Exercises of pupils in private lessons--Words of
command--Walking--Turning to the right or left--Voltes and reversed
voltes--Trotting.
Although private lessons can not begin to take the place of exercises in
class, it is advisable that the pupil should have some lessons by
herself first, in order that she may learn to manage her horse to some
extent at the walk, trot, and canter.
Words of command in the riding-school are of two kinds; the first being
preparatory, to enable the pupil to think over quickly the means to be
employed in order to obey the second or final order. Example: "Prepare
to go forward"--preparatory. "Go forward"--final order, given in a loud
voice, with emphasis on each word or syllable. Between the two orders,
the teacher should at first explain to the pupil what is wanted, and the
means of obtaining it, and later should require her to repeat it
herself, so that she may learn it by heart. The teacher commands the
pupil, the pupil demands obedience from the horse, and the horse
executes the movement; but this triple process needs time, all the more
because a novice is likely to hesitate, even if she makes no mistake. By
giving the pupil time to think, she will gain the habit of making
progressive demands on her horse, through means which she has
calculated, and she will thus gradually become a true horsewoman, able
to make her horse know what she wants him to do; for, in almost every
case, obstinacy or resistance on the part of the horse comes from the
want of due progression between the demand made of him and its
execution.
When the teacher is satisfied that the pupil is in a regular and easy
position, before allowing her to go forward, he will give her the
directions necessary to stop her horse, and will make sure that his
explanation has been understood. To stop: The horse being at the walk,
to stop him, the pupil should place her leg and whip in contact with his
sides, lift her hands and bring them close to the body, and lean her
body back, drawing herself up. When the horse has come to a stand-still,
she should resume the normal position. To go forward: The whip and leg
should be placed in contact, the hands moved forward, and the body
inclined also forward.
When the pupil has a clear idea of these movements, the teacher will
give the orders:
1. _Prepare to go forward._--2. _Forward._
And, after some steps have been taken,
1. _Prepare to stop._--2. _Stop._
While making his pupils advance at a walk, the teacher will explain
succinctly the mechanism of locomotion.
The horse at rest is said to be square on his base when his four legs
are perpendicular between two parallels, one being the horizontal line
of the ground, the other the corresponding line of his back. If his hind
legs are outside of this square, he is said to be "campe," or planted,
because he can neither move forward nor back unless he changes this
position. If his fore legs are outside this line, he is "campe" in
front, as, for instance, when kicking; if, on the contrary, his fore
legs are inside his base, he is said to be "under himself" in front; and
it is a bad sign when a horse takes this position habitually, as it
shows fatigue or weakness in those limbs.
The horse goes forward, backward, trots or gallops, by a contraction of
the muscles of the hind quarters, the duty of the fore legs being to
support his weight and get out of the way of the hind ones; and the
whole art of riding consists in a knowledge of the means which give the
rider control of these muscular contractions of the hind quarters. The
application of the left leg and of the whip on the sides of the horse
serve to make him go forward, backward, to the right or left, and the
reins serve to guide and support him, and also to indicate the movement
required by the whip and leg.
1. _Prepare to turn to the right._--2. _Turn to the right._
To turn her horse to the right, the pupil should draw her right hand
back and to the right, incline her body also to the right, turning her
head in the same direction, and use her whip lightly, without stopping
the pressure of her left leg. When her horse has turned far enough, she
will cease pressure on the right side, and carry her horse straight
forward.
In the beginning, regularity of movement is not so important as that the
pupil should understand the means by which she executes it; that is to
say, that she disturbs the equilibrium of her horse by carrying the
weight of her body to the right; and, while her hand and whip combine on
that side, the left leg prevents him from stopping or straggling over
the ground.
Riders in a school are said to be on the right hand when the right side
of the body is toward the middle of the ring; and this is the easier way
for inexperienced pupils, because they are less shaken when their horses
move to the right, as they sit on the left side of their saddles.
It follows, naturally, that to be on the left hand is to have the left
side toward the middle; and, when riding on the right hand, all
movements are executed to the right, and _vice versa_.
The teacher must watch carefully that pupils do not allow their horses
to turn the corners of their own accord, as a regular movement to the
right should be executed by the pupil at each corner when riding on the
right hand, and to the left when going the other way.
If left to guide himself around a school, the horse will describe a sort
of oval, rounding the corners, instead of going into them, and thus much
valuable practice is lost to the rider.
The pupil being at a walk, and on the right hand, the teacher will give
the word of command:
1. _Prepare to trot._--2. _Trot._
To make her horse trot, she must advance her wrists, lean the body
forward, and use the leg and whip, resuming the normal position as soon
as her horse obeys her.
In order not to fatigue the pupil, the teacher will only allow her to
trot a short distance, and will remind her to keep her right foot well
back and close to the saddle, and to sit close without stiffness. He
will also take care that she passes from the walk to the trot gradually,
by making her horse walk faster and faster until he breaks into a slow
trot.
