"A great many accidents might be avoided," says a well-known authority upon the education of the horse, "could the populace be instructed to think a horse was endowed with senses, was gifted with feelings, and was able in some degree to appreciate motives."... "The strongest man cannot physically contend against the weakest horse. Man's power reposes in better attributes than any which reside in thews and muscles. Reason alone should dictate and control his conduct. Thus guided, mortals have subdued the elements. For power, when mental, is without limit: by savage violence nothing is attained and man is often humbled."
The lady who has the good fortune to live in the country where she can have so many opportunities for studying the disposition and character of her animals, and can, if she chooses, watch and superintend the education of her horse from the time he is a colt, has undoubtedly a better chance of securing a fine saddle-horse than she who lives in the city and is obliged to depend almost entirely upon others for the training of her horse. Indeed, very little formal training will be necessary for a horse that has been brought up under the eye of a kind and judicious mistress, for he will soon learn to understand and obey the wishes of one whom he loves and trusts, and if she be an accomplished rider she can do the greater part of the training herself.
The best and most trustworthy horse the author ever had was one that was trained almost from his birth. Fay's advent was a welcome event to the children of the family, by whom he was immediately claimed and used as a play-fellow. By the older members of the family he was always regarded as part of the household,—an honored servant, to be well cared for,—and he was petted and fondled by all, from paterfamilias down to Bridget in the kitchen. He was taught, among other tricks, to bow politely when anything nice was given him, and many were the journeys he made around to the kitchen window, where he would make his obeisance in such an irresistible manner that Bridget would be completely captivated; and the dainty bits were passed through the window in such quantities and were swallowed with such avidity that the lady of the house had to interfere and restrict the donations to two cakes daily.
Fay had been taught to shake hands with his admirers, and this trick was called his "word of honor;" he had his likes and dislikes, and would positively refuse to honor some people with a hand-shake. If these slighted individuals insisted upon riding him, he made them so uncomfortable by the roughness of his gaits that they never cared to repeat the experiment. But the favored ones, whom he had received into his good graces and to whom he had given his "word of honor," he would carry safely anywhere, at his lightest and easiest gait. Fay never went back on his word, which is more than can be said of some human beings.
The great difficulty in training a horse for a lady's use is to get him well placed on his haunches. In Fay's case this was accomplished by teaching him to place his fore-feet upon a stout inverted tub, about two feet high. When he offered his "hand" for a shake, some one pushed forward the tub, upon which his "foot" dropped and was allowed to remain a short time, when the other foot was treated in the same manner. After half a dozen lessons of this sort, he learned to put up his feet without assistance; first one, and then the other, and, finally, both at once. These performances were always rewarded by a piece of apple or cake, together with expressions of pleasure from the by-standers. Fay had a weakness for flattery, and no actor called before the curtain ever expressed more pleasure at an encore than did Fay when applauded for his efforts to please. That the tub trick would prove equally effectual with other horses in teaching them to place themselves well on their haunches cannot be positively stated. It might prove more troublesome to teach most horses this trick than to have them placed upon their haunches in the usual way by means of a strong curb, or by lessons with the lunge line. It proved entirely successful in Fay's case, and a horse lighter in hand or easier in gait was never ridden by a woman.
Fay's training began when he was only a few weeks old: a light halter and a loose calico surcingle were placed on him for a short time each day, during which time he was carefully watched lest he should do himself some injury. When he was about eight months old, a small bit, made of a smooth stick of licorice, was put into his mouth, and to this bit light leather reins were fastened by pieces of elastic rubber: this rubber relieved his mouth from a constant dead pull, and tended to preserve its delicate sensibility. Thus harnessed he was led around the lawn, followed by a crowd of youthful admirers and playmates, who formed a sort of triumphal procession, with which the colt was as well pleased as the spectators. Every attempt on his part to indulge in horse-play, such as biting, kicking, etc., was always quickly checked, and no one was allowed to tease or strike him.
Nothing heavier than a dumb jockey was put on his back until he was four years old, when his education began in sober earnest. After a few lessons with the lunge line, given by a regular trainer, a saddle was put on his back, and for the first time in his life he carried a human being.
When learning his different riding gaits on the road, he was always accompanied by a well-trained saddle-horse, aided by whose example as well as by the efforts of his rider he was soon trained in three different styles of movement, namely, a good walk, trot, and hand gallop. Fear seemed unknown to this horse, for he had always been allowed as a colt to follow his dam on the road, and had thus become so accustomed to all such alarming objects as steam engines, hay carts, etc., that they had ceased to occasion him the least uneasiness. This high spirited and courageous animal had perfect confidence in the world and looked upon all mankind as friendly. His constant companionship with human beings had sharpened his perceptive faculties, and made him quick to understand whatever was required of him. The kindness shown him was never allowed to degenerate into weakness or over-indulgence, and whenever anything was required of him it was insisted upon until complete obedience was obtained. In this way he was taught to understand that man was his master and superior.
Although it is not absolutely essential that a lady's horse should learn the tricks of bowing, hand-shaking, etc., yet the lady who will take the pains to teach her horse some of them will find that she not only gets a great deal of pleasure from the lessons, but that they enable her to gain more complete control over him, for the horse, like some other animals, gives affection and entire obedience to the person who makes an effort to increase his intelligence.
Lessons with the lunge line should always be short, as they are very fatiguing to a young colt, and when given too often or for too great a length of time they make him giddy from rush of blood to the head; not a few instances, indeed, have occurred where a persistence in such lessons has occasioned complete blindness.