Spurs, the Switch, or Chambriere; you may punish him by keeping him
in a greater Degree of Subjection; but in all these Cases, a real
Horseman will endeavour rather to work upon the Understanding of the
Creature, than upon the different Parts of his Body. A Horse has
Imagination, Memory and Judgment; work upon these three Faculties, and
you will be most likely to succeed. In reality, the Corrections which
reduce a Horse to the greatest Obedience, and which dishearten him the
least, are such as are not severe, but such as consist in opposing his
Will and Humour, by restraining and putting him to do directly the
contrary.--If your Horse don't advance or go off readily, or if he is
sluggish, make him go sideways, sometimes to one hand, sometimes to
the other, and drive him forward; and so alternatively.--If he goes
forward too fast, being extremely quick of feeling, moderate your
Aids, and make him go backwards some Steps; if he presses forward
with Hurry and Violence, make him go backward a great deal.--If he
is disorderly and turbulent, walk him strait forward, with his Head
_in_ and Croupe _out_; these sorts of Corrections have great Influence
upon most Horses. It is true, that there are some of so bad and
rebellious Dispositions, which availing themselves of their Memory
to falsify their Lessons, require sharp Correction, and upon whom
gentle Punishment would have no Effect; but in using Severity to such
Horses, great Prudence and Management are necessary. The Character of a
Horseman is to work with Design, and to execute with Method and Order;
he should have more Forbearance, more Experience, and more Sagacity
than most People are possessed of.
THE Spurs, when used by a knowing and able Horseman, are of great
Service; but when used improperly, nothing so soon makes a Horse abject
and jadish. Given properly, they awe and correct the Animal; given
unduly, they make him restive and vicious, and are even capable of
Discouraging a drest Horse, and giving him a Disgust to the Manage;
don't be too hasty therefore to correct your Horse with them.
BE patient; if your Horse deserves Punishment, punish him smartly, but
seldom; for besides your habituating him to Blows, till he ceases to
mind them, you will astonish and confound him, and be more likely to
make him rebel, than to bring him to the Point you aim at. To give your
Horse both Spurs properly, you must change the Posture of your Legs,
and bending your Knee, strike him with them at once as quick and firmly
as you can. A Stroke of the Spurs wrongly given is no Punishment; it
rather hardens the Horse against them, teaches him to shake and frisk
about his Tail, and often to return the Blow with a Kick. Take care
never to open your Thighs and Legs in order to give both Spurs, for
besides that the Blow would not be at all stronger for being given in
this Manner, you would by this means lose the Time in which you ought
to give it, and the Horse would rather be alarmed at the Motion you
make in order to give the Blow, than punished by it when he felt in;
and thence your Action becoming irregular, could never produce a good
Effect.
THE Chambriere is used as a Correction, it ought however to be used
with Discretion; we will suppose it to be in able Hands, and forbear to
say more about it. As for the Switch, it is so seldom made use of to
punish a Horse, that I shall not speak of it, till I come to treat of
the Aids.
BY what has been said of Corrections, it is apparent, that the Horseman
works not only upon the Horse's Understanding, but even upon his Sense
of Feeling.
A HORSE has three Senses upon which we may work, Hearing, Feeling and
Seeing. The Touch is that Sense, by which we are enabled to make him
very quick and delicate, and when he is once brought to understand the
Aids which operate upon this Sense, he will be able to answer to all
that you can put him to.
THOUGH the Senses of Hearing and Sight are good in themselves, they
are yet apt to give a Horse a Habit of Working by Rote and of himself,
which is bad and dangerous. The Aids which are employed upon the Touch
or Feeling, are those of the Legs, of the Hand, and of the Switch.
Those which influence the Sight, proceed from the Switch; those which
affect the Sight and Hearing both, are derived from the Switch and the
Horseman's Tongue.
THE Switch ought neither to be long nor short, from three to four Feet
or thereabouts is a sufficient Length; you can give your Aids more
gracefully with a short than a long one. In a Manage, it is generally
held on the contrary Hand to which the Horse is going; or else it
is held up high at every Change of Hand: By holding the Switch, the
Horseman learns to carry his Sword in his Hand with Ease and Grace,
and to manage his Horse without being encumber'd by it. To aid with the
Switch, you must hold it in your Hand, in such a manner that the Point
of it be turned towards the Horse's Croupe, this is the most convenient
and easy Manner; that of aiding with it, not over the Shoulder, but
over the Bending of your Arm, by removing your left Arm from your Body,
and keeping it a little bent, so as to make the End of the Switch fall
upon the Middle of the Horse's Back, is very difficult to execute.
