A New System Of Horsemanship

The Principles and Rules which have hitherto been given for the Horseman's Seat, are various, and even opposite, according as they have been adopted by different Masters, and taught in different Countries; almost each Master, in particular, and every Nation, having certain Rules and Notions of their own. Let us see, however, if Art can discover nothing to us that is certain and invariably true.

The Italians, the Spaniards, the French, and, in a word, every Country, where Riding is in repute, adopt each a Posture which is peculiar to themselves; the Foundation of their general Notions, is, if I may so say, the same, but yet each Country has prescribed Rules for the Placing of the Man in the Saddle.

This Contrariety of Opinions, which have their Origin more in Prejudice, than in Truth and Reality, has given rise to many vain Reasonings and Speculations, each System having its Followers; and, as if Truth was not always the same and unchangeable, but at liberty to assume various, and even opposite Appearances; sometimes one Opinion prevailed, sometimes another dazzled; insomuch, that those who understand nothing of the Subject, but yet are desirous of informing themselves, by searching it to the Bottom, have hitherto been lost in Doubt and Perplexity.

There is nevertheless a sure and infallible Method, by the Assistance of which it would be very easy to overturn all these Systems: But not to enter into a needless Detail, of the extravagant Notions which the Seat alone has given rise to, let us trace it from Principles by so much the more solid, as their Authority will be supported by the most convincing and self-evident Reasons.

In order to succeed in an Art where the Mechanism of the Body is absolutely necessary, and where each Part of the Body has proper Functions, which are peculiar to it, it is most certain, that all and every Part of the Body should be in a natural Posture; were they in an imperfect Situation, they would want that Ease and Freedom which is inseparable from Grace; and as every Motion which is constrained, being false in itself, is incapable of Justness; it is clear that the Part so constrained and forced would throw the whole into Disorder, because each Part belonging to, and depending upon the whole Body, and the Body partaking of the Constraint of its Parts, can never feel that fix'd Point, that just Counterpoise and Equilibre in which alone a fine and just Execution consists.

It is not therefore sufficient in giving Directions for the Seat, to keep altogether to trivial and common Rules which may be followed or left at pleasure; we ought to weigh and examine them with Skill and Judgment, in order to know how to apply them properly and suitably as the Shape and Figure of the Person to whom we undertake to give a Seat will allow; for many Motions and Attitudes that appear easy and natural in one Man, in another are awkward and ungraceful; whence all those Faults and Difficulties which in many Persons have been thought insuperable; whereas a little more Knowledge, a closer Attention, and a more serious Examination into the Principles of the Art, would convert in the same Subject an awkward and displeasing Appearance, into an easy, natural, and graceful Figure, capable of drawing the Eyes even of Judges themselves.

Indeed the Objects, to which a Master, anxious for the Advancement of his Pupil, should attend, are infinite. To little Purpose will it be to keep the strictest Eye upon all the Parts and Limbs of his Pupil's Body; in vain will he endeavour to remedy all the Defects and Faults which are found in the Posture of almost every Scholar in the Beginning; unless he is intimately acquainted with, and apprized of, the close Dependance and Connection that there is between the Motions of each Part of the Body, and all the Rest; a Correspondence caused by the reciprocal Action of the Muscles which govern and direct them; unless therefore he is Master of this Secret, and has this Clue to the Labyrinth, he will never attain the End he proposes, particularly in his first Lessons, upon which the Success of the rest always depends.

These Principles being established, let us reason in consequence of them; we shall display them with great Force and Clearness.

The Body of a Man is divided into three Parts, two of which are moveable, the other immoveable.

The First of the two moveable Parts is the Trunk or Body, down to the Waist; the Second is from the Knees to the Feet; so that the remaining immoveable Part is that between the Waist and the Knees.

The Parts then which ought to be without Motion, are the Fork or Twist of the Horseman, and his Thighs: Now, that these Parts may be kept without Motion, they ought to have a certain Hold and Center, if I may so say, to rest upon, which no Motion that the Horse can make, can disturb or loosen; this Point or Center is the Basis of the Hold which the Horseman has upon his Horse, and is what is called the Seat. Now, if the Seat is nothing else but this Point or Center, it must follow, that not only the Grace, but the Symmetry and true Proportion of the whole Attitude depends upon those Parts of the Body that are immoveable.

Let the Horseman then place himself at once upon his Twist, sitting exactly in the Middle of the Saddle, let him support this Posture, in which the Twist alone seems to sustain the Weight of the whole Body, by moderately leaning upon the Buttocks; let his Thighs be turned inward, and rest flat upon the Sides of the Saddle, and in order to this, let the Turn of the Thighs proceed directly from the Hips, and let him employ no Force or Strength to keep himself in the Saddle, but trust to the Weight of his Body and Thighs; this is the exact Equilibre; in this consists the Firmness of the whole Building; a Firmness which young Beginners are never sensible of at first, but which is to be acquired, and will always be attained by Exercise and Practice.

I demand but a moderate Stress upon the Buttocks, because a Man that sits full upon them, can never turn his Thighs flat upon the Saddle; and the Thighs should always lay flat, because the fleshy Part of the Thigh being insensible, the Horseman would not otherwise be able to feel the Motions of his Horse. I insist that the Turn of the Thigh should be from the Hip, because this Turn can never be natural, but as it proceeds from the Hollow of the Hip-bone. I insist further, that the Horseman never avail himself of the Strength or Help of his Thighs; because, besides that he would then be not only less steady, but the closer he prest them to the Saddle, the more would he be lifted above it; and with respect to his Buttocks and Thighs, he ought always to be in the Middle of the Saddle, and sit down full and close upon it.

Having thus firmly placed the immoveable Parts, let us pass on to the first of the Moveable; which is, as I have already observed, the Body or Trunk, as far as to the Waist: I comprehend in the Body or Trunk, the Head, the Shoulders, the Breast, the Arms, the Hands, the Loins, and the Waist, of the Horseman.

The Head should be free, firm, and easy, in order to be ready for all the natural Motions that the Horseman may make, in turning it to one Side or the other: It should be firm, that is to say strait, without leaning to the Right or Left, neither advanced, nor thrown back; it should be easy, because if otherwise, it would occasion a Stiffness, and that Stiffness affecting the different Parts of the Body, especially the Back-bone, they would be without Ease, and constrained.

The Shoulders alone influence by their Motion the Breast, the Reins, and the Waist.

The Horseman should present or advance his Breast; by this his whole Figure opens and displays itself: He should have a small Hollow in his Loins, and should push his Waist forward to the Pommel of the Saddle, because this Position corresponds and unites him to all the Motions of the Horse. Now, only throwing the Shoulders back produces all these Effects, and gives them exactly in the Degree that is requisite; whereas, if we were to look for the particular Position of each Part separately, and by itself, without examining the Connection that there is between the Motions of one Part with those of another, there would be such a Bending in the Loins, that the Horseman would be, if I may so say, hollow-back'd; and as from that he would force his Breast forward, and his Waist towards the Pommel of the Saddle, he would be flung back, and must sit upon the Rump of the Horse.

The Arms should be bent at the Elbows, and the Elbows should rest equally upon the Hips; if the Arms were strait, the Consequence would be, that the Hands would be infinitely too low, or at much too great a Distance from the Body; and if the Elbows were not kept steady, they would of consequence give an Uncertainty and Fickleness to the Hand, sufficient to ruin it for ever.

It is true, that the Bridle-hand is that which absolutely ought to be steady and immoveable, and one might conclude from hence, that the Left-elbow only ought to rest upon the Hip, but Grace consists in the exact Proportion and Symmetry of all the Parts of the Body, and to have the Arm on one Side raised and advanced, and that of the other kept down and close to the Body, would present but an awkward and disagreeable Appearance.

It is this which determines the Situation of the Hand, which holds the Switch. The Left-hand being of an equal Height with the Elbow, so that the Knuckle of the Little-finger, and the Tip of the Elbow, be both in a Line; this Hand then being rounded neither too much nor too little, but just so that the Wrist may direct all its Motions; place your Right-hand, or the Switch-hand, lower and more forward than the Bridle-hand; it should be lower than the other Hand, because if it was upon a Level with it, it would restrain or obstruct its Motions; and were it to be higher, as it cannot take so great a Compass as the Bridle-hand, which must always be kept over against the Horseman's Body, it is absolutely necessary to keep the Proportion of the Elbows, that it should be lower than the other.

The Legs and Feet make up the second Division, of what I call the moveable Parts of the Body.

The Legs serve for two Purposes; they may be used as Aids, or Corrections, to the Animal. They should then be kept near the Sides of the Horse, and in a Line with the Man's Body; for being near the Part of the Horse's Body where his Feeling is most delicate, they are ready to do their Office in the Instant they are wanted. Moreover, as they are an Appendix of the Thighs, if the Thigh is upon its Flat in the Saddle, they will, by a necessary Consequence, be turned just as they ought, and will infallibly give the same Turn to the Feet; because the Feet depend upon them, as they depend upon the Thighs.

The Toe should be held a little higher than the Heel, for the lower the Toe is, the nearer the Heel will be to the Sides of the Horse, and must be in danger of touching his Flank. Many Persons, notwithstanding, when they raise their Toe, bend and twist their Ankle, as if they were lame in that Part. The Reason of this is very plain; it is because they make use of the Muscles in their Legs and Thighs; whereas, they should employ only the Joint of the Foot for this Purpose; a Joint, given by Nature to facilitate all the Motions of the Foot, and to enable it to turn to the Right or Left, upwards or downwards.

Such is, in short, the mechanical Disposition of all the Parts of the Horseman's Body. I will enlarge no further upon a Subject treated on already so amply by every Writer; as it is needless to write what has been already handled. I have had no other Design in this Chapter, than to give an Idea of the Correspondence that there is between all the Parts of the Body, because it is only by a just Knowledge of this mutual Relation of all the different Parts, that we can be enabled to prescribe Rules for giving that true and natural Seat, which is not only the Principle of Justness, but likewise the Foundation of all Grace in the Horseman.

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The Knowledge of the different Characters, and the different Nature of Horses, together with the Vices, and Imperfections, as well as the exact and just Proportions of the Parts of a Horse's Body, is the Foundation upon which is built the Theory of our Art; but this Theory will be unnecessary and even useless, it we are not able likewise to carry it into Execution.

This depends chiefly upon the Goodness and Quickness of Feeling in the Hand, a Delicacy which Nature alone can give, and which she does not always bestow. The first Sensation of the Hand consists in a greater or less Degree of Fineness in the Touch or Feeling; all of us are equally furnished with Nerves, from which we have the Sense of Feeling, but as this Sense is much more subtle and quick in some Persons than in others, it is impossible to give a precise Definition of the exact Degree of Feeling in the Hand, which ought to communicate and answer to the same Degree of Feeling in the Horse's Mouth; because there is as much difference in the Degrees of Feeling in Men, as there is in the Mouths of Horses.

I suppose then a Man, who is not only capable to judge of the Qualities of a Horse's Mouth from a Knowledge of the Theory, but who has likewise by Nature that Fineness of Touch, which helps to form a good Hand; let us see then what the Rules are that we must follow, in order to make it perfect, and by which we must direct all its Operations.

A horse can move four different Ways, he can advance, go back, turn to the Right, and to the Left; but he can never make these different Motions, unless the Hand of the Rider permits him by making four other Motions which answer to them: So that there are five different Positions for the Hand.

The first is that general Position, from which proceed, and indeed ought to proceed, the other four.

Hold your Hand three Fingers breadth from your Body, as high as your Elbow, in such a Manner that the Joint of your Little-finger be upon a right Line with the Tip of the Elbow; let your Wrist be sufficiently rounded, so that your Knuckles may be kept directly above the Neck of your Horse; let your Nails be exactly opposite your Body, the Little-finger nearer to it than the others, your Thumb quite flat upon the Reins, which you must separate, by putting your Little-finger between them, the right Rein lying upon it; this is the first and general Position.

Does your Horse go forward, or rather would you have him go forward? Yield to him your Hand, and for that Purpose turn your Nails downwards, in such a Manner as to bring your Thumb near your Body, remove your Little-finger from it, and bring it into the Place where your Knuckles were in the first Position, keeping your Nails directly above your Horse's Neck; this is the second.

Would you make your Horse go backwards? quit the first Position, let your Wrist be quite round, let your Thumb be in the Place of the Little-finger in the second Position, and the Little-finger in that of the Thumb, turn your Nails quite upwards, and towards your Face, and your Knuckles will be towards your Horse's Neck; this is the third.

Would you turn your Horse to the Right, leave the first Position, carry your Nails to the Right, turning your Hand upside down, in such a manner, that your Thumb be carried out to the Left, and the Little-finger brought in to the Right; this is the fourth Position.

Lastly, Would you turn to the Left, quit again the first Position, carry the Back of your Hand a little to the Left, so that the Knuckles come under a little, but that your Thumb incline to the Right, and the Little-finger to the Left; this makes the fifth.

These different Positions however alone are not sufficient; we must be able to pass from one to another with Readiness and Order.——Three Qualities are especially necessary to the Hand. It ought to be firm, gentle, and light; I call that a firm or steady Hand, whose Feeling corresponds exactly with the Feeling in the Horse's Mouth, and which consists in a certain Degree of Steadiness, which constitutes the just Correspondence between the Hand and the Horse's Mouth, which every Horseman wishes to find.

An easy and gentle Hand is that which by relaxing a little of its Strength and Firmness, eases and mitigates the Degree of Feeling between the Hand and Horse's Mouth, which I have already described.

Lastly, a light Hand is that which lessens still more the Feeling between the Rider's Hand and the Horse's Mouth, which was before moderated by the gentle Hand.

The Hand therefore, with respect to these Properties, must operate in part, and within certain Degrees; and depends upon being more or less felt, or yielded to the Horse, or with-held.

It should be a Rule with every Horseman, not to pass at once from one Extreme to another, from a firm Hand to a slack one; so that in the Motions of the Hand, you must upon no account jump over that Degree of Sensation which constitutes the easy or gentle Hand. Were you at once to go from a firm Hand or a slack one, you would then entirely abandon your Horse; you would surprize him, deprive him of the Support he trusted to, and precipitate him on his Shoulders, supposing you do this at an improper time; on the contrary, were you to pass from a slack to a tight Rein all at once, you must jerk your Hand, and give a violent Shock to the Horse's Mouth, which rough and irregular Motion would be sufficient to falsify the finest Apuy, and ruin a good Mouth.

It is indispensibly necessary therefore, that all its Operations should be gentle and light; and in order to this, it is necessary that the Wrist alone should direct and govern all its Motions, by turning and steering it, if I may so say, through every Motion that it is to make.