Each time that a pupil changes from a slow to a faster gait, she should
accelerate the former as much as possible, and begin the latter slowly,
increasing the speed gradually up to the desired point; and the same
rule holds good, reversing the process, if she wishes to change from a
fast to a slower gait.
As the pupil gains confidence, and feels at home in the trot, the
teacher will let her practice it at shorter intervals, and for a longer
time, taking care, however, that she does not attempt to rise to it; if
she loses the correct position, she must come to a walk, and, having
corrected her fault, resume the trot.
In the intervals of rest, in order not to lose time, the pupil should
repeat at a walk the movements which she has learned already, the
teacher becoming gradually more exacting in regard to the correctness of
the positions and effects, adding also the three following movements,
which are more complicated, and which complete the series, dealing with
changes of direction.
The volte is a circular movement, executed by the horse upon a curved
line, not less than twelve of his steps in length. The pupil being at a
walk, and on the right hand of the school, the teacher will say:
1. _Prepare to volte._--2. _Volte_,
explaining that the pupil should direct her horse to the right, exactly
as if she merely meant to turn him in that direction, continuing,
however, the same position, and using the same effects, until the twelve
paces have been taken, which will bring her to the point of beginning,
when she will resume the normal position, and go forward on the same
hand.
The half-volte, as its name implies, comprises the first part of the
movement, the pupil coming back to her place by a diagonal line.
1. _Prepare to half-volte._--2. _Half-volte._
The pupil uses the same effects as in the volte, but, when she has
described half the circle, she returns to her starting-point by a
diagonal, using the same effects, but with much less force, since, to
regain her place by the diagonal, she will only have one fourth of a
turn to the right to make; then, at the end of the diagonal, she must
change her effects completely, in order to execute three fourths of a
turn to the left, which will bring her back to her track, but on the
left hand.
1. _Prepare for the reversed half-volte._--2. _Reversed
half-volte._
To make her horse execute a reversed half-volte, the pupil uses the same
means and effects as in the preceding movement, exactly reversing them
at the end; that is to say, when on the diagonal, about six paces from
her track, she makes a half-circle to the left, following the rules
prescribed for the volte.
The teacher must be careful to explain that, in the voltes, the pupil
does not change the direction in which she is going, because she
describes a circle; but in the half-volte, if she is on the right hand
at the beginning, she will be on the left at the end. He must also see
that her horse executes all these movements at a steady pace; and, if
she will practice faithfully these different changes of direction, with
the positions and effects which govern them, she will, in time, acquire
the habit of guiding her horse promptly and skillfully in any direction.
_To go backward._--The pupil, being at a stand-still, the teacher will
give the word of command:
1. _Prepare to back._--2. _Back._
_Explanation._--To make her horse go backward, the pupil should draw
herself up and lean back very far, using her leg and whip together, in
order to bring the horse's legs well under him, and at the same time
raise both wrists and bring them near the body. As soon as the horse has
taken his first step backward, the pupil should stop the action of her
leg, whip, and hands, only to resume them almost immediately to
determine the second step; to stop backing, she will stop all effects,
and resume the normal positions.
After a few steps, the teacher should say:
1. _Prepare to stop backing._--2. _Stop backing._
The movement is only correct when the horse backs in a straight line,
and step by step. If he quickens his movement, he must be at once
carried vigorously forward with the leg and whip.
When the pupil begins to have a firm seat at the trot, the teacher will
gradually let her pass the corners at that gait, and, at his discretion,
will also let her execute some of the movements to the right and left.
To do this, she will use precisely the same means as at the walk, the
only difference being that, as the gait is quicker, the changes of
equilibrium are greater for both horse and rider, and the effects should
be lighter and more quickly employed and stopped.
I have given most of the movements to the right, to avoid useless
repetition, but they should be frequently reversed; and care must always
be taken to avoid over-fatigue.
When the teacher is fully satisfied that his pupil has advanced far
enough to profit by it, he may begin to teach her to rise at the trot;
but he must not be in too great a hurry to reach this point, and he must
make her understand that to rise is the result of a good seat, and that
a good seat does _not_ result from rising.
For the last fifteen years I have looked in vain, in all the treatises
on riding, for the reason of that rising to the action of the horse
known as the "English trot," and yet I have seen it practiced among
races ignorant of equestrian science, who ride from childhood as a means
of getting from one place to another. The Arabs, Cossacks, Turks,
Mexicans, and Apaches, all employ it, in a fashion more or less precise
and rhythmical, rising whether their stirrups are short or long, and
even if they have none. It is certain that this way of neutralizing the
reaction spares and helps the horse; and it was calculated, at the
meeting of the "Equestrian Committee" at Paris, in 1872, that each time
a rider rises he relieves the horse's back of one third of the weight
which must rest on it permanently if he sits fast; and since that time
rising at the trot has been practiced in all the cavalry of Europe.
