Chapter 20

KINDNESS TO HORSES.

A great deal has been said and written about bad-tempered horses, but hardly enough anent the riders who make them sulky or irritable. Jorrocks' remark that "the less a man knows about an 'oss, the more he expects" is perfectly true; for such persons seem to regard horses as machines, and are ever ready to slash them with the whip across the head, or any other part on which they think they can inflict most pain, and then when animals resent such cruelty, they dub them bad-tempered brutes! There are people belonging to the show-off brigade, who punish horses without the slightest provocation, in order to attract general attention to their fine (?) horsemanship. Their method is first to job the animal in the mouth, and when he exhibits the resulting signs of irritated surprise, to "lamb" him well. Another kind of horse-spoiler is the man who, having been angered by some person, vents his pent-up rage on his unfortunate mount. Far be it from me to call down the wrath of the lords of creation on my thin head by denouncing them all as cruel monsters, but my experience is that, in the majority of cases, horses are rendered vicious by brutal treatment on the part of men. A horse, like a dog, has a keen sense of justice; he never forgets unmerited punishment, but is in a constant state of nervous anxiety when ridden by a man who treats him unkindly. A dog exhibits a similar feeling of distrust of a cruel master by crouching up to him when called, instead of being delighted to see him, and according him a frisky welcome. I will give an instance of what I once saw a bad-tempered man do with a bird in India. The animal was a small green parrot which the man had taught to perform a certain trick; but I don't know what it was, because the parrot did not execute it when asked to do so. The owner of the bird was a very mild private individual, who I thought was fond of animals, and who asked me to see the effect of his training on this parrot. He tried to get the little thing to perform, but as it would not, for some cause best known to itself, he actually wrung its neck in my presence! I shall never forget that incident, because it gave me one of the greatest shocks I have ever experienced. This was, of course, an exceptional case of temper, which I mention only to show to what extremities a violent burst of rage may carry a sane individual. We often hear of an uncontrollable temper, but I believe that every man can, if he likes, govern his rage, unless, of course, he is demented. If the vast majority of so-called vicious horses could write the story of their lives, what terrible tales of suffering and injustice they would relate! A horse, unlike a dog, bears punishment in silence, and any brutal creature may with impunity torture a horse, but if he tried to hurt a dog in like degree, the yelping of the animal would alarm the entire neighbourhood, and be almost certain to call forth a strong remonstrance from some lover of animals whose sympathy had been excited by hearing such piteous cries. People who are unacquainted with the inner life of stables, have no idea of the brutality which many grooms and strappers inflict on the animals in their charge. When we find a horse which is difficult to bridle, owing to the objection he has to allowing his muzzle or ears to be approached by the hand of man, we may be almost certain that this vice has been caused by the application of a twitch, either on his upper lip, or on one of his ears, a method of restraint which should never be employed. By laying down the law on this point of horse control, I in no way pose as an authority, but rely on what my husband, who is a veterinary surgeon, thinks on this matter. He tells me that during the two trips which he made in 1901 to South Africa in veterinary charge of remounts, he examined the mouths of over seven hundred horses and found that more than ten per cent. of them had been permanently injured, especially on the tongue, by the inhuman application of twitches. No one, veterinary surgeon or layman, is justified in using a twitch that will make the animal subsequently difficult to handle. If any of my readers wish to know how a twitch can be applied without this drawback, they should consult my husband's book, _Illustrated Horse Breaking_. Of all horses, a good hunter which passes into the hands of an incompetent master, is most to be pitied. The wretched condition of many hunters is truly pitiable. Their skins, instead of showing the glow of health, present a dried-up, kippered-herring appearance, and some of the poor things have the miserable half-starved look of Berlin cab horses, chiefly because they live as a rule in a constant state of thirst, owing to the objection their grooms have of allowing them a sufficiency of water to drink. Such parched animals will quickly tell their mistress this secret, by loudly neighing, if, when she goes near their boxes or stalls, she takes up and rattles a stable bucket. This thirst torture is abominable cruelty.

