Hiero the Tyrant and Other Treatises (Penguin Classics)

by Xenophon

  Further essential pieces of information are whether the horse can quickly be pulled up to a halt from a gallop, and whether there is any difficulty in getting it to turn.

  [6] It is worth testing whether alerting the horse with a blow makes any difference to its willingness to obey a command. Although a slave or an armed force which is incapable of taking orders is useless, a disobedient horse is worse than useless: it often even has the same effect as a traitor.

  [7] Now, I have been assuming that the horse is being bought for use in war, and it should therefore be put through all the tests that actual warfare will put it through. In other words, it should be made to jump across ditches and over walls, and leap up and down banks, and it should also be tested by being ridden uphill and downhill and along the faces of slopes.3 All these tests will prove whether or not it has a

  [8] strong character and a sound body. However, a horse that does not perform very well at these trials need not be rejected, because it is often not incapacity but lack of experience of these hazards that makes it fail. Once it has gained the training, conditioning and practice, it might perform well, as long as it is basically sound and not simply a [9] bad horse. But you need to exercise caution in the case of horses which are temperamentally nervous, because you will never be able to do any harm to the enemy from the back of an over-timid horse; often, in fact, such horses throw their riders and get them into the most terrible trouble.

  You must also find out whether the horse is intolerant either of [10] other horses or of people, and whether it is skittish, because all these things prove troublesome for an owner.

  An even better way, by far, of determining whether the horse [11] exhibits signs of wilfulness, such as refusing to take the bit or let itself be mounted, is to try to carry out the preliminaries of a ride all over again, after the horse has already completed its work. Any horse that willingly submits to further exertions when tired is giving a clear indication of strength of character.

  In short, then, if a horse has good feet and a gentle disposition, if [12] it is fairly fast, if it is willing and able to endure hard physical work, and above all if it is obedient, this is a horse one may reasonably expect to give the least possible trouble and to be particularly good at keeping its rider safe in battle. However, those which are either so sluggish that they often need urging on, or so high-spirited that they often need careful coaxing, make constant demands on a rider’s hands and adversely affect his morale in times of danger.

  CHAPTER 4

  So now you have bought a horse you like and brought it home. The [1] stable there should be located so as to afford the owner the maximum number of opportunities of seeing the horse. It is also worth having the stall constructed in such a way that it is just as impossible for the horse’s food to be stolen from its manger as it is for the master’s to be stolen from his storeroom.1 Carelessness in this respect is carelessness about oneself, to my mind, for the obvious reason that in times of danger an owner entrusts his life to his horse. A secure stall is advisable [2] not just to prevent the theft of the horse’s food, but also to make it clear when the horse is not finishing its food.* If you notice this happening, you can be sure that the horse either needs treatment for an excess of blood in its body, or is exhausted and needs a rest, or is coming down with barley-colic or some other ailment. Horses are no different from human beings in the sense that it is always easier to cure an ailment when it is just beginning than when it has taken hold and not been properly treated.2

  [3] It is just as important to care for the horse’s feet as it is to ensure its general physical fitness by seeing that it is fed and exercised. Even naturally good hoofs are damaged by damp and slippery conditions in the stable. To avoid dampness, stables should have a drainage-channel,* and to avoid slipperiness, they should have tight-fitting paving-stones, each about the size of a hoof, on the ground; stables with these features also harden up horses’ hoofs as they stand in them.

  [4] The next points to note are that the horse should be taken somewhere out of the stable by the groom to be rubbed down, and should be untied from its manger after the morning feed, so that it has a greater appetite for its evening meal. The way to make the best kind of yard outside the stable – the one which would most effectively toughen up the horse’s feet – is to spread on the ground four or five cartloads of round stones, each big enough to fit in your hand and about a mina in weight,3 and surround them with a border of iron to stop them dispersing. Standing on this would be as good for the horse’s feet as spending a portion of every day walking on a stony road, [5] because* when it is being rubbed down, and when it is being bothered by flies, it inevitably makes the same movements with its hoofs as it does when walking. This kind of scattered-stone surface also toughens up the frogs on its feet.

