A New System of Horsemanship
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One sees but few Horses which in making Curvets, plant themselves well upon their Haunches and Hocks, at least that are not apt to hang back, and who beat and mark equally and smartly the Measure of the Air, and keep their Heads true and steady; for this Reason the first Lessons should be slow and gentle, making your Horse rise very high before, because the longer time the Horse is in the Air, the easier it will be to him to adjust himself upon his Haunches, and to assure his Head, and bend or gather up his Fore-legs; on the contrary, if he don't rise high before, he only beats and throws about the Dust, and shuffles his Legs, and can never assemble the different Parts of his Body and be united, as he ought to be in this Manage.
When a Horse in his first Curvets makes of himself his Beats, or Times, diligent and quick, it is to be fear'd that this is only owing to Fire and Impatience; in this Case there will be reason to suspect, that he has not Strength sufficient for this Manage, that he will soon do nothing but shuffle and throw about his Legs without rising as he ought, or else that he will become entier; but if he rises freely and sufficiently high, without being in a hurry, or stiffening himself, and bends his Hocks, it will then be very easy to shorten, reduce, and adjust the Measure of his Air, and to make it perfect in proportion to his Resolution, his Strength, and Activity. – If when you are going to raise him, he rises suddenly of himself, consider whether this hasty Action be not a Proof likewise of what I have just now told you.
The Beauty and Perfection of the fine Airs when neatly executed, and their Time just and true, don't consist so much in the Diligence and Quickness with which the Horse brings his Hind-feet to the Ground and makes his Beats; for if that were the Proof, the Horse would not have sufficient Time to raise his Fore-part, and to gather his Fore-legs under him; but the true Measure, and the Harmony of his Time, is when the Hind-feet follow smoothly, and answer immediately to the Fore-feet, and that these rise again in the Instant that the others touch the Ground.
To teach a Horse to beat his Curvets neatly, and in an equal Time and Measure, take care to keep him in a good and just Apuy; keep yourself strait and well stretch'd down in the Saddle, but without any Stiffness, preserving always a certain Ease and Freedom, which is the Characteristic of an Horseman: let your Hand be about three Fingers Breadth above the Pommel of the Saddle, and a little forward or advanced, keeping your Nails up, and be diligent and ready to raise your Horse; when you do this, put your Body a little forward, but so as not to let it be perceived: above all put no Stress in your Legs, but let them be easy and loose, they will catch the Time of themselves better than you can give it. I am now speaking of an high-drest and perfect Horse, who works with the greatest Exactness; for if he was to break the Line, to throw himself from one Side to the other, refuse to advance, or not to lift his Legs, you would then be obliged to give the Aids in proportion to his Understanding and Feeling.
It is not requisite that a Horse should be absolutely perfect in Curvets strait forward, before you put him to make them upon Voltes. By being accustom'd to make them strait forward, when he is put to do them differently, he would feel a fresh Constraint; in this Case he might break and perplex his Air in the Action of turning, he would falsify the Volte, and perhaps fall into many Disorders; it is therefore right, as soon as he is grounded a little in Curvets strait forwards, to begin to teach him the Time and the Proportions of the Volte.
Walk him then upon a Volte that is sufficiently large, and exactly round, taking care that he walks neither too slow nor too fast, and making him bring in his Head to the Volte, so that he may acquire a Habit of looking always into the Volte, without letting his Hind-feet however go off the Line of his Fore-feet.
Having thus taught him in the Walk to both Hands the Space or Ground of the Volte, let him make three Pesades, then three more, and let him make them with Patience and lightly, but without stopping. Trot him then upon the Volte, stop him without letting him rise, caress him, and begin with him again to the other Hand, and repeat the same. – When he begins to understand this Lesson, let him make two Pesades together, then let him walk as before; observe these Rules and this Method, without hurrying or pressing him; increase by degrees by the Number of Pesades, and let him walk less as he begins to work with more Ease; by these means he will soon be brought to furnish an entire Volte.