In this country, grooms, as a rule, are given a free hand in the feeding and management of horses, with frequently disastrous results, owing to the consequent system of commissions and tips from horse dealers, corn dealers, saddlers and shoeing smiths. In India and the Colonies, horse-owners usually take a practical interest in the welfare of their equine servants, which are therefore properly fed, and have a plentiful supply of fresh water to drink. Almost all hunting grooms keep horses in loose boxes tied up during the day, in order to prevent them lying down, soiling themselves and disarranging the bedding, which would, of course, entail trouble on the stable attendants. To such men, the good effect of liberty on legs and health is, of course, a negligible quantity. It is evident that the benefit of a loose box is nullified, if the animal in it is tied up. When we visit horses in their stable and find that they exhibit terror at our approach, we may conclude that their fear is due to bad management, because no horse which has been kindly treated, will show the slightest fear on being approached. A class of groom whom I would not care to keep, is the funky man who is continually yelling at his animals, and thus unfits them to obey our words of command when we ride them. Every horse-owner, even from a purely humane point of view, should spare a few minutes at night before turning in, to see that the animals have got plenty of hay and are not parched with thirst. I would strongly plead for our dumb friends in this matter, because, on more than one occasion, I have found my horses shut up for the night without "bite or sup," and by the welcome they always gave me, I know they were most grateful to me for my nightly visits, not only in neighing on hearing me speak, but also in dutifully obeying my voice when I rode them. If a horse, like a dog, gets to know that his mistress is his kindest friend, he will do his best to please her, and will remain steady at her command even under very great provocation to "play up." Here again Jorrocks' advice to know your horse comes in, for our stable friendship with our animals establishes a bond of unity which they will always remember and appreciate. Horses are very sporting animals, and the love of competition is inherent in them all, from the hack to the steeplechaser. When it is a question of a gallop, an old nag will put his best foot foremost and try to outdistance his companion, even though his chances of so doing may be extremely small. In hunting and racing we see horses gamely struggling on, often under severe punishment. To my mind, half the pleasure of witnessing equine competitions of speed and staying power is lost by the brutality of jockeys who, possibly from rage and disappointment at losing a race, often unmercifully punish their animals with whip and spurs, even when the first three horses have passed the winning post.

One of the most fruitful causes of bad mouths is the practice which many servants adopt of jerking the reins, when a horse which they are holding becomes restless, even when the inquietude consists merely in looking at passing objects. Men who adopt this barbarous method of control, never accompany the action of their hand with the voice, and, consequently, the unfortunate animal does not know why he is punished. He naturally connects any pressure of the mouth-piece on the bars of his mouth with the idea of pain, from which he tries to escape by throwing up his head. Hence, instead of going freely up to his bit, and thus putting himself in touch with his rider, he will fight against it and will be unpleasant, if not dangerous, to ride.

There have been many funny books written about horsemanship! In a very incompetent book on this subject, the author states: "In riding, if a horse does not nag himself properly, take short hold of the reins with your left hand, lean back in the saddle, with a light whip or stick give him three or four strokes right and left down his shoulders, at the same time holding the reins tight so that he does not go from under you; he will soon alter his pace. That requires practice, with nerve and judgment." I think that a person who would be guilty of such a display of "nerve and judgment" deserves similar punishment with the whip. It is in the hands of such men that horses earn the reputation of being bad-tempered. This writer also tells us "not to give water before feeding, as it weakens the saliva in a horse's mouth!" Whyte Melville owed his success in horse management to the adoption of kind and humane methods. All those who have broken and ridden young horses know how thoroughly sound is his advice:--"From the day you slip a halter over his ears he should be encouraged to look to you, like a child, for all his little wants and simple pleasures. He should come cantering up from the farthest corner in the paddock when he hears your voice, should ask to have his nose rubbed, his head stroked, his neck patted, with those honest pleading looks which will make the confidence of a dumb creature so touching; and before a roller has been put on his back, or a snaffle in his mouth, he should be convinced that everything you do to him is right, and that it is impossible for _you_, his best friend, to cause him the least uneasiness or harm.

"I once owned a mare that would push her nose into my pockets in search of bread and sugar, would lick my face and hands like a dog, or suffer me to cling to any part of her limbs and body while she stood perfectly motionless. On one occasion, when I hung up in the stirrup after a fall, she never stirred on rising, till by a succession of laborious and ludicrous efforts I could swing myself back into the saddle, with my foot still fast, though hounds were running hard, and she loved hunting dearly in her heart. As a friend remarked at the time, 'The little mare seems very fond of you, or there might have been a bother'! Now this affection was but the result of petting, sugar, kind and encouraging words, particularly at her fences, and a rigid abstinence from abuse of the bridle and the spur."

