backwards, it is a proper Punishment for the Fault. If in stopping
he tosses up his Nose, or forces the Hand, in this Case keep your
Bridle-hand low and firm, and your Reins quite equal; give him no
Liberty, press upon his Neck with your Right-hand, till he has brought
down his Nose, and then immediately give him all his Bridle; this is
the surest Method to bring him into the Hand.
TO compel a Horse to stop upon his Haunches, nothing is so efficacious
as Ground that is a little sloping; this is of service to exercise such
Horses upon as are naturally too loose in their Paces, who are heavy
and apt to abandon themselves upon the Hand, by this means they become
light before; you must nevertheless examine if his Feet, his Loins, his
Shoulders and Legs are sufficiently able to bear it, for otherwise your
Horse would soon be spoil'd: The whole therefore depends in this Case,
as in all others, upon the Sagacity and Experience of the Horseman.
WHEN a Horseman puts his Horse to the Stop, in such a Place as I have
mentioned, he should put the Stress of his Aids rather in his Thighs
and Knees, than in his Stirrups; one of the most trying Lessons a Horse
can be put to, is to stop him, and make him go backwards up Hill;
therefore upon these Occasions you must ease the fore Part of the Horse
as much as you can, and throw your whole Weight upon the hinder. We
have already said, that there are some Horses, which from Weakness in
their Make, can never be brought to form a just and beautiful Stop.
There are others likewise, who are apt to stop too suddenly and short
upon their Shoulders, tho' otherwise naturally too much raised before,
and too light. These employ all their Power in order to stop all at
once, in hopes either of putting an end to the Pain they feel, from
the Rudeness of the Stop; or else perhaps that some Defect of Sight
makes them apprehend they are near something that they fear, for almost
all Horses, blind of one Eye, or of both, stop with the greatest
Readiness: take care never to make this sort of Horses go backward; on
the contrary, stop them slowly and by degrees, in order to embolden
them, remembring never to force, or keep them in too great a degree of
Subjection.
I HAVE thus shown, that a Stop that is made with Ease, Steadiness, and
according to the Rules, will contribute a great deal towards putting
a Horse upon his Haunches, and giving him that firm, equal, and light
Apuy, which we always desire to gain; because a just Stop makes a Horse
bend and sink his hinder Parts; I have made it likewise appear, that a
sudden and ill-executed Stop raises the fore Parts too much, stiffens
the Hocks, and rather takes a Horse off his Haunches, than sets him
upon them. Let us now proceed to the Lesson of teaching a Horse to go
backward.
CHAP. VI.
_Of teaching a Horse to go backward._
THE Action of a Horse, when he goes backward, is to have always one of
his hinder Legs under his Belly, to push his Croupe backward, to bend
his Haunches, and to rest and ballance himself, one time on one Leg,
one on the other; this Lesson is very efficacious to lighten a Horse,
to settle him in the Hand, to make him ready to advance and go forward,
and to prepare him to put himself together, and sit down upon his
Haunches.
IT should not however be practised, till the Horse has been well laid
out and worked in the Trot, and his Limbs are become supple; because,
till he is arrived to this Point, you should not begin to unite or put
him together: Care must be taken, that this Action of going backward
be just, and that in performing it, the Horse keeps his Head steady,
fixt, and in a right Place; that his Body be trussed or gathered up,
as it were, under him; that his Feet be even; that he be not upon his
Shoulders, but on the contrary, on his Haunches; for if he should
be false as to any of these Particulars, this Lesson, very far from
putting him together, would have the contrary Effect, and dis-unite him.
IN order that a Horse may be able to execute what is required of him,
he must first comprehend what it is that is asked of him, and for
this Purpose the Horseman should make his Lessons short, and demand
but little at a Time; begin then to make him go backward, when he is
arrived far enough to understand what you expect him to do; but at
first be contented with a little, it is sufficient if he understands
what you want.
THERE are Horses, who can go backward, not only with great Ease, but
do it even with the Exactness of Horses that are perfectly drest; if
you examine these Horses, you will find that all the Parts of their
Body are exactly proportioned; they have Strength, and Nature herself
has taught them to unite themselves; but there are others, who can't
go backwards without great Difficulty; these are weak in the Back, or
otherwise imperfect in their Make; don't demand too much of these, work
them with caution, for Rigour with such Horses, is never successful.
