all the Bridle; the Weight of your Body on his Fore-parts will oblige
him to come down: In the Minute that his Fore-feet are coming to the
Ground, give him both the Spurs firm, and as quick as you can; these
Aids and Corrections however must be given with the greatest Caution
and Exactness: For were you to give him the Spurs when he is in the
Air, he would fall over; whereas if you watch the Time so as not to
spur him but when he is coming down, and his Fore-feet near the Ground,
it is then impossible he should fall backwards; for then his Balance is
destroy'd, and he is upon all his Legs again, and can't rise without
first touching the Ground, and taking his Spring thence; if therefore
you give him the Spurs before he is in a Situation to rise again, you
will punish him, and drive him forward at the same time.
THIS Defence is still more dangerous in Horses who are of a fiery
Temper, and weak in their Haunches, at the same time; these are
continually apt to rise, and whatever Precautions the Rider may take,
he is in continual Danger of their coming over. The way to correct them
is this: Tie your Horse between the Pillars very short, put on a good
Cavason of Cord, and don't suffer him to be mounted; prick him upon the
Buttocks with a Hand-spur in order to make him strike out; encourage
him when he kicks, and continue to make him kick; encourage him from
time to time when he obeys; do this for a Quarter of an Hour every Day;
when you perceive that he begins to kick the Moment you offer to prick
him, without waiting till he feels it, get upon him, hold your Reins
long, prick him, and let a Man stand by and prick him at the same time.
Encourage him when he kicks, and continue to prick him to make him do
it, till he will kick readily only at the Offer you make of pricking
him; he ought to be brought to this Point in five or six Days: After
this take him out of the Pillars, mount him, and trot him in the Longe,
and make him kick by pricking him behind; after that let him walk two
or three Steps, then make him kick again, and so work him by degrees.
Put him to the Gallop; if he offers to rise, prick him behind, and make
him kick: Nothing excels this Method to break a Horse of this terrible
and dangerous Vice.
THOSE Horses who are apt to kick, either when they go forward or stand
still, must be kept much together, or held in closely; make them go
backward briskly, and you will cure them of this Vice.
TO resume our Subject. All Horses are by Nature rather aukward than
nervous and strong; fearful than bold; hot and fretful than mischievous
or ill-temper'd; whenever they grow desperate and absolutely
ungovernable, it is often rather to avoid the extreme Pain which they
feel, or expect to feel from too great a Constraint, than merely to
resist the Horseman. Arm yourself then with great Patience; keep such
Horses as are of a fiery and fretful Disposition, rather in Awe than in
absolute Subjection; they are naturally fearful, and apt to be alarm'd;
and violent Correction and Force would dishearten and make them quite
desperate. Such as are of a hot and impetuous Temper, are generally
timid and malicious. Endeavour therefore to prevent the Disorders they
would commit; for Lenity and good Usage would never reduce them to
Obedience, and Severity would make them lifeless and jadish. In fine,
let your Lessons be short, easy, and often repeated to Horses of a
cold and heavy Disposition, because they have no Memory, and want both
Resolution and Strength.
IN a word, never depart from this great Maxim, "Always observe a just
Medium between too indulgent a Lenity and extreme Severity;" work your
Horse according to his Strength and Capacity, give your Lessons in
proportion to his Memory, and dispense your Punishment and Rewards
suitable to his Courage and Disposition.
CHAP. IV.
_Of the Trot._
WHEN a Horse trots, his Legs are in this Position, two in the Air and
two upon the Ground, at the same time cross-wise; that is to say, the
Near-foot before, and the Off-foot behind are off the Ground, and the
other two upon it; and so alternately of the other two. This Action
of his Legs is the same as when he walks, except that in the Trot his
Motions are more quick. All Writers, both ancient and modern, have
constantly asserted the Trot to be the Foundation of every Lesson you
can teach a Horse; there are none likewise who have not thought proper
to give general Rules upon this Subject, but none have been exact
enough to descend into a Detail of particular Rules, and to distinguish
such Cases as are different, and admit of Exceptions, tho' such often
are found from the different Make and Tempers of Horses, as they
happen to be more or less suited to what they are destin'd; so that by
following their general Maxims, many Horses have been spoil'd, and made
heavy and aukward, instead of becoming supple and active; and as much
Mischief has been occasion'd by adopting their Principles, although
just, as if they had been suggested by Ignorance itself.