In consequence then of these Principles, I insist that the Wrist be kept so round, that your Knuckles may be always directly above the Horse's Neck, and that your Thumb be always kept flat upon the Reins. In reality, were your Wrist to be more or less rounded, than in the Degree I have fixed, you could never work with your Hand, but by the means of your Arm; and besides, it would appear as if it were lame: Again, were your Thumb not to be upon the Flat of the Reins, they would continually slip through the Hand, and, by being lengthen'd, would spoil the Apuy; and in order to recover them, you would be obliged every Moment to raise your Hand and Arm, which would throw you into Confusion, and make you lose that Justness and Order, without which no Horse will be obedient, and work with Readiness and Pleasure.

It is nevertheless true, that with Horses that are well drest, one may take Liberties; these are nothing else but those Motions which are called Descents of the Hand, and they are to be made three different ways; either by dropping the Knuckles directly and at once upon the Horse's Neck, or by taking the Reins in the Right-hand, about four Fingers breadth above the Left, and letting them slide through the Left, dropping your Right-hand at the same time upon the Horse's Neck; or else by putting the Horse under the Button, as it is call'd; that is, by taking the End of the Reins in your Right-hand, quitting them entirely with your Left, and letting the End of them fall upon your Horse's Neck: these Motions however, which give a prodigious Grace to the Horseman, never should be made but with great Caution, and exactly in the time when the Horse is quite together, and in the Hand; and you must take care to counter-balance, by throwing back your Body, the Weight of the Horse upon his Haunches.

The Apuy being always in the same Degree, would heat the Mouth, would dull the Sense of Feeling, would deaden the Horse's Bars, and render them insensible and callous; this shews the Necessity of continually yielding and drawing back the Hand to keep the Horse's Mouth fresh and awake.

Besides these Rules and Principles, there are others not less just and certain, but whose Niceness and Refinement it is not the Lot of every Man to be able to taste and understand. My Hand being in the first Position, I open the two Middle-fingers, I consequently ease and slacken my Right Rein; I shut my Hand, the Right Rein operates again, and resumes the Apuy. I open my Little-finger, and putting the End of it upon the Right Rein, I thereby slacken the Left, and shorten the Right. I shut my Hand entirely, and open it immediately again; I thereby lessen the Degree of Tension and Force of the two Reins at the same time; again I close my Hand not quite so much, but still I close it. It is by these Methods, and by the Vibration of the Reins, that I unite the Feeling in my Hand with that in the Horse's Mouth; and it is thus that I play with a fine and made Mouth, and freshen and relieve the Bars in which the Feeling or Apuy resides.

It is the same with respect to the second Descent of the Hand: My Right-hand holding the Reins, I pass and slide my Left-hand upon the Reins up and down, and in the Degree of Apuy of the easy and slack Hand; by the means of which the Horse endeavours of himself to preserve the Correspondence and Harmony of that mutual Sensation, between his Mouth and the Rider's Hand, which alone can make him submit with Pleasure to the Constraint of the Bit.

I have thus explained the different Positions and Motions of the Hand; let me shew now in a few Words the Effects which they produce.

The Horseman's Hand directs the Reins; the Reins operate upon the Branches of the Bit; the Branches upon the Mouth-piece and the Curb; the Mouth-piece operates upon the Bars, and the Curb upon the Beard of the Horse.

The Right Rein guides the Horse to the Left; the Left Rein to the Right. Would you go to the Right, you pass to the fourth Position of the Hand, that is, you carry and turn your Nails to the Right; now in carrying thus your Nails to the Right, and reversing your Hand in such a manner, that your Thumb point to the Left, and your Little-finger being raised turns to the Right, you by this means shorten your Left Rein; it is this Left therefore that turns and guides the Horse to the Right: Would you go to the Left, pass to the fifth Position, you will carry the Back of your Hand to the Left, so that your Nails will be turned down a little, your Thumb will be to the Right, and the Little-finger to the Left; this will shorten the right Rein, and the right Rein determines your Horse to the Left.

I have already said, that the Effect which the Mouth-piece has upon the Bars, and the Curb upon the Beard, depends upon the Branches of the Bitt; when the Branches rise or are turned upwards, the Mouth-piece sinks, and when the Branches sink, the Mouth-piece rises; so that when your Horse is going strait forward, if you keep your Hand low and close to your Body, the Mouth-piece then presses strong upon the Bars, and the Chain or Curb having, in consequence more Liberty, acts less upon the Beard; on the contrary, if you keep your Hand high, a little forward, and consequently a little out of the Line of the End of the Branches, the Mouth-piece then sinks, and the Branches of necessity operate upon the Curb, which presses then very strongly upon the Beard; now, in order to place, and to bring in your Horse's Head, you must hold your Hand low, and in order to raise and lighten a Horse that weighs upon the Hand, and carries his Head too low, you must advance your Hand a little, and keep it high.

Would you have your Horse go backward? Come to the third Position, but take care to round your Wrist exactly, in order to work equally with both Reins, and by this means to aid your Horse more effectually to go backward strait and ballanced between your Legs, which he could never do, if one Rein was to operate stronger than the other.

There are particular Cases, where the Reins are separated, and one held in each Hand; it is usual to separate them when you trot a young Horse, or when you are to work one who is disobedient, and resists his Rider; upon these occasions, keep both your Hands upon a Level, low and near your Body: To turn to the right, use your right Rein; to go to the left, use your left Rein; but in order to make them have their Effect, move your Arm gently, turning it a little from your Body, keeping your Hand always low and even near your Boot.

Such are the Principles upon which the Perfection and Justness of the Aids of the Hand depend, all others are false, and not to be regarded; Experience has so much the more evinced the Truth of this, as the new Discoveries which some People imagine they have lately made, have produced nothing but Hands, cold and unactive, without Firmness, whose irregular and capricious Motions serve only to render a Horse's Mouth uncertain and fickle, and who, by their manner of holding them high, have ruined absolutely the Hocks of all the Horses, that they have worked according to these absurd Notions.

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Disobedience in Horses is more frequently owing to the want of Skill in the Horseman, than proceeding from any natural Imperfections in the Horse; in effect, three things may give rise to it, Ignorance, a bad Temper, and an Incapacity in the Animal to do what is required of him.

If a Horse is ignorant of what you expect him to do, and you press him, he will rebel, nothing is more common; teach him then, and he will know; a frequent Repetition of the Lessons will convert this Knowledge into a Habit, and you will reduce him to the most exact Obedience.

He refuses perhaps to obey, this Fault may arise either from Ill-humour, Dullness, or from too much Mettle; it often is the Effect of the two first Vices, sometimes the Result of all the three. In either, or all these Instances, recourse must be had to Rigour, but it must be used with Caution; for we must not forget, that the Hopes of Recompence have as great an Influence over the Understanding of the Animal, as the Fear of Punishment. Perhaps he is not able to execute what you ask of him; examine him, something may be amiss in some Part of his Body, or perhaps in the whole Body; he may be deficient, he may want Strength, or not be light enough; perhaps he is deficient in both, in that he resists and rebels. Consider whether he knows what he should do or not; if he is ignorant, teach him; if he knows, but can't execute through Inability, endeavour to assist Nature as far as you can, by the Help of Art. But does he already know, and is he able too, and yet does he refuse to obey? After having first tried every Method that Patience and Lenity can suggest, compel him by Force and Severity. It behoves then every Horseman, who would be perfect in his Art, to distinguish from whence the different Sorts of Defences and Rebellion in Horses proceed: And this Knowledge is by so much the more difficult to attain, as he must have Penetration enough to distinguish if the Cause of their Rebellion is in their Character and Nature, or owing to any Fault in their Make and Structure.

The different Natures of Horses are infinite, though there are certain general Principles, of which all, more or less, always partake.

A Horse may be imperfect from four Causes, Weakness, Heaviness in his Make, Want of Courage, and Sloth.

Four Qualities must conspire to make a perfect Horse, Strength, Activity, Courage, and Judgment.

The Mixture of these different Qualities occasions the different Natures and Dispositions of the Creature, according as he is form'd better or worse; for it is from his Temper, or rather from the Harmony or Unfitness of the Parts and Elements, of which he is composed, that we are enabled to fix his Character; it is therefore the Part of every Horseman never to work but with Discretion and Caution, and to adapt his Rules and Lessons to the Nature and Ability of the Horse he undertakes, and which he ought to know.

A Horse may be difficult to be mounted, examine the Source of this Vice; it may be owing either to the Ignorance or the Brutality of those who have first had to do with him, or perhaps that the Saddle may have hurt him, or else to a Temper naturally bad. To whatever Cause it may be owing, remember never to beat him, for instead of curing him, you would certainly confirm him in his Vice; clap him gently when you approach him, stroke his Head and Mane, talk to him, and as you talk, clap the Seat of the Saddle; keep yourself still all the while, put your Foot only in the Stirrup to encourage your Horse, without doing any more, in order to make him familiar, and lose all Apprehension and Fear when he is going to be mounted; by degrees at last he will let you mount him, you will immediately get down and remount, and so successively for several Times together, without attempting to do any thing else, but send him back to the Stable. If it happens that then when you are upon him, he runs from the Place where you got upon him, bring him to it immediately, keep him there some Time, coax him, and send him away.——The first Lessons ought to be well weigh'd; when you undertake to bring a young Horse to Obedience, and to reclaim him from Liberty to the Subjection of the Bridle, Saddle, and the Weight of his Rider, so restrain'd, it is not surprizing if he should employ all his Strength against you in his own Defence.

The Generality of Colts are difficult to be turn'd and guided as you would have them go; we ought not however to be surprized at this their first Disobedience, it must be imputed to the Habit they acquire from their Birth, of constantly following their Dams. Indulged in this Liberty, and subjected all at once by the Bit, it is but natural they should rebel; there is no way of eradicating these first Impressions, but by Gentleness and Patience: A Horseman, who should make use of Force and Correction, and employ it all at once upon a young Horse, would discourage and make him vicious ever after. If therefore your Horse refuses to go forward, you must lead another Horse before him, the Person who rides the Colt will try from Time to Time, and insensibly, to make the Colt go a-breast with him, and afterwards get before him; if being surprized at seeing the Horse no longer, he stops or runs back, the Rider must endeavour to drive him forward, either by his Voice, or some Kind of slight Punishment, or he that rides the other Horse may give him a Stroke with the Chambriere, in order to make him go forward; if these Methods should not succeed, he will go before him again with the other Horse, by degrees (for one Lesson wont be sufficient) the Colt will grow accustom'd to it, and at last will go on of himself.

Most Horses who start, have some Defect in their Sight, which makes them fear to approach the Object. The Horseman, upon those Occasions, instead of having Recourse to Punishment, which serves only to alarm the Horse, and extinguish his Courage and Vigour, should first endeavour to lead him gently towards the Object that terrifies him, either by encouraging him with his Voice, or by closing his Legs upon him, to make him go up to it. If he wont go towards it, you may give him the Spurs, but with Discretion, and by Coaxing and Caresses push him towards it insensibly; severe Correction will never cure him of this fearful Temper, which is a Fault inherent in his Nature, nor of any Imperfections in his Sight, which is a Disorder belonging to him, but the Habit of viewing the Objects which alarm him, may in time remedy the Defects of Nature.

If notwithstanding you perceive that Sloth and Malice are added to these Faults, you must use as you find necessary both Mildness and severe Correction, and you will bestow them in proportion to the Effect they produce. For the rest, be careful never to surprize a young Horse who is shy, and apt to start, never terrify him with what he most fears, never beat him to make him come up to an Object which he dreads; accustom him by degrees to it, and have Patience; the Fear of Punishment does oftentimes more harm, and is more dreaded by him, than the very Object which first alarmed him.

There are some Horses, who are struck with such Terror at the Sight of a Stone or Wooden Bridge, and at the Sound and Echo of the hollow Part of it, that they will fling themselves headlong into the Water, without the Riders being able to restrain them: They are to be cur'd of this Apprehension by covering the Pavement of their Stall with Wooden Planks, between two or three Feet high; and the Horse standing constantly upon them, his Feet will make the same Noise as they do when he goes over a Bridge, and he will of course grow familiar to the Sound, and lose all Apprehension of it.

To accustom them likewise to the Noise of the Water running under the Bridge, lead him to a Mill, fix two Pillars directly over against the Wheels, and tie your Horse constantly for two Hours together, several Times in the Day; having done this, bring him back to the Bridge, let an old Horse, that is not afraid, go before him upon the Bridge, by degrees you will find him go over the Bridge as readily and quietly as if he had never had the least Apprehension.

For Horses that are addicted to lay down in the Water, you must provide yourself with two little Leaden Balls, tie them to a Piece of Packthread, and in the Moment that he is lying down, you must drop these into his Ears, and if he rises instantly, or forbears to lay down, draw them back; but this Method is not less sure than that of breaking a Flask fill'd with Water upon his Head, and letting the Water run into his Ears.

Fire, Smoke, the Smell of Gunpowder, and the Noise of Guns, or other Arms, naturally surprize and frighten a Horse.—There are few that will come near Fire, or pass by it without Difficulty.

There are many Occasions however, wherein it is necessary; it is therefore proper to accustom your Horse to it. In the first place, begin with your Horse by letting him see it; and for that purpose tie him between two Pillars, and hold before him, at about thirty Paces distant, a burning Wisp of Straw; this should be continued for some Days together, repeating it several times each Day. Let the Person who holds the Brand, advance towards the Horse step by step, and let him take care to advance or stop often, as he perceives the Horse is more or less frighten'd, who in a short time will be imbolden'd, and no longer afraid of the Fire: After this get up on him, carry him slowly, and, as it were, insensibly towards the Brand, the Person who holds it taking care not to stir: If your Horse comes up to it, without being frighten'd, let the Man on Foot walk on, and let the Horse follow the Fire. Lay upon the Ground some Straw about half burnt out, and he will pass over it.

With respect to the Noise of Arms and Drums, let your Horse hear them before you give him his Oats: Do this regularly every Day, for some time, and he will be so used to them as not to mind them.

A Horse is said to be entier to that Hand, to which he refuses to turn; a Hurt in his Foot, Leg, or Shoulder, may often be the Cause of his refusing to turn to that Side, where he feels any Pain; a Hurt in his Loins or Haunch, a Curb or Spavin, by hindering him to bend and rest upon his Hocks, may make him guilty of this Disobedience. Art can do little towards curing these Evils, consequently a Horse so affected will never dress well, because he never can be made supple and ready; besides, every Horse is naturally inclin'd to go to one Hand more than the other, and then he will go to that Hand on which he finds himself the weakest, because with the strongest he can turn more easily.

