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Title: Hints on Horsemanship, to a Nephew and Niece

Author: George Greenwood

Release date: April 12, 2009 [eBook #28563]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
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Transcriber’s Note

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of these changes is found at the end of the text. Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been maintained. A list of inconsistently spelled and hyphenated words is found at the end of the text.

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δάχτυλοςκ

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.

Engraving of marble relief of man sitting a rearing horse with no saddle or bridle Engraved by W. Finden

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP,
TO
A Nephew and Niece.

BY

AN OFFICER OF THE HOUSEHOLD BRIGADE
OF CAVALRY.

Engraving of marble relief of a man mounted on a horse rearing above a fallen soldier Engraved by W. Finden.

LONDON.
EDWARD MOXON & Co. DOVER STREET.
1861.

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP,
TO
A Nephew and Niece;
OR,
COMMON SENSE AND COMMON ERRORS IN
COMMON RIDING.

BY

COLONEL GEORGE GREENWOOD,
Late Lieut.-Col. commanding 2nd Life Guards.

NEW EDITION.

LONDON:
EDWARD MOXON & CO., DOVER STREET.
1861.

LONDON
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
MILITARY RIDING NOT FIT FOR COMMON RIDING.

PAGE
Throughout Europe there is only one style of riding taught 2
That is the soldier’s one-handed style 2
Two hands should be used to the reins 5
A soldier’s horse must turn on the wrong rein 7
Common riders generally turn their horses on the wrong rein 9
Result of this with colts or restive horses 10
Indications are not aids 12

CHAPTER II.
HOLDING AND HANDLING THE REINS.

Reins at full length 14
The downward clutch 16
The Grecian mode of holding and handling the reins 18
The side clutch 20
The two reins crossed in one hand 21
A rein in each hand 23
Turn to the right, and left 26
The hunting hand 26
The rough-rider’s hand 27
Fixing the hands 28
Use of both bridles at once 30
Shortening the reins when held one in each hand, system of taught, and of untaught horsemen 30
Use of the whip 34
Horses swerve and turn only to the left 34
Fault in “the great untaught,” two-handed, English rider 35

CHAPTER III.
EFFECT OF INDICATIONS.

Retaining, urging, and guiding indications 36
To make a horse collect himself 37
Canter, right turn, right pass 38
Left shoulder in 38
Bearing on the mouth 39
The horse must be made to collect himself in turning 42
And should not be turned on one rein only 43
Lady’s canter 44
The quicker the pace, the greater degree of collection 44
French and English mistake in this 45
The shy horse 46
The restive horse 48
Truth may be paradoxical 49

CHAPTER IV.
MECHANICAL AID OF THE RIDER.

The rider cannot raise the falling horse 50
Harm is done by the attempt 51
The bearing-rein 54
Mechanical assistance of the jockey to his horse 56
Standing on the stirrups 58
Difference between the gallop and the leap 58
Steeple-chases and hurdle-races unfair on the horse 59
The rider should not attempt to lift his horse at a fence 61

CHAPTER V.
THE SEAT.

There is one direction which applies to all seats 65
Different seats for different styles of riding 65
The manège and the Eastern seats are the extremes 66
The long stirrup is necessary for cavalry to act in line 67
Medium length of stirrup for common riding 69

CHAPTER VI.
MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING.

Directions to place a lady in her saddle 70
Directions to mount at a halt 71
To mount in movement 71
To dismount in movement 71
To vault on or over in movement 72
To vault on at a halt 72
Circus for practising these movements 72
To pick a whip from the ground 72
To face about in the saddle 73

CHAPTER VII.
THE BIT.

Place of the bit in the horse’s mouth 74
Principle of the bit 74
Action of the common bit 76
Action of the Chifney bit 77
The loose eye 77
The nose-band 77
The horse’s defence against the bit by the tongue 78
Effect of the porte against this defence 78
Defence of the horse by the lip 80
Defence by the teeth 80
Bar of the military and driving bit 81
Martingale 81
Danger does not result from power 84

CHAPTER VIII.
THE SADDLE AND SIDE-SADDLE.