THERE are another sort of Horses, who never can be reconciled to
Subjection; whenever you try to make them go backward, they fix their
fore Feet fast upon the Ground, and _arm_ themselves; in this Case you
must endeavour to win them, as it were insensibly, and by degrees. For
this Purpose, raise your hand a little, remove it from your Body, at
the same time shake your Reins, and you will find that by degrees you
will accustom your Horse to obey; but remember at the same time, that
you would have a less share of Reason, than the Animal you undertake
to dress, were you to expect to reduce him to Obedience all at once;
your Horse answering to the Reins which you shake, will move perhaps
only one of his fore Feet, leaving the other advanced; this Posture
without doubt is defective, because he is dis-united; but as Perfection
can't be gained at once, Patience and gentle Usage are the only certain
Methods of bringing your Horse to perform what you want. There are
others, who when they go backward, do it with Fury and Impatience;
these you should correct, briskly, and support lightly with your Legs,
while they go backward. There are another sort, who work their lower
Jaw about as if they wanted to catch hold of the Bit, who bear upon
the Hand, and endeavour to force it; to such Horses you must keep your
Hand extremely low, and your Reins exactly even, distribute equally the
Power of each, by rounding your Wrist, and keeping your Nails exactly
opposite your Body.
AFTER having made your Horse go backward, let him advance two or three
Steps, if he obeys the Hand readily.--This will take off any Dislike
or Fear, he may entertain from the Constraint of going backward; if
he forces the Hand in going backward, these three Steps forward will
contribute to bring him into it again; and lastly, they prevent any
Vice, that this Lesson might otherwise produce.
AFTER having advanced three Steps, let him stop, and turn him; you will
by these means support him, and take him off from any ill Designs,
which the Treatment you are obliged to observe towards him, in order to
make him stop and go backward with Precision and Order, might otherwise
give rise to.--After having turned him, make him go backward, you will
prevent his having too great Desire of going too soon from the Place
where he stopp'd, as well as from that to which he turned.
THE Moment the Stop is made, give him his Bridle; by stopping you
have augmented the Degree of the Apuy in the Horse's Mouth; you must
increase it still more, in order to make him go backwards; hence a hard
Hand and bad Mouth.
THIS Reasoning is plain, and these Principles are true; notwithstanding
which, there are few Horsemen who attend to it, either because they
never think and reflect, or else that the Force of bad Habits overcomes
them.
THIS Lesson, if well weigh'd and given properly, is a necessary and
certain Method of teaching Horses to make a good Stop, of rendering
them light and obedient when they pull or are beyond the Degree of what
is call'd _full in the Hand_.--But if given improperly, or if too often
repeated, it then grows to be a Habit, and a Habit is no Correction.
Never practise it long with Horses who are hot, and who have hard
Mouths, their Impatience and Heat, join'd to Habit and Custom, would
prevent them from knowing the Cause, and feeling the Effects. It is the
same with those who have short Fore-hands; for as they are generally
thick-shoulder'd and heavy, the Difficulty they feel to collect
themselves upon their Haunches, naturally disposes them to press the
Branches of the Bit against their Chest, by which means this Lesson
becomes quite ineffectual.
CHAP. VII.
_Of the uniting or putting a Horse together._
THE End which the Horseman proposes to attain by his Art, is to give to
the Horses, which he undertakes, the _Union_, without which, no Horse
can be said to be perfectly drest; every one allows that the whole of
the Art depends upon this, yet few People reason or act from Principles
and Theory, but trust entirely to Practice; hence it follows, that
they must work upon Foundations false and uncertain, and so thick is
the Darkness in which they wander, that it is difficult to find any
one who is able to define this Term of _uniting_ or _putting_ a Horse
_together_, which is yet so constantly in the Mouth of every Body; I
will undertake, however, to give a clear and distinct Idea of it; and
for that Purpose shall treat it with Order and Method.