They may likewise refuse to turn, from some Defect in their Sight, natural or accidental. I have tried a Method to remedy this Vice, which has answer'd very well; I have put a Lunette upon the ailing Eye, and as his Fault was owing to his Eye, the Horse began by degrees to go to that Hand to which before he had refused to turn: After this I made two little Holes in the Lunette; I enlarged them afterwards, and the Eye of the Horse being thus insensibly accustom'd to receive the Light, and he to turn to that Hand, he no longer disobeyed; I exercised him in this Manner from time to time, in order to confirm him in his Obedience.—I have said, that there is no Horse who is not by Nature inclin'd to go better to one Hand than the other; their inclination generally carries them to the Left rather than to the Right. Some People impute this Preference to the Manner in which the Foal lies in its Dam's Belly, and pretend that even then it is entirely bent and turn'd to the Left: Others insist that Horses lay down generally upon their Right-side, and from thence contract a Habit to turn their Heads and Necks to the Left: But not to regard these groundless Notions, it is easier and more natural to believe, that this Habit is owing to Use, and the Manner in which they are treated by those who first have had the Care of them.

The Halter, the Bridle, the Saddle, and the Girths are all put on and tied on the Left-side; when they are rubb'd or curried, the Man stands on the Left-side; the same when they are fed, and when they are led out, the Man holds them in his Right-hand, consequently their Head is pull'd to the Left. Here are a Chain of Reasons, sufficient to induce us to believe that if they are readier to turn to one Hand than the other, it is owing to a Habit and Custom which we ourselves have given. We seldom meet with Horses that are readier to turn to the Right-hand than the Left; and when it so happens, it oftentimes denotes an ill Temper; it demands much Time and Pains to cure them of this Fault.

It is not proper to use severe Correction to make a Horse obey, who refuses to turn to one Hand; if he is cold and dull, he will lose all his Vigour and Courage; if he is of an angry Temper, hot and brisk, you would make him desperate and mad; work him then upon the Principles of Art, and pursue the Methods you think most likely to reform his ill Habit, and reduce him to Obedience; if he obstinately refuses to turn to one Hand, begin the next Lesson, by letting him go to his favourite Hand a turn or two; finish him on the same Hand, by degrees you'll gain him; whereas were you to do otherwise, you might make him ever afterwards rebellious. A Horse that strenuously resists his Rider, if he has Vigour and Courage, after he is reduced and conquer'd, will nevertheless succeed in what you want of him, provided he is under the Direction of an able and knowing Person, who understands the Aids of the Hand and Legs, and their mutual Harmony and Correspondence.

Such a Horse is even preferable to one who never rebels; because in this last, Nature may be deficient, if I may so express myself, from his Want of Strength and Resolution.

In order to teach your Horses to turn to both Hands, you must separate your Reins, as I have already mention'd; don't confine him too much, support him moderately so that you may easily draw his Head to one side or the other, as you would have him go, and to give him the greater Liberty to turn.

If he refuses to obey, examine him; if he is by Nature impatient, hot and vicious, by no means beat him, provided he will go forwards; because being held in Hand, and kept back a little, is Punishment enough; if he stops, and strives to resist by running back, drive him forward with the Chambriere.

The Resistance of a Horse, whose Mouth is faulty, discovers itself more in going forward than backward, and in forcing the Hand; a Horse of this sort ought never to be beat; he ought to be kept back, as I have just now said. You must endeavour to give him a good and just Apuy, and put him upon his Haunches, in order to cure him of the Trick of leaning upon his Bit, and forcing the Hand. If your Horse is heavy, never press or put him together, till you have lighten'd his Fore-part, and put him upon his Haunches, for fear of throwing him so much upon his Shoulders, that it may be very difficult afterwards to raise him. Take particular care to lighten every Horse that is heavy before, and has Malice in his Temper at the same time; for if you were to press him, he would resist you through Vice; in which Case by his Want of Strength on one hand, and being heavy and unwieldy on the other, you would be exposed to evident Danger.

A restive Horse is one that refuses to go forward, who standing still in the same Place, defends himself, and resists his Rider in several different Manners; it is much to be fear'd that one should lose all Temper with such a Horse, since it requires a great deal of Patience to cure so Capital a Fault, and which perhaps by Habit and Time is so rooted in him as to be almost natural to him; treat a Horse of this sort, who has been too much constrain'd and tyrannized over, with the same Lenity that you would shew to a young Colt.

The Spurs are as improper to be used to one as the other; make use of your Switch in order to drive him forward, you will alarm him the less; the Spurs surprize a Horse, abate his Courage, and are more likely to make him restive, than oblige him to go forward, if he refuses to do so. There is likewise another Method to punish a restive Horse; it is to make him go backwards the Moment he begins to resist; this Correction often succeeds; but the general Rule is to push and carry your Horse forward, whenever he refuses to advance, but continues in the same Place, and defends himself, either by turning or flinging his Croupe on one side or the other; and for this Purpose nothing is so efficacious as to push him forward vigorously.

The most dangerous of all Defences a Horse can make is to rise directly upon his Hind-legs, and stand almost quite strait, because he runs a risque of falling backwards; and in that Case the Rider would be in Danger of his Life. People have endeavour'd to correct this Vice, by a Method of Punishment, which might prove dangerous, unless given in time and with the greatest Exactness.

When the Horse rises strait up, throw your Body forward, and give him all the Bridle; the Weight of your Body on his Fore-parts will oblige him to come down: In the Minute that his Fore-feet are coming to the Ground, give him both the Spurs firm, and as quick as you can; these Aids and Corrections however must be given with the greatest Caution and Exactness: For were you to give him the Spurs when he is in the Air, he would fall over; whereas if you watch the Time so as not to spur him but when he is coming down, and his Fore-feet near the Ground, it is then impossible he should fall backwards; for then his Balance is destroy'd, and he is upon all his Legs again, and can't rise without first touching the Ground, and taking his Spring thence; if therefore you give him the Spurs before he is in a Situation to rise again, you will punish him, and drive him forward at the same time.

This Defence is still more dangerous in Horses who are of a fiery Temper, and weak in their Haunches, at the same time; these are continually apt to rise, and whatever Precautions the Rider may take, he is in continual Danger of their coming over. The way to correct them is this: Tie your Horse between the Pillars very short, put on a good Cavason of Cord, and don't suffer him to be mounted; prick him upon the Buttocks with a Hand-spur in order to make him strike out; encourage him when he kicks, and continue to make him kick; encourage him from time to time when he obeys; do this for a Quarter of an Hour every Day; when you perceive that he begins to kick the Moment you offer to prick him, without waiting till he feels it, get upon him, hold your Reins long, prick him, and let a Man stand by and prick him at the same time. Encourage him when he kicks, and continue to prick him to make him do it, till he will kick readily only at the Offer you make of pricking him; he ought to be brought to this Point in five or six Days: After this take him out of the Pillars, mount him, and trot him in the Longe, and make him kick by pricking him behind; after that let him walk two or three Steps, then make him kick again, and so work him by degrees. Put him to the Gallop; if he offers to rise, prick him behind, and make him kick: Nothing excels this Method to break a Horse of this terrible and dangerous Vice.

Those Horses who are apt to kick, either when they go forward or stand still, must be kept much together, or held in closely; make them go backward briskly, and you will cure them of this Vice.

To resume our Subject. All Horses are by Nature rather aukward than nervous and strong; fearful than bold; hot and fretful than mischievous or ill-temper'd; whenever they grow desperate and absolutely ungovernable, it is often rather to avoid the extreme Pain which they feel, or expect to feel from too great a Constraint, than merely to resist the Horseman. Arm yourself then with great Patience; keep such Horses as are of a fiery and fretful Disposition, rather in Awe than in absolute Subjection; they are naturally fearful, and apt to be alarm'd; and violent Correction and Force would dishearten and make them quite desperate. Such as are of a hot and impetuous Temper, are generally timid and malicious. Endeavour therefore to prevent the Disorders they would commit; for Lenity and good Usage would never reduce them to Obedience, and Severity would make them lifeless and jadish. In fine, let your Lessons be short, easy, and often repeated to Horses of a cold and heavy Disposition, because they have no Memory, and want both Resolution and Strength.

In a word, never depart from this great Maxim, "Always observe a just Medium between too indulgent a Lenity and extreme Severity;" work your Horse according to his Strength and Capacity, give your Lessons in proportion to his Memory, and dispense your Punishment and Rewards suitable to his Courage and Disposition.

When a Horse trots, his Legs are in this Position, two in the Air and two upon the Ground, at the same time cross-wise; that is to say, the Near-foot before, and the Off-foot behind are off the Ground, and the other two upon it; and so alternately of the other two. This Action of his Legs is the same as when he walks, except that in the Trot his Motions are more quick. All Writers, both ancient and modern, have constantly asserted the Trot to be the Foundation of every Lesson you can teach a Horse; there are none likewise who have not thought proper to give general Rules upon this Subject, but none have been exact enough to descend into a Detail of particular Rules, and to distinguish such Cases as are different, and admit of Exceptions, tho' such often are found from the different Make and Tempers of Horses, as they happen to be more or less suited to what they are destin'd; so that by following their general Maxims, many Horses have been spoil'd, and made heavy and aukward, instead of becoming supple and active; and as much Mischief has been occasion'd by adopting their Principles, although just, as if they had been suggested by Ignorance itself.

Three Qualities are essentially necessary to make the Trot useful, it ought to be extended, supple, and even or equal; these three Qualities are related to, and mutually depend upon each other: In effect, you can't pass to the supple Trot, without having first work'd your Horse upon the extended Trot; and you can never arrive at the even and equal Trot, without having practised the Supple.

I mean by the extended Trot, that in which the Horse trots out without retaining himself, being quite strait, and going directly forwards; this consequently is the kind of Trot, with which you must begin; for before any thing else ought to be meditated, the Horse should be taught to embrace and cover his Ground readily, and without fear.

The Trot however may be extended without being supple, for the Horse may go directly forward, and yet not have that Ease and Suppleness of Limbs, which distinguishes and characterizes the Supple.

I define the supple Trot to be that in which the Horse at every Motion that he makes bends and plays all his Joints; that is to say, those of his Shoulders, his Knees and Feet, which no Colts or raw Horses can execute, who have not had their Limbs suppled by Exercise, and who always trot with a surprizing Stiffness and Aukwardness, and without the least Spring or Play in their Joints. The even or equal Trot, is that wherein the Horse makes all his Limbs and Joints move so equally and exactly, that his Legs never cover more Ground one than the other, nor at one Time more than another: To do this, the Horse must of necessity unite and collect all his Strength, and if I may be allowed the Expression, distribute it equally through all his Joints.

To go from the extended Trot, to the supple, you must gently, and by degrees, hold in your Horse; and when by Exercise he has attain'd sufficient Ease and Suppleness to manage his Limbs readily, you must insensibly hold him in, still more and more, and by degrees you will lead him to the equal Trot.

The Trot is the first Exercise to which a Horse is put; this is a necessary Lesson, but if given unskilfully it loses its End, and even does harm.

Horses of a hot and fretful Temper have generally too great a Disposition to the extended Trot; never abandon these Horses to their Will, hold them in, pacify them, moderate their Motion by retaining them judiciously, and their Limbs will grow supple; they will acquire at the same time that Union and Equality, which is so essentially necessary.

If you have a Horse that is heavy, consider if this Heaviness or Stiffness of his Shoulders or Legs is owing to a Want of Strength, or of Suppleness; whether it proceeds from his having been exercised unskilfully, too much, or too little. If he is heavy, because the Motions of his Legs and Shoulders are naturally cold and sluggish, tho' at the same time his Limbs are good, and his Strength is only confin'd and shut up, if I may so say, a moderate but continual Exercise of the Trot will open and supple his Joints, and render the Action of his Shoulders and Legs more free and bold; hold him in the Hand, and support him in the Trot, but take care so to do it, as not to check or slacken his Pace: Aid him and drive him forward, while you support him; remember at the same time, that if he is loaded with a great Head, the Continuation of the Trot, will make his Apuy hard and dull, because he will by this means abandon himself still more, and weigh upon the Hand. All Horses that are inclined to be remingue, should be kept to the extended Trot; every Horse who has a Tendency to be remingue is naturally disposed to collect all his Strength, and to unite himself; your only way with such Horses is to force them forward: In the Instant that he obeys, and goes freely on, retain him a little; yield your Hand immediately after, and you will find soon that the Horse of himself will bend his Joints, and go united and equally.

A Horse of a sluggish and cold Disposition, which has nevertheless Strength and Bottom, should likewise be put to the extended Trot; as he grows animated, and begins to go free, keep him together by little and little, in order to lead him insensibly to the supple Trot; but if while you keep him together, you perceive that he slackens his Action, and retains himself, give him the Aids briskly, and push him forward, keeping him nevertheless gently in Hand; by this means he will be taught to go freely and equally at the same time.

If a Horse of a cold and sluggish Temper is weak in his Legs and Loins, you must manage him cautiously in working him in the Trot, or otherwise you will enervate and spoil him. Besides, in order to make the most of a Horse, who is not over strong, endeavour to give him Wind, by working him slowly, and at Intervals, and by increasing the Vigour of his Exercise by degrees; for you must remember that you ought always to dismiss your Horse, before he is spent and overcome with Fatigue. Never push your Lesson too far in hopes of suppling your Horse's Limbs by means of the Trot; instead of this you will falsify and harden his Apuy, which is a Case which happens but too frequently.

Farther, it is of Importance to remark, that you ought at no time, neither in the extended, supple or equal Trot, to confine your Horse in the Hand in Expectation of raising him, and fixing his Head in a proper Place; if his Apuy be full in the Hand, and the Action of his Trot should be check'd and restrain'd by the Power of his Bridle, his Bars would very soon grow callous, and his Mouth be harden'd and dead; if, on the contrary, he has a fine and sensible Mouth, this very Restraint would offend and make him uneasy. You must endeavour then, as has already been said, to give him by degrees, and insensibly, a true and just Apuy, to place his Head, and form his Mouth, by Stops and Half-stops; by sometimes moderating and restraining him with a gentle and light Hand, and yielding it to him immediately again; and by sometimes letting him trot without feeling the Bridle at all.

There is a Difference between Horses who are heavy in the Hand, and such as endeavour to force it. The first Sort lean and throw all their Weight upon the Hand, either as they happen to be weak, or too heavy and clumsy in their Fore-parts, or from having their Mouths too fleshy and gross, and consequently dull and insensible. The second pull against the Hand, because their Bars are lean, hard, and generally round; and the first may be brought to go equal, and upon their Haunches, by means of the Trot and slow Gallop; and the other may be made light and active by Art, and by settling them well in their Trot, which will also give them Strength and Vigour. Horses of the first sort are generally sluggish, the other kind are for the most part impatient and disobedient, and upon that very account more dangerous and incorrigible.

The only Proof, or rather the most certain Sign of your Horse's trotting well, is, that when he is in his Trot, and you begin to press him a little, he offers to Gallop.