When your Horse is so far advanced as to work upon the large Voltes in this slow Manner, begin then by degrees to contract his Compass of Ground, and the Measure of the Pesades, till the Volte and the Air are reduced to their exact Proportion; preventing him by Aids and Correction from putting his Croupe out, or bringing it too much within the Volte, and taking care that he makes no wrong or aukward Action with his Head.
It is impossible that a Horse should furnish his Air high, without shortening and contracting his Body a good deal beyond his natural Posture or Make; because the Action of itself is contracted and supported on the Haunches, in such a manner that the Hind-feet must of necessity advance, and widen the Line which they made in the Walk; or else the Fore-feet must go back, and keep up the Line and Roundness of the Volte; or else that the Hind or Fore-feet keeping an equal Proportion, and answering each to each shorten it equally. – These different Effects are very essential and worth remarking. – The first Aid to be given should be with the Legs, in order to make the Horse's Fore-feet keep thro' this high Air the Line of the Volte, which he had mark'd out before in the Walk. If he goes large, or quits the Line, or abandons himself upon his Shoulders, or upon the Hand, the first Aid then should come from the Hand; this by confining will operate so as to raise him, and the Hind-feet will come upon the Line describ'd in the Passage; lastly, if the Horse is obedient, the Rider will be able to unite him both behind and before, by the usual Aids of the Hand and Heel acting together.
When a Horse walks or trots upon the Volte, he is supported in his Action by one of his Fore and one of his Hind-feet, which are both upon the Ground together, while the other two are in the Air; so that according to this Method the Line of the Fore-feet, and that of the hind, are made at the same time; but when he raises his Air and advances upon the Volte, all his Actions are changed; for then the two Fore-feet are lifted up the first, and while they are coming down, he lifts the two Hind-feet from the Ground together, to finish and continue the Beats or Time of his Air. The Fore-feet being more advanced than the hind, must necessarily come down first, and consequently the Horse can never be upon strait Lines crossing each other, as he is when he walks or trots upon the Volte. Moreover, in a high Air the Horse does not only shorten and contract his whole Action; but the better to strengthen and assist the Attitude in which he supports and goes through his Air, he opens and widens his Hind-feet, keeping them at least twice the Distance one from the other, that he did when he only walk'd or trotted upon the Volte, and by consequence describes different Lines. – There are three Actions, and three Motions, still to be consider'd in making Curvets. These are, to raise him, to support him while he is in the Air, and to make him go forwards. – To raise him, is to lift him up as it were by the Action of the Hand, and put him upon an high Air; to support, is to hinder him from bringing his Fore-part too soon to the Ground; and carrying him forward, is to raise, support, and go forward at the same time, while the Horse is off the Ground.
To make a Horse go in Curvets sideways, aid only with the Hand, keeping his Head to the Wall. For instance, to the Right, aid him chiefly with the outward Rein; that is to say, turn your Hand to the Right, for then the Left-rein, which is the outward Rein, will be shorten'd and operate upon the Shoulders so as to work them. – If they go too much, use your inner Rein, carrying your Hand out, and in such a manner that the Shoulders may go before the Croupe. – Let him make three Curvets sideways, passage him afterwards, always sideways; then let him make the same Number of Curvets sideways, and obliquely, again, and begin by little and little to diminish his Passage, and augment the Curvets, till he is able to furnish without Intervals an entire Volte of two Lines. The same Method must be followed in working to the Left, as has been prescribed for the Right.
Curvets made backward are more fatiguing, and more apt to make a Horse rebel, than Curvets strait forward upon the Voltes, Demi-voltes, or sideways. – To teach him to make them backwards, you must make him go backward; afterwards put him to make three or four Curvets in the same Place, that is, without advancing. – Then make him go forward again, let him make the same Number again; and so successively till he makes them readily and without Assistance.