THE uniting then or putting together, is the Action by which a Horse
draws together and assembles the Parts of his Body, and his Strength,
in distributing it equally upon his four Legs, and in re-uniting or
drawing them together, as we do ourselves, when we are going to jump,
or perform any other Action which demands Strength and Agility. This
Posture alone is sufficient to settle and place the Head of the Animal,
to lighten and render his Shoulders and Legs active, which from the
Structure of his Body, support and govern the greater Part of his
Weight; being then by these means made steady, and his Head well
placed, you will perceive in every Motion that he makes, a surprizing
Correspondence of the Parts with the whole. I say, that from the
natural Structure of a Horse's Body, his Legs and Shoulders support the
greatest Part of his Weight, in reality his Croupe or Haunches carry
nothing but his Tail, while his fore Legs, being perpendicular, are
loaded with the Head, Neck, and Shoulders; so that, let the Animal be
ever so well made, ever so well proportioned, his fore Part, either
when he is in Motion, or in a State of Rest, is always employed, and
consequently in want of the Assistance of Art to ease it; and in this
consists the _Union_ or putting together, which by putting the Horse
upon his Haunches, counterballances and relieves his fore Part.
THE _Union_ not only helps and relieves the Part of the Horse that
is the weakest, but it is so necessary to every Horse, that no Horse
that is dis-united can go freely, he can neither Leap nor Gallop with
Agility and Lightness, nor run without being in manifest Danger of
falling and pitching himself headlong, because his Motions have no
Harmony, no Agreement one with another. It is allowed, that Nature
has given to every Horse a certain Equilibre, by which he supports
and regulates himself in all his Motions; we knew that his Body is
supported by his four Legs, and that his four Legs have a Motion, which
his Body must of necessity follow; but yet this natural Equilibre is
not sufficient. All Men can walk, they are supported on two Legs,
notwithstanding this we make a great Difference between that Person to
whom proper Exercises have taught the free Use of his Limbs, and him
whose Carriage is unimproved by Art, and consequently heavy and aukward.
'TIS just the same with respect to a Horse; we must have recourse to
Art to unfold the natural Powers that lay hid and are shut up in him,
if we mean he should make a proper Use of the Limbs which Nature has
given him; the Use of which can be discover'd and made familiar to him
no other way than by working him upon true and just Principles.
THE Trot is very efficacious to bring a Horse to this Union so
important, and so necessary; I speak of the Trot, in which he is
supported and kept together, and suppled at the same time; this compels
the Horse to put himself together: in effect, the Trot in which a Horse
is well supported partakes of a quick and violent Motion: It forces a
Horse to collect and unite all his Strength, because it is impossible
that a Horse that is kept together, should at the same time abandon and
fling himself forward. I explain myself thus.--In order to support your
Horse in his Trot, the Horseman should hold his Hand near his Body,
keeping his Horse together a little, and have his Legs near his Sides.
The Effect of the Hand is to confine and raise the fore Parts of the
Horse; the Effect of the Legs is to push and drive forward the hinder
Parts: Now if the fore Parts are kept back or confin'd, and the hinder
Parts are driven forward, the Horse in a quick Motion, such as the
Trot, must of necessity sit down upon his Haunches, and unite and put
himself together.
FOR the same Reason making your Horse launch out vigorously in his
Trot, and quickening his Cadence from time to time, putting him to make
Pesades, stopping him and making him go backward, will all contribute
towards his acquiring the Union.--I would define his going off readily,
or all at once, not to be a violent and precipitate Manner of Running,
but only to consist in the Horse's being a little animated, and going
somewhat faster than the ordinary Time of his Pace.--Your Horse trots,
press him a little; in the Instant that he redoubles and quickens his
Action, moderate and shorten, if I may so say, the Hurry of his Pace;
the more then that he presses to go forward, the more will his being
check'd and confin'd tend to unite his Limbs, and the _Union_ will
owe its Birth to opposite Causes; that is to say, on one hand to the
Ardour of the Horse who presses to go forward, and to the Diligence
and Attention of the Horseman on the other, who, by holding him in,
slackens the Pace, and raises the Fore-parts of the Creature, and at
the same time distributes his Strength equally to all his Limbs. The
Action of a Horse, when going backward, is directly opposite to his
abandoning himself upon his Shoulders; by this you compel him to put
himself upon his Haunches: this Lesson is by so much therefore the more
effectual, as that the Cause of a Horse's being dis-united, is often
owing to the Pain he feels in bending his Haunches.