THREE Qualities are essentially necessary to make the Trot useful, it
ought to be _extended_, _supple_, and _even_ or _equal_; these three
Qualities are related to, and mutually depend upon each other: In
effect, you can't pass to the supple Trot, without having first work'd
your Horse upon the _extended_ Trot; and you can never arrive at the
even and equal Trot, without having practised the Supple.
I MEAN by the _extended_ Trot, that in which the Horse trots out
without retaining himself, being quite strait, and going directly
forwards; this consequently is the kind of Trot, with which you must
begin; for before any thing else ought to be meditated, the Horse
should be taught to embrace and cover his Ground readily, and without
fear.
THE Trot however may be _extended_ without being supple, for the Horse
may go directly forward, and yet not have that Ease and Suppleness of
Limbs, which distinguishes and characterizes the _Supple_.
I DEFINE the _supple_ Trot to be that in which the Horse at every
Motion that he makes bends and plays all his Joints; that is to say,
those of his Shoulders, his Knees and Feet, which no Colts or raw
Horses can execute, who have not had their Limbs suppled by Exercise,
and who always trot with a surprizing Stiffness and Aukwardness, and
without the least Spring or Play in their Joints. The _even_ or
_equal_ Trot, is that wherein the Horse makes all his Limbs and Joints
move so equally and exactly, that his Legs never cover more Ground one
than the other, nor at one Time more than another: To do this, the
Horse must of necessity unite and collect all his Strength, and if I
may be allowed the Expression, distribute it equally through all his
Joints.
TO go from the _extended_ Trot, to the _supple_, you must gently, and
by degrees, hold in your Horse; and when by Exercise he has attain'd
sufficient Ease and Suppleness to manage his Limbs readily, you must
insensibly hold him in, still more and more, and by degrees you will
lead him to the _equal_ Trot.
THE Trot is the first Exercise to which a Horse is put; this is a
necessary Lesson, but if given unskilfully it loses its End, and even
does harm.
HORSES of a hot and fretful Temper have generally too great a
Disposition to the _extended_ Trot; never abandon these Horses to their
Will, hold them in, pacify them, moderate their Motion by retaining
them judiciously, and their Limbs will grow supple; they will acquire
at the same time that Union and Equality, which is so essentially
necessary.
IF you have a Horse that is heavy, consider if this Heaviness or
Stiffness of his Shoulders or Legs is owing to a Want of Strength,
or of Suppleness; whether it proceeds from his having been exercised
unskilfully, too much, or too little. If he is heavy, because the
Motions of his Legs and Shoulders are naturally cold and sluggish, tho'
at the same time his Limbs are good, and his Strength is only confin'd
and shut up, if I may so say, a moderate but continual Exercise of
the Trot will open and supple his Joints, and render the Action of
his Shoulders and Legs more free and bold; hold him in the Hand, and
support him in the Trot, but take care so to do it, as not to check or
slacken his Pace: Aid him and drive him forward, while you support him;
remember at the same time, that if he is loaded with a great Head, the
Continuation of the Trot, will make his Apuy hard and dull, because
he will by this means abandon himself still more, and weigh upon the
Hand. All Horses that are inclined to be _remingue_, should be kept to
the extended Trot; every Horse who has a Tendency to be _remingue_ is
naturally disposed to collect all his Strength, and to unite himself;
your only way with such Horses is to force them forward: In the Instant
that he obeys, and goes freely on, retain him a little; yield your Hand
immediately after, and you will find soon that the Horse of himself
will bend his Joints, and go united and equally.
A HORSE of a sluggish and cold Disposition, which has nevertheless
Strength and Bottom, should likewise be put to the extended Trot; as he
grows animated, and begins to go free, keep him together by little and
little, in order to lead him insensibly to the _supple_ Trot; but if
while you keep him together, you perceive that he slackens his Action,
and retains himself, give him the Aids briskly, and push him forward,
keeping him nevertheless gently in Hand; by this means he will be
taught to go freely and equally at the same time.
IF a Horse of a cold and sluggish Temper is weak in his Legs and Loins,
you must manage him cautiously in working him in the Trot, or otherwise
you will enervate and spoil him. Besides, in order to make the most
of a Horse, who is not over strong, endeavour to give him Wind, by
working him slowly, and at Intervals, and by increasing the Vigour of
his Exercise by degrees; for you must remember that you ought always
to dismiss your Horse, before he is spent and overcome with Fatigue.
