Hints on Horsemanship, to a Nephew and Niece Part 4

[Sidenote: Place of bit in the mouth.]

To give the bit its most powerful action it should be placed so low as only just to clear the tusks in a horse's mouth, and to be one inch above the corner teeth in a mare's mouth. The curb-chain should be so tight as not to admit more than one finger freely between it and the chin; these rules are simple, and should be attended to by all riders; a horseman should no more mount with his bit improperly placed, than a seaman should set sail with his helm out of order.

[Sidenote: Principle of the bit.]

A twitch round the lower jaw, under the tongue, on the _bars_ or parts of the mouth _bare_ of teeth, is perhaps the most certain, powerful, and severe instrument to hold a horse with, and it may be tightened till it becomes a dreadful implement of torture. Next to this is what is called the dealer's halter, which is merely a narrow thong of leather in like manner tied round the lower jaw, under the tongue, but incapable of being tightened or slackened like the twitch. The bit is a most ingenious attempt to grasp the lower jaw by the same bare parts, with the capability of contracting or of perfectly relaxing the grasp, by the application or withdrawal of the powers of the lever. This is the intended action of the bit,--the philosopher's stone,--after which all bit-projectors and bit-makers have laboured; the obstacles to be overcome are various and perhaps insuperable, and indeed could the powers of the lever be employed on such exquisitely sensitive parts as the bare jaws, when within this iron vice, perhaps no hand could be found sufficiently delicate to use them. By pressing your finger-nail against your own gums, you may form some idea of the agony such an implement would have the power of giving to a horse; anything approaching to harsh, hard, handling with it would drive him desperate, and force him to throw himself over backward; the idea of lifting his weight by such parts grasped with iron is absurd, still more preposterously barbarous that of arresting the headlong impetus of a falling horse by them. Fortunately the power of the rider is here very limited, and the horse defends himself against it by throwing his head upward and backward, and thus the rider only breaks his horse's knees instead of his jaws.

[Sidenote: Action of common bit.]

[Sidenote: Action of a Chifney bit.]

But a common bit placed in the common way never touches the horse's bars at all, it is usually placed higher than as directed above, and, as it pivots on the _eye_ (that part to which the headstall is attached) when in use, it rises in the horse's mouth--higher directly as the length of the _cheek_ (the upper part of the branch or side of the bit) and inside the mouth it has a mixed action, on the fleshy part of the gums above the bars, on the lips, and (owing to the narrowness of the porte) on the tongue. Outside the mouth, the bit acts on the coa.r.s.e part of the two jawbones, above the fine part of the chin, where the two jawbones meet, where the curb-chain was originally placed, and where it should act; and I consider this sort of upward _grating_ action as calculated to excite, rather than to restrain a horse. A Chifney bit, as it pivots on the mouthpiece, avoids this; its action is quite independent of the headstall, and is precisely on the parts where it is originally placed.

[Sidenote: The loose eye.]

The square-cut eye of the regimental bit greatly impedes its action, besides cutting the leather of the headstall; to remedy this, about a quarter of a century ago, I placed on the bit of the 2nd Life Guards what has since received the name of "the loose eye," and I am proud to see it still where I placed it. It was not intended for common bits; the round eye and the snap hook give them perfect freedom of action. "The loose eye" has, however, become common on common bits.

[Sidenote: The noseband.]

A noseband prevents the cheek of the bit and of the headstall from going forward, and so impedes the true action of the bit. To close the horse's mouth, in order that a high porte may act against the roof of the mouth, is a monstrous notion. I had the honour to abolish nosebands in the 2nd Life Guards.

[Sidenote: Defence against the bit by the tongue.]

[Sidenote: Effect of the porte.]

