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Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of corrections
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[Illustration: Zebra strapped up.]
HORSE-TAMING--HORSEMANSHIP--HUNTING.
A New Illustrated Edition of
J. S. RAREY'S
ART OF TAMING HORSES;
WITH THE SUBSTANCE OF
THE LECTURES AT THE ROUND HOUSE,
AND ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS ON
HORSEMANSHIP AND HUNTING,
FOR THE YOUNG AND TIMID.
BY THE SECRETARY
TO THE FIRST SUBSCRIPTION OF FIVE THOUSAND GUINEAS,
AUTHOR OF "GALLOPS AND GOSSIPS," AND
HUNTING CORRESPONDENT OF THE "ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS."
LONDON:
ROUTLEDGE, WARNES, AND ROUTLEDGE,
FARRINGDON STREET.
1859.
[_The right of Translation is reserved._]
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Mr. Rarey's pamphlet first published in Ohio.--Experience of
old system.--Compiled and invented new.--Tying up the
fore-leg known many years ago, _see_ Stamford
Almanack.--Forgotten and not valued.--Reference to Captain
Nolan's and Colonel Greenwood's works on horsemanship.--Dick
Christian missed the discovery.--Baucher's plan of laying
down a horse explained.--Mademoiselle Isabel's whip-and-spur
plan.--Account of the Irish whisperer Dan Sullivan.--Usual
modes of taming vicious horses.--Starving.--Physic.--Sleepless
nights.--Bleeding.--Biting the ear.--Story of Kentish
coachman.--The Ellis system.--Value of the Rarey system as
compared with that of ordinary horse-tamers.--Systems of
Australia and Arabia compared.--The South American plan
explained.--A French plan.--Grisone the Neapolitan's
advice.--The discovery of Mr. Rarey by Mr. Goodenough.--Visit
to Canada.--To England.--Lord Alfred Paget.--Sir Richard
Airey.--System made known to them.--To Mr. Jos.
Anderson.--Messrs. Tattersall.--Sir Matthew Ridley's black
horse tamed.--Subscription list of 500 opened.--Stafford
tamed.--Description of.--Teaching commenced with Lords
Palmerston, Granville, &c.--Cruiser tamed.--History
of.--Enthusiastic crowd at Cruiser exhibition.--System
approved by the Earl of Jersey and Sir Tatton Sykes.--Close
of first subscription list.--Anecdote of Mr. Gurney's
colt--Personal sketch of Mr. Rarey 1
CHAPTER II.
Mr. Rarey's Introduction.--Remarks on 26
CHAPTER III.
The three fundamental principles of the Rarey Theory.--Heads
of the Rarey Lectures.--Editor's paraphrase.--That any horse
may be taught docility.--That a horse should be so handled
and tied as to feel inferior to man.--That a horse should be
allowed to see, smell, and feel all fearful objects.--Key
note of the Rarey system 32
CHAPTER IV.
How to drive a colt from pasture.--How to drive into a
stable.--The kind of halter.--Experiment with a robe or
cloak.--Horse-taming drugs.--The Editor's remarks.--Importance
of patience.--Best kind of head-stall.--Danger of approaching
some colts.--Hints from a Colonel of the Life Guards 39
CHAPTER V.
Powell's system of approaching a colt.--Rarey's remarks
on.--Lively high-spirited horses tamed easily.--Stubborn
sulky ones more difficult.--Motto, "Fear, love and
obey."--Use of a whalebone gig-whip.--How to frighten and
then approach.--Use kind words.--How to halter and lead a
colt.--By the side of a horse.--To lead into a stable.--To
tie up to a manger.--Editor's remarks.--Longeing.--Use and
abuse of.--On bitting.--Sort of bit for a colt.--Dick
Christian's bit.--The wooden gag bit 51
CHAPTER VI.
Taming a colt or horse.--Rarey's directions for strapping up
and laying down detailed.--Explanations by Editor.--To
approach a vicious horse with half door.--Cartwheel.--No. 1
strap applied.--No. 2 strap applied.--Woodcuts of.--How to
hop about.--Knot up bridle.--Struggle described.--Lord B.'s
improved No. 2 strap.--Not much danger.--How to steer a
horse.--Laid down, how to gentle.--To mount, tied up.--Place
and preparations for training described 67
CHAPTER VII.
The Drum.--The Umbrella.--Riding-habit.--How to bit a colt.--How
to saddle.--To mount.--To ride.--To break.--To harness.--To
make a horse follow and stand without holding.--Baucher's
plan.--Nolan's plan 90
CHAPTER VIII.
Value of good horsemanship to both sexes.--On teaching
children.--Anecdote.--Havelock's opinion.--Rarey's plan to
train ponies.--The use of books.--Necessity of regular
teaching for girls; boys can be self-taught.--Commence
without a bridle.--Ride with one pair of reins and two
hands.--Advantage of hunting-horn on side-saddle.--On the
best plan for mounting.--Rarey's plan.--On a man's
seat.--Nolan's opinion.--Military style.--Hunting style.--Two
examples in Lord Cardigan.--The Prussian style.--Anecdote by
Mr. Gould, Blucher, and the Prince Regent.--Hints for men
learning to ride.--How to use the reins.--Pull right for
right, and left for left.--How to collect your horse 111
CHAPTER IX.
On bits.--The snaffle.--The use of the curb.--The Pelham.--The
Hanoverian bit described.--Martingales.--The gentleman's
saddle to be large enough.--Spurs.--Not to be too sharp.--The
Somerset saddle for the timid and aged.--The Nolan saddle
without flaps.--Ladies' saddle described.--Advantages of the
hunting-horn crutch.--Ladies' stirrup.--Ladies' dress.--Hints
on.--Habit.--Boots.--Whips.--Hunting-whips.--Use of the
lash.--Gentleman's riding costume.--Hunting dress.--Poole,
the great authority.--Advantage of cap over hat in
hunting.--Boot-tops and Napoleons.--Quotation from
Warburton's ballads 135
CHAPTER X.
