Part 5 (1/2)

In general, in the ring, a horse had better be ridden on whatever rein he has been trained to go by, whether it be curb or snaffle, and so much depends on the individual peculiarities of the horse and rider that no definite rule can be laid down. The important thing is to have light hands and not to do anything to excite or annoy the horse.

Just a few more words of advice gleaned from the experience of many years. Never, if you can prevent it, display the slightest particle of nervousness when mounting or on entering the ring. Horses--especially the high-spirited ones--are very sensitive to touch and to the mental att.i.tude of the rider, and they know at once from the rider's hands whether her head is steady and cool or nervous and excited.

CHAPTER VII

HINTS ON RIDING

If you have occasion to ride for any considerable distance, and particularly if the weather is hot, bear in mind that the weight of the rider and saddle on his back for a long period of time tires the horse quite as much as forcing him beyond his gait. It is better, therefore, to keep a horse at a sharp walk or, if you are trotting, at a sharp trot, so as to cover the ground and then to rest him at intervals for ten or fifteen minutes, than it is to keep going for the whole time at a slow walk or trot. When you rest your horse be sure to loosen the girths, and, if you have far to go, it is better to take the saddle off entirely and let the horse roll if he wants to, as few things refresh him as much.

It is equally important not to force a horse under saddle beyond his gait; find out his natural fast gait and keep him at it and neither force him beyond it nor let him lag.

If you have a nervous or high-spirited horse who wants to go, it is far better to let him go in moderation than to be constantly holding him back, as that worries and fatigues him and, in the meantime, you are not covering the distance. So, if you are riding in company and your horse is the more spirited of the two, you will find it easier for your horse to let him keep about one-half a head in advance of the other, for, if you keep him level or hold him back, he will be fretting all the time and tire both himself and his rider.

In riding, even for a short distance, it is most advisable to start and finish your ride at a walk, following the old maxim, ”Walk the first mile out and the last mile in.” At the beginning of a ride a horse needs to get going a bit in order to be limbered up and catch his wind. So, if you start off, as many do, at a fast trot or a canter, the horse will soon be winded and the rest of your ride will be spoiled. If you start him slowly, he will warm up to his work and you will have the best part of the ride where it should be--toward the end and not at the beginning.

When you bring your horse home he should be well cooled off before he arrives, that he may not take a chill. By bringing your horse home in this condition, you save your groom a vast amount of work, and work which only the most conscientious grooms can be depended upon to do; that is, to cool the horse off properly before he is stabled or fed.

With regard to the gait at which you should ride, it is, of course, impossible to lay down any rule, so much depends upon the rider, the horse, the length of the ride, the season of year, etc., but one point should be constantly kept in mind, and that is, unless you are riding a trained hunter, to go down all hills that amount to anything at a walk.

If you have to go down faster than a walk, a horse is much less likely to stumble going downhill at the canter than at the trot. It is also easier both for the rider and horse to go uphill at the canter than at the trot; though, of course, if the hill is a long one, it is better to walk it. In going uphill, always give a horse his head, and, in going downhill, keep him well in hand and ride him on the snaffle so that you may be able to pick him up the moment he stumbles.

In riding at night, when it is too dark for you to see the road, let your horse pick his own way, as a horse sees very much better in the dark than a person.

If you are riding through a strange country and lose your way, give him his head and he will find the way home. Horses have an exceptionally well developed sense of locality and can nearly always be trusted to find their way home by instinct.

In these days of automobiles, it is important to follow the rule of the road and always keep to the right.

If you have occasion to dismount and lead your horse, by far the best way to hold him is, standing on the near side, to take the two curb reins in the right hand, separated by the forefinger and pa.s.sing through the body of the hand where they are firmly held, keeping the hand about two or three inches from the bit. In this position you have the horse under perfect control, and, when you are leading him with your hand in this position, do not look at him or pay any attention to him and you will find that he will follow. Whereas, if, as many do, you take only one rein in hand along the horse's neck and then speak to him, he will either pull back or he may get away from you and you cannot stop him.

