Riding for Ladies: With Hints on the Stable

by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue

At eighteen months old a colt that has been bred on your own land ought to have gone through all the preliminaries of his education, and at that age the dumb-jockey may be brought into use with a pair of imitation legs and light little stirrups to hang on either side. Reins formed partially of india-rubber should be passed through the terrets and fastened to the bit, and these must not be drawn by any means tight, lest the colt be induced to bear upon them—or lest he rear, and fall backwards.

A quarter of an hour is the longest period that a lesson of this description ought to occupy, and the pupil’s mouth should be well wetted both before and after. If terror is excited, the utmost encouragement should be given, and no harshness be for even an instant resorted to.

These lessons may be continued, with slight variation, until the young animal shall have entered his third year, at which epoch a very light rider may be mounted on him, with rigid instructions not to interfere in any way with the bridle, except as a means of guiding. In fact, to prevent the possibility of his doing so to any mischievous degree, the india-rubber reins may with advantage be continued; but the best way of all will be to back the animal yourself: always provided that you are a sufficiently light weight for the purpose.

When the saddle is first placed in position, the extremest gentleness must be observed. Allow him, beforehand, to look at it, smell it, in short satisfy himself about it, and then proceed to rub it softly down his neck, pausing if he shows fear, and slipping it gradually backwards until you quietly lift it into its place. When it is fairly on his back, you should lift it again, and again replace it, and keep moving it gently about in order to give him confidence, and when you have induced him to stand quite still, fasten it with a racing surcingle instead of an ordinary girth, as it is more readily adjusted, and need not be drawn so tight.

To mount him successfully, place him so that the mounting-block shall be just behind his shoulder; ascend the block with the utmost coolness and quietness, and while standing on it proceed to pet your pupil, stroking him, talking to him, and “gentling” him as though he were a timid child. If he shows signs of alarm, go no further for a while, but wait quietly—no matter how long it may be—even deferring the lesson to another day, until he shall have gained complete confidence in your instructions. Half the horses that refuse to stand to be mounted have been rendered rider-shy (if I may coin a word) by scolding, and harsh treatment shown them in their early training. No attempt should be made at mounting a colt until he has become perfectly reconciled to his trainer’s standing over him, and also to the pressure of a hand on the saddle, and a foot passed in and out through the stirrup. To facilitate his standing quiet, place his head to a wall,—or, if he must be held, entrust the task to a steady quiet man, who will stand straight in front of him, fondling his nose and ears, and who will when necessary lay hold of the cheeks of the bridle, above the bit, but never of the bit itself, nor yet of the reins.

Do not, when mounted, touch the animal with your heel to start him, or attempt to meddle with his mouth in any hurried way. Speak to him coaxingly, and draw one rein very gently, in order to make him shift his leg and move—then walk him quietly about, repeating the lessons in turning, stopping, and backing, which you have already given him on foot If he shows restiveness, or an inclination to fight, slip off at once, and proceed with the old method of instruction—because you must not attempt to battle with him until you are quite certain that you can conquer. This is one of the most important principles in correct training, and one which, I regret to say, is most shamefully overlooked. “I won’t let him conquer me,” says the ignorant breaker, when the timid creature stands still and shivers, and refuses to do what it has not yet learned to comprehend. Greater nonsense could not possibly be spoken. There can be no victory, for either horse or man, until there has first been a battle, and if the man is wise he will not begin one, lest he should fail to prove himself the master, and the horse ever after refuse to obey his hand. Severity in training is merely an ebullition of the breaker’s temper, and there is no necessity for such when dealing with a creature that is really anxious to learn and obey. Gentle indications will, in all save extreme cases, accomplish tenfold more than brute force. Such, at all events, is my conclusion, after very close and practical study of the subject in hand.

Leaping ought not, as a rule, to be taught until the animal has attained its fourth year, nor ought the pupil to be mounted during the lessons for the first three or four months that are devoted to them. To lead in long reins, turning the colt in a nice quiet paddock that has a low hedge or gorsed hurdle across the middle of it, will be the proper method, and, as all young animals are imitative, it will be a great advantage to have an old skilled horse taken over the jump several times in easy fashion, in view of the youthful learner. I have made youngsters jump brilliantly over hurdles that were raised by degrees a great deal above their original height, by simply standing on the off side of them with a measure of corn in my hand, and shaking it temptingly, calling out cheerily at the same time, and always plentifully rewarding my pupils when the boundary had been cleared.

This sort of teaching is only pleasant excitement for the colt; it is not task-work; it injures neither structures nor temper, and is unattended by either accident or risk. The training of horses, both racers and hunters, as at present conducted, is conducive of many evils, as is proved amply by the fact that one-half the animals that come fresh from the trainers’ hands are debilitated by the wrong systems pursued, and are far less capable of enduring exertion than before they were taken in hand. The physicking, the brow-beating, the harshness, scolding, and fighting, are one and all tremendously pernicious and wrong. The vast majority of horses will, if properly treated, accept their duties without force; and even the most viciously inclined may be conquered, or at least subdued, without any approach to brutality.

I may cite one case as a sample of many: an animal I once bought for a song, and subsequently would not have sold for any money that could have been offered. By telling you of the method by which I contrived to cure him of his bad name, you may be guided how to act should any similar occasion chance to arise in your own stable.