Riding and Driving. Collier Price
some occasion, after the longeing and bitting lesson has been given, when there is no high wind to irritate the horse and the animal seems to be composed, the man should have "a leg up" and quietly drop into the saddle, having first taken a lock of mane in his left hand and with the right, in which the reins should be, grasping the pommel, thumb under the throat of the pommel. He should then let the horse walk off for a few steps, having a very slight tension upon the reins, and quietly dismount. If, as is very unlikely, for the horse will be taken by surprise, though not frightened, the animal makes a jump or a plunge, the rider must maintain his seat, keep up the head of the horse, and dismount when the animal has become quiet. The horse will not rear at this stage; that is an accomplishment it learns from bad hands, and it is probable that it will be perfectly quiet. Each day the riding lesson will be lengthened, and the rider will gradually obtain some control over its movements by the reins and accustom it to bear the pressure of his legs against its sides. The longeing will now be employed to give such exercise as is needed to keep the animal from being too fresh; and when the riding lessons give sufficient work, the longe may be dispensed with, to be resumed if the horse falls into bad habits. But the bitting exercises, previously described, should be occasionally reverted to as long as the horse is used under the saddle.
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FIG. 16.—ELEVATION OF THE HEAD WITH SNAFFLE
059b
FIG. 17.—DROPPING HEAD AND SUPPLING JAW
But one more thing is necessary before the horse is ready for the higher training which will be described later, and this desideratum is to confirm the horse in the habit of facing the bit, that is, to go forward against a light tension upon the reins; for without this the rider will have little or no government over its movements, as the bit must have some resistance, slight though it should be, upon which to enforce his demands. Whenever a rider finds that his hand has nothing to work against, that the horse has loosened its hold on the bit and refuses to face it, he may be almost certain that he has an old offender to manage and that mischief is meant, and will follow unless he can force the horse up into the bridle.
The horse may best be taught to face the bit in a slow but brisk trot. The animal must not be started off too abruptly, but the forward movement should begin in a walk; and this is a rule that should always be followed, even though it be for a few steps, unless some good reason for doing otherwise exists. The impulse for the trot and its continuance may be induced by a pressure of the rider's legs against the sides of the horse, or by light taps of the whip delivered just back of the girths.
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FIG. 18.—BENDING HEAD WITH SNAFFLE
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FIG. 19.—A LEG UP
In a measured, regular trot the horse should be ridden in straight lines, and in circles, first of large, and afterward of decreased, diameters, the pace being maintained by demanding impulses from the hind quarters, the hand taking a light but steady tension upon the reins. No effort will be made to induce the horse to pull against the hand, but the man should endeavor to get just that resistance by which he may direct the animal. It does not really matter if the jaw of the horse does get a little rigid; that can be softened by the bitting exercises and by future lessons, but the horse must go into the bridle. In turning to either hand the inside rein will direct the movement, the outer rein measuring and controlling the effect of the other; the outside leg of the rider will make an increased pressure as the turn is being made to keep the croup of the horse on the path taken by the forehand. On approaching the turn the horse will be slightly collected between hand and heel, and as soon as the horse enters upon the new direction it will be put straight and the aids will act as before. To bring it to a halt, the legs of the rider will close against the sides of the horse; he will then lean back slightly and raise his hand until the horse comes to a walk, and in the same manner he will bring it to a stop. The hand will then release the tension upon the reins and the legs be withdrawn from the sides of the horse. To go forward, the rider will first close his legs against the sides of the horse and meet the impulses so procured by such a tension upon the reins as will induce the horse to go forward in a walk. So, to demand the trot, the increased impulses will first be demanded from the croup, to be met and measured by the hand. It is an invariable rule, at this stage and in every stage, that in going forward, backward, or to either side, the rider's legs will act before the hand to procure the desired impulses.
CHAPTER III
THE PURCHASE, THE CARE, AND THE SALE OF THE SADDLE-HORSE
Whether it has been procured by rapine, purchase, gift, or devise, the owner of a really good saddle-horse has something from which he may derive much pleasure and satisfaction. Nor is such an animal so rare as the late Edmund Tattersall suggested, when he gave it as his opinion that a man might have one good horse in his lifetime, but certainly no more. Almost any horse of good temper, safe action, and sufficient strength may be made pleasant to ride. Alidor was a small cart-horse, low at the shoulder, with a rigid jaw and a coarse head, but he became a charming hack, and I employed him for the photographs of the first edition of "Modern Horsemanship." I bought him as a three-year-old, as an experiment; and when he was four the breeder came to see him and gave me a written statement that, so great were the changes made in appearance and action by the calisthenics of his education, the animal could hardly be recognized.
Of course a man on the lookout for a horse will make an offer for a desirable animal wherever it may be found, but the most satisfactory mode of procedure is to go to some reputable dealer. I have bought horses from dealers in many parts of this country and in England, France, Germany, and other parts of Europe, and I have found them desirous of pleasing and as honest as their neighbors. I once bought a little horse from a trader in Frankfort-on-the-Main, who told me that I was getting a good bargain, and that in case I ever wished to dispose of it he would like to have a refusal. When I was ready to sell, I sent word to the dealer that a friend had offered me a fair advance over the price I had paid, and to my surprise he appeared and without remonstrance gave me the amount my friend had named. I need hardly say the horse was a good one, so I had been well treated all round.
Much of the friction between purchaser and dealer is usually due to the manner in which the former conducts his part of the bargain. It is not agreeable to a fair-minded man to be approached as though he were a swindler, to be offered one-half of the price he has set on his property, and then perhaps to have a sound horse returned because the buyer did not know what he wanted. I do not wish to be understood as saying that all dealers are honest; I have seen too many who would not go straight; but it is reasonable to suppose that most men in a large way of business, who have reputations for honest dealings to maintain, will "do right" by a customer.
It is a mistake for an ignorant purchaser to take a knowing friend with him for protection; this will, in the eyes of the dealer, relieve him in a great measure of responsibility. If the friend is really a good judge, it is far better to let him act alone, when he will be considered a client and not an interloper trying to "crab" a sale, and therefore free to deceive himself and his companion.
Some dealers will not give a warranty of soundness, and a warranty is too often the cause of disputes and of actions at law to make it advisable either to give or to demand one. A veterinary examination and a short trial must suffice. Sometimes the seller requires that the trial shall take place from his yards, to avoid the risk of injury to valuable animals and that blackmail so commonly levied by