/ / {/ P£NNSYLVA]^i/^ FAIRMAN ON li5K BAUCHER'S, METHOD OF HORSEMA^'SHIP. Tk •' .)'/>a jiiste is an imaginary line upon which the horse is made to walk. When the hind legs follow the same line as the fore ones, the horse is said to go dhme piste, or on one line. He goes de deux pistes, or on two lines, when his hind legs pass along a line parallel to that traced by the fore legs." — BaucJier's Dictionnaire d' Equitation. ORDINARY PIROUETTE. 117 can, consequently, execute ordinary pirou- ettes.* For this purpose he will take a snaffle- rein in each hand, one to direct the neck and shoulders towards the side to which we wish to wheel, the other to second the. op- posite leg, if it be not sufficient to keep the croup still. At the beginning, this leg should be placed as far back as possible, and not be used until the haunches bear against it. By careful and progressive man- agement the results will soon' be attained. At the start, the horse should be allowed to * " The pirouette is executed on the fore or hind legs, by making the horse turn round upon himself, in such a way, that the leg on the side he is going, acts as a pivot, and is the principal support around which the other three legs move." — Baucher^s Dictionnaire d^ Equitation. Pirouettes are either ordinary or reversed. In the ordinary pirouette^ one of the hind legs is the pivot on which the horse moves; in the reversed, one of the fore Icprs. — Translator. 1L8 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. rest after executing two or three steps well, which will give five or six halts in the com- plete rotation of the shoulders around the croup. Here the stationary exercises cease. I will now explain how the suppling of the hind parts will be completed, by commencing to combine the play of its springs with those of the fore parts. Backing. — The retrograde movement, oth- erwise called backing, is an exercise, the importance of which has not been suffi- ciently appreciated, and which yet ought to have a very great influence upon his education. When practised after the old erroneous methods, it was of no use, as the exercises that should precede it were unknown. Backing properly differs essen- tially from that incorrect backward move- ment, which carries the horse to the rear with his croup contracted and his neck BACKING. 119 stiff; that is backing away from and avoid- ing the effect of the reins. Backing correct- ly supples the horse, and adds grace and precision to his natural motions. The first of the conditions upon which it is to be ob- tained, is to keep the horse in hand, that is to say, supple, light in the mouth, steady on his legs, and perfectly balanced in all his parts. Thus disposed, the animal will be able with ease to move and elevate equal- ly his fore and hind legs. It is here that w^e will be enabled to ap- preciate the good effects and the indispensa- ble necessity of suppling the neck and haunches. Backing, which at first is tolera- bly painful to the horse, will always lead him to combat the motions of our hand, by stift"- ening his neck, and those of our legs, by contracting his croup; these are the instinc- tive resistances. If we cannot obviate the bad disposition of them, how will we be able 120 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. to obtain that shifting and reshifting of weight, which alone can make the execution of this movement perfect ? If the impulsion which, in backing, ought to come from the fore parts, should pass over its proper limits, the movement would become painful, im- possible in fact, and occasion on the part of the animal, sudden, violent movements which are always injurious to his organiza- tion. On the other hand, the displacements* of the croup, by destroying the harmony which should exist between the relative forces of fore and hind parts, would also hinder the proper execution of the backing. The pre- vious exercise to which we have subjected the croup will aid us in keeping it in a 5K These displacements of the croup mean sideway dis- placement, or the horse's croup not being in a line with the shoulders. — Translator. BACKING. 121 straight line with the shoulders, in order to preserve the necessary transferring of the forces and weight. To commence the movement, the rider ought first to assure himself that the haunches are on a line with the shoulders, and the horse light in hand ; then he will slowly close his legs, in order that the action which they will communicate to the hind parts of the horse may make him lift one of his hind legs, and prevent the body from yielding before the neck. It is then that the immediate pressure of the bit, forcing the horse to regain his equilibrium behind, will produce the first part of the backing. As soon as the horse obeys, the rider will instant- ly give the hand to reward the animal, and not to force the play of his fore parts. If his croup be displaced, the rider will bring it back by means of his leg, and if necessary, use for this purpose the snaffie-rein on that side. 11 122 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. After having defined what I call the pro- per backing (^reculer)^ I ought to explain what I understand by backing so as to avoid the bit (T acculement) , This move- ment is too painful to the horse, too un- gracefulj and too much opposed to the right development of his mechanism, not to have struck any one who has occupied himself at all with horsemanship. We force a horse backwards in this way, whenever we crowd his forces and weight too much upon his hind parts; by so doing we destroy his equilibrium, and render grace, measure, and correctness impossible. Lightness, always lightness! this is the basis, theS touchstone of all beautiful execution. With this, all is easy, for the horse as well as the rider. That being the case, it is understood that the difficulty of horsemanship does not con- sist in the direction to give the horse, but in the position to make him assume — a posi- BACKING. 