Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/275

* HOKSEMANSHIP. 233 HORSEMANSHIP. fore legs. When cantering in a circle the horse should be made to lead with his inside leg, i.e. with the right leg if cantering to the right, and with the left if cantering to tlie left. To secure this the riili'r when preparing to canter should pull the right rein rather tighter than the left one, so that the horse in describing a small por- tion of a circle will, of necessity, lead with the right leg. The fjuUop. — In this pace the move- ments of the horse follow so quickly one on the other that the eye cannot detect the various posi- tions which constitute a cadence. The first prepa- ration for the rider is a finn seat, which should be well down in the saddle. The reins are short- ened slightly, and the hands kept low; at the same time the body should be leaning slightly forward and a moderate grip maintained with the legs. Care must be taken that the horse is held together and restrained from breaking into a headlong gallop, and possibly beyond the rider'.s control. To avoid this the reins are held some- what tighter in the gallop than in any of the other paces. Leaping requires good ner-es as well as a good seat. The rider must be careful to maintain an upright position in the saddle until the horse is close to the jump, when (if it is a fence) he should swing well back from his hips, keeping his hands low and clear of the withers. The feet should be drawn back, and never under any cir- cumstances allowed to swing forward toward the animal's shoulders. Should the feet be forward and the horse make a mistake on landing, the rider would be more easily thrown than if his feet were in the proper position. In brief, the rider should in every form of leaping keep his body at right angles to the ground; thus, the higher the jump, the more he will be required to lean back. In landing, the horse makes contact with the ground on one fore leg followed instantly by the other, after which come the hind legs. Vhen jumping mtural obstacles, such as water, ditch, etc., the general rule never to ride fast at an obstacle holds good, although expert horsemen interpret the rule to suit themselves ; in any event, the rider must be careful not to pull at the reins or in any way check the horse in his cft'ort to jump cither water or ditch. Much de- pends on the horse in leaping, no two going at the jump in ex.actly the same style. One may iieed a little encouragement and another a great deal of steadying, so that it is an important es- sential for the rider to know his horse. When Hearing the jump, the reins should be tightened Ro as to secure a firm hold of the head and at the same time make him shorten his stride so that he may the better gauge his distance. It re- quires some little experience on the part of the rider before he is able to tell when the horse is ill his proper stride. When the animal is prop- erly collected, and is nearing the obstacle, the hold on the reins should be relaxed and care taken that the free action of his head or limbs is in no way interfered with by pulling, etc. On landing the rider should gently feel his mouth. The horse will then collect himself, all four legs ■will make contact with the ground, and he will l)e away again without any hesitation. The common vices of shying, bolting, kicking, rearing, etc., are much more serious in a horse: kept for the saddle than in one used for driving. The horseman will usually be able to tell when his mount is about to shy, so that he will slacken Vol. X— 16. the pace gently, and at the same time keep a lirmer hold upon the rein on the side toward which the horse is leaning. On no account should he prepare for it by giving his horse any intima- tion triat something unusual is to happen; neither should he whip or spur, or, as is sometimes done, strike him on the head on the side toward which it is feared he will plunge. The important thing for the rider is to grip fast with the legs, pre- ser'e his balance, and be careful not to hang on by the reins. If necessarj", stop and encourage the horse by patting him on the neck and other- wise making much of him. Perhaps the most dangerous vice next to rearing is that of bolting or running away, which in many instances, however, is only ex- uberance of spirits on the part of the horse which temporarily overcomes the control of the rider. With a skillful and ordinarily strong horseman it is very rarely that a horse runs away, but where such does happen the method of combating it will depend very much on the country and route the runaway selects. Where the route abounds with sharp turns or shut gates, the danger to be feared will be the running into a fence or gate ; but on a road not much frequented and well known to the rider, it will generally be possible to guide the horse past any vehicle which may be met or overtaken. In such a case the rider should not hesitate to turn the rein around his hand and pull with all his strength toward the side he desires the horse to take. 'Sawing the mouth,' though not horsemanship, is permissible, if by its employment only the runawivy can be brought to a standstill. A kick- ing horse should be approached and treated very carefully, and if a vicious kicker should, if possi- ble, be just as carefully avoided. The rider usu- ally has some sort of warning, such as the laying back of the animal's ears, in which case he should sit well back and secure his grip. Only the ex- pert horseman should attempt to ride a rearing horse ; for no amount of nerve will suffice to guard the rider from the terrible injuries likely to occur if a rearing horse should fall back on him. Of all horses, the rearer should be the most carefully shunned. There is only one thing for the rider to do in such an emergency — to re- member not to hold the reins tight or use them in any way as a support. On the contrary, he should catch hold of the horse's mane, or place an arm round his neck and try in that manner to force him back on his feet. Militar;/ horsemanship is designed to .secure a uniformity of style and method, and the best re- sults from both horse and rider. Long stirrups are used; the rider sits well down in the saddle, his seat V'cing preserved largely by balance. High school riding is largely an accomplishment of the manege, and includes skill in horsemanship, and in the performance of feats requiring a trained animal. Women are now taught to ride a.stride, as well as by means of the side-saddle. Hygienic reasons are advanced in favor of the former method, hut authorities generally are doubtful of their reasonableness. A fair state- ment of the question would be that a poor horse- woman derives little benefit from either method, and runs a minimum of risk of injury when rid- ing astride: >a clever horsewoman will invariably ride side-saddle with a greater degree of comfort, enjoyment, and safety, than when riding astride. BlBf,iOGRAPiiY. Hayes, Riding On the Flat and