_The Canter in particular._
To put the horse to the canter from rest at any spot, or from any pace,
he must be pressed with the legs, or animated with the tongue, and at
the same time, by a motion of the fingers, and a little raising of the
hand, be invited to raise the fore-legs. If he do not obey this, the
animation must be increased, and the hand kept more firm, to prevent
his trotting; and this will constrain him to raise his fore-legs
together. It is also necessary to direct the foot he is to lead with.
That of course is the inner, which he will readily take by putting the
croupe in, by means of the opposite thigh, thereby enabling him to
advance the inner side.
As the position of the horse renders necessary a corresponding position
of the horseman, it will readily be seen that whichever side the horse
leads with, the rider’s thigh on that side must be rather more turned
in towards the saddle, and the hip on that side brought more forward,
and consequently that the other thigh must be a little turned outward,
and the hip brought backward; and all this more or less in proportion
to the position of the horse. This turn of the hip effects a turn of
the body. The hands are carried with it, and at the same time kept up,
rather above than below the elbow, and quite steady, that the cadence
of every step, and the support given by the hand, may be felt. The
rider’s head is of course to be directed to the horse’s nose, his eye
glancing on the ground the horse’s fore-feet go over.
If the horse strike off with the wrong leg, false or disunited, the
rider, at the first corner, must endeavour, by an additional feeling
of the inward rein, and application of the outward leg, to make him
change, and lead with the proper one. When he leads with the proper
leg, the hand must resume its usual position, the rider bending him a
little inwards by shortening the inward rein; the fingers slackened, if
necessary, to let him advance; but the hand kept up, and every cadence
felt of the fore-feet coming to the ground.
There is far more skill displayed in keeping up an animated action in
the canter, at the rate of three miles an hour, than in the gallop, at
that of twelve or fifteen. If the animation fail, or the action be not
supported by the hand, the horse will break into a trot, particularly
as the gallop is shortened or united. If the action is felt to be
declining, it must be corrected instantly, by an animating touch of
the fingers, the leg, or the tongue. The hand first discovers this
declension, and is the first to correct it.
When the rider can put his horse off to either hand with the proper
leg, and support the action, he must particularly attend to its truth
and union, and try to raise it to the highest animation, riding
sometimes rapidly, sometimes slowly, yet always united.
When the gallop is disunited and extended to speed, even though
the horse is supple and just on his legs, it loses its harmony and
regularity of time. The fore-legs then measure less space from each
other, and so do the hind-legs, which makes the beats quicker in each,
and leaves a space between the beats of the fore-legs and the beats of
the hind. In these gallops, it would be highly imprudent to circle or
turn, but on a very large scale.
_Turns, Changes, Stops, &c. in the Gallop._
In turning the horse to the right and left, at a canter, his fore-hand
must be raised with the leading rein, and the haunches pressed forward
and under him: at the same time, the outward rein must assist to steady
him, and a pressure of the calf of the outward leg keep the haunches
from falling too much out. If he is turned suddenly with the inward
rein only, without lifting the fore-hand, or applying the outward leg,
he must turn on his shoulders, lose power to halt on his haunches, and
being twisted round unprepared, will change to the outer leg.
In changing, the operation must be performed smoothly and evenly at the
same instant; so that, at the finish of the cadence, the body, hands,
thighs, and legs of the rider are reversed, for the horse to commence
his next cadence with the contrary leg.
In stopping in the gallop, the rider must seize the time when the
horse’s fore-feet are coming to the ground, which is the beginning of
the cadence: and he must take care that the hind feet, coming up to
their exact distance, and finishing the cadence, complete the stop:
leaving the horse so balanced that he can readily set off again with
the same rapidity as before. Besides seizing the exact time, a due
degree of power must thus be exerted, conformably to the readiness,
obedience, union, or rapidity of the action; for, should the power
be deficient, the stop would not be properly effected; and if it
be excessive, the horse will be overbalanced on his haunches, and
compelled consequently to move his feet after the cadence is finished.
Till horses are ready and obedient to the stop, it should not be
attempted in violent and rapid gallops; nor even then if they are weak,
or the rider heavy.--In these cases, the double arret is used.
The double arret is the stop completed in two cadences of the gallop,
which is far less distressing both to man and horse. The body being
gently thrown back, will not make the action instantaneously cease;
but the obedience of the horse makes the effort which checks half his
career in the first cadence; and, the body still being kept back, he
completes it in the second. However, till practised and made obedient
to the stop, he will not easily perform the double arret; for, in the
first instance, he must be taught to stop by compulsion; and it is only
when practice has brought him to obedience, that he readily stops at
the easy throwing back of the body.
The half stop is a pause in the gallop, or the action suspended for
half a second, and then resumed again. Here the body is thrown back
less determinately, lest we should so overbalance the horse that he
cannot readily set off again after the finish of the cadence, which no
sooner occurs than the body is brought forward, to permit the action
to go on. Thus the half stop is only a pause in the gallop, and it
is mostly used to effect a change from the right leg to the left, or
the opposite. The cadence of the stop should be no shorter than the
readiness and obedience of the horse will admit; the half stop not
quite so short; and the two arrets still more moderate.