The knowledge of the different characters, and different natures of
horses, together with the vices and imperfections, as well as the exact
and just proportions of the parts of a horse's body, is the foundation
upon which is built the theory of the art of horsemanship; but this
theory will be useless and even unnecessary if we are not able to carry
it into execution.
This depends upon the goodness and quickness of feeling; and in the
delicacy which nature alone can give, and which she does not always
bestow. The first sensation of the hand consists in a greater or less
degree of fineness in the touch or feeling; a feeling in the hand of the
horseman, which ought to communicate and answer to the same degree of
feeling in the horse's mouth, because there is as much difference in the
degrees of feeling in men as there is in the mouths of horses.
I suppose then a man, who is not only capable to judge of a horse's
mouth by theory, but who has likewise by nature that fineness of touch
which helps to form a good hand; let us see then what are the rules
which we should follow in order to make it perfect, and by which we must
direct all its operations.
A horse can move four different ways; he can _advance_, go _back_, turn
to the _Right_ and to the _Left_; but he cannot make these different
movements except the hand of the Rider permits him, by making four other
motions which answer to them; so that there are five different positions
for the hand. The first is that general position from which proceed the
other four.
Hold your hand three inches breadth from your body, as high as your
elbow, in such a manner that the joint of your little-finger be upon a
right line with the tip of your elbow; let your wrist be sufficiently
rounded so that your knuckles may be kept directly above the neck of
your horse; let your finger nails be exactly opposite your body, the
little finger rather nearer to it than the others; your thumb quite flat
upon the reins, separated as before described, and this is the general
_Position_.
Does your horse go forwards, or rather would you have him go forwards?
yeild to him your hand, and for that purpose turn your nails downwards,
in such a manner as to bring your thumb near your body, and your
little-finger then from it, and bring it to the place where your
knuckles were in the first position. Keeping your nails directly above
the neck of your horse.--This is the second Position.
Would you make your horse go backwards, quit the first position; let
your wrist be quite round, your thumb in the place of the little finger
in the second position, and the little-finger in that of the thumb,
turning your nails quite upwards, and towards your face, and your
knuckles will be towards your horse's neck.--This is the third Position.
Would you turn your horse to the Right? leave the first position; carry
your nails to the right, turning your hand upside down, in such a manner
that your thumb be carried out to the left, and the little-finger
brought in to the Right.--This is the fourth Position.
Lastly, would you turn your horse to the Left? quit again the first
position, carry the back of your hand a little to the left, so that the
knuckles come under a little, that your thumb may incline to the right,
and the little-finger to the left.--This makes the fifth Position.
These different Positions, however, alone are not sufficient; we must be
able to pass from one to the other with readiness and order.
Three qualities are necessary to the hand. Viz. FIRM, GENTLE, and LIGHT:
I call that a firm hand, or steady hand whose feeling corresponds
exactly with the feeling in the horse's mouth, and which consists in a
certain degree of steadiness, which constitutes that just correspondence
between the hand and the horse's mouth, which every horseman wishes to
find.
An easy or gentle hand. I call that which, relaxing a little of its
strength and firmness, eases and mitigates the degree of feeling between
the hand and horse's mouth, which I have already described.
Lastly, the light hand is that which lessens still more the feeling
between the rider's hand and the horse's mouth, which was before
moderated by the GENTLE HAND.
The hand, therefore, with respect to these properties must operate in
part, within certain degrees, and depends upon being more or less felt,
or yeilded to the horse, or with-held.
It should be a rule with every horseman not to pass from one extreme to
another; from a firm hand to a slack one; so that in the motion of the
hand on no account jump over that degree of sensation which constitutes
the EASY OR GENTLE HAND: were you once to go from a firm strong hand to
a slack one, you then entirely abandon your horse; you would surprise
him, deprive him of the support he trusted to, and precipitate him on
his shoulders; supposing you do this at an improper time. On the
contrary, were you to pass from the slack to the tight rein, all at
once, you must jerk your hand, and give a violent shock to the horse's
mouth; which rough and irregular motion would be sufficient to falsify
and ruin a good mouth; it is indispensably necessary, therefore, that
all its opeperations[+] should be gentle and light, and in order to
this, it is necessary that the WRIST alone should direct and govern all
its motions, by turning and steering it as it were, through every motion
it is to make[+]
In consequence then of these principles, I insist that the wrist be kept
so round that your knuckles may be always directly above the horse's
neck, and that your thumb be always kept flat upon the reins. In reality
were your wrist to be more or less rounded than in the degree I have
fixed, you could never work with your hand but by means of your arm, and
besides it would appear as though you were lame; again were your thumb
not to be upon the flat of the reins, pressed hard upon your fore
finger, they would be constantly slipping away, and lengthened, and in
order to recover them you would be obliged every minute to raise your
hand and arm, which would throw you into disorder and make you lose that
justness without which no horse will be obedient and work with readiness
and pleasure to himself.
