THE SPUR

Baucher says, somewhere, that to give an indifferent horseman the spur is as bad as to give a razor into the hands of a monkey. There is not one rider in ten thousand who knows how to give the sharp rowel, or is aware of its true uses. Improperly and too frequently applied, the spur makes the horse sluggish and never answers its real and full significance. The rider's leg and heel, or the sharp rowel when necessary—a rare occasion—gives the horseman control over the impulses which produce action, and over all the movements of the hind quarters. The sharp rowel, indeed any form of the leg aid, should never be given with a kick or a thrust. The lower part of the rider's leg should be carried back until the scratch or prick can be given by the elevation of the heel. To enable the rider to do this with precision requires much practice in the use of the leg below the knee, so that even in violent movements he may be able to give just the effect the occasion requires. The lower leg of the rider demands the forward movement, demands the movement to the rear, and that to either side, and also the collections, including the half-halt and the finished halt These results cannot be produced properly by a thoughtless or an unskilful use of an aid, which should always be applied at the right moment, with the right touch, and in the right place.

For the comfort, not to speak of the safety, of its rider, every horse should be taught to bear the prick of the spur without violent outbursts; and this is more important for the poor horseman than for him who is skilful. The most nervous animal may be taught to bear the application of the rowel with complacency, and without such discipline it would be impossible to make the gallop changes, and many other movements directed by the spur, smoothly and uniformly. On some occasion when the horse is going quietly, it having previously been accustomed to the pressure of the rider's legs and to that of the sides of his heels, the rider should carry a leg close to the flank of the horse and give a scratch with the rowel just behind the girths, as he is making a turn or demanding a bend of the croup. The animal should be quieted by caresses after this attack, and then the spur should be applied to the other side in the same way, and the horse be made much of. In time both spurs should be used in bringing the horse to a halt The finished horseman can demand the most perfect repose from the most spirited horse by the use of this instrument. Used as directed, the animal will not only be steady when the scratch is given, but also quick and ready in obedience to the milder forms of the leg aid, the pressure of the leg or of the side of the heel, and it will be rarely the case that the more severe form will be necessary. In riding my trained horses the rowels are removed from the spurs; and I have had horses that were always free and lively in their actions and perfect in manÈge movements that had not felt the sharp spur for many years. Some horses will "shut up" and refuse to increase their speed when punished with the spur; and in all cases its severe attacks are as useless as they are cruel.

To produce the impulses for movements forward or to the rear, this aid should be applied immediately behind the girths. There is an old French saying that a torn girth shows good horsemanship. To bend the croup, as in the side movements upon two paths and in the gallop changes, the spur should take touch on the flank four or five inches behind the girths.