  Just as much care should be taken to ensure the softness of a horse’s mouth as is taken to ensure the hardness of its hoofs. Whatever softens a person’s flesh also softens a horse’s mouth.4

  CHAPTER 5

  [1] In my opinion, it is also a sign of a true horseman to have taught his groom the proper way to manage a horse. In the first place, then, the groom should know never to knot the halter by which the horse is tied to its manger at the point where the headstall is worn. The reason for this is that if the halter irritates the horse’s ears, the horse will be inclined to rub its head against the manger. This often produces sores, and if these parts are sore the horse is bound to be more difficult when it comes to having its bridle put on and being rubbed down.

  Another sound instruction for the groom is to remove the horse’s [2] dung and bedding to a single spot every day; this will make dumping it less arduous and at the same time will help the horse.1

  It is also important for the groom to be aware that when taking the [3] horse out for a rub-down or a roll he should put a muzzle on it. In fact, the horse has to be muzzled whenever it is taken anywhere unbridled, because a muzzle stops it biting without impeding its breathing, and also goes a long way towards eliminating even its propensity to bite.

  The horse has to be tied to a point higher than its head, because [4] its instinctive response to any irritant in the region of its face is to toss its head upwards, and so, if it is tied up in the way I have recommended, the rope will simply go slack rather than snapping when the horse tosses its head.

  The rub-down should start with the head and mane, since there is [5] no point in cleaning the lower parts of its body if the upper parts are still dirty. Next, in rubbing down the rest of the horse’s body, the groom should use his set of instruments first to make the horse’s coat stand up* and then to brush the dust out following the lie of the hair. However, he must not use any instrument for the hair on the spine, but just rub and smooth it down with his hands, following the direction in which the hair naturally grows; this method will avoid impairing the horse’s seat. Also, a horse’s head is bony, so it would hurt the horse to have its head cleaned with anything made out of metal or wood; the groom should therefore thoroughly wash its head with water.

  The forelock should be rinsed with water as well. Despite the length [6] of these hairs, they do not stop the horse seeing; their function is to brush pests away from its eyes, and we should appreciate that the gods have given horses these hairs instead of the long ears they gave donkeys and mules to protect their eyes. The tail and the mane should be [7] washed too, since it is important for these hairs to grow. The tail hairs need to grow so that the horse can reach as far as possible to brush pests away, and the mane so that the rider has plenty to grab hold of

  [8] when mounting. The other reason the gods gave horses manes (and the same goes for forelocks and tails) was for display. Proof of this is that brood mares with long manes generally refuse to be covered by donkeys. This in fact is why it is the universal practice of mule-breeders to cut the mares’ manes to prepare them for being mated.2

  [9] I do not recommend washing down the horse’s legs; so far from doing any good, its hoofs ar
e impaired by daily soaking. It is a good idea to cut down on cleaning the underside of the belly as well, which not only causes the horse a great deal of distress, but also the cleaner [10] these parts become, the more pests gather under the belly. And even if a lot of trouble has been taken over cleaning these parts, no sooner has the horse been led out than there is no difference between it and any other dirty horse. These parts should be left alone, then; and rubbing down the legs with just the hands is enough.

  CHAPTER 6

  [1] I will now go on to explain how to rub down a horse with the least danger to oneself and the most benefit to the horse.* The point is that if you face in the same direction as the horse while cleaning him, you run the risk of being struck in the face by both the knee and the [2] hoof. However, if you face in the opposite direction when cleaning the horse and rub it down while sitting clear of its legs, on a level with its shoulder-blade, this will enable you to avoid being hurt, and you can also attend to the frogs by turning up the hoof. A similar method should be employed in cleaning the hind legs.