Advantage of hunting.--Libels on.--Great men who have
hunted.--Popular notion unlike reality.--Dick Christian and
the Marquis of Hastings.--Fallacy of "lifting" a horse
refuted.--Hints on riding at fences.--Harriers
discussed.--Stag-hunting a necessity and use where time an
object.--Hints for novices.--"Tally-ho!" expounded.--To feed
a horse after a hard ride.--Expenses of horse-keep.--Song by
Squire Warburton, "A word ere we start" 154
CHAPTER XI.
The Fitzwilliam.--Brocklesby.--A day on the Wolds.--Brighton
harriers.--Prince Albert's harriers 176
CHAPTER XII.
Hunting Terms 199
CHAPTER XIII.
The origin of Fox-hunting 210
CHAPTER XIV.
The wild ponies of Exmoor 218
POSTSCRIPT 232
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
TO FACE
1. ZEBRA STRAPPED UP Drawn by Louis Huard, Esq. Title-page
2. HORSE WITH STRAP NO. 1 Ditto " 67
3. HORSE WITH STRAPS NOS. 1 AND 2 Ditto " 76
4. THE HORSE STRUGGLING Ditto " 79
5. THE HORSE EXHAUSTED Ditto " 80
6. THE HORSE TAMED Ditto " 82
7. SECOND LESSON IN HARNESS Ditto " 100
8. RAILS AND DOUBLE DITCH Ditto " 153
VIGNETTES.
PAGE
WILD HORSE'S HEAD 25
HALTER OR BRIDLE 39
WOODEN GAG BIT 66
STRAP NO. 1 74
STRAP NO. 2 76
LORD B.'S IMPROVED NO. 2 77
SURCINGLE STRAP FOR NO. 2 78
SIDE SADDLE, AND LADY'S SEAT ON 111
SIDE SADDLE, OFFSIDE VIEW OF 135
CURB, OR HARD AND SHARP 136
PLAIN SNAFFLE 137
PELHAM 138
HANOVERIAN 139
SITZ, OR HUNTSMAN'S BATH 232
HOT-AIR OR INDIAN BATH 235
THE
ART OF TAMING HORSES.
CHAPTER I.
Mr. Rarey's pamphlet first published in Ohio.--Experience of old
system.--Compiled and invented new.--Tying up the fore-leg known
many years ago, _see_ Stamford Almanack.--Forgotten and not
valued.--Reference to Captain Nolan's and Colonel Greenwood's works
on horsemanship.--Dick Christian missed the discovery.--Baucher's
plan of laying down a horse explained.--Mademoiselle Isabel's
whip-and-spur plan.--Account of the Irish whisperer Dan
Sullivan.--Usual modes of taming vicious
horses.--Starving.--Physic.--Sleepless nights.--Bleeding.--Biting
the ear.--Story of Kentish coachman.--The Ellis system.--Value of
the Rarey system as compared with that of ordinary
horse-tamers.--Systems of Australia and Arabia compared.--The South
American plan explained.--A French plan.--Grisone the Neapolitan's
advice.--The discovery of Mr. Rarey by Mr. Goodenough.--Visit to
Canada.--To England.--Lord Alfred Paget.--Sir Richard
Airey.--System made known to them.--To Mr. Jos. Anderson.--Messrs.
Tattersall.--Sir Matthew Ridley's black horse tamed.--Subscription
list of 500 opened.--Stafford tamed.--Description of.--Teaching
commenced with Lords Palmerston, Granville, &c.--Cruiser
tamed.--History of.--Enthusiastic crowd at Cruiser
exhibition.--System approved by the Earl of Jersey and Sir Tatton
Sykes.--Close of first subscription list.--Anecdote of Mr. Gurney's
colt.--Personal sketch of Mr. Rarey.
Mr. Rarey is a farmer from Ohio, in the United States. Five years ago he
wrote the little book which forms the _text_ of the following complete
account of his system, with pictorial illustrations, which are
essential for explaining the means he now employs for subduing the most
refractory animals. Without these explanations, it would be extremely
difficult for any one who had not enjoyed the advantage of hearing Mr.
Rarey's explanations, to practise his system successfully, or even
safely. The original work contains a mere outline of the art, since
perfected by five years' further study and practice. The author did not
revise his first sketch, for very obvious reasons.
He was living in obscurity, teaching his system for a few dollars in
Ohio and Texas. He never taught in the great cities or seabord states of
the United States. When he had imparted his art to a pupil, he bound him
to secrecy, and presented him with a copy of his pamphlet. He did not
dream, then, of becoming the great Lion of the London Season, and
realising from English subscribers nearly 20,000_l._ It will be
observed, that in the original American edition, the operation of tying
up the foot is described in one chapter, and, at an interval of some
pages, that of laying a horse down, in another; and that neither the
difficulties nor the necessary precautions, nor the extraordinary
results, are described with the clearness their importance requires.
Mr. Rarey has now very properly released his subscribers from the
contract which bound them to secrecy; and it is now in every point of
view important that this valuable system of rendering horses docile and
affectionate, fit for hacks or chargers, ladies' pads or harness, or the
safe conveyance of the aged, crippled, and sick, should be placed within
the reach of the thousands whose business it is to deal with horses, as
well as of that large class of gentlemen who are obliged to observe
economy while keeping up their equestrian tastes. After all, it is to
the horse-breeding farmers and grooms to whom Mr. Rarey's art will be of
the most practical use.
