On the Art of Horsemanship

We will now show how one may rub down a horse with least danger to oneself and most advantage to the horse. If in cleaning him[*](What follows refers to cleaning the fore-legs, to which a reference has doubtless dropped out of the text.) the man faces in the same direction as the horse, he runs the risk of getting a blow in the face from his knee and his hoof.

But if he faces in the opposite direction to the horse and sits by the shoulder out of reach of his leg when he cleans him, and rubs him down so, then he will come to no harm, and can also attend to the horse’s frog by lifting up the hoof.[*](On the vase referred to in the Introduction (p. 34) the groom examining his frog is crouching under the horse and facing the same way.) Let him do exactly the same in cleaning the hind-legs.

The man employed about the horse is to know that in these operations and in all that he has to do he must be very chary of approaching from the head or tail to do his work. For if the horse attempts to show mischief he has the man in his power in both these directions; but if he approaches from the side he can manage the horse with least danger to himself and in the best manner.

When it is necessary to lead the horse, we do not approve of leading him behind one for this reason, that the man leading him is then least able to take care of himself while the horse has the utmost freedom to do whatever he chooses.

On the other hand we also disapprove of training the horse to go in front on a long lead for the following reasons: the horse has the power of misbehaving on either side as he chooses, and has also the power of turning round and facing his driver.