THE SUPPLINGS.
This work being an exposition of a method which upsets most of the old
principles of horsemanship, it is understood that I only address men
already conversant with the art, and who join to an assured seat a
sufficiently great familiarity with the horse, to understand all that
concerns his mechanism. I will not, then, revert to the elementary
processes; it is for the instructor to judge if his pupil possesses a
proper degree of solidity of seat, and is sufficiently a part of the
horse; for at the same time that a good seat produces this
identification, it favors the easy and regular play of the rider's
extremities.
My present object is to treat principally of the education of the horse;
but this education is too intimately bound up in that of the rider, for
him to make much progress in one without the other. In explaining the
processes which should produce perfection in the animal, I will
necessarily teach the horseman to apply them himself; he will only have
to practise tomorrow what I teach him today. Nevertheless, there is one
thing that no precept can give; that is, a fineness of touch, a delicacy
of equestrian feeling that belongs only to certain privileged
organizations, and without which, we seek in vain to pass certain
limits. Having said this, we will return to our subject.
We now know which are the parts of the horse that contract the most in
resistances, and we feel the necessity of suppling them. Shall we then
seek to attack, exercise and conquer them all at once? No; this would be
to fall back into the old error, of the inefficiency of which we are
convinced. The animal's muscular power is infinitely superior to ours;
his instinctive forces, moreover, being able to sustain themselves the
one by the others, we will inevitably be conquered if we set them in
motion all at once. Since the contractions have their seat in separate
parts, let us profit by this division to combat them separately, as a
skillful general destroys, in detail, forces which, when together, he
would be unable to resist.
For the rest, whatever the age, the disposition, and the structure of my
pupil, my course of proceeding at the start will be always the same. The
results will only be more or less prompt and easy, according to the
degree of perfection in his nature, and the influence of the hand to
which he has been previously subjected. The suppling, which will have no
other object in the case of a well-made horse than that of preparing his
forces to yield to our impulsions, will re-establish calm and confidence
in a horse that has been badly handled, and in a defective formation
will make those contractions disappear, which are the causes of
resistances, and the only obstacles to a perfect equilibrium. The
difficulties to be surmounted will be in proportion to this complication
of obstacles, and will quickly disappear with a little perseverance on
our part. In the progression we are about to pursue in order to subject
the different parts of the animal to suppling, we will naturally
commence with the most important parts, that is to say, with the jaw and
neck.
The head and neck of the horse are at once the rudder and compass of the
rider. By them he directs the animal; by them, also, he can judge of
the regularity and precision of his movements. The equilibrium of the
whole body is perfect, its lightness complete, when the head and neck
remain of themselves easy, pliable and graceful. On the contrary, there
can be no elegance, no ease of the whole, when these two parts are
stiff. Preceding the body of the horse in all its impulsions, they ought
to give warning, and show by their attitude the positions to be taken,
and the movements to be executed. The rider has no power so long as they
remain contracted and rebellious; he disposes of the animal at will,
when once they are flexible and easily handled. If the head and neck do
not first commence the changes of direction, if in circular movements
they are not inclined in a curved line, if in backing they do not bend
back upon themselves, and if their lightness is not always in harmony
with the different paces at which we wish to go, the horse will be free
to execute these movements or not, since he will remain master of the
employment of his own forces.
From the time I first noticed the powerful influence that the stiffness
of the neck exercises on the whole mechanism of the horse, I attentively
sought the means to remedy it. The resistances to the hand are always
either sideways, upward or downward. I at first considered the neck
alone as the source of these resistances, and exercised myself in
suppling the animal by flexions, repeated in every direction. The result
was immense; but, although, at the end of a certain time, the supplings
of the neck rendered me perfectly master of the forces of the fore-parts
of the horse, I still felt a slight resistance which I could not at
first account for. At last I discovered that it proceeded from the jaw.
The flexibility I had communicated to the neck even aided this
stiffness of the muscles of the lower jaw, by permitting the horse in
certain cases to escape the action of the bit. I then bethought me of
the means of combating these resistances in this, their last stronghold;
and, from that time, it is there I always commence my work of suppling.
