CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



another horse of equal power which runs ten miles 

 at a time. This is well understood by all stage- 

 coach proprietors, and short stages have now 

 almost everywhere superseded long ones. Such a 

 fact should also be known to all private travellers. 

 Whether employed in a gig, chaise, or for riding, 

 the horse on a journey should take his day's work 

 in two distinct stages one in the morning, and 

 another in the afternoon, when rested and re- 

 freshed. He should also, to remain in good 

 condition, have a rest during the whole of Sunday. 

 In journeying with light loads, a distance of from 

 twenty to twenty-five miles is considered a suffi- 

 cient day's task. 



Riding. 



The art of riding or equitation forms a regular 

 branch of instruction, and is seldom well per- 

 formed by those who have not been regularly 

 taught ; and nothing we can say can supersede 

 the necessity of instruction by a master. It 

 should be performed in that manner which is 

 least calculated to oppress the horse and fatigue 

 the rider, and which will be most secure for 

 both parties. The first principle in horseman- 

 ship is, that the horse and his rider should act 

 and react on each other as if governed by one 

 common feeling. To attain this end, the rider 

 must acquire the knack of balancing himself prop- 

 erly on the animal, and establishing the means 

 of making himself understood through certain 

 movements of hand and body. For full instruc- 

 tions in the art, see Walker's Manly Exercises. 



Riding, to one accustomed to it, is best per- 

 formed with a curb and snaffle bridle ; the curb, 

 however, being only employed to bring the animal 

 up by pressure on the mouth when occasion 

 requires. As some horses have a much more 

 delicate mouth than others, the nature of the 

 bridle must depend on circumstances. In holding 

 the reins, a union of firmness, gentleness, and 

 lightness is the essential requisite. 



Much may be done to animate a horse, either 

 in riding or drawing, by addressing a cheerful 

 word to him, instead of the lashing and scolding 

 with which he is too frequently visited. If a horse 

 requires correction or urging by the whip, he 

 should only be touched lightly behind the girth 

 and saddle, never on any account on the head or 

 on a fore part of the body. We have frequently 

 seen riders so lost to humanity as to whip their 

 horses when restive over the head and ears. 

 Should a horse attempt to baffle his rider, he 

 must be pressed by the legs, urged lightly with 

 the spur, and kept in his proper track, but not 

 drawn up with the curb or terrified by abuse. 



The most common pace in road-riding is the 

 trot, which, in effect, is a rapid walk, and most 

 difficult for a rider to perform with address and a 

 small degree of fatigue to himself. In slow trot- 

 ting, the body should adhere to the saddle, and 

 when it becomes fast or rough, the body may be 

 raised at the proper moments to ease the jolting. 

 This rising of the body, however, is to be a result 

 of the horse's action, not an effort of the rider. 

 The proper method is to rise and fall with the 

 leading foot, the body rising from the seat when 

 the foot is elevated, and falling when it sinks. 



624 



In the course of either slow or fast riding, the 

 horse may trouble his rider by plunging, shying, 

 or restiveness. If he kick and plunge, sit up- 

 right, hold on by the legs, and do not vex him 

 by any lashing ; when let alone, he is not long in 

 coming out of his freak. When he shies, or flies 

 to one side, as if afraid of something, press him 

 on the side to which he is flying, keep up his 

 head, and bring him into his track. Pressing 

 both legs against his sides will generally keep 

 him from running backward. When he becomes 

 restive that is, turns round, and has a disinclina- 

 tion to go in the way he is required, the rider 

 must keep him in his track by dint of pressure, a 

 touch of the spur, and the hand. If he has been 

 accustomed to spurs, and finds that your heels are 

 not provided with these appendages, your case is 

 very hopeless. We must allow Walker to point 

 out the course to be pursued with a restive horse. 

 If he persists in turning round, the rider must 

 continue ' to attack his unguarded side, turn him 

 two or three times, and let the heel and spur, 

 if necessary, assist the hand, before he can arm 

 or defend himself against it. If he still refuse to 

 go the right way, the rider must take care that he 

 go no other, and immediately change his attack, 

 turning him about and reining him backward, 

 which the horse is easily compelled to do when 

 he sets himself against going forward. In these 

 contests, the rider must be collected, and have an 

 eye to the surrounding objects ; for restive horses 

 try their utmost to place their riders in awkward 

 situations, by sidling to other horses, carriages, the 

 foot-pavement, the houses, &c. In this case, the 

 rider, instead of pulling him from the wall, must 

 bend his head to it, by which his side next the 

 wall is rendered concave, and his utmost endeav- 

 ours to do injury are prevented. The instant, 

 therefore, that the rider perceives his horse sidling 

 to any object, he must turn his head to that 

 object, and back him from it. There are some 

 horses who fix themselves like stocks, setting all 

 endeavours to move them at defiance. There, 

 happily, their defence can in no way endanger the 

 rider. It must, however, be converted to punish- 

 ment. Let them stand, make no attempt to move 

 them, and in a short space frequently less than 

 a minute they will move of themselves.' The 

 same author recommends the rider to remain 

 perfectly cool in all these awkward circumstances. 

 ' When passion,' he observes, ' possesses the 

 rider, it prevents that concord and unity taking 

 place which ever should subsist between the 

 rider and his horse. He should always be 

 disposed to amity, and never suffer the most 

 obstinate resistance of the horse to put him out 

 of temper.' 



Neither in the above section nor elsewhere have 

 we said anything of the accoutrements of the 

 horse, as every article of this kind must be left to 

 the taste of the party concerned. The harness 

 made by all saddlers is now handsome, con- 

 venient, and durable, and so well calculated for 

 the comfort of the wearers, that it would be super- 

 fluous to say anything respecting it, further than 

 to recommend that it be always kept clean and 

 glossy, and that it do not gall or press unduly on 

 any part of the animal's body. 





