Illustrated Horse Breaking

by M. Horace Hayes

With some horses, especially with those that have learned to know their own power, the process of inculcating the habit of obedience to the rein, by simply working on the horse’s mouth, may be ineffective, or may be too tedious for practical requirements. In such a case, I would advocate the advisability of exacting obedience, in the first instance, by some readily feasible method, as advocated on [page 11]; so as to impress the animal with the idea of our supreme power over him, and to banish from his mind any thought of resisting our will, even on a point concerning which he would always prove victorious, had he sufficient intelligence to see through our artifice. Our power over the horse, when we are on his back, being necessarily limited in extent, it follows that, with all our teaching, we may, at times, be unable to control our mounts.

Although young horses, well bred and truly shaped, will, generally, “carry” themselves to the best advantage, we may find that many animals, even in a state of freedom, and, more particularly, those that have been in bad hands, contract a stiff and awkward carriage, which, as a rule, may be easily remedied by two or three days’ “mouthing,” on the system I shall describe further on, followed by good handling and the ordinary routine of saddle, or harness work. I in no way mean to say that careful riding or driving would not, in time, accomplish the object in view, without the aid of the work on foot; but I maintain that the preliminary mouthing is invaluable in the saving of time, and that it can produce effects which are unattainable by any rider, however good his hands may be.

Manner in which a Horse should carry his head and neck, when in motion.—When the animal takes a stride to the front, the fore-limb, which is connected to the body by muscular attachment, is drawn forwards and upwards by certain muscles of the neck; their action being naturally regulated by the depression or elevation of the head. If the head be unduly raised, the forward reach of the fore-legs will be curtailed by this “high” style of going; and the speed will, consequently, suffer. If, on the contrary, the head be brought down too low, the animal, if at the gallop or canter, instead of “going level,” will have a more or less pitching motion, from too much weight being thrown on his forehand; and will lose time in his stride by excessive bending of his knees, which is necessary to enable his feet, in that case, to clear the ground.

Owing to the variety in the conformation of different horses, and in the work they are called upon to do, it is impossible to lay down any fixed rule as to the angle at which the neck should be carried: a fact that is of little moment; as experience will enable us to form a sufficiently near approximation for all practical purposes.

The neck muscles, which draw the fore-limb forward, will naturally act to the best advantage when the neck vertebræ are extended on each other; that is, when the neck is straight. According as the neck is bent, so will this forward “pull” be diminished.

The chief muscle that draws the fore-limb forward is attached to the head in such a manner, that it acts best when the head is carried, more or less, at right angles to the neck. Hence, we may take for granted, especially, as the correctness of the assumption can be verified by experience, that this position of the head is the best one for requirements demanding the exhibition of speed, or strength. For military purposes, “pace” is to some extent sacrificed for obtaining increased control and “handiness.”

Suitability of the Horse to the bridle.—When the horse carries his head and neck in an easy, natural manner, in fact, in the best one for the display of his powers—as we have seen in the preceding paragraphs of this chapter—the mouth-piece of the snaffle will rest on the “bars” of the mouth, as long as the reins are held not much above the level of the withers. Hence, from the peculiar conformation of the horse, we obtain two special advantages for rendering him obedient to the rein. First, the “bars”—that portion of the gums of the lower jaw which are devoid of teeth and which are in front of the molars—are singularly suitable for the application of pressure; being sensitive and smooth. Secondly, when the horse carries his head and neck in the best manner for facilitating his movements, the mouth-piece will be in the position easiest for the rider or driver to control the animal by the reins. The breaker’s task, therefore, as regards the carriage of the horse’s head and neck, will simply be to teach him to carry them in a perfectly natural way.

How the mouth-piece should act.—If an impetuous, hard-pulling horse gets his head up and tries to “break away” with a good rider, the man will ease the reins, “drop his hands,” and wait till the animal lowers its head, before he takes a pull: a rule that is followed by all our best horsemen. When the animal finds its head released, he will quickly bring it “down.” The reasons for not pulling at the reins when the head is “up,” are: that, when it is carried in this position, the mouth-piece falls on the corners of the mouth, pressure against which, we find by experience, is not effective in restraining the horse; and that the horse will not, as a rule, lower his head as long as the rider continues to haul on the reins. As soon as the head is brought down into its natural position, the pressure of the mouth-piece will fall on the bars. We may readily conceive, that far more pain results from the superficial nerves of the bars being squeezed between two hard bodies—the mouth-piece and the bone—than that caused by pressure on the loose and mobile tissue which forms the corners of the mouth. If, in the case I have imagined, the horse tries to get his head too low down, our typical good rider will endeavour to make the animal bring it into its proper position. The relief to the mouth obtained by arching the neck and bringing the chin close in to the chest, as some hard-mouthed horses will do, is due to a portion of the pull of the reins being, then, taken by the crown-piece of the bridle; instead of the whole of the pressure, as it should do, falling on the bars. A horse may, also, by stretching his head out, get the mouth-piece off the bars, and on to the corners of the mouth. It is needless to say that such actions on his part, are done with the object of “saving” the mouth. As they are opposed to the possession of proper control over the horse, the breaker should teach him to abandon, if he has learnt, these tricks, and to acquire the habit of bending his neck to the rein, and slackening his speed, as his sole defence against the pressure of the mouth-piece. The only alternative I can see for the use of pressure on the bars, would be its application on the nose by some form of nose-band.

Teaching the Horse to bend his neck to the rein.—Having taught the horse to hold his head, when he is ridden or driven, in an easy, natural position—namely, in one that will allow the mouth-piece always to rest on the bars—we must then teach him, on the reins being “felt,” to bend his neck in order to “save” his mouth. The partial check to the action of the muscles that draw the fore-limb forward, caused by the bending of the neck (see [page 45]) will be an easily understood signal to the animal to moderate his pace.

Proper direction for the pull of the reins.—When the horse is in motion, the forward propulsion by the hind-legs is given through the hip-joints; while that by the fore-limbs, passes through, we may roughly say, the elbow-joints. As the former impetus greatly exceeds the latter, we may assume that the centre of motion is a little in front of, and a little below the level of, the hip-joints. To comply with mechanical requirements, any pressure of the bridle on the mouth must, therefore, be in the direction of this centre of motion, so that the regularity of the stride may be interfered with as little as possible. The rule, taught by experience, of holding the hands, when riding, and especially when galloping, just below the withers, is in entire agreement with this fact.