Many animal lovers, especially those who have had no personal experience in studying the peculiarities of our dumb servants, consider that all horses behave well if kindly treated. This belief has a certain foundation in fact, in the case of amiable animals which appreciate good usage. There are, however, many horses, especially among the half-bred hackney class of riding animal, possessed of bitter obstinacy which no amount of kindness on our part can subdue. Some of these animals allow us to get on their backs and carry us quietly, so long as we permit them to proceed at their desired pace; but as soon as we attempt to assert ourselves in this matter, they display their sullen tempers in various ways, either by plunging, pulling, or setting up other defences against our authority. If we insist on our orders being obeyed, they show fight, or more usually a sullen nagging resistance that continues the whole time we remain on their backs, and they carry out the same programme every time we ride them. With such nasty tempered brutes, breaking is of no avail, for they are quiet as long as we allow them to set the pace and carry us as they like. A breaker who is a good horseman and possessed of extreme tact and patience, which of course is necessary, may continue the fight longer than an ordinary rider cares to do, but he can produce no permanent result, for he is unable to give the animal a new heart. Therefore, when we consider the important question of manners in a horse, we should first learn all we can about the disposition and temper of the animal both in and out of the stable. Given a sound foundation to work upon, that is to say, a placid generous tempered horse, we may confidently set to work in polishing up his manners as may be required, but with the sullen brutes I have described, it is a useless task. We find much the same thing in some human beings. George Moore, in his novel, _Esther Waters_, graphically depicts the sullen obstinacy of a low class of person who will "neither lead nor drive." I think that this dogged obstinacy of temper is rarely met with among thoroughbred, or even well-bred horses, for I have found it to exist in its worst form only among half-breds, and especially among those which have hackney blood in their veins. As a rule, a bad-tempered thoroughbred does not sulk, he fights openly, says his say, like an irritated master or mistress, and, having relieved his mind, lets the matter drop, and does not nurture it up for future use, like the servants in the kitchen. My advice to any lady who is trying to win the regard of a sullen brute of this class, would be to give up the task as hopeless, get rid of him, and expend her kindness on an animal more worthy of it. No horse that will not "chum" with you, by ready obedience without asserting himself at every step he takes, is worth his keep, and it is no pleasure to either man or woman to ride such animals, however excellent both the rider's temper and horsemanship may be.

I would recommend any lady who is about to purchase a horse, to do her best to find out, not only if the animal is quiet, but if his former owner was also amiable, and on no account to buy a horse which has been spoiled by a bad-tempered man, or woman, supposing that any of my sex is sour-tempered, which I very much doubt, unless, of course, she had been spoiled by a vicious male! We should bear in mind that absolute perfection, either among humans or equines, is unattainable, and, as Jorrocks points out: "If his 'oss is not so good as he might be, let him cherish the reflection that he might have been far worse!"

I think that the native syces of India, like the Russian _ishvoshik_ (cabman), treat their equine charges with far greater sympathy and kindness than our English grooms and cab-drivers do. In India we ride stallions; my grey Arab, Fig. 7, was an entire, and was so kind and gentle that he was always most careful not to tread on his syce who slept in his box with him, rolled up in a corner, like a bundle of old clothes. When Gowlasher, which was the man's name, groomed him, the pony would playfully catch his arm between his teeth and make a pretence of biting it, but he never allowed his teeth to hurt the skin. Gowlasher liked to show me the funny little tricks of this animal; but if Freddie had attempted to touch the arm of an English groom, he would have been promptly struck across the muzzle, because his playfulness would have been misunderstood.

It is not the custom in this country to hunt or hack stallions, which are often led out for exercise with two men hanging on to their heads, both armed with stout sticks. Magic, a grey Arab entire, which we brought home from India and sold to Colonel Walker, of Gateacre, who won several pony races with him, carried me quietly in the Row, and his new owner found him a very clever polo pony. When passing through London on my return from a visit to Russia, we put up at an hotel in Oxford Street, where the night was rendered hideous to me by the brutal slashing of cab horses; for one hears nothing of that kind in Russia, and yet we English people pride ourselves on being a horse-loving nation! The speed of Orlov trotters is very great, but no whip is used in driving them; the coachmen drive with a rein in each hand, like the drivers of American trotters, and shout after the manner of firemen to clear the road, for these animals seem to require a good deal of holding. The Russian cabby uses a small whip like an ordinary dog-whip, which he tucks away somewhere under his seat, and when his horse is taking things too easy, it is only necessary for him to show it him, for he is driven without blinkers, to cause him to at once hasten his pace. Very often the man is unprovided even with this toy thing, in which case he obtains a similar result by abusing the animal's relations! During the whole time that I was in Russia, I never once saw a cabby hurt his horse with the whip. Russia is the last country to which one would go to learn anything about the treatment of human beings, knowing what we do of her past and present history; but we certainly should emulate the Russian coachmen in their kindness to horses, and not shock our neighbours by exhibitions of brutality which may be seen daily in the London streets.