he makes a perfect _Capriole_, you may hence gather that they have an
Effect directly opposite to that of _Curvets_ and _Pesades_.--These
two Airs are proper to assure the Head of the Horse, and to make it
light, and this by so much the more as the principal Action depends
upon the Haunches, and a moderate _Apuy_ of the Mouth; but _Caprioles_
are apt to give too great an _Apuy_, because the Horse when he makes
the strongest Action of his Air, that is, when he strikes out as he
is coming to the Ground, is entirely supported by the Hand; therefore
before he is put to leap, he ought to have a perfect Apuy, and his
Shoulders should at least be suppled and lighten'd by having made
_Pesades_; and he should be without Fear, Anger, or any kind of
Uneasiness, because, as I have already said, by leaping he learns to
know his own Strength and Power; and he may put it to bad Purposes to
free himself from Obedience, and indulge his Caprice and Ill-humour.
Some Horses have a Disposition to this Air, and sufficient Strength
to go through it; yet have their Mouth so delicate, sensible, and
averse to the Hand, that you can't support them without hindering them
from advancing; hence it follows that their Action before is cold and
slow, and never sufficiently high, and they can't be carried forward
when they raise their Croupe and strike out; and it is impossible to
keep them firm as they come down. To remedy this, begin their Lesson
upon the Trot, and press them in it so smartly as to make them
often go into the Gallop; observe a Medium however in order to save
their Strength and Vigour, that they may furnish as many Leaps as is
requisite to the Perfection of the Air. Do the same with a Horse that
has too much Strength, and who retains and avails himself it, so as
not to make his Leaps freely and readily; by this means you will abate
his superfluous Vigour, which serves only to _disunite_ and make him
troublesome.
IT is usual to supple a Horse that is light in the Hand by means of
the Trot, before you teach him to leap: but a contrary Method must be
observed with those which are heavy and clumsey, or that are heavy in
the Hand. Gallop and trot them, and when they are made obedient and
drest to the _Caprioles_, their Apuy in leaping will grow by degrees
lighter and more temperate. The Exercise of the Trot and Gallop will
take away all Fear of the Aids and Corrections, and the Day following
they will present themselves more freely and willingly. With respect to
the Horse who pulls or wants to force the Hand, don't try to correct
him by making him go backward, because by working upon his Bars too
much with the Bit, you would make them become hard and insensible; but
compel him to make some _Caprioles_ with his Face to the Wall, and
keep him up to it closer or further off, as you find him heavy, or
endeavouring to force the Hand; by these Methods you will constrain him
to shorten his Leaps, and give more Attention to his Business. If he
abandons himself, or bears too hard upon the Hand, hold him firm at the
End of his Leap; and in the Instant that his Feet are coming to the
Ground, yield it immediately to him, and he will abandon himself much
less upon the Bit.--If he retains himself, and hangs back, easing your
Hand to him alone will not be sufficient; but to make him advance you
must push him up to his Bit, by aiding him briskly and in _Time_ with
your Legs.
TO dress a Horse to the Caprioles, the Pillars may be employ'd, or they
may be dispens'd with: let us explain the Rules we should follow with
respect to both these Methods.
IT is certain that the Pillars are of use in putting a Horse to this
Air.--Tie him to them, make him keep up to his Bit properly, or what is
call'd _fill up the Cords_, and endeavour by little and little to make
him rise before, taking care to make him bend his Knees, and gather up
his Legs as much as you possibly can. For this purpose use your Switch
briskly; for if you can teach him to bend his Legs well, his Manage
will be infinitely more beautiful; as well as that he will be much
lighter in the Hand.
HAVING thus gain'd the Fore-part, put him in the Pillars again, making
the Cords somewhat shorter in order to make him raise his Croupe
from the Ground, and yerk out equally at the same time with both his
Hind-legs, which you must teach him to do, by attacking and striking
him upon the Croupe with the Switch or _Chambriere_.