As it is, enough of the system has oozed out to suggest to the ignorant
new means of cruelty. A horse's leg is strapped up, and then the
unlearned proceed to bully the crippled animal, instead of--to borrow an
expressive Americanism--"to gentle him."
Before entering into the details for practising the Rarey system, it may
be interesting to give a sketch of the "facts" that have placed Mr.
Rarey in his present well-deserved position, as an invincible
Horse-Tamer, as well as a Reformer of the whole modern system of
training horses--a position unanimously assigned to him by all the first
horsemen of the day.
Mr. Rarey has been a horse-breaker in the United States from his
earliest youth, and had frequently to break in horses five or six years
old, that had run wild until that mature undocile age.
At first he employed the old English rough-rider method, and in the
course of his adventures broke almost every bone in his body, for his
pluck was greater than his science. But he was not satisfied with
following old routine; he inquired from the wandering horsemen and
circus trainers into their methods (it may be that he was at one time
attached to a circus himself), and read every book he could lay his
hands on. By inquiry and by study--as he says in one of his
advertisements--"he thought out" the plan and the principles of his
present system.
The methods he uses for placing a colt or horse completely in his power
are not absolutely new, although it is possible that he has re-invented
and has certainly much improved them. The Russian (_i. e._ Courland)
Circus Riders have long known how, single-handed, to make a horse lie
down by fastening up one fore-leg, and then with a rope suddenly pulling
the other leg from under him. The trick was practised in England more
than forty years ago, and forgotten. That no importance was attached to
this method of throwing a horse is proved by the fact, that in the works
on horsemanship, published during the last twenty years, no reference is
made to it. When Mr. Starkey, of Wiltshire, a breeder and runner of
race-horses,[4-*] saw Mr. Rarey operate for the first time, he said,
"Why I knew how to throw a horse in that way years ago, but I did not
know the use of it, and was always in too great a hurry!" Lord Berners
made nearly the same remark to me. Nimrod, Cecil, Harry Hieover,
Scrutator--do not appear to have ever heard of it. The best modern
authority on such subjects (British Rural Sports), describes a number of
difficulties in breaking colts which altogether disappear under the
Rarey system--especially the difficulty of shoeing.
Captain Nolan, who was killed at Balaklava, served in an Hungarian
regiment, in the Austrian service, afterwards in our own service in
India, and visited Russia, France, Denmark, and South Germany, to
collect materials for his work on the "History of Cavalry and on the
Training of Horses," although he set out with the golden rule laid down
by the great Greek horseman, Xenophon, more than a thousand years
ago--"HORSES ARE TAUGHT, NOT BY HARSHNESS, BUT BY GENTLENESS," only
refers incidentally to a plan for throwing a horse down, in an extract
from Baucher's great work, which will presently be quoted, but attaches
no importance to it, and was evidently totally ignorant of the
foundation of the Rarey system.
The accomplished Colonel Greenwood, who was equally learned in the
_manege_ of the _Haute Ecole_, and skilled in the style of the English
hunting-fields, gives no hint of a method which reduces the time for
taming colts from months to hours, and makes the docility of five horses
out of six merely a matter of a few weeks' patience.
The sporting newspapers of England and America were so completely off
the true scent when guessing at the Rarey method, that they put faith in
recipes of oils and scents for taming horses.
Dick Christian--a genius in his way--when on horseback unmatched for
patience and pluck, but with no taste for reading and no talent for
generalizing, used to conquer savages for temporary use by tying up one
fore-foot, and made good water-jumpers of horses afraid of water by
making them smell it and wade through it; so that he came very near the
Rarey methods, but missed the chain of reasoning that would have led him
to go further with these expedients.[5-*]
Mons. Baucher, of Paris (misprinted Faucher in the American edition),
the great modern authority in horse-training and elaborate school
equitation, under whom our principal English cavalry generals have
studied--amongst others, two enthusiastic disciples of Mr. Rarey, Lord
Vivian and General Laurenson, commanding the cavalry at
Aldershott--admitted Mr. Rarey's system was not only "most valuable,"
but "quite new to him."
After Mr. Rarey had taught five or six hundred subscribers, some of whom
of course had wives, Mr. Cooke, of Astley's, began to exhibit a way of
making a horse lie down, which bore as much resemblance to Mr. Rarey's
system, as Buckstone's or Keeley's travestie of Othello would to a
serious performance by a first-rate tragedian. Mr. Cooke pulling at a
strap over the horse's back, was, until he grew, by practice, skilful,
more than once thrown down by the extension of the off fore-leg.
Indeed, the proof that the circus people knew neither the Rarey plan,
nor the results to be obtained from it, is to be found in the fact, that
they continually failed in subduing unruly horses sent to them for that
purpose.
A friend of mine, an eminent engineer, sent to Astley's, about two years
ago, a horse which had cost him two hundred pounds, and was useless from
a habit of standing still and rearing at the corner of streets; he was
returned worse rather than better, and sold for forty pounds. Six
lessons from Mr. Rarey would have produced, at least, temporary
docility.
Monsieur Baucher, in his _Methode d'Equitation_, says, _speaking of the
surprise created by the feats_ he performed with trained
horses,--"According to some, I was a new 'Carter,'[6-*] taming my horses
by depriving them of rest and nourishment: others would have it, that I
tied ropes to their legs, and suspended them in the air; some again
supposed that I fascinated them by the power of the eye; and part of the
audience, seeing my horses (Partisan, Capitaine, Neptune, and Baridan)
work in time to my friend Monsieur Paul Cuzent's charming music,
seriously argued that the horses had a capital ear for music, and that
they stopped when the clarionets and trombones ceased to play, and that
the music had more power over the horse than I had. That the beast
obeyed an '_ut_' or a '_sol_' or '_staccato_,' but my hands and legs
went for nothing.
