The Project Gutenberg EBook of Riding and Driving, by Edward L. Anderson and Price Collier This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Riding and Driving Author: Edward L. Anderson Price Collier Release Date: July 16, 2014 [EBook #46302] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIDING AND DRIVING *** Produced by Giovanni Fini and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) [i] THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S LIBRARY EDITED BY CASPAR WHITNEY RIDING AND DRIVING The Gallop-change from Right to Left. The horse, having been in gallop right, has just gone into air from the right fore leg. The right hind leg was then planted, which will be followed in turn by the left hind leg, then the right fore leg, and lastly the left fore leg, from which the horse will go into air; the change from gallop right to gallop left having been made without disorder or a false step. [ii] [iii] RIDING AND DRIVING RIDING BY EDWARD L. ANDERSON AUTHOR OF "MODERN HORSEMANSHIP," "CURB, SNAFFLE, AND SPUR," ETC., ETC. DRIVING HINTS ON THE HISTORY, HOUSING, HARNESSING AND HANDLING OF THE HORSE BY PRICE COLLIER New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1905 All rights reserved Copyright, 1905. By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1905. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. [iv] [v] CONTENTS RIDING By EDWARD L. ANDERSON CHAPTER PAGE I. Breeding the Saddle-horse 3 II. Handling the Young Horse 20 III. The Purchase, the Care, and the Sale of the Saddle-horse 30 IV. Some Saddle-horse Stock Farms 47 V. The Saddle—The Bridle—How To Mount 54 VI. The Seat—General Horsemanship 64 VII. American Horsemanship—Our Cavalry 78 VIII. How to Ride—The Snaffle-bridle—The Walk and the Trot— Shying—The Cunning of the Horse—Sulking—Rearing— Defeating the Horse 85 IX. What Training will do for a Horse—The Forms of Collection 103 X. The Spur 109 XI. Some Work on Foot—The Suppling 112 XII. The Curb-and-Snaffle Bridle—Guiding by the Rein against the Neck—Croup about Forehand—Upon Two Paths 121 XIII. The Gallop, and the Gallop Change—Wheel in the Gallop— Pirouette Turn—Halt in the Gallop 127 XIV. Backing 135 XV. Jumping 138 XVI. General Remarks 147 [vi] DRIVING By PRICE COLLIER Introduction I I. Economic Value of the Horse 159 II. The Natural History of the Horse 169 III. The Early Days of the Horse in America 179 IV. Points of the Horse 195 V. The Stable 211 VI. Feeding and Stable Management 225 VII. First Aid to the Injured 239 VIII. Shoeing 251 IX. Harness 259 X. The American Horse 284 XI. A Chapter of Little Things 300 XII. Driving One Horse 315 XIII. Driving a Pair 333 XIV. Driving Four 353 XV. The Tandem 392 XVI. Driving Tandem. By T. Suffern Tailer 401 Bibliography 427 Index 429 [vii] ILLUSTRATIONS RIDING By EDWARD L. ANDERSON The Gallop-change from Right to Left. The horse, having been in gallop right, has just gone into air from the right fore leg. The right hind leg was then planted, which will be followed in turn by the left hind leg, then the right fore leg, and lastly the left fore leg, from which the horse will go into air; the change from gallop right to gallop left having been made without disorder or a false step Frontispiece FIGURE FACING PAGE 1.Race-horse in Training. Photograph by R. H. Cox 5 2. Dick Wells. Holder of the world's record for one mile. Photograph by R. H. Cox. 5 3. Thoroughbred Mare, L'Indienne. Property of Major David Castleman. Photograph by the author 7 4.Cayuse. Photograph by W. G. Walker 7 5. Abayan Koheilan. Arab stallion, bred by Amasi Hamdani, Smyri, Sheik of the District of Nagd. Property of Sutherland Stock Farm, Cobourg, Canada 7 6.Norwegian Fiord Stallion. Imported by the author 9 7. Mafeking, 16.2, by Temple out of a Mare by Judge Curtis. The property of Colin Campbell, Esq., Manor House, St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. This splendid animal has been hunted for three seasons with the Montreal Fox Hounds. He shows great power and quality, and is master of any riding weight 9 8. Prize-winning Charger. Property of Major Castleman. Photograph by the author 9 9. Morgan Stallion, Meteor. Property of Mr. H. P. Crane. Photograph by Schreiber & Sons 9 10.Mademoiselle Guerra on Rubis, a Trakhene Stallion 10 11. Highland