_First exercise on foot._--Means of making the horse come to the man, of
making him steady to mount, etc., etc.
Before commencing the exercises of flexions, it is essential to give the
horse a first lesson of subjection, and teach him to recognize the power
of man. This first act of submission, which might appear unimportant,
will have the effect of quickly rendering him calm, of giving him
confidence, and of repressing all those movements which might distract
his attention, and mar the success of the commencement of his education.
Two lessons, of a half hour each, will suffice to obtain the preparatory
obedience of every horse. The pleasure we experience in thus playing
with him will naturally lead the rider to continue this exercise for a
few moments each day, and make it both instructive to the horse and
useful to himself. The mode of proceeding is as follows: the rider will
approach the horse, his whip under his arm, without roughness or
timidity; he will speak to him without raising the voice too much, and
will pat him on the face and neck; then with the left hand will lay hold
of the curb-reins, about six or seven inches from the branches of the
bit, keeping his wrist stiff, so as to present as much force as possible
when the horse resists. The whip will be held firmly in the right hand,
the point towards the ground, then slowly raised as high as his chest,
in order to tap it at intervals of a second. The first natural movement
of the horse will be to withdraw from the direction in which the pain
comes; it is by backing that he will endeavor to do this. The rider will
follow this backward movement without discontinuing the firm tension of
the reins, nor the little taps with the whip on the breast, applying
them all the time with the same degree of intensity. The rider should be
perfectly self-possessed, that there may be no indication of anger or
weakness in his motions or looks. Becoming tired of this constraint, the
horse will soon seek by another movement to avoid the infliction, and it
is by coming forward that he will arrive at it; the rider will seize
this second instinctive movement to stop and caress the animal with his
hand and voice. The repetition of this exercise will give the most
surprising results, even in the first lesson. The horse having
discovered and understood the means by which he can avoid the pain, will
not wait till the whip touches him, he will anticipate it by rushing
forward at the least gesture. The rider will take advantage of this to
effect, by a downward force of the bridle hand, the depression of the
neck, and the getting him in hand; he will thus early dispose the horse
for the exercises that are to follow.
This training, besides being a great recreation, will serve to make the
horse steady to mount, will greatly abridge his education and accelerate
the development of his intelligence. Should the horse, by reason of his
restless or wild nature, become very unruly, we should have recourse to
the cavesson, as a means of repressing his disorderly movements, and use
it with little jerks. I would add that it requires great prudence and
discernment to use it with tact and moderation.
_Flexion of the jaw._--The flexions of the jaw, as well as the two
flexions of the neck which follow, are executed standing still, the man
on foot. The horse will be led on the ground saddled and bridled, the
reins on his neck. The man will first see that the bit is properly
placed in the horse's mouth, and that the curb-chain is fastened so that
he can introduce his finger between the links and the horse's chin. Then
looking the animal good-naturedly in the eyes, he will place himself
before him near his head, holding his body straight and firm, his feet a
little apart to steady himself, and dispose himself to struggle with
advantage against all resistances.[B]
[B] I have divided all the flexions into two parts, and, in
order to facilitate the understanding of the text, I have added
to it plates representing the position of the horse at the
moment the flexion is about to commence, and at the moment it
is terminated.
1st. In order to execute the flexion to the right, the man will take
hold of the right curb-rein with the right hand, at about six inches
from the branch of the bit, and the left rein with the left hand, at
only three inches from the left branch. He will then draw his right hand
towards his body, pushing out his left hand so as to turn the bit in the
horse's mouth. The force employed ought to be entirely determined by and
proportioned to the resistance of the jaw and neck only, in order not to
affect the _aplomb_, which keeps his body still. If the horse backs to
avoid the flexion, the opposition of the hands should still be
continued. If the preceding exercise has been completely and carefully
practised, it will be easy by the aid of the whip to prevent this
retrograde movement, which is a great obstacle to all kinds of flexions
of the jaw and neck. (Plate I.)
