Illustrated Horse Breaking

by M. Horace Hayes

Lunging.—Although lunging usually forms a considerable portion of the work given to young horses, during their period of breaking, I mention it, here, solely with the object of advising its discontinuance altogether. Making a horse circle with the weight on his forehand, while his hind-quarters are “thrown out,” not alone teaches him an awkward style of moving, but is also a fertile cause of sprain to the tendons and ligaments of the fore-limb. Again, as it is much more easy for the vast majority of men to keep turning round in one direction—in one opposite to that in which the hands of a clock revolve, for right-handed people—than in the other; it follows, that the generality of men, when they lunge a colt or filly, will circle the young one more to the left than to the right; just as we may see done any day on Newmarket Heath, opposite the railway station. The injurious effects of such a practice are self-evident. I shall describe, further on, a method of circling a horse—the breaker being on foot—by which the animal is made to move in a thoroughly “balanced” manner, and by which his mouth can be “formed” at the same time. I am confident that all good horsemen to whom it is new, will, on seeing how it is done, adopt it unreservedly. I am aware that the practice of lunging is discredited by many good breakers who are unacquainted with the method of circling which I have introduced.

Good hands.—The term “Good hands” signifies the ability of taking a pull at the rein—supposing it be required—when the horse’s head is in the proper position for the mouth-piece to act on the “bars” of the animal’s mouth; and of slackening them when the horse attempts to escape the pressure by bringing his head into a wrong position, or when the animal yields to the indication of the rein. The action of the mouth-piece, and the advisability of refraining from pulling at the reins when the head is in a wrong position, have been fully dealt with in the preceding pages. I may, however, draw attention to the fact that when the horse’s head is in the wrong position for the action of the bridle, it is in an unfavourable one for the movements of the fore-limb; being raised or depressed to an undue extent, or too much flexed or extended on the neck (i.e. chin drawn in, or poked out). Hence, the natural tendency of the horse will be, if his mouth be not interfered with, to bring his head in the position which is the best for his own movements, and which is the most suitable for the action of the mouth-piece of the bridle. A hard-pulling horse, for instance, ridden or driven by a man with “good hands,” will, probably, get his head “up,” on feeling the pressure of the mouth-piece, when he tries to break away. Being inconvenienced in his movements by this awkward carriage of the head, and lacking, on account of the slackness of the reins, the incentive to keep it “up,” he lowers it, to again experience the restraining pull. This will, probably, go on for a few times, until, wearied by a contest in which he finds himself baffled, he yields to the indication of the rein, and slackens his pace. Feeling that he “saves” his mouth the moment he does this, by the rider “giving” to him, he remains “in hand” for the rest of the journey. The typical “mutton-fisted” man, on the contrary, will keep hauling away at the reins, after the horse has got the mouth-piece on to the corners of the mouth, or, by getting his chin into his chest, and his head down, has transferred the pressure on to his poll. Consequently, the animal, experiencing the relief thus obtained, will naturally conclude that he has got the best of the battle, and will continue on his own course as long as he pleases. The harder such a man pulls on the reins, the more likely will he be to incite the animal to shew fight. In this case, the man foolishly pits the strength of his arms against the greatly superior power of the horse’s neck. The rider with good hands, on the contrary, uses a pull on the reins, merely as a means of letting the animal know, that, if it will obey his wishes, it will “save” its own mouth; a hint which, as a rule, is readily taken. I need hardly say that the severer the bit, the better should be the hands of the man who employs it. A really fine horseman can ride with success in almost any kind of bit.

Snaffles and curbs.—The only advantage possessed by the curb over the snaffle is, as a rule, its greater power of control. This superiority is attended with the serious objections that: (1) the use of the curb is, often, irritating to the horse, who, if roused, can always successfully resist its control; and (2) that it is, more or less, detrimental to the action of the horse, by tending to make him averse from “going up to his bridle,” and by obliging him, so as to “save” his mouth, to carry his head in a more or less constrained manner. As we can easily obtain the necessary control with the snaffle during breaking, it is evident that we should altogether dispense with the use of the curb during this process, so as to avoid the introduction of any disturbing element in the working out of the principle of using indications, rather than severity.

