horsemanship.pdf

Horsemanship

____________________

Xenophon

Translation by H. G. Dakyns

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Claiming to have attained some proficiency in

horsemanship[1] ourselves, as the result of long experience in the

field, our wish is to explain, for the benefit of our younger friends,

what we conceive to be the most correct method of dealing with

horses.

[1] Lit. "Since, through the accident of having for a long time

'ridden' ourselves, we believe we have become proficients in

horsemanship, we wish to show to our younger friends how, as we

conceive the matter, they will proceed most correctly in dealing

with horses." {ippeuein} in the case of Xenophon = serve as a

{ippeus}, whether technically as an Athenian "knight" or more

particularly in reference to his organisation of a troop of cavalry

during "the retreat" ("Anab." III. iii. 8-20), and, as is commonly

believed, while serving under Agesilaus ("Hell." III. iv. 14) in

Asia, 396, 395 B.C.

There is, it is true, a treatise on horsemanship written by Simon,

the same who dedicated the bronze horse near the Eleusinion in

Athens[2] with a representation of his exploits engraved in relief on

the pedestal.[3] But we shall not on that account expunge from

our treatise any conclusions in which we happen to agree with that

author; on the contrary we shall hand them on with still greater

pleasure to our friends, in the belief that we shall only gain in

authority from the fact that so great an expert in horsemanship held

similar views to our own; whilst with regard to matters omitted in

his treatise, we shall endeavour to supply them.

[2] L. Dind. [in Athens]. The Eleusinion. For the position of this

sanctuary of Demeter and Kore see Leake, "Top. of Athens," i. p.

296 foll. For Simon see Sauppe, vol. v. Praef. to "de R. E." p.

230; L. Dind. Praef. "Xen. Opusc." p. xx.; Dr. Morris H. Morgan,

"The Art of Horsemanship by Xenophon," p. 119 foll. A fragment

of the work referred to, {peri eidous kai ekloges ippon}, exists.

The MS. is in the library of Emmanual Coll. Cant. It so happens

that one of the hipparchs (?) appealed to by Demosthenes in

Arist. "Knights," 242,

{andres ippes, paragenesthe nun o kairos, o Simon, o Panaiti, ouk

elate pros to dexion keras};

bears the name.

[3] Lit. "and carved on the pedestal a representation of his own

performances."

As our first topic we shall deal with the question, how a man may

best avoid being cheated in the purchase of a horse.

Take the case of a foal as yet unbroken: it is plain that our

scrutiny must begin with the body; an animal that has never yet

been mounted can but present the vaguest indications of spirit.

Confining ourselves therefore to the body, the first point to

examine, we maintain, will be the feet. Just as a house would be of

little use, however beautiful its upper stories, if the underlying

foundations were not what they ought to be, so there is little use to

be extracted from a horse, and in particular a war-horse,[4] if

unsound in his feet, however excellent his other points; since he

could not turn a single one of them to good account.[5]

[4] Or, "and that a charger, we will suppose." For the simile see

"Mem." III. i. 7.

[5] Cf. Hor. "Sat." I. ii. 86:

regibus hic mos est: ubi equos mercantur, opertos inspiciunt, ne, si

facies, ut saepe, decora molli fulta pede est, emptorem inducat

hiantem, quod pulchrae clunes, breve quod caput, ardua cervix.

and see Virg. "Georg." iii. 72 foll.

In testing the feet the first thing to examine will be the

horny portion of the hoof. For soundness of foot a thick horn is far

better than a thin. Again it is important to notice whether the hoofs

are high both before and behind, or flat to the ground; for a high

hoof keeps the "frog,"[6] as it is called, well off the ground;

whereas a low hoof treads equally with the stoutest and softest part

of the foot alike, the gait resembling that of a bandy-legged man.[7]

"You may tell a good foot clearly by the ring," says Simon

happily;[8] for the hollow hoof rings like a cymbal against the solid

earth.[9]

[6] Lit. "the swallow."