Denmark. Property of Gay Brothers, Pisgah, Kentucky. The sire of more prize winners in saddle classes than any other stallion in America. Photograph by the author 10 12. Brood Mare, Dorothy. Owned by General Castleman. This mare has a record of first prize in nearly seventy show rings 12 13. Cecil Palmer, American Saddle-horse, Racking. Owned and ridden by Major David Castleman. Photograph by the author 12 14.The Cavesson. Photograph by the author 23 15. The Horse goes about the Man at the Full Length of the Cavesson Rein. Photograph by the author 23 16. Elevating the Head of the Horse with the Snaffle-bit. Photograph by M. F. A. 26 17. Dropping the Head and Suppling the Jaw. Photograph by M. F. A. 26 18.Bending Head with Snaffle. Photograph by M. F. A. 28 19.A Leg Up. Photograph by M. F. A. 28 20. Silvana. An English half-bred mare, imported by the author. Photograph by M. F. A. 37 21. Montgomery Chief, Champion Saddle Stallion of America. Property of Ball Brothers, Versailles, Kentucky. Photograph by the author 37 22.Riding-house of the Author 44 23. Garrard. Two years old. Owned and ridden by Major David Castleman. Photograph by the author 51 24. Carbonel. Four years old. Owned and ridden by Major David Castleman. Photograph by the author 51 25. High Lassie. Two years old. Owned by Gay Brothers, Pisgah, Kentucky. Photograph by the author 53 26.Mares and Foals. Gay Brothers. Photograph by the author 53 27. Stirling Chief. Property of Colonel J. T. Woodford, Mt. Stirling, Kentucky. Photograph by the author 55 28.Stirling Chief in the Trot. Photograph by the author 55 29.Double Bridle Fitted. Photograph by the author 58 [viii] [ix] 30.Mounting with Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. 58 31.Mounting without Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. 60 32.Mounting without Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. 60 33.Dismounting without Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. 60 34.Jockey Seat. Photograph by R. H. Cox 62 35. Pointing the Knees above the Crest of the Horse. Photograph by M. F. A. 62 36.Dropping the Knees to take the Seat without Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. 65 37.The Seat. Photograph by M. F. A. 65 38.Leaning Back. Photograph by M. F. A. 65 39.German Cavalry. Photograph by O. Anschutz 67 40.Monsieur Leon de Gisbert. Photograph by the author 69 41. Monsieur H. L. de Bussigny. Formerly an officer of the French Army 69 42.Chasseurs d'Afrique 71 43.Spahis. Arabs in the Algerian army of France 71 44.A French Officer. Good man and good horse 73 45.French Officers 73 46. Italian Officers. The horsemanship here exhibited is above criticism. Courtesy of the Goerz Co. 73 47.Italian Officers 73 48. An Italian Officer. The pose of the horse proves the truth of the photograph 73 49.Trooper Royal Horse Guards. Photograph by F. G. O. Stuart 76 50.Scots Grays. Tent Pegging. Photograph by F. G. O. Stuart 76 51.General Castleman 78 52.Mr. C. Elmer Railey 80 53.A Rider of the Plains. Photograph by W. G. Walker 80 54.Colonel W. F. Cody, "Buffalo Bill." Photograph by Stacy 83 55.An American Horseman 83 56. Troopers of the Fourth and the Eighth Cavalry, United States Army. Photograph by the author 85 57. Captain W. C. Short. Instructor of Riding at Fort Riley. Photograph by the author 85 58.Three Officers at Fort Riley. Photograph by the author 87 59.The Small Pony is but a Toy. Photograph by Mary Woods 90 60. Up to Ten or Twelve Years of Age Girls should ride in the Cross Saddle to learn the Effects of the Aids. Photograph by the author 90 61.The Alertness of In Hand. Photograph by R. H. Cox 92 62.In Hand in Walk. Photograph by M. F. A. 92 63.United Halt, between Heels and Hand. Photograph by M. F. A. 94 64.In Hand in Trot. Photograph by M. F. A. 94 65. Preventing the Horse rearing by bending the Croup to One Side. Photograph by M. F. A. 97 66.Rearing with Extended Fore Legs. Photograph by Walker 97 67. Major H. L. Ripley, Eighth Cavalry, United States Army. Horse rearing with bent fore legs 101 68.Rolling up a Restive Horse 101 69.Closely United. Photograph by M. F. A. 102 70.Half-halt. Photograph by M. F. A. 102 71.The Scratch of the Spur. Photograph by M. F. A. 108 72.Halt with the Spurs. Photograph by M. F. A. 108 73. Direct Flexion of the Jaw. The