Lines, when he describes two, cross the Manage from Corner to Corner;
changing narrow, is when these Lines pass over but a Part of it.
A _Volte_ is generally defined to be whatever forms a Circle.--Voltes
of two Lines or Paths, describe two, one with the Horse's Fore, the
other with his Hinder-feet.
IF the Circle then forms a Volte, by consequence half a Circle forms
what is called the _Half-volte_.--These Half-voltes, and Quarters of
Voltes, are made upon two Lines, as well as the Volte.--A Demi-volte
of two Treads, is nothing else than two half Circles, one drawn by
the Horse's Fore-feet, the other by the Hinder; it is the same with
Quarters of Voltes.--A Horse can be work'd, and put to all sorts of
Airs upon the Voltes, Half-voltes, and Quarters of Voltes.--But as the
Rules necessary to be observed and followed in making Voltes of two
Treads, and in changing of Hands in the Passage, are only general, I
shall content myself with explaining them in this Chapter; reserving
to myself a Power of pointing out the Exceptions, when I shall come
to treat of the different Airs, and the different Manages, that are
practised upon the Voltes. Three things equally essential, and equally
difficult to attain, must concur to form the Justness of a Change; they
are the manner of beginning it, of continuing, and closing it.--We
will suppose you in the Manage, you walk your Horse forward, you bend
him properly, and you are come to the Place where you intend to change
large. For this Purpose, make a half Stop, and take care never to
abandon the Rein which is to bend your Horse's Neck; the other Rein,
that is, the outward Rein, is that, which you must use to guide and
direct him, but you must proportion the Stress you lay upon one with
the other.--As it is the outward Rein which determines your Horse the
Way he is to go, make that operate, its Effect will be to bring the
outward Shoulder _in_; if then it brings the outward Shoulder _in_, it
guides and determines the Horse to the Side to which you are going,
and confines and fixes the Croupe at the same time. This is not all,
at the same Instant that your Hand operates, support your Horse with
your outward Leg: Your Hand having determined the Shoulder, and fixed
the Croupe, your Leg must help to secure it; for without the Aid of the
Leg, the Croupe would be unconfined, would be lost, and the Horse would
work only upon one Line. You see then, how requisite it is for the
Horseman to be exact, active, and to give his Aids with the greatest
Delicacy, in order to _begin_ his Change with Justness; because it is
necessary, that the Times of giving the Hand and Leg, should be so
close one to the other, as not to be perceived or distinguished.--You
should never abandon, I have already said, that Rein with which you
bend your Horse; this is the Reason--Every Horse when he makes a
Change, ought to look towards the Way he is going; this Turn of the
Neck, this Attitude, enables him to perform his Work better, and makes
him appear graceful in it; therefore if he is turned or bent before
he begins to change, why should you abandon the Rein that serves to
bend him; since in this case, you would be under a double Difficulty
in wanting on one hand the Point of Apuy, which ought to be found in
the Rein which serves to bend him, and the Point of Apuy which ought
to result from the working of the other Rein, which is to determine
him.--The outward Rein operates to bring in the outward Shoulder, your
outward Leg accompanies the Action of your Hand; here then is your
Change begun.
THE outward Shoulder and Leg never could have been brought in, without
passing over or crossing the inner Leg and Shoulder; this is the Action
which the outward Leg should constantly perform through the whole
Change. In order to arrive at a just Execution of this, you should be
able to feel which Feet are off the Ground, and which are upon it. If
the inner Leg is in the Air, and the Horse is ready to put it to the
Ground, raise your Hand, and carry it _in_ insensibly, and your Horse
will be oblig'd to advance his outward Leg and Shoulder, which must by
this means cross the inner Leg and Shoulder whether he will or no.
IT is not sufficient for the Horse to cross his Legs only one over the
other, he must go forward likewise at the same time, because in making
the Change large, his Feet should describe two diagonal Lines.--It is
of Importance therefore, that the same Attention be had to the inner as
the outward Leg, for it is by the means of his Legs only that he can
advance. It is true that you should endeavour to make him go forward
by putting back your Body, and yielding your Hand; but if he won't
obey these Aids, you must make use of the Calfs of your Legs, aiding
more strongly with your Left-leg when you are going to the Right-hand,
and more strongly with your Right-leg when you are going to the Left.
