1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
4-49 
from the official report of the Government Bureau of Sta- 
tistics. The greater portion of the guano is nsed in the 
Southern States, and these figures indicate how rapidly 
the agriculture of that section of our country is recover- 
ing froni the prostration caused by the war. 
Horse Papers for Farmers.— Ko. 11. 
In learning to ride, there is no better training 
for a small boy than ordinary bareback riding, 
in going to and from pasture, plowing out corn, 
and carrying bags to the mill. The best teacher 
lie can possibly have for his lessons is a good 
natured, quiet, easy-going old horse; for what 
lie needs to learn first is an easy familiarity 
with his new seat. To be able to get on and 
to stick fast is an important point gained, and 
bareback riding is a good school in which to 
acquire it, hut little further can be learned. 
"With a full-sized horse, however, it is not easy 
to get much beyond this, until the boy is fifteen 
or sixteen, and has a certain length of leg. 
"When he is large enough to support himself 
b}' bearing from the knee upwards, leaving the 
leg below the knee perfectly free, he can with ad- 
vantage attempt further progress; and it would 
be well for the boy and the horse to teach each 
other. If the horse can be exempted from 
harness work, all the better. The rider must 
understand that two important objects are to 
be sought as the foundation of his success. 
I. The horse must be taught to carry his 
own weight and that of his rider equally on all 
four of his feet, and to use for the work only 
the muscles necessary to it, leaving all parts of 
his body, not in action, perfectly free and sup- 
ple. A horse that pokes out his nose and car- 
ries a stiff neck when traveling is like a boy 
who works his tongue while writing, or a man 
who clenches his teeth while lifting a heavy 
weight. If the neck is stiff, the whole body will 
be rigid, and the whole position so constrained 
that graceful movement will be impossible. 
II. The rider must learn to attach himself to 
the horse by the thighs alone. From his seat 
to his knees he should be immovable ; but from 
his hips upwards and from his knees down- 
wards, he should be independent of the move- 
ments of the horse. The upper part of the 
body, resting easily on the hips, should assume 
naturally the constantly changing positions 
needed for balancing, while the legs below the 
knees should be free to move at the rider's will, 
without being used for the purpose of sticking on. 
When these two ends are attained, the horse 
will be a good saddle beast, and the boy will be 
a good horseman ; but their attainment is no 
easy matter. Even under systematic training,, 
a suitable animal and a naturally graceful and 
good-tempered lad would not be likely to reach 
a very satisfactory point in less than six months' 
time; but the daily progress will be perceptible, 
and if the young man understands what he is 
about, he will enjoy every step of his work. It 
is difficult in a short article even to hint at the 
course to be pursued, and I can only hope that 
the little 1 do say will induce those interested in 
the subject to get hold of a good book on horse 
training and riding, and set regularly at work in 
what seems to me the most delightful of all 
occupations for a healthy and intelligent youth. 
The first thing to be done is to learn the im- 
portance of keeping the temper. The utmost 
patience is indispensable. Every thing that it 
is proposed lo do is new and strange to Iho 
horse, and his first impulse at the outset will be 
one of fear. He must be soothed and coaxed 
and petted, but rarely, if ever, scolded or 
punished. Teach him one thing at a lime, and 
teacli him that one thing over and over again, 
and in successive lessons. Never proceed to the 
secoud step, until he is eager to take the first, 
and until he takes it unfailingly well. The first 
lessons should be given ou foot, but with saddle 
on and girths lightly buckled. The earlier les- 
sons should be as follows, each being thorough- 
ly learned before attempting the next. 
I. Standing at the left side of the horse's 
head, take the curb reins near the bit in the left 
hand, and draw gently backward, and with a 
whip in the right hand, strike him lightly ou 
the chest. As he moves backward, follow him 
steadily and keep striking him. When he 
starts forward, relax the reins, pat him on the 
neck and encourage him with the voice. Keep 
this up until he inclines to step forward the 
moment he feels the pressure on the rein. 
II. Standing in front of the horse's face, 
take one curb rein close to the bit in each hand, 
push with the right hand and pull with the left 
(gently but firmly) until the horse turns his 
head toward the left side, well around to the 
shoulder. Hold it in that position for a moment, 
until he champs the bit and relaxes the muscles 
of the neck. Then bring the head back to its 
natural position, but let the horse understand 
that you do it, not he. Perform the same move- 
ment in the opposite direction. Repeat this 
until he will carry his face lightly to the shoul- 
der on either side, the moment he feels the bit 
turning hi his mouth. 
III. Standing at the horse's left side, facing 
to the front, draw the right snaffle rein firmly 
over his neck close to the shoulder. Pull 
steadily until he bends his head around toward 
the right shoulder; then draw on the left curb 
rein gentl}-, until he holds his face perpendicular, 
ceases pulling, and champs the bit. Release the 
snaffle rein and draw his head back to the front. 