Never push your Lesson too far in hopes of suppling your Horse's Limbs
by means of the Trot; instead of this you will falsify and harden his
Apuy, which is a Case which happens but too frequently.
FARTHER, it is of Importance to remark, that you ought at no time,
neither in the _extended_, _supple_ or _equal_ Trot, to confine your
Horse in the Hand in Expectation of raising him, and fixing his Head
in a proper Place; if his Apuy be full in the Hand, and the Action of
his Trot should be check'd and restrain'd by the Power of his Bridle,
his Bars would very soon grow callous, and his Mouth be harden'd and
dead; if, on the contrary, he has a fine and sensible Mouth, this very
Restraint would offend and make him uneasy. You must endeavour then,
as has already been said, to give him by degrees, and insensibly, a
true and just Apuy, to place his Head, and form his Mouth, by Stops
and Half-stops; by sometimes moderating and restraining him with a
gentle and light Hand, and yielding it to him immediately again; and by
sometimes letting him trot without feeling the Bridle at all.
THERE is a Difference between Horses who are _heavy_ in the Hand, and
such as endeavour to _force_ it. The first Sort lean and throw all
their Weight upon the Hand, either as they happen to be weak, or too
heavy and clumsy in their Fore-parts, or from having their Mouths too
fleshy and gross, and consequently dull and insensible. The second
_pull_ against the Hand, because their Bars are lean, hard, and
generally round; and the first may be brought to go equal, and upon
their Haunches, by means of the Trot and slow Gallop; and the other may
be made light and active by Art, and by settling them well in their
Trot, which will also give them Strength and Vigour. Horses of the
first sort are generally sluggish, the other kind are for the most part
impatient and disobedient, and upon that very account more dangerous
and incorrigible.
THE only Proof, or rather the most certain Sign of your Horse's
trotting well, is, that when he is in his Trot, and you begin to press
him a little, he offers to Gallop.
AFTER having trotted your Horse sufficiently upon a strait Line, or
directly forward, work him upon large Circles; but before you put him
to this, walk him gently round the Circle, that he may comprehend and
know the Ground he is to go over.--This being done, work him in the
Trot; a Horse that is loaded before, and heavily made, will find more
Pains and Difficulty in uniting his Strength, in order to be able to
turn, than in going strait forward.--The Action of turning trys the
Strength of his Reins, and employs his Memory and Attention, therefore
let one Part of your Lessons be to trot them strait forward; finish
them in the same Manner, observing that the Intervals between the Stops
(which you should make very often) be long, or short, as you judge
necessary: I say you should make frequent Stops, for they often serve
as a Correction to Horses that abandon themselves, force the Hand, or
bear too much upon it in their Trot.
THERE are some Horses who are supple in their Shoulders, but which
nevertheless abandon themselves; this Fault is occasion'd by the
Rider's having often held his Bridle-hand too tight and strict in
working them upon large Circles: To remedy this, trot them upon one
_Line_ or _Tread_, and very large; stop them often, keeping back
your Body and outward Leg, in order to make them bend and play their
Haunches.
THE principal Effects then of the Trot, are to make a Horse light
and active, and to give him a just Apuy. In reality, in this Action
he is always supported on one Side by one of his Fore-legs, and on
the other by one of his Hind-legs: Now the fore and hind Parts being
equally supported cross-wise, the Rider can't fail to supple and
loosen his Limbs, and fix his Head; but if the Trot disposes and
prepares the Spirits and Motions of a sinewy and active Horse for the
justest Lessons, if it calls out and unfolds the Powers and Strength
of the Animal, which before were buried and shut up, if I may use the
Expression, in the Stiffness of his Joints and Limbs; if this first
Exercise to which you put your Horse, is the Foundation of all the
different Airs and Manages, it ought to be given in Proportion to the
Strength and Vigour of the Horse.
TO judge of this you must go farther than mere outward Appearances.
A Horse may be but weak in the Loins, and yet execute any Air, and
accompany it with Vigour, as long as his Strength is united and intire;
but if he becomes disunited, by having been work'd beyond his Ability
in the Trot, he will then falter in his Air, and perform it without
Vigour and Grace.
