Part 10 (1/2)
The correct type for a park hack is the subject of much diversity of opinion in the show ring as well as in park riding. Some judges favor the thoroughbred type, while some go to the other extreme and favor the harness type. My choice for a park hack is a sort of a ”betwixt-and-between”; a riding horse ”smarter” and more ”peac.o.c.ky”
than either the thoroughbred or the Southern bred saddle horse; not necessarily bristling with quality, yet showing plenty of breeding, and with substance, style, and a snappy all-round way of going. In other words, a horse that fills the eye of the layman by his general showiness, and yet satisfies his rider by the niceness of his gaits and manners and the feeling of pride on being mounted on something that compels universal admiration.
[Ill.u.s.tration: COMBINATION TYPE (MAYO)]
Of late the term ”road hack” has come into use. This t.i.tle does not yet denote a definite type. If I were attempting to define it I should say a horse more like the English cob, low in stature, not over 15.1, but great in substance, and with beauty somewhat sacrificed to utility. He must be well mannered, be as willing to stand as he is willing to go, and should have a fast, well-balanced trot, as the hardness of the roads often makes cantering impossible on the highway. He should resemble the park hack, but should be of a more useful and heavier type, and if he can jump a bit, so much the better.
In all horse shows there is now a cla.s.s for what is called the ”combination horse,” a type, as I have heard some people say, that cannot exist without detriment to either the riding or driving qualities of the animal. With this I personally do not agree. I think all saddle horses should be broken to drive, for there are many occasions when they will be more useful to their owners in harness than under saddle, and it is far better when one cannot ride to exercise one's saddle horse by driving it to a light trap than to have it ridden by a groom or a stranger. In this country it is almost impossible to find a groom with ”hands,” and one's own saddle horse should be kept for one's own riding exclusively. Moreover, if one has ”hands,” one has them quite as much in driving as in riding, and the horse will always feel that he is under his mistress's own control. Of course one would never think of taking a schooled and beautifully gaited saddle horse and making him into a harness drudge, but occasional light work in the shafts will do one's horse far more good than harm. While every saddle horse should go well in harness, it does not follow that every harness horse should go well under saddle, for the recognized type of harness horse is utterly unsuited to the saddle. It is not a question of training; no amount of training could make the stiff-necked, flat-withered, heavy-shouldered harness type into a saddle horse. He has been bred for generations for dragging and not for carrying, and he is an entirely distinct type from the saddle horse.
So we find that the combination horse ought to be rather a saddle horse that can be driven than a harness horse that can be ridden, and, for the show ring, the ideal combination horse is really a park hack well broken to harness.
[Ill.u.s.tration: LIGHTFOOT, WINNER OF LADIES' SADDLE CLa.s.s AT AGE OF TWENTY-THREE]
A good polo pony is a treasure in any stable. For a country hack he is excellent, giving a good ride, never tiring you, and never being tired himself. His early training makes him unusually quick to rein and very bridle-wise. Once get used to his quickness and you are sure to enjoy him.
[Ill.u.s.tration: SHOW PONY]
The type of polo pony has changed in the last ten years, as the game is so much faster than it was. Formerly the limit of height was fourteen hands. Now it is 14.3. The type used to be a stocky, rather heavily built pony, more of the type of an English cob with a docked tail, such as we see in the early polo prints. Now they have a great deal of thoroughbred blood and many of them are three-quarter bred, and have, of course, the characteristics of that type. Many ponies which are too hot-blooded for use in the polo field, or who are ”mallet shy,” make ideal riding hacks and are easily broken to harness. Such ponies can often be picked up at great bargains and made as useful a pony as one can well have at any price. In these days women are beginning to play polo, and it goes without saying that there is no difference in the type of polo pony for a woman's use from that for a man's.