"Could any one imagine that such nonsense could emanate from people who
passed for horsemen?
"Now from this, although in some respects the same class of nonsense
that was talked about Mr. Rarey, it does not seem that any Parisian
veterinary surgeon staked his reputation on the efficacy of oils and
scents."
M. Baucher then proceeds to give what he calls sixteen "_Airs de
Manege_," which reflect the highest credit on his skill as a rational
horseman, using his hands and legs. But he proceeds to say--"It is with
regret I publish the means of making a horse kneel, limp, lie down, and
sit on his haunches in the position called the '_Cheval Gastronomie_,'
or 'The Horse at Dinner.' This work is degrading to the poor horse, and
painful to the trainer, who no longer sees in the poor trembling beast
the proud courser, full of spirit and energy, he took such pleasure in
training.
"To make a horse kneel, tie his pastern-joint to his elbow, make fast a
longer line to the other pastern-joint, have this held tight, and strike
the leg with the whip; the instant he raises it from the ground, pull at
the longeing line to bend the leg. He cannot help it--he must fall on
his knees. Make much of the horse in this position, and let him get up
free of all hindrance.
"As soon as he does this without difficulty, leave off the use of the
longeing line, and next leave both legs at liberty: by striking him on
the shins with the whip, he will understand that he is to kneel down.
"When on his knees, send his head well to the off-side, and, supporting
him with the left rein, pull the right rein down against his neck till
he falls to the near side; when down at full length, you cannot make
too much of him; _have his head held that he may not get up too
suddenly_, or before you wish him. You can do this by placing your right
foot on the right reins; this keeps the horse's nose raised from the
ground, and thus deprives him of the power of struggling successfully
against you. Profit by his present position to make him sit up on his
haunches, and in the position of the 'Cheval Gastronomie.'"
The difference between this and Rarey's plan of laying down a horse is
as great as between Franklin's kite and Wheatstone's electrical
telegraph; and foremost to acknowledge the American's merits was M.
Baucher.
So little idea had cavalry authorities that a horse could be trained
without severity, that, during the Crimean war, a Mademoiselle Isabel
came over to this country with strong recommendations from the French
war minister, and was employed at considerable cost at Maidstone for
some months in spoiling a number of horses by _her system_, the
principal features of which consisted in a new dumb jockey, and a severe
spur attached to a whip!
It is true that Mademoiselle Isabel's experiment was made contrary to
the wishes and plans of the head of the Cavalry Training Department, the
late General Griffiths; but it is not less true that within the last two
years influential cavalry officers were looking for an improvement in
training horses from an adroit use of the whip and spur.
From the time of Alexander the Great down to the Northumberland
Horse-Breaker, there have been instances of courageous men who have been
able to do extraordinary things with horses. But they may be divided
into two classes, neither of which have been able to originate or impart
a system for the use of ordinary horsemen.
The one class relied and relies on personal influence over lower
animals. They terrify, subdue, or conciliate by eye, voice, and touch,
just as some wicked women, not endowed with any extraordinary external
charms, bewitch and betray the wisest men.
The other class rely on the infliction of acute pain, or, stupefaction
by drugs, or other similar expedients for acquiring a temporary
ascendancy.
In a work printed in 1664, quoted by Nolan, we have a melancholy account
of the fate of an ingenious horse-tamer. "A Neapolitan, called Pietro,
had a little horse, named Mauroco, doubtless a Barb or Arab, which he
had taught to perform many tricks. He would, at a sign from his master,
lie down, kneel, and make as many courvettes (springs on his hind-legs
forward, like rearing), as his master told him. He jumped over a stick,
and through hoops, carried a glove to the person Pietro pointed out, and
performed a thousand pretty antics. He travelled through the greater
part of the Continent, but unfortunately passing through Arles, the
people in that 'age of faith,' took him for a sorcerer, and burned him
and poor Mauroco in the market-place." It was probably from this
incident that Victor Hugo took the catastrophe of La Esmeralda and her
goat.
Dan Sullivan, who flourished about fifty years ago, was the greatest
horse-tamer of whom there is any record in modern times. His triumph
commenced by his purchasing for an old song a dragoon's horse at Mallow,
who was so savage "that he was obliged to be fed through a hole in the
wall." After one of Sullivan's lessons the trooper drew a car quietly
through Mallow, and remained a very proverb of gentleness for years
after. In fact, with mule or horse, one half-hour's lesson from Sullivan
was enough; but they relapsed in other hands. Sullivan's own account of
the secret was, that he originally acquired it from a wearied soldier
who had not money to pay for a pint of porter he had drunk. The landlord
was retaining part of his kit as a pledge, when Sullivan, who sat in the
bar, vowed he would never see a hungry man want, and gave the soldier so
good a luncheon, that, in his gratitude, he drew him aside at parting,
and revealed what he believed to be an Indian charm.
Sullivan never took any pupils, and, as far as I can learn, never
attempted to train colts by his method, although that is a more
profitable and useful branch of business than training vicious horses.
It is stated in an article in "Household Words" on Horse-Tamers, that he
was so jealous of his gift that even the priest of Ballyclough could not
wring it from him at the confessional. His son used to boast how his
reverence met his sire as they both rode towards Mallow, and charged him
with being a confederate of the wicked one, and how the "whisperer" laid
the priest's horse under a spell, and forthwith led him a weary chase
among the cross roads, till he promised in despair to let Sullivan alone
for ever. Sullivan left three sons: one only practised his art, with
imperfect success till his death; neither of the others pretended to any
knowledge of it. One of them is to this day a horse-breaker at Mallow.
