Tom Firr, huntsman to the Quorn, nineteenth centuryTom Firr indulged in a very big bit
(Always in pictures he’s seen using it),
“Plenty of iron; you don’t need to use it.”
“Yes, Firr—quite right, but so many abuse it!”
A light-mouthed puller’s a difficult horse,
A short-cheeked bridle will suit him, of course;
A snaffle’s the bit for a horse that takes hold
(At least, it’s all right if the rider is bold).
The acme of bliss when you’re hunting the fox
Is riding a horse who will jump off his hocks;
While quite the worst feeling, and one to be banned,
Is a horse who will only jump off his fore-hand.
“What shall I put on him, really I wonder?”
“Try to improve his ways with a ‘secunder.’”
“Only unless you will ride for a fall,
I shouldn’t get up on the beggar at all!”
All kinds of horses, all kinds of tackle—
Cut out the arguments, cut out the cackle;
A “bridle for scolds” I think should be found
For some of those writing for dear Horse and Hound!
Pelham or snaffle, Liverpool double?
What a commotion—what’s all the trouble?
Dozens of letters from horse-loving lands—
It isn’t the bridle, my boys; it’s the hands!
*******
This piece of riding advice was brought to our attention by author/journalist Karin Winegar, a periodic contributor to Foxhunting Life. We don’t know who wrote the poem, and we’d be most obliged if anyone has that information.
Posted August 18, 2014