123 tion which alone can smooth all obstacles. Indeed, if the horse executes, it is the rider who makes him do so; upon him then rests the responsibility of every false move- ment. It will suffice to exercise the horse for eight days (for five minutes each lesson) in -backing, to make him execute it with facility. The rider will content himself the first few times with one or two steps to the rear, followed by the combined effect of the legs and hand, increasing in proportion to the progress he makes, until he finds no more difficulty in a backward than in a for- ward movement. What an immense step we will then have made in the education of our pupil! At the start, the defective formation of the animal, his natural contractions, the resist- ances we encountered everywhere, seemed as if they might defy our efforts, for ever. 124 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. Without doubt they would have been vain, had we made use of a bad course of pro- ceeding ; but the wise system of progression that we have introduced into our work, the destruction of the instinctive forces of the horse, the suppling, the separate subjection of all the rebellious parts, have soon placed in our power the whole of his mechani-sm to a degree which enables us to govern it completely, and to restore that pliability, ease, and harmony of the parts, which their bad arrangement threatened always to pre- vent. As I shall point out hereafter, in classing the general division of the labor, it will be seen that eight or ten days are suffi- cient to obtain these important results. Was I not right then in saying that if it is not in my power to change the defective formation of a horse, I can yet prevent the consequences of his physical defects, so as to render him as fit to do everything SUBJECTION OF INSTINCTIVE FORCES. 125 with grace and natural ease, as the better- formed horse? In suppKng the parts of the animal upon which the rider acts directly, in order to govern and guide him, in accustoming them to yield without diffi- culty or hesitation to the different impres- sions which are communicated to them, I have destroyed their stiffness, and restored the centre of gravity to its true place, name- ly, to the middle of the body. I have, be- sides, settled the greatest difficulty of horse- manship : that of subjecting, before every- thing else, the parts upon which the rider acts directly, in order to prepare for him infallible means of impressing his will upon the horse. It is only by destroying the instinctive forces, and by suppling the different parts of the horse, that we can obtain this. All the springs of the animal's body are thus 11* 126 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. yielded up to the discretion of the rider. But this first advantage will not be enough to make him a complete horseman. The employment of these forces thus abandoned to him J demand, in order to execute the different paces, much study and skill. I will show in the subsequent chapters the rules to be observed. I will conclude this one by a rapid recapitulation of the pro- gression to be followed in the supplings. Stationary exercise , the rider on foot. Fore-parts. — 1. Flexions of the jaw to the right and left, using the curb-bit. 2. Direct flexions of the jaw, and depres- sion of the neck. 3. Lateral flexions of the neck with the snaffle-reins and with the curb. Stationary exercise, the rider 07i horse- hack. — 1. Lateral flexions of the neck with the snaffle-reins, and with the curb-reins. 2. Direct flexions of the head, or placing \ STATIONARY EXERCISE. 127 it in a perpendicular position with the snaffle, and with the curb-reins. Hind-parts. — 3. Lateral flexions, and mov- ing the croup around the shoulders. 4. Rotation of the shoulders around the haunches. 5. Combining the play of the fore and hind legs of the horse, or backing. I have placed the rotation of the shoul- ders around the haunches in the nomencla- ture of stationary exercise. But the ordi- nary pivoting, or piToiieUe, being a pretty complicated movement, and a difficult one for the horse, he should not be completely exercised in it until he has acquired the measured time of the walk, and of the trot, and can easily execute the changes of direc- tion. 128 METHOD OF nORSEMANSHIP. V. OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE FORCES OF THE HORSE BY THE RIDER. When" the supplings have subjected the instmctive forces of the horse, and given them up completely into our power, the animal will be nothing more in our hands than a passive, expectant machine, ready to act upon any impulsion we choose to com- municate to him. It will be for us, then, as sovereign disposers of all his forces, to combine the employment of them in correct proportion to the movements we wish to execute. The young horse, at first stiff and awk- ward in the use of his members, will need a certain degree of management in developing them. In this, as in every other case, we THE WALK. 129 will follow that rational progression which tells us to commence with the simple, be- fore passing to the complicated. By the preceding exercise, we have made our means of acting upon the horse sure. We must now attend to facilitating his means of ex- ecution, by exercising all his forces together. If the animal respond to the aids of the rider by the jaw, the neck, and the haunches ; if he yield, by the general disposition of his body, to the impulses communicated to him, it is by the play of his extremi- ties that he executes the movement. The mechanism of these parts ought then to be easy, prompt, and regular; their applica- tion, well directed in the different paces, can alone give them such qualities as are indispensable to a good education.*'^ * It must not be forgotten that the hand and legs have their vocabulary also; and a very concise one. 130 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. The walh. — This pace is the mother of all the other paces; by it we will obtain the cadence, the regularity, and the extension of the others. But to obtain these brilliant re- sults, the rider must display as much know- ledge as tact. The preceding exercises have led the horse to bear the combined effect of hand and legs, which could not have been done previously to the destruc- tion of his instinctive resistances; we have now only to act on the inert resistances which appertain to the animal's weight; upon the forces which move only when an impulse is communicated to them. Before making the horse go forward, we This mute, laconic language consists of these few words. You are doing hadly ; this is what you sJiould do ; you do well now. It is sufficient for the rider to be able to translate, by his mechanism, the meaning of these three remarks, to possess all the equestrian erudition, and share his intelligence with his horse. HINTS ON STARTING. 