By Habit he will expect to be made to go backward immediately after the last Curvet: now, the Moment he has made one in the same Place, when he is making the second, seize the Moment just as he is coming down, and pull him back, marking a Time with your Hand, just as you would pull to make a Horse go backward which resisted the Hand; and this Time of the Hand being made, ease it immediately. In this Manner continue the Curvets, pulling more or less, according as he obeys or resists; observing to lessen the Times of pulling him back, and to increase the Number of the Curvets backwards. – If he drags his Haunches, that is, if the Hind-feet don't go together, but one after the other, pinch him with both Spurs; but you must put them very back, applying them with great Delicacy, and taking care that he be in the Hand when he comes down. – If with all this he continues disunited, aid on the Croupe with the Switch, turning the bigger End of it in your Hand; and this will make him work and keep his Time or Beats very exactly.
To go backwards in Curvets, aid with the outward Rein, you will confine the Fore-part, and widen the Hind-legs, which ought to be at liberty, because it is with them that he leads. They are follow'd by the Fore-parts, which should keep the same Ground or Tract. – You must keep your Hand low, that the Horse may not go too high. – Let your Body be a little forward to give the greater Liberty to the Hind-legs, which are those that lead; and don't aid with your Legs, unless he drags his Haunches. – If the Horse does not unite of his own accord, you must catch the Time with your Bridle-hand, as the Horse is coming to the Ground; in that Instant, put your Hand to your Body, and so pull him back. – Let us now see how you should be placed in the Saddle, to make Curvets upon the Voltes. – Let only your outward Hip and outward Haunch be a little advanc'd; and remember to loosen always, and relax the Inside of your Knees, or your Legs from the Knees. When you intend to change to the Left, let your Hand accompany and correspond with your Right-leg, which is to operate; when you would change to the Right, let it answer to your Left-leg: Having given this Aid, replace yourself, stretch yourself down in your Saddle, take away your Legs, one or the other, forbear to aid, and let the Balance of your Body be somewhat on the Inside.
Understanding thus, and being Master of the Aids for working a Horse in Curvets strait forwards, backwards, sideways, to the Right and Left, you will be able easily to teach your Horse to make a Cross, or even dance the Saraband in this Air; but this requires as much Justness and Activity in the Horse, as Exactness and Delicacy in the Rider to be able to give the Aids, and very few Horses are able to execute all these Lessons which I have described: the utmost Efforts of Art, and the greatest Suppleness that a Horse can acquire, will be in vain, and unsuccessful, if he is not by Nature inclin'd and disposed to the Manage. That sort of Exercise which hits the Temper, and best suits the Strength of a Horse, will appear graceful, and preserve his Health; while that which is opposite to his Temper and Genius will dishearten him, make him timid and abject, and plunge him into numberless Ails and Vices.
CHAP. XIX.
Of Croupades and Balotades
The Croupade is a Leap, in which the Horse draws up his Hinder-legs as if he meant to shorten and truss them up under his Belly.
The Balotade is likewise a Leap, in which the Horse seems as if he intended to kick out, but without doing it; he only offers or makes a half Kick, shewing only the Shoes of his Hind-feet.
The Horses that are destin'd to these Airs ought to have a light and steady Mouth, and an active and lively Disposition, with clean and nervous Strength; for all the Art and Knowledge of the Horseman can never confer these Qualities, which are essentially necessary to the Perfection of this Manage.
The Croupades and Balotades are different from Curvets, inasmuch as that they are much higher behind, and consequently their Time and Measure not so quick and close, but slower and more extended. Therefore the Rider should keep his Horse's Croupe ready and in awe, by striking it from time to time with the Switch, supporting him not quite so high before, and observing to aid with his Legs slower, and not so forward, as in the Curvets.
As the Perfection of Curvets, both upon the Voltes and strait forwards, is owing to the Ease and Justness of the Pesades, the Goodness of Croupades and Balotades depends likewise upon the same Rules. Your Horse being made light before by the means of Pesades and Curvets, begin by making him rise, as well before as behind, less however in the first Lessons than afterwards; for you will never bring him to the true Pitch, were you to exhaust all his Strength at once, since while he is prest and compell'd to put forth all his Strength, he will never be able to catch and mark the Time, the Cadence, and the just Beats of his Air, both behind and before.
