Striking out in front.—We may tie up one fore-leg, put the strait-jacket on, apply the rope-twitch, or tie the horse head and tail, and then gentle both fore-legs. The use of the rope-twitch will, generally, be found to be the quickest method.
CHAPTER XVI.
RIDING AND DRIVING THE NEWLY-BROKEN HORSE.
Having made the horse as perfect as we can on foot, we should complete his education by riding him with skill and judgment. If we find that he shews signs of becoming unruly, or of recommencing some of his old tricks, it is far better to get off, and make him steady, in the manner before detailed, before proceeding further; than to risk any chance of a defeat while on his back. If he happen to develop such symptoms, we may feel assured that the fault is on our side, in having carried out his instruction on foot, in an imperfect manner. As I accord unqualified admiration for our best English and Irish styles of riding, whether on the flat, across country, or in the school, I shall refrain from going over old ground, and shall content myself, here, with adding a few remarks which have special reference to the recently handled animal.
When mounting, the breaker should make the animal stand perfectly still, until it gets the proper indication to move forward.
He should make the horse carry himself in good style, by keeping him up to the bit with the pressure of the leg, and by having a nice light feeling on his mouth.
All horses should be taught to rein back with ease and precision.
According as the animal requires to be bent and collected for his own particular work, so should he be instructed in turning, circling and changing, with the proper leg, shouldering in, and passaging. When the reins are taken up in both hands, they should be used in the same style as that recommended for the long reins (see [page 174]). If necessary, the horse may now be taught to obey the reins when held in one hand, and may be practised in the use of the curb.
When the horse has learnt to go smoothly, his mouth should be interfered with as little as possible. I am entirely against the practice of keeping the animal in a constant state of attention to signals from the reins; as it makes him rely on his rider, rather than on his own cleverness, to extricate him out of difficulties, and renders him uncertain, and lacking in self-confidence. This is especially the case in jumping, at which work the rider should limit his interference, if the horse is going too fast, to dropping his hands, and taking a pull, thirty or forty yards from the fence, and, then, letting the horse measure his own distance, and take off, as suits him best. If the animal’s attention be distracted by the rider’s interference at this critical moment, the risk of an accident will be greatly enhanced. The foregoing is the substance of the advice given by Mr. John Hubert Moore to his pupil, that well-known fine horseman, Colonel Hickman of the 21st Hussars, who attributes the immunity he has enjoyed from bad falls, over all kinds of country, and on all sorts of horses, to its rigid observance.
When the newly-broken horse is put into the shafts, he should be driven according to the principles laid down for riding him, in so far as they apply to harness work.