Besides, it is so necessary to have an equal Attention to the Legs,
because the Horse could never work with Justness, if he were not
ballanced equally between the Rider's Legs; and it is from this exact
Obedience only, that he is enabled to make the Changes with Precision,
because without a Knowledge of the Hand and Heels, it is impossible he
should obey the Motions of his Rider--In order to _close_ the Change
justly, the Horses Fore-legs should arrive at the same time upon a
strait Line; so that a Change justly executed, and in the same Cadence
or Time, is such, as is not only begun, but finish'd likewise, and
closed in such a Proportion, that the Croupe always accompanies and
keeps Pace with the Shoulders throughout.--In order to finish it in
this manner, you must observe the following Rules. The greater Number
of Horses, instead of finishing their Changes with Exactness, are apt
to lean on one Side, to make their Croupe go before their Shoulders,
and to throw themselves with Impatience, in order to get upon one
Line again; the Method of correcting them for these Irregularities,
is to make a Demi-volte of two Lines, in the same Place where they
were to have closed their Change; for Example, if in changing to the
Right, they are too eager to come upon the strait Line, without having
properly finish'd their Change, demand of them a Demi-volte to the
Left, which you must make them round equally with their Shoulders and
Haunches.
AN essential Point, which nevertheless is little regarded, is the
making your Horse resume his Line, or go off again to the other Hand,
when he has made his Change. To make him do this, you must carry your
Hand to the Side to which you have closed your Change, and carry it
insensibly as it were, after which you will be able with great Ease to
bend your Horse to the Inside. I must further explain the Necessity of
this Action.
IT is evident that a Horse in the Passage, neither can, nor ought if he
could, move the two Feet on the same Side together. In beginning and
finishing the Change, the outward Leg and Shoulder pass and cross over
the inner Leg and Shoulder; he is consequently supported in this Action
on the outward Haunch, for the inner Foot behind was off the Ground;
now, if at the Closing of the Change, and in the Instant that he is
again upon one Line; as for Example--If in closing his Change to the
Right, the Horse is supported in this Action by the left Haunch, how is
it possible that he can be bent to the Left? To attempt this, would be
to make him move two Legs on the same Side, which would be undertaking
a thing impossible to be done. Being therefore arrived upon one Line,
carry your Hand to the Wall, this will make your Horse change his Leg;
he will be supported in his Action by his right Haunch, and will be
able to bend himself with great Facility.
IN order to make the Volte true and perfect, he ought to be just with
respect to his Head and Neck, and have the Action of his Shoulders
and Haunches quite equal. When I say that a Horse should have his
Shoulders and Haunches equal, I would not be understood to mean, that
his Fore-feet should not cover more Ground than his Hinder; on the
contrary, I know it is a Rule never to be departed from, that his
Shoulders should precede half of the Haunches; but I insist that the
Haunches should go along with, and follow exactly the Motion of, the
Shoulders; for 'tis from their Agreement, and from the Harmony between
the Hind-legs and the Fore, upon which the Truth of the Volte depends.
The four Legs of a Horse may be compared to the four Strings of an
Instrument; if these four Cords don't correspond, it is impossible
there should be any Musick; it is the same with a Horse, if the Motions
of his Haunches and Fore-legs don't act together and assist each other,
and if he has not acquired a Habit and Ease to perform what he ought to
do, the most expert and dextrous Horseman will never be able to acquit
himself as he ought, nor execute any Air justly and with Pleasure, be
it either on the Volte or strait forward.
WHENEVER you put your Horse to the Passage upon the Voltes, he ought
to make the same Number of Steps or Times with his Hinder, as with his
Fore-feet; if the Space of the Ground upon which he works is narrow and
confin'd, his Steps should be shorter.