There is an exceptionally good type of pony which has not appeared to any extent in this country, commonly known as the Irish pony. This is a cross between a thoroughbred and a half-bred hackney, the small size being gained, of course, through the hackney cross with the pony. They have much of the fineness of the thoroughbred and a great deal of the substance of the hackney. They have tremendous endurance, are remarkably good combination horses, can often jump a bit, and can be ridden and driven all day long by any lady, and very often are so gentle that a child can ride them. As a combination pony they cannot be excelled, and they are particularly useful to help out in a small stable, as they can be used for station work and for taking the children to the beach, and all that sort of thing. They are, however, very high-priced and hard to pick up at a bargain.
[Ill.u.s.tration: POLO PONY
Note the polo costume]
The safest and most reliable pony, from my experience, for a child to begin on is an old polo pony which has been ridden for some time by a woman and has not had the excitement of the polo field for many a year.
If one wants, however, a smaller pony than this for a child, the best type to my mind is the Welsh pony. They are far more gentle and better for children's use than the Shetland pony, and are much more reliable. I consider the kind of Shetland pony that one finds in this country a treacherous and stubborn little beast. Of course a pure-bred Shetland pony which has been properly broken is ideal for a child both to ride and to drive, but the pure-bred ones are kept on the other side. It is almost impossible to find them in this country and very few of them are bred here. My experience with them is that they are not safe for children to ride or drive. Of course, they are so small that if they have a good load behind them and a reliable man to drive them, they cannot do much harm, and they certainly have great capacity for work.
They live to a great age and require but little care.
[Ill.u.s.tration: WELSH PONY. THE BEST TYPE FOR CHILDREN]
CHAPTER XI
THE SELECTION OF A SADDLE HORSE
Having decided on the type of horse that one wants, the next thing is where to find him. One of the most important points to bear in mind, and one often overlooked in selecting a saddle horse, is not only that he can be but that he should be becoming to the rider, and this becomingness depends largely upon the horse and rider being in proper proportion to each other. It is better that the horse should be too large and too heavy rather than too small and too light. For instance, while a tall woman looks out of proportion on a small horse and a stout woman ridiculous, a small woman can look smart on a large horse and a woman who weighs little may look well on a weight carrier. Still, other things being equal, I would advise that the choice be given to a horse proportioned to the rider's size and weight.
[Ill.u.s.tration: KENTUCKY BRED LADY'S RIDING HORSE (DIXIE)]
Not only the horses themselves but the horse buyers may be divided into cla.s.ses. There is the green purchaser with plenty of money and the green one with only a hundred or two to spend; the clever buyer who ”has an eye” and the buyer who thinks she ”has an eye.” The first mentioned should go to a high-cla.s.s dealer, rely on his advice, and thus be sure of getting what she wants as long as she is willing to pay the price.
The second ought to find something in the ”practically sound ones” or among the discarded polo ponies. The clever buyer will fill her wants anywhere, in the auction marts, on the stock farms, at the race track, or through a casual meeting on the road, while the one who thinks she ”has an eye” is a source of profit to others if not to herself.
The att.i.tude of the public at large toward the horse dealer is to my thinking most unfair, for reputable business methods are to be found among them quite as much as in any other business or profession. If the buyer's experience is limited, there is nothing in which she can be so easily deceived as in a horse. Therefore, I strongly advise the novice to go always to a dealer of good standing, state frankly what she is looking for, how much she is willing to pay, and put herself in his hands without affecting knowledge which she lacks. When you go to a dealer of standing you may be confident that having acquired a high reputation he will maintain it, and will not sell you a horse other than he represents it. If you go to a ”gyp” dealer you must keep your eyes open and rely on a veterinary of your own selection, coupled with the advice of some friend who has real knowledge of horses; otherwise you are putting yourself at the mercy of the kind of man who has given horse-dealers at large the unfair reputation in which they are held by the public.
Certainly the novice should not expect to get ”something for nothing,”
and I would strongly advise the buyer to make up her mind that it is better economy in the long run to pay a good price for what she wants than to buy something cheap and in a short time have to sell it for even less than she may have paid.
[Ill.u.s.tration: POINTS OF A HORSE
1--The Ear. 2--The Poll. 3--The Forehead. 4--The Nose. 5--The Nostril.