Hersemanship.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 871, 9 November 1888, Page 19

Hersemanship.

A SYSTEM OF RIDING AND TRAINING FOR ORDINARY PURPOSES. By E. L. Anderson, Author of ‘ Modern Horsemanship.’ As the rider must know something of horsemanship before he undertakes fto school his horse, I have taken it for granted that his first essays are made with an animal that will at least carry him quietly. The whole mothod of training is therefore described before tho exercises that propare the young horse for its education, and in the final chapter of these remarks the management of unbroken and ill-trained horses is explained. Because the * movements upon two paths,’ and the ‘pirouettes’ -have been recommended, the reader must not suppose that ho is too be drawn into tho study of la haute 6cole. It is absolutely necessary that all horses intended for the saddle should be taught to bend the croup at the application of the rider’s heel, and the movements above mentioned ensure this obedience. MOUNTING. There are so many objections to the usual mode of mounting, that I recommend the following, which, it seems to me, has many advantages. Let the rider stand opposite the girths r,n the left side of the horse, and take the snaffle reins in hi 3 right hand ; then let him seize the pommel of the saddle in his right hand, place his left foot in the stirrup, catch a lock of the mane in his left hand, spring from the ground, and take his weight upon the straightened left log ; the right leg should' then be carried over the rump of. the horse, and the rider should oink quietly into the saddle. After his position upon the horse is secured, ho can release his hold upon the mane and the pommel. In the ordinary mode of mounting, the rider takes hold of the cantle of the saddle with his right hand, and at the moment when his position i 3 the most insecure —that is, when he is standing in the left stirrup, with his body on one side of the horse—he most take away his right arm to carry his right leg over the back of tho horse, thus giving up his chief support at a critical time. THE SEAT. It is very important that from the first tho rider, should have apropsr coat upon tho horse ; for it is as easy bo learn a good seat as a bad one, and faults that arc acquired early are very difficult to euro. Every man has one seat that is the best, and any deviation from that position is made at the expense of grace and security. Having mounted, the rider should first withdraw his loft foot from the 3tirrup, and place himself straight in the saddle ; then, with his body erect, he should tako his 'weight upnu his buttocks, and find as many points of contact as is:possible with the inside surfaces of his tbh.ha and knees against the saddle-the lower parts of his legs,

from the knees down, hanging without stiffness.

These directions will give the true position ; for, if the knees are held too high, it will be the under side of the thighs that come against the saddle, and the lower parts of the legs will be against the sides of the horse ; if the knee 3 are too low, the points of the knees, and not the fiat inner surfaces, will be brought against tho saddle. If the flat inner surfaces of tho knees are against the saddle, and the lower parts of the legs fall perpendicularly, while the weight is borne upon the buttocks, and tho upper part of the body is erect, the rider has the true position in which he has the greatest ease and security. When the rider has found the seat in the manner described, he should fix the stirrup leathers at such a length that, with his feet in a parallel plane with the ground, his toes are lightly supported by tho irons. ■ The seat, from the hips to the knees, shonld nevor be disturbed beyond the muscular pressure given to one side or the other a 3 the opposite side of the horse is lightened. The upper part of the body must be ready to bend with the motions of tha horse to preserve the rider’s balance—forward when the forehand rises, backward when the croup rises, toward the centre of the circles at turns, the inside shoulder being retired more orlessin changing directions, depending upon the velocity and abruptness with which the tarn is made. The lower parts of the legs, from the knees down, must be ready to give such indications against the sides of the horse as will be found necessary. THE REINS Until the horse has been taught ‘ to go into tho bridle’—that is, to go forward freely against a slight bnt constant tension upon the reius—it is better to nse a plain snaffle bridle. But the double bridle should be put on as soon as possible, and the rider should use the snaffle reins only until tho education of the horse is brought to that point where tho curb bit is to be employed. In using the snaffle, the left rein should be grasped by the left hand, the little finger nearest the horse’s mane, the thumb pointing forward, the rein passing from below through the hand, and held by tho thumb against the fore fiDger ; the right rein should be held in the right hand in a similar manner. The hands must be held at the height that circumstances demand ; if the horse holds its head too high, the hands must bo lowered ; if the horse holds the head too low, the hands must be elevated. When the horse moves freely and smoothly, in even and balanced paces, without bearing against the hand or hanging back from the bit, its face about vertioal, the rider will know that his hands are held at the proper height, and exert the proper tension. In riding difficult horses, or under circumstances where the rider prefers using both hands, where tho doable bridle is employed, both sets of reins should bo held in tho left hand, the nails hold toward the pommel of the saddle, the ring finger dividing the snaffle reins, the left curb rein outsido the littlo finger, the right curb rein between tho middle and the fore finger, tho loose ends of the reins carried through tho baud and held by the thumb ; tho right hand will thou be placed in front of the left hand, with the middle finger against the right snaffle rein, the third linger against the right curb rein. In this manner the left hand can control the left reins, the right hand can control the right reins, and the right hand can be taken from, the right reins to assist the left in changing the tension upon the bits. There shonld never be a tension upon the curb and the snaffle reins at the same time; whenever it is necessary to use one bit, the tension upon the other shonld be relaxed. In the rapid paces, and in jumping, the snaffle only, exceptdwhere the riders have exceptional skill, should have a tension, as the curb bit is likely to throw the horse out of its stride, and must be very delicately employed iu collecting a horse after a leap. In riding tho trained horse in controlled movements, the reins should be held in the left hand ; the curb reins (by which the movements of the horse will, as a rule, be directed) divided by tho little finger, the snaffle reins divided by the middle finger, the loose ends of the reign carried through the hand and held by the thumb ; the hand held so that the little fin-*er is lowest, and the thumb points toward tho horse's ears. When it is necessary to employ the snaffle reins, the light hand should be placed upon them, while the left hand relaxes the tension upon the curb,reins. The snaffle will be used to toacli the horse the direct indications of the reins, to assist in teaching the indirect indications of the curb reins, and generally to aid the curb bit. The trained horse should be habitually ridden in the curb bit, the use of the snaffle being very gradually dispensed with ; but the fatter should always bo ready in case, at any time, it becomes necessary to give its effects.