Approach your horse's head from the side and not the front, and be sure not to raise your hand or whip or do anything which might frighten him or give him the idea that you were about to hit him on the head. Horses, especially Western-bred horses, are very sensitive about their heads and, if an attempt is made to grab the reins suddenly or violently, they are almost sure to back away and very apt to rear.

If your horse limps and you are alone, or the person whom you are with does not know what to do, you should immediately dismount and look at the foot on which he is limping, to see if he has picked up a stone or run a nail into his foot. In picking up a horse's foot it is most important to put yourself in a position where he cannot kick you. To do this, approach the foot which is to be taken up from the front, face to the rear, and grasp the horse's fetlock with the hand nearest to him. If he refuses to lift his foot, push his foot forward and, if necessary, put your weight against his shoulder or stifle, so as to throw his weight on the other leg. If you have not a hoof-pick about you, the best way to dislodge a stone is to hammer it with another stone and, if you are quiet and gentle with your horse, you probably will be able to dislodge it without much trouble. If, however, you cannot dislodge it, do not attempt to ride your horse while he has the stone in his foot, but lead him until you get a.s.sistance. If your horse has run a nail in his foot, you must immediately have it drawn out by some one who knows his business, as it is not only very painful, but there is great danger of lockjaw.

In regard to park hacks and long-tailed saddle horses, the only way to solve the problem in this country of the two types, in horse shows, is to divide the cla.s.ses having long tails and short tails. At present in horse shows in the saddle cla.s.ses long-tailed and docked horses are frequently entered in the same cla.s.s, which makes it doubly difficult for the judge, at times causing his decision to depend largely upon his personal preference for long-tailed or docked horses. I would suggest, therefore, that in all shows where the long-tailed and docked horses are not divided into separate cla.s.ses in advance, there should be an informal division made before the judging, very much as is done with respect to the champions.h.i.+p cla.s.ses, where the judges often are permitted to divide the cla.s.ses into horses above and below 15.2.

Every horsewoman should have at least a general knowledge of when and with what to feed her horse. In general a horse should be fed three times a day, and the allowance for the average horse is four quarts of oats, at six in the morning, and as much hay as he will eat about an hour later. At noon two quarts of oats and hay about an hour later, and at night a bran mash composed of about two quarts of oats and an equal mash of bran, well salted. A horse should never be watered after eating.

He should be watered about twenty minutes before his first morning meal and may be watered about twenty minutes before each of his other meals.

There is no objection to watering him at other times, not after feeding, and in hot weather it is advisable to water him frequently. When watering a horse in the stable, he should be allowed to have as much as he wants to drink, but the water should never be very cold. In winter the chill should always be taken off the water before it is given to the horse.

The above hours for feeding, except the hour for his breakfast, must, however, be modified by the time when he comes in from work, as a horse should always have a good rest and be thoroughly cooled off before he is fed oats. He can eat hay when he is hot but never oats.

Many horses will require more than the above allowance and many others less, and some horses require as much humoring about their food as a nervous child.

If a horse is very thin and not working hard, one of the best ways to fatten him is to give him light, steady work and mix mola.s.ses with his feed. If, however, a horse is becoming poor in spite of taking all his food, it is probably because his teeth are too long and need filing down, as a horse with long teeth will never masticate or digest his food properly.

With most horses, any food remaining in the manger after a meal should be taken out and thrown away, as the sight of it is apt to disgust them and put them off their feed.

A sweating horse should not be watered unless while on the road, in which case it does him no harm to give him, from time to time, a drink of not too cold water, but after each drink he should be walked for five or ten minutes before taking up the trot or canter.

While on the road it is much safer not to let your horse eat any gra.s.s, and if he does eat any, be sure not to trot him until he has had ample time to digest it. On the other hand, when a horse is brought home and is being cooled off by the groom, it refreshes him very much to be allowed to nibble the gra.s.s.