131 should first assure ourselves of his light- ness, that is to say of his head being per- pendicular, his neck flexible, his hind parts straight and plumb. The legs will then be closed lightly, to give the body the impulse necessary to move it. But we should not, in accordance with the precepts of the old method, give the bridle hand at the same time ; for then the neck, being free from all restraint, would lose its lightness, would contract, and render the motion of the hand powerless. The rider will remember that his hand ought to be to the horse an insur- mountable barrier, whenever he would leave the position of ramener. Then the animal will never attempt it, without pain ; and only within our limit will he find ease and comfort. By the application of my method, the rider will be led to guide his horse at all times with the reins half tight, except when 132 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. he wishes to correct a false movement, or determine a new one. The walk, I have said, ought to precede the other paceSj because the horse having three supports upon the ground, his action is less, and consequently easier to regulate than m the trot and the gallop. The first exercises of the supplings will be followed by some turns in the riding-house at a walk, but only as a relaxation, the rider attending less to animating his horse, than to making him keep his head, while walking, in a per- pendicular position. Little by little he will complicate his work, so as to join to the lightness of the horse that precision of move- ment indispensable to the beauty of all his paces. 9 He will commence light oppositions of the hand and legs, to make the forces of the fore and hind parts work together in harmony. This exercise, by accustoming HARMONY OF FORCES. 133 the horse always to yield the use of his forces to the direction of the rider, will be also useful in forming his intelligence, as well as in developing his powers. What delights the expert horseman will experi- ence in the progressive application of his art ! His pupil, at first rebellious, will in- sensibly yield himself to his every wish ; will adopt his character, and end by becom- ing the living personification of him. Take care, then, rider ! If your horse is capri- cious, violent, fantastic, we will have the right to say that you yourself do not shine by the amenity of your disposition, and the propriety of your proceedings. In order to keep the measure and quick- ness of the walk equal and regular, it is in- dispensable that the impulsive and govern- ing forces which come from the rider, should themselves be in perfect harmony. We will suppose, for example, that the 12 134 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. rider to move his horse forward, should make use of a force equal to twenty pounds, fifteen for the impulse forward, and five to bring his head into position. If the legs increase their motion without the hands increasing theirs in the same proportion, it is evident that the surplus of communicated force will be thrown into the neck, cause it to contract, and destroy all lightness. If, on the contrary, it is the hand which acts with "too much violence, it will be at the expense of the impulsive force necessary to move the horse forward; on this account, his forward movement will be slackened and counteracted, at the same time that his posi- tion will lose its gracefulness and power. This short explanation will suffice to show the harmony that should exist be- tween the legs and hands. It is understood that their motion should vary according as the formation of the horse renders it neces- CHANGES OF DIRECTION. 135 sary to support him more or less before or behind; but the rule is the same, only the proportions are different. So long as the horse will not keep himself supple and light in his walk, we will con- tinue to exercise him in a straight line ; but as soon as he acquires more ease and steadi- nesS;, we will commence to make him exe- cute changes of direction to the right and the left, while walking. Changes of direction. — The use of the wrists, in the changes of direction, is so simple that it is unnecessary to speak of it here. I will only call attention to the fact, that the resistances of the horse ought always to be anticipated by disposing his forces in such a manner that they all con- cur in putting him in the way of moving. The head will be inclined in the direction we wish to go by means of the snalile-rein of that side, the curb will then complete 136 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. the movement. General rule : the lateral resistances of the neck are always to be opposed by the aid of the snaffle, being very careful not to commence to wheel until after destroying the obstacle that opposed it. If the use of the wrists remains very nearly the same as formerly, it is not so with the legs ; their motion will be diametrically op- posite to that given them in the old style of horsemanship. This innovation is so natu- ral a one, that I cannot conceive why some one did not apply it before me. It is by bearing the hand to the right and making the right leg felt, j^eople have told me, (and I myself at first repeated it.) that the horse is made to turn to the right. With me, practice has always taken the precedence of reasoning; and this is the way I first perceived the incorrectness of this principle. Whatever lightness my horse had in a CHANGES OF DIRECTION. 137 straight line, I remarked that this lightness always lost some of its delicacy when mov- ing in small circles, although my outside leg came to the assistance of the inside one. As soon as the hind leg put itself in motion to follow the shoulders in the circle, I im- mediately felt a slight resistance. I then thought of changing the use of my aids, and of pressing the leg on the side opposite to the direction of wheeling. At the same time, in place of bearing the hand immedi- ately to the right, to determine the shoul- ders in that direction, I first, by the aid of this hand, made the opposition necessary to render the haunches motionless, and to dis- pose the forces in such a way as to main- tain the equilibrium during the execution of the movement. This proceeding was completely successful ; and in explaining what ought to be the functions of the dif- 12* 138 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. ferent extremities, I recogiiize this as the only rational way of using them in wheeling. In fact, in wheeling to the right, for ex- ample, it is the right hind leg which serves as pivot and supports the whole weight of the mass, while the left hind leg and the fore legs describe a circle more or less extended. In order that the movement should be correct and free, it is necessary that this pivot, upon which the whole turns, be not interfered with in its action ; the simultaneous use of the right hand and the right leg must necessarily produce this effect. The equilibrium is thus destroyed, and the regularity of the wheeling rendered impos- sible. As soon as the horse executes easily the changes of direction at a walk, and keeps himself perfectly