I have already said, that the Croupades and the Balotades are higher than the Curvets, they nevertheless partake of it; for though a Horse that makes Balotades, makes the Measure of each Time as high behind as before, yet he follows the Beat of his Fore-feet with that of his Hind-feet, the same as in Curvets; for this Reason, a Horse that is intended for the Croupades and Balotades, ought to be more active, light, and strong than one that is to be drest for Curvets, as he should have less Strength than one who is put to make Caprioles strait forwards, or on Voltes of one Line, and to repeat them in the same Place.
To manage the Strength and Vigour of the Horse you intend to work upon the Voltes in Croupades and Balotades, let the Line of the Volte be larger than for Curvets, and let the Action of the Shoulders not be quite so high; thus you will not only check and confine his Activity and Lightness; but by raising his Shoulders in a less Degree, you will give Liberty to his Croupe, and he will be enabled by this Method to furnish his Airs all together, that is before and behind, better, and with more Ease; there is still another Reason for this, for when the Shoulders come to the Ground from too great a Height, the Shock alarms and disorders the Mouth; and then the Horse losing the Steadiness of his Apuy, he never will raise his Croupe so high as he ought, to make perfect Balotades.
CHAP. XX.
Of Caprioles
There is no such Thing as an universal Horse; that is, as a Horse who works equally well upon all Airs, the Terre-a-Terre, the Curvets, Mezair, Croupades, Balotades, and Caprioles, each Horse having a particular Disposition, which inclines to some certain Air which suits him best. A Horse that is naturally inclin'd to the high Airs, ought to be managed with great Gentleness and Patience; inasmuch as he will be in greater Danger of being disgusted and spoil'd, as his Disposition to the high Airs is owing generally to the Gaiety and Sprightliness of his Temper; and as such Tempers are usually averse to Subjection, Constraint and Correction, Rigour and Severity would make him become timid and angry, and then he could not attend to and catch the Time, Order, and Measure of the high Airs; therefore if you would reduce him to the Justness of the high Airs, and teach him their Harmony and Measure, you must not expect to succeed by any other ways than by giving your Instructions with great Patience and Judgment, and soon or late he will be gain'd.
The Feet are the Foundations upon which all the high Airs, if I may use the Word, are built. They ought then to be attended to very strictly; for if your Horse has any Pain, Weakness, or other Defect in his Feet, he will be so much the more improper to leap, as the Pain which he must feel when he comes to the Ground, would shoot quite to his Brain.
As a Proof of this, when a Horse whose Feet are bad or tender trots upon the Stones, or hard Ground, you will see him shut his Eyes, drop his Head at each Step, and shake his Tail from very Pain.
The Capriole is the most violent of the high Airs. To make it perfect, the Horse is to raise his Fore-parts and his Hinder to an equal Height; and when he strikes out behind, his Croupe should be upon a Level with his Withers. In rising and in coming down his Head and Mouth should be quite steady and firm, and he should present his Forehead quite strait. – When he rises, his Fore-legs should be bent under him a good deal, and equally. When he strikes out with his Hind-legs, he ought to do it nervously, and with all his Force; and his two Feet should be even, of an equal Height, and their Action the same when he strikes out: lastly, the Horse should at every Leap fall a Foot and a half, or the Space of two Feet distance from the Spot from which he rose. – I don't assert, that in order to make Caprioles a Horse must necessarily pass through Curvets and Balotades; for there are Horses who are naturally more light and active in their Loins than strong, and who are brought to leap with more Difficulty, than to the other Airs in which their Strength must be much more united, and their Disposition attended to; but yet it is certain, that if the Horse is brought to rise by Degrees, and is work'd in the intermediate Airs, before he undertakes the Caprioles, he will not weaken and strain himself so much, and will be sooner confirm'd in his Lesson than one who begins at once with the Caprioles.
Having thus explain'd to Demonstration the Motions of a Horse, when 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.