WHEN he is so far advanced as to rise before, and lash out behind, it
will be proper to teach him to unite these two Times, and perform them
together.--Let him then be mounted, and always in the Pillars; let the
Rider support him in the Hand, and try to make him make one or two
Leaps, without hanging upon the Cords of the Caveson, in order that he
may learn to take a just Apuy, and to feel it. As soon as he begins
to know and obey the Hand, he should be aided gently with the Calves
of the Legs, should be supported, and you should pinch him delicately
and finely with both Spurs. If he answers once or twice to these Aids,
without losing his Temper, or being angry, you will have great Reason
to expect that he will soon furnish his Leaps equally and justly with
respect to the Hand and Heel.
HAVING brought him thus far between the Pillars, walk him strait
forward for a certain Space, and if he don't offer to rise of himself,
try to make him. If he himself takes the right Time, seize the Moment,
avail yourself of it, and make him make two or three _Caprioles_, or
one or two, according as you judge it necessary; by letting him walk
thus calmly and quietly, in a short time he will of himself begin to
make _Caprioles_ strait forward; but in case he should discover any
Signs of Resistance to the Hand or Heel, or the other Aids, immediately
have recourse to the Caveson and Pillars.
THIS is in short the Method of adjusting and dressing a Horse for
_Caprioles_ by the means of the Pillars.--A Method extremely dangerous
in itself, and capable of spoiling and making a Horse become desperate
and ungovernable, if it is not practised by Persons of the most
consummate Skill and Experience.
THE Method which I prefer is indeed more difficult and painful to the
Horse, but more perfect and sure.
THE Horse having been well exercised in _Pesades_, walk him strait
forward, keeping him together, and supporting him so as to hold and
keep him in the Hand, but not to such a degree as to stop him entirely.
After this strike him gently with the End of the Switch upon his Croupe
and Buttocks, and continue to do it till he lifts up his Croupe, and
kicks.--You should then caress him, and let him walk some Steps,
and then attack him again, not minding to make him rise before, nor
hindering him from it, if he offers so to do. Remember to encourage and
coax him every time that he answers to the Aids, and obeys.--Being thus
acquainted with the Aid of the Switch, put him to make _Pesades_ of a
moderate Height strait forward, and at the second or third, attack him
behind with your Switch to make him lash out. If he obeys, make him
rise before again in the Minute that his Hind-legs come to the Ground,
in order to make him furnish two or three more _Pesades_, to work his
Haunches. After this coax and caress him without letting him stir from
the Place, if his _Apuy_ be firm and good; and in case it is hard,
make him go backward, or if it is light and just, letting him advance
quietly and slowly.
TO enable him to make his Leaps just, and to know the exact Time of
making them, you should no longer regard what Number of _Pesades_ he
makes before or after his Leap, but in the Moment that you feel him
ready and prepar'd, and whilst he is in the _Pesade_, aid him briskly
behind, letting him in the Beginning not rise so high before, when you
intend he should yerk out behind, as you would were he only to make a
_Pesade_, that so his Croupe may be more at liberty, and he may yerk
out with greater Ease; in proportion as his Croupe becomes light and
active, you may raise his Fore-parts higher and higher, and support him
while in the Air, till he makes his Leaps true and in just Proportion.
WHEN you have sufficiently practised these Lessons, you may retrench
by degrees the Number of the _Pesades_ which separated and divided the
Leaps. You may demand now of him two Leaps together; from these you may
come, with Patience and Discretion, to three, from three to four Leaps;
and lastly, to as many as he can furnish in the same Air, and with
equal Strength. Remember always to make him finish upon his Haunches,
it is the only sure way to prevent all the Disorders a Horse may be
guilty of from Impatience and Fear.
THERE are some Horses who will leap very high, and with great Agility
strait forwards, which when put to leap upon the _Voltes_, lose all
their natural Grace and Beauty; the Reason is, that they fail for Want
of Strength, and are not equal to the Task, in which all their Motions
are forced and constrain'd.
IF you find a Horse who has a good and firm _Apuy_, and who has
Strength sufficient to furnish this Air upon the _Voltes_; begin with
him by making him know the Space and Roundness of the _Volte_ to each
Hand; let him walk round it in a slow and distinct Pace, keeping his
Croupe very much press'd and confin'd upon the Line of the _Volte_,
which ought to be much larger for this Air than for _Croupades_ and
_Balotades_.
THIS being done, make him rise, and let him make one or two
_Caprioles_, follow'd by as many _Pesades_; then walk on two or three
Steps upon the same Line; then raise him again, supporting him more and
more, and keeping him even on the Line of the _Volte_, so that it may
be exactly round, and confining his Croupe with your outward Leg.