light, we can commence exercising at a trot. The trot. — The rider will commence this THE TROT. 139 pace at a very moderate rate of speed, fol- lowing exactly the same principles as for the walk. He will keep his horse perfectly light, not forgetting that the faster the pace, the more disposition there will be, on the part of the animal, to fall back again into his natural contractions. The hand should then be used with redoubled nicety, in order to keep the head and neck always pliable, without effecting the impulse neces- sary to the movement. The legs will lightly second the hands, and the horse be- tween these two barriers, which are obsta- cles only to his improper movements, will soon develop all his best faculties ; and with precision of movement, he will also acquire grace, extension, and the steadiness inherent to the lightness of the whole. Although many persons who would not take the trouble to examine thoroughly my method, have pretended that it is opposed 140 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. to great speed in trotting, it is not the less proved that the well-balanced horse can trot faster than the one destitute of this advantage. I have given proofs of this whenever they have been demanded of me ; but it is in vain that I have tried to make people understand what constitutes the motions of the trot, and what are the con- ditions indispensable for regularity in exe- cuting it. So, I was obliged in a race, of which I was judge, to make the bets void, and to prove that the pretended trotters were really not trotting, but ambling. The condition indispensable to a good trotter is perfect equilibrium of the body. Equilibrium, which keeps up a regular movement of the diagonal fore and hind feet, gives them an equal elevation and ex- tension, with such lightness that the animal can easily execute all changes of direction, moderate his speed, halt, or increase his THE TROT. 141 speed without effort. The fore parts have not, then, the appearance of towing after them the hind parts, which keep as far off as possible ; everything becomes easy and graceful for the horse, because his forces, being in perfect harmony, permit the rider to dispose of them in such a way that they mutually and constantly assist each other. It would be imjDossible for me to count up the number of horses that have been sent to me to break, whose paces have been so spoiled that it was impossible for them to trot a single step. A few lessons have always been sufficient to get them back into regular paces, and these are the means I employed. The difficulty which the horse experi- ences in keeping himself square in his trot, almost always proceeds from the hind parts. Whether these be of a feeble construction, or be rendered useless by 142 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. the superior vigor of the fore parts, the motions of these parts, which receive the shock and give the bound, in each case be- come powerless, and in consequence render the movement irregular.* There is, then, * I am not of the opinion of those connoisseurs who imagine that the qualities of the horse, as well as his speed in trotting, depend principally on the height of his withers. I think that, for the horse to he stylish and regular in his movements, the croup should be on a level with the withers ; such was the construction of the old English horses. A certain kind of horses, very much d la mode, called steppers, are constructed after an entirely different fashion ; they strike out with their fore legs, and drag their hind parts after them. Horses with a low croup, or with withers very high in proportion to their croup, were preferred by horsemen of the old school, and are still in favor nowadays among amateur horsemen. The German horsemen have an equally marked predilec- tion for this sort of formation, although it is contrary to strength of the croup, to the equilibrium of the horse, and to the regular play of his feet and legs. This fault REMEDY FOR FAULTY CONSTRUCTION. 143 weakness in one extremity, or excess of force in the other. The remedy in each case will be the same, viz. : the depression of the neck, which, by diminishing the power of the fore parts, restores the equili- brium between the two parts. We have practised this suppling on foot; it will be easy to obtain it on horseback. We here see the usefulness of this perpendicular flexion, which allows us to place on a level of construction (for it is one) has been scarcely noticed till now; nevertheless, it is a great one, and really re- tards the horse's education. In fact, we are obliged, in order to render his movements uniform, to lower his neck, so that the kind of lever it represents may serve to lighten his hind parts of the weight with which they are overburdened. I ought also to say, that this change of position, or of equilibrium, is only obtained by the aid of my principles. I explain the cause and effect, and I point out the remedies. Is this not the proper way for an author to proceed ? 144 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. the forces of the two opposite extremities of the horse, in order to make them harmoni- ous, and induce regularity in their working. The horse behig thus placed, can bend and extend his fore and hind legs, before the weight of the body forces them to resume their support. The practice of this and some other prin- ciples that I explain in this work, wdll place in the rank of choice horses animals whose inferiority caused them to be considered jades, and which the old method would never have raised from their degradation. It will suffice, to accustom the horse to trot well, to exercise him at this pace only five minutes in each lesson. When he acquires the necessary ease and lightness, he can be made to execute ordinary phouettes, as well as the exercise on two lines, at a walk and a trot. I have said that five minutes of trotting were enough at first, because it is PROLONGED EXERCISE HURTFUL. 145 less the continuance of an exercise than its being properly done that perfects the exe- cution of it. Besides, as this pace requires a considerable displacement of forces, and as the animal will have been already sub- jected to a rather painful exercise, it would be dangerous to prolong it beyond the time I mentioned. The horse will lend himself more willingly to your efforts when they are nicely managed, and of short duration ; his intelligence, becoming familiar with this effi- cient progression, will hasten success. He will submit himself calmly, and w^ithout re- pugnance, to work in which there will be nothing painful to him ; and we will be able thus to push his education to the farthest limits, not only without injury to his" phy- sical organization, but in restoring to their normal state organs which a forced exercise might have weakened. This regular de- velopment of all the organs of the horse 13 146 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. will not only give him grace, but also strength and health: thus prolonging his existence, while increasing a hundredfold the delights of the true horseman. CONCENTRATION OF FORCES. 