I WILL suppose that he describes a large Circle with his Fore-feet;
the Action of his outward Shoulder ought consequently to be free, and
the Shoulder much advanced, in order to make the outward Leg pass
over and cross at every Step the inner Leg, that he may more easily
embrace his Volte, without quitting the Line of the Circle, and without
disordering his Hinder-leg; which ought likewise to be subject to the
same Laws as the Fore-legs, and cross the outward Leg over the inner,
but not so much as the Fore-legs, because they have less Ground to go
over, and should only keep the Proportion.--In working upon Voltes
of two Lines, the Horse should make as many Steps with his Hinder as
with his Fore-feet; because those Horses whose Haunches go before the
Shoulders, and who cut and shorten the exact Line of the Volte, are
apt to keep their Hinder-feet in one Place, and make at the same time
one or two Steps with their Fore-feet, and by this means falsify and
avoid filling up the Circle in the Proportion they begun it. The same
Fault is to be found with Horses who hang back at the End of a Change,
and throwing out their Croupe, arrive at the Wall with their Shoulders,
and consequently fail to close their Change justly.
FURTHER, in working upon this Lesson, it is indispensably necessary
that at every Step the Horse takes, he should make his outward Leg
cross and come over the inner, because this will prevent a Horse
that is too quick of Feeling, or one, that is _ramingue_, from
becoming _entier_, or to bend himself, or lean in his Voltes, Vices
that are occasion'd from having the Haunches or Hinder-legs too much
constrain'd. There are Horses likewise who have their Croupe so light
and uncertain, that from the Moment they have begun the Volte, they
lean and widen their Hinder-legs, and throw them out of the Volte.
TO remedy this, aid with the outward Leg, carrying your Bridle-hand to
the same Side, and not _in_, because it is by the Means of the outward
Leg and inner Rein, that you will be enabled to adjust and bring in the
Croupe upon the Line which it ought to keep.
IF it happens that the Horse don't keep up to the Line of his Volte, or
throws his Croupe out, press him forward, letting him go strait on two
or three Steps, keeping him firm in the Hand, and in a slow and just
Time, and use the Aids which I have just now directed.--This Lesson
is equally useful in case your Horse is naturally inclin'd to carry
his Haunches too much in, and where he is _ramingue_, or in danger of
becoming so; but then the Aids must be given on the Side to which he
leans, and presses, in order to widen his Hinder-parts, and to push the
Croupe out.
ABOVE all you should remember, that whatever tends to bend or turn
the Head on one side, will always drive the Croupe on the other; when
the Horse's Croupe don't follow his Shoulders equally, the Fault
may proceed either from a Disobedience to the Hand, or from his not
answering the Heels as he ought. If you would remedy this, keep him low
before; that is to say, keep your Bridle-hand very low, and while you
make him advance upon two Treads, aid him firmly with the Calfs of the
Legs; for as the outward Leg will confine and keep his Croupe _in_, the
inner Leg, operating with the outward, will make him go forward.
IF you find that your Horse disobeys the Heel, and throws his Croupe
out in spite of that Aid, in this Case make use of your inner Rein,
carrying your Hand out with your Nails turned upwards; this will
infallibly operate upon the Croupe, and restrain it. Use the same
Remedy, if in the Passage your Horse carries his Head out of the Volte,
and you will bring it in; but you must remember, in both Cases, to
replace your Hand immediately after having carried it out, in order
to make the outward Rein work, which will facilitate and enable the
outward Legs to cross over the inner.
IF the Horse breaks the Line, and flings his Croupe upon the
Right-heel, work him to that Side with your Left; if he would go
sideways to the Left, make him go to the Right; if he flings his Croupe
_out_, put it quietly _in_; in short, if all at once he brings it _in_,
put it quietly _out_; and, in a word, teach him by the Practice of
good Lessons to acquire a Facility and Habit of executing whatever you
demand of him.
_The_ Consequence of all the different Rules and Principles, which I
have here laid down, and which may be applied equally to the Changes,
large and narrow, to Changes upon the Voltes, and Half-voltes;
the Consequence of these Instructions I say will be, if practised
judiciously, a most implicit and exact Obedience on the Part of the
Horse, who from that Moment, will resign his own Will and Inclination,
and make it subservient to that of the Rider, which he must teach him
to know by making him acquainted with the Hand and Heel.
CHAP. XIII.
_Of the Aids of the Body._
THE Perfection of all the Aids consists, as I have already proved, in
their mutual Harmony and Correspondence, for without this Agreement,
they must be always ineffectual; because the Horse can never work with
Exactness and Delicacy, and keep the Proportion and Measure which is
inseparable to all Airs, when justly and beautifully executed.