snaffle holds the head up. The curb-bit, with the reins drawn toward the chest of the horse, induces the animal to yield the jaw, when the tension upon the reins is released and the animal so rewarded for its obedience. Photograph by M. F. A. 112 74. The Result of the Direct Flexion of the Jaw. Photograph by M. F. A. 112 75.Bending Head and Neck with the Curb-bit. Photograph by M. F. A. 115 76.Bending Head and Neck with the Curb-bit. Photograph by M. F. A. 115 77. Carrying the Hind Legs under the Body. Photograph by M. F. A. 117 78.Croup about Forehand, to the Right. Photograph by M. F. A. 117 [x] [xi] 79. Croup about Forehand, to the Right. The left fore leg the pivot. The head bent toward the advancing croup. Photograph by M. F. A. 119 80.In Hand in Place. Photograph by H. S. 119 81. The Indirect Indication of the Curb-bit. To turn the horse to the right by bringing the left rein against the neck of the horse. The rider's hand carried over to the right, the thumb pointing to the right shoulder 122 82. The Indirect Indication of the Curb-bit. To turn the horse to the left. The rider's hand is carried over to the left, the thumb pointing to the ground over the left shoulder of the horse 122 83. Reversed Pirouette, to the Left. The hind quarters are carried to the left, about the right fore leg as pivot, the head bent to the left 124 84. Passing on Two Paths to the Right. The forehand slightly in advance of the croup. The head of the horse slightly bent in the direction of progress 124 85.The Gallop. The horse in air 126 86. The Hind Legs are committed to a Certain Stride in the Gallop before the Horse goes into Air 126 87. Gallop Right. The change must be begun by the hind legs as soon as they are free from the ground. The last seven photographs by M. F. A. 126 88.The Wheel in the Gallop. In two paths, the hind feet on a small inner circle 131 89. The Pirouette Wheel. The inner hind leg remains in place as a pivot 131 90. Backing. Taking advantage of the impulse produced by the whip tap to carry the mass to the rear. Photograph by M. F. A. 135 91. Backing. The same principles are observed. Photograph by M. F. A. 135 92.Jumping In Hand. Photograph by M. F. A. 138 93.The Narrow Hurdle. Photograph by M. F. A. 138 94.Jumping In Hand. Photograph by M. F. A. 138 95.Jumping a Narrow Hurdle. Photograph by M. F. A. 142 96.Jumping a Narrow Hurdle. Photograph by M. F. A. 142 97.Hurdle-racing. Photograph by R. H. Cox 151 98. Thistledown. Four years old. Property of Mr. A. E. Ash brook. Record of seven feet one and three-quarters inches. Photograph by E. N. Williams 151 99. Denny Racking. Property of Mr. J. S. Neane. Photograph by the author 154 100.Denny at the Running Walk. Photograph by the author 154 101.Casting a Horse without Apparatus. Photograph by M.F.A. 154 DRIVING By PRICE COLLIER PLATE I.Protorohippus 167 II.Development of Horse's Foot From Toes to One 167 III.Neohipparion 170 IV.Skull of Horse Eight Years Old 170 V.Teeth of Horse 195 VI.Teeth of Horse 197 VII.Polo Pony 199 VIII.Light-harness Horse 199 IX.Harness Type 202 X.Flying Cloud, Harness Type 202 XI.Children's Pony 204 XII.Children's Pony 204 XIII.Good Shoulders, Legs, and Feet 206 XIV.Heavy-harness Types 206 XV.Stable Plan 219 XVI.Skeleton of the Horse 245 XVII.Internal Parts of the Horse 245 [xii] XVIII.External Parts of the Horse 252 XIX.Foot of the Horse 252 XX.Bridoon Bit; Double-ring Snaffle-bit; Half-cheek Jointed Snaffle-bit 261 XXI.Bit found on Acropolis; date, 500 b.c. 261 XXII.Single Harness 263 XXIII.Elbow-bit; Liverpool Bit; Buxton Bit; Gig-bit 266 XXIV.Swale's Patent Bit 268 XXV.Brush Burr 268 XXVI.Plain Burr 268 XXVII.Hambletonian 293 XXVIII.George Wilkes 293 XXIX.Driving a Pair 341 XXX.Driving a Pair 348 XXXI.Positions of Whip 357 XXXII.Driving Four 364 XXXIII.Pony Tandem 391 XXXIV.Tandem Dog-cart 394 XXXV.High and Dangerous Cocking-cart 394 XXXVI.Tandem of Mr. McCandless 404 XXXVII.Tandem of Mr. T. Suffern Tailer 404 [xiii] [xiv] [1] RIDING By EDWARD L. ANDERSON RIDING CHAPTER I BREEDING THE SADDLE-HORSE The thoroughbred is universally recognized as the finest type of the horse, excelling all other races in beauty, in stamina, in courage, and in speed; and, further, it is capable in the highest degree of transmitting to its posterity these valuable