The reputation of Mr. Rarey brought to light a number of provincial
horse-tamers, and, amongst others, a grandson of Sullivan has opened a
list under the auspices of the Marquis of Waterford, for teaching his
grandfather's art of horse-taming. It is impossible not to ask, why, if
the art is of any value, it has not been taught long ago?
In Ireland as in England, the accepted modes of taming a determined
colt, or vicious horse, are either by a resolute rider with whip and
spur, and violent longeings, or by starving, physic, and sleepless
nights. It was by these means combined that the well-known horseman,
Bartley the bootmaker, twenty years ago, tamed a splendid thorough-bred
horse, that had defied all the efforts of all the rough-riders of the
Household Cavalry regiments.
Bleeding a vicious horse has been recommended in German books on
equitation. In the family Robinson Crusoe, paterfamilias conquers the
quagga by biting its ear, and every farrier knows how to apply a twitch
to a horse's ear or nose to secure his quietness under an operation. A
Mr. King, some years since, exhibited a learned horse, which he said he
subdued by pinching a nerve of its mouth, called "_the nerve of
susceptibility_."
The writer in the "Household Words" article, to which I have already
referred, tells how "a coachman in Kent, who had been quite mastered by
horses, called in the assistance of a professed whisperer. After his
ghostly course the horses had the worst of it for two months, when their
ill-humour returned, and the coachman himself immediately darkened his
stable, and held what he termed a little conversation with them, which
kept them placid till two more months had passed. He did not seem
altogether to approve of the system, and plainly confessed that it was
cruel." Putting shot in the ear is an old stupid and fatal trick of
ignorant carters to cure a gibbing horse--it cures and kills him too.
The latest instantaneous system which acquired a certain degree of
temporary popularity was that introduced from the western prairies, by
Mr. Ellis, of Trinity College, Cambridge, which consisted in breathing
into the nostrils of a colt, or buffalo colt, while its eyes were
covered. But although on some animals this seemed to produce a soothing
effect, on others it totally failed.
There can be very little doubt that most of the mysterious
"horse-whisperers" relied for their power of subduing a vicious horse
partly on the special personal influence already referred to, and partly
on some one of those cruel modes of intimidating the animal. It has been
observed that idiots can sometimes manage the most savage horses and
bulls, and conciliate the most savage dogs at first sight.
The value of Mr. Rarey's system consists in the fact that it may be
taught to, and successfully practised by, a ploughboy of thirteen or
fourteen for use on all except extremely vicious and powerful horses.
It requires patience--it requires the habit of dealing with horses as
well as coolness; but the real work is rather a matter of skill than
strength. Not only have boys of five or six stone become successful
horse-tamers, but ladies of high rank have in the course of ten minutes
perfectly subdued and reduced to death-like calmness fiery blood-horses.
Therefore, in dealing with Mr. Rarey's plan we are not wasting our time
about a trick for conquering these rare exceptions--incurably-savage
horses--but considering the principles of a universally applicable
system for taming and training horses for man's use, with a perfection
of docility rarely found except in aged pet horses, and with a rapidity
heretofore quite unknown.
The system of Arabia and Australia are the two extremes. In Australia,
where the people are always in a hurry, the usual mode of breaking in
the bush horses is _to ride them quiet_; that is, to let the man fight
it out with the horse until the latter gives in; for the time, at any
rate. The result is, that nine-tenths of the Australian horses are
vicious, and especially given to the trick of "buck-jumping." This vile
vice consists in a succession of leaps from all-fours, the beast
descending with the back arched, the limbs rigid, and the head as low
down between the legs as possible. Not one horseman in a hundred can sit
three jumps of a confirmed buck-jumper. Charles Barter, who was one of
the hardest riders in the Heythrope Hunt, in his "Six Months in Natal,"
says, "when my horse began buck-jumping I dismounted, and I recommend
every one under the same circumstances to do the same."
The Guachos on the South American Pampas lasso a wild horse, throw him
down, cover his head with one of their ponchos, or cloaks, and, having
girthed on him one of their heavy demi-piqued saddles, from which it is
almost impossible to be dislodged, thrust a curb-bit, capable of
breaking the jaw with one tug, into the poor wretch's mouth, mount him
with a pair of spurs with rowels six inches long, and ride him over the
treeless plains until he sinks exhausted _in a fainting state_. But
horses thus broken are almost invariably either vicious or stupid; in
fact, idiotic. There is another milder method sometimes adopted by these
Pampas horsemen, on which, no doubt, Mr. Rarey partly founded his
system. After lassoing a horse, they blind his eyes with a poncho, tie
him fast to a post, and girth a heavy saddle on him. The animal
sometimes dies at once of fright and anger: if not, he trembles, sweats,
and would, after a time, fall down from terror and weakness. The Guacho
then goes up to him, caresses him, removes the poncho from his eyes,
continues to caress him; so that, according to the notion of the
country, the horse becomes grateful and attached to the man for
delivering him from something frightful; and from that moment the
process of training becomes easy, and, with the help of the long spurs,
is completed in a few days. This plan must spoil as many horses as it
makes quiet, and fail utterly with the more nervous and high-spirited;
for the very qualities that render a horse most useful and beautiful,
when properly trained, lead him, when unbroken, to resist more
obstinately rough violent usage.
In a French newspaper article on Mr. Rarey's system, it is related that
a French horse-breaker, in 1846, made a good speculation by purchasing
vicious horses, which are more common in France than in England, and
selling them, after a few days' discipline, perfectly quiet. His remedy
lay in a loaded whip, freely applied between the ears when any symptom
of vice was displayed. This expedient was only a revival of the method
of Grisone, the Neapolitan, called, in the fifteenth century, the
regenerator of horsemanship, predecessor of the French school, who
says--"In breaking young horses, put them into a circular pit; be very
severe with those that are sensitive, and of high courage; beat them
between the ears with a stick." His followers tied their horses to the
pillars in riding-schools, and beat them to make them raise their
fore-legs. We do not approve of Grisone's maxims at the present day in
print, but we leave our horses too much to ignorant colt-breakers, who
practise them.