THIS Maxim being laid down, we shall undertake to demonstrate, that the
Aids of the Body contribute, and are even capable of themselves, from
the Principles of Geometry, to make us acquire the Union of the Aids of
the Hand and Leg; and if so, we shall be obliged to own the Conclusion,
that they are to be prefer'd to all the rest.
THE Justness of the Aids of the Body depends upon the Seat of the
Horseman.--Till he is arrived at the Point of being able to sit down
close and firm in his Saddle, so as to be immoveable in it, it would
be vain to expect he should be able to manage a Horse; because,
besides that he would be incapable of feeling his Motions, he would
not be possessed of that Equilibre and Firmness of Seat, which is the
Characteristic of a Horseman. I would define the Equilibre to be, when
the Horseman sits upon his Twist, directly down and close upon the
Saddle, and so firm that nothing can loosen or disturb his Seat; and by
Firmness, I express that Grasp or Hold with which he keeps himself on
the Horse, without employing any Strength, but trusting entirely to his
Ballance, to humour and accompany all the Motions of the Horse.
NOTHING but Exercise and Practice can give this Equilibre, and
consequently this Hold upon the Horse. In the Beginning, the Fear which
almost every Scholar feels, and the Constraint which all his Limbs are
under, make him apt to press the Saddle very close with his Thighs and
Knees, as he imagines he shall by this Method acquire a firmer Seat;
but the very Efforts that he makes to resist the Motions of the Horse,
stiffen his Body, and lift him out of the Saddle, so that any rude
Motion, or unexpected Shock, would be likely to unhorse him; for from
the Moment that he ceases to sit down and quite close to the Saddle,
every sudden Jirk and Motion of the Horse attacking him under his
Twist, must shove him out of the Saddle.
WE will suppose then a Person, the Position of whose Body is just and
regular, and who, by being able to sit down perpendicular and full in
his Saddle, can feel and unite himself to his Horse so as to accompany
all his Motions; let us see then how this Person, from the Motions of
his own Body, will be able to accord and unite the Aids or Times of the
Hands and Legs.
IN order to make your Horse take or go into the Corner of the Manage,
you must begin by _opening_ it.
TO open a Corner, is to turn the Shoulder before you come to it, in
order to make it cover the Ground; and then the Croupe which is turn'd
_in_ will not follow the Line of the Shoulders, till they are turn'd
and brought upon a strait Line in order to come out of the Corner.--In
order to turn the Shoulder to open the Corner, you must carry your Hand
to the Right or Left, according to the Hand to which you are to go; and
to throw in the Croupe, you must support it with the Leg on that Side
to which you carry your Hand.--To make the Shoulders turn and come out
of the Corner, you must carry your Hand on the Side opposite to that
to which you turned it, in order to go into the Corner; and that the
Croupe may pass over the same Ground as the Shoulders, you must support
with the Leg on the contrary Side to that with which you aided in order
to bring the Haunches in; the Horse never can perform any of these
Actions without an entire Agreement of all these Aids, and one single
Motion of the Body will be sufficient to unite them all with the utmost
Exactness.
IN effect, instead of carrying your Hand out, and seconding that Aid
with the Leg, turn your Body but imperceptibly towards the Corner, just
as if you intended to go into it yourself; your Body then turning to
the Right or Left, your Hand, which is one of its Appurtenances, must
necessarily turn likewise, and the Leg of the Side on which you turn,
will infallibly press against the Horse, and aid him.--If you would
come out of the Corner, turn your Body again, your Hand will follow
it, and your other Leg approaching the Horse, will put his Croupe into
the Corner, in such a manner, that it will follow the Shoulders, and
be upon the same Line.--It is by these means that you will be enabled
to time the Aids of the Hand and Legs with greater Exactness, than you
could do, were you not to move your Body; for how dextrous and ready
soever you may be, yet when you only use your Hand and Legs, without
letting their Aids proceed from, and be guided by your Body, they can
never operate so effectually, and their Action is infinitely less
smooth, and not so measured and proportioned, as when it proceeds only
from the Motion of the Body.
THE same Motion of the Body is likewise necessary in turning entirely
to the Right or Left, or to make your Horse go sideways on one Line, or
in making the Changes.
