Part 8

'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.

CHAP. VIII.

Of the Pillars.

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. 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.

CHAP. IX.

Of Aids and Corrections.

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.