Horsemanship for Women/Part 1/Lesson 4

by Theodore Hoe Mead

LESSON IV.

TO LOWER THE HEAD.

Always look over your horse before beginning your instruction, to see that he has not met with any mishap. Observe that his eye is bright and that he feels in good spirits; run your eye over his limbs to detect any cut, bruise, or swelling; see that the hoofs are not cracked.

Assure yourself that he is properly groomed—one good test being the absence of scurf at the roots of the mane; that his mouth has been sponged out before putting in the bit, his hoofs wiped off clean—never, however, blacked—and that he is properly saddled and bridled. With a little practice you will do all this in half a minute, while you are buttoning your gloves. About once a week ask after his food and appetite, and make the groom show you his shoes; and when the time comes for him to be re-shod (which should be at least once a month) positively forbid any trimming of the frog or of the inside of the hoof—any "cleaning up of the foot," as farriers are pleased to call it. The only part to be touched with the knife is the bottom of the outer, horny shell, which is not half an inch thick; and even this

LOWERING THE HEAD.

must be cut with moderation, never burned by fitting the shoe to it hot—the common makeshift of lazy farriers—nor filed on the outside, as both these operations not only weaken the hoof but impair Nature's arrangement for oiling and lubricating it. Should the horse not bear equal weight on all four legs, move him a step to see if the faulty posture may not have been

PUNISHMENT IN CASE OF RESISTANCE.

accidental; and if it is repeated, examine the "favored" leg, carefully laying your bare hand on the hoof and joints to detect inflammation, feeling along the bones for lumps, comparing any suspicious spot with the same part of the corresponding leg, observing whether it is warmer or more sensitive than its fellow.

Having assured yourself that your horse is in perfect order, and that he has forgotten nothing of your previous instruction, you will now proceed to the lesson of the day. Place yourself on his left, or "near," side, take the snaffle-reins at a few inches from the bit, and pull his head downward. Should he not yield, cross the reins, by taking the right rein in the left hand and vice versa, which will pinch his jaw sharply, and pull again till he drops his head, when you will hold, it down a few seconds, praising him the while; then raise it up, and allow him a little time to rest.

For our young readers we give below a few of the more usual technical terms, of which it will be found convenient to have a knowledge in the course of these lessons:

Amble.—A gait like pacing, but slower, in which the two legs on the same side are moved together.
Appel.—The gentle tug on the rein given by the horse at each step.
Arrière-main.—That part of the horse back of the saddle, called, not quite correctly, in this article, the croup.
Avant-main.—That part of the horse forward of the saddle—the forehand.
Bore.—To lean on the bit.
Bridle-tooth.—Tusk found in the horse's mouth, though not in the mare's, between nippers and grinders.
Bucking.—Leaping vertically into the air with all four feet at once.
Chin Groove.—That part of underjaw next the swell of lower lip in which curb-chain rests.
Curb.—Bit without joint, with levers at side and chain, which, passing under jaw, serves as a fulcrum to communicate pressure of bit to bars of mouth.
Deux Pistes.—To go on deux pistes is to advance with the body placed obliquely, so that the hind feet move on a different line or piste from the fore.
Elbow.—Joint of fore-leg next above knee, lying next horse's side.
Fetlock.—Joint next below knee.
Forearm.—That part of leg between elbow and knee.
Forge.—To strike the toe of the fore-foot with the toe of the hind-foot — usually the result of bad shoeing.
Frog.—Triangular piece of spongy horn in middle of sole of foot, forming a cushion for the navicular bone.
Grinders.—Back teeth.
Hand.—Four inches (one-third of a foot).
Hand-gallop.—A slow gallop.
Haute Êcole—Haut Manége.—The complete course of training given in the French military riding-schools. To translate this by "high-school," as is sometimes done, produces a ludicrous impression.
Hock.—Joint of hind-leg between thigh and shank.
Interfere.—To strike the fetlock with the foot—often caused by bad shoeing.
Manége.—Horse-training, also the training-school itself.
Nippers.—Front teeth.
Pace.—A rapid gait, in which the fore and hind foot on same side move at same time and strike the ground together.
Pastern.—Bones between fetlock and foot.
Passage.—Moving sideways, as to close up or open the ranks, as in cavalry exercises.
Pirouette.—Wheeling on the hind-legs.
Pirouette renversée.—Wheeling on the fore-legs.
Piaffer.—A slow and cadenced trot, in which the horse balances a certain time on each pair of feet.
Piste.—The imaginary circle (usually, however, a well-beaten track) three feet from the wall of the manége.
Poll.—Top of head between the ears.
Rack.—A gait somewhat similar to single-foot.
Ramener.—To bring the head to the perpendicular.
Rasseinbler.—To get the horse together, with his legs well under him and his head perpendicular.
Shank.—Parts of fore-leg between knee and fetlock, and parts of hind-leg between hock and fetlock.
Single-foot.—A very rapid gait, taught principally in the Western States of America, in which one foot is put down at a time.
Snaffle.—Bit jointed in middle, without side levers or chin-chain.
Spavins and Splints.—Excrescences on bones of legs, usually caused by strain. When they occur on the fore-shanks they are called splints, and may do no harm. If on the hind-legs they are called spavins, and usually result in permanent lameness.
Stifle.—Joint of hind-leg between hip and hock, lying against horse's side.
Surcingle.—A girth extending entirely around the horse.
Thigh.—Popularly speaking, it comprises the two upper joints of hind-leg from hip to hock.
Throat-latch.—That strap of the bridle which passes under the throat.
Withers.—Highest point of shoulder between neck and saddle.