Animations are intended to produce greater speed, or, to render the horse more lively and on the alert, without increasing his pace. Some animals scarcely ever require animations; while others are so dull and deficient in mettle as to call them frequently into use. The slightest movement of the body, the hand, or the leg, is enough to rouse the well-bred and thoroughly-trained animal; but it is necessary for the animations to be so spirited and united, with sluggish horses, as almost to become corrections: in fact, what is a mere animation to one horse, would be a positive correction to another.
The aids of the hand, the whip, the leg, and the body, which we have before described, are animations; so, also, are pattings with the hand, the tones of the voice, &c. Animations should be used in all cases, when the horse, contrary to the rider’s inclination, either decreases his speed, droops his head, bears heavily and languidly on the bit, or, begins to be lazy or slovenly in the performance of his paces. A good rider foresees the necessity of an animation before the horse actually abates his speed, or loses the ensemble of his action, and the grace and spirit of his deportment. It is much easier to keep up, than to restore, a horse’s animation: therefore, the whip, the leg, the hand, or the tongue, should do its office a few moments before, rather than at, the moment when its movements are indispensable.
A slight motion of the fingers of the bridle-hand serves as an excellent animation: it reminds the horse of his duty, awakens the sensibility of his mouth, and preserves a proper correspondence between that and the hand.
CORRECTIONS.
Ladies certainly ought not to ride horses which require extraordinary correction. For numerous reasons, which must occur to our readers, a lady should never be seen in the act of positively flogging her steed: such a sight would destroy every previous idea that had been formed of her grace or gentleness. Moderate corrections are, however, sometimes necessary; and the fair rider should make no scruple of having recourse to them when absolutely needful, but not otherwise. Astley, in his work on the management of the horse, after very properly recommending all quarrels between the steed and his rider to be avoided, observes, that too much indulgence may induce the horse to consider “that you are afraid of him;” and, our author adds, “if he should once think you are really so, you will find he will exercise every means to convince you that he considers himself your master, instead of acknowledging, by implicit obedience, that you are his.”
Those, who imagine that a horse is to be corrected only with the whip, are very much mistaken. The aids and animations of the leg, the bridle-hand, the body, and the voice, may be made sufficiently severe to correct and render a horse obedient in all ordinary cases. Severe flogging seldom produces any good effect; and, in most contests between a horse and his rider, when both get out of temper, the former usually gains some important advantage. The best way to correct a horse is to dishearten, and make him do what he would fain avoid;—not so much by force and obstinate resolution, in contesting openly and directly with him, when he is perfectly prepared to resist, as, by a cool opposition and indirect means. There are different methods of attaining the same end; and those which are the least obvious to the animal should be adopted: a lady cannot rival him in physical strength, but she may conquer him by mere ingenuity, or subdue him by a calm, determined assumption of superior power.