  [3] The man who takes care of the horse should be aware that when carrying out this and all the other jobs that need doing he should as much as possible avoid approaching the animal from a position directly opposite the animal’s head or tail. For if the horse means mischief, these are the two points at which it can get the better of a human being. Approaching it from the side, however, is not only the least risky way to go about it, but also the way to get the largest number of jobs done.

  Walking with the horse behind you when it is on a leading-rein [4] seems to me to be a bad idea, because it makes it almost impossible for one to protect oneself, while at the same time it allows the horse almost total freedom to do anything it wants. However, I also [5] disapprove of training the horse to go out a long way in front of the leading-rein, because it allows the horse to get up to mischief on either side, as it pleases, and also to turn around until it is facing the person holding the leading-rein. Moreover, if several horses are [6] involved, how could one stop them getting in one another’s way? No, a horse should get used to having the person with the leading-rein by its side, because in this position it has little chance of doing mischief either to other horses or to people, and is also conveniently placed for the rider to mount up, should he ever suddenly need to.

  The correct way for the groom to put the bridle on is as follows. [7] First he should approach the horse from the left; next he should pass the reins over the horse’s head and let them rest on its withers, and then take the headstall in his right hand and offer the bit with his left hand. If the horse accepts the bit, he should obviously put on the rest [8] of the bridle at this point; if it refuses to open its mouth, he must present the bit to the horse’s teeth and push* the thumb of his left hand into the horse’s mouth. Most horses open their mouths under these circumstances, but if it still refuses to take the bit, he should press the horse’s lip against its tush; it is extremely rare for a horse not to take the bit when treated like that.

  There are other matters for the groom to learn. First, he should [9] never lead the horse by just one rein, because this makes it less responsive to the bit on one side of its mouth than the other. Second, he should know the correct height of the bit in the mouth. If the bit presses against the corners of the mouth, it hardens the mouth and desensitizes it; if it falls too close to the front of the mouth the horse can take the bit between its teeth and refuse to obey.

  The groom should also take careful note of whether or not the [10] horse accepts the bit easily when it realizes that it is going to have to exert itself. Willingness to take the bit is so crucial that a horse which [11] refuses the bit is completely useless. If the horse wears a bridle not just when about to work, but also while being led to its feed and being brought home after a ride, it would not be at all odd to find it seizing the bit of its own accord when it is offered.

  [12] It is also worth the groom knowing how to give a leg-up in the Persian fashion,1 not just so that the actual owner has someone to get him up on to the horse’s back easily if he is rather old or is ever weak from illness, but also so that the owner can help out anyone else who needs a man to give him a leg-up.

  [13] The single most important precept and lesson is never, in any of one’s dealings with the horse, to get angry with it. The point is that anger and foresight do not go together, and so we often do something [14] that we are bound to regret later.2 Suppose the horse is nervous of something and refuses to go near it; then you have to teach it not to be frightened of this thing. The best way to do so is to have a stout-hearted horse set an example,* but failing that you should touch the supposedly frightening object yourself and gently lead the horse [15] towards it. Compulsion and blows only make the horse more afraid, because any harsh measures that are inflicted on a horse in such a situation are thought by the horse to be caused by whatever it is that it is wary of.

  [16] When a groom hands a horse over to a rider, I do not think there is anything wrong with his knowing how to get the horse to crouch, to make it easy for the rider to mount, but I do think that a rider should practise and acquire the ability to mount without the horse making it simple for him. After all, different horses will come his way on different occasions, and the same horse will not always serve him in the same way.

  CHAPTER 7

  [1] So now the groom has handed the horse over and you are poised to mount.* I shall next describe how a rider should go about his horsemanship to make things most comfortable for both himself and his horse. First, then, he should take the lead-rope, which is attached either to the chin-strap or to the cavesson,1 in his left hand, and hold it ready with enough slack so that whether he intends to mount by grasping the mane near the ears or by vaulting on with the help of a spear, he will not jerk the horse. With his right hand he should take hold of the reins at the withers, along with a handful of mane too, to make absolutely sure that as he mounts he does not jerk the horse’s mouth with the bit.