147 YI. OF THE CONCENTRATION OF THE FORCES OF THE HORSE BY THE RIDER. The rider now understands that the only means of obtaining precision and regularity of movement in the walk and the trot, is to keep the horse perfectly light while he is exercised at these paces. As soon as we are sure of this lightness^ while going in a straight line, in changes of direction, and in circular movements, it will be easy to preserve it while exercising on two lines. I would here treat immediately of the gallop ; but this pace, more complicated than the other two, demands an arrange- ment on the part of the horse, and a power on the part of the rider, that the preceding 148 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. exercises have not yet given. The proper phacing of the horse's head spreads his forces over the whole of his body; it is ne- cessary, in order to perform correctly the different exercises at a gallop, and to enable yourself properly to direct the forces in energetic movements, to bring them into a common focus — that is, to the centre of gravity of the animal. I am about to ex- plain how this is to be done. The use of the sjjurs. — Professors of equi- tation and authors upon this subject have said, that the spurs are to punish the horse when he does not respond to the legs, or when he refuses to aj)proach an object that frightens him. With them, the spur is not an aid, but a means of chastisement. With me it is, on the contrary, a powerful auxil- iary, without which it would be impossible to break any horse perfectly. How ! you exclaim; you attack with the spur horses USE OF THE SPURS. 149 that are sensitive, excitable, full of fire and action — horses whose powerful make leads them to become unmanageable, in spite of the hardest bits and the most vigorous arms ! Yes, and it is with the spur that I will moderate the fury of these too fiery animals, and stop them short in their most impetuous bounds. It is with the spur, aided of course by the hand, that I will make the most stubborn natures kind, and perfectly educate the most intractable ani- mal. Long before publishing my " Comprehensive Dictionary of Equitation,'^ I w^as aware of the excellent effects of the spur; but I abstained from developing my principles, being pre- vented by an expression of one of my friends, whom I had shown how to obtain results which to him appeared miraculous. " It is extraordinary ! It is wonderful !" he exclaimed; "but it is a razor in the 13* 150 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. hands of a monkey." It is true that the use of the spurs requires prudence, tact, and gradation ; but the effects of it are pre- cious. Now that I have proved the efficacy of my method ; now that I see my most violent adversaries become warm partisans of my principles, I no longer fear to develop a process that I consider one of the most beautiful results of my long researches in horsemanship. There is no more difference in the sensi- bility of different horses' flanks than in their sensibility of mouth — that is to say, the direct effect of the spur is nearly the same in them all. I have already shown that the organization of the bars of the mouth goes for nothing in its resistances to the hand. It is clear enough that if the nose, by being thrown up in the air, gives the horse a force of resistance equal to two hundred pounds, this force will be reduced to one USE OF THE SPURS. 151 hundred pounds, when ^ve bring the horse's head half way towards a perpendicuhir position ; to fifty pounds when brought still nearer that position, and to nothing when perfectly placed. The pretended hardness of mouth proceeds, in this case, from a bad position of the head, which is caused by the stiffness of the neck and the faulty construc- tion of the loins and haunches of the horse. If we carefully examine the causes that pro- duce what is called sensibility of the flanks, w^e will discover that they have very much the same kind of source. The innumerable conjectures to which people have devoted themselves, in attribut- ing to the horse's flanks a local sensibility that had no existence, have necessarily in- jured the progress of his education, because it was based upon false data. The greater or less sensibility of the animal proceeds from his action, from his faulty formation, 152 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. and the bad position resulting therefrom. To a horse of natural action, but with long, weak loins, and bad action behind, every motion backwards is painful ; and the very disposition that leads him to rush ahead, serves hmi to avoid the pain of the spur. He returns to this movement whenever he feels the rider's legs touch him ; and far from being a spirited horse, he is only scared and crazy. The more he fears the spur, the more he plunges out of hand, and baffles the means intended to make him obedient. There is everything to fear from such a horse ; he will scare at objects from the very ease he possesses of avoiding them. Now since his fright proceeds, so to say, from the bad position we allow him to take, this inconvenience will disappear from the moment we remedy the first cause of it. We must confine the forces in order to pre- vent every displacement. We must separate USE OF THE SPURS. 