VIl] 



RIDING AND SADDLES 



85 



given his head, so as to allow him plenty of 

 time to take off, the legs being used as required, 

 but on no account should he be whipped or 

 spurred. Such punishment is only necessary 

 when it is quite clear that the horse is 

 deliberately disobeying. 



333. When a horse rears up, the rider must 

 immediately give him his head by letting out the 

 reins. He should try to throw his weight on 

 to the horse's neck, and should be prepared to 

 slip off should the horse come over backwards. 

 The horse should, if possible, be kept moving 

 forwards by, perhaps, being hit over the quarters. 

 On no account must he be hit over the head or 

 neck. I have cured many a bad rearer by 

 taking it on to a sandy beach and slipping off 

 quickly while it was up in the air and gently 

 pulling the reins, thus bringing the horse over 

 backwards. This so frightens the horse, with- 

 out doing him any injury, that he, as a rule, 

 does not wish to have the experiment repeated. 



334. Riders should be very careful when 

 riding over wooden bridges to ascertain that the 

 planking is perfectly safe ; many floors of such 

 bridges become so rotten that one is scarcely 

 given a warning before the horse's foot goes 

 through. A one-inch plank is not safe for a 

 horse to walk upon ; two-inch planking is the 

 minimum that should be allowed on the bridge, 

 and this should be renewed at least once a year. 

 The safest plan is to have the two-inch boarding 

 covered with a one-inch plank, this latter being 

 replaced when at all worn. 



The practice of linking horses, which con- 

 sists in tying them together side by side by 

 means of the reins — that is, by tying the reins 

 of one horse to the head-gear of the horse next 

 to him — unless done properly, is extremely 

 dangerous. I have known horses to have their 

 jaws almost broken by the reins from their bits 

 being tied to the horse on one side and the reins 

 from the horse on the other side being tied to 

 their nosebands, thus tending to break the jaw, 

 through the horses on both sides pulling at the 

 same time. Clearly the only way to link horses 

 is either to attach the reins from bit to bit — i.e. 

 from the right side of one bit to the left side of 

 the next — or to use the head-ropes attached from 

 noseband to noseband at the ring at the back 

 (the jowl-ring). 



335. The subject of eye fringes is discussed 

 in Chapter XII. P. 104rf shows the eye fringe 

 commonly used on bridles. These are especially 

 useful for horses with hogged manes. 



In the fly season riding is made far more 

 pleasant by using a fly whisk, as shown in 

 P. 104rf, as this saves the horse from throwing 

 his head about while endeavouring to reach 

 flies. 



When mounting a horse that will not stand 

 still, or one that tries to buck, it is a good plan 

 to take hold of the headstall with the bridle 



hand, and hold on to it until one is properly 

 seated in the saddle. 



Great ignorance is often displayed by those 

 who lead at the head of a column by their riding 

 at a great speed, with no consideration for those 

 behind them. Such practices are the cause of 

 much distress amongst both horses and riders. 



336. Spurs. — A great many of those who ride 

 with sharp spurs should not be allowed to use 

 them at all. If horses are properly trained 

 they would not require sharp spurs — at least, 

 not one in ten thousand would. As a punish- 

 ment a whip is always far superior to a spur. 

 The whip is more humane, and can be applied 

 in the correct place, which is behind the 

 place where the spur is usually used, and 

 has not the frightening effect that the spur 

 often has. A spur as a means of inflicting 

 punishment, if sharp, is a barbarous instrument, 

 and it is horrible to see young recruits and 

 would-be riders of all types digging their 

 horse's flanks with sharp spurs when probably 

 the horse does not know what his ignorant 

 rider requires of him. Such men should not be 

 allowed spurs ; if they were given a whip they 

 might do more good, or, at any rate, they 

 would do less harm to the horse. I cannot 

 understand why riding instructors allow such 

 things to go on. If people must use spurs to 

 show that they ride or belong to the cavalry, 

 the rowels should be filed off or cut out. Most 

 spurs are sharp, and yet not one in a thousand 

 horses requires their use. Some horses get used 

 to being constantly spurred, and take no notice 

 of it, but this is the result of shocking riding. 

 By cutting off the sharp points or taking out 

 the rowels, the rider shows greater knowledge 

 — at any rate, in most cases. 



Riding whips (cutting) should not be made 

 of soft leather, but should be stiff, and lined 

 with whalebone, not steel, and, if used as a 

 punishment, must be used well behind the 

 girth, but not under the belly and never over 

 the head. The stiff whip can be used as an 

 indicator when required. 



337. Personally, I look upon the spur or 

 whip as an indispensable indicator in training 

 or riding a horse after a certain stage has been 

 reached, and only as a means of inflicting 

 punishment in rare cases when the equine pupil 

 is wilfully disobedient. For this reason I always 

 use spurs without rowels. With these spurs one 

 can play on the horse's flank with a touch 

 similar to that of the finger on a piano key. 

 These touches vary according to what is 

 required ; the position of the touch varies from 

 far back on the loins to as far forward as the 

 shoulder in rare cases. Were I to use a sharp 

 spur I should expect the horse to give a sudden 

 movement that would be quite beyond the 

 control of my hands ; that is to say, by my own 

 ignorance I should place my horse temporarily 



