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Seats And Saddles
by
Francis Dwyer
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
THE FRAMEWORK OF THE HORSE CONSIDERED FROM A MECHANICAL POINT OF VIEW.
The four legs are the supports of the spinal column which bears the
burden directly There is one portion of the spinal column round which
all the others move : this is the centre of motion
of the horse The head and neck project beyond the basis on
which the animal stands ; the position of the centre of gravity
modified by this The horse’s fore legs are, more particularly,
bearers, the hind ones propellers The action of the horse will
depend on the relative positions of these two centres, which
will be shown by the hoof-tracks, and is also easily recognisable
by the ear The relative positions of the two centres of gravity
and motion may be adjusted as the nature of the service demanded
requires, by simply altering the position of the head
and neck ; and this is equally true whether the horse be in
motion or at rest . 19-44
CHAPTER II.
THE SADDLE, AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE SEAT.
The saddle should be adjusted to whatever seat may be adopted
for a particular purpose, and not vice versa the seat to the
saddle Its size should be proportioned to the weight it will
have to support ; its shape should be adapted, on the one hand,
to the horse’s back ; on the other, to the rider’s seat and legs
The weight should be so placed as to press equally over the
whole under surface of the saddle ; there must be no leveraction;
all of which is best attained by making the seat central,
placing the girths also in the centre of the saddle, and, finally,
TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX
The stirrups as near this point as can be conveniently done
For military purposes, blankets in some respects preferable to
feltplates under the saddle The crupper is utterly useless
unless the pack is built up into a mountain ; or a short rider
put on a tall horse The breast-plate is unobjectionable 45-64
CHAPTER III.
SEATS.
The seat on horseback is maintained by balance, by friction, or
by the aid of the stirrups A combination of all these means
affords the greatest security The more perfect the balance
the less will be the quantity of muscular action required to
maintain the seat ; the closer the seat to the saddle, and the
greater the surfaces brought into contact, the more easily will
the balance be maintained ; the nearer the point of suspension
of the stirrup to the seat, the less will balance and friction be
disturbed, and the more will the stirrup act in support of
these, how or wherever the rider may otherwise sit To have
a good seat, his weight must be distributed equally between
the three bones forming the angle of his fork, and not on any
two of these, or on the third alone It is better to commence
riding with stirrups than without The jockey’s saddle and
seat The hunting seat Road-Riding Rising in the stirrups
versus bobbing up and down What is the object of both 65-89
CHAPTER IV.
THE MILITARY SEAT.
This is more easily reducible to rule than any other, the object
being alike in all cases, and the material selected with reference
to that special purpose The cavalry seat must facilitate not
only the mere progressive power of the horse, but also such a
degree of handiness as will insure to its rider a perfect command
over his weapons, and, in addition to all this, secure
for the troop-horse the longest possible period of service
These latter objects are but too frequently sacrificed in favour
of mere vehemence of movement ; they are only to be attained
by very careful saddling, bitting, and a correct seat or method
of riding Weight carried by some cavalry horses compared
with that carried by hunters and racers Average daily work
of a man carrying a burden compared with that of a horse
under various circumstances, and at various degrees of
speed 90-105
PART II.
BITS AND BITTING.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
Vulgar idea of hard and soft-mouthed horses The horse’s head
and neck levers, by means of which the animal’s body may
be steered like a boat by the tiller Baucher’s ideas of the
position of the head and neck Rational handling contrasted
with ordinary horse-breaking Bitting must be suited to style
of riding Value of good and careful bitting in the handling
of young horses, and the prevention of restiveness Its great
importance for cavalry There is no model or size of bit that
is generally applicable to all horses …. 109-122
CHAPTER II.
THE NECK THE HEAD THE MOUTH THE TONGUE CARRIAGE
FEELING.
Varieties of shapes, &c., of horses’ necks Influence of this on
direction of pull of reins Influence of military pack on the
same Ditto of shape of horse’s head, and mode in which it
is set on neck The head considered as a lever Horses that
poke out their noses or bend their necks too much Width
between jaws Glands situated here Conformation of horse’s
chin, nose, lips, chin-groove, externally ; of mouth and tongue
internally Average dimensions of some part of horses’ mouths
The tongue-channel Carriage of horse’s head and neck
must be suited to kind of work demanded Carriage for
military [purposes, for racing, for hunting, for road-riding
CHAPTER III.
THE CAVESSON SNAFFLE NOSE-BAND TRAINING-HALTER
RUNNING-REINS.
The snaffle the simplest and best of all forms of bit Requires good,
steady seat Various forms of snaffle Their relative value
The nose-band, its use Difficulties about it Von Oeynhausen’s
training-halter Where the snaffle should be put in the horse’s
mouth Martingales Seeger’s running-reins . . 149-160
CHAPTER IV.
THE LEVER THE BIT AND CURB THE BRIDLE.
