On the Art of Horsemanship

Besides, the mane, forelock and tail have been given to the horse by the gods as an ornament. A proof of this is that brood mares herding together, so long as they have fine manes,[*](Several allusions to this erroneous belief of the Greeks are collected by the commentators.) are reluctant to be covered by asses; for which reason all breeders of mules cut off the manes of the mares for covering.

Washing down of the legs we disapprove of; it does no good, and the hoofs are injured by being wetted every day. Excessive cleaning under the belly also should be diminished; for this worries the horse very much, and the cleaner these parts are, the more they collect under the belly things offensive to it;[*](The text shows that the parts washed were not thoroughly dried: indeed, efficient drying cloths were not used. See Pollux 1.185.)

and notwithstanding all the pains that may be taken with these parts, the horse is no sooner led out than he looks much the same as an unwashed animal. So these operations should be omitted; and as for the rubbing of the legs, it is enough to do it with the bare hands.

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.

And if several horses together are driven in this fashion, how can they possibly be kept from interfering with one another? But a horse that is accustomed to being led from the side will have least power of doing harm either to horses or to men, and will be in the handiest position for the rider should he want to mount quickly.

In order to put the bit in properly, first let the groom approach on the near side of the horse. Then let him throw the reins over the head and drop them on the withers, and next lift the headstall with the right hand and offer the bit with the left.

If he takes the bit, of course the bridle should be put on. But if he refuses to open his mouth, the man must hold the bit to his teeth and put the thumb of the left hand in the horse’s jaw. Most horses open the mouth when this is done. If he still resists, the man should squeeze his lip against the tusk; and very few resist when they are treated in this way.

The groom should also be instructed in the following points: first, never to lead the horse on the rein—that gives the horse a hard mouth on one side—and secondly, what is the correct distance from the bit to the jaws. For if it is too high up, it hardens the mouth so that it loses its sensitiveness; and if it lies too low in the mouth, it gives the horse power to take it between his teeth and refuse to obey.