upward, perfectly supple and pliable. Whatever movement the horse makes, the hips must conform to it, moving to the right or the left, or tipping backward or forward, as the case may be. But while they follow the changing position of the saddle, the legs, from the knees downward, must be free to move in obedience to the rider's will ; and the upper part of the trunk, keeping its perfect balance, must move easily on a flexible spine and accommodate itself instinctively to every movement.

If a man's body were cut off at the lower part of the waist, the natural pressure of the thighs against the

16 EIDING AND TEAINIHG SADDLE-HORSES.

saddle would easily hold the hips in a firm position. If a whalebone rose out of the severed trunk, supporting a heavy weight two feet above it, the hips would still be free to move with the saddle ; but if for the whalebone we were to substitute a stiff rod, the movement of the hips would communicate a movement to the weight, which in its turn, being at the long end of a lever, would wrench them from their position.

The spine of the rider represents the whalebone or the rod, as the case may be, and the chest, head, and arms represent the weight. If the lower spine be kept flexible, the upper part of the body will not, from a sudden motion of the horse, be started from its position by the movement of the hips ; but if it be rigid, it will communicate the movement to the heavy mass above, and this movement, once started, will be continued, acting on the spine as a lever to remove the hips from their place. This effect can be fully illustrated by standing erect and throwing the weight, first on one leg and then on the other, holding the lower spine, first supple and then rigid. We have dwelt thus long on this point, which is probably never thought of Dy one poor horseman out of five thousand, because it is the foundation of good riding. Until the ability to preserve a supple loin under all circumstances is acquired, the rider is in danger of a fall at any moment ; and it will always be impossible for him to ride gracefully or with comfort. But while the supple loin is of the first importance, an erect position of the body is hardly less so. The position on horseback should resemble the position when sitting on a high stood, rather than on a low chair. On the chair, the

1*8 THE SADDLE.

"Weight is supported on the seat, behind the hips, and the spine has a tendency to curve outward, and the shoulders and chest to droop forward. On the stool, the legs hanging down, the weight is supported more directly under the hips, the spine is curved inward, and the head and

Fig. 1.— AN INSECURE SEAT.

chest are more easily thrown backward. This is the position assumed by a good horseman ; the weight of the upper part of the body being supported on an inwardcurving and flexible spine. And it is the position to which the learner must so accustom himself that it be-

RIDING AND TRAINING SADDLE-HORSES.

comes almost a second nature to assume it whenever in the saddle. As many of our readers are not familiar with the wonderful comic pictures of John Leach, in which the good and bad seat on horseback are better

Fig. 2.— A SECURE SEAT.

shown than anywhere else, we reproduce here two that will answer our purpose.

Figure 1 shows the stiff and awkward bearing of an unaccustomed rider, who has hired a livery-stable horse

IK THE SADDLE. 19

for a holiday. Figure 2 the upright, lithe position of a good horseman.

And now, how to get this seat. Saddle your horse, unbuckle the stirrups and take them out ; let the reins lie on his neck, and call in the services of a friend to hold and lead him. Divest yourself, in this way, of all responsibility as to his conduct. Get into the saddle in any way you please (the manner of mounting is a secondary consideration, and it may be learned later). Turn your toes inward, press your knees against the saddle, but not your calves, and open the back part of the thighs as far as possible. This will bring the flat of the thighs against the saddle, and give the largest possible contact with it. Curve the spine inward, and throw the shoulders back. This, being an unaccustomed position for you, will seem awkward, and will look awkward, and you can at first only maintain it at an expense of a considerable rigidity of the spine. Let your arms hang listlessly by your sides. Holding fast mainly by the knees, shift your seat from side to side with as little swaying as possible to the upper part of the body. Vary the exercise by swinging the body itself from side to side and from front to rear, while the seat is firm. Continue this exercise, no matter how long it takes, until your trunk is pivoted in your hips so that you can move it in any direction while keeping the spine curved inward. Do not at any time hug the horse's sides with the calves of the legs, but let the lower legs hang loosely. The thighs should neither hang too straight up and down, nor be raised too high at the knee, but should take that position which gives the firmest hold on the saddle. Having become perfectly at home while the horse is quiet, let him be led at a walk, increasing the speed after a tiine, and finally let him be galloped with a long bridle rein, until, under all his motions, you feel comfortable and easy, and have learned to depend only on your thighs and the flexibility of your body to maintain your position. Boys will learn this in less time than men, and some boys in less time than others ; but all must make up their minds to learn it, however long it takes, before they can become thoroughly good horsemen and can really enjoy riding at all paces.