With a plain snaffle there is no lever-power Orders of levers
Lever of second order gives the action required for a bit The
curb should not exert the slightest degree of painful action
Whatever may be required of this should be exerted by mouthpiece,
the less the better Consequences of curb producing a
greater amount of painful action than mouth-piece Length of
the bars of bit, whence measured Line of bearing Length
of upper bar of bit A bit “falls through” or stands stiff:
why ? Effects of both Angle at which reins should act on
bit Dimensions of lower bar of bit Curb, length of Position
for mouth-piece in horse’s mouth Best form of curb Curbhooks
Mouth-piece of bit Port, use of Rings on mouthpieces,
their use Jointed mouth-pieces Pelham Dumpy bit
Method of adjusting bit and bridle The bridoon Bits for
harness should be made and adjusted on precisely similar
principles Reins for double harness, how to adjust . 161-198
CHAPTER V.
TAKING MEASURE FOR THE BIT THE MOUTH-GAUGE
THE TRIAL-BIT.
Description of these instruments, and methods of using them
PART III.
DRAUGHT AND HARNESS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
The true principles of harnessing horses very unequally acted on
What suits a town or city may be and often is inapplicable to
rural districts, and vice versa The condition of the roads, and
the whole conformation of the country, must be taken into
consideration The two main points to be attended to are the
size of the horse and the height of the wheel . . 209-211
CHAPTER II.
THE ANGLE OF TRACTION THE COLLAR THE HAMES THE TRACE
THE POLE AND POLE-CHAINS THE HEIGHT OF THE WHEEL.
The best direction for applying power to a common wheel is in
the horizontal line, supposing the power itself to be capable
of being exerted in all directions with equal facility This is,
however, not the case with horses, whose draught-power is
best exerted at an angle with the horizon, on account of the
inclination of the shoulder-blade, from which the draught is
exerted through the collar, &c. Experiments of General
Berge on this subject The trace should be perpendicular to
the collar and shoulder-blade, and consequently neither
horizontal nor even parallel to the surface of the road when
inclined The shoulder-blade of the horse is fixed near its
centre, but movable at both ends The trace-hook should be
attached opposite to this fixed point, and act at right-angles
to the collar-bone This is the proper angle of traction, and
the line of the trace will then coincide nearly with the line of
propulsion of the hind legs Both the collar and the names
must be adjusted so as to secure this angle of traction A
neglect of this the most frequent cause of sore necks, &c. The
length of the trace should be suited to the nature of the work
Short traces are handier for town work, but punish the
horses unnecessarily There is no real mechanical advantage
in a short trace, often the contrary The same applies to the
pole and pole-chains or straps Horses will work easier and
suffer less if not harnessed too short Those used occasionally
under the saddle should never be trussed up between short
traces and a short pole or shafts High wheels are an advantage,
but only within certain limits, which depend on the height of
the horse’s shoulder The horizontal pull is the most favourable
under the exceptions stated, and where the surface of the road
is perfectly level ; but an upward pull is more advantageous
where obstacles such as stones or ruts are to be surmounted
The centre of gravity of a loaded two-wheeled vehicle should
be placed over the axle-tree ; with four-wheeled ones, nearer
to the larger pair of wheels in proportion to the difference
of size 212-242
CHAPTER III.
TRAINING FOR DRAUGHT.
Should be undertaken gradually First accustom your horses to
the harness, then to the carriage Take care that the harness
fits well, is strong, and that there is nothing to frighten the
horse either in itself or the carriage Fehrmann’s Horse-saver,
its use for training young horses to draught and for general
purposes Pay especial attention to the bitting See that there
is nothing in this to prevent the horse going ahead kindly
Never attempt breaking into harness without one or two
assistants If necessary, begin with a cavesson, and take
straight lines Be cautious of the bearing-reins and crupper
at first It is not fair to argue from the occasional, or even
frequent, abuse of the bearing-rein that it should be totally
abolished The crupper frequently very dangerous in harness,
and may be dispensed with, by using long breechings 243-264
PART IV.
RESTIVENESS : ITS PREVENTION AND CURE.
CHAPTER I.
HOW TO RENDER HORSES OBEDIENT.
Disobedience or restiveness not to be confounded with vice A
horse is stronger than a man ; therefore nothing is to be done
by mere brute force Usual cause of insubordination is injudicious
treatment Character of the horse English method
of training or handling young horses Continental or school
methods Advantages or disadvantages of these two ; their
description ; how they may be best made applicable to the
prevention and cure of restiveness . . . 267-290
CHAPTER II.
GENERAL RULES FOR THE TREATMENT OF RESTIVENESS.
Avoid opportunities of conflict Ascertain how restiveness was
caused, and when first shown The temper and general disposition
of the animal, also its condition, must be taken into
account If practicable, the handling of restive horses should
be undertaken in an enclosed space, a riding-school, or the
like What may be done when nothing of this kind is available
The first great object is to get a-horse to go somehow, then
afterwards in obedience and in a certain form Generally
speaking, restive horses should be treated as if they had never
been handled at all ; that is to say, they should be re-trained
from beginning to end The position generally assumed by
restive horses How to get them out of this “
CHAPTER III.
SPECIAL FORMS OF RESTJVENESS.
Bolting. Why do horses bolt ? How to manage bolters where
there is room, and when one is confined to the road Bolters
that carry their heads up, and those that carry them down
Bucking and plunging How to manage these The dumbjockey
306-314
Rearing. How a horse prepares itself to rear How the rearing
may be prevented at this stage How the horse does rear
Method of treatment with the lounge ; or under the
rider 3M-322
Kicking. The cause of kicking The method of treatment 322-330
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