qualities. Indeed, the greatest virtue possessed by this noble animal lies in its power of producing, upon inferior breeds, horses admirably adapted to many useful purposes for which the blooded animal itself is not fitted. In England and upon the continent the thoroughbred is held in high esteem for the saddle; but, as General Basil Duke justly remarks, it has not that agility so desirable in a riding-horse, and because of its low action and extended stride it is often wanting in sureness of foot, and in America we prefer to ride the half-breed with better action. Occasionally the thoroughbred is found that fills the requirements of the most exacting rider, and the author has had at least six blood-horses that were excellent under the saddle. One of these, represented by a photograph in a previous work, in a gallop about a lance held in the rider's hand, gave sufficient proof of quickness and suppleness. However, it is admitted on all hands that the horse which most nearly approaches the thoroughbred, and yet possesses the necessary qualities which the superior animal lacks, will be the best for riding purposes. Although every thoroughbred traces its ancestry in the direct male line to the Byerly Turk, 1690, the Darley Arabian, circa 1700, or the Godolphin Barb, circa 1725, and "it is impossible to find an English race-horse which does not combine the blood of all three," the experience of modern horsemen points to the fact that the blood-horse is as near to the Eastern horse as we should go with the stallion in breeding for the race-course or for ennobling baser strains. In view of the great influence that these three horses had almost immediately upon English breeds, this present exclusion of the Eastern stallion is striking; but it means simply that the race-horse of our day has more admirable qualities to transmit than the sire of any other blood. FIG. 1.—RACE-HORSE IN TRAINING [2] [3] [4] FIG. 2.—DICK WELLS. HOLDER OF THE RECORD FOR ONE MILE The Bedouin Arabian of the Nejd district, supposed to be the purest strain of the race and the fountainhead of all the Eastern breeds, has become degenerate during the past two hundred years; too often horses of this royal blood are found undersized, calf-kneed, and deficient in many points. Notwithstanding the virtues that such animals may yet be able to transmit, I venture to say that the disdained "Arab" of Turkey, Persia, Egypt, and even that of Europe, as well as the so-called Barb, are better and more useful horses, and it is from these impure races that nearly all of the Eastern blood has come that has found its way into the crosses of European horses during the past hundred years or more. Indeed, if we may believe the statements of the partisans of the Eastern horse, but very little of the best Arab blood has been introduced into Europe. The Darley Arabian, the ancestor of the best strains in the world, was doubtless of pure desert blood. His color, form, and other characteristics have always satisfied horsemen that his lineage could not be questioned. In crosses of thoroughbred strains and desert blood the stallion should be of the former race; but in bringing Eastern blood into inferior breeds the blood of the latter should be represented by the mare. All good crosses are apt to produce better riding-horses than those of a direct race. From the fossil remains found in various parts of the world it is certain that the horse appeared in many places during a certain geological period, and survived where the conditions were favorable. But whether Western Asia is or is not the home of the horse, he was doubtless domesticated there in very early times, and it was from Syria that the Egyptians received their horses through their Bedouin conquerors. The horses of the Babylonians probably came from Persia, and the original source of all these may have been Central Asia, from which last- named region the animal also passed into Europe, if the horse were not indigenous to some of the countries in which history finds it. We learn that Sargon I. (3800 b.c.) rode in his chariot more than two thousand years before there is an exhibition of the horse in the Egyptian sculptures or proof of its existence in Syria, and his kingdom of Akkad bordered upon Persia, giving a strong presumption