153 the physical from the moral horse, and force these impressions to concentrate in the brain. He will then be a furious madman, whose limbs we have bound to jd re vent him from carrying his frenzied thoughts into execu- tion. The best proof we have that the prompt- ness of a horse in responding to the eflfect of the legs and spurs, is not caused by a sensibility of the flanks, but rather by great action joined to bad formation, is that the same action is not so manifest in a well- formed horse, and that the latter bears the spur much better than one whose equili- brium and organization are inferior. But the spur is not only useful in mode- rating the too great energy of horses of much action ; its effect being equally good in com- bating that disposition which leads the ani- mal to throw his centre of gravity too much forward, or back. I would also use it to 154 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. stir up those that are wantmg in ardor and vivacity. In horses of action, the forces of the hind parts surpass those of the fore parts. It is the opposite in dull horses. We can thus account for the quickness of the former; the slowness and sluggishness of the latter. By the exercise of suppling, we have completely annulled the instinctive forces of the horse. We must now reunite these forces in their true centre of gravity, which is the middle of the animal's body; and it is by the properly combined opposition of the legs and hands that we will succeed in this. The advantages we possess already over the horse, will enable us to combat, from their very birth, all the resistances which tend to make him leave the proper position — the only one in which we can successfully practise our oppositions. It is also of the first importance to put into our TACT AND GRADATION. 155 proceedings tact and gradation, so that, for example, the legs never give an impulse that the hand is not able to take hold of and govern at the same moment. I will make this principle more clear by a short expla- nation. We will suppose a horse at a walk, em- ploying a force of forty pounds, which is necessary to keep the pace regular, till the moment when the opposition of the hand and legs commences. By and by we begin a slow and gradual pressure of the legs, which adds ten pounds to the impulse of the pace. As the horse is supposed to be per- fectly in hand, the hand will immediately feel this passage of forces, and must then make itself master of them to transfer them to the centre. Meanwhile the legs will con- tinue their pressure, to the end that the forces, thus driven back, may not return to the focus which they left; for that would 156 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. be but a useless ebbing and flowing of forces. This succession of oppositions, well combined, will bring together a great quantity of forces in the centre of the horse's body, and the more these are increased, the more the ani- mal will lose his instinctive energy. When the pressure of the legs becomes insufficient to collect the forces entirely, more energetic means must be employed, viz. : touches of the spur. The spurring ought not to be done vio- lently, and with much movement of the legs, but with delicacy and management. The rider ought to close his legs so gradually that, before coming in actual contact with the horse's flanks, the spur will not be more than a hair's breadth from them, if possible. The hand should ever be an echo to the light touches with which we commence ; and it should be firmly held, so as to present an opposition equal to the force communicated USE OF THE SPURS. 157 by the spur. If by the time being badly chosen, the hand does not exactly intercept the impulse given, and a general commotion results therefrom, we should, before recom- mencing, gather the horse together, and re- establish calm in his motions. The force of the spurring will be progressively increased until the horse bears it, when as vigorously applied as possible, without presenting the least resistance to the hand, without in- creasing the speed of his pace, or without displacing himself so long as we operate with a firm foot. A horse brought thus to bear spurring, is three-fourths broken, since we have the free disposition of all his forces. Besides, his centre of gravity being where his forces are all united, we have brought it to its proper place, viz. : the middle of the body. All the oscillations of the animal will then be subordinate to us, and we will be able to 14 158 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. transfer his weight with ease, when neces- sary. It is easy now to understand where the resistances have their origin; whether the horse kicks up behind, rears, or runs away, the cause is always the centre of gravity being in the wrong place. This very cause belongs to a defective formation which we cannot change, it is true, but the effects of which we can always modify. If the horse kicks up, the centre of gravity is in the shoulders, in the croup when he rears, and too far forward when he runs away. The principal thought of the rider, then, ought to be to keep the centre of gravity in the middle of the horse's body, since he will thereby prevent him defending himself, and bring back the forces of the badly formed horse to the place which they occupy in the finest organizations. It is this that makes me assert that a well-formed horse will not REMOVAL OF CENTRE OF GRAVITY. 159 make resistance nor move irregularly, for it requires supernatural efforts on his part to destroy the harmony of his moving parts, and so greatly displace his centre of gravity. So, when I speak of the necessity of giving the horse a new equilibrium, in order to prevent his defending himself, and also to remedy the ungracefulness of his form, I allude to the combination of forces of which I have been treating, or, rather, of the removal of the centre of gravity from one place to another. This result obtained, the education of the horse is complete. When the horseman succeeds in obtaining it, his talent becomes a truth, since it trans- forms ugliness into grace, and gives elegance and lightness to movements which were be- fore heavy and confused.* * I have often proved that horses that were considered dull, or unable to move their shoulders freely, have not 160 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. The rider's employment of force, when properly applied, has a moral effect also on the horse, that accelerates the results. If the impulse given by the legs find in the the defect that is supposed; in other words, that it is very rare that they are paralyzed ia their shoulders so as to injure the regularity and speed of their paces, principally as regards trotting. The shoulders of the horse, if I may use the comparison, resemble the wings of a windmill; the impulse given by the hocks replaces the motive force. There undoubtedly exist some local complaints that affect the shoulders; but this difficulty is very rare; the defect, if there be one, has its origin in the hind parts. For my part, I have been able to make all such horses very free in their movements, and that after fifteen days of exercise, half an hour a day. The means, like all I employ, are very simple. They consist in suppling the neck to get the horse in hand, and then, by the aid of the legs, and afterwards slight use of the spurs, in bringing his haunches nearer the centre. Then the hocks will obtain a leverage, by which they can propel the mass forward, and give the shoulders a freedom that people would not expect. EMPLOYMENT OF FORCE. 