Horsewhip

“ Whoever they are, they’ll get one horsewhipping that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. Get those horsewhips out of the wagons! We’ll teach the young rascals a lesson.”
The squire had not observed that still another group of stalwart fishermen had had a word with Dave Benson and Old Slade and had already, of their own accord, provided themselves with horsewhips. ”

“ Git out ov my house before I take me horsewhip to ye both."
'"Ah be aisy now, Father," says I, "it's not jokin' we are. We're in sober arnest."
'"Is it argy wid me, yer own parish praste, ye wud, ye onnathral varmint. I tell ye, I'll not marry ye, an' that's flat."
'"Thin be the powers," says I, "marrit or not marrit, I'll live wid Mary Anne, an' she'll live wid me, an' you'll be the cause of immorality an' scandal in the parish. Ye wull, won't you, Mary Anne?" says I.
'"I wull," says she, grinnin' ahl roun' her head. ”

“ It is true, my whip is not so splendid as that of my brothers, but jewels are out of place on a hunting-whip, it seems to me; the handle is wanted to be smooth, so that the hand may take a firm grip of it, rather than to be covered with those points and unevennesses. The merit of my whip is not in the handle, it is in the lash, which has such excellent qualities, that you have but to crack it, and your horse will immediately take you over any obstruction there may be in your way—be it a house or a mountain, or what you will. ”

“ Gentlemen having a leg and spur on each side of the horse to urge and to guide him, should ride without any whip at all if the horse has been subjected to the leg, so as to have the right hand as free for the reins as the left: there should be no such thing as “a bridle hand. [34] ” If a whip is carried, it should be as light as possible. It should be held up like a hunter or a rough-rider, not down like a jockey; and so completely between the hand and the thumb as to leave the fingers free for the reins. To carry that club called the handle of a hunting whip is a frightful enormity. ”

“ In reality, however, all the Parisian's ease and grace are the results of careful training, but so perfect is the instruction that art is made to appear like nature.
In selecting a riding whip care should be taken to secure one that is straight and stiff; if it be curved, it may accidentally touch the horse and make him restless; if flexible it will be of no use in managing him. The handle of the whip may be very plain, or the lady may indulge her taste for the ornamental by having it very elaborate and rich, but she should be careful never to sacrifice strength to appearances. ”

“ But man and horse had a favourite job, When an outlaw broke from a station mob, With a right good will was the stockwhip plied, As the old horse raced at the straggler's side, And the greenhide whip such a weal would raise, We could use the whip in the droving days. ”

“ Tight gloves not only benumb the hands in cold weather, but always cause an awkward handling of the reins, and may be positively dangerous with a fresh horse. As to [Pg 91] the relative merits of crop and whip, there is room for difference of opinion. By many persons the former is looked upon as a senseless affectation of English ways, but the fact is that with a horse regularly trained to the saddle it is more useful than a whip, as by its aid a lady can “collect” her horse—that is, can make him bring his hind-legs under him, in the same way that a man does by the pressure of his calves. ”

“ Although her single spur is at times a most valuable adjunct to a lady, it should never be worn by beginners, nor until its use has been thoroughly taught in the course of study.
It is with regret that I see the riding-whip becoming superseded by the handle of the English hunting-crop, as this is neither rational nor practical, being too short and light to replace the right leg advantageously or to give efficient punishment if it is needed. A good whip, flexible, without being limp, rather long than short, not too heavy, but well balanced, is best, especially in the riding-school. ”

“ This cursed cracking of whips is not only unnecessary, but even useless. Its aim is to produce an effect upon the intelligence of the horse; but through the constant abuse of it, the animal becomes habituated to the sound, which falls upon blunted feelings and produces no effect at all. The horse does not go any faster for it. You have a remarkable example of this in the ceaseless cracking of his whip on the part of a cab-driver, while he is proceeding at a slow pace on the lookout for a fare. If he were to give his horse the slightest touch with the whip, it would have much more effect. ”