Move to the horse's right shoulder, and turn in 
the same manner to the left. 
IV. Standing at the left side of the saddle, 
with the right hand upon it, holding the curb 
rein, pull steadily until the horse ceases resist- 
ing aud holds his head perpendicular without 
bearing on the rein. 
V. The rider, being mounted, should hold 
the cuds of the snaffle rein in his right hand at 
the bight of the breast, lay his left hand across 
them over the horse's shoulder, and bear down 
with the left hand until the horse yields to the 
pressure, draws in his head and ceases to bear on 
the rein ; then raise the left hand to release him. 
VI. Draw steadily on the right rein of the 
snaffle until the horse's head is turned round, 
facing the rider's knee; then use left curb rein 
to bring the head to a perpendicular position, 
and when it is held lightly so, draw it back to the 
front. Perform the same movement to the left. 
These six lessons may well occupy six weeks. 
There should be two lessons a day and no more, 
and it is better that each lesson should not ex- 
ceed ten minutes, though the effort should never 
be given up without at least a slight progress 
being made. Be the time longer or shorter, 
nothing further should be attempted until the 
horse's head will take these positions on the 
slightest intimation of the rider's intention, so 
that it may be moved to the right or to the left, or 
brought in toward the chest by a movement of 
the little finger. When this is accomplished in 
a state of rest, teach the horse the same freedom 
while moving at a walk, and subsequently at a 
gentle trot. If lie inclines, on feeling the pies- 
sure of the curb bit, lo carry his head too low, 
pointing his nose toward his knees,, it may be 
brought up to the proper position by extending 
the right hand to the DjonJ Will raising \\\i oim 
rein only of the snaffle. The curb reins should 
always be held in the left hand. 
Having taught this much thoroughly, teach 
the horse to move backward without stiffening 
his neck. In short, persevere until, under all 
circumstances and in performing whatever 
movemeuts may be desired, the horse keeps his 
neck supple and refrains from pulling on the 
bit; aud until his head can be moved about at 
pleasure without frightening him or fretting him. 
Thus far our attention has been given to the 
horse ; but he will never be able to follow our 
instructions, unless his rider has learned to ride 
with his seat and not with his hands and legs. 
If he clasp the horse's belly with his heels, 
and use the reins as handles to haug on b3', he 
will confuse the best horse in the world; conse- 
quently he must get his instruction, without 
trying at the same time to keep the horse up to 
the mark. If he can practise his riding at first 
on another horse, it will be all the better; if 
not, he must use only the snaffle rein, and use 
that as little as possible. Riding at the begin- 
ning only at a walk, he should swing his legs 
and his arms and move his head and body free- 
ly in all directions, while preserving an un- 
changing position of the thighs. When he feels 
perfectly at home in riding at a walk, he should 
go through the same exercises at a slow and 
finally at a fast trot, until as much at home in 
a moving saddle without stirrups as in a chair, 
and until he feels under no circumstances the 
slightest inclination to clutch either the reins or 
the horse's mane for a support, and can ride at 
a fast trot with the calves of his legs entirely 
away from the horse's sides. 
He can now begin regular riding with the use 
of the curb rein, and the rest of the instruction 
for himself and his horse may be only incidental 
to his pleasure ridiug. There is much more to 
be learned about the art of horsemanship, but 
it would be tiresome here. Any one who has 
followed my brief instructions thus far, will ho 
interested to go to the books for further details. 
I can easily imagine that some, who have 
waded through the foregoing paragraphs, will 
deride the idea of such a string of Frenchified 
nonsense being put into any article written for 
farmers. All right. It is not written for such 
farmers, but for the large and growing class, 
who are eager for every thing that can be 
made use of to add to the attractiveness of the 
lives of their sous, and who are willing to en- 
courage an intelligent enthusiasm for any health- 
ful and innocent pastime that promises a relief 
from the monotony of farm life. There is no 
" fancy " in the system above hiuted at. It is 
the invention of an accomplished master (Bau- 
cher), and is the almost sole dependence of the 
military and civil horsemen of France and 
Germany. I had more real enjoyment iu 
training horses by it than iu all other sports of 
my boyhood. It makes up for the want of 
companions. A good horse is a capital sub- 
stitute for a human friend; and when the teach- 
ing is fairly under way, so that palpable results 
arc attained, and the mutual instruction and 
mutual friendship between the rider and his 
horse add zest to the pleasure of riding, I fancy 
that any properly constituted young man is in 
the way of getting as much real pleasure. Far- 
mers' boys want something to vary I he eternal 
round of duty that makes them chafe so sorely. 
Let any doubting father give his hoy a fair 
chance and encourage n passion^ for horseman- 
ship. " Herbert's Hints for Horsi kei ■ s" will 
tell him all he really needs to learn iVom books 
about riding, about saddles and bridles, and, 
about Baucher's system of training. 