that the desert horse came from the last-named region, through Babylonian hands. It seems, after an examination of the representations upon the monuments, that the Eastern horse has changed but little during thousands of years. Taking a copy of one of the sculptures of the palace of Ashur-bani-pal, supposed to have been executed about the middle of the seventh century before our era, and assuming that the bare- headed men were 5 feet 8 inches in height, I found that the horses would stand about 14½ hands—very near the normal size of the desert horse of our day. The horses of ancient Greece must have been starvelings from some Northern clime, for the animals on the Parthenon frieze are but a trifle over 12 hands in height, and are the prototypes of the Norwegian Fiord pony—a fixed type of a very valuable small horse. [5] [6] FIG. 3.—THOROUGHBRED BROOD-MARE FIG. 4.—CAYUSE FIG. 5.—DESERT-BRED ARAB STALLION The horse was found in Britain from the earliest historical times, and new blood was introduced by the Romans, by the Normans, and under many of the successors of William the Conqueror. The Turkish horse and the barb, it is understood, were imported long before the reign of James I., when Markham's Arabian, said to be the first of pure desert blood, was brought into the country; but from that time many horses were introduced from the East, of strains more or less pure. The Eastern horse was the foundation upon which the Englishman reared the thoroughbred, but we must not lose sight of the skill of the builder nor of the material furnished by native stock. The desert strains furnished beauty, courage, and stamina; the native blood gave size, stride, and many other good qualities; the English breeder combined all these and produced what no other nation has approached, the incomparable thoroughbred. We accept the thoroughbred as we find him. No man can say exactly how he was produced. The great Eclipse (1764) has upward of a dozen mares in his short pedigree (he was fourth in descent from the Darley Arabian) whose breeding is unknown and which were doubtless native mares, for already the descendants of Eastern horses were known and noted. What is true of the breeding of Eclipse is true of many of his contemporaries who played prominent parts in the studs of their day. For more than one hundred years no desert-bred stallion has had any marked influence upon the race-horse directly through a thoroughbred mare. In the first decade of the last century a barb stallion bred to a barb mare produced Sultana, who brought forth the granddam of Berthune to Sir Archy. Berthune was much sought after as a sire for riding- horses; besides this barb blood he had strains of Diomed and of Saltram in his veins, all of which were desirable for saddle-horses. Breeds of animals deteriorate rapidly through lack of nourishment and from in-and-in breeding. It is questionable whether a degenerate race may be restored, within measurable time, by the use of any appreciable amount of its own blood; it is certainly bad policy to found a breed upon poor stock. The better plan would be to form the desired type from new strains. One hundred years ago Lewis and Clark found upon the plains of the Northwest [7] [8] "horses of an excellent race, lofty, elegantly formed, and durable," but one could hardly hope to replace such animals from the cayuse ponies, their descendants, without the introduction of superior blood in such quantities as practically to obliterate the inferior. FIG. 6.—NORWEGIAN FIORD STALLION FIG. 7.—HEAVY-WEIGHT HUNTER FIG. 8.—CHARGER FIG. 9.—MORGAN STALLION Some of the range horses of Washington and of Oregon are fairly good animals, and these have more or less of the bronco blood, but all that can be said of the influence of the wild horse is that its descendants can "rustle" for a living where an Eastern horse would starve, and the same thing can be said of the donkey. Admitting that for certain purposes inferior blood must sometimes be introduced for domestic purposes, the better the breeding the better the horse will be. Bon sang bon chien. The mustang of the southern central plains maintains many of the good qualities of its Spanish ancestors, and is a valuable horse for certain purposes, but we need not consider this animal in breeding