The horse employs his tongue as a defence against the bit, pa.s.sively as a cus.h.i.+on to protect the more tender parts on which the bit is intended to work, and actively he uses the muscles of the tongue, in resistance to it: this may be proved by using a straight mouthpiece, or one arched upward or downward, but without a porte. From under these a horse will never withdraw his tongue, and he will go with a dead bearing on the hand, though equal, that is, not more on one side of the mouth than on the other. Even a very narrow porte, not a quarter the width of the tongue, will suffice, when pressure is used, to defeat this defence, and completely to engage the tongue within the porte. But being then much compressed, it will sustain a great part of the leverage, and the horse will endeavour still more to make his tongue the fulcrum of the bit, and to relieve his bars from that office, by protruding his tongue, and thus forcing the thick part of it within the porte. If the porte is made wide so as to allow s.p.a.ce for the tongue, the corners formed by the porte and the cannons (those parts between the porte and the branches) are apt to work injuriously against the bars, and also to slip quite off them, which makes the action of such bits uncertain, though they are very effective and severe if the mouthpiece is no wider than the horse's mouth. But the mouthpiece which gives complete room for the tongue, and yet brings the cannons into perfect contact with the bars, is that of which M. de Solleysell claims the invention, and which he describes as "a pas d'asne, with the porte gained from the thickness of the heels."

Let the mouthpiece be in width four inches inside, this I believe, will be sufficient for most horses, since the part of a horse's mouth where the bit should work is narrowest, and the cheeks should consequently be set outward. Let the entrance to the porte, between the heels be three-fourths of an inch, and let the porte open laterally to two and a half inches inside.

[Sidenote: Defence by the lip.]

But when the tongue is perfectly disengaged from the bars by the porte, the horse will still defend them by drawing his lip in on one side, interposing it between one bar and one cannon of the bit, and pulling on one side of his mouth only. It is the common error to attribute this to nature having formed one bar stronger than the other; but these and other tricks are not to be looked on as the results of natural defects, but as habitual defences against the pain caused by a hard, harsh bearing on the horse's bars; with a smooth and gentle bearing he will not take to them, or will discontinue them. For callous bars Xenophon prescribes gentle friction with oil! and the practice of the Augustan age of the manege, recommended by Berenger was to amputate that part of the tongue which a horse protruded or lolled out!

[Sidenote: Defence by the teeth.]

One of the most common defences against the bit is taking the _leg_ (the lower part of the branch) of the bit with the corner tooth. This is easily counteracted by a lip-strap. It should fasten _round_ the leg of the bit, so as to slide up and down, and should be tight enough to be horizontal.

[Sidenote: Bar of the military and driving bit.]

The reason for the bar at the lower part of a driving bit or a military bit, is to prevent the horse catching his bit over his neighbour's reins. The French cavalry ordonnance, in discussing the merits of this bar, does not seem to be aware of its origin and meaning.

[Sidenote: Martingale.]

If the theories here laid down are true, it will result that the common bits are best for the common run of coa.r.s.e hands, as being less severe, from their action being divided and on less sensible parts; and also, that they should be curbed more loosely, and placed higher in the horse's mouth, in proportion to the degree of coa.r.s.eness to be expected in the rider's hand. So although a martingale spoils hands, it may be used as a defence, that is, supposing the necessity of mounting a high, harsh hand on a susceptible horse. In this case an easy snaffle with a running martingale will at least counteract the height of the hand, and the friction will to a certain degree steady and counteract the unequal bearing on the horse's mouth. A low smooth hand is the only true martingale: this will never be acquired as long as an implement is used which tends to permit harsh, high handling with impunity to the rider.

The snaffle, even of a double bridle, should be sewed to the bridle; it is safer for leading, and it is only the curb bit which you wish to have the power of changing. The reins should be thin and supple, they will last the longer for it; for reins break from being stiff and cracking, and suppleness of reins is essential to delicacy of hand.

As the collected paces of the parade are not in vogue in England, a gentleman rarely has occasion for his curb at all, except to train a horse for a lady, or in the case where a commanding power is required over a horse who, by bad or cruel handling, has become a puller, or habitually restive, or whose animal impetuosity or ferocity leads him to attack his neighbours. In such a case a Chifney bit, with the mouth-piece described, with half the length of leg, and a third part of the weight, will be found more effective than a clipper bit; and at the same time that weight is got rid of, danger is avoided, which, with branches running far below the horse's mouth, is very great in going through living fences or coverts.