After having trotted your Horse sufficiently upon a strait Line, or directly forward, work him upon large Circles; but before you put him to this, walk him gently round the Circle, that he may comprehend and know the Ground he is to go over.—This being done, work him in the Trot; a Horse that is loaded before, and heavily made, will find more Pains and Difficulty in uniting his Strength, in order to be able to turn, than in going strait forward.—The Action of turning trys the Strength of his Reins, and employs his Memory and Attention, therefore let one Part of your Lessons be to trot them strait forward; finish them in the same Manner, observing that the Intervals between the Stops (which you should make very often) be long, or short, as you judge necessary: I say you should make frequent Stops, for they often serve as a Correction to Horses that abandon themselves, force the Hand, or bear too much upon it in their Trot.

There are some Horses who are supple in their Shoulders, but which nevertheless abandon themselves; this Fault is occasion'd by the Rider's having often held his Bridle-hand too tight and strict in working them upon large Circles: To remedy this, trot them upon one Line or Tread, and very large; stop them often, keeping back your Body and outward Leg, in order to make them bend and play their Haunches.

The principal Effects then of the Trot, are to make a Horse light and active, and to give him a just Apuy. In reality, in this Action he is always supported on one Side by one of his Fore-legs, and on the other by one of his Hind-legs: Now the fore and hind Parts being equally supported cross-wise, the Rider can't fail to supple and loosen his Limbs, and fix his Head; but if the Trot disposes and prepares the Spirits and Motions of a sinewy and active Horse for the justest Lessons, if it calls out and unfolds the Powers and Strength of the Animal, which before were buried and shut up, if I may use the Expression, in the Stiffness of his Joints and Limbs; if this first Exercise to which you put your Horse, is the Foundation of all the different Airs and Manages, it ought to be given in Proportion to the Strength and Vigour of the Horse.

To judge of this you must go farther than mere outward Appearances. A Horse may be but weak in the Loins, and yet execute any Air, and accompany it with Vigour, as long as his Strength is united and intire; but if he becomes disunited, by having been work'd beyond his Ability in the Trot, he will then falter in his Air, and perform it without Vigour and Grace.

There are also some Horses, who are very strong in the Loins, but who are weak in their Limbs; these are apt to retain themselves, they bend and sink in their Trot, and go as if they were afraid of hurting their Shoulders, their Legs or Feet. This Irresolution proceeds only from a natural Sense they have of their Weakness.—This kind of Horses should not be too much exercised in the Trot, nor have sharp Correction; their Shoulders, Legs, or Hocks would be weaken'd and injur'd; so that learning in a little Time to hang back, and abandon themselves on the Apuy, they would never be able to furnish any Air with Vigour and Justness.

Let every Lesson then be weigh'd; the only Method by which Success can be insured, is the Discretion you shall use, in giving them in proportion to the Strength of the Horse, and from your Sagacity in deciding upon what Air or Manage is most proper for him; to which you must be directed by observing which seems most suited to his Inclination and Capacity.

I finish this Chapter by describing the Manner of trotting a Colt, who has never been back'd. Put a plain Snaffle in his Mouth, fit a Caveson to his Nose, to the Ring of which you will tie a Longe of a reasonable Length; let a Groom hold this Longe, who having got at some Distance from the Colt, must stand still in the Middle of the Circle, which the Horse will make; let another follow him with a long Whip or Chambriere in his Hand.—The Colt being alarm'd, will be forced to go forward, and to turn within the Length of the Cord.—The Groom must hold it tight in his Hand, by this means he will draw in or towards the Center the Head of the Colt, and his Croupe will consequently be out of the Circle.—In working a young Horse after this Manner, don't press or hurry him, let him walk first, afterwards put him to the Trot; if you neglect this Method his Legs will be embarras'd, he will lean on one Side, and be more upon one Haunch than the other; the inner Fore-foot will strike against the outward, and the Pain which this will occasion, will drive him to seek some Means of Defence, and make him disobedient.

If he refuses to trot, the Person who holds the Chambriere will animate him, by hitting him, or striking the Ground with it. If he offers to gallop instead of trotting, the Groom must shake or jirk the Cord that is tied to the Caveson, and he will fall into his Trot.

In this Lesson you may decide more readily upon the Nature, the Strength, the Inclination, and Carriage of the Horse, than you can of one that has already been rode, as it is more easy to consider and examine all his Motions; whereas when he is under his Rider, being naturally inclin'd to resist at first, to free himself from Restraint, and to employ all his Strength and Cunning to defend himself against his Rider, it is morally impossible to form a true Judgment of his Disposition and Capacity.

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The most certain Method to unite and assemble together the Strength of a Horse, in order to give him a good Mouth, to fix and place his Head, as well as to regulate his Shoulders, to make him light in the Hand, and capable of performing all Sorts of Airs, depends entirely upon the Perfection and Exactness of the Stop.

In order to mark or form the Stop justly, you must quicken him a little, and in the Instant that he begins to go faster than the usual Cadence or Time of his Pace, approach the Calves of your Legs, and immediately afterwards fling back your Shoulders; always holding your Bridle more and more tight, till the Stop is made, aiding the Horse with the Calves of your Legs, in order to make him bend and play his Haunches.

By varying the Times of making your Stops, and the Places where you make them, you will teach your Horse to obey exactly the Hand and Heel; which is the End that every one should propose to attain in every Kind of Exercise of the Manege.

With a raw and young Horse make but very few Stops, and when you make them, do it by degrees, very gently, and not all at once, because nothing so much strains and weakens the Hocks of a stiff and aukward Horse, as a sudden and rude Stop.

It is agreed by every Body, that nothing so much shews the Vigour and Obedience of a Horse as his making a beautiful and firm Stop, at the End of a swift and violent Career. There are however many Horses that have a good deal of Vigour and Agility, who can't stop without feeling Pain, while there are others who are not so strong and active, who stop very easily; the Reason of this is plain.

In the first place, the Facility of stopping depends upon the natural Aptness and Consent of the Horse; in the next place, his Make, and the Proportions which the different Parts of his Body have to each other, must be consider'd: Therefore we must measure the Merit of a Stop by the Strength and Temper of the Horse, by the Steadiness of his Head and Neck, and the Condition of his Mouth and Haunches.

It will be in vain to look for the Justness and Perfection of the Stop in a Horse that is any ways defective, the Bars being too delicate, or too hard, a thick Tongue, the Channel of his Mouth narrow, the Thropple confin'd, Neck short, Fore-hand heavy, or too low, weak Loins, or too stiff, too much Heat, or too much Flegm in his Temper, or Sluggishness; here are a Number of Faults not easily to be corrected.

A Horse, though he is strong in his Shoulders, in his Legs and Loins, yet if he is low before, will have much Difficulty to collect himself upon his Haunches, so as to make a good Stop; on the contrary, if his Shoulders and Neck are high and raised, he will have the greater Part of the Qualities requisite to it.

A Horse who is long in the Back generally stops very aukwardly, and without keeping his Head steady; a Horse that is short and truss'd, with a thick Neck, generally stops upon his Shoulders. The first finds too much Difficulty to collect his Strength so suddenly, in order to put himself upon his Haunches, and the other is not able to call it out, and distribute it with Vigour through his Limbs.—In effect, when a Horse gallops, the Strength of his Loins, of his Haunches and Hocks, is all employed in pushing the whole Machine forwards, and that of his Shoulders and Fore-legs, to support the Action: Now the Force of his hinder Parts being thus violently agitated, and approaching too near that which lies in the fore Parts, a short-body'd Horse can't find all at once, that Counterpoise, that just Equilibre which characterizes a beautiful Stop.

A Horse which can't stop readily, misemploys very often his Strength in running; examine him, and you will find that he abandons himself entirely upon his Shoulders; consider likewise the Proportions of his Neck and his Thropple, the Condition of his Feet, the Make of his Loins and Hocks; in short, apply yourself to the Discovery of his Temper, Character and Humour.—That Horse whose Neck is hollow, or Ewe-neck'd, instead of ballancing himself upon his Haunches, will arm himself against his Chest, and will thereby make his Stops harsh and disagreeable: Weak Feet, or Hocks that give him Pain, will make him hate the Stop.—He will either endeavour to avoid it, or will make it with Fear, so that he will be totally abandon'd upon the Apuy. If he carries his Nose high, and is hollow-back'd at the same time, it will be impossible for him to unite and put himself together, so as to be ready, and to present his Front, if I may be allow'd the Word, to the Stop; because the Strength of the Nape of the Neck depends upon the Chine; and his Powers being thus disunited and broken, he will make his Stop upon his Shoulders.

There is another Sort of Horses, who in hopes of avoiding the Constraint of stopping upon their Haunches, plant themselves upon their two Hind-legs; yield the Hand to them, in the Instant, and press them forward, you will insensibly correct them of their Defence, which happens only in Cases, where you stop them upon declining or uneven Ground.

There are many People, who imagining they can unite their Horses by the means of making a great Number of precipitate Stops, take little heed whether the Creature which they undertake is too weak, or has Strength sufficient for his Task.—The Horse, who, though strong, has suffer'd in his Chine, in making the first Stop, will meditate a Defence in his second or third; this will be to prevent the Rider in his Design: And being alarm'd at the slightest Motion of the Hand he will stop all at once, leaning with all his Force upon his Shoulders, and lifting up his Croupe; which is a capital Fault, and not easy to be remedied.

Thus it may happen, that a Horse may make his Stops very defectively, either from some natural or accidental Faults in the different Parts of his Body; or it may be owing to the Unskilfulness and Ignorance of the Rider, or the Effect of Faults and bad Lessons all together. Principles that are true and just will assist and reform Nature, but a bad School gives birth to Vice and Defences that are often not to be conquer'd. It behoves us then to follow with Exactness those Lessons which are capable of bringing a Horse to form a perfect Stop; that is to say, to such a Point as to be able to make his Stop short, firm, and in one time; and in which he collects and throws his Strength equally upon his Haunches and Hocks, widening and anchoring, if I may so say, his two Hind-feet exactly even on the Ground, in such a Manner that one does not stand before the other, but both are in a Line.

It would be a Proof of great Ignorance to undertake to reduce a Horse to the Justness of the Stop, before he had been work'd and push'd out in the Trot and Gallop to both Hands, or before he was so ready as never to refuse to launch out immediately into a full Gallop; for if he should happen to be restiff, should disobey the Spurs, or refuse to turn to either Hand, the Means that then must be used to fix his Head, would contribute towards confirming him in one or other of these Vices.

If your Horse has not readily obey'd in making his Stops, make him go backwards, it is a proper Punishment for the Fault. If in stopping he tosses up his Nose, or forces the Hand, in this Case keep your Bridle-hand low and firm, and your Reins quite equal; give him no Liberty, press upon his Neck with your Right-hand, till he has brought down his Nose, and then immediately give him all his Bridle; this is the surest Method to bring him into the Hand.

To compel a Horse to stop upon his Haunches, nothing is so efficacious as Ground that is a little sloping; this is of service to exercise such Horses upon as are naturally too loose in their Paces, who are heavy and apt to abandon themselves upon the Hand, by this means they become light before; you must nevertheless examine if his Feet, his Loins, his Shoulders and Legs are sufficiently able to bear it, for otherwise your Horse would soon be spoil'd: The whole therefore depends in this Case, as in all others, upon the Sagacity and Experience of the Horseman.

When a Horseman puts his Horse to the Stop, in such a Place as I have mentioned, he should put the Stress of his Aids rather in his Thighs and Knees, than in his Stirrups; one of the most trying Lessons a Horse can be put to, is to stop him, and make him go backwards up Hill; therefore upon these Occasions you must ease the fore Part of the Horse as much as you can, and throw your whole Weight upon the hinder. We have already said, that there are some Horses, which from Weakness in their Make, can never be brought to form a just and beautiful Stop. There are others likewise, who are apt to stop too suddenly and short upon their Shoulders, tho' otherwise naturally too much raised before, and too light. These employ all their Power in order to stop all at once, in hopes either of putting an end to the Pain they feel, from the Rudeness of the Stop; or else perhaps that some Defect of Sight makes them apprehend they are near something that they fear, for almost all Horses, blind of one Eye, or of both, stop with the greatest Readiness: take care never to make this sort of Horses go backward; on the contrary, stop them slowly and by degrees, in order to embolden them, remembring never to force, or keep them in too great a degree of Subjection.

I have thus shown, that a Stop that is made with Ease, Steadiness, and according to the Rules, will contribute a great deal towards putting a Horse upon his Haunches, and giving him that firm, equal, and light Apuy, which we always desire to gain; because a just Stop makes a Horse bend and sink his hinder Parts; I have made it likewise appear, that a sudden and ill-executed Stop raises the fore Parts too much, stiffens the Hocks, and rather takes a Horse off his Haunches, than sets him upon them. Let us now proceed to the Lesson of teaching a Horse to go backward.

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The Action of a Horse, when he goes backward, is to have always one of his hinder Legs under his Belly, to push his Croupe backward, to bend his Haunches, and to rest and ballance himself, one time on one Leg, one on the other; this Lesson is very efficacious to lighten a Horse, to settle him in the Hand, to make him ready to advance and go forward, and to prepare him to put himself together, and sit down upon his Haunches.

It should not however be practised, till the Horse has been well laid out and worked in the Trot, and his Limbs are become supple; because, till he is arrived to this Point, you should not begin to unite or put him together: Care must be taken, that this Action of going backward be just, and that in performing it, the Horse keeps his Head steady, fixt, and in a right Place; that his Body be trussed or gathered up, as it were, under him; that his Feet be even; that he be not upon his Shoulders, but on the contrary, on his Haunches; for if he should be false as to any of these Particulars, this Lesson, very far from putting him together, would have the contrary Effect, and dis-unite him.

In order that a Horse may be able to execute what is required of him, he must first comprehend what it is that is asked of him, and for this Purpose the Horseman should make his Lessons short, and demand but little at a Time; begin then to make him go backward, when he is arrived far enough to understand what you expect him to do; but at first be contented with a little, it is sufficient if he understands what you want.

There are Horses, who can go backward, not only with great Ease, but do it even with the Exactness of Horses that are perfectly drest; if you examine these Horses, you will find that all the Parts of their Body are exactly proportioned; they have Strength, and Nature herself has taught them to unite themselves; but there are others, who can't go backwards without great Difficulty; these are weak in the Back, or otherwise imperfect in their Make; don't demand too much of these, work them with caution, for Rigour with such Horses, is never successful.

There are another sort of Horses, who never can be reconciled to Subjection; whenever you try to make them go backward, they fix their fore Feet fast upon the Ground, and arm themselves; in this Case you must endeavour to win them, as it were insensibly, and by degrees. For this Purpose, raise your hand a little, remove it from your Body, at the same time shake your Reins, and you will find that by degrees you will accustom your Horse to obey; but remember at the same time, that you would have a less share of Reason, than the Animal you undertake to dress, were you to expect to reduce him to Obedience all at once; your Horse answering to the Reins which you shake, will move perhaps only one of his fore Feet, leaving the other advanced; this Posture without doubt is defective, because he is dis-united; but as Perfection can't be gained at once, Patience and gentle Usage are the only certain Methods of bringing your Horse to perform what you want. There are others, who when they go backward, do it with Fury and Impatience; these you should correct, briskly, and support lightly with your Legs, while they go backward. There are another sort, who work their lower Jaw about as if they wanted to catch hold of the Bit, who bear upon the Hand, and endeavour to force it; to such Horses you must keep your Hand extremely low, and your Reins exactly even, distribute equally the Power of each, by rounding your Wrist, and keeping your Nails exactly opposite your Body.