161 hand the energy and apropos necessary to regulate its effects, the' pain which the ani- mal sustains will always be proportioned to his resistances; and his instinct will soon make him understand how he can diminish, and even avoid altogetlier this constraint, by promptly yielding to what we demand of him. He will hasten then to submit, and will even anticipate our desires. But, I re- peat, it is only by means of tact and delicate management that we will gain this important point. If the legs give too vigorous an im- pulse, the horse will quickly overcome the motion of the hands, and resume with his natural position all the advantages it gives him to foil the efforts of the rider. If, on the contrary, the hand present too great a resistance, the horse will soon overcome the legs, and find a means of defending himself by backing. Yet these difficulties must not be allowed to frighten us; they were only 14* 162 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. serious ones when no rational principle gave the means of surmounting them. The ap- plication of my method will enable ordinary horsemen to obtain results that otherwise could be obtained only by the most favored equestrian organizations. When the animal becomes accustomed by means of the spur to such opposition s, it will be easy enough to combat with the spur all the resistances that may afterwards manifest themselves. Since the resistances are always caused by moving the croup sideways, or get- ting it too far back, the spur, by immediately bringing the hind legs towards the centre of the body, prevents the support of the hocks, which opposed the proper harmony of forces, and prevented the right distribution of the weight. This is the means I always employ to make the horse pass from a swift gallop to a halt, without straining his hocks, or injur- USE OF THE SPURS. 163 ing any of the joints of his hind parts. In fact, since it is the hocks which propel the mass forward, destroying their motion suffices to stop the bound. The spur, by instantly bringing the hind legs under the horse's belly, destroys their power from the moment the hand comes, in the nick of time, to fix them in that position. Then the haunches bend, the croup is lowered; the weight and forces arrange themselves in the order most favorable to the free and combined play of each part, and the violence of the shock, infinitely decom- posed, is scarce perceptible either to horse or rider. If, on the contrary, we stop the horse by making the hand move first, the hocks re- main far in the rear of the plumb-line ; the shock is violent, painful for the animal, and especially injurious to his physical organiza- 164^ METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. tion. Horses that are thus stopped^ set themselves against the bit^ extending their neck, and require an arm of iron and a most violent opposing force. Such is the custom of the Arabs, for example, in halt- ing suddenly their horses, by making use of murderous bits that break the bars of their horse's mouths. Thus, notwithstanding the wonderful powers with which nature has gifted them, are these excellent animals in- jured. The use of the spur must not be commenced till by gathering him we get the horse well in hand ; then the first touch of the S23ur should be given. We will continue to make use of it, at long inter- vals, until the horse, after his bound for- ward, presents no resistance to the hand, and avoids the pressure of the bit, by bring- ing in his chin towards his chest, of his own accord. This submission once obtained, we USE OF THE SPURS. 105 can undertake the use of the spurs with oppositions, but we must be careful to dis- continue them when the horse is in hand. This means has the double advantage of acting morally and physically. The first attacks will be made with a single spur, and by bearing on the opposite rein ; these transverse oppositions will have a better effect, and give more prompt results. When the horse begins to contain himself, the two spurs being used separately, we can make them felt together and with an equal grada- tion.* * I would never have thought that this means, which serves as a corrective to the processes used by all horse- men, would have aroused the sensibility of some ama- teurs. These latter have preferred to be affected by ex- aggerated or erroneous reports, rather than satisfy them- selves by observation that this pretended cruelty is in fact the most innocent thing in the world, Must we not teach the horse to respond to the spur as well as to the 166 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. To the work, then, cavaliers ! If you will follow my principles, I can promise you that your purses will be less often emptied into the hands of horse-dealers, and that you will render the meanest of your hacks agreeable. You will charm our breeders of horses, who will attribute to their efforts of regeneration that elegance and grace which your art alone could have given to your chargers. Lowering the hand. — The lowering the hand consists in confirming the horse in all his lightness — that is, in making him pre- serve his equilibrium without the aid of the reins. The suppleness given to all parts of legs and the band ? Is it not by tbis spurring, judiciously applied, tbat we bring in at will tbe bind legs more or less near tbe centre of gravity ? Is not tbis tbe only way of increasing or diminisbing tbe leverage of tbe bocks, wbetber for extending or raising tbem in motion, or for tbe purpose of baiting ? LOWERING THE HAND. 167 the horse, the just oppositions of hands and legs, lead him to keep himself in the best possible position. To find out exactly whether we are obtaining this result, we must have recourse to frequent lowering of the hand. It is done in this way. After having slipped the right hand to the buckle, and having assured yourself that the reins are even, you will let go of them with the left hand, and lower the right slowly to the pommel of the saddle. To do this regu- larly, the horse must neither increase nor diminish the speed of his pace, and his head and neck must continue to preserve their proper position. The first few times that the horse is thus given up to himself, he will perhaps only take a few steps while keeping in position, and at the same rate of speed ; the rider ought then to make his legs felt first, and the hand afterwards, to bring him 168 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. into his previous position. The frequent repetition of this lowering of the hand, after a complete placing of the horse's head in a perpendicular position, will give him a most exquisite mouth, and the rider a still greater delicacy of touch. The means of guiding employed by the latter will imme- diately be answered by the horse, if his forces have been previously disposed in a perfectly harmonious state. The lowerings of the hand ought to be practised first at a walk, then at a trot, afterwards at a gallop. This semblance of liberty gives such confidence to the horse that he gives up without knowing it ; he becomes our submissive slave, while suppos- ing that he is preserving an entire inde- pendence. Of gathering the horse, or rasseyiibler. — The preceding exercise wdll render easy to the GATHERING THE HORSE. 