The practice prescribed having been persevered in until the pupil has made himself perfectly at home in the saddle, and so suppled his loins that the motion given to the upper part of the body has no effect on the seat, he may now resume the stirrups and learn their use. They are very important as a matter of convenience and comfort, but they should aid a rider to easily regain his seat when he has lost it, rather than to keep it. It is very fatiguing to ride, even at a walk, with the legs dangling at the horse's sides, and especially so when they are kept in the position already indicated — the only position that can give a secure seat. In walking, a gentle support of the stirrups will help keep the body from swaying from side to side as the horse moves. In trotting, where stirrups are almost indispensable, they enable the horseman to either "rise to the trot," or to so distribute the shock in "riding hard," that it shall be no shock at all, but an easy, quick movement, distributed between the feet, the seat, and the thighs.

The length of the stirrups should be carefully attended

IK THE SADDLE. 21

to. Take the proper position in the saddle, with the whole inner part of the thighs, as far down as the knees, pressing firmly and immovably against the saddle, and the legs below the knees hanging vertically — the toes pointing a little downward. Then have the stirrupleathers so adjusted that the irons will just touch the hollows of the feet, giving them support without raising their position. There will then be no danger that the stirrups will disturb the seat, either by raising the knees or by the effort of the rider to reach down to them when the straps are too long, while by drawing back the feet, so that their balls rest on the irons, a leverage will be given — from the balls of the feet to the ankle joints — that will be sufficient to maintain an even pressure, even if the person is thrown a little from the saddle by the movement of the horse. As men's legs and their arms are generally of proportionate length, and as the stirrups are usually fastened a certain distance down on the sides of the saddle, the stirrups are of the proper length when the whole length of leathers and irons is a trifle less than that of the arm and hand ; that is, lay the tips of the fingers on the band of the leathers where they pass around the bolt on the saddle-tree, and draw the irons toward the arm-pit. If they just touch the muscle under the shoulder-blade (not reaching away into the ribs), the straps are usually of the right length.

In ordinary riding, it is best to have the ball of the foot touch the stirrups, as the play of the ankle-joint gives more elasticity to the support ; but in rough galloping or leaping, it is best to "drive the feet home," and carry the stirrup in the hollows. Especially must

RIDING AND TRAINING SADDLE-HORSES.

small stirrups be avoided. The irons should not, of course, be so large that the boot-heels can, by any accident, get through them, but there should be ample room for the foot to be thrust in and out with perfect freedom. This will be one of the best safeguards against the worst mishap that can befall an unhorsed rider— that of being dragged by the heels by a runaway horse, owing to the binding of the foot in the stirrup. There have been numerous devices made to prevent this calamity. The

Fig. 3.— SAPETY STIRRUP.

only one of them that is even tolerably sure (and that one is nearly perfect), is shown in figure 3. This is simply an arrangement for closing the back part of the iron by which the stirrup-leather is fastened to the saddle, with a movable piece held in place by a spring, exactly as the blade of a pocket-knife is held. It takes a sharp jerk to open this catch, but, unless it is allowed to. become fastened with rust, it will yield to much less strain than that of a falling rider. These safety irons are attached, as a matter of course, to all English saddle-

IN THE SADDLE.

trees. We shall not here discuss the construction of saddles, but the beginner will be most likely to use the saddle that he can get most conveniently. Whether this is a "McClellan" saddle, figure 4, a Mexican, figure 5,

Fig. 4.— MCCLELLAN SADDLE.

or the better English saddle, figure 6, or the Whitman, is not very important at the commencement.