After the siege of Paris, in 1871, I was obliged to undertake the
training of the horses of my regiment, which was then stationed at
Massy. These horses were all young and unbroken; and, as a result of
their youth and the fatigues they had undergone, they were in poor
condition, and nearly all had sore backs. I directed all the teachers
who were under me, and the men who rode the horses during their
training, to rise at the trot; and, three months later, the young horses
were in perfect health, while their riders, who had been exhausted by a
severe campaign, had gained on an average seven pounds in weight; and it
was this experiment which was submitted by me to the "Equestrian
Committee."
I was tempted to make this digression, which I hope will be forgiven me,
because I have heard in this country a great deal of adverse and, in my
opinion, unjust criticism of the English trot, which I ascribe to the
neglect of teachers, and the indifference of ladies brought up in the
old school of riding to prefer horses which cantered all the time, or
were broken to artificial gaits, like racking and pacing.
The rider who wishes to rise to the trot should be careful that the
stirrup is not so short as to keep her left leg in constant contact with
the third pommel, or leaping-horn, as, unless there is the space of
three or four fingers between the pommel and the leg, the latter may be
bruised, and the rider forced down too soon.
In order to explain this movement, the teacher may proceed as follows:
Placing himself at the left side of the horse, he will ask the pupil to
take the reins in her left hand and put her right hand on the first
pommel, with the thumb inside and the palm of the hand on the pommel; he
will then take her left foot in his left hand, in order to prevent her
from pushing it forward, explaining that, by pressing on the stirrup,
she will develop the obtuse angle formed by her leg, of which the knee
is the apex; whereas, if she pushes her foot forward, the angle will
cease to exist, and she can not lift herself. With his right hand placed
under her left arm, he will help her to lift herself perpendicularly;
while she is in the air he will count one, will let her pause there for
a short space of time, and will then help her to let herself slowly
down, continuing the pressure on the stirrup, and, when she has regained
her saddle, he will count two; then he will recommence the movement of
rising, and will count three while she is in the air, and four when she
is again seated; and this may be continued until he sees that she is
beginning to be tired. The foot must only be one third of its length in
the stirrup; for, if it is pushed home, she will lose the play of the
ankle, which will tend to stiffen the knee and hip. When the pupil
begins to understand, the teacher will let her go through the movement
rather more quickly, still counting one, two, three, four; then he will
allow her to practice it without his help: all this preparatory work
being done while the horse is standing still. It is important that she
should not drop into her saddle, but let herself down by pressing on the
stirrup; and on no account should the right knee cease to be in contact
with the second pommel, as this is the sole case in which the lower part
of this leg is motionless while the upper part moves. As soon as the
pupil can rise without too much effort, and tolerably quickly, she may
practice it at the walk, and then at the trot, counting for herself,
one, two, three, four; and she must put a certain amount of energy into
it, for all the theory in the world will not teach her to rise in time
with the horse unless she also helps herself. The theory of the
rhythmical cadence is easy enough to give: the rider rises when the
horse takes one step, and sinks back at the second, to rise again at the
third; but the cadence itself is not so easy to find; and to rise at the
wrong step is like beginning on the wrong beat of a waltz. Many young
persons get into the bad habit of lowering the right knee when they
rise, and lifting it when they regain their seat; but this is a mistake,
as the right knee should be immovable, and in constant contact with the
second pommel.
As soon as the pupil has struck the cadence (and, once found, it comes
easily afterward), she should discontinue the use of her right hand on
the pommel, and the teacher may be more exacting as to the regularity of
her position than is necessary in her first efforts. During rising to
the trot, the upper part of the body should be very slightly bent
forward; and, if the teacher notices that the pupil is rising from right
to left, or left to right, instead of perpendicularly, he should make
her put the fingers of her right hand on the top of her saddle behind,
and thus give herself a little help in rising, until she gets used to
it. Each time that the rider wishes to make her horse trot, she should
sit close while he changes from a walk to a trot, and until he is
trotting as fast as is necessary, because he does not arrive at that
speed instantly, but by hurrying his steps, so that there is no regular
cadence of the trot to which she can rise; and she should follow the
same rule when she makes him slacken his pace before coming to a walk.
The teacher must be careful to see that the hands do not follow the
movements of the body, as they must keep quite still, the arms moving at
the elbow.
There is not, nor can there be, any approximate calculation of the
height to rise, as that depends entirely upon the gait of the horse. If
he takes short steps, the rider must rise oftener, and consequently not
so high; but, if he is long-gaited, she must rise high, in order not to
get back into the saddle before he is ready to take his second step.