IF this Lesson be given with Judgment, your Horse will soon make all
the _Volte_, in the same Air; and to make him furnish a second, as soon
as he has closed and finish'd the first, raise him again, and without
letting him stop get from him as many as you can, working him always
upon this _Volte_, in which he walks and leaps alternatively, till he
closes and ends it with the same Vigour and Resolution as he did the
first.
AID always with the outward Rein, either upon the _Voltes_, or when you
leap strait forwards, you will narrow and confine the Fore-parts, and
enlarge the Hind-parts, by which means the Croupe will not be press'd,
but free and unconstrain'd.
I WILL enlarge no further upon his Chapter; for what regards the making
_Caprioles_ upon the _Voltes_, you may look back to what has been
already said on the Subject of _Curvets_: remember that the surest way
to succeed, when you undertake to dress a Horse to _Caprioles_, is to
arm yourself with a Patience that nothing can subdue or shake; and to
prefer for this purpose such Horses as have a Disposition, are active,
light, and have a clean sinewy Strength, to such as are endowed with
greater Strength and Force; for these last never leap regularly, and
are fit for nothing but to break their Riders Backs, and make them spit
Blood, by their irregular, violent, and unexpected Motions.
CHAP. XXI.
_Of the Step and Leap._
THE Step and Leap is composed of three Airs; of the _Step_, which is the
Action of the _Terre-a-Terre_; the rising before, which is a _Curvet_;
and the Leap, which is a _Capriole_.
THIS Manage is infinitely less painful to a Horse than that of the
_Capriole_; for when you dress a Horse to the _Capriole_, he will
of himself take this Air for his Ease and Relief; and in time those
Horses, which have been drest to the _Caprioles_, will execute only
_Balotades_ and _Croupades_, unless particular Care is taken to make
them yerk out.
IT is this likewise, which, next to running a brisk Course, enlivens
and animates a Horse most.--To reduce a Horse to the Justness of this
Air, you must begin by emboldening and making him lose all fear of
Correction; teaching him to keep his Head steady, and in a proper
Place; lightening His Fore-parts, by putting him to make _Pesades_;
teaching him to know the Aids of the Switch, the same as in the Lesson
of the _Caprioles_; and by giving him a firm and good _Apuy_, _full in
the Hand_: though it is certain, that the _Step_ contributes to give
him this _Apuy_, inasmuch as that it puts him in the Hand; besides that
it gives him Strength and Agility to leap, just as we ourselves leap
with a quicker Spring while running, than if we were to stand quite
still and leap; therefore most old Horses generally fall into this Air.
WHEN your Horse is sufficiently knowing in these several Particulars,
teach him to rise, and support or hold him in the Air; then let him
make four _Pesades_, and afterwards let him walk four or five Steps
slow and equal; if he forces the Hand, or retains himself too much, he
should be made to trot these four or five Steps rather than walk; after
this make him rise again, and continue this Lesson for some Days.
WHEN he is so far advanced as to comprehend and understand this
sufficiently, begin by putting him to make a _Pesade_, demand then a
_Leap_, and finish by letting him make two _Pesades_ together. There
are two things to be observ'd, which are very essential in this Lesson;
one, that when he is to make the Leap he should not rise so high
before as when he makes _Pesades_ only, that so he may yerk out with
greater Ease and Liberty; the other Caution is always to make your last
_Pesade_ longer and higher than the other, in order to prevent your
Horse from making any irregular Motions by shuffling about his Legs,
if he should be angry and impatient, as well as to keep him in a more
exact Obedience; and to make him light, if he is naturally heavy and
loaded in his Fore-parts, or apt to lean too much upon the Hand.
AGAIN, reduce the fourth _Pesade_ into a Leap, as you did the first;
then make two _Pesades_ following, and after this let him walk
quietly four or five Steps, that he may make again the same Number of
_Pesades_, and in the same Order. In proportion as the Horse begins to
understand, and is able to execute these Lessons, you should augment
likewise the Leaps one by one, without hurrying or changing the Order,
making always between the Leaps a single _Pesade_, but lower than those
in the first Lesson; and then two more again after the last Leap,
sufficiently _high_. By degrees the Horse will grow active and light
in his Hind-parts, you must raise him then higher before, and support
him longer in the Air, in order to make him form the Leaps perfect, by
means of prudent and judicious Rules, often practised and repeated.
