84 



MODERN HORSE MANAGEMENT 



[chap. 



over a jump and finding the way they have of 

 throwing up their heads as if they were expect- 

 ing a jerk on the mouth. This metliod of riding 

 old horses that will jump any kind of jump with 

 a ricJer holding on to their mouths is all right 

 for men whose seats do not allow them to ride 

 otherwise ; it is quite common to see men in 

 the hunting field and other places relying on 

 the reins to keep them on the horse's back, but 

 these men are not schooling young horses. 

 Unfortunately, many riders never improve their 

 hands, or their seat, or their general knowledge, 

 because, for some unknown reason, they imagine 

 they are perfect in these matters and have 

 nothing to learn, which is the last thing a good 

 horseman would ever assert. A good horseman 

 expects to learn something new every time he 

 mounts a horse. 



If a horse gets jerked in the mouth when 

 going over a jump, he associates the pain with 

 the jumping and thinks he has done wrong, so 

 the next time he is asked to jump he refuses. 

 [See Chapter III.) Allowing bad riders to jump 

 with reins is quite wrong, but allowing them the 

 use of stirrups is not so bad. 



330. Hands. — "Hands" is the power the rider 

 or driver possesses, through the medium of his 

 hands, to communicate between himself and his 

 horse. 



Good hands are a valuable gift possessed by 

 few. They can be improved by practice, but, 

 however bad a man's hands may be, if he has 

 good balance he will be far easier upon his 

 horse. A man with good balance and good 

 hands handles his horse's mouth as if with 

 silken threads, but not elastic. He has a gentle 

 feeling upon the mouth all the while, unless he 

 is riding with a loose rein, and he uses his 

 hands, together with his legs, as indicators to 

 the sensitive animal machine underneath him. 

 A rider with good hands is very soon able to 

 "mouth" a young horse, and, until a horse has 

 been properly mouthed (which consists really 

 in slightly hardening the bars), the horse's head 

 cannot be properly placed. [See P. 68, 100.) 

 This placing the head of a horse is necessary 

 before the rest of his body can be balanced, and 

 until a horse's body is properly balanced and 

 collected he is not a safe horse, and cannot be 

 trained to any high degree. When a horse is 

 properly mouthed and made obedient, and has 

 had his head and neck properly placed, he will 

 arch his head as the rider's legs are gently closed 

 upon him, bringing his haunches under him 

 and relaxing his lower jaw, champing at the 

 bit. The rider will not make any action with 

 his legs that he is not able to meet with his 

 hands. Unless a horse will do this, it cannot be 

 called a properly mouthed horse. Mechanical 

 contrivances will never mouth a horse properly ; 

 good hands and a good temper are necessary. 

 Vice versa, it must be remembered that " made " 



horses never made hands ; that is to say, that 

 every young rider should train a number of 

 young horses in order to improve his hands. 

 The pleasure of riding a properly balanced horse 

 with a good mouth and that of riding the 

 average horse one sees in the street cannot be 

 compared. 



The first-class rider uses his legs as much 

 as his hands to give indications to his horse. 

 The common use of the leg is to kick the horse 

 in the side or, even worse, to use sharp spurs. 

 [See Sees. 336-7.) 



331. A very erroneous idea, commonly held 

 amongst young riders, is that the correct thing 

 to do is to ride with one hand. As a rule, a 

 beginner exposes want of knowledge by trying 

 to ride with one hand. A far better test of good 

 riding is to ride the horse properly with both 

 hands. It is a common thing to see riders try- 

 ing to train young horses with one hand, and 

 the horse going wherever it likes. Riding with 

 both hands is absolutely necessary for many 

 months of the young horse's training ; he can 

 never be schooled with one hand. Above all 

 things, beginners must not sit stiffiy, but as 

 naturally as possible. The correct seat can only 

 be attained by months of practice ; nine months 

 is a fair minimum, as it takes quite this time 

 for the muscles to conform to their proper 

 shape. The leg must be turned in from the hip 

 joint, so that the inside of the thigh and knee 

 lies flat against the saddle ; turning the toes in 

 does no good unless the thigh is turned in too. 



Before a horse is taken out on a ride his 

 feet should be carefully examined to see whether 

 nails are protruding or the shoe is loose or 

 has shifted. The rider should be careful to 

 avoid riding over pieces of wood, as these often 

 have nails sticking out of them. A horse that 

 is taught to lie down should not be asked to 

 get up with a rider on his back, as this may 

 strain his legs, especially the hocks. 



332. Treatment of Refusers. — A horse that 

 has been in incompetent hands may have 

 acquired some objectionable habits. The 

 principle of treatment in all cases is to associate 

 in the horse's mind unpleasant sensations while 

 he is displaying objectionable habits and 

 pleasant ones directly he ceases (Chapter III.). 

 Great patience and firmness are, of course, 

 necessary. In the case of a horse refusing to 

 jump, it is most probable that he has been hurt 

 in one form or another while previously jump- 

 ing. If he is, therefore, firmly made to jump 

 without receiving any kind of pain or other 

 unpleasant sensations, but given a tit-bit on 

 arriving at the other side, he will soon like 

 jumping. A great fault is allowing the horse 

 too great a distance in front of the jump. Unless 

 the jump is very high, he should be walked up 

 quietly until three or four lengths from the 

 obstacle, then quietly cantered up to it, and 



