Horsewhipping

“ The small equestrian had lost her control of her animal,—if control she had ever had,—and he had taken fright or become suddenly vicious; keeping just so far in advance of the pursuer as to avoid capture, and dancing upon his hind legs between whiles, in a manner inimical to any rider’s safety and doubly dangerous to one so young as she who still clung to her saddle, her fingers clasping the pommel in the rigidity of fear. ”

“ Such persons are easily unseated on the horse shying, or jumping about in a playful mood; then, in their endeavours to recover themselves, they slacken their reins, and at the same time unintentionally goad him with their spurs, or strike him with their whip. In clutching at the reins, the horse becoming frightened, naturally increases his speed, until, from the continued irritation of whip and spur, in the terrified horseman’s futile attempts to subdue him, the horse becomes maddened with terror and excitement, and ultimately throws his rider. ”

“ With a powerful whip the man belabours the struggling steed, and with a horseman riding on either side to guide the wild beast, the trio gallop off across the plain at a break-neck pace. Before this mad race is started, the untamed one struggles and bucks to rid himself of the unnatural encumbrance. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ He cracks his whip; the horses throw up their heads and break into a canter; the cavaliers turn pea-green about the chops, let go the reins and clutch saddle-pommels.
The leading horse, a rakish chestnut, finding his head free at last and being heartily fed-up with the whole business, suddenly bolts out of the manège and legs it across the meadow, en route for stables and tea. ”

“ By whipping the fore legs he is made gradually to rise on the hind ones. The horse finds it difficult at first, but judicious whipping gets him up in the air at last and the sight of the threatening whip keeps him there as long as there is strength in his haunches to keep him up. ”

“ 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! ”

“ Then, in order to take horses as we find them, of all kinds, and to train them to our liking, we will always take with us, when we go into a stable to train a colt, a long switch whip (whalebone buggy-whips are the best) , with a good silk cracker, so as to cut keenly and make a sharp report, which, if handled with dexterity, and rightly applied, accompanied with a sharp fierce word, will be sufficient to enliven the spirits of any horse. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Some riders are afraid to whip the horse while he is in the act of shying, but will lay on the lash after he has passed the cause of his dread; this will not only be "a tardy vengeance that crowns a cowardly act," but will cause the animal to conclude that he [276] has done wrong in passing by, and on the next occasion for alarm he will either delay as long as possible in dread of the remembered whipping, or else will plunge quickly by the object, and, perhaps, add to the vice of shying that of running away. ”

“ It is useless to whip a horse after stumbling (as it is, also, after shying) ; for, it is clear, he would not run the risk of breaking his knees, or his nose, if he could help it. If a horse be constantly punished for stumbling, the moment he has recovered from a false step, he will start forward, flurried and disunited, in fear of the whip, and not only put the rider to inconvenience, but run the risk of a repetition of his mishap, before he regains his self-possession. ”

“ Winship.
“Yes; but not so many as you would suppose, for the horsemanship, in its particular way, is something wonderful. When an ugly steer is lassoed and he feels the reata or lariat round his neck, he sometimes turns and ‘makes’ for the horse, and unless the vaquero is particularly skilful he will be gored and his horse too; but he gives a dexterous turn to the lariat, the animal steps over it, gets tangled and thrown. Frequently an animal breaks a horn or a leg. Sometimes one fall is not enough; the steer jumps up and pursues the horse. ”

“ The whip, as I have before remarked, should be employed as an aid and not as a means of inflicting pain. A lady should not bustle her horse at his fences, except perhaps at water, for every horse has his own pace at which he prefers to jump, and the clever sort will always manage to put in a short stride, or take a longer one at the last moment, if they find that the strides they are using will not bring them up to the correct spot from which to take off. In hunting, the fences are generally taken at a canter, and the pace is increased in galloping over the open ground. ”

“ The whip makes it go, more from habit than from pain. Its coat has become almost callous to minor stings. The blind and staggering fly in autumn might come to die against its cheek.
Of a pair of hackney-coach horses, one so much resembles the other that it seems unnecessary for them to compare notes. They have that within them which is beyond the comparative. They no longer bend their heads towards each other as they go. They stand together as if unconscious of one another's company. But they are not.
An old horse misses his companion, like an old man. ”

“ The whip being a requisite aid in the management and guidance of the horse, should be used as an instrument of correction, and by no means to be played with, nor flourished about. When using the whip for punishment, scold at the same time; by this means, with a cross word will be associated the idea of chastisement. However, far more can be achieved by kindness than by any harsh measure; but when such instances occur that it is absolutely necessary, never hesitate to punish well, so that the animal may thoroughly understand that it is punishment that is meant for his fault—not play. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ If he move, give him a cut with the whip, and put him back to the same spot from which he started. If he stands, caress him as before, and continue gentling him in this way until you can get round him without making him move. Keep walking around him, increasing your pace, and only touch him occasionally. Enlarge your circle as you walk around, and if he then moves, give him another cut with the whip, and put him back to his place. If he stands, go to him frequently and caress him, and then walk around him again. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Every hunting-whip should have a lash, but it need not be long. The lash may be required to rouse a hound under your horse’s feet, or turn the pack; as for whipping off the pack from the fox in the absence of the huntsman, the whips and the master, that is an event that happens to one per cent of the field once in a lifetime, although it is a common and favourite anecdote after dinner. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The way we used to train our horses to start was by having some one stand behind them with a whip and strike them just as we jumped into the saddle. This taught both horse and rider to be very agile, as we would have to get on our horses almost on the dead run when in close quarters with the Indians. ”

“ Sometimes the crack of the whip would make the horses start, and the young men, her brothers, who would try to frighten their sister, found, instead of so doing, that it only increased the pleasure of her ride. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When they came near he perceived that the horseman had the corpse of a dead man behind him, flung carelessly over the crupper, with the head and arms hanging over on one side, and the feet and legs on the other. When near the river, the horseman wheeled his horse and backed it to the brink. His companions then took the body from behind him, swung it to and fro several times to give it greater impetus, and then cast it as far as they could into the Tiber. The horseman then turned and gazed upon the shining surface of the river, upon which the moon was now pouring a flood of light. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It must be observed that the whip should never be used but in case of necessity. Indeed, one of the best proofs of a good coachman is to see his right arm still; and although, for the safety of his coach, he ought to be able to punish a horse when he requires punishment, yet he should, on all accounts, be as sparing of it as he can. Horses may be whipped till they become callous to whipping, and therefore slow. ”

“ It will not be long before he discovers that the way to avoid the whip is to come straight to you, and he will do so at the least motion of it. Take advantage of this to make him curve his neck, put his head in the proper perpendicular position, and bring his haunches under him, by holding him back with the curb-reins as he presses towards you. This lesson, to a careless observer, looks rather pretty than useful, but is indispensable for your purpose, for it gives you the means of preventing the horse from backing while you are teaching him the flexions of the jaw and of the neck. ”