Precisely as he has schooled his muscles to the requirements of his new position without the aid of stirrups, so must the learner now learn to make proper use of them, and he should attempt nothing further until he has learned how to use these accessories — that is, how to use them as accessories only, not as an essential dependence. Their most important office is to rest the legs, and to

HIDING AND TRAINING SADDLE-HORSES.

relieve the muscles of the fatiguing work of keeping the seat firm at all times. So long as there is no unusual disturbance of the position, it is well to depend mainly on the stirrups to preserve it ; but any sudden start, in whatever direction, should find the knees and thighs at once ready to perform their duty of grasping the saddle.

Fig. 5. — MEXICAN SADDLE.

This cannot be the case if the weight is thrown too much on the feet ; but it is also important to learn to stand in the stirrups (while the horse is in motion), turning so as to look to the rear, and to throw the weight first on one foot and then on the other ; in short, to assume every possible position rapidly and easily, for all this adds im-

IN THE SADDLE.

mensely to the security, freedom, and grace of the seat. It is only in this way that one can hope to become so perfect a horseman as to justify the old description as being "a part of the horse," of "seeming to grow out of the horse's back."

This branch of the subject — acquiring a good seat with and without the aid of stirrups — may be appropriately closed by a quotation from " Man and Horse ": " When

Fig. 6.— ENGLISH SADDLE.

you can sit your horse perfectly in his trot and canter, you possess a seat such as not one rider in half-a-dozen ever acquires, you are still far from being a good horseman, you can not, indeed, properly speaking, be termed a horseman at all. But you may look forward with confidence to becoming what most men would consider an excellent horseman ; because you have had the patience and perseverance to drudge on until you have 2 been bumped and jolted into a smooth and solid union with your saddle. It is by the absence of this union, and by the abrupt shocks and displacements to which they are consequently exposed, that so many riders are disabled from acquiring the proper use of their hands and legs ; consequently from ever becoming masters of their horses."

The next step should be to free yourself from your bondage to the person who has up to this time managed your horse for you ; and a real bondage it is, as you will find when you first attempt to take him in hand yourself. You may even have been somewhat accustomed to riding before your present exercises commenced, yet you will feel very awkward when you first attempt to repeat your lessons while managing the animal yourself ; for the mere fact of having to do something with your hands will have a tendency to constrain your position. It gives the body another employment, and the combination of demands upon it, and upon the attention, must be made familiar before it can become easy. There is no other rule than to learn one thing at a time, and then to learn the combination of each with all that has preceded it, before taking the next step; and this rule is equally applicable to the man and to the horse. Both are "getting the knack" of an artificial habit, and they must learn it gradually, or they will never learn it at all.

Major Francis Dwyer, an English officer in the Austrian cavalry service, wrote a work on " Seats and Saddles, Bits and Bitting," which has the advantage of being, in some respects, different from other books about horsemanship.

The theory advanced with regard to seats is, that at a point of the horse's back, directly over the fourteenth vertebra — that is, about half way between the withers and the coupling (or top of the hips) — there is located what he calls the center of motion and the center of strength ; the central point from which the forces of the horse, when carrying weight, may be figuratively said to radiate. In other words, this is the point — the middle of the back — where weight can be most easily carried, where the least motion will be imparted to it, and where its distribution will be most equal over all four of the horse's feet; consequently, it is over th/s point that the rider's center of gravity should fall. As the rider should sit in the middle of his saddle in order that it may transmit his weight equally over so much of the horse's back as it touches, the middle of the saddle should be over this center of motion. As the fastening of the saddle by the girths should be directly under the rider's center of gravity, it follows that they should be under this center of motion. And, again, as it is important that when the rider's weight is transferred to the stirrups, it should not thereby be transferred to another point on the saddle, the attachment of the stirrups should also be in the center of the saddle. The reasoning on which these directions are based seem sound ; but they are so different from the practice in which the writer has been trained, that he cannot fully indorse the recommendation without trial, though he is quite ready to advise that they be borne in mind, and that they be conformed to as nearly as the construction of our present saddles will admit. His own inclination would be to set the saddle a little further forward, and to place the stirrups a little in advance of its