THE Pesades have no less Effect, especially upon Horses that are clumsy
and heavy shoulder'd; because they teach them to use them, and to raise
them; and when they raise them up, it follows of necessity that all
their Weight must be thrown upon their Haunches. A light and gentle
Hand then, and the Aids of the Legs judiciously managed, are capable
to give a Horse the _Union_; but it is not so clear at what time we
ought to begin to put a Horse upon his Haunches. Is it not necessary
before we do this, that the Horse should have his Shoulders entirely
suppled? It is evident, that a Horse can never support himself upon
his Haunches, unless his Fore-part be lightened; let us see then by
what means we may hope to acquire this Suppleness, the only Source of
light and free Action. Nothing can supple more the Shoulders than the
Working a Horse upon large Circles.--Walk him first round the Circle,
in order to make him know his Ground; afterwards try to draw his Head
_in_, or towards the Center, by means of your inner Rein and inner Leg.
For instance,--I work my Horse upon a Circle, and I go to the Right by
pulling the right Rein; I bring in his outward Shoulder by the means of
the left Rein, and support him at the same time with my inner Leg; thus
the Horse has, if I may so say, his Head _in_, or towards the Center,
although the Croupe is at Liberty. The right Leg crosses over the left
Leg, and the right Shoulder is suppled, while the left Leg supports
the whole Weight of the Horse in the Action: In working him to the
left Hand, and following the same Method, the left Shoulder supples,
and the right is pressed and confined. This Lesson, which tends not
only to supple the Shoulders, but likewise to give an Apuy, being
well comprehended by the Horse, I lead him along the Side of the
Wall,--having placed his Head, I make use of the inner Rein, which
draws in his Head, and I bring in his outward Shoulder by means of
the other Rein: In this Posture, I support him with my inner Leg, and
he goes along the Wall, his Croupe being out and at liberty, and his
inner Leg passing over and crossing his outward Leg at every Step he
makes.--By this, I supple his Neck, I supple his Shoulders, I work his
Haunches, and I teach the Horse to know the Heels. I say, that the
Haunches are worked, though his Croupe is at liberty, because it is
from the Fore-parts only, that a Horse can be upon his Haunches.
IN effect, after having placed his Head, draw it _in_, and you will
lengthen his Croupe, you raise him higher before than behind, his Legs
come under his Belly, and consequently he bends his Haunches. It is
the same as when he comes down Hill, his Croupe, being higher than his
Fore-parts, is pushed under him, and the Horse is upon his Haunches;
since it is evident that the Hinder support all the Fore-parts,
therefore in going along the Side of the Wall, by the means of the
inner Rein, I put together and unite my Horse.
BEHOLD then, in short, the most certain Methods of enabling yourself to
give to a Horse this _Union_, this Freedom and Ease, by which learning
how to ballance his Weight equally and with Art, and distributing his
Strength with Exactness to all his Limbs, he becomes able to undertake
and execute with Justness and Grace, whatever the Horseman demands of
him, conformable to his Strength and Disposition.
CHAP. VIII.
_Of the Pillars._
IT is the same with respect to the Pillars, as with all other Lessons
which you must teach a Horse, in order to make him perfect in his Air.
Excellent in itself, it becomes pernicious and destructive under the
Direction of the Ignorant, and is not only capable to dishearten any
Horse, but to strain and ruin him entirely.
THE Pillar partly owes its Origin to the famous _Pignatelli_[1]. Mess.
_de la Broue_ and _Pluvinel_, who were his Scholars, brought it first
into _France_; the first indeed made little use of it, and seem'd to
be very well appriz'd of its Inconveniencies and Dangers; as for the
other, one may say, that he knew not a better or shorter Method of
dressing and adjusting a Horse. In effect, according to his Notions,
working a Horse round a single Pillar could never fail of setting
him upon his Haunches, making him advance, suppling and teaching him
to turn roundly and exactly; and by putting him between two Pillars,
provided he had Vigour, he was taught to obey the Heels readily, to
unite himself, and acquire in a shorter time a good Apuy in making
Curvets. If he wanted to settle his Horse's Head in a short time, the
Pillars were very efficacious. He tied the Horse between them to the
Cords of the Snaffle which he had in his Mouth, instead of the Bridle.
