Much of the work in suppling the horse can be done far more quickly with the trainer on foot than from the saddle. Indeed, almost all the education of a riding-horse might be carried on without the trainer mounting at all, and that very expeditiously; the finishing lessons under the saddle would be required to transfer the indications of the whip to the rider's heels. The handling that would be given by the trainer on foot would prepare the horse for anything that might follow, and I have always found that the longer the horse was worked in hand, the better were the results. That is, if the horse be longed carefully; be driven before the trainer in a long pair of reins attached to a snaffle-bridle; be taught to yield the jaw, the head, and the neck to the bits; and be made to bend the croup and to bring the hind legs under the body at the application of the whip, there will be very little left to do when the man mounts.
I shall now describe the least amount of work that the trainer should perform on foot, as few men will have the patience to carry the system farther; but as the principles are always the same any one who desires to try the experiment may readily carry on the training in hand to its utmost limit.
FIG. 75.—BENDING HEAD AND NECK WITH CURB-BIT
FIG. 76.—BENDING HEAD AND NECK WITH CURB-BIT
When the young horse—or any horse, for that matter—is going well in the snaffle-bridle, the animal should be given daily lessons in the double bridle (curb and snaffle) in the following manner: the curb-chain being removed for the early lessons, the trainer should stand at the head of the horse on the right, or off, side, and take the right snaffle-rein in his right hand, while the left hand grasps the two curb-reins at equal lengths under the chin of the horse a few inches from the bit. Then, extending his right arm away from the nose of the horse and drawing the curb-reins toward the chest of the animal, he will, with just so much force as is necessary, induce the horse to open the mouth and relax the lower jaw, the head being held up by the snaffle-rein. As soon as this is accomplished the tensions upon the reins should be released and the horse rewarded by caresses. The snaffle must keep the head of the horse at the proper height, for the tendency of the curb is to depress the head, and the face of the horse should be kept about vertical to the ground, certainly not any nearer the chest. From time to time the trainer will release the tension upon the snaffle-rein and draw the curb-reins, as before, in gentle vibrations toward the neck of the horse to test the progress of his work. When the horse curls the upper lip, and the reins always find nothing more than a light, elastic feeling upon the lower jaw, the crest being curved and the face held perpendicularly to the ground, the man will know that the object of his work has been accomplished, and it remains for him to maintain this condition by constant practice until it becomes habitual. If at any time the jaw becomes rigid, or there is any resistance, a return should be made to the exercises with the two bits, as in the beginning. It is a rule observed by all trainers that when a horse does not perform perfectly that which is desired, to "go back to number one," the first lesson.