Notes on equitation and horse training/Question 3
III.
Preliminary work—Exercise by leading.—When young horses, sent from remount depots or by purchasing boards, arrive at the station, the squadron commander should place them all together in the best stable of the squadron, turn them over to troopers known to be fond of horses and make sure that all precautionary and hygienic measures are taken to gradually accustom them to changed conditions and to handling by men.
Young horses should be exercised daily; at first by men on foot and later led beside kind old horses. This exercise, which is at a walk, is of great advantage not only to strengthen the animals but to quiet them by making them familiar with outside objects. The only drawback is that, ordinarily, the mistake is made of invariably leading the horses on the same side. They eventually acquire a false set of the neck which could be easily avoided by holding them for a time on the left as well as on the right.
Care of young horses.—After each exercise, the le'gs are rubbed and the tendons massaged. Following a wash down with plenty of water, the application of flannel bandages produces highly beneficial results to the fetlocks and tendons; the bandages retain the heat, help circulation, support the tendons, prevent windpuffs and swellings. Put on in the stable, they should encircle the fetlock and the lower half of the cannon. They must not be too tight; the fastening tapes in particular should be somewhat loose. It is useless to leave flannel bandages on the legs all the time; the important thing is to put them on after exercise; during the five or six hours following hard work they are especially efficacious.
In addition to the precautions generally adopted, it is well to see that the blanket strap or surcingle is fastened around the place where the saddle girth belongs and not pushed forward to the horse's elbows; the object being to prevent the formation of two worn places.
Work on the longe.—This work may be of great service in horse training, provided, however, that the longe is used as a means of training and not as a medium for fatiguing exercise.
The following principles must dominate in this work:
(1) The horse is to be controlled by the longe and not by the whip; the only function of the latter is to move the horse forward.
(2) The length of the longe is to be frequently changed. The horse should alternately stretch himself on a large circle and bend himself on a small circle.
(3) The gaits should be frequently changed and the horse brought to the walk from time to time in order to avoid the stiffness of gait that would result from prolonged work.
The progressive method of handling a horse on the longe is given in the regulations (United States Cavalry, paragraph 350) and is described in detail in several works; there is, therefore, no necessity of repeating details here. It will be sufficient to point out the different cases in which the longe can be used to advantage.
Work on the longe can be used:
(1) To exercise young horses without injury and without fatigue to the joints.
(2) To give first lessons to horses difficult to manage.
(3) For horses that hold back or fight.
(4) For horses with one shoulder more developed than the other. (5) For those that will not work equally well on either hand.
(6) For horses that bend themselves with difficulty.
(7) After horses have acquired the habit of this work, lessons in jumping on the longe can be given later without difficulty; horses should not be put at the jump until they are thoroughly manageable with the cavesson and longe.