SHAKING the Switch backward and forward to animate the Horse with the
Sound, is a graceful Aid; but till a Horse is accustom'd to it, it is
apt to drive him forward too much.
IN case your Horse is too light and nimble with his Croupe, you must
aid before only with the Switch; if he bends or sinks his Croupe, or
tosses it about without kicking out, you must aid just at the Setting
on of the Tail.--If you would have him make Croupades, give him the
Switch a little above the Hocks.
TO aid with your Tongue, you must turn it upward against the Palate
of the Mouth, shut your Teeth, and then remove it from your Palate;
the Noise it makes is admirable to encourage a Horse, to quicken and
put him together; but you must not use it continually, for so, instead
of animating your Horse, it would serve only to lull him.--There are
People who when they work their Horses, whistle and make use of their
Voices; these Aids are ridiculous, we should leave these Habits to
Grooms and Coachmen, and know that Crys and Threats are useless.--The
Sense of hearing can serve at the most only to confound and surprize
a Horse, and you will never give him Exactness and Sensibility by
surprizing him.--The same may be said of the Sight; whatever strikes
this Sense, operates likewise upon the Memory, and this Method seldom
produces a good Effect; for you ought to know how important it is to
vary the Order of your Lessons, and the Places where you give them;
since it is certain, that a Horse who is always work'd in the same
Place, works by rote, and attends no longer to the Aids of the Hand
and Heels.--It is the same with hot and angry Horses, whose Memory is
so exact, and who are so ready to be disorder'd and put out of Humour,
that if the least thing comes in their Way during their Lesson, they
no longer think of what they were about: The way of dealing with these
Horses, is to work them with Lunettes on their Eyes; but it must be
remembered, that this Method would be dangerous with Horses which are
very impatient, hot, and averse to all Subjection, and so sensible to
the Aids, as to grow desperate to such a degree, as to break through
all Restraint, and run away headlong; it is therefore unsafe with these
Horses, because they could not be more blinded even with the Lunettes,
than they are when possessed with this Madness, which so blinds them,
that they no longer fear the most apparent Dangers.
HAVING said thus much of the Aids which operate upon the Touch, Hearing
and Sight, we must now confine ourselves to discourse upon those, which
regard the Touch only; for as it has been already said, these only are
the Aids by which a Horse can be drest, because it is only by the Hand
and Heel that he can be adjusted.
THE Horseman's Legs, by being kept near the Horse's Sides, serve not
only to embellish his Seat, but without keeping them in this Posture,
he never will be able to give his Aids justly.--To explain this: If the
Motion of my Leg is made at a distance from the Horse, it is rather
a Correction than an Aid, and alarms and disorders the Horse; on the
contrary, if my Leg is near the Part that is most sensible, the Horse
may be aided, advertised of his Fault, and even punished, in much less
time, and consequently by this means kept in a much greater Degree of
Obedience.--The Legs furnish us with four Sorts of Aids, the Inside of
the Knees, the Calfs, pinching delicately with the Spurs, and pressing
strongly upon the Stirrups. The essential Article in dressing a Horse,
is to make known the Gradation of these several Aids, which I will
explain. The Aid of the Inside of the Knees is given, by closing and
squeezing your Knees, in such a manner, that you feel them press and
grasp your Horse extremely. You aid with the Calfs of your Legs, by
bending your Knees, so as to bring your Calfs so close as to touch the
Horse with them.
THE Aid of Pinching with the Spurs, is performed in the same manner, by
bending your Knees, and touching with the Spurs the Hair of the Horse,
without piercing the Skin. The last Aid, which is only proper for very
sensible and delicate Horses, consists in stretching down your Legs,
and pressing firm upon the Stirrups.
THE strongest Aid is that of pinching with the Spur; the next in
degree, is applying the Calf of the Leg; pressing with the Knees is
the third, and leaning upon the Stirrup is the last and least; but
if these Aids are given injudiciously, they will have no Effect.
They must accompany and keep Pace with the Hand; for it is the just
Correspondence between the Heel and Hand, in which the Truth and
Delicacy of the Art consists; and without this Agreement there can be
no riding.