The Arabs alone, who have no need to hurry the education of their
horses, and who live with them as we do with our pet dogs, train their
colts by degrees, with patient gentleness, and only resort to severe
measures to teach them to gallop and stop short. For this reason Arabs
are most docile until they fall into the hands of cruel grooms.
It was from considering the docility of the high-bred Arab horse and
intractableness of the quibly, roughly broken prairie or Pampas horse,
that Mr. Rarey was led to think over and perfect the system which he has
repeatedly explained and illustrated by living examples in his lectures,
and very imperfectly explained in his valuable, original, but crude
little book.
It is very fortunate that this book did not find its way to England
before Mr. Rarey himself came and conquered Cruiser, and in face-to-face
interviews gained the confidence and co-operation of all our
horse-loving aristocracy. For had the book appeared unsupported by
lectures (or such explanations written and pictorial as this edition
will supply), there would have been so many accidents and so many
failures, that Mr. Rarey would have had great difficulty in obtaining a
hearing, and for many years our splendid colts would have been left to
the empirical treatment of ignorant rough-riders.
An accident withdrew the great reformer of horse-training from
obscurity.
In the course of his travels as a teacher of horse-taming he met with
Mr. Goodenough, a sharp, hard-fisted New Englander, of the true "Yankee"
breed, so well-described by Sam Slick, settled in the city of Toronto,
Canada, as a general dealer. In fact, a "sort of Barnum." Mr. Goodenough
saw that there was money to be made out of the Rarey system--formed a
partnership with the Ohio farmer--conducted him to Canada--obtained an
opportunity of exhibiting his talents before Major Robertson,
Aide-de-camp to General Sir William Eyre, K.C.B., Commander of the
forces, and, through the Major, before Sir William himself, who is (as I
can say from having seen him with hounds) an accomplished horseman and
enthusiastic fox-hunter. From these high authorities the partners
obtained letters of introduction to the Horse Guards in England, and to
several gentlemen attached to the Court; in one of the letters of
introduction, General Eyre said, "that the system was new to him, and
valuable for military purposes." On arriving in England, Mr. Rarey made
known his system, and was fortunate enough to convert and obtain the
active assistance of Sir Richard Airey, Quarter-Master General, Lord
Alfred Paget,[16-*] and Colonel Hood, the two first being noted for
their skill as horsemen, and the two latter being attached to the Court.
From these gentlemen of high degree, Mr. Rarey proceeded, under good
advice, to make known his art to Mr. Joseph Anderson of Piccadilly, and
his prime minister, the well-known George Rice--tamed for them a black
horse that had been returned by Sir Matthew White Ridley, as unridable
from vice and nervousness. The next step was an introduction to Messrs.
Tattersall of Hyde Park, whose reputation for honour and integrity in
most difficult transactions is world wide and nearly a century old.
Introduced at Hyde Park Corner with the strongest recommendations and
certificates from such authorities as Lord Alfred Paget, Sir Richard
Airey, Colonel Hood, &c., &c., Messrs. Tattersall investigated Mr.
Rarey's system, and became convinced that its general adoption would
confer an invaluable benefit on what may be called "the great horse
interest," and do away with a great deal of cruelty and unnecessary
severity now practised on the best-bred and most high-spirited animals
through ignorance of colt-breakers and grooms. They, therefore, decided,
with that liberality which has always distinguished the firm, to lend
Mr. Rarey all the assistance in their power, without taking any
commission, or remuneration of any kind.
As the methods used by Mr. Rarey are so exceedingly simple, the question
next arose of how Mr. Rarey was to be remunerated when teaching in a
city where hundreds live by collecting and retailing news. His previous
lessons had been given to the thinly-populated districts of Ohio and
Texas, where each pupil was a dealer in horses, and kept his secret for
his own sake. Had he been the inventor of an improved corkscrew or
stirrup-iron, a patent would have secured him that limited monopoly
which very imperfectly rewards many invaluable mechanical inventions.
Had his countrymen chosen to agree to a reciprocity treaty for copyright
of books, he might have secured some certain remuneration by a printed
publication of his Lectures. But they prefer the liberty of borrowing
our copyrights without consulting the author, and we occasionally return
the compliment. In this instance the author cannot say that the British
nation has not paid him handsomely.
After a consultation with Mr. Rarey's noble patrons, it was decided that
a list should be opened at Hyde Park Corner for subscribers at L10
10_s._ each, paid in advance, the teaching to commence as soon as five
hundred subscriptions had been paid, each subscriber signing an
engagement, under a penalty of L500, not to teach or divulge Mr. Rarey's
method, and Messrs. Tattersall undertaking to hold the subscriptions in
trust until Mr. Rarey had performed his part of the agreement.[17-*] To
this fund, at the request of my friends Messrs. Tattersall, I agreed to
act as Secretary. My duties ceased when the list was filled, and the
management of the business passed from those gentlemen to Mr. Rarey's
partner, Mr. Goodenough, on the 3rd of May, 1858.
This list was opened the first day at Mr. Jos. Anderson's, after Mr.
Rarey had exhibited, not his method, but the results of his method on
the celebrated black, or rather iron-gray, horse already mentioned.
