THE SADDLE-HORSE 49 



either they waxed so stubborne and so divelish, as they would 

 not abide the spur, but fall a leaping and flinging, and trieing 

 of masteries to cast their riders ; ' or else, to summarise, they 

 turned sulky and would not go on. It is satisfactory to find the 

 lesson inculcated that the spur is not to be used often, when 

 once the horse has been taught to stand it, and this partly for 

 reasons of humanity, and partly because ' overmuch spurring 

 will make him swing-tailed, especially if he be a jennet or a 

 Turkic horse, whose tailes be always loose and at libertie, and 

 are not tied as the coursers be.' To see the manner in which 

 the coursers' tails were tied old pictures must again be con- 

 sulted. 



In spite of Blundevill's belief in the efficacy of the human 

 voice, he devotes many chapters to what he advises as the best 

 correction for various faults ; and some of these, it is to be 

 feared, must have done immense mischief certainly they must 

 have caused much suffering, for there are several lessons which 

 were only to be taught by beating the horse with a cudgel 

 when in his stable ; and in some cases the rider is advised 

 to go into a ploughed field, and, having invoked the aid of one 

 or two footmen, always armed with cudgels, there to belabour 

 the unfortunate horse. Some remedies even more preposterous 

 were recommended by Lord Leicester's right-hand man, one of 

 which is too curious to be passed over, as an example of the 

 methods adopted by this author who lamented the ignorance 

 of his ancestors. The following is a 'correction to be used 

 against restifenesse,' when the rider desires to ' get the maistrie 

 of his horse, and to make him know his faults : ' 



Let a footman stand behind you with a shrewd cat tied at the 

 one end of a long pole, with hir bellie upward, so as she may have 

 hir mouth and clawes at libertie ; and when your horse doth staie 

 or goe backward, let him thrust the cat betwixt his thighs, so as 

 she may scratch and bite him, sometimes by the thighs, sometimes 

 by the rumpe ; . . . and let the footman and all the standers-by 

 threaten the horse with a terrible noise, and you shall see it will 

 make him to go as you will have him ; and on so doing be ready 



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