[7] Al. "a knock-kneed person." See Stonehenge, "The Horse" (ed.

1892), pp. 3, 9.

[8] Or, "and he is right."

[9] Cf. Virg. "Georg." iii. 88; Hor. "Epod." xvi. 12.

And now that we have begun with the feet, let us ascend from

this point to the rest of the body. The bones[10] above the hoof and

below the fetlock must not be too straight, like those of a goat;

through not being properly elastic,[11] legs of this type will jar the

rider, and are more liable to become inflamed. On the other hand,

these bones must not be too low, or else the fetlock will be abraded

or lacerated when the horse is galloped over clods and stones.

[10] i.e. "the pasterns ({mesokunia}) and the coffin should be

'sloping.'"

[11] Or, "being too inflexible." Lit. "giving blow for blow, overuch

like anvil to hammer."

The bones of the shanks[12] ought to be thick, being as they are

the columns on which the body rests; thick in themselves, that is,

not puffed out with veins or flesh; or else in riding over hard

ground they will inevitably be surcharged with blood, and varicose

conditions be set up,[13] the legs becoming thick and puffy, whilst

the skin recedes; and with this loosening of the skin the back

sinew[14] is very apt to start and render the horse lame.

[12] i.e. "the metacarpals and metatarsals."

[13] Or, "and become varicose, with the result that the shanks

swell whilst the skin recedes from the bone."

[14] Or, "suspensory ligament"? Possibly Xenophon's anatomy is

wrong, and he mistook the back sinew for a bone like the fibula.

The part in question might intelligibly enough, if not technically,

be termed {perone}, being of the brooch-pin order.

If the young horse in walking bends his knees flexibly, you may

safely conjecture that when he comes to be ridden he will have

flexible legs, since the quality of suppleness invariably increases

with age.[15] Supple knees are highly esteemed and with good

reason, rendering as they do the horse less liable to stumble or

break down from fatigue than those of stiffer build.

[15] Lit. "all horses bend their legs more flexibly as time

advances."

Coming to the thighs below the shoulder-blades,[16] or arms, these

if thick and muscular present a stronger and handsomer appearance,

just as in the case of a human being. Again, a comparatively broad

chest is better alike for strength and beauty, and better adapted to

carry the legs well asunder, so that they will not overlap and

interfere with one another. Again, the neck should not be set on

dropping forward from the chest, like a boar's, but, like that of a

game-cock rather, it should shoot upwards to the crest, and be

slack[17] along the curvature; whilst the head should be bony and

the jawbone small. In this way the neck will be well in front of the

rider, and the eye will command what lies before the horse's feet. A

horse, moreover, of this build, however spirited, will be least

capable of overmastering the rider,[18] since it is not by arching but

by stretching out his neck and head that a horse endeavours to

assert his power.[19]

[16] Lit. "the thighs below the shoulder-blades" are distinguished

from "the thighs below the tail." They correspond respectively to

our "arms" (i.e. forearms) and "gaskins," and anatomically

speaking = the radius (os brachii) and the tibia.

[17] "Slack towards the flexure" (Stonehenge).

[18] Or, "of forcing the rider's hand and bolting."

[19] Or, "to display violence or run away."

It is important also to observe whether the jaws are soft or hard

on one or other side, since as a rule a horse with unequal jaws[20]

is liable to become hard-mouthed on one side.

[20] Or, "whose bars are not equally sensitive."

Again, a prominent rather than a sunken eye is suggestive

of alertness, and a horse of this type will have a wider range of

vision.

And so of the nostrils: a wide-dilated nostril is at once better than a

contracted one for respiration, and gives the animal a fiercer aspect.

Note how, for instance, when one stallion is enraged

against another, or when his spirit chafes in being ridden,[21] the

nostrils at once become dilated. [21] Or, "in the racecourse or on

the exercising-ground how readily he distends his nostrils."

A comparatively large crest and small ears give a more typical

and horse-like appearance to the head, whilst lofty withers again

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