With such a bit, so placed, I have seen the taper tips of the most beautiful fingers in the world constrain the highest-mettled and hottest thorough-bred horses, and "rule them when they're wildest." It is an implement which will give to the weakest hand the power of the strongest, which most of the strongest hands cannot be trusted to wield, and which, if ladies' hands are light, equal, and smooth, will give them the power of riding horses such as few men might venture to mount.

[Sidenote: Danger does not result from power.]

Provided the indications from the hand are true and gentle, no danger to the rider nor resistance from the horse will result from power, but on the contrary, safety to the rider and obedience from the horse. This is the only mode of accounting for the fact that there are thousands of hands which perform to admiration in driving, with the most severe bits, but which are quite unfit to be trusted in riding with anything but a snaffle bridle; for, in driving, the terret-pad prevents false indications on the bit, therefore to ensure true ones being given, two hands are used, or when one only, two fingers are placed between the reins instead of the fourth finger only, consequently the horse obeys the slightest touch, and consequently his mouth and the driver's hand become mutually more light; but put the driver and driven together, as rider and ridden, with the same bit, the reins in one hand, and the fourth finger only between them, and what will follow? The rider gives a wrong indication; the horse turns the wrong way, or stops; the rider insists, and applies force; the horse rears; one or both fall backwards; the blame is laid on the severity of the bit, instead of the wrong application of it, and the brute force of the rider.

And observe, that it is power which I advocate, and not force; "'Tis well to have the giant's strength, but tyrannous to use it like a giant."

CHAPTER VIII.

THE SADDLE AND SIDE-SADDLE.

A side-saddle should have no right-hand pummel.--The leaping horn.--Surcingle.--Stirrup-leather.--Stirrup-iron.--Girthing.--To avoid riding on the buckles of the girths.

[Sidenote: No right-hand pummel.]

[Sidenote: Leaping horn.]

A side-saddle should have no right-hand pummel; it is useless to the seat, and impedes the working of the right hand on the reins. The appearance when mounted is infinitely improved by the absence of it. The saddle should have what is called a third pummel, or leaping-horn. In case of any unusual motion of the horse, such as leaping, an ebullition of gaiety, or violence from any other cause, by pressing upwards with the front part above the left knee, and downwards with the back part above the right knee, a wonderfully strong grasp is obtained, much stronger than the grasp obtained by the mode in which men ride. This will be quite clear to you if, when sitting in your chair, you press your two knees together, and afterwards, by crossing them over, press them, one down and the other up. Besides this, when a man clasps his horse, however firmly it fixes the clasping parts, it has a tendency to raise the seat from the saddle. This is not the case with the clasp obtained in a side-saddle; and, for a tour de force, I find I am much stronger in a side-saddle than in my own. There is no danger in this third pummel, since there is not the danger of being thrown on it; more than this, it renders it next to impossible that the rider should be thrown against or upon the other pummels. In the case of the horse _bucking_, without the leaping-horn, there is nothing to prevent the lady from being thrown up; the right knee is thus disengaged from the pummel, and all hold lost. The leaping-horn prevents the left knee from being thrown up, and from that fulcrum great force may be employed to keep the right knee down in its proper place. If the horse, in violent action, throws himself suddenly to the left, the upper part of the rider's body will tend downwards to the right, the lower limbs upwards to the left. Nothing can counteract this but the bearing afforded by the leaping-horn. This tendency to over-balance to the right causes so many ladies to guard themselves against it by hanging off their saddles to the left. The leaping-horn is also of infinite use with a hard puller, or in riding down steep places; without it, in either case, there is nothing to prevent the lady from sliding forward. It has also the advantage that, should one rider like it, and another not, it is easily screwed on or taken off.

[Sidenote: Surcingle.]

[Sidenote: Stirrup leather.]

[Sidenote: Stirrup-iron.]