“ If he is very timid about your approaching closely to him, you can get up to him quicker by making the whip a part of your arm, and reaching out very gently with the butt end of it; rubbing him lightly on the neck, all the time getting a little closer, shortening the whip by taking it up in your hand, until you finally get close enough to put your hands on him. If he is inclined to hold his head from you, put the end of the halter-strap around his neck, drop your whip, and draw very gently; he will let his neck give, and you can pull his head to you. ”

“ Every time you turn touch him slightly with the whip, to make him step up close to you, and then caress him with your hand. He will soon learn to hurry up to escape the whip and be caressed, and you can make him follow you around without taking hold of the halter. If he should stop and turn from you, give him a few sharp cuts about the hind legs, and he will soon turn his head towards you, when you must always caress him. A few lessons of this kind will make him run after you, when he sees the motion of the whip — in twenty or thirty minutes he will follow you about the stable. ”

“ To supply the absence of the leg on the off side, in the case of the lady, the only substitute is the whip. But all men accustomed to breaking know that the effect of the whip is altogether different from that of the leg, and that while the whip is occasionally necessary to rouse a slightly lazy horse, and put him into his bridle, in the case of one very free, or at all hot, the whip must be used with great caution by a lady. As I have remarked elsewhere, most young horses are inclined to strike off in the canter with the near leg, which is most unpleasant to the fair equestrian. ”

“ If you use the whip at all, it must be very lightly and quietly, so that the freer or stronger horse may not hear it. At the same time, hold them both well together; if he is not a sluggard, he will gradually work up to the other. Again, if you notice one horse carrying his head unpleasantly, you may judge there is some cause for it; perhaps he is curbed too tightly, or his coupling is too short, or his rein ought to be over that of the other horse instead of under it, for, as may be supposed, all horses do not carry their heads alike ”

“ The fingering of the reins should not be impeded even by thick gloves; as thick muffettees as you like, but no gloves thicker than kid.
The action of the whip, by the turn of the wrist, on either side of the horse, is of every importance in lady’s riding, in colt-breaking, in riding the restive horse, and I had well nigh said, in hunting and race riding. Horses swerve and turn only to the left. For how often do we see the race lost by a swerve to the left (attributed to distress) . The hunter invariably refuses by turning to the left. The restive horse invariably turns to the left. ”

“ The whip or spur should never be employed to make an obstinate or timid horse leap, as he will ever after associate such objects as those [270] over which he has been thus urged or forced to leap with fear of punishment, and his rider will never be sure of him when approaching one of them, for he will either shy, or else bound over it in such a flurried manner as will prove dangerous both to himself and his rider. An indolent horse, that requires to be roused by whip or spur, is not a suitable one for a lady to ride at a leap. ”

“ The jockey-man is not a whit more rational in this respect than the boy who bestrides his hobby-horse, and flourishes his penny whip.
Then succeeded to my imagination a far more brutal scene, the steeple-chase. A horse is overpowered in a deep and heavy fallow; he is flogged to press him through it; he reaches a break-neck wall; a desperate cut of the whip sends him flying over it; again and again he puts forth his strength and speed, and falls, and rises again at the instigation of the whip. ”

“ A lady’s whip is intended to supply the place of a man’s right leg and spur; it should therefore, however ornamental and thin, be stiff and real. Messrs. Callow, of Park Lane, make some very pretty ones, pink, green and amber, from the skin of the hippopotamus, light but severe. A loop to hang it from the wrist may be made ornamental in colours and gold, and is useful, for a lady may require all the power of her little hand to grasp the right rein without the encumbrance of the whip, which on this plan will still be ready if required at a moment’s notice. ”

“ A number of English writers state that the proper indication for the lead with the right foot is a tap of the whip on the right side, but this appears to be lacking in good theory, and might prove very confusing to a horse, despite the fact that the animal can be made to learn anything as an indication. A tap of the whip under the right elbow would be more consistent with the horse's action, although it is quite possible, as a feat, to teach a horse to lead with the off shoulder by pulling his off ear, or his tail, for the matter of that. ”

