Handbook for Light Artillery

by A. B. Dyer

This instruction should be begun on a circle from fifteen to twenty yards in diameter. As horses are usually fed, watered, saddled, and led from the near side, they are inclined to lead better from that than the off side. It will therefore generally be found necessary to give two lessons on the right to one on the left.

The first lesson to be taught the young horse is to go forward. Until he does this freely nothing else should be required of him. When he obeys freely, he should occasionally be stopped and caressed.

If the horse hesitates or stands still when he is ordered to move on, he should be encouraged, as such hesitation oftener comes from fear and ignorance as to what is required than from obstinacy or vice.

The horse should at first be led around the circle at a walk. A man with a whip (with which at first the horse should not be struck) should follow at a short distance and show the whip occasionally if the horse is inclined to hang back; if this does not produce the desired effect, he should strike the ground in rear of the horse, and at length touch him lightly with the whip until he obeys.

After the horse begins to move freely at a walk the man holding the longeing-rein should gently urge him to the trot, gradually lengthening the rein so that it may be scarcely felt, and should go round the circle at an active pace nearly opposite the horse's shoulder so as to keep him out and press him forward. If the horse takes kindly to this lesson, the man holding the rein may lengthen it by degrees until he has only to turn in the same spot, the man with the whip being careful to keep the horse out to the line of the circle. Should the horse break his pace, or plunge, the rein should be shaken without jerking it until he returns to the trot.

The man holding the longeing-rein should have a light and easy hand. For the first two or three days the horse must not be urged too much; if he goes gently, without jumping or resisting, enough is accomplished. He should be longed to the right, left, and right again, changing from a walk to a trot and back again in each case. He should be frequently halted by gently feeling the rein and speaking to him.

After a few days of the above practice the horse may be urged a little more in the trot, but the greatest care and attention are requisite to teach him the use of his limbs without straining him. Much harm may be done in this instruction by a sudden jerk or too forcible pull of the longe.

Care must be taken that the lessons are not made so long as to fatigue or fret the horse. At first they should be short and be gradually increased in length as the instruction progresses. At the conclusion of each lesson the horse should be led to the centre of the ring and made much of. The man holding the longeing-rein should take it short in one hand, at the same time patting and rubbing the horse about the head and neck with the other; he should then try to bend the horse's neck a little to the right and then to the left by means of the longeing-rein. The bend should be in the very poll of the neck, and this exercise should be repeated at the end of every lesson, cautiously and by slow degrees, until the horse responds easily. This exercise will greatly facilitate the future instruction of the animal.

The running-rein is of great value in teaching a horse to keep his head in a proper position, and affords valuable aid in his first handling. If judiciously used, it saves the rider a great deal of trouble and the horse much ill usage. It is especially useful in controlling horses that are inclined to bolt. It should act directly on the snaffle-bit itself, and is wholly independent of the reins.