2d. As soon as the flexion is obtained, the left hand will let the left
rein slip to the same length as the right, then drawing the two reins
equally will bring the head near to the breast, in order to hold it
there oblique and perpendicular, until it sustains itself without
assistance in this position. The horse by champing the bit will show his
being in hand as well as his perfect submission. The man, to reward him,
will cease drawing on the reins immediately, and after some seconds will
allow him to resume his natural position. (Plate II.)
[Illustration: Plates I. and II.]
The flexion of the jaw to the left is executed upon the same principles
and by inverse means to the flexion to the right, the man being careful
to pass alternately from one to the other.
The importance of these flexions of the jaw is easily understood. The
result of them is to prepare the horse to yield instantly to the
lightest pressure of the bit, and to supple directly the muscles that
join the head to the neck. As the head ought to precede and determine
the different attitudes of the neck, it is indispensable that the latter
part be always in subjection to the other, and respond to its
impulsions. That would be only partially the case with the flexibility
of the neck alone, which would then make the head obey it, by drawing it
along in its movements. You see, then, why at first I experienced
resistances, in spite of the pliability of the neck, of which I could
not imagine the cause. The followers of my method to whom I have not yet
had an opportunity of making known the new means just explained, will
learn with pleasure that this process not only brings the flexibility of
the neck to a greater degree of perfection, but saves much time in
finishing the suppling. The exercise of the jaw, while fashioning the
mouth and head, brings along with it the flexion of the neck, and
accelerates the getting the horse in hand.
This exercise is the first of our attempts to accustom the forces of the
horse to yield to ours. It is necessary, then, to manage it very nicely,
so as not to discourage him at first. To enter on the flexion roughly
would be to shock the animal's intelligence, who would not have had time
to comprehend what was required of him. The opposition of the hands will
be commenced gently but firmly, not to cease until perfect obedience is
obtained, except, indeed, the horse backs against a wall, or into a
corner; but it will diminish or increase its effect in proportion to the
resistance, in a way always to govern it, but not with too great
violence. The horse that at first will, perhaps, submit with difficulty,
will end by regarding the man's hand as an irresistible regulator, and
will become so used to obeying it, that he will soon obtain, by a simple
pressure of the rein, what at first required the whole strength of our
arms.
At each renewal of the lateral flexions some progress will be made in
the obedience of the horse. As soon as his first resistances are a
little diminished, we will pass to the perpendicular flexions or
depression of the neck.
_Depression of the neck by the direct flexion of the jaw._--
1. The man will place himself as for the lateral flexions of the jaw; he
will take hold of the reins of the snaffle with the left hand, at six
inches from the rings, and the curb-reins at about two inches from the
bit. He will oppose the two hands by effecting the depression with the
left and the proper position with the right. (Plate III.)
2. As soon as the horse's head shall fall of its own accord and by its
own weight, the man will instantly cease all kind of force, and allow
the animal to resume his natural position. (Plate IV.)
[Illustration: Plates III. and IV.]
This exercise being often repeated, will soon bring about the suppling
of the elevating muscles of the neck, which play a prominent part in the
resistances of the horse, and will besides facilitate the direct
flexions and the getting the head in position, which should follow the
lateral flexions. The man can execute this, as well as the preceding
exercise, by himself; yet it would be well to put a second person in the
saddle, in order to accustom the horse to the exercise of the supplings
with a rider. This rider should just hold the snaffle-reins, without
drawing on them, in his right hand, the nails downward.
The flexions of the jaw have already communicated suppleness to the
upper part of the neck, but we have obtained it by means of a powerful
and direct motive power, and we must accustom the horse to yield to a
less direct regulating force. Besides, it is important that the
pliability and flexibility, especially necessary in the upper part of
the neck, should be transmitted throughout its whole extent, so as to
destroy its stiffness entirely.