After having made your Horse go backward, let him advance two or three Steps, if he obeys the Hand readily.—This will take off any Dislike or Fear, he may entertain from the Constraint of going backward; if he forces the Hand in going backward, these three Steps forward will contribute to bring him into it again; and lastly, they prevent any Vice, that this Lesson might otherwise produce.

After having advanced three Steps, let him stop, and turn him; you will by these means support him, and take him off from any ill Designs, which the Treatment you are obliged to observe towards him, in order to make him stop and go backward with Precision and Order, might otherwise give rise to.—After having turned him, make him go backward, you will prevent his having too great Desire of going too soon from the Place where he stopp'd, as well as from that to which he turned.

The Moment the Stop is made, give him his Bridle; by stopping you have augmented the Degree of the Apuy in the Horse's Mouth; you must increase it still more, in order to make him go backwards; hence a hard Hand and bad Mouth.

This Reasoning is plain, and these Principles are true; notwithstanding which, there are few Horsemen who attend to it, either because they never think and reflect, or else that the Force of bad Habits overcomes them.

This Lesson, if well weigh'd and given properly, is a necessary and certain Method of teaching Horses to make a good Stop, of rendering them light and obedient when they pull or are beyond the Degree of what is call'd full in the Hand.—But if given improperly, or if too often repeated, it then grows to be a Habit, and a Habit is no Correction. Never practise it long with Horses who are hot, and who have hard Mouths, their Impatience and Heat, join'd to Habit and Custom, would prevent them from knowing the Cause, and feeling the Effects. It is the same with those who have short Fore-hands; for as they are generally thick-shoulder'd and heavy, the Difficulty they feel to collect themselves upon their Haunches, naturally disposes them to press the Branches of the Bit against their Chest, by which means this Lesson becomes quite ineffectual.

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The End which the Horseman proposes to attain by his Art, is to give to the Horses, which he undertakes, the Union, without which, no Horse can be said to be perfectly drest; every one allows that the whole of the Art depends upon this, yet few People reason or act from Principles and Theory, but trust entirely to Practice; hence it follows, that they must work upon Foundations false and uncertain, and so thick is the Darkness in which they wander, that it is difficult to find any one who is able to define this Term of uniting or putting a Horse together, which is yet so constantly in the Mouth of every Body; I will undertake, however, to give a clear and distinct Idea of it; and for that Purpose shall treat it with Order and Method.

The uniting then or putting together, is the Action by which a Horse draws together and assembles the Parts of his Body, and his Strength, in distributing it equally upon his four Legs, and in re-uniting or drawing them together, as we do ourselves, when we are going to jump, or perform any other Action which demands Strength and Agility. This Posture alone is sufficient to settle and place the Head of the Animal, to lighten and render his Shoulders and Legs active, which from the Structure of his Body, support and govern the greater Part of his Weight; being then by these means made steady, and his Head well placed, you will perceive in every Motion that he makes, a surprizing Correspondence of the Parts with the whole. I say, that from the natural Structure of a Horse's Body, his Legs and Shoulders support the greatest Part of his Weight, in reality his Croupe or Haunches carry nothing but his Tail, while his fore Legs, being perpendicular, are loaded with the Head, Neck, and Shoulders; so that, let the Animal be ever so well made, ever so well proportioned, his fore Part, either when he is in Motion, or in a State of Rest, is always employed, and consequently in want of the Assistance of Art to ease it; and in this consists the Union or putting together, which by putting the Horse upon his Haunches, counterballances and relieves his fore Part.

The Union not only helps and relieves the Part of the Horse that is the weakest, but it is so necessary to every Horse, that no Horse that is dis-united can go freely, he can neither Leap nor Gallop with Agility and Lightness, nor run without being in manifest Danger of falling and pitching himself headlong, because his Motions have no Harmony, no Agreement one with another. It is allowed, that Nature has given to every Horse a certain Equilibre, by which he supports and regulates himself in all his Motions; we knew that his Body is supported by his four Legs, and that his four Legs have a Motion, which his Body must of necessity follow; but yet this natural Equilibre is not sufficient. All Men can walk, they are supported on two Legs, notwithstanding this we make a great Difference between that Person to whom proper Exercises have taught the free Use of his Limbs, and him whose Carriage is unimproved by Art, and consequently heavy and aukward.

'Tis just the same with respect to a Horse; we must have recourse to Art to unfold the natural Powers that lay hid and are shut up in him, if we mean he should make a proper Use of the Limbs which Nature has given him; the Use of which can be discover'd and made familiar to him no other way than by working him upon true and just Principles.

The Trot is very efficacious to bring a Horse to this Union so important, and so necessary; I speak of the Trot, in which he is supported and kept together, and suppled at the same time; this compels the Horse to put himself together: in effect, the Trot in which a Horse is well supported partakes of a quick and violent Motion: It forces a Horse to collect and unite all his Strength, because it is impossible that a Horse that is kept together, should at the same time abandon and fling himself forward. I explain myself thus.—In order to support your Horse in his Trot, the Horseman should hold his Hand near his Body, keeping his Horse together a little, and have his Legs near his Sides. The Effect of the Hand is to confine and raise the fore Parts of the Horse; the Effect of the Legs is to push and drive forward the hinder Parts: Now if the fore Parts are kept back or confin'd, and the hinder Parts are driven forward, the Horse in a quick Motion, such as the Trot, must of necessity sit down upon his Haunches, and unite and put himself together.

For the same Reason making your Horse launch out vigorously in his Trot, and quickening his Cadence from time to time, putting him to make Pesades, stopping him and making him go backward, will all contribute towards his acquiring the Union.—I would define his going off readily, or all at once, not to be a violent and precipitate Manner of Running, but only to consist in the Horse's being a little animated, and going somewhat faster than the ordinary Time of his Pace.—Your Horse trots, press him a little; in the Instant that he redoubles and quickens his Action, moderate and shorten, if I may so say, the Hurry of his Pace; the more then that he presses to go forward, the more will his being check'd and confin'd tend to unite his Limbs, and the Union will owe its Birth to opposite Causes; that is to say, on one hand to the Ardour of the Horse who presses to go forward, and to the Diligence and Attention of the Horseman on the other, who, by holding him in, slackens the Pace, and raises the Fore-parts of the Creature, and at the same time distributes his Strength equally to all his Limbs. The Action of a Horse, when going backward, is directly opposite to his abandoning himself upon his Shoulders; by this you compel him to put himself upon his Haunches: this Lesson is by so much therefore the more effectual, as that the Cause of a Horse's being dis-united, is often owing to the Pain he feels in bending his Haunches.

The Pesades have no less Effect, especially upon Horses that are clumsy and heavy shoulder'd; because they teach them to use them, and to raise them; and when they raise them up, it follows of necessity that all their Weight must be thrown upon their Haunches. A light and gentle Hand then, and the Aids of the Legs judiciously managed, are capable to give a Horse the Union; but it is not so clear at what time we ought to begin to put a Horse upon his Haunches. Is it not necessary before we do this, that the Horse should have his Shoulders entirely suppled? It is evident, that a Horse can never support himself upon his Haunches, unless his Fore-part be lightened; let us see then by what means we may hope to acquire this Suppleness, the only Source of light and free Action. Nothing can supple more the Shoulders than the Working a Horse upon large Circles.—Walk him first round the Circle, in order to make him know his Ground; afterwards try to draw his Head in, or towards the Center, by means of your inner Rein and inner Leg. For instance,—I work my Horse upon a Circle, and I go to the Right by pulling the right Rein; I bring in his outward Shoulder by the means of the left Rein, and support him at the same time with my inner Leg; thus the Horse has, if I may so say, his Head in, or towards the Center, although the Croupe is at Liberty. The right Leg crosses over the left Leg, and the right Shoulder is suppled, while the left Leg supports the whole Weight of the Horse in the Action: In working him to the left Hand, and following the same Method, the left Shoulder supples, and the right is pressed and confined. This Lesson, which tends not only to supple the Shoulders, but likewise to give an Apuy, being well comprehended by the Horse, I lead him along the Side of the Wall,—having placed his Head, I make use of the inner Rein, which draws in his Head, and I bring in his outward Shoulder by means of the other Rein: In this Posture, I support him with my inner Leg, and he goes along the Wall, his Croupe being out and at liberty, and his inner Leg passing over and crossing his outward Leg at every Step he makes.—By this, I supple his Neck, I supple his Shoulders, I work his Haunches, and I teach the Horse to know the Heels. I say, that the Haunches are worked, though his Croupe is at liberty, because it is from the Fore-parts only, that a Horse can be upon his Haunches.

In effect, after having placed his Head, draw it in, and you will lengthen his Croupe, you raise him higher before than behind, his Legs come under his Belly, and consequently he bends his Haunches. It is the same as when he comes down Hill, his Croupe, being higher than his Fore-parts, is pushed under him, and the Horse is upon his Haunches; since it is evident that the Hinder support all the Fore-parts, therefore in going along the Side of the Wall, by the means of the inner Rein, I put together and unite my Horse.

Behold then, in short, the most certain Methods of enabling yourself to give to a Horse this Union, this Freedom and Ease, by which learning how to ballance his Weight equally and with Art, and distributing his Strength with Exactness to all his Limbs, he becomes able to undertake and execute with Justness and Grace, whatever the Horseman demands of him, conformable to his Strength and Disposition.

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It is the same with respect to the Pillars, as with all other Lessons which you must teach a Horse, in order to make him perfect in his Air. Excellent in itself, it becomes pernicious and destructive under the Direction of the Ignorant, and is not only capable to dishearten any Horse, but to strain and ruin him entirely.

The Pillar partly owes its Origin to the famous Pignatelli[1]. Mess. de la Broue and Pluvinel, who were his Scholars, brought it first into France; the first indeed made little use of it, and seem'd to be very well appriz'd of its Inconveniencies and Dangers; as for the other, one may say, that he knew not a better or shorter Method of dressing and adjusting a Horse. In effect, according to his Notions, working a Horse round a single Pillar could never fail of setting him upon his Haunches, making him advance, suppling and teaching him to turn roundly and exactly; and by putting him between two Pillars, provided he had Vigour, he was taught to obey the Heels readily, to unite himself, and acquire in a shorter time a good Apuy in making Curvets. If he wanted to settle his Horse's Head in a short time, the Pillars were very efficacious. He tied the Horse between them to the Cords of the Snaffle which he had in his Mouth, instead of the Bridle. There he work'd his Horse without a Saddle, and maintain'd, that if the Horse tossed or shook his Head, bore too much, or too little upon his Bridle, he punish'd himself in such a manner, that (as he imagin'd) the Horse was compell'd to put himself upon his Haunches, and to take a good Apuy; especially as the Fear of the Chambriere or Whip, always ready behind him, kept him in awe. The Horse was often taken out of the two Pillars, in order to be put to the single Pillar, with a Cord tied to the Banquet of the Bit as a false Rein; here he was work'd by being made to rise before, and driven round the Pillar, with a design and in hopes of making him step out and embrace, or cover well the Ground he went round, as well as to give him Resolution in his Work, and to cure him of Dullness and Sloth, if he had it in his Temper. We don't know whether Mr. Pluvinel designed any real Advantages from this Method or no; but be that as it will, it prevails no longer among us.—It must be owned, that the two Pillars of his inventing are still preserved, and that no Manage is without them; but at least we have suppress'd the single Pillar, which serves only to fatigue and harrass a Horse: Learn never to put a Horse between the two Pillars till he is well suppled, and you have given him the first Principles of the Union between the Legs, which are the natural Pillars that every Horseman should employ. We must take care to work the Horse with great Prudence at first, and as gently as possible; for a Horse being in this Lesson very much confined and forced, and not able to escape, nor to go forward nor backward, he oftentimes grows quite furious, and abandons himself to every Motion that Rage and Resentment can suggest. Begin then this Lesson in the plainest Manner, contenting yourself with only making him go from side to side, by means of the Switch, or from fear of the Chambriere. At the End of some Days, the Horse, thus become obedient, and accustomed to the Subjection of the Pillars; try to make him insensibly go into the Cords, which when he will do readily, endeavour to get a Step or two exact and in time of the Passage or Piaffer.

Footnote 1: He liv'd at Naples, and was the most eminent Horseman of his Time.

If he offers to present himself to it, be it never so little, make him leave off, encourage him, and send him to the Stable; augment thus your Lessons by degrees, and examine and endeavour to discover to what his Disposition turns, that you may cultivate and improve it. The worst Effect of the Pillars is the Hazard you run of entirely ruining the Hocks of your Horse, if you don't distinguish very exactly between those Parts and the Haunches. Many People think that when the Horse goes into the Cords, he is of consequence upon his Haunches; but they don't remark, that often the Horse only bends his Hocks, and that his Hocks pain him by so much the more, as his hinder Feet are not in their due Equilibre.

The Fore-legs of a Horse are made like those of a Man, the Knees are before or without, the Hinder-legs are shaped like our Arms, he bends his Hocks as we do our Elbows; therefore if he rises before very high, he must stretch and stiffen his Hocks, and consequently can never be seated upon his Haunches; to be upon them, the Horse must bend and bring them under him, because the more his Hinder-legs are brought under him, the more his Hinder-feet are in the necessary Point of Gravity, to support all the Weight of his Body, which is in the Air, in a just Equilibre.—These Remarks are sufficient to evince the Inconveniencies that may arise from the Pillars; never quit sight of these Principles, you will find by adhering to them, the Horse that is drest according to their Tenour, will be a Proof of the real Advantages that you may draw from a Lesson, which never does harm, but when occasioned by the Imprudence or Ignorance of those who give it.

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An Aid may be termed whatever assists or directs a Horse, and whatever enables him to execute what we put him to do.—Corrections are whatever Methods we use to awe and punish him, whenever he disobeys: Aids therefore are to prevent, and Corrections to punish, whatever Fault he may commit.

The Aids are various, and are to be given in different Manners, upon different Occasions, they are only meant to accompany the Ease and Smoothness of the Horse in his Air, and to form and maintain the Justness of it; for this Reason they ought to be delicate, fine, smooth, and steady, and proportioned to the Sensibility or Feeling of the Horse; for if they are harsh and rude, very far from Aiding, they would throw the Horse into Disorder, or else occasion his Manage to be false, his Time broken, constrained, and disagreeable.