“ To pick a whip from the ground. To pick a whip from the ground, take the pummel with the right hand, place the side of the left foot against the girth, the toe between the horse’s elbows, bring the back of the right leg on to the top of the saddle, and let yourself down to the full stretch of your right arm; this is very easy at the halt, still easier on the move, if your horse is quiet. If you fail, you only dismount on your hands instead of your feet, which on turf may be done innocuously at a canter. ”

“ Whip and Spur.—A lady's whip is employed as a substitute for the right leg of the horseman in collecting and guiding the horse. For this reason, it must always be firm, strong, and well-made. [295] It is also used both to give light taps to the horse in order to increase his speed, and likewise, when necessary, to chastise him moderately and thus make him more obedient. If it can possibly be avoided, a lady should never whip her horse ”

“ Others keep their elbows a-kimbo, and fairly churn themselves in the saddle with every rise and fall. Others, again, acquire a habit of tipping their horse with the whip in an altogether unnecessary manner. It is not actually enough to hurt the animal, but is amply sufficient to worry and ruffle his temper. No horse fit to carry a lady requires to be constantly reminded of his work. A whip in a woman's hand should be more for show, and to give completeness to the picture, than for purposes of castigation. ”

“ All such motions of the body, the hands, the legs, and the whip, as either indicate the rider’s wishes, or, in some degree, assist the horse to fulfil them, are, in the art of riding, denominated aids; and those movements of the rider which tend to save the animal from disuniting himself, or running into danger, may, properly enough, be classed under the same title: while such as act for the preservation of the rider, against the attempts of the horse, when headstrong or vicious, are termed defences. ”

“ It is obvious that this lesson in jumping should be given either by, or under the supervision of a person experienced in side-saddle riding. The pupil may be allowed to hold a whip, but she should not use it, for she might acquire the bad habit of hitting her horse every time he jumps a fence. The whip in hunting should be kept for use at specially big fences, and as a reminder to the horse that he must exert his best efforts to clear them with safety. Even then it is employed as an aid, but not as a means of inflicting punishment. No good horsewoman cuts her horse about the body with a whip. ”

“ That the whip may not be lost if the hand should unwittingly lose its hold upon it, a loop of silk cord should be fastened firmly to the handle, and the hand passed through this loop. When riding, the whip should always be held in the right hand with a grasp sufficient to retain it, but not as if in a vise; the point should be directed downward, or toward the hind-leg of the horse, care being taken not to touch him with it except when necessary. ”

“ The dogs are guided, not by reins, but by a whip, the lash of which is from eighteen to thirty feet in length, and the handle only one foot in length, much like the stock-whip of Australia. A skilful driver makes but little use of the whip when he has a good team of dogs, but guides the animals partly by his voice, and partly by flinging the lash of the whip on one side or other of the leader, who perfectly understands the signal. ”

“ Greathorse in the centre of the Ring, with an enormous whip in his hand, cutting the air with slashing strokes, to excite the poor creatures, and when one of them, in spite of the efforts of the rider and the cracking of the lash, hesitated to jump, he looked as if he would have been glad to proceed from threats to blows! ”

“ I spurred forward my horse, reined him in with dragoon-like precision, and with the butt-end of my riding-whip dealt the would-be thief a blow which tumbled him in a heap at the foot of the stile.
With a terrible malediction, while the blood poured over his face, he staggered up, stooped his head, and thrusting his hat well over his eyes, was rushing on with uplifted cudgel, when I dexterously dealt him cut "one" full on the face, and made my horse rear for the purpose of riding him down. ”

“ To give a horse both spurs properly, the rider must change the posture of his legs, and, bending his knee, strike him with them at once, quickly and firmly. Some horses disregard the [144] whip, but fly at the spurs; others disregard the spurs, and are terrified at the whip; the rider consequently will apply that which is most likely to produce the desired effect. When, however, the whip or spurs are applied two or three times sharply to restive horses without effect, the rider must desist, and try other methods. ”