The force from above downward, practised with the snaffle, acting only
by the headstall on the top of the head, often takes too long to make
the horse lower his head. In this case, we must cross the two
snaffle-reins by taking the left rein in the right, and the right rein
in the left hand, about six or seven inches from the horse's mouth, in
such a way as to cause a pretty strong pressure upon the chin. This
force, like all the others, must be continued until the horse yields.
The flexions being repeated with this more powerful agent, will put him
in a condition to respond to the means previously indicated. If the
horse responded to the first flexions represented by Plate IV., it would
be unnecessary to make use of this one. (Plate V.)
[Illustration: Plate V.]
We can act directly on the jaw so as to render it prompt in moving. To
do this, we take the left curb-rein about six inches from the horse's
mouth and draw it straight towards the left shoulder; at the same
time draw the left rein of the snaffle forward, in such a way that
the wrists of the person holding the two reins shall be opposite and on
a level with each other. The two opposed forces will soon cause a
separation of the jaws and end all resistance. The force ought to be
always proportioned to that of the horse, whether in his resistance, or
in his lightness. Thus, by means of this direct force a few lessons will
be sufficient to give a pliability to the part in question that could
not have been obtained by any other means. (Plate VI.)
[Illustration: Plate VI.]
_Lateral flexions of the neck._--
1. The man will place himself near the horse's shoulder as for the
flexions of the jaw; he will take hold of the right snaffle-rein, which
he will draw upon across the neck, in order to establish an intermediate
point between the impulsion that comes from him and the resistance the
horse presents; he will hold up the left rein with the left hand about a
foot from the bit. As soon as the horse endeavors to avoid the constant
tension of the right rein by inclining his head to the right, he will
let the left rein slip so as to offer no opposition to the flexion of
the neck. Whenever the horse endeavors to escape the constraint of the
right rein by bringing his croup around, he will be brought into place
again by slight pulls of the left rein. (Plate VII.)
2. When the head and neck have entirely yielded to the right, the man
will draw equally on both reins to place the head perpendicularly.
Suppleness and lightness will soon follow this position, and as soon as
the horse evinces, by champing the bit, entire freedom from stiffness,
the man will cease the tension of the reins, being careful that the head
does not take advantage of this moment of freedom to displace itself
suddenly. In this case, it will be sufficient to restrain it by a slight
support of the right rein. After having kept the horse in this
position for some seconds, he will make him resume his former position
by drawing on the left rein. It is most important that the animal in all
his movements should do nothing of his own accord. (Plate VIII.)
[Illustration: Plates VII. and VIII.]
The flexion of the neck to the left is executed after the same
principles, but by inverse means. The man can repeat with the curb what
he has previously done with the snaffle-reins; but the snaffle should
always be employed first, its effect being less powerful and more
direct.
When the horse submits without resistance to the preceding exercises, it
will prove that the suppling of the neck has already made a great step.
The rider can, henceforward, continue his work by operating with a less
direct motive power, and without the animal's being impressed by the
sight of him. He will place himself in the saddle, and commence by
repeating with the full length of the reins, the lateral flexions, in
which he has already exercised his horse.
_Lateral flexions of the neck, the man on horseback._--
1. To execute the flexion to the right, the rider will take one
snaffle-rein in each hand, the left scarcely feeling the bit; the right,
on the contrary, giving a moderate impression at first, but which will
increase in proportion to the resistance of the horse, and in a way
always to govern him. The animal, soon tired of a struggle which, being
prolonged, only makes the pain proceeding from the bit more acute, will
understand that the only way to avoid it is to incline the head in the
direction the pressure is felt. (Plate IX.)
2. As soon as the horse's head is brought round to the right, the left
rein will form opposition, to prevent the nose from passing beyond the
perpendicular. Great stress should be laid on the head's remaining
always in this position, without which the flexion would be imperfect
and the suppleness incomplete. The movement being regularly
accomplished, the horse will be made to resume his natural position by a
slight tension of the left rein. (Plate X.)
[Illustration: Plates IX. and X.]
The flexion to the left is executed in the same way, the rider employing
alternately the snaffle and curb-reins.