THERE are also some Horses, who are very strong in the Loins, but who
are weak in their Limbs; these are apt to retain themselves, they bend
and sink in their Trot, and go as if they were afraid of hurting their
Shoulders, their Legs or Feet. This Irresolution proceeds only from a
natural Sense they have of their Weakness.--This kind of Horses should
not be too much exercised in the Trot, nor have sharp Correction;
their Shoulders, Legs, or Hocks would be weaken'd and injur'd; so that
learning in a little Time to hang back, and abandon themselves on the
Apuy, they would never be able to furnish any Air with Vigour and
Justness.
LET every Lesson then be weigh'd; the only Method by which Success
can be insured, is the Discretion you shall use, in giving them in
proportion to the Strength of the Horse, and from your Sagacity in
deciding upon what Air or Manage is most proper for him; to which
you must be directed by observing which seems most suited to his
Inclination and Capacity.
I FINISH this Chapter by describing the Manner of trotting a Colt,
who has never been back'd. Put a plain Snaffle in his Mouth, fit a
Caveson to his Nose, to the Ring of which you will tie a Longe of a
reasonable Length; let a Groom hold this Longe, who having got at some
Distance from the Colt, must stand still in the Middle of the Circle,
which the Horse will make; let another follow him with a long Whip or
Chambriere in his Hand.--The Colt being alarm'd, will be forced to go
forward, and to turn within the Length of the Cord.--The Groom must
hold it tight in his Hand, by this means he will draw _in_ or towards
the Center the Head of the Colt, and his Croupe will consequently be
_out_ of the Circle.--In working a young Horse after this Manner, don't
press or hurry him, let him walk first, afterwards put him to the Trot;
if you neglect this Method his Legs will be embarras'd, he will lean
on one Side, and be more upon one Haunch than the other; the inner
Fore-foot will strike against the outward, and the Pain which this will
occasion, will drive him to seek some Means of Defence, and make him
disobedient.
IF he refuses to trot, the Person who holds the Chambriere will animate
him, by hitting him, or striking the Ground with it. If he offers to
gallop instead of trotting, the Groom must shake or jirk the Cord that
is tied to the Caveson, and he will fall into his Trot.
IN this Lesson you may decide more readily upon the Nature, the
Strength, the Inclination, and Carriage of the Horse, than you can of
one that has already been rode, as it is more easy to consider and
examine all his Motions; whereas when he is under his Rider, being
naturally inclin'd to resist at first, to free himself from Restraint,
and to employ all his Strength and Cunning to defend himself against
his Rider, it is morally impossible to form a true Judgment of his
Disposition and Capacity.
CHAP. V.
_Of the Stop._
THE most certain Method to unite and assemble together the Strength of
a Horse, in order to give him a good Mouth, to fix and place his Head,
as well as to regulate his Shoulders, to make him light in the Hand,
and capable of performing all Sorts of Airs, depends entirely upon the
Perfection and Exactness of the Stop.
IN order to mark or form the Stop justly, you must quicken him a
little, and in the Instant that he begins to go faster than the usual
_Cadence_ or _Time_ of his Pace, approach the Calves of your Legs, and
immediately afterwards fling back your Shoulders; always holding your
Bridle more and more tight, till the Stop is made, aiding the Horse
with the Calves of your Legs, in order to make him bend and play his
Haunches.
BY varying the Times of making your Stops, and the Places where you
make them, you will teach your Horse to obey exactly the Hand and Heel;
which is the End that every one should propose to attain in every Kind
of Exercise of the Manege.
WITH a raw and young Horse make but very few Stops, and when you make
them, do it by degrees, very gently, and not all at once, because
nothing so much strains and weakens the Hocks of a stiff and aukward
Horse, as a sudden and rude Stop.
IT is agreed by every Body, that nothing so much shews the Vigour and
Obedience of a Horse as his making a beautiful and firm Stop, at the
End of a swift and violent Career. There are however many Horses that
have a good deal of Vigour and Agility, who can't stop without feeling
Pain, while there are others who are not so strong and active, who stop
very easily; the Reason of this is plain.
IN the first place, the Facility of stopping depends upon the natural
Aptness and Consent of the Horse; in the next place, his Make, and the
Proportions which the different Parts of his Body have to each other,
must be consider'd: Therefore we must measure the Merit of a Stop by
the Strength and Temper of the Horse, by the Steadiness of his Head and
Neck, and the Condition of his Mouth and Haunches.
IT will be in vain to look for the Justness and Perfection of the Stop
in a Horse that is any ways defective, the Bars being too delicate, or
too hard, a thick Tongue, the Channel of his Mouth narrow, the Thropple
confin'd, Neck short, Fore-hand heavy, or too low, weak Loins, or too
stiff, too much Heat, or too much Flegm in his Temper, or Sluggishness;
here are a Number of Faults not easily to be corrected.