for the saddle when we have so many other strains infinitely superior. Polo and cow ponies are not within our intent. Types and families of horses are produced either by careful "selection and exclusion," or by the chances of environment In the first manner was brought about the thoroughbred, the Percheron, the Orloff, the Trakhene, the Denmark, and every other race or family of real value. All over the world isolated groups of horses may be found which have become types by an accidental seclusion, and these from various causes are usually undersized and often ill- formed. Such are the mustang and its cousins on the plains, many breeds in Eastern Asia, the Norwegian Fiord pony, the Icelander, the Shetlander, etc., the last-named three being, it is supposed, degenerates of pure desert descent from animals taken north from Constantinople by the returned Varangians in the eleventh century. In breeding for the saddle, or for any other purpose, the mare should be nearly of the type the breeder desires to obtain, and she should be of strong frame, perfectly sound, of healthy stock, and with a good disposition. If her pedigree be known, the stallion, well-bred or thoroughbred, should be selected from a strain which has been proved to have an affinity with that of the mare. The mingling of certain strains is almost as certain to produce certain results—not, be it understood, everything that may be desired—as does the mixing of chosen colors on the palette. That is to say, size, form, action, and disposition may ordinarily be foretold by the mating between families that are known to nick. The stallion should be no larger than the mare, of a family in which there is no suspicion of transmissible disease, and of good temper, and it certainly should not be lacking in the slightest degree in any point where the mare is not fully developed. The mare might be the stronger animal, the stallion the more highly finished. [9] [10] FIG. 10.—TRAKHENE STALLION FIG. 11.—TYPICAL DENMARK STALLION Where the mare's pedigree is unknown, and the matter is purely an experiment, or where she is undoubtedly of base breeding, the stallion, while of superior blood, should not vary greatly from her type. Peculiarities in either parent are almost certain to be found in an exaggerated form in the foal. It would be difficult to imagine a better horse, for any conceivable purpose except racing, than a first-rate heavy-weight hunter; yet he may be called an accident, as there is no such breed, and his full brother may be relegated to the coach or even to the plough. The large head and convex face almost invariably found in the weight carrier, and in the "high-jumper," are derived from the coarse blood which gives them size and power; but these features are indications of that courage and resolution which give them value—characteristics which in animals of wholly cold blood are usually exhibited in obstinacy. Indeed, while the English horse, each in its class, has no superior, Great Britain has no type or family of saddle animals such as our Denmark, unless one except cobs and ponies. Of course, where two animals of the same or of similar strains, and bearing a close resemblance to each other, are mated, the type will be reproduced with much greater certainty than where various strains are for the first time brought together; but even in good matches a foal may show some undesirable feature derived from a remote ancestor. Some marks or characteristics of a progenitor reappear at almost incredible distances from their sources. That Boston's progeny should be subject to blindness, or that Cruiser's descendants should be vicious, or that the offspring of whistlers should prove defective in their wind, are reasonable expectations; but that the black spots on the haunches of Eclipse should be repeated upon his descendants of our day, as is doubtless the case, exhibits an influence that is marvellous. Stockwell (1849) and many others of Eclipse's descendants had those ancestral marks, but Stockwell had many strains of Eclipse blood through Waxy, Gohanna, and other progenitors. When a chestnut thoroughbred shows white hairs through its coat, that peculiarity is ascribed to Venison (1833) blood, if by chance that stallion's name may be found in its pedigree. [11] [12]