News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-02-14

elbow are horses trained for the ring ?"
asked reporter of a well known circus
man.
"You mean the horses upon which
riders perform their feats? [ will begin
by saying that the best age at which to
train a horse is from five to six years. In
selecting one for the purpose you must
first decide what kind of riding you
wish to use him for. AS you doubtless
know. circus riding is of two kinds,
namely, principal acts and manege acts.
Principal acts are those in which the
artist rides in standing position and per-
forms various feats, such as pirouetting,
jumping and throwing somersaults over
objects, etc. Principal acts may be
ridden either upon the horses bare
back, or upon pad saddle. They may
also be ridden as two, four or six horse
acts, the performer riding any of those
number of horses all at the same time !;
or they may be hurdle acts, bars or
hurdles being placed in the ring and
horses jumping over them. Mauege acts
are those in which a horse is ridden
under an ordinary saddle by a lady or
LII palm StItSS, tuC
object being, as the, name of the act
implies, to display the skill of the rider
in managing the horse. For hurdle rid
ing you want the most dashing, spirited,
high-mettled horse you can get, but
horses for any other form of principal
act should not be high-bred, should pos
| sess little or no spirit, and should be of
dull, plodding, phlegmatic disposition
that nothing can excite. Having selected
your horse; the first thing to do is to
bit him, that is, to make his mouth so
sensitive to the bit that he will instantly
respond to the slightest pressure upon
it. This may be accomplished with some
horses in a few weeks, while others will
| require months and some, perhaps, even
year or two.
CATER the horse is well bitted he is
put into the ring, with a roller or sur
cingle around his body, his head being
kept in position by bearing -reins.
His trainer stands in the centre of the
ring and holds one end of a long rein,
called lunge, of which the other end
is attached to the horses bit. In this
way he is sent around the ring, and when
he has mastered the idea that he is to
keep on going around and around the
sawdust circle without deviating from it
the men and boys connected with the
circus practice vaulting on his back to
accustom him to what he must undergo
and to give him what is called the
balance of the ring. Then the paper
covered hoops, through which riders
Jump, the wide pieces of cloth, called
banners, over which they leap, and the
other objects used in principal acts, are
held up and he is made to pass them
until he will do so without showing the
slightest tendency to shy or brighten.
Then, if he is designed for padhorse,
the pad is placed upon him, to accustom
him to it. Sometimes, after all the Other
stages of his training have been sue,
cessfully passed, he will not submit tc
the pad, but will kick to such an extent
that it cannot be placed upon him. He
must then be taken out of the ring alto
gether. Formerly it was thought that
horses for principal acts could not go toe
fast, but now they are allowed to go more
slowly, to enable their riders to perform
more difficult feats.
ga horse for manage act should be
the handsomest that can be obtained
and should be good stock in every way
In training a horse for this style of rid
ing the great point is biting. He must
be bitted much more carefully than 8
horse designed for any other purpose.
He must then go through course Of
careful training to learn the various
movements that his rider wishes him tC
execute, such as dancing, piaffing-a
peculiar gait in which the legs are raised
bent and are then slowly extended
marching, rearing and walking on the
hind legs, extending different feet, STEP
ping over hurdles, buck jumping, up
setting chairs. etc.
SIN riding a manege horse everything
depends on the bride hand, which must
be very steady. It is very artistic and
requires an amount of earnest, patient
labor that the unprofessional spectator
cannot possibly understand or appreciate.
''There is still another kind of horse
training practiced by circus people,
namely, the training of trick horses, that
is, horses that are never ridden, but are
used merely to perform tricks. The
manner of doing this depends greatly
upon the disposition of the animal.
Horses are just as different in their dis
positions as children, some yielding only
to harsh measures, while with others
only kindness will avail. The first thing
to be done is to acquire a thorough
knowledge of the horses disposition. He
is then taught to do his various tricks
by signs from his master. The utmost
care and patience is required in this
style of training, than which there is
nothing more difficult"