The object is through certain indications to make yourself understood and obeyed by the horse: and it is necessary that these
indications shall be such, that the rider can employ them under all circumstances, and when making use of the lance.
Cavalry soldiers are ordered to turn their horses on the "inward rein," that is, with the right rein to the right, with the
left rein to the left; but they turn them on the outward rein chiefly; this is too well known to require comment, for to invent
the means of accomplishing this object with the inward rein, has long been a problem amongst the professors of horsemanship,
various books having been written on the subject.
General Kress v. Kressenstein, an Austrian cavalry general proposed fastening the bit reins at a certain length, and dividing
them with the whole hand, (vide fig.) to enable the man to feel the right rein when turning to the right, the left rein when
turning to the left; but this and other systems proposed, have more of disadvantage than advantage in them.
Let us select two cavalry services, the English and Austrian, and see what the instructions are for turning a horse to either hand.
In both services, the system is to turn the horse on the inward rein; to do this it is necessary to shorten that rein considerably.
"To turn to the Right." (English Cavalry Instructions.) "Turn the little finger of the left hand towards the right shoulder."
"To turn to the Right." (Austrian Cavalry Instructions.) "Turn the little finger up towards the left shoulder."
"To turn to the Left." (English Cavalry Instructions.) "Turn the little finger of the left hand towards the left shoulder."
"To turn to the Left." (Austrian Cavalry Instructions.) "This is done by turning the little finger towards the right, the thumb
falling forward."
Thus the artistic contortion of the bridle hand, which turns an English horse to the right, has exactly the contrary effect upon
the Austrian, for it turns him to the left; and that turn of the bridle hand, which is to bring the English horse to the left,
makes the imperial one turn to the right. Now let any one divide the reins with the little finger, and see whether by following
these instructions, it is possible on either system to shorten the inward rein to any extent, and whether in doing so, he does
not feel the other rein also; thus it cannot be with the inward rein that the horse is turned, because you cannot shorten that
rein sufficiently to turn the horse without pulling the other rein at the same time.
According to one of the above systems, the lancer, whilst turning to the right, is to turn his body one
way and his hand another. A Lancer uses one hand for the reins, the other for the lance, and the system requires that the bridle
arm shall be a fixture, that the bridle hand shall only move from the wrist, and that this latter shall be rounded outwards:
the whole position is constrained, almost painful. When a troop horse is bad tempered, or tired, he is not always inclined to obey
the very slight indications given "from the wrist;" thus the first time the lancer gets into difficulties he is reduced to letting
the horse have his own way, or he must use his bridle hand with a little more energy (than the system admits of) to bring the horse
to obedience; still he attains his object with difficulty, because the animal has not yet learnt to understand the aids which
necessity has driven the rider to invent for the occasion.
The horse, whilst breaking in on the snaffle, has always been turned on the inward rein, and when bitted, he is made to turn on
the outward rein, without ever having been taught to do so! The conclusions to be drawn from the above are:
That as both English and Austrian Cavalry can turn their horses to the right or left, and by exactly the reverse contortions of the
wrist, these said contortions can be of little consequence either way
By neither process can the inward rein be shortened without pulling the outward rein (particularly when strength is required).
Thus, it is evident, it is not the inward rein which forces the horse into the new direction. The fact is, the use of the outward
rein is absolutely necessary; and not only the outward rein, but I go further, and say, that "no feeling of the rein is a right one,
without the assistance of the other rein, and both the rider's legs;" for, in the first instance you work on the head and neck alone,
and that imperfect whereas, in the latter, you work upon the whole horse at once. When a horse is ridden on the snaffle, he only
feels the direct pull more or less strong of the rider's hand; with a bit in his mouth, the effect is different and more powerful,
on account of the lever, which tightens the curb chain on the lower jaw of the horse, and forces him to yield with head and neck.
The rider is connected with this lever by the reins, and acts upon the horse by the weight of his body, and the pressure of the legs,
much as he does with the bit. If you put a bridle in the horse's mouth for the first time, mount him, and carry the bridle hand to
the right, throwing the weight of the body to that side, the horse will turn to the right, though you may have felt the left rein
more than the right one, and this because the tension of the reins which proceeded from a central point being suddenly changed to
a point on the right, and the horse feeling all the weight inclining to that side, as you would step under a weight you were carrying,
to prevent it from falling, so does the horse feel the necessity of following, till the equilibrium between himself and his load be
re-established. How useless then are all those studied and difficult movements of the bridle hand, since, turn your little finger
into whatever difficult position you like, if you bring it at the same time your bridle hand and body to the same side, to that side
will the horse turn. Let us therefore profit by this natural inclination of the horse, and impress those aids upon him by education,
which by instinct he already inclined to obey.
The life of the cavalry soldier must often depend upon his being able to turn his horse to either hand: it is therefore important
that means should be placed at the man's disposal to enable him to attain his object, with some degree of certainty; the system
should be; one which can be carried out by all men upon all horses; the aids should be natural and easy to the man, and intelligible
to the animal; to this purpose I think that The position and action of the bridle hand and arm should be as follows:
The upper arm perpendicular from the shoulder, the lower arm resting lightly on the hip for support.
Bridle hand opposite the centre, and about three inches from the body, with the knuckles towards the horse's head, thumb pointing
across the body, and a little to the right front, the hand as low as the saddle will allow of, held naturally without constraint.
The wrist in a natural position, not rounded outwards, which deprives the hand of the action from front to rear, and makes the whole arms stiff.
The bit reins divided by the little finger, the snaffle reins brought through the full of the hand, the thumb upon the reins, but
not pressed down upon them, to avoid giving stiffness to the hand.
In dividing the bit reins with the little finger, the right rein which passes over the finger is always a little longer than the
other and requires to be shortened; if this is not attended to, the horse is ridden chiefly on the left rein, he is wrongly "placed"
from the beginning, (his head being bent to the left,) and can never work well; for one of the great principles in Equitation is,
when moving in a straight line to keep your horse's head straight, and when turning to either hand, to let the horse look the way he
is going.
"To Turn to the Right." Carry your hand to the right with the knuckles up.
"To Turn to the Left." Carry the hand to the left, and bend it back slightly from the wrist, thumb pointing to the front, knuckles turned down.
"To Pull Up." Keep the hand low, the body back, and shorten the reins by drawing back the bridle arm.
In breaking in horses, teach them by the use of the inward rein to turn their heads into the new direction; at the same time always
make them feel the pressure of the outward rein against the neck. Thus when the rider (with the reins in his left hand) carries his
hand to the right, the right rein being the first felt, inclines the horse's head that way, and the pressure of the left rein against
his neck, which unavoidably follows, induces the horse to turn to the right. To the left, vice versā.
These aids are so simple and so marked, that the man can never make a mistake, nor can the horse misunderstand them; hand and body
work together; they are sure to be resorted to on an emergency, because natural to the man, and therefore the best to adopt in practice.
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