I have already mentioned that it is of great importance to supple the
upper part of the neck. After mounting, and having obtained the lateral
flexions without resistance, the rider will often content himself with
executing them half-way, the head and upper part of the neck pivoting
upon the lower part, which will serve as a base or axis. This exercise
must be frequently repeated, even after the horse's education is
completed, in order to keep up the pliability, and facilitate the
getting him in hand.
It now remains for us, in order to complete the suppling of the head and
neck, to combat the contractions which occasion the direct resistances,
and prevent your getting the horse's head in a perpendicular position.
_Direct flexions of the head and neck, or ramener.[C]_--
[C] _Ramener_ means to place the horse's head in a
perpendicular position.--TRANSLATOR.
1. The rider will first use the snaffle-reins, which he will hold
together in the left hand as he would the curb-reins. He will rest the
outer edge of the right hand (see Plate XI.) on the reins in front of
the left hand in order to increase the power of the right hand; after
which he will gradually bear on the snaffle-bit. As soon as the horse
yields, it would suffice to raise the right hand to diminish the tension
of the reins and reward the animal. As the hand must only present a
force proportioned to the resistance of the neck, it will only be
necessary to hold the legs rather close to prevent backing. When the
horse obeys the action of the snaffle, he will yield much more quickly
to that of the curb, the effect of which is so much more powerful. The
curb, of course, needs more care in the use of it than the snaffle.
(Plate XI.)
2. The horse will have completely yielded to the action of the hand,
when his head is carried in a position perfectly perpendicular to the
ground; from that time the contraction will cease, which the animal will
show, as in every other case, by champing his bit. The rider must be
careful not to be deceived by the feints of the horse--feints which
consist in yielding one-fourth or one-third of the way, and then
hesitating. If, for example, the nose of the horse having to pass over a
curve of ten degrees to attain the perpendicular position (Plate XI.),
should stop at the fourth or sixth and again resist, the hand should
follow the movement and then remain firm and immovable, for a concession
on its part would encourage resistance and increase the difficulties.
When the nose shall descend to No. 10, the perpendicular position will
be complete and the lightness perfect. The rider can then cease the
tension of the reins, but so as to keep the head in this position, if it
should offer to leave it. If he lets it return at all to its natural
situation, it should be to draw it in over again, and to make the animal
understand that the perpendicular position of the head is the only one
allowed when under the rider's hand. He should, at the outset, accustom
the horse to cease backing at the pressure of the legs, as all backward
movements would enable him to avoid the effects of the hand or create
new means of resistance. (Plate XII.)
[Illustration: Plates XI. and XII.]
This is the most important flexion of all; the others tended principally
to pave the way for it. As soon as it is executed with ease and
promptness, as soon as a slight touch is sufficient to place and keep
the head in a perpendicular position, it will prove that the suppling is
complete, contraction destroyed, lightness and equilibrium established
in the fore-hand. The direction of this part of the animal will,
henceforward, be as easy as it is natural, since we have put it in a
condition to receive all our impressions, and instantly to yield to them
without effort.
As to the functions of the legs, they must support the hind-parts of the
horse, in order to obtain the _ramener_, in such a way that he may not
be able to avoid the effect of the hand by a retrograde movement of his
body. This complete getting in hand is necessary to drive the hind-legs
under the centre. In the first case, we act upon the fore-hand; in the
second, upon the hind-parts; the first serves for the _ramener_, the
second for the _rassembler_, or gathering the horse.[D]
[D] The full meaning of the word _rassembler_ will be
understood after reading the chapter, further on in this work,
under that head. With regard to the other word, _ramener_,
to avoid the constant circumlocution of saying, "placing the
horse's head in a perpendicular position," it will be used in
future wherever it occurs.--TRANSLATOR.
_Combination of effects._--I published four editions of my Method,
without devoting a special article to the combination of effects.
Although I myself made a very frequent use of it, I had not attached
sufficient importance to the great necessity of this principle in the
case of teaching; later experiments have taught me to consider it of
more consequence.