  In taking off from the ground to mount, the left hand should be [2] used to pull oneself up, while the right arm is kept at full stretch and helps the upward movement. This method of mounting will enable a rider to avoid presenting an unsightly figure even from behind by bending his left leg. The knee of the right leg should not touch the horse’s back, but the lower leg should pass cleanly over to the right side of the horse. Once the foot has been brought over, the buttocks can come to rest on the horse.

  It may be that the horseman is using his left hand to lead the horse [3] and his right hand to hold his spear, and so it is advisable, in my opinion, to practise vaulting on to the horse from the right as well. There is nothing extra to learn for this; he just has to use the left side of his body for what his right side did before, and his right side for what his left side did before. The reason why I recommend learning [4] this method of mounting as well is that he would be fully prepared as soon as he is up on the horse’s back, in case he needed suddenly to engage the enemy.

  Once seated, whether he is riding bareback or using a horse-cloth, [5] it seems to me that the typical posture of sitting in a chair is to be avoided. The position to take is as if he were standing upright with his legs apart. This position will enable him to get a firmer grip on the horse with his thighs, and since he has a straight back he will be able, should the need arise, to put more power into throwing a javelin or delivering a blow from the back of the horse.

  The lower leg, along with the foot, should hang slackly from the [6] knee. A stiff leg could get broken if it was struck by anything, but a flexible lower leg will simply be pushed back by anything it encounters without altering the position of the thigh. A rider should also acquire [7] the habit of keeping the upper part of his body, from his hips upwards, as relaxed as possible, because this will enable him to exert himself for longer and he will be less likely to fall off if someone pulls or pushes him.

  [8] So now our rider is seated. The first thing for him to do is teach his horse to stand sti
ll while he draws out from under himself, if he needs to, any bunched-up clothing,2 makes the* reins of equal length and finds the most comfortable grip on his spear. The next point to note is that he should keep his left arm close in to his side, not just because in this position a rider is as trim as possible, but also because [9] there is no more powerful position for his hand. The best reins, to my mind, are of equal length, and are not weak or slippery or so thick that the rider cannot when necessary hold his spear in his hand as well.

  [10] Now the rider gives the horse the signal to move forward. He should start the horse at a walk, because then the transition is as smooth as it may be. If the horse lets its head droop, the rider should make the reins shorter; if it holds its head too high, he should lengthen the [11] reins. That way he will allow the horse to look its most elegant. When the horse moves up from a walk to its natural trot it will do so with hardly any distress, its body will be supple and relaxed, and it will proceed comfortably to a pace where it can be urged into a gallop. Now, the approved way is to lead with the left, and the best way to make sure this happens is to use your stick to move the horse up from [12] a trot to a gallop* just when it is rising with the right,** because the next thing it is going to do is raise its left foreleg, so that is the side it will lead with; it will take the initial step of the new gait just when it turns back to the left. For a horse naturally leads with the right when turned to the right and with the left when turned to the left.3

  [13] I set a great deal of store by the exercise called the ‘chain’, since it gets the horse used to bending to both the left and the right. It is also a good idea to change the direction of your ride, so that both sides of the horse’s mouth are worked equally in the course of taking first [14] one and then the other direction. If the ends of the chain are squared off rather than rounded, it is even more valuable, because the horse will be happier to turn a corner when it has had enough of a straight line, and one and the same exercise will provide it with practice both [15] at following a straight course and at turning. You will have to check the horse at the turns, because it is neither easy nor safe for it to make a tight turn at speed, especially if the ground is hard or treacherous. When checking the horse, the rider should make absolutely sure that [16] his use of the bit does not make the horse lean at all, and that he does not lean over himself either, because otherwise I can assure him that it will take hardly anything to bring both himself and his horse to the ground. As soon as the horse has come out of the turn and is facing [17] the straight, you should get it to speed up, because during a battle, obviously, such turns precede either the pursuit or the retreat. So it is worth having the horse practise taking a fast pace once it has completed a turn.