If your Horse forces the Hand, or presses forward more than you would
have him, either from Heaviness of Make, or from having too much Fire
in his Temper; in this case you should oblige him to make the _Pesades_
in the same Place, without stirring from it; and instead of letting
him advance four or five Steps, you should make him go backwards as
many. This Correction will cure him of the Habit of pressing forward,
and forcing the Hand. Upon this Occasion likewise you should use a
Hand-spur to prick his Croupe, instead of a Switch.
TO make this Air just and perfect, it is necessary that the Action of
the Leap be finish'd as in the _Caprioles_, except that it ought to be
more _extended_, and the _Pesade_ which is made between the two Leaps
should be changed into a _Time_ of a quick and short Gallop; that is,
the two Hind-feet ought to follow the Fore-feet, together in a quick
Time and briskly, as in _Curvets_ in the _Mezair_; but in this the
Horse should advance more, not be so much _together_, nor rise so high.
THE Perfection of this _Time_ of the Gallop depends upon the Justness
of the Horseman's Motions.--They ought to be infinitely more exact
in this Lesson, than in the Caprioles, or any other Airs, which are
performed strait forward.
IN reality, if the Horseman is too slow, and don't catch the exact Time
which parts the two Leaps, the Leap which follows will be without any
Spring or Vigour, because the Animal so restrain'd and held back, can
never extend himself, or put forth his Strength; if he don't support
and raise his Shoulders sufficiently high, the Croupe will then be
higher than it ought to be; and this Disproportion will force the Horse
to toss up his Nose, or make some other bad Motion with his Head as
he is coming to the Ground in his Leap; or else it will happen that
the succeeding Time will be so precipitate, that the next Leap will
be false and imperfect, as the Horse will not be sufficiently united,
but will be too heavy and lean upon the Hand.--If he is not together,
the Leap will be too much extended, and consequently weak and loose,
because the Horse will not be able to collect his Strength, in order to
make it equal to the first.
LEARN then in a few Words what should be the Horseman's Seat, and what
Actions he should use in this Lesson.
HE should never force, alter, or lose the true _Apuy_, either in
raising, supporting, holding in, or driving forward his Horse.--His
Head should be not only firm and steady, but it is indispensably
necessary that his Seat should be exactly strait and just; for since
the Arm is an Appendix of the Body, it is certain that if the Motions
of the Horse shake or disorder the Body of the Rider, the Bridle-hand
must inevitably be shook, and consequently the true Apuy destroy'd.
IN this Attitude then approach the Calves of your Legs,
support and hold your Horse up with your Hand, and when the Fore-part
is at its due Height, aid with the Switch upon the Croupe.
IF your Horse rises before, keep your Body strait and firm; if he
lifts or tosses up his Croupe, or yerks out, fling your Shoulders back
without turning your Head to one side or the other, continuing the
Action of the Hand that holds the Switch.
REMEMBER that all the Motions of your Body should be so neat and fine
as to be imperceptible; as to what is the most graceful Action for the
Switch-hand, that over the Shoulder is thought the best; but then this
Shoulder must not be more back than the other; and care must be taken
that the Motion be quick and neat, and that the Horse do not see it so
plainly as to be alarm'd.
I HAVE said, that when the Horse made his Leaps too _long_ and
_extended_, you should then aid with your Hand-spur; and for this
Reason, because the Hand-spur will make the Horse raise his Croupe
without advancing, as the Effect of the Switch will be to raise the
Croupe, and drive the Horse forward at the same time; it should
therefore be used to such Horses as retain themselves.
REMEMBER that you should never be extreme with your Horse, and work him
beyond his Strength and Ability; indeed one should never ask of a Horse
above half of what he can do; for if you work him till he grows languid
and tired, and his Strength and Wind fail him, you will be compell'd to
give your Aids roughly and openly; and when that happens, neither the
Rider or the Horse can appear with Brilliancy and Grace.
THE END.
End of Project Gutenberg's A New System of Horsemanship, by Claude Bourgelat