The combination of effects means the continued and exactly opposed force
of the hand and legs. Its object should be to bring back again into a
position of equilibrium all the parts of the horse which leave it, in
order to prevent him from going ahead, without backing him, and _vice
versa_: finally, it serves to stop any movement from the right to the
left, or the left to the right. By this means, also, we distribute the
weight of the mass equally on the four legs, and produce temporary
immobility. This combination of effects ought to precede and follow each
exercise within the graduated limit assigned to it. It is essential when
we employ the aids (i.e. the hand and legs), in this, that the action of
the legs should precede the other, in order to prevent the horse from
backing against any place, for he might find, in this movement, points
of support that would enable him to increase his resistance. Thus, all
motion of the extremities, proceeding from the horse himself, should be
stopped by a combination of effects; finally, whenever his forces get
scattered, and act inharmoniously, the rider will find in this a
powerful and infallible corrective.
It is by disposing all the parts of the horse in the most exact order,
that we will easily transmit to him the impulsion that should cause the
regular movements of his extremities; it is then also that we will
address his comprehension, and that he will appreciate what we demand of
him; then will follow caresses of the hand and voice as a moral effect;
they should not be used, though, until after he has done what is
demanded of him by the rider's hand and legs.
_The horse's resting his chin on his breast._--Although few horses are
disposed by nature to do this, it is not the less necessary, when it
does occur, to practise on them all the flexions, even the one which
bends down the neck. In this position, the horse's chin comes back near
the breast and rests in contact with the lower part of the neck; too
high a croup, joined to a permanent contraction of the muscles that
lower the neck, is generally the cause of it. These muscles must then be
suppled in order to destroy their intensity, and thereby give to the
muscles that raise the neck, their antagonists, the predominance which
will make the neck rest in a graceful and useful position. This first
accomplished, the horse will be accustomed to go forward freely at the
pressure of the legs, and to respond, without abruptness or excitement,
to the touch of the spurs (_attaques_); the object of these last is to
bring the hind legs near the centre, and to lower the croup. The rider
will then endeavor to raise the horse's head by the aid of the
curb-reins; in this case, the hand will be held some distance above the
saddle, and far from the body[E]; the force it transmits to the horse
ought to be continued until he yields by elevating his head. As these
sorts of horses have generally little action, we must take care to avoid
letting the hand produce an effect from the front to the rear, in which
case it would take away from the impulse necessary for movement. The
pace commencing with the walk, must be kept up at the same rate, while
the hand is producing an elevating effect upon the neck. This precept is
applicable to all the changes of position that the hand makes in the
head and neck; but is particularly essential in the case of a horse
disposed to depress his neck.
[E] This position of the hand at a distance from the saddle and
the body will be criticised; but let the rider be reassured,
eight or ten lessons will suffice to make the horse change the
position of his head, and allow the hand to resume its normal
position.
It should be remembered that the horse has two ways of responding to the
pressure of the bit; by one, he yields but withdraws himself at the same
time by shrinking and coming back to his former position; this kind of
yielding is only injurious to his education, for if the hand is held too
forcibly, if he does not wait till the horse changes of his own accord
the position of his head, the backward movement of his body would
precede and be accompanied by a shifting of the weight backwards. In
this case, the contraction of his neck remains all the while the same.
The second kind of yielding, which contributes so greatly to the rapid
and certain education of the horse, consists in giving a half or
three-quarter tension to the reins, then to sustain the hand as forcibly
as possible without bringing it near the body. In a short time the force
of the hand, seconded by the continued pressure of the legs, will make
the horse avoid this slight but constant pressure of the bit, but by
means of his head and neck only. Then the rider will only make use of
the force necessary to displace the head. It is by this means that he
will be able to place the horse's body on a level, and will obtain that
equilibrium,[F] the perfect balance of which has not hitherto been
appreciated.