It is nevertheless true, that with horses well dressed one may take
liberties; these are motions called descents of the hand; either by
dropping the knuckles directly and at once upon the horse's neck, or by
taking the reins in the right hand about four inches above the left,
letting them slide through the left, dropping your right hand at the
same time upon the horse's neck, or else by putting the horse under the
button as it is called: that is by taking the end of the reins in your
right hand, quitting them intirely with your left hand and letting the
end of them fall upon your horse's neck, these motions however, which
give grace to the horseman, never should be made but with great
caution, and exactly when your horse is well together and in hand; and
take care in counterbalancing by throwing back your body, that the
weight of the body lie upon his haunches.
The Bit and Snaffle were they to be kept constantly in one place in his
mouth, would of course dull the sense of feeling, and become benumbed
and callous; this shews the necessity of continually yeilding and
drawing back the hand to keep the horse's mouth fresh and awake. It is
therefore self evident that a heavy handed horseman can never break a
horse to any degree of nicety, or ride one which is already broke to any
degree of exactness.
Besides these rules, there are others not less just and certain; (but
whose niceness and refinement is not the lot of every person to taste
and understand) my hand being in the first position, I open my two
middle fingers, I consequently ease and slacken myright[+] rein; I shut
my hand, the right rein operates again, resuming its place as before, I
open my little finger and carrying the end of it upon the right rein, I
thereby slacken the left and shorten the right; I shut my hand entirely
and immediately open it again, I thereby lessen the degree of tension
and force of the two reins at the same time; again I close my hand not
quite so much, but still I close it.
It is by these methods and by the vibration of the reins, that I unite
the feeling in my hand with that in the horse's mouth, and thus I play
with a fine and MADE mouth, and freshen and relieve the two bars in
which the feeling resides.
Therefore, it is that correspondence and sensation between the horse's
mouth and the hand of the rider, which alone can make him submit with
pleasure to the constraint of the bit.
Having thus explained the different positions and motions of the hand,
permit me in a few words to shew the effects which they produce in
horsemanship?
The hand directs the reins, the reins operate upon the branches of the
bit; the branches upon the mouth-piece and the curb, the mouth-piece
operates upon the bars, and the curb upon the chin of the horse.
So far for the management of the bridle hand upon thorough-broke and
well-dressed horses. But in breaking young horses for any purpose, the
reins in all cases ought to be separated, nothing so unmeaning, nothing
so ineffectual as the method of working with them joined or held in only
one hand, this is very evident in the instances of colts, and of stiff
necked, and unworked horses of all kinds, with them it is impossible to
do anything without holding a rein in either hand, which rein operates
with certainty and governs the side of the neck to which it belongs, and
surely this is a shorter way of working than to make, or rather attempt
to make the left rein determine the horse to the right, and the right
guide him to the left. In the above instances of stiff awkward horses
this can never be done; and altho it is constantly practised with those
which are _Drest_, yet it is certain they obey, and make their _Changes_
more from _docility_ and _Habit_, than from the influence of the
_outward_ rein, which ought only to act, to balance and support, while
the inner bends, inclines, and guides the horse to the hand to which he
is to go.
This can never be done so fully and truly with the reins joined, as when
they are separated into each hand, and if double or _Running_ reins were
used instead of single as with a snaffle or[24-*] _Meadow's_ bit, they
would afford more compass and power to the horseman to bend and turn his
horse.
The manner of holding the reins high as condemed[+] by some writers,
possessing themselves with a notion that they ruin the hocks of the
horses. For my own part I do not know what those writers mean, unless by
them we are to understand the haunches; and then this method instead of
ruining, will work and assist them, for the head and fore quarters are
raised up, his weight of course is thrown upon his haunches, for one end
being raised the other must be kept down.
It is nothing more than a natural cause, which will always produce a
natural effect, for instance, ballance a pole upona[+] wall so that it
acts in equilibrium, only raise one end, the other of course must be
lowered, it is the same with a horse, as you cannot rise his fore parts
but by bringing his haunches more under him. I would here wish to remark
that horses should never be compelled by force untill[+] they know what
you wish from them, for let them be however disobedient in their
disposition, yet are all of them more or less sensible of good and bad
usage from their masters; the best method then to convey your intention
to them so that they shall understand you, is to reward them when they
do well, and to punish them when disobedient, this rule though contained
in few words yet is of universal use in horsemanship.
And Xenophon, who wrote a treatise on Horsemanship, more than two
thousand years ago, among other notable remarks, when speaking on
horse-breaking, wherein he concludes thus: "But there is one rule to be
inviolably observed above all others; that is, never approach your horse
in a passion; as anger never thinks of consequences and forces us to do
what we afterwards repent."
Begging pardon for this short but useful digression, I again observe
that such are the principles upon which the perfection and justness of
the aids of the hand depend; all others are false and not to be
regarded.--Thus far for the bridle hand, and its effects.