Corrections are of two Sorts; you may punish your Horse with the Spurs, the Switch, or Chambriere; you may punish him by keeping him in a greater Degree of Subjection; but in all these Cases, a real Horseman will endeavour rather to work upon the Understanding of the Creature, than upon the different Parts of his Body. A Horse has Imagination, Memory and Judgment; work upon these three Faculties, and you will be most likely to succeed. In reality, the Corrections which reduce a Horse to the greatest Obedience, and which dishearten him the least, are such as are not severe, but such as consist in opposing his Will and Humour, by restraining and putting him to do directly the contrary.—If your Horse don't advance or go off readily, or if he is sluggish, make him go sideways, sometimes to one hand, sometimes to the other, and drive him forward; and so alternatively.—If he goes forward too fast, being extremely quick of feeling, moderate your Aids, and make him go backwards some Steps; if he presses forward with Hurry and Violence, make him go backward a great deal.—If he is disorderly and turbulent, walk him strait forward, with his Head in and Croupe out; these sorts of Corrections have great Influence upon most Horses. It is true, that there are some of so bad and rebellious Dispositions, which availing themselves of their Memory to falsify their Lessons, require sharp Correction, and upon whom gentle Punishment would have no Effect; but in using Severity to such Horses, great Prudence and Management are necessary. The Character of a Horseman is to work with Design, and to execute with Method and Order; he should have more Forbearance, more Experience, and more Sagacity than most People are possessed of.

The Spurs, when used by a knowing and able Horseman, are of great Service; but when used improperly, nothing so soon makes a Horse abject and jadish. Given properly, they awe and correct the Animal; given unduly, they make him restive and vicious, and are even capable of Discouraging a drest Horse, and giving him a Disgust to the Manage; don't be too hasty therefore to correct your Horse with them.

Be patient; if your Horse deserves Punishment, punish him smartly, but seldom; for besides your habituating him to Blows, till he ceases to mind them, you will astonish and confound him, and be more likely to make him rebel, than to bring him to the Point you aim at. To give your Horse both Spurs properly, you must change the Posture of your Legs, and bending your Knee, strike him with them at once as quick and firmly as you can. A Stroke of the Spurs wrongly given is no Punishment; it rather hardens the Horse against them, teaches him to shake and frisk about his Tail, and often to return the Blow with a Kick. Take care never to open your Thighs and Legs in order to give both Spurs, for besides that the Blow would not be at all stronger for being given in this Manner, you would by this means lose the Time in which you ought to give it, and the Horse would rather be alarmed at the Motion you make in order to give the Blow, than punished by it when he felt in; and thence your Action becoming irregular, could never produce a good Effect.

The Chambriere is used as a Correction, it ought however to be used with Discretion; we will suppose it to be in able Hands, and forbear to say more about it. As for the Switch, it is so seldom made use of to punish a Horse, that I shall not speak of it, till I come to treat of the Aids.

By what has been said of Corrections, it is apparent, that the Horseman works not only upon the Horse's Understanding, but even upon his Sense of Feeling.

A Horse has three Senses upon which we may work, Hearing, Feeling and Seeing. The Touch is that Sense, by which we are enabled to make him very quick and delicate, and when he is once brought to understand the Aids which operate upon this Sense, he will be able to answer to all that you can put him to.

Though the Senses of Hearing and Sight are good in themselves, they are yet apt to give a Horse a Habit of Working by Rote and of himself, which is bad and dangerous. The Aids which are employed upon the Touch or Feeling, are those of the Legs, of the Hand, and of the Switch. Those which influence the Sight, proceed from the Switch; those which affect the Sight and Hearing both, are derived from the Switch and the Horseman's Tongue.

The Switch ought neither to be long nor short, from three to four Feet or thereabouts is a sufficient Length; you can give your Aids more gracefully with a short than a long one. In a Manage, it is generally held on the contrary Hand to which the Horse is going; or else it is held up high at every Change of Hand: By holding the Switch, the Horseman learns to carry his Sword in his Hand with Ease and Grace, and to manage his Horse without being encumber'd by it. To aid with the Switch, you must hold it in your Hand, in such a manner that the Point of it be turned towards the Horse's Croupe, this is the most convenient and easy Manner; that of aiding with it, not over the Shoulder, but over the Bending of your Arm, by removing your left Arm from your Body, and keeping it a little bent, so as to make the End of the Switch fall upon the Middle of the Horse's Back, is very difficult to execute.

Shaking the Switch backward and forward to animate the Horse with the Sound, is a graceful Aid; but till a Horse is accustom'd to it, it is apt to drive him forward too much.

In case your Horse is too light and nimble with his Croupe, you must aid before only with the Switch; if he bends or sinks his Croupe, or tosses it about without kicking out, you must aid just at the Setting on of the Tail.—If you would have him make Croupades, give him the Switch a little above the Hocks.

To aid with your Tongue, you must turn it upward against the Palate of the Mouth, shut your Teeth, and then remove it from your Palate; the Noise it makes is admirable to encourage a Horse, to quicken and put him together; but you must not use it continually, for so, instead of animating your Horse, it would serve only to lull him.—There are People who when they work their Horses, whistle and make use of their Voices; these Aids are ridiculous, we should leave these Habits to Grooms and Coachmen, and know that Crys and Threats are useless.—The Sense of hearing can serve at the most only to confound and surprize a Horse, and you will never give him Exactness and Sensibility by surprizing him.—The same may be said of the Sight; whatever strikes this Sense, operates likewise upon the Memory, and this Method seldom produces a good Effect; for you ought to know how important it is to vary the Order of your Lessons, and the Places where you give them; since it is certain, that a Horse who is always work'd in the same Place, works by rote, and attends no longer to the Aids of the Hand and Heels.—It is the same with hot and angry Horses, whose Memory is so exact, and who are so ready to be disorder'd and put out of Humour, that if the least thing comes in their Way during their Lesson, they no longer think of what they were about: The way of dealing with these Horses, is to work them with Lunettes on their Eyes; but it must be remembered, that this Method would be dangerous with Horses which are very impatient, hot, and averse to all Subjection, and so sensible to the Aids, as to grow desperate to such a degree, as to break through all Restraint, and run away headlong; it is therefore unsafe with these Horses, because they could not be more blinded even with the Lunettes, than they are when possessed with this Madness, which so blinds them, that they no longer fear the most apparent Dangers.

Having said thus much of the Aids which operate upon the Touch, Hearing and Sight, we must now confine ourselves to discourse upon those, which regard the Touch only; for as it has been already said, these only are the Aids by which a Horse can be drest, because it is only by the Hand and Heel that he can be adjusted.

The Horseman's Legs, by being kept near the Horse's Sides, serve not only to embellish his Seat, but without keeping them in this Posture, he never will be able to give his Aids justly.—To explain this: If the Motion of my Leg is made at a distance from the Horse, it is rather a Correction than an Aid, and alarms and disorders the Horse; on the contrary, if my Leg is near the Part that is most sensible, the Horse may be aided, advertised of his Fault, and even punished, in much less time, and consequently by this means kept in a much greater Degree of Obedience.—The Legs furnish us with four Sorts of Aids, the Inside of the Knees, the Calfs, pinching delicately with the Spurs, and pressing strongly upon the Stirrups. The essential Article in dressing a Horse, is to make known the Gradation of these several Aids, which I will explain. The Aid of the Inside of the Knees is given, by closing and squeezing your Knees, in such a manner, that you feel them press and grasp your Horse extremely. You aid with the Calfs of your Legs, by bending your Knees, so as to bring your Calfs so close as to touch the Horse with them.

The Aid of Pinching with the Spurs, is performed in the same manner, by bending your Knees, and touching with the Spurs the Hair of the Horse, without piercing the Skin. The last Aid, which is only proper for very sensible and delicate Horses, consists in stretching down your Legs, and pressing firm upon the Stirrups.

The strongest Aid is that of pinching with the Spur; the next in degree, is applying the Calf of the Leg; pressing with the Knees is the third, and leaning upon the Stirrup is the last and least; but if these Aids are given injudiciously, they will have no Effect. They must accompany and keep Pace with the Hand; for it is the just Correspondence between the Heel and Hand, in which the Truth and Delicacy of the Art consists; and without this Agreement there can be no riding.

It is the Foundation of all Justness; it constitutes and directs the Cadence, Measure and Harmony of all the Airs; it is the Soul of Delicacy, Brilliancy and Truth in riding; and as a Person who plays upon a musical Instrument adapts and suits his two Hands equally to the Instrument, so the Man who works a Horse ought to make his Hands and Legs accord exactly together. I say his Hands and Legs should accord and answer one to the other with the strictest Exactness, because the nicest and most subtle Effects of the Bridle proceed entirely from this Agreement; and however fine and nice a Touch a Horseman may be endued with, if the Times of aiding with the Legs are broken and imperfect, he never can have a good Hand; because it is evident that a good Hand is not the Offspring only of a firm and good Seat, but owing likewise to the Proportion and Harmony of all the Aids together. I understand by the Harmony and Agreement of the Aids, the Art of knowing how to seize the Moment in which they are to be given, and of giving them equally and in a due Degree, as well as of measuring and comparing the Action of the Hand and Legs together; by which both these Parts being made to act together, and in time, will create and call out, as it were, those Cadences and Equalities of Time, of which the finest Airs are compos'd; Measures and Cadences which it is not possible to describe, but which every Horseman ought to comprehend, attend to, and feel. If I want to make my Horse go forward, I yield my Hand to him, and at the same time close my Legs; the Hand ceasing to confine, and the Legs driving on his hinder Parts, the Horse obeys. I have a mind to stop him, I hold him in, and approach my Legs to his Sides gently, in order to proportion my Aids to what I ask him to do; for I would not have it felt more than just to make him stop upon his Haunches.

I want to turn him to the Left, I carry my Hand to the Left, and support him at the same time; that is to say, I approach my Left-leg, my Hand then guides the Horse to the Left, and my Leg, which operates at the same time, helps him to turn; because by driving his Croupe to the Right, his Shoulder is enabled to turn with more Ease. I want to go to the Right, I carry my Hand to the Right, and I support him with my Right-hand, my Leg determining his Croupe to the Left, facilitates the Action of the Shoulder which my Hand had turned to the Right.

I would make a Change to the Right, my Left-rein directs the Horse, and my Left-leg at the same time confines his Croupe, so that it can't escape, but must follow the Shoulders.—I would change Hands again to the Left, my Right-rein then guides the Horse, and my Right-leg does just the same as my Left-leg did in going to the Right.—I undertake to work the Shoulder and Croupe at the same time; for this Purpose I carry my Hand out.—The inner Rein acts, and the outward Leg of the Horse is press'd, either by this Rein, or by my outward Leg, so that the outward Rein operates upon the Shoulder, and the inner Rein with my outward Leg directs the Croupe.—I put my Horse to Curvets.—I aid him with my outward Rein, and if he is not enough upon his Haunches, my Legs, accompanied with the inner Rein, aid me to put him more upon them; if he turns his Croupe out, I aid and support him with my outward Leg; if he flings it in too much, I confine him with my inner Leg.

I put him to make Curvets sideways, my outward Rein brings his outward Shoulder in, because the outward Shoulder being brought in, his Croupe is left at liberty; but if I have occasion I use my inner Rein, and if his Croupe is not sufficiently confin'd, I support it with my outward Leg.—Again, I put him to make Curvets backwards, I use then my outward Rein, and keep my Hand near my Body. At each Cadence that the Horse makes, I make him feel a Time; one, and every time he comes to the Ground, I receive and catch him as it were in my Hand; but these Times ought not to be distant above an Inch or two at the most; I then ease my Legs to him, which nevertheless I approach insensibly every time he rises. Thus by making my Hands and Legs act together, I learn not only to work a Horse with Justness and Precision, but even to dress him to all the Airs; which I shall speak of distinctly and more at large.

As to the rest, be it remember'd, that it is not alone sufficient to know how to unite your Aids, and to proportion them, as well as the Corrections, to the Motions and the Faults in the Horse's Air, which you would remedy; but whenever you are to make use of them, you must consider likewise if they are suitable and adapted to the Nature of the Horse; for otherwise they will not only prove ineffectual, but be the Occasion even of many Disorders.

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The Passage is the Key which opens to us all the Justness of the Art of riding, and is the only Means of adjusting and regulating Horses in all sorts of Airs; because in this Action you may work them slowly, and teach them all the Knowledge of the Leg and Hand, as it were insensibly, and without running any risque of disgusting them, so as to make them rebel.—There are many sorts of the Passage: In that which is derived from the Trot, the Action of the Horse's Legs is the same as in the Trot; the Passage is only distinguish'd from the Trot, which is the Foundation of it, by the extreme Union of the Horse, and by his keeping his Legs longer in the Air, and lifting them both equally high, and being neither so quick nor violent as in the Action of the Trot.

In the Passage which is founded on the Walk, the Action of the Horse is the same as in the Trot, and of consequence the same as in the Walk; with this Difference, that the Horse lifts his Fore-feet a good deal higher than his Hind-feet, that he marks a certain Time or Interval sufficiently long between the Motion of each Leg; his Action being much more together and short, and more distinct and slow than the ordinary Walk, and not so extended as in the Trot, in such a manner that he is, as it were, kept together and supported under himself.

Lastly, there is another sort of Passage to which the Trot likewise gives birth, and in which the Action is so quick, so diligent, and so supported, that the Horse seems not to advance, but to work upon the same Spot of Ground. The Spaniards call the Horses who make this sort of Passage Pissadores. This sort of Horses have not their Action so high and strong as the other, it being too quick and sudden; but almost all Horses which are inclin'd to this sort of Passage, are generally endowed with a great Share of Gentleness and Activity.

No Horse should be put to the Passage till he has been well trotted out, is supple, and has acquir'd some Knowledge of the Union.—If he has not been well trotted, and by that means taught to go forward readily, his Action, when put to the Passage, being shorten'd and retain'd, you would run the risque of his becoming restive and ramingue; and was he utterly unacquainted with the Union, the Passage requiring that he should be very much together, he would not be able to bear it; so that finding himself press'd and forced on one hand, and being incapable of obeying on the other, he would resist and defend himself.

There are some People, who observing a Horse to have Strength and Agility, and naturally disposed to unite himself, endeavour to get from him some Times of the Passage.—They succeed in their Attempt, and immediately conclude that they can passage their Horse whenever they will, and so press him to it, before he has been sufficiently suppled and taught to go forward readily, and without retaining himself. —Hence arise all the Disorders into which Horses plunge themselves, which, if they had been properly managed at first, would have been innocent of all Vice.—Farther, you ought to study well the Nature of every Horse; you will discover of what Temper he is from the first Moment you see him passage, and to what he is most inclin'd by Nature.

