When a horse begins to kick, the rider must bear forcibly upon his mouth, and keep his head up, at the same time, she should press her leg to the horse’s side, keeping her body well back, to save herself from being thrown forwards. She should use as little coercion as possible, and be careful to preserve her own temper, and her seat; should the horse, in spite of her exertions, get his head down; she must endeavour to give him a smart blow with her whip on his head, which will induce him to throw it up, and thereby stop his kicking; should an opportunity occur, she should also try to give the horse, two or three smart turns; this may also be done with effect, as a preventative, should she detect any incipient attempts in the animal to kick.
Rearing is a bad vice, and in weak horses especially, a dangerous one. When the horse rears, the rider must cease to bear upon the mouth, she should lean her body well forward, towards his neck, and with her right hand take hold of the mane, to save herself from falling off, or pulling the horse backwards upon her; as the horse comes to the ground with his fore-feet, not before, she should give him a few smart cuts with the whip on his croup, to force him forward, and endeavor to pull him round two or three times, and thus divert him from his object; the latter course may also be adopted to prevent rearing, if the rider can foresee the horse’s intention.
If a lady have the misfortune to be mounted on a runaway horse, she may avoid evil consequences, if she can but contrive to retain her self-possession. She must endeavor also to retain her seat at all hazards, sitting well back and perfectly quiet, for the least symptom of alarm on her part, will increase the terror, or determination of the horse. She should not attempt to throw herself off the horse, except in cases when the horse may be taking her into imminent danger; she should separate her reins, holding the curb in her left hand, and the snaffle in her right, and pull at each alternately; which renders the mouth more sensitive, than a dead heavy pull upon any one bit, and the horse consequently more obedient to the hand. Should an open space present itself, turning a horse in a circle, will frequently bring him up in a few seconds.
Plunging, is very common amongst restive horses. If the horse continue to do so in one place, or backing; he must be urged forward; but if the horse does it flying forward, he should be kept back, and ridden slowly for some time.
Starting, often proceeds from a defect in sight, which therefore should be carefully looked to. When a horse starts or shies, no notice should be taken of the movement, further, than to meet him, with the proper bearings and pressures, to compel him to move in the true direction; should he however, be alarmed at an object, and instead of going up to, or passing it, turn round; he should be soothed, and brought up gently to it, caressed at every step, he advances. To attempt to force the horse up to the object he dreads, would not only be ridiculous and dangerous, but the punishment would add to the alarm, and the horse would take an early opportunity to shy afresh, at the first strange object that presented itself, and very probably he would add another start, in anticipation of the chastisement that might be in store for him. Thus, what was originally a failing from defect of vision, or ebullition of spirit from over feeding, or want of proper exercise, becomes a vice rooted, and confirmed, and of a dangerous character. When passing an object that the horse may be alarmed at, his head should be turned away from it, rather than towards it, a good rider thus prevents her horse from shying, while the young and bad rider, by the reverse treatment, of pulling a horse’s head towards the object, and whipping him up to it, makes her horse shy. The horse should never be allowed to evade passing the object, but he should be got past in the manner, that occasions the least alarm to, or contention with him.
When the horse starts, the rider should instantly direct her eyes to the horse’s ears, when her body will naturally take the same direction that the horse shies to, but if her eyes be directed to what the horse shies from, she may loose her balance, and fall.
PACES OF THE HORSE.
The walk is the least raised, the slowest, and the most gentle of all the paces; but it should be an animated quick step, and to be pleasant to the rider, it must be true; that is, it should be conducted by a harmonious elevation and setting down of the feet, each foot being dropped flat on the ground, and not, as is too often the case, the toe being placed first, and then the heel. One lady by a good seat and hand, will cause her horse to carry his head, with his neck arched, and to elevate and extend his limbs, the one in unison with the other; another, by her bad hand, and seat, will bring the horse she rides, to step short, and irregular, and so mix his trot, with his walk, as to do little more than shuffle over the ground.
Previous to urging the horse into a walk, the lady should ascertain that he is well in hand, and on his proper balance; then, by turning her hand, with the little finger towards her breast, she must increase the bearing upon the horse’s mouth, to draw his attention, and at the same instant, she must communicate to him, by closing the leg, and using the whip gently upon the right side, a sufficient impulse to carry him forward, easing, as he advances, the bearing upon the mouth, by the hand resuming its proper position, but she must not slacken the reins.
In the walk, the reins should be held so that the rider have a delicate, but distinct feeling of the horse’s mouth, to cause the horse to carry his head in a proper position, and to keep time in the beats of his action, but not held so tightly, as to impede the measurement of his steps, or to make him, on being slightly animated, break from a walk into a trot.