HORSEMANSHIP HORSERADISH. 



801 



right leg before and the left behind, and also when 

 in going to the right he leads with the left leg 

 before and the right behind : although in both cases 

 the hinder leg is with propriety put forward. 



The three natural paces may be converted into 

 artificial paces by art and skill, by shortening or 

 quickening the motion of the horse, and thus are 

 formed the actions of the terre a terre, and demi air 

 or demi volte, which is a species of short gallop, the 

 horse making a leap forwards, the two forelegs being 

 first, and the two hind legs following; and of what 

 are called the high airs, which are curvets, groupades, 

 ballotades, and capriols, in which the horse makes a 

 leap upwards. There is also a pace called an amble, 

 which seems to be natural to some few horses, and 

 may be taught to all. In this the horse leads off at 

 once with both feet on one side, and changes imme- 

 diately with the other side. It is certainly a very 

 easy motion for the rider, but very fatiguing for the 

 horse, and very insecure, as ambling horses are very 

 apt to stumble and fall. 



The first lesson to give a horse is to teach him to 

 go forward freely, first at a walk, and afterwards at 

 a trot. He must never be permitted to go false, nor 

 to acquire a shuffling or irregular pace. The trot is 

 the pace which enables all quadrupeds to balance and 

 support themselves with firmness and ease ; and it is 

 therefore the most proper for communicating a free 

 determined motion to the horse. By trotting also 

 we render the horse free and supple in his shoulders, 

 and make him acquire a steady and united action; 

 and for this purpose it is not merely necessary that 

 he lifts and throws out his legs well, but he must be 

 taught to do so in a vigorous manner, with activity, 

 spirit, and elegance. A strong well formed horse is 

 always light in hand. But if a horse is ill formed or 

 cross made, and goes disunited without restraining 

 himself, he is heavy in hand. In this case he must 

 be thrown on his haunches, and made to shorten his 

 steps, so that he may collect his strength, and go 

 more united and firm. A horse must not be suffered 

 to sink his neck and poke out his nose ; to prevent 

 this, the reins are to be held tight, so that the bit may 

 rub against the bass or roof of his mouth if he alters 

 his position. The proper position for a horse's head 

 is when the profile of the face forms a perpendicular 

 line from the forehead to the nose, and this is called 

 a fine carriage, or carrying the head well. To work 

 up a horse's head and neck into this situation requires 

 a steady, soft, and pliable hand in the rider, with so 

 much sensibility as to enable him to hit the precise 

 moment when it is necessary to give or take. 



In mounting a horse, the horseman should approach 

 the animal gently near the left shoulder, and take up 

 the reins. The snaffle rein should be taken up first, 

 the left rein passing along the palm of the left hand, 

 through between the forefinger and thumb, and the 

 bit reins should then be drawn over the ring finger. 

 The whole reins should then be laid over each other, 

 and grasped firmly with the whole hand, and with the 

 thumb pressed down upon them, lest they slip through 

 the fingers. Then taking up a handful of the mane 

 in the Lridle hand he must put his left foot softly into 

 the stirrup and raising himself up, resting on it a 

 moment, catch hold of the cantle of the saddle with 

 his right hand, and throw his right leg clearly over it, 

 steadying himself by shifting his right hand in the 

 same moment to the pummel. 



The reins must not be taken up too short, lest the 

 horse be made to rear, nin and fall back, or toss up 

 his head, but they should be held of equal length, 

 and neither tight nor slack. Soldiers should be 

 taught to mount and dismount equally well on both 

 sides, and the same precautions must be used in dis- 

 mounting as in mounting. The rider should sit 



upright in his saddle, with his back rather back- 

 wards, and his head erect, but without stiffness. 

 The breast should be somewhat pushed out, and the 

 lags and thighs turned in easily, so that the forepart 

 of the inside of the knees may press and grasp the 

 saddle, and the legs hang down easy and naturally, 

 the feet being parallel to the horse's sides, neither 

 turned in nor out, only that the toes should be kept 

 a little higher than the heels. By this position the 

 natural weight of the thighs gives a sufficient degree 

 of pressure, and the legs are held ready to act when 

 requisite. These should be kept near enough to the 

 horse's sides, but yet neither to touch nor tickle them. 

 The left elbow should lean gently against the body, 

 a little forwards, and the hand generally should be 

 kept of equal height with the elbow. But when 

 riding a horse with a low heavy forehead, the rider's 

 hand must be held higher, and the contrary with a 

 horse that pokes out his nose. The right arm must be 

 placed in symmetry with the left, and the right hand 

 may be moved backwards and forwards as occasion 

 may require. The hand holding the reins may be 

 held clear of the body about two inches and a half 

 forward, and immediately over the pummel of the 

 saddle. The nails should be turned opposite the 

 coat buttons, and the wrist a little rounded. The 

 joint of the wrist must be kept easy and pliable, giv- 

 ing and taking as may be occasionally required. A 

 firm and well balanced position of the body is of the 

 utmost consequence, as it affects the horse hi every 

 motion ; and its want is of the greatest impediment, 

 and will injure him in all his actions. In riding, the 

 hands and legs ought to act in correspondence with 

 each other in every thing, the latter being always 

 held subservient to the former. In riding in a circle 

 the outward leg is the only one to be used, and that 

 merely for an instant of time, in order to make the 

 horse go true if he should be false, and as soon as he 

 does so, it is to be immediately withdrawn. But the 

 less the legs are used the better, as delicate riders on 

 well dressed horses seldom require them. 



A horse should be taught to leap by degrees, be- 

 ginning with low and small leaps, and augmenting 

 them gradually as the horse improves. 



The rider must keep his body back, raise his hand 

 a little in order to help up the foreparts of the horse, 

 and be very attentive to his balance, without raising 

 himself in the saddle or moving his arms. The leap- 

 ing bar should be covered over with furze, which by 

 pricking the horse's legs will make him lift them high, 

 and prevent his contracting a sluggish and danger- 

 ous habit of touching. The bar should bje made to 

 turn round on an axis, and planks placed on the 

 ground before it, to keep the horse from approaching 

 too near. Horses should be accustomed to come up 

 quietly to every thing they are to leap over, to stand 

 coolly near it for a moment, and then to raise them- 

 selves gently up and go clear over it, without sloth 

 or hurry. When they leap well standing, they 

 should then be used to walk gently up to the leap 

 and go over it without first halting; afterwards to 

 take it in a gentle trot, and lastly, by degrees, go 

 over it at full gallop. In swimming a horse, very 

 little strength is required to guide him, and he 

 should be but little constrained. In crossing rivers 

 his head should be kept against the current, but 

 in going down the stream the straighter he is kept 

 the better. As a horse is with difficulty turned 

 in the water, it should be done very carefully and 

 gently. 



HORSERADISH (cochlearia armoracia) ; a cruci- 

 ferous plant inhabiting the temperate parts of Europe, 

 in moist situations. The stem is herbaceous, grow- 

 ing to the height of two or three feet, bearing alter- 

 nate leaves and small white flowers. The radical 

 3u 