Leaving the list to fill, Mr. Rarey went to Paris, and there tamed the
vicious and probably half-mad coaching stallion, Stafford.[18-*] It is
not generally known that having omitted the precautions of gagging this
wild beast with the wooden bit, which forms one of the vignettes of this
book, he turned round suddenly, while the tamer was soothing his legs,
caught his shoulder in his mouth, and would have made an end of the
Rarey system if assistance had not been at hand in the shape of Mr.
Goodenough and a pitchfork.
Intense enthusiasm was created in Paris by the conquest of Stafford, but
250 francs was too large a sum to found a long subscription list in a
city so little given to private horsemanship, and a French experiment
did not produce much effect in England.
In fact, the English list, which started so bravely under distinguished
patronage, after touching some 250 names, languished, and in spite of
testimonials from great names, only reached 320, when Mr. Rarey, at the
pressing recommendation of his English friends, returned from Paris, and
fixed the day for commencing his lessons in the private riding-school of
the Duke of Wellington, the use of which had been in the kindest manner
offered by his Grace as a testimony of his high opinion of the value of
the new system.
The course was commenced on the 20th March, by inviting to a private
lesson a select party of noblemen and gentlemen, twenty-one in all,
including, amongst other accomplished horsemen and horse-breeders, Lord
Palmerston, the two ex-masters of the Royal Buckhounds, Earls Granville
and Bessborough, the Marquis of Stafford, Vice-President of the
Four-Horse Driving Club, and the Honourable Admiral Rous, the leading
authority of the Jockey Club on all racing matters. The favourable
report of these, perhaps, among the most competent judges of anything
appertaining to horses in the world, settled the value of Mr. Rarey's
lessons, and the list began to fill speedily; many of the subscribers,
no doubt, being more influenced by the prevailing fashion and curiosity,
than by an inclination to turn horse-tamers.
But early in April, when it became known that Mr. Rarey had tamed
Cruiser,[20-*] the most vicious stallion in England, "who could do more
fighting in less time than any horse in the world," and that he had
brought him to London on the very day after, that he first backed him
and had ridden him within three hours after the first interview, slow
conviction swelled to enthusiasm. The list filled up rapidly.
The school in Kinnerton Street, to which Mr. Rarey was obliged to
remove, was crowded, the excitement increasing with each lesson. On the
day that Cruiser was exhibited for the first time, long before the doors
were open, the little back street was filled with a fashionable mob,
including ladies of the highest rank. An admission by noble
non-subscribers with notes, gold, and cheques in hands, was begged for
with a polite insinuating humility that was quite edifying. A hatful of
ten-guinea subscriptions was thrust upon the unwilling secretary at the
door with as much eagerness as if he had been the allotter of shares in
a ten per cent railway in the day of Hudsonian guarantees. And it must
be observed that this crowd included among the mere fashion-mongers
almost every distinguished horseman and hunting-man in the three
kingdoms.
It is quite too late now to attempt to depreciate a system the value of
which has been repeatedly and openly acknowledged by authorities above
question. As to the "secret," the subscribers must have known that it
was impossible that a system that required so much space, and involved
so much noise, could long remain a secret.
The Earl of Jersey, so celebrated in this century as a breeder of
race-horses, in the last century as a rider to hounds, _stood_ through
a long lesson, and was as much delighted as his son the Honourable
Frederick Villiers, Master of the Pytchley Hounds. Sir Tatton Sykes of
Sledmere, perhaps the finest amateur horseman that ever rode a race,
whose equestrian performances on the course and in the hunting-field
date back more than sixty years, was as enthusiastic in his approval as
the young Guardsman who, fortified by Mr. Rarey's lessons, mastered a
mare that had defied the efforts of all the farriers of the Household
Cavalry.
In a word, the five-hundred list was filled, and overflowed, the
subscribers were satisfied, and the responsibility of Messrs. Tattersall
as stakeholders for the public ceased, and the Secretary and Treasurer
to the fund, having wound up the accounts and retired, the connection
between Mr. Rarey and the Messrs. Tattersall resolved itself into the
use of an office at Hyde Park Corner.
The London subscription list had passed eleven hundred names, and, in
conjunction with the subscription received in Yorkshire, Liverpool,
Manchester, Dublin, and Paris, besides private lessons at L25 each, had
realised upwards of L20,000 for Mr. Rarey and his partner, when the
five-hundred secrecy agreement was extinguished by the re-publication of
the little American pamphlet already mentioned.
It was high time that it should, for, while Mr. Rarey had been
handsomely paid for his instruction, the more scrupulous of his
subscribers were unable to practise his lessons for want of a place
where they could work in secrecy.
But although the re-publication of Mr. Rarey's American pamphlet
virtually absolved his subscribers from the agreement which he gave up
formally a few days later in his letter to the _Times_, it is quite
absurd to assert that the little pamphlet teaches the Art of
Horse-Taming as now practised by Mr. Rarey. Certainly no one but a
horseman skilled in the equitation of schools could do much with a horse
without great danger of injuring the animal and himself, if he had no
other instruction than that contained in Mr. Rarey's clever, original,
but vague chapters.
In the following work I shall endeavour to fill up the blanks in Mr.
Rarey's sketch, and with the help of pictures and diagrams, show how a
cool determined man or boy may break in any colt, and make him a docile
hack, harness horse, or hunter; stand still, follow, and obey the voice
almost as much as the reins.
To say that written or oral instructions will teach every man how to
grapple with savages like Stafford, Cruiser, Phlegon, or Mr. Gurney's
gray colt, would be sheer humbug--that must depend on the man; but we
have an instance of what can be done that is encouraging. When Mr. Rarey
was so ill that he was unable to sit Mr. Gurney's gray colt, the
boasting Mr. Goodenough tried his hand, and was beaten pale and
trembling out of the circus by that equine tiger; but Mr. Thomas Rice,
the jobmaster of Motcombe Street, who had had the charge of Cruiser in
Mr. Rarey's absence up to that time, although he had never before tried
his hand at Rareyfying a horse, stuck to the gray colt, laid down, made
him fast, and completely conquered him in one evening, so that he was
fit to be exhibited the next day, when Mr. Goodenough, _more suo_,
claimed the benefit of the victory.