IT is the Foundation of all Justness; it constitutes and directs
the Cadence, Measure and Harmony of all the Airs; it is the Soul of
Delicacy, Brilliancy and Truth in riding; and as a Person who plays
upon a musical Instrument adapts and suits his two Hands equally to the
Instrument, so the Man who works a Horse ought to make his Hands and
Legs accord exactly together. I say his Hands and Legs should accord
and answer one to the other with the strictest Exactness, because the
nicest and most subtle Effects of the Bridle proceed entirely from this
Agreement; and however fine and nice a Touch a Horseman may be endued
with, if the Times of aiding with the Legs are broken and imperfect, he
never can have a good Hand; because it is evident that a good Hand is
not the Offspring only of a firm and good Seat, but owing likewise to
the Proportion and Harmony of all the Aids together. I understand by
the Harmony and Agreement of the Aids, the Art of knowing how to seize
the Moment in which they are to be given, and of giving them equally
and in a due Degree, as well as of measuring and comparing the Action
of the Hand and Legs together; by which both these Parts being made to
act together, and in time, will create and call out, as it were, those
Cadences and Equalities of Time, of which the finest Airs are compos'd;
Measures and Cadences which it is not possible to describe, but which
every Horseman ought to comprehend, attend to, and feel. If I want to
make my Horse go forward, I yield my Hand to him, and at the same time
close my Legs; the Hand ceasing to confine, and the Legs driving on his
hinder Parts, the Horse obeys. I have a mind to stop him, I hold him
in, and approach my Legs to his Sides gently, in order to proportion my
Aids to what I ask him to do; for I would not have it felt more than
just to make him stop upon his Haunches.
I WANT to turn him to the Left, I carry my Hand to the Left, and
support him at the same time; that is to say, I approach my Left-leg,
my Hand then guides the Horse to the Left, and my Leg, which operates
at the same time, helps him to turn; because by driving his Croupe to
the Right, his Shoulder is enabled to turn with more Ease. I want to go
to the Right, I carry my Hand to the Right, and I support him with my
Right-hand, my Leg determining his Croupe to the Left, facilitates the
Action of the Shoulder which my Hand had turned to the Right.
I WOULD make a Change to the Right, my Left-rein directs the Horse,
and my Left-leg at the same time confines his Croupe, so that it can't
escape, but must follow the Shoulders.--I would change Hands again to
the Left, my Right-rein then guides the Horse, and my Right-leg does
just the same as my Left-leg did in going to the Right.--I undertake
to work the Shoulder and Croupe at the same time; for this Purpose I
carry my Hand _out_.--The inner Rein acts, and the outward Leg of the
Horse is press'd, either by this Rein, or by my outward Leg, so that
the outward Rein operates upon the Shoulder, and the inner Rein with
my outward Leg directs the Croupe.--I put my Horse to Curvets.--I aid
him with my outward Rein, and if he is not enough upon his Haunches,
my Legs, accompanied with the inner Rein, aid me to put him more upon
them; if he turns his Croupe out, I aid and support him with my outward
Leg; if he flings it in too much, I confine him with my inner Leg.
I PUT him to make Curvets sideways, my outward Rein brings his outward
Shoulder in, because the outward Shoulder being brought in, his Croupe
is left at liberty; but if I have occasion I use my inner Rein, and if
his Croupe is not sufficiently confin'd, I support it with my outward
Leg.--Again, I put him to make Curvets backwards, I use then my outward
Rein, and keep my Hand near my Body. At each Cadence that the Horse
makes, I make him feel a _Time_; one, and every time he comes to the
Ground, I receive and catch him as it were in my Hand; but these
_Times_ ought not to be distant above an Inch or two at the most; I
then ease my Legs to him, which nevertheless I approach insensibly
every time he rises. Thus by making my Hands and Legs act together, I
learn not only to work a Horse with Justness and Precision, but even to
dress him to all the Airs; which I shall speak of distinctly and more
at large.
AS to the rest, be it remember'd, that it is not alone sufficient to
know how to unite your Aids, and to proportion them, as well as the
Corrections, to the Motions and the Faults in the Horse's Air, which
you would remedy; but whenever you are to make use of them, you must
consider likewise if they are suitable and adapted to the Nature of the
Horse; for otherwise they will not only prove ineffectual, but be the
Occasion even of many Disorders.
CHAP. X.
_Of the Passage._
THE Passage is the Key which opens to us all the Justness of the Art
of riding, and is the only Means of adjusting and regulating Horses in
all sorts of Airs; because in this Action you may work them slowly,
and teach them all the Knowledge of the Leg and Hand, as it were
insensibly, and without running any risque of disgusting them, so as to
make them rebel.--There are many sorts of the Passage: In that which is
derived from the Trot, the Action of the Horse's Legs is the same as in
the Trot; the Passage is only distinguish'd from the Trot, which is the
Foundation of it, by the extreme Union of the Horse, and by his keeping
his Legs longer in the Air, and lifting them both equally high, and
being neither so quick nor violent as in the Action of the Trot.