RIDING AND TRAINING SADDLE-HORSES.

center, adhering of course to the injunction that the rider's weight should be placed in the middle of the saddle, and the girths attached directly in its middle. Major Dwyer is undoubtedly correct in objecting to what is called the chair-seat, where the rider sits far back on the saddle and supports his legs by stirrups attached near its front ; and his illustration of the sort of seat that is

Fig. 7.— THE MODERN MILITARY SEAT.

best (see fig. 7), is certainly very good indeed, and may well be taken as a model of elegance, ease, and safety for the imitation of the learner.

Mr. Apperley, a celebrated English authority on fox-hunting, says : " When hounds find and go away, place yourself well down in your saddle, on your fork or twist ; and do not be standing up in your stirrups (as was formerly the fashion, and the cause of many a dislocated neck), sticking out your rump as if it did not belong to you ;" and he accompanies his direction with a very in-

IN THE SADDLE.

RIDING AND TRAINING SADDLE-HORSES.

structive illustration of a bad and a good seat (fig. 8). As riding is an imitative art, there is really much more to be learned from these illustrations than from any description that ifc is in our power to give ; but the rider should always bear in mind that a well-balanced horse, in turning to the right or the left, turns on its center of gravity, or "center of motion;" and that if the rider's weight is placed to the front or rear of this position, it will not only impede the horse's free ir ovement, but will feel much more disturbance than if in its proper position. The learner, if he really desires to become a first-rate horseman — and it is only when stimulated by this desire that one can really enjoy learning to ride — should consider well what experience has shown to be the best position (as indicated in our cuts), and continue his practice until this position becomes the most easy and natural; it surely will become so by sufficient practice, and, when a good seat is once obtained, it can no more be forgotten than the art of swimming.

Chapter III. Bits And Bitting

The second part of Major Dwyer's book, which is perhaps even more valuable than the first, relates to " Bits and Bitting ," and he shows more conclusively, than any writer who has preceded him, the importance of great care in the adjustment and management of the bit and

Fig. 9.— HEAD-GEAK FOB YOUNG HORSES.

bridle, giving some opinions which are quite new to the writer, and which are obviously important.

His device for the head-gear of a young horse that is to be broken for any purpose, or of any horse that is to be trained to the saddle, we show in figure 9. This is an (31)

33 HIDING AND TRAINING SADDLE-HORSES.

ordinary snaffle-bridle, with a single pair of reins, with the check-pieces drawn short enough to cause the bit to touch lightly in the corners of the mouth. There is attached to it, by two straps buckled one into each checkpiece, a nose-band, or strap, which passes around the nose quite below the bit, but high enough to take its bearing on the bone rather than on the cartilage of the nose. This strap is drawn tight enough to prevent the horse from opening his mouth to any considerable width. There is no way in which a colt does more to make himself insensible to the action of the bridle than by stretching open his jaw and bearing against the bit. From the position of this nose-band, it is entirely out of the way of both bridle and bit ; and as the mouth is not entirely bound together by it, it can in no way interfere with proper control by the rider. It simply prevents the horse from resorting to a very common means of defence. Another apparatus described must be very useful not only in training, but in the management of all horses who have the trick of carrying their heads so high as to cause the bit, when pulled upon, to ride up into the corners of their mouths instead of bearing, as it should do, against the lower jaw. It should be equally valuable in preventing an animal from tossing his head in a fitful way, as many horses do. It is at the same time entirely free from the grave objections that hold against all forms of martingales, having nothing whatever to do with the reins, and subjecting the horse to no constraint so long as he carries his head in the proper position. It is called a "running-rein," and is shown in figure 10. A short strap, d, about six inches long, with a buckle at each end, bits and bitting.