If he has any Seeds of the Ramingue in him, his Action will be short and together; but it will be retain'd and loitering, the Horse craving the Aids, and only advancing in proportion as the Rider gives them, and drives him forward.—If he is light and active, quick of Feeling, and willing, his Action will be free and diligent, and you will perceive that he takes a Pleasure to work of himself, without expecting the Aids.—If he be of a hot and fiery Nature, his Actions will be quick and sudden, and will shew that he is angry and impatient of the Subjection. If he wants Inclination and Will, he will be unquiet, he will cross his Legs, and his Actions will be perplex'd. If he is fiery, and heavy at the same time, his Action will be all upon the Hand. If besides this, he has but little Strength, he will abandon himself entirely upon the Apuy. Lastly, if he is cold and sluggish in his Nature, his Motion will be unactive and dead; and even when he is enliven'd by good Lessons, you will always be able to discover his Temper by seeing the Aids, which the Rider is oblig'd to give him from time to time, to hinder him from slackening or stopping the Cadence of his Passage.

Having acquir'd a thorough Knowledge of your Horse's Character, you should regulate all your Lessons and Proceedings conformable to it.—If it hurts a Horse who partakes of the Ramingue to be kept too much together, unite him by little and little, and insensibly as it were, and quite contrary to putting him to a short and united Passage all at once. Extend and push him forward, passing one while from the Walk to that of the Trot, and so alternatively.

If your Horse is hot and impatient, he will cross his Steps, and not go equal; keep such a Horse in a less degree of Subjection, ease his Rein, pacify him, and retain or hold him in no more than is sufficient to make him more quiet.—If with this he is heavy, put him to a Walk somewhat shorter and slower than the Passage, and endeavour to put him upon his Haunches insensibly, and by degrees. By these means you will be enabled by Art to bring him to an Action, by so much the more essential, as by this alone a Horse is taught to know the Hands and Heels, as I have already observed, without ever being perplex'd or disordered.

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The Lessons of the Head and Croupe to the Wall are excellent to confirm a Horse in Obedience. In effect, when in this Action he is, as it were, balanced between the Rider's Legs, and by working the Croupe along the Wall, you are enabled not only to supple his Shoulders, but likewise to teach him the Aids of the Legs.

For this Purpose, after having well open'd the Corner, turn your Hand immediately, and carry it in, in order to direct your Horse by your outward Rein; taking always care to support the Croupe with your outward Leg directly over-against, and about two Feet distant from the Wall: Bend your Horse to the Way he goes, and draw back the Shoulder that is in with your inner Rein, because the outward Leg being carried with more care over the inner Leg by means of the outward Rein, the Horse will cross and bring one Leg over the other, the Shoulders will go before the Croupe, you will narrow him behind, and consequently put him upon his Haunches.

You ought to be careful at the same time, and see that your Horse never falsifies or quits the Line, either in advancing or going backward.—If he presses forward, support him with your Hand; if he hangs back, support him with your Legs, always giving him the Leg that serves to drive him on, stronger than the other which serves only to support him; that is, acting stronger with the Leg that is without, than with that which is within.

The Lesson of the Head to the Wall is very efficacious to correct a Horse that forces the Hand, or who leans heavily upon it, because it compels him to put himself together, and be light upon the Hand with less Aids of the Bridle; but no Horse that is restive or ramingue should be put to it, for all narrow and confin'd Lessons serve only to confirm them in their natural Vice.—Place your Horse directly opposite the Wall, at about two Feet distance from it; make him go sideways, as I have already directed in the Article of Croupe to the Wall; but left one Foot should tread upon the other, and he should knock them together and hurt himself, in the Beginning of both Lessons you must not be too strict with him, but let his Croupe be rather on the contrary Side of his Shoulders, since by this means he will look towards the Way he is going more easily, and be better able to raise the Shoulder and Leg which is to cross over the other.—By degrees you will gain his Haunches, and he will grow supple before and behind, and at the same time become light in the Hand: Never forget that your Horse ought always to be bent to the Way he goes; in order to do this readily, guide him with the outward Rein; for very often the Stiffness of the Neck or Head is owing to nothing but the confined Action of the outward Shoulder; it being certain, that either the Difficulty or Ease of working either of those Parts, depends entirely upon the other; your Horse going thus sideways, carry your Hand a little out from time to time; the inner Rein by this means will be shortened, and make the Horse look in, the more it enlarges him before, by keeping his Fore-leg that is in, at a distance from the Fore-leg that is out, which consequently bringing the inner Hinder-leg near to the outward, confines his hinder Parts, and makes him bend his Haunches, especially the outward, upon which he rests his Weight, and keeps him in an equal Balance.—Never put your Horse to this Lesson, till he has been work'd a long while upon large Circles, his Head in, or to the Center, and his Croupe out; otherwise you would run the Risque of throwing him into great Disorder.

The greater part of Defences proceed from the Shoulders or Haunches, that is to say, from the fore or hinder Parts; and thence the Horse learns to resist the Hand or Heel. It is the want of Suppleness then, that hinders the Horse from executing what you put him to do; and how can it be expected that he should answer and obey, when he is stiff in the Shoulders, Haunches, and Ribs? especially if, without reflecting that Suppleness is the Foundation of all, you press and teize him, and put him to Lessons beyond his Power and Capacity.

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A Change is that Action, whereby the Horseman guides and causes his Horse to go from the Right-hand to the Left, and from the Left to the Right, in order to work him equally to both Hands; therefore changing the Hand, when you are to the Right, is making your Horse go to the Left-hand, and when on the Left, making him go to the Right. The Changes are made either on one Line or Path, or on two, and are either large or narrow. Changing the Hand upon one Line, is when the Horse describes but one Line with his Feet; changing upon two Lines, is when the Haunches follow and accompany the Shoulders; and to make this Change, the Horse's Feet must consequently describe two Lines, one made by his Fore-feet, the other with his Hinder-feet.

Changing large, is when the Line, if the Horse makes but one, or both 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.

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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.

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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.

To put a Horse in the Beginning of his Lessons from the Walk to the Gallop, and to work him in it upon Circles, is demanding of him too great a degree of Obedience. In the first place, it is very sure that the Horse can unite himself with greater Ease in going strait forward, than in turning; and, in the next place, the Walk being a slow and distinct Pace, and the Gallop being quick and violent, it is much better to begin with the Trot, which is a quick Action, than with the Walk, which is slow and calm, however raised and supported its Action may be.—Two things are requisite to form the Gallop, viz. it ought to be just, and it ought to be even or equal.—I call that Gallop just, in which the Horse leads with the Right-leg before, and I call that the Right-leg which is foremost, and which the Horse puts out beyond the other. For Instance—A Horse gallops and supports himself in his Gallop, upon the outward Fore-foot, the Right Fore-foot clears the Way, the Horse consequently gallops with the Right-foot, and the Gallop is just, because he puts forward and leads with his Right-foot.

This Motion of the Right-foot is indispensably necessary, for if the Horse were to put his Left Fore-foot first, his Gallop would be false; so that it is to be understood, that whenever you put a Horse to the Gallop, he should always go off with his Right fore-foot, and keep it foremost, or he can never be said to gallop just and true.—I understand by an even or equal Gallop, that in which the Hind-parts follow and accompany the Fore-parts; as for Example—If a Horse gallops, or leads with his Right-leg before, the Hind Right-leg ought to follow; for if the Left Hind-leg were to follow, the Horse would then be disunited: The Justness then of the Gallop depends upon the Action of the Fore-feet, as the Union or Evenness of it does on the Hind-feet.

This general Rule which fixes the Justness of the Gallop, that is to say, this Principle which obliges the Horse to lead with the Right Fore-foot when he gallops, strict as it is, yet sometimes parts with its Privileges in deference to the Laws of the Manage.—The Design of this School is to make equally supple and active all the Limbs of a Horse.—It is not requisite then that the Horse should lead always with the same Leg, because it is absolutely necessary that he should be equally ready and supple with both his Shoulders, in order to work properly upon the different Airs.—It seems but reasonable that this Rule should be observed likewise out of the Manage; and therefore it has of late obtain'd that Hunting-horses should lead indifferently with both Legs; because it has been found on Trial, that by strictly adhering to the Rule of never suffering a Horse to gallop but with his Right Fore-leg, he has been quite ruin'd and worn out on one Side, when he was quite fresh and sound on the other.—Be that as it will, it is not less certain, that in the Manage a Horse may gallop false, either in going strait forward, or in going round, or upon a Circle; for instance—He is going strait, and to the Right-hand, and sets off with the Left Fore-foot; he then is false, just as he would be, if in going to the Left, he should lead with his Right Fore-foot.

The Motions of a Horse, when disunited, are so disorder'd and perplex'd, that he runs a risque of falling, because his Action then is the Action of the Trot, and quite opposite to the Nature of the Gallop. It is true, that for the Rider's Sake he had better be false.

If a Horse in full Gallop changes his Legs from one side to the other alternately, this Action of the Amble in the Midst of his Course, is so different from the Action of the Gallop, that it occasions the Horse to go from the Trot to the Amble, and from the Amble to the Trot.

When a Horse gallops strait forward, however short and confin'd his Gallop is, his Hind-feet always go beyond his Fore feet, even the Foot that leads, as well as the other.—To explain this.—If the inner Fore-foot leads, the inner Hind-foot ought to follow, so that the inner Feet, both that which leads, and that which follows, are prest, the other two at liberty.—The Horse sets off, the outward Fore-foot is on the Ground, and at liberty, this makes one Time; immediately the inner Fore-foot which leads and is prest, marks a second, here are two Times; then the outward Hind-foot which was on the Ground, and at liberty, marks the third Time; lastly, the inner Hind-foot which leads and is prest, comes to the Ground, and marks the fourth; so that when a Horse goes strait forward and gallops just, he performs it in four distinct Times, one, two, three, four.

It is very difficult to feel exactly, and perceive these Times of the Gallop; but yet by Observation and Practice it may be done.—The Times of a Horse, who covers and embraces a good deal of Ground, are much more easy to mark than his who covers but little.—The Action of the one is quick and short, and that of the other long, slow, and distinct; but whether the natural Motions and Beats of the Horse are slow or quick, the Horseman absolutely ought to know them, in order to humour and work conformably to them; for should he endeavour to lengthen and prolong the Action of the one, in hopes of making him go forward more readily, and to shorten and confine that of the other, in order to put him more together; the Action of both would in this Case not only be forced and disagreeable, but the Horses would resist and defend themselves, because Art is intended only to assist and correct, but not to change Nature.—In working your Horse upon Circles, it is the outward Rein that you must use to guide and make him go forward; for this purpose turn your Hand in from time to time, and aid with your outward Leg.—If the Croupe should be turn'd too much out, you must carry your Hand on the outward Side of your Horse's Neck; and you will confine it, and keep it from quitting its Line.—I would be understood of Circles of two Lines or Treads, where the Haunches are to be attended to.—Before you put your Horse to this, he should be gallop'd upon plain, or Circles of one Line only.—In this Lesson, in order to supple your Horse, make use of your inner Rein to pull his Head towards the Center, and aid with the Leg of the same Side, to push his Croupe out of the Volte; by this means you bend the Ribs of the Horse.

The Hind-feet certainly describe a much larger Circle than his Fore-feet; indeed they make a second Line: but when a Horse is said to gallop only upon a Circle of one Line or Tread, he always and of necessity makes two; because, were the Hind-feet to make the same Line as the Fore-feet, the Lesson would be of no use, and the Horse would never be made supple; for he only becomes supple in proportion as the Circle made with his Hind-feet is greater than that described by his Fore-feet.

When your Horse is so far advanced, as to be able to gallop lightly and readily upon this sort of Circle, begin then to make frequent Stops with him.—To make them well in the Gallop, with his Head in, and Croupe out, the Rider must use his outward Leg, to bring in the outward Leg of the Horse; otherwise he would never be able to stop upon his Haunches, because the outward Haunch is always out of the Volte.

To make a Stop in a Gallop strait forwards, you should carefully put your Horse together, without altering or disturbing the Apuy, and throw your Body back a little, in order to accompany the Action, and to relieve the Horse's Shoulders.—You should seize the time of making the Stop, keeping your Hand and Body quite still, exactly when you feel the Horse put his Fore-feet to the Ground, in order that by raising them immediately, by the next Motion that he would make, he may be upon his Haunches.—If on the contrary, you were to begin to make the Stop, while the Shoulders of the Horse were advanced, or in the Air, you would run the Risque of hardening his Mouth, and must throw him upon his Shoulders, and even upon the Hand, and occasion him to make some wrong Motions with his Head, being thus surprized at the Time when his Shoulders and Feet are coming to the Ground.

There are some Horses who retain themselves, and don't put out their Strength sufficiently; these should be galloped briskly, and then slowly again, remembring to gallop them sometimes fast, and sometimes slow, as you judge necessary.—Let them go a little Way at full Speed, make a half Stop, by putting back your Body, and bring them again to a slow Gallop; by these means they will most certainly be compelled both to obey the Hand and Heel.

In the slow Gallop, as well as in the Trot, it is necessary sometimes to close your Heels to the Horse's Sides, this is called pinching; but you must pinch him in such a manner, as not to make him abandon himself upon the Hand, and take care that he be upon his Haunches, and not upon his Shoulders, and therefore whenever you pinch him, keep him in the Hand.

To put him well together, and make him bring his Hind-legs under him, close your two Legs upon him, putting them very back; this will oblige him to slide his Legs under him; at the same Instant, raise your Hand a little to support him before, and yield it again immediately. Support him and give him the Rein again from time to time, till you find that he begins to play and bend his Haunches, and that he gallops leaning and sitting down as it were upon them; press him with the Calfs of the Legs, and you will make him quick and sensible to the Touch.

If your Horse has too fine a Mouth, gallop him upon sloping ground, this will oblige him to lean a little upon the Hand, the better to put himself upon his Haunches; and the Fear that he will be under of hurting his Bars, will prevent his resisting the Operation of the Bitt.

If Galloping upon a sloping Ground assures and fixes a Mouth that is weak and fickle, make use of the same Ground in making your Horse ascend it, in case he is heavy in the Hand; and his Apuy be too strong, and it will lighten him.

There are some Horsemen who mark each Motion of the Horse in his Gallop, by moving their Bodies and Heads; they ought, however, without Stiffness or Constraint to consent and yield to all his Motions, yet with a Smoothness and Pliancy so as not to be perceived, for all great or rude Motions always disturb the Horse.—To do this you must advance or present your Breast, and stretch yourself firm in your Stirrups; this is the only Way to fix and unite yourself entirely to the Animal who carries you.

The Property of the Gallop is, as may be gathered from all that has been said of it, to give the Horse a good Apuy.

In reality, in this Action he lifts at every time both his Shoulders and Legs together, in such a manner, that in making this Motion his Fore-part is without Support, till his Fore-feet come to the Ground; so that the Rider, by supporting or bearing him gently in Hand, as he comes down, can consequently give an Apuy to a Mouth that has none.——You must take care, that by retaining your Horse too much in his Gallop, you don't make him become ramingue, and weaken the Mouth that is light and unsteady; as the full or extended Gallop is capable on the other Hand, to harden an Apuy which was strong and full in the Hand before.