Several ladies have succeeded famously in horse-taming; but they have
been ladies accustomed to horses and to exercise, and always with
gentlemen by, in case a customer proved too tough.
Before concluding this desultory but necessary introductory sketch of
the rise, progress, and success of the Rarey system, it will be as well,
perhaps, for the benefit of lady readers, to give a personal sketch of
Mr. Rarey, who is by no means the athletic giant that many imagine.
Mr. Rarey is about thirty years of age, of middle height, and
well-proportioned figure, wiry and active rather than muscular--his
complexion is almost effeminately fair, with more colour than is usually
found in those of his countrymen who live in the cities of the
sea-coast. And his fair hair, large gray eyes, which only light up and
flash fire when he has an awkward customer to tackle, give him
altogether the appearance of a Saxon Englishman. His walk is remarkably
light and springy, yet regular, as he turns round his horse; something
between the set-up of a soldier and the light step of a sportsman.
Altogether his appearance and manners are eminently gentlemanly.
Although a self-educated and not a book-educated man, his conversation,
when he cares to talk, for he is rather reserved, always displays a good
deal of thoughtful originality, relieved by flashes of playful humour.
This may be seen in his writing.
It may easily be imagined that he is extremely popular with all those
with whom he has been brought in contact, and has acquired the personal
friendship of some of the most accomplished noblemen and gentlemen of
the day.
Mr. Rarey's system of horse-training will infallibly supersede all
others for both civil and military purposes, and his name will take rank
among the great social reformers of the nineteenth century. May we have
many more such importations from America!
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[4-*] Owner of Fisherman.
[5-*] See "The Post and the Paddock," by "The Druid."
[6-*] Carter, one of the Van Amburgh showmen.
[16-*] Son of the late Marquis of Anglesea, one of the finest horsemen
of his day, even with one leg, after he left the other at Waterloo.
[17-*] The list itself is one of the most extraordinary documents ever
printed, in regard to the rank and equestrian accomplishments of the
subscribers.
[18-*] "Stafford is a half-bred carriage stallion, six years old. For
three years he has formed one of the breeding-stud at Cluny, where he
has acquired the character of being a most dangerous animal. He was
about to be withdrawn from the stud and destroyed, in consequence of the
protests of the breeders--for a whole year he had obstinately refused to
be dressed, and was obliged to be closely confined in his box. He rushed
at every one who appeared with both fore-feet, and open mouthed. Every
means of subduing and restraining him was adopted; he was muzzled,
blindfolded, and hobbled. In order to give Mr. Rarey's method a trial,
Stafford was sent to Paris, and there a great number of persons,
including the principal members of the Jockey Club, had an opportunity
of judging of his vicious disposition.
"After being alone with Stafford for an hour and a half, Mr. Rarey rode
on him into the Riding School, guiding him with a common snaffle-bridle.
The appearance of the horse was completely altered: he was calm and
docile. His docility did not seem to be produced by fear or constraint,
but the result of perfect confidence. The astonishment of the spectators
was increased when Mr. Rarey unbridled him, and guided the late savage
animal, with a mere motion of his hands or indication with his leg, as
easily as a trained circus-horse. Then, dashing into a gallop, he
stopped him short with a single word.
"Mr. Rarey concluded his first exhibition by beating a drum on
Stafford's back, and passing his hand over his head and mouth. Stafford
was afterwards ridden by a groom, and showed the same docility in his
hands as in those of Mr. Rarey.
"Mr. Rarey succeeded on the first attempt in putting him in harness with
a mare, although he had never had his head through a collar before; and
he went as quietly as the best-broken carriage-horse in Paris. Mr Rarey
concluded by firing a six-chambered revolver from his back."--_Paris
Illustrated Journal._
[20-*] "Cruiser was the property of Lord Dorchester, and was a good
favourite for the Derby in Wild Dayrell's year, but broke down before
the race. Like all Venison horses, his temper was not of the mildest
kind, and John Day was delighted to get rid of him. When started for
Rawcliffe, he told the man who led him on no account to put him into a
stable, as he would never get him out. This injunction was of course
disregarded, for when the man wanted some refreshment, he put him into a
country public-house stable, and left him, and to get him out, the roof
of the building had to be pulled off. At Rawcliffe, he was always
exhibited by a groom with a ticket-of-leave bludgeon in his hand, and
few were bold enough to venture into his yard. This animal, whose temper
has depreciated him perhaps a thousand pounds in value, I think would be
'the right horse in the right place' for Mr. Rarey. Phlegon and Vatican
would also be good patients. I am sorry to hear that the latter has been
blinded: if leathern blinds had been put on his eyes, the same effect
would have been produced."--_Morning Post_, March 2, 1858.
"Mr. Rarey, when here, first subjugated a two-year old filly, perfectly
unbroken. This he accomplished under half an hour, riding on her,
opening an umbrella, beating a drum upon her, &c. He then took Cruiser
in hand, and in three hours Mr. Rarey and myself mounted him. He had not
been ridden for nearly three years, and was so vicious that it was
impossible even to dress him, and it was necessary to keep him muzzled
constantly. The following morning Mr. Rarey led him behind an open
carriage, on his road to London. This horse was returned to me by the
Rawcliffe and Stud Company on account of his vice, it being considered
as much as a man's life was worth to attend to him.
"Greywell, April 7." "DORCHESTER."