IF when you make a Change, you perceive the Croupe to be too much
_in_, by turning your Body _in_, you will drive it out, and the Hand
following the Body, determines the Shoulder by means of the outward
Rein, which is shorten'd; if the Croupe is too much _out_, turn your
Body _out_, and this Posture carrying the Hand out, shortens the inner
Rein, and confines the Croupe, acting in concert with the outward Leg,
which works and approaches the Side of the Horse.--This Aid is by so
much better, because if executed with Delicacy, it is imperceptible,
and never alarms the Horse; I say, if executed as it ought to be, for
we are not talking here of turning the Shoulder, and so falsifying
the Posture. In order to make the Hand and Leg work together, it is
necessary that the Motion should proceed from the Horseman, which
in turning carries with it the rest of the Body insensibly; without
this, very far from being assisted by the Ballance of your Body in
the Saddle, you would lose it entirely, and together with it the
Gracefulness of your Seat; and your Ballance being gone, how can you
expect to find any Justness in the Motions of your Horse, since all the
Justness and Beauty of his Motions must depend upon the Exactness of
your own?
THE secret Aids of the Body are such then as serve to prevent, and
accompany all the Motions of the Horse. If you will make him go
backward, throw back your own Body, your Hand will go with it, and you
will make the Horse obey by a single Turn of the Waist.--Would you have
him go forward, for this purpose put your Body back, but in a less
degree; don't press the Horse's Fore-parts with your Weight, because
by leaning a little back you will be able to approach your Legs to
his Sides with greater Ease.--If your Horse rises up, bend your Body
forward; if he kicks, leaps, or strikes out behind, throw your Body
back; if he gallops when he should not, oppose all his Motions, and for
this purpose push your Waist forward towards the Pummel of the Saddle,
making a Bend or Hollow at the same time in your Loins: In short, do
you work your Horse upon great Circles, with the Head _in_ and Croupe
_out_? let your Body then be a Part of the Circle, because this Posture
bringing your Hand _in_, you bring in the Horse's outward Shoulder,
over which the inner Shoulder crosses circularly, and your inner Leg
being likewise by this Method near your Horse's Side, you leave his
Croupe at liberty. I call it becoming a Part of the Circle yourself,
when you incline a little the Balance of your Body towards the Center;
and this Balance proceeds entirely from the outward Hip, and turning it
_in_.
THE Aids of the Body then are those which conduce to make the Horse
work with greater Pleasure, and consequently perform his Business
with more Grace; if then they are such, as to be capable alone of
constituting the Justness of the Airs; if they unite, and make the
Hand and Legs work in concert; if they are so fine and subtle, as to
be imperceptible, and occasion no visible Motion in the Rider, but the
Horse seems to work of himself; if they comprize at the same time, the
most established and certain Principles of the Art; if the Body of
the Horseman, which is capable of employing them, is of consequence
firm without Constraint or Stiffness, and supple without being weak
or loose; if these are the Fruits which we derive from them, we must
fairly own, that this is the shortest, the most certain, and plainest
Method we can follow, in order to form a Horseman.
CHAP. XIV.
_Of the Gallop._
THE Trot is the Foundation of the Gallop; the Proof of its being so is
very clear and natural. The Action of the Trot is crosswise, that of
the Gallop is from an equal Motion of the Fore and Hinder-legs; now,
if you trot out your Horse briskly and beyond his Pitch, he will be
compell'd when his Fore-feet are off the Ground, to put his Hinder-foot
down so quick, that it will follow the Fore-foot of the same Side; and
it is this which forms the true Gallop: The Trot then is beyond dispute
the Foundation of the Gallop.
AS the Perfection of the Trot consists in the Suppleness of the Joints
and Limbs, that of the Gallop depends upon the Lightness and Activity
of the Shoulders; a good Apuy, and the Vigour and Resolution of the
Career, must depend upon the natural Spirit and Courage of the Horse.
It should be a Rule, never to make a Horse gallop, till he presents and
offers to do it of himself.--Trotting him out boldly and freely, and
keeping him in the Hand, so as to raise and support his Fore-parts,
will assist him greatly; for when his Limbs are become supple and
ready, and he is so far advanced, as to be able to unite and put
himself together without Difficulty, he will then go off readily in his
Gallop; whereas, if on the contrary he should pull or be heavy, the
Gallop would only make him abandon himself upon the Hand, and fling him
entirely upon his Shoulders.