A side-saddle should have no right hand pummel 86
The leaping-horn 86
Surcingle 88
Stirrup-leather 89
Stirrup-iron 90
Girthing 90
To avoid riding on the buckles of the girths 91

CHAPTER IX.
THE SHORT REIN.

The short rein should be used when one hand is occupied 93
Its use to a soldier 94
Its use with the restive horse 94
It should not be used in hunting, or in swimming a horse 95
Objection to it for common riding 95
Used by postilion 96
Short rein of the Eastern horseman 96

CHAPTER X.
COLT-BREAKING.

Colt-breaking is the best possible lesson for the rider 97
The head-stall 98
The snaffle 99
Longeing 101
Saddling 102
Mounting 102
Sermon to the colt-breaker 103
The noblest horse resists the most 103
The horse has a natural right to resist 103
The colt wants no suppling 105
He wants to be taught the meaning of your indications 105
And to be brought to obey them 110
The leaping-bar 110
Fetch and carry 113

CHAPTER XI.
THE HORSE AND HIS STABLE.

Condition depends on food, work, and warmth 115
So does the difference between the breeds of horses 116
The terseness of the Arab is the result of hard food 116
So is that of our thorough-bred horse 117
Different breeds result from different natural conditions 118
Crossing only necessary where natural conditions are against you 119
We do not attend enough to warmth 120
We should get fine winter coats by warmth, instead of singeing 120
No fear of cold from fine coats 121
The horse’s foot should be stopped with clay 121
The sore ridge 122
Stable breast-plate 124
The head-stall 125
Never physic, bleed, blister, or fire your horse 126
Food for condition 126
Rest for strains 126
Nature for wounds 126
Miles for shoeing 127
The horse should have water always by him 127
And should stand loose 128
No galloping on hard ground, either by master or man 128
He who cripples the horse kills him 128

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE
Frontispiece To face Title.
Vignette Title.
FIG. PAGE
  1.—Strict Regimental 3
  2.—Varied Regimental 4
  3.—Reins at full length 15
  4.—Down clutch 17
  5.—Down clutch, rein in each hand 18
  6.—Side clutch 19
  7.—Side clutch, rein in each hand 20
  8.—Cross 22
  9.—Rein in each hand 23
10.—Turn to the right 25
11.—Turn to the left 26
12.—Hunting gallop 27
13.—Rough-rider 28
14.—Fixing hands 29

HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP.

CHAPTER I.

MILITARY RIDING NOT FIT FOR COMMON RIDING.

Throughout Europe there is only one style of riding taught; that is, the soldier’s one-handed style.—Two hands should be used to the reins.—A soldier’s horse must turn on the wrong rein.—Common riders generally turn their horses on the wrong rein. Result of this with colts or restive horses.—Indications are not aids.

When you wish to turn to the right pull the right rein stronger than the left. This is common sense. The common error is precisely the reverse. The common error is, when you wish to turn to the right to pass the hand to the right. By this the right rein is slackened, and the left rein is tightened, across the horse’s neck, and the horse is required to turn to the right when the left rein is pulled. It is to correct this common error, this monstrous and perpetual source of bad riding and of bad usage to good animals, that these pages are written.

England is the only European country which admits of more than one style of riding. Only one style of riding taught. But in all Europe, even in England, there is but one style of riding taught, as a system; that style is the manége or military style. That is, a one-handed style. The military style is, and must ever be essentially a one-handed style, for the soldier must have his right hand at liberty for his weapons. The recruit is indeed made to ride with a single snaffle in two hands, but only as a preparatory step to the one-handed style. His left hand then becomes his bridle hand, and that hand must hold the reins in such a manner as will require the least possible aid from the sword hand to shorten them as occasion may require. This is with the fourth finger only between them (Fig. 1).