A HORSE, though he is strong in his Shoulders, in his Legs and Loins,
yet if he is low before, will have much Difficulty to collect himself
upon his Haunches, so as to make a good Stop; on the contrary, if his
Shoulders and Neck are high and raised, he will have the greater Part
of the Qualities requisite to it.
A HORSE who is long in the Back generally stops very aukwardly, and
without keeping his Head steady; a Horse that is short and truss'd,
with a thick Neck, generally stops upon his Shoulders. The first finds
too much Difficulty to collect his Strength so suddenly, in order to
put himself upon his Haunches, and the other is not able to call it
out, and distribute it with Vigour through his Limbs.--In effect, when
a Horse gallops, the Strength of his Loins, of his Haunches and Hocks,
is all employed in pushing the whole Machine forwards, and that of his
Shoulders and Fore-legs, to support the Action: Now the Force of his
hinder Parts being thus violently agitated, and approaching too near
that which lies in the fore Parts, a short-body'd Horse can't find all
at once, that Counterpoise, that just Equilibre which characterizes a
beautiful Stop.
A HORSE which can't stop readily, misemploys very often his Strength
in running; examine him, and you will find that he abandons himself
entirely upon his Shoulders; consider likewise the Proportions of his
Neck and his Thropple, the Condition of his Feet, the Make of his
Loins and Hocks; in short, apply yourself to the Discovery of his
Temper, Character and Humour.--That Horse whose Neck is hollow, or
Ewe-neck'd, instead of ballancing himself upon his Haunches, will arm
himself against his Chest, and will thereby make his Stops harsh and
disagreeable: Weak Feet, or Hocks that give him Pain, will make him
hate the Stop.--He will either endeavour to avoid it, or will make it
with Fear, so that he will be totally abandon'd upon the Apuy. If he
carries his Nose high, and is hollow-back'd at the same time, it will
be impossible for him to unite and put himself together, so as to be
ready, and to present his Front, if I may be allow'd the Word, to the
Stop; because the Strength of the Nape of the Neck depends upon the
Chine; and his Powers being thus disunited and broken, he will make his
Stop upon his Shoulders.
THERE is another Sort of Horses, who in hopes of avoiding the
Constraint of stopping upon their Haunches, plant themselves upon
their two Hind-legs; yield the Hand to them, in the Instant, and press
them forward, you will insensibly correct them of their Defence, which
happens only in Cases, where you stop them upon declining or uneven
Ground.
THERE are many People, who imagining they can unite their Horses by the
means of making a great Number of precipitate Stops, take little heed
whether the Creature which they undertake is too weak, or has Strength
sufficient for his Task.--The Horse, who, though strong, has suffer'd
in his Chine, in making the first Stop, will meditate a Defence in his
second or third; this will be to prevent the Rider in his Design: And
being alarm'd at the slightest Motion of the Hand he will stop all at
once, leaning with all his Force upon his Shoulders, and lifting up his
Croupe; which is a capital Fault, and not easy to be remedied.
THUS it may happen, that a Horse may make his Stops very defectively,
either from some natural or accidental Faults in the different Parts of
his Body; or it may be owing to the Unskilfulness and Ignorance of the
Rider, or the Effect of Faults and bad Lessons all together. Principles
that are true and just will assist and reform Nature, but a bad School
gives birth to Vice and Defences that are often not to be conquer'd.
It behoves us then to follow with Exactness those Lessons which are
capable of bringing a Horse to form a perfect Stop; that is to say, to
such a Point as to be able to make his Stop short, firm, and in one
_time_; and in which he collects and throws his Strength equally upon
his Haunches and Hocks, widening and anchoring, if I may so say, his
two Hind-feet exactly even on the Ground, in such a Manner that one
does not stand before the other, but both are in a Line.
IT would be a Proof of great Ignorance to undertake to reduce a Horse
to the Justness of the Stop, before he had been work'd and push'd out
in the Trot and Gallop to both Hands, or before he was so ready as
never to refuse to launch out immediately into a full Gallop; for if he
should happen to be _restiff_, should disobey the Spurs, or refuse to
turn to either Hand, the Means that then must be used to fix his Head,
would contribute towards confirming him in one or other of these Vices.