IN the Passage which is founded on the Walk, the Action of the Horse is
the same as in the Trot, and of consequence the same as in the Walk;
with this Difference, that the Horse lifts his Fore-feet a good deal
higher than his Hind-feet, that he _marks_ a certain Time or Interval
sufficiently long between the Motion of each Leg; his Action being much
more together and short, and more distinct and slow than the ordinary
Walk, and not so extended as in the Trot, in such a manner that he is,
as it were, kept together and supported under himself.
LASTLY, there is another sort of Passage to which the Trot likewise
gives birth, and in which the Action is so quick, so diligent, and so
supported, that the Horse seems not to advance, but to work upon the
same Spot of Ground. The _Spaniards_ call the Horses who make this sort
of Passage _Pissadores_. This sort of Horses have not their Action so
high and strong as the other, it being too quick and sudden; but almost
all Horses which are inclin'd to this sort of Passage, are generally
endowed with a great Share of Gentleness and Activity.
NO Horse should be put to the Passage till he has been well trotted
out, is supple, and has acquir'd some Knowledge of the _Union_.--If
he has not been well trotted, and by that means taught to go forward
readily, his Action, when put to the Passage, being shorten'd and
retain'd, you would run the risque of his becoming _restive_ and
_ramingue_; and was he utterly unacquainted with the Union, the Passage
requiring that he should be very much together, he would not be able to
bear it; so that finding himself press'd and forced on one hand, and
being incapable of obeying on the other, he would resist and defend
himself.
THERE are some People, who observing a Horse to have Strength and
Agility, and naturally disposed to unite himself, endeavour to get from
him some _Times_ of the Passage.--They succeed in their Attempt, and
immediately conclude that they can passage their Horse whenever they
will, and so press him to it, before he has been sufficiently suppled
and taught to go forward readily, and without retaining himself.
--Hence arise all the Disorders into which Horses plunge themselves,
which, if they had been properly managed at first, would have been
innocent of all Vice.--Farther, you ought to study well the Nature of
every Horse; you will discover of what Temper he is from the first
Moment you see him passage, and to what he is most inclin'd by Nature.
IF he has any Seeds of the _Ramingue_ in him, his Action will be short
and _together_; but it will be retain'd and loitering, the Horse
craving the Aids, and only advancing in proportion as the Rider gives
them, and drives him forward.--If he is light and active, quick of
Feeling, and willing, his Action will be free and diligent, and you
will perceive that he takes a Pleasure to work of himself, without
expecting the Aids.--If he be of a hot and fiery Nature, his Actions
will be quick and sudden, and will shew that he is angry and impatient
of the Subjection. If he wants Inclination and Will, he will be
unquiet, he will cross his Legs, and his Actions will be perplex'd. If
he is fiery, and heavy at the same time, his Action will be all upon
the Hand. If besides this, he has but little Strength, he will abandon
himself entirely upon the _Apuy_. Lastly, if he is cold and sluggish
in his Nature, his Motion will be unactive and dead; and even when he
is enliven'd by good Lessons, you will always be able to discover his
Temper by seeing the Aids, which the Rider is oblig'd to give him from
time to time, to hinder him from slackening or stopping the _Cadence_
of his Passage.
HAVING acquir'd a thorough Knowledge of your Horse's Character, you
should regulate all your Lessons and Proceedings conformable to
it.--If it hurts a Horse who partakes of the _Ramingue_ to be kept too
much together, unite him by little and little, and insensibly as it
were, and quite contrary to putting him to a short and united Passage
all at once. Extend and push him forward, passing one while from the
Walk to that of the Trot, and so alternatively.
IF your Horse is hot and impatient, he will cross his Steps, and not
go equal; keep such a Horse in a less degree of Subjection, ease his
Rein, pacify him, and retain or hold him in no more than is sufficient
to make him more quiet.--If with this he is heavy, put him to a Walk
somewhat shorter and slower than the Passage, and endeavour to put
him upon his Haunches insensibly, and by degrees. By these means you
will be enabled by Art to bring him to an Action, by so much the more
essential, as by this alone a Horse is taught to know the Hands and
Heels, as I have already observed, without ever being perplex'd or
disordered.