There he work'd his Horse without a Saddle, and maintain'd, that if
the Horse tossed or shook his Head, bore too much, or too little upon
his Bridle, he punish'd himself in such a manner, that (as he imagin'd)
the Horse was compell'd to put himself upon his Haunches, and to take
a good Apuy; especially as the Fear of the Chambriere or Whip, always
ready behind him, kept him in awe. The Horse was often taken out of the
two Pillars, in order to be put to the single Pillar, with a Cord tied
to the Banquet of the Bit as a false Rein; here he was work'd by being
made to rise before, and driven round the Pillar, with a design and in
hopes of making him step out and embrace, or cover well the Ground he
went round, as well as to give him Resolution in his Work, and to cure
him of Dullness and Sloth, if he had it in his Temper. We don't know
whether Mr. _Pluvinel_ designed any real Advantages from this Method or
no; but be that as it will, it prevails no longer among us.--It must
be owned, that the two Pillars of his inventing are still preserved,
and that no Manage is without them; but at least we have suppress'd the
single Pillar, which serves only to fatigue and harrass a Horse: Learn
never to put a Horse between the two Pillars till he is well suppled,
and you have given him the first Principles of the _Union_ between
the Legs, which are the natural Pillars that every Horseman should
employ. We must take care to work the Horse with great Prudence at
first, and as gently as possible; for a Horse being in this Lesson very
much confined and forced, and not able to escape, nor to go forward
nor backward, he oftentimes grows quite furious, and abandons himself
to every Motion that Rage and Resentment can suggest. Begin then this
Lesson in the plainest Manner, contenting yourself with only making
him go from side to side, by means of the Switch, or from fear of the
Chambriere. At the End of some Days, the Horse, thus become obedient,
and accustomed to the Subjection of the Pillars; try to make him
insensibly go into the Cords, which when he will do readily, endeavour
to get a Step or two exact and in _time_ of the _Passage_ or _Piaffer_.
Footnote 1: He liv'd at _Naples_, and was the most eminent Horseman of
his Time.
IF he offers to present himself to it, be it never so little, make him
leave off, encourage him, and send him to the Stable; augment thus your
Lessons by degrees, and examine and endeavour to discover to what his
Disposition turns, that you may cultivate and improve it. The worst
Effect of the Pillars is the Hazard you run of entirely ruining the
Hocks of your Horse, if you don't distinguish very exactly between
those Parts and the Haunches. Many People think that when the Horse
goes into the Cords, he is of consequence upon his Haunches; but they
don't remark, that often the Horse only bends his Hocks, and that his
Hocks pain him by so much the more, as his hinder Feet are not in their
due Equilibre.
THE Fore-legs of a Horse are made like those of a Man, the Knees are
before or _without_, the Hinder-legs are shaped like our Arms, he bends
his Hocks as we do our Elbows; therefore if he rises before very high,
he must stretch and stiffen his Hocks, and consequently can never be
seated upon his Haunches; to be upon them, the Horse must bend and
bring them under him, because the more his Hinder-legs are brought
under him, the more his Hinder-feet are in the necessary Point of
Gravity, to support all the Weight of his Body, which is in the Air,
in a just Equilibre.--These Remarks are sufficient to evince the
Inconveniencies that may arise from the Pillars; never quit sight of
these Principles, you will find by adhering to them, the Horse that is
drest according to their Tenour, will be a Proof of the real Advantages
that you may draw from a Lesson, which never does harm, but when
occasioned by the Imprudence or Ignorance of those who give it.
CHAP. IX.
_Of Aids and Corrections._
AN Aid may be termed whatever assists or directs a Horse, and whatever
enables him to execute what we put him to do.--Corrections are whatever
Methods we use to awe and punish him, whenever he disobeys: Aids
therefore are to prevent, and Corrections to punish, whatever Fault he
may commit.
THE Aids are various, and are to be given in different Manners, upon
different Occasions, they are only meant to accompany the Ease and
Smoothness of the Horse in his Air, and to form and maintain the
Justness of it; for this Reason they ought to be delicate, fine,
smooth, and steady, and proportioned to the Sensibility or Feeling of
the Horse; for if they are harsh and rude, very far from Aiding, they
would throw the Horse into Disorder, or else occasion his Manage to be
false, his Time broken, constrained, and disagreeable.