The _walk_ is the least raised, the slowest, and the most gentle of all
the paces; but it should be an animated quick step, and to be pleasant
to the rider, it must be true; that is, it should be conducted by a
harmonious elevation and setting down of the feet, each foot being
dropped flat on the ground, and not, as is too often the case, the toe
being placed first, and then the heel. One lady by a good seat and hand,
will cause her horse to carry his head, with his neck arched, and to
elevate and extend his limbs, the one in unison with the other; another,
by her bad hand, and seat, will bring the horse she rides, to step
short, and irregular, and so mix his trot, with his walk, as to do
little more than shuffle over the ground.
Previous to urging the horse into a walk, the lady should ascertain that
he is well in hand, and on his proper balance; then, by turning her
hand, with the little finger towards her breast, she must increase the
bearing upon the horse's mouth, to draw his attention, and at the same
instant, she must communicate to him, by closing the leg, and using the
whip gently upon the right side, a sufficient impulse to carry him
forward, easing, as he advances, the bearing upon the mouth, by the hand
resuming its proper position, but she must not slacken the reins.
In the walk, the reins should be held so that the rider have a delicate,
but distinct feeling of the horse's mouth, to cause the horse to carry
his head in a proper position, and to keep time in the beats of his
action, but not held so tightly, as to impede the measurement of his
steps, or to make him, on being slightly animated, break from a walk
into a trot.
The rider's body should be erect but pliable, neither obeying too much
the action of the horse, nor yet resisting it.
If the horse do not exert himself sufficiently, or hang on the bit, he
should be animated, by a play on the snaffle bridle; should he break
into a trot, he must be checked, but the bearing upon the reins, must
neither be so firm nor continued, as to make him stop.
_The trot_, is a more animated pace. To make the horse advance from the
walk into a trot, the horse must, with the leg and whip, be urged into
greater animation, at the same time retained, by an increased bearing
upon the reins. The lady must be careful, to retain the lightness in
hand, without counteracting the impulse necessary to the movement, when
the animal will proceed with that safety, which is natural to a horse
balanced and light in hand.
When the horse trots, the lady must preserve her balance, steadiness and
pliancy, as in the walk; the rise in the trot, is to be acquired by
practice; when the horse in his action raises the rider from her seat,
she should advance her body, and rest a considerable portion of her
weight, upon her right knee; by means of which and the bearing of her
left foot upon the stirrup, she may return to her former position,
without being jerked; but she must carefully time her movements to the
horse's action, and the closer she maintains her seat, consistently with
her own comfort the better.
The _Canter_, and _Gallop_, are paces of still higher animation; the
canter is a repetition of bounds, during which the forehand raises
first, and higher than the hind quarters; it is the most elegant and
agreeable of all the paces, when properly performed by horse and rider;
its perfection consists in its union and animation, rather than its
speed.
A horse may canter false, disunited with the fore, or disunited with the
hind legs, for instance, if a horse is cantering in a circle to the
right, leads with his near fore leg, followed by the near hind leg, he
is cantering false. If leading with the near fore leg, the off hind,
remains further back than the near one, he is said to be disunited; if
leading with the proper fore leg, the off hind remains further back than
the left, the pace must be rectified. The lady should learn to ascertain
by the motion of the horse, if his canter be false or true, and she
should acquire the means, of making him rectify his action.
A horse must not be allowed to canter with either leg leading at his own
will, but must be made to do so, at the will of the rider. When
cantering with the off fore-leg leading, the pace is more agreeable to
the lady, consequently a lady's horse should be taught to start off into
a canter, with his right leg leading. There are many opinions, as to
what are the proper indications to be given to the horse, to induce him
to lead with either particular leg, but considering that a horse when
cantering in a circle to the right, must lead with the off-fore, and
that the indications in that case are, a double bearing upon the right
rein, and an increased pressure with the leg, or whip on the left side
of the horse, these appear to be the most rational.
To start the horse into a _canter_ with the right or off-fore leg
leading. The lady having her horse properly animated, light in hand, and
well balanced, should, as in the walk, draw the horse's attention, by an
increased bearing upon both reins, but upon the right rein the stronger;
and at the same time, by a strong pressure of the leg, or heel, and by
the application of the whip to the horse's left shoulder, communicate to
him, an impulse to carry him forward. If the horse hesitates to canter,
she should pass the whip behind her waist, and strike the horse on his
near-hind-quarter; the whip must not be used on the right side of the
horse, because muscular action being retractile, doing so, would cause
him to draw back his right leg, rather than to advance it before the
left.
To start the horse into a canter, with the left leg leading, the extra
bearing must be made upon the left rein, and the horse should be touched
with the whip on the right shoulder or flank. It is an excellent lesson
to cause the horse to change the leading leg, when in the canter, so
that upon any disturbance of pace, or change of direction, the action of
the one, may be as familiar, and as easy to the rider, as the other. The
lady should sit well down in the centre of the saddle, with her body
perfectly upright, and square to the front, without stiffness or
constraint, she must continue the bearings upon the horse's mouth,
throughout the entire pace, and if the horse flags in his movements, or
does not respond to the action of the bridle-hand, then the whip must be
instantly applied. In turning a corner, or cantering in a curve, the
lady must incline her body in that direction, to preserve her balance,
and she must be careful that the bridle arm, does not acquire the bad
habit, of moving from the side of the body, and throwing the elbow
outwards.
The _gallop_, is a further increase of pace upon the full canter, but no
lady of taste ever gallops on the road, into this pace, the lady's horse
is never urged, nor permitted to break, excepting in the field. The
action being the same as that of the canter, excepting being more
extended and quicker, nothing further need be said in this place.