CHAP. XI.
_Of working with the Head and Croupe to the Wall._
THE Lessons of the Head and Croupe to the Wall are excellent to confirm
a Horse in Obedience. In effect, when in this Action he is, as it were,
balanced between the Rider's Legs, and by working the Croupe along the
Wall, you are enabled not only to supple his Shoulders, but likewise to
teach him the Aids of the Legs.
FOR this Purpose, after having well open'd the Corner, turn your Hand
immediately, and carry it _in_, in order to direct your Horse by your
outward Rein; taking always care to support the Croupe with your
outward Leg directly over-against, and about two Feet distant from the
Wall: Bend your Horse to the Way he goes, and draw back the Shoulder
that is _in_ with your inner Rein, because the outward Leg being
carried with more care over the inner Leg by means of the outward Rein,
the Horse will cross and bring one Leg over the other, the Shoulders
will go before the Croupe, you will narrow him behind, and consequently
put him upon his Haunches.
YOU ought to be careful at the same time, and see that your Horse never
falsifies or quits the Line, either in advancing or going backward.--If
he presses forward, support him with your Hand; if he hangs back,
support him with your Legs, always giving him the Leg that serves to
drive him on, stronger than the other which serves only to support him;
that is, acting stronger with the Leg that is _without_, than with that
which is within.
THE Lesson of the Head to the Wall is very efficacious to correct a
Horse that forces the Hand, or who leans heavily upon it, because it
compels him to put himself together, and be light upon the Hand with
less Aids of the Bridle; but no Horse that is _restive_ or _ramingue_
should be put to it, for all narrow and confin'd Lessons serve only
to confirm them in their natural Vice.--Place your Horse directly
opposite the Wall, at about two Feet distance from it; make him go
sideways, as I have already directed in the Article of Croupe to the
Wall; but left one Foot should tread upon the other, and he should
knock them together and hurt himself, in the Beginning of both Lessons
you must not be too strict with him, but let his Croupe be rather on
the contrary Side of his Shoulders, since by this means he will look
towards the Way he is going more easily, and be better able to raise
the Shoulder and Leg which is to cross over the other.--By degrees you
will gain his Haunches, and he will grow supple before and behind,
and at the same time become light in the Hand: Never forget that your
Horse ought always to be bent to the Way he goes; in order to do this
readily, guide him with the outward Rein; for very often the Stiffness
of the Neck or Head is owing to nothing but the confined Action of the
outward Shoulder; it being certain, that either the Difficulty or Ease
of working either of those Parts, depends entirely upon the other;
your Horse going thus sideways, carry your Hand a little out from
time to time; the inner Rein by this means will be shortened, and make
the Horse look _in_, the more it enlarges him before, by keeping his
Fore-leg that is _in_, at a distance from the Fore-leg that is _out_,
which consequently bringing the inner Hinder-leg near to the outward,
confines his hinder Parts, and makes him bend his Haunches, especially
the outward, upon which he rests his Weight, and keeps him in an equal
Balance.--Never put your Horse to this Lesson, till he has been work'd
a long while upon large Circles, his Head _in_, or to the Center, and
his Croupe _out_; otherwise you would run the Risque of throwing him
into great Disorder.
THE greater part of Defences proceed from the Shoulders or Haunches,
that is to say, from the fore or hinder Parts; and thence the Horse
learns to resist the Hand or Heel. It is the want of Suppleness then,
that hinders the Horse from executing what you put him to do; and how
can it be expected that he should answer and obey, when he is stiff in
the Shoulders, Haunches, and Ribs? especially if, without reflecting
that Suppleness is the Foundation of all, you press and teize him, and
put him to Lessons beyond his Power and Capacity.
CHAP. XII.
_Of Changes of the Hand, large and narrow, and of Voltes and
Demi-voltes._
A CHANGE is that Action, whereby the Horseman guides and causes his
Horse to go from the Right-hand to the Left, and from the Left to the
Right, in order to work him equally to both Hands; therefore changing
the Hand, when you are to the Right, is making your Horse go to the
Left-hand, and when on the Left, making him go to the Right. The
Changes are made either on one _Line_ or _Path_, or on two, and are
either large or narrow. Changing the Hand upon one Line, is when the
Horse describes but one Line with his Feet; changing upon two Lines, is
when the Haunches follow and accompany the Shoulders; and to make this
Change, the Horse's Feet must consequently describe two Lines, one made
by his Fore-feet, the other with his Hinder-feet.