The thin, so-called, racing snaffle should not be used; as it is apt to wound the bars of the mouth, and thereby irritate the horse into shewing fight, which is the very thing we should seek to avoid while using the reins, of which, when we are in the saddle or driving seat, we are masters only on sufferance.

Elastic reins on dumb jockeys.—These contrivances should not be employed in breaking; for they never allow the complete freedom from pressure which the horse should experience as a reward for obedience, when he bends his neck and yields to the rein; unless, indeed, the elastic lines are ineffectually loose, or the animal draws in his head to an immoderate extent.

Fig. 3.—The proper length for a standing martingale.

The standing martingale.—The use of this martingale is to prevent the horse from getting the mouth-piece off the bars, when he throws up his head. Hence, if we employ it lengthened out, so that it will be just short enough to accomplish this object, and no more (see [Fig. 3]), it will give us the immense advantage of having the mouth-piece always in an effective position, with but little drawback. I, here, suppose that it is attached to the rings of the snaffle and not to the nose-band. At first glance, it may be considered that this mechanical restraint would be a constant source of danger, in the event of the animal getting into difficulties. I have frequently heard it urged,—but only by men who had not seen its use practically demonstrated,—that if a horse, on making a “blunder” at a fence, could not extend his head more than the properly lengthened out martingale would allow him to do, he would, being thus deprived of this supposed means of recovering his equilibrium, run a great risk of falling. We may see the fallacy of this argument, if we consider that the only effect of this poking out of the head, is to endanger the equilibrium, which becomes unstable, the moment a perpendicular line drawn through the centre of gravity, falls beyond the fore-feet. We find, therefore, by observing the comparative tightness, before and after jumping, of the standing martingale, that the horse’s tendency, when fencing, is to bring his head back, on advancing the fore-limbs. If he adopts, with the martingale on, the other and unsafe course, the pain caused by the consequent severe pressure of the mouth-piece on the bars, will soon teach him to save his mouth by holding his head in a proper position. Besides the increased control obtained by the mouth-piece always remaining on the bars, the presence of the standing martingale, by stopping him from poking out his nose, will tend to prevent him going “uncollectedly” behind, and, even on this account alone, will be specially useful for the hunter, chaser, and polo pony. Whatever be the horse’s work, whether on the flat, across country, or in harness, he should be ridden or driven in a standing martingale, if he has the habit of trying to get the mouth-piece off the bars of the mouth, or has any tendency to go uncollectedly. Objection to its use can be taken, only, in the case of the ’cross-country horse, who will be much more liable to be brought to grief by the practice of either of the faults just mentioned, than by this martingale. When he has learnt to carry himself properly, but not till then, should its employment be discontinued. Its constant use quickly teaches the horse to hold his head and to carry himself in the desired style; for obedience to the indications it automatically affords, is at once rewarded by relief to the mouth. No such useful lesson can be learned by the employment of the running martingale; for, with it, no saving of the mouth is obtained by any yielding of the head and neck to the rein. When it is on, whatever relief is procured, must be the result of the action of the rider’s hands, which cannot possibly “give and take” with the same precision as the fixed martingale. I may mention, that this gear has the great advantage of preventing a rider with “bad hands,” from hauling on the reins when the mouth-piece is on the corners of the mouth. Hence, the worse the rider, the more need he has of using a standing martingale with a horse that requires one.

That good horseman, Mr. Blew of The Field, remarks to me that he has seen one or two falls result from the use of the standing martingale, in cases of horses, out hunting, getting their fore-feet into a deep “gripe,” and, then, being prevented by this gear, from throwing up the head, and, thus, relieving the fore-hand. He, consequently, advises that it should be employed, only, in breaking. Those fine steeplechase riders, Colonel Hickman of the 21st Hussars and Colonel Wardrop of the 12th Lancers, as well as many other good ’cross-country performers, consider, with me, that its addition renders horses requiring such restraint, safer over fences than they would be without it. Although the solution of this debatable question may be left to each man’s own individual feeling on the matter, there can be no doubt as to its paramount importance in breaking, which is the subject, at present, before us.