The saddle should be kept in its place by the elastic webbing girths, and not, as the common error is--probably from the facility of tightening it--by the hard, unyielding, leather surcingle. The use of this surcingle is to prevent the small flap on the off side from turning up, and the large flap on the off side from being blown about with wind; and it should not be drawn tighter than is sufficient for these purposes. The part coming from the near side should not be attached, as at present, to the small flap, but to the lower part of the large flap on the near side. This will leave the small flap on the near side loose, as in a man's saddle, _and will allow liberty for the use of the spring bar_. It will also lessen the friction against the habit and leg, by rendering the side of the saddle perfectly smooth, except the stirrup-leather. To lessen the friction from that I recommend a single thin strap, as broad as a man's stirrup-leather, instead of the present double, narrow, thick one. Of three sorts of single stirrup-leathers the smoothest is with a loop to go over the spring-bar, and with an adjusting buckle just above the stirrup-iron: or the strap may take off and on the iron by a slip loop, and pa.s.sing over the spring-bar as usual, be fastened, and its length adjusted, by a _loose_ buckle, which, though it is only attached to the strap by the tongue, is perfectly secure. For hunting I always use a single strap, sewn to the iron, with a =D= above the knee, and with a double strap and buckle between the =D= and the spring-bar. The lady's stirrup-leather, which pa.s.ses under the horse's body, and is fixed to the off side of the side-saddle, is supposed to prevent the saddle from turning round. This is a mechanical error. But the great objection to this sort of stirrup-leather is, that it cannot with safety be used with the spring-bar; for when off the bar it remains attached to the saddle, and acts as a scourge to the horse. I once saw a frightful instance of this. The lady's stirrup-iron should be in all respects the same as a man's, and, to make a.s.surance doubly sure, it should open at the side with a spring. This might be useful in case of a fall on the off side, when the action of the spring-bar of the saddle might be impeded. But if the stirrup is large and heavy, it is next to impossible that the foot should be caught by it. It is the common error to suppose that persons are dragged owing to the stirrup being too large and the foot pa.s.sing through it, but the reason is its being too small and light, it then sticks to the foot and clasps it by the pressure of the upper part of the stirrup above the foot, and the lower part on the sole of the foot.

[Sidenote: Girthing.]

A side-saddle should be girthed very tightly, since a lady sits only by the saddle. The girths should always be felt _after_ the weight of the rider is in the saddle. The girths of a man's saddle should never be tight. The inner girth only should loosely hold the saddle; the outer girth is merely a safety girth, in case of the inner one giving. This is of consequence for the horse's breathing in galloping, since his ribs must expand every time he inhales, or draws breath.

[Sidenote: To avoid buckles of girths.]

I think that one holder on each side of a man's saddle should be placed as far forward, and one on each side as far backward, as possible without showing beyond the outside stirrup flap. This separates the buckles of the girths, and makes a smooth flat bearing for the thigh of the rider. The girths must cross from the front holder on one side to the back holder on the other; or they may be pa.s.sed through a loose loop below to prevent their separating. The double-stirrup leather and the riding exactly on the buckles of the girths, are great abominations. I go farther in this way myself, and cut off the inside girth flap immediately below the tree of the saddle. It is wholly unnecessary when the buckles of the girths are removed from under the weight of the rider. The absence of this inner girth-flap gives a much firmer, and to me a much pleasanter, seat; while to the horse the saddle is much cooler, and a little lighter. If, on trial, this is not liked, the girth-flap is easily sewed on again, or the holders are still more easily replaced. It is very rash to recommend even the smallest possible change which one has not tested well; and I have never tried dividing the girth buckles with the side-saddle. But I should think that if they were divided on the near side only, with a loop to keep the girths together below, it might be an improvement.

CHAPTER IX.

THE SHORT REIN.

The short rein should be used when one hand is occupied.--Its use to a soldier.--Its use with the restive horse.--It should not be used in hunting, or in swimming a horse.--Objection to it for common riding.--Used by postilion.--Short rein of the Eastern horseman.

[Sidenote: Should be used when one hand is occupied.]