The Gallop does not only assure and make steady a weak and delicate Mouth, but it also supples a Horse, and makes him ready and active in his Limbs.—It fixes the Memory and Attention of Horses likewise, who from too much Heat and Impetuosity in their Temper, never attend to the Aids of the Rider, nor the Times of their setting off; it teaches those who retain themselves, to go forward, and to set off ready and with Spirit; and lastly, it takes off all the superfluous Vigour of such Horses as, from too much Gaiety, avail themselves of their Strength and Courage to resist their Riders.—Take care, however, to proportion this Lesson to the Nature, the Strength, and Inclination of the Animal; and remember, that a violent and precipitate Gallop would hurt an impatient and hot Horse, as much as it would be proper and useful to one who retains himself, and is jadish and lazy.

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The Passades are the truest Proofs a Horse can give of his Goodness.—By his going off you judge of his Swiftness; by his Stop, you discover the Goodness or Imperfection of his Mouth; and by the Readiness with which he turns, you are enabled to decide upon his Address and Grace; in short, by making him go off a second time you discover his Temper and Vigour.—When your Horse is light and active before, is firm upon his Haunches, and has them supple and free, so as to be able to accompany the Shoulders, is obedient and ready to both Hands, and to the Stop, he is then fit to be work'd upon Passades.

Walk him along the Side of the Wall in a steady even Pace, supporting and keeping him light in the Hand, in order to shew him the Length of the Passade, and the Roundness of the Volte or Demi-volte, which he is to make at the End of each Line.—Stop at the End, and when he has finish'd the last Time of the Stop raise him, and let him make two or three Pesades. After this make a Demivolte of two Lines in the Walk; and while he is turning, and the Moment you have clos'd it, demand again of him two or three Pesades, and then let him walk on in order to make as many to the other Hand.

You must take care to confirm him well in this Lesson.—From the Walk you will put him to the Trot upon a strait Line; from the Trot to a slow Gallop, from that to a swifter; being thus led on by degrees, and step by step, he will be able to furnish all sorts of Passades, and to make the Demi-volte in any Air that you have taught him.

You should never put your Horse to make a Volte or Demi-volte at the time that he is disunited, pulls, or is heavy in the Hand, or is upon his Shoulders; on the contrary, you should stop him at once, and make him go backward till you perceive that he is regulated and united upon his Haunches, light before, and has taken a good and just Apuy.

A perfect Passade is made in this Manner.—Your Horse standing strait and true upon all his Feet, you go off with him at once, you stop him upon his Haunches; and in the same Time or Cadence in which he made his Stop, being exactly obedient to the Hand and Heel, he ought to make the Demi-volte, balancing himself upon his Haunches, and so waiting till you give him the Aid to set off again. It is requisite then that the least Motion or Hint of the Rider should be an absolute Command to the Horse.—If you would have him go off at full Speed, yield your Hand, close the Calves of your Legs upon him; if he don't answer to this Aid, give him the Spurs, but you must give them so as not to remove them from the Place where they were, and without opening or advancing your Legs before you strike.

The high Passades are those which a Horse makes, when being at the End of his Line, he makes his Demi-volte in any Air he has been taught, either in the Mezair or in Curvets, which is very beautiful.—Therefore in high Passades let your Horse go off at full Speed; let your Stop be follow'd by three Curvets; let the Demi-volte consist of the same Number, and demand of him three more before he sets off again.—It is usual to make nine Curvets when you work a Horse alone and by himself.

The furious or violent Passades, are when a Horse gallops at his utmost Speed strait forward, and makes his half Stop, bending and playing his Haunches two or three times, before he begins his Demi-volte, which is made upon one Line, in three Times; for at the third Time he should finish the Demi-volte, and be strait upon the Line of the Passade, in order to go off again and continue it.

This sort of Passades was heretofore used in private Combats, and although it may appear that the Time that is employed in making the half Stop is lost, and only hinders you from gaining the Croupe of the Enemy; yet the half Stop is indispensably necessary, for unless a Horse is balanced upon his Haunches, and they bend and play under him, he could never make his Demi-volte, without being in danger of Falling.

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The Pesade takes its Name from the Motion of the Horse, which, in this Action, leans and lays all the Weight of his Body upon his Haunches.—To be perfect, the Hind-feet which support the whole ought to be fix'd and immoveable, and the Fore-part of the Horse more or less rais'd, according as the Creature will allow, but the Fore-legs, from the Knee to the Feet, must always be extremely bent and brought under him.

The Property of the Pesade is to dispose and prepare a Horse for all sorts of Manages; for it is the Foundation of all the Airs: Great Caution, however, must be had not to teach your Horse to rise up or stand upon his Haunches, which is making a Pesade, if he is not quite exact and obedient to the Hand and Heel; for in this Case you would throw him into great Disorder, spoil his Mouth, and falsify the Apuy, would teach him to make Points, as they are called, and even make him become restive; inasmuch as the generality of Horses only rise up to resist their Rider, and because they will neither go forward nor turn.

Your Horse then being so far advanced as to be fit to be tried and exercised in the Pesade, work him upon the Walk, the Trot, and Gallop; stop him in the Hand, keep him firm and moderately together; aid with the Tongue, the Switch, and your Legs; the Moment you perceive he comprehends what it is you would have him to do, though never so little, encourage and caress him.—If in the Beginning of this Lesson you were to use Force or Rigour, he would consider the Strictness of your Hand, and the Aids of the Legs, as a Punishment, and it would discourage him. It is therefore proper to work gently and by degrees; whenever then he makes an Attempt to rise, caress him; make him go forwards, try to make him rise a second time, either more or less, and use him by degrees to rise higher and higher; you will find that he will soon be able to make his Pesades perfect, and to make four, or even more, with Ease and Readiness; sluggish and heavy Horses require in the Beginning stronger and sharper Aids.

There are other Horses who are apt to rise of themselves, without being requir'd to do so; drive them forward in order to prevent them.—Some in making the Pesade, don't bend and gather up their Fore-legs, but stretch them out, paw, and cross them one over the other in the Air, resembling the Action of a Person's Hands who plays upon the Spinnet; to these Horses you mush apply the Switch, striking them briskly upon the Shoulders or Knees.—There are others, who in the Instant that you endeavour to make them rise, availing themselves of the Power which they have from being put together, in order to perform this Action, throw themselves forward in hopes of freeing themselves from all Subjection; the only Way to correct such Vices, is to make the Horse go backward the same Length of Ground, that he forced and broke through.—There is another kind of Horses, who to avoid being put together in order to make a Pesade, as well as to resist the Rider, will fling their Croupe in and out, sometimes to one side, sometimes to the other; in this Case, if you perceive that your Horse is apt to fling his Croupe more to the Left than to the Right, you must put him to the Wall, the Wall being on the Left-hand, and there support and confine him with your Right-leg, and even pinch him if there should be occasion; taking care to carry your Hand to the Right, but imperceptibly, and no more than what will just serve to shorten the left Rein.

If he throws himself to the Right, you must put him so as to have the Wall on the Right; you must support and pinch him with your Left-leg, and shorten your Right-rein by carrying your Hand to the Left.—I must however repeat it over and over, that in a Lesson of this kind, in which a Horse may find out Methods and Inventions to resist and defend himself; I say, in giving such Lessons, the Rider ought to be Master of the surest Judgment and most consummate Prudence.

Moreover, you should take care not to fall into the Mistake of those who imagine that the higher a Horse rises, the more he is upon his Haunches.—In the Pesade, the Croupe is pushed back, and the Horse bends his Haunches; but if he rises too high, he no longer sits upon his Haunches, for from that Moment he becomes stiff, and stands strait upon his Hocks; and instead of throwing his Croupe back, he draws it towards him.

Those Sort of Pesades, in which the Horse rises too high, and stiffens his Hocks, are call'd Goat-Pesades, as they resemble the Action of that Animal.

The Aids that are to be given in Pesades are derived from those used to make a Horse go backward.—Place your Hand as if you intended to make your Horse go backward, but close your Legs at the same time, and he will rise.—For this reason nothing is more absurd than the Method which some Horsemen teach their Scholars, who oblige them, in order to make their Horses rise, to use only their Switch; they must certainly not know that the Hand confining the Fore-part, and the Rider's Legs driving the Hinder-parts forward, the Horse is compell'd, whether he will or no, to raise his Shoulders from the Ground, and to throw all the Weight of his Body upon his Haunches.

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The Gallop is the Foundation of the Terre-a-Terre; for in these two Motions the Principle of the Action is the same, since the Terre-a-Terre is only a shorten'd Gallop, with the Croupe in, and the Haunches following in a close and quick Time.

The Mezair is higher than the Action of Terre-a-Terre, and lower than that of Curvets; we may therefore conclude, that the Terre-a-Terre, is the Foundation of the Mezair, as well as of Curvets.—In the Terre-a-Terre, the Horse should be more together than in the Gallop, that he may mark his Time or Cadence more distinctly; although in a true Terre-a-Terre, there are no Times to be mark'd, for it is rather a gliding of the Haunches, which comes from the natural Springs in the Limbs of the Horse.

I have said, that the Terre-a-Terre is the Foundation of the Mezair; in effect, the higher you raise the Fore-parts of the Horse, the slower and more distinct his Action will be, and by making him beat and mark the Time with his Hind-feet, instead of gliding them along as in the Terre-a-Terre, you put him to the Mezair, or Half-curvets.

When a Horse works Terre-a-Terre, he always ought, the same as in the Gallop, to lead with the Legs that are within the Volte, his two Fore-feet being in the Air, and the Moment that they are coming down, his two Hind-feet following.

The Action of the Gallop is always one, two, three, and four; the Terre-a-Terre consists only of two Lines, one, two.—The Action is like that of Curvets, except that it is more under the Horse; that is, he bends his Haunches more, and moves them quicker and closer than in Curvets.

To work a Horse Terre-a-Terre upon large Circles, take care to keep your Body strait, steady and true in the Saddle, without leaning to one side or the other.—Lean upon the outward Stirrup, and keep your outward Leg nearer the Side of the Horse than the other Leg, taking care to do it so as not to let it be perceived.—If you go to the Right, keep your Bridle-hand a little on the Outside of the Horse's Neck, turning your little finger up, without turning your Nails at the same time; although if need be you must turn them, in order to make the inner Rein work which passes over the Little-finger.—Keep your Arms and Elbows to your Hips, by this means you will assure and confine your Hands, which ought to accompany, and, if I may so say, run along the Line of the Circle with the Horse.

In the Mezair, use the same Aids as in working upon Curvets.—Give the Aids of the Legs with Delicacy, and no stronger than is just necessary to carry your Horse forward.—Remember when you close your Legs to make him go forward, to press with the Outward in such a degree as to keep your Horse confin'd; and to assist the other in driving him forward; it is not necessary to lay so much Stress on the inner Leg, because that serves only to guide the Horse, and make him cover and embrace the Ground that lays before him.

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Of all the high Airs, Curvets are the least violent, and consequently the most easy to the Horse, inasmuch as they require nothing of the Horse but what he has done before. In reality, to make him stop readily and justly, he has been taught to take a good and true Apuy; in order to make him rise, he has been put together, and supported firm upon his Haunches; to make him advance, to make him go backward, and to make him stop, he has been made acquainted with the Aids of the Heels and Hands; so that in order to execute Curvets, nothing remains for him to do, but to learn and comprehend the Measure and Time of the Air.

Curvets are derived and drawn out of the Pesades.—We have already said that Pesades ought to be made slowly, very high before, and accompanied a little by the Haunches. Curvets are lower before, the Horse must advance, his Haunches must follow closer, and beat or mark a quicker Time; the Haunches must be bent, his Hocks be firm, his two Hind-feet advance equally at every Time, and their Action must be short quick, just, and in exact Measure and Proportion.

This Action, when suited to the Strength and Disposition of the Horse, is not only beautiful in itself, but even necessary to fix and place his Head; because this Air is, or ought to be founded, upon the true Apuy of his Mouth. It likewise lightens the Fore-part; for as it can't be perform'd unless the Horse collects his Strength upon his Haunches, it must of consequence take the Weight off from the Shoulders.

It is well known, that in working upon every Air, the Strength, the Vigour, and the Disposition of the Horse should be consider'd; the Importance of this Attention to these Qualities is sufficiently acknowledged; and it is granted and allowed, that Art serves, and can serve, to no other end than to improve and make Nature perfect.—Now it will be easy to discover to what Air a Horse should be destin'd, and to what he is most dispos'd and capable of executing, by seeing his Actions, and by the greater or less Degree of Pains which will be requisite to supple him. When you design a Horse for the Curvets, take care to chuse one, which, besides having the necessary Disposition to that Manage, will have likewise Patience enough in his Temper to perform them well.—A natural Disposition alone will not suffice; there are Horses who will present themselves to them, but being by Nature impatient of all Restraint, from the Moment that they feel any Pain or Difficulty in furnishing what you ask of them, they will disobey and deceive you in the very Instant that you thought them gain'd.—It requires much Skill to know how to begin with such Horses, and to confirm them in their Business.—Take it for a certain Truth, that you will never succeed, if your Horse is not perfectly obedient to the Hand and Heel; if he is not supple, and able to work upon one Line or Path, with Freedom and Ease; and if he is not likewise very well seated upon his Haunches in his Terre-a-Terre, which he ought to be able to execute perfectly well.

Curvets are improper, and never succeed with Horses which have bad Feet, or any Weakness or Complaint in their Hocks, whatever Powers and Qualifications they may otherwise have.—They are likewise apt to encourage a Horse that is ramingue in his Vice, and are capable of teaching one which is not so by Nature, to become ramingue, if he is not adjusted and brought to this Air with great Prudence. Indeed, Impatience and Fretfulness often make a Horse desperate when put to this Manage; and not being able to endure the Correction, nor comprehend the Aids, he betakes himself to all sorts of Defences, as well as that being confounded through Fear, he is bewilder'd, and becomes abject and jadish.—It is almost impossible to say which of these Imperfections are the most difficult to be cured.—Before you put a Horse to make Curvets, he ought to work Terre-a-Terre; and if he can do this, he ought to be able to change Hands upon one and two Lines, to go off readily, and to make a good Stop. After this he should be able to make Pesades easily, and so high before as to be held and supported in the Hand, and always make them upon a strait Line at first, and not on a Circle.—After this ask of him two or three Curvets; let him go then two or three Steps, then make two or three Curvets; and so alternately.—If you find that your Horse is well in the Hand, and that he advances regularly, is patient, and don't break his Line, but keeps even upon it, he will dress very easily, and soon; if he presses forward too much, make him curvet in the same Place, and make him often go backward.—After he has thus made two or three, demand then more of him, afterwards make him go backward, and so successively.

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.