[F] The word equilibrium, so often repeated in the course of this
work, must be categorically explained. People have never rightly
understood what it means, this true equilibrium of a horse,
which serves as the basis of his education, and by which he
takes instantly, at the rider's will, such a pace, or such a
change or direction.
It is not here a question of the equilibrium which prevents the
horse from falling down, but of that upon which depends his
performance, when it is prompt, graceful and regular, and by
means of which his paces are either measured or extended at
will.
_Equilibrium of Baucher._
_Croup_------------------------------------------------_Head._
Here the weight and the forces are equally distributed. By means
of this just distribution the different positions, the different
paces, and the equilibriums that belong to them, are obtained
without effort on the part of man or horse.
Resuming what we have just explained in the case of a horse who rests
his chin on his breast, we repeat that it is by producing one force from
the rear to the front with the legs, and another from below upwards with
the hand, that we will soon be enabled to improve the position and
movements of the horse. So that whatever may be his disposition at
first, it is by first causing the depression of the neck that we will
quickly gain a masterly and perfect elevation of it.
I will close this chapter by some reflections on the supposed difference
of sensibility in horses' mouths, and the kind of bit which ought to be
used.
_Of the horse's mouth and the bit._--I have already treated this subject
at length in my Comprehensive Dictionary of Equitation; but as in this
work I make a complete exposition of my method, I think it necessary to
repeat it in a few words.
I cannot imagine how people have been able so long to attribute to the
mere difference of formation of the bars,[G] those contrary dispositions
of horses which render them so light or so hard to the hand. How can we
believe that, according as a horse has one or two lines of flesh, more
or less, between the bit and the bone of the lower jaw, he should yield
to the lightest impulse of the hand, or become unmanageable in spite of
all the efforts of two vigorous arms? Nevertheless, it is from remaining
in this inconceiveable error, that people have forged bits of so strange
and various forms, real instruments of torture, the effect of which is
to increase the difficulties they sought to remove.
[G] The bars are the continuations of the two bones of the
lower jaw between the masticating and the front teeth. It is on
these that the bit rests.
Had they gone back a little further to the source of the resistances,
they would have discovered that this one, like all the rest, does not
proceed from the difference of formation of a feeble organ, like the
bars, but from a contraction communicated to the different parts of the
body, and, above all, to the neck, by some serious fault of
constitution. It is, then, in vain that we attach to the reins, and
place in the horse's mouth a more or less murderous instrument; he will
remain insensible to our efforts as long as we do not communicate
suppleness to him, which alone can enable him to yield.
In the first place, then, I lay down as a fact, that there is no
difference of sensibility in the mouths of horses; that all present the
same lightness when in the position called _ramener_, and the same
resistances in proportion as they recede from this position. There are
horses hard to the hand; but this hardness proceeds from the length or
weakness of their loins, from a narrow croup, from short haunches, thin
thighs, straight hocks, or (a most important point) from a croup too
high or too low in proportion to the withers; such are the true causes
of resistances; the contractions of the neck, the closing of the jaws
are only the effects; as to the bars, they are only there to show the
ignorance of self-styled equestrian theoricians. By suppling the neck
and the jaw, this hardness completely disappears. Experiments a hundred
times repeated give me the right to advance this principle boldly;
perhaps it may, at first, appear too arbitrary, but it is none the less
true.
Consequently, I only allow one kind of bit, and this is the form and the
dimensions I give it, to make it as simple as it is easy.
The branches straight and six inches long, measuring from the eye of the
bit to the extremity of the branch; circumference of the canon,[H] two
inches and a half; port, about two inches wide at the bottom, and one
inch at the top. The only variation to be in the width of the bit,
according to the horse's mouth.
[H] The mouth-piece of the bit consists of three parts: the port, to
give freedom to the tongue, and the two canons, which are the
parts that come in contact with the bars.--TRANSLATOR.
I insist that such a bit is sufficient to render passively obedient all
horses that have been prepared by supplings; and I need not add that, as
I deny the utility of severe bits, I reject all means not coming
directly from the rider, such as martingales, piliers, etc.