169 rider that important part of horsemanship called rassembler. This has been a great deal talked about by people, as they have talked about Providence, and all the mysteries that are impenetrable to human perception. If it were allowable for us to compare small things with great, we might say that the more or less absurd theories which have been put forward upon the subject of divine power, have not, fortunately, hindered in any way the unchangeable march of nature ; but with regard to the progress of horsemanship, the case is not the same, as to what has been said and written on the subject of the ras- semhler. The false principles propagated on this subject have made the horse the plaything and the victim of the rider's ignorance. I proclaim it, the gathering a horse has never been understood or defined before me, for it cannot be perfectly executed without 15 170 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. the regular application of the principles which I have developed for the first time. You will be convinced of this truth when you know that the rassemhler demands : — 1. The suppling, partial and general, of the neck and haunches. 2. The perfect position that results from this suppling. 3. The entire absorption of the forces of the horse by the rider. NoWj as the means of obtaining these different results have never been pointed out in any treatise on horsemanship, am I not justified in saying that the true rassem- hler has never been practised until now ? It is, nevertheless, one of the indispensable conditions of the horse's education ; conse- quently, I think I am right in saying that, before my method, horses of defective forma- tion have never been properly broken. How is the rassemhler defined in the GATHERING THE HORSE. 171 schools of horsemanship ? You gather your horse hij raising the hand and closing the legs, I ask, what good can this movement of the rider do upon an animal badly formed, con- tracted, and that remains under the influ- ence of all the evil propensities of its na- ture ? This mechanical support of the hands and legs, far from preparing the horse for obedience, will only make him re- double his means of resistance; since, while giving him notice that we are about to de- mand a movement on his part, we remain unable to dispose his forces in such a way as to force him to it. The real rassemhler consists in collecting the forces of the horse in his centre in order to ease his extremities, and give them up completely to the disposition of the rider. The animal thus finds himself transformed into a kind of balance, of which the rider is the centre-piece. The least touch upon 172 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. one or other of the extremities, which repre- sent the scales, will immediately send them in the direction we wish. The rider will know that his horse is completel}^ gathered when he feels him ready, as it were, to rise from all four of his legs. The proper posi- tion first, and then the use of the spurs, will make this beautiful execution of the gather- ing easy to both horse and rider ; and what splendor, grace, and majesty it gives the animal ! If we have been obliged at first to use the spurs in pushing this concentra- tion of forces to its farthest limits, the legs will afterwards be sufficient to obtain the gathering necessary for the precision and elevation required in all complicated move- ments. Need I recommend discretion in your demands? I think not. If the rider, hav- ing reached this stage of his horse's educa- tion, cannot comprehend and seize that GATHERING THE HORSE. 173 fineness of touch, tliat delicacy of process, indispensable to the right application of my principles, it will prove him devoid of every feeling of a horseman ; nothing I can say can remedy this imperfection of his nature. 15* 174 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. VII. OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE FORCES OF THE HORSE BY THE RIDER. ( Continuation.) Of the gallop, — I have said that, until now, the greater part of the resources of horsemanship have not been understood ; and had I need of other proofs to support my opinion, I would draw them from the errors, the suppositions, and the innumerable contra- dictions, which have been heaped together in order to explain so simple a movement as the gallop. What contrary opinions upon the means to be employed to make the horse go off with his right foot ! It is the support of the rider's right leg which determines the movement, one pretends ; it is that of the left leg, says another; it is the equal THE GALLOP. 175 touch of the two legs, affirms a third; no, some others remark, very seriously, you must let the horse act naturally. How can the truth be made out in the midst of this conflict of such contrary prin- ciples? Besides, they come from such re- spectable sources; the most of their authors were possessed of titles and dignities which are generally only granted to merit. Have they all been deceived for a hundred and fifty years ? This is not possible ; for many of them joined to long practice a perfect knowledge of physics, anatomy, mathema- tics, &c. &c. To doubt such authorities would be as presumptuous as imprudent; it would have been considered a crime of high treason against hoi'semanship. So the riders kept their ignorance, and the horses their bad equilibrium; and if any one suc- ceeded, after two or three years of routine labor, in making certain horses of a privi- 176 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. leged organization start witli the desired foot, and in making them change feet finally, at a fixed point, the difficulty then was to prevent them from always repeating this movement at the same place. Thus it is that the most palpable errors gain credit, and often are perpetuated, until there comes a practical mind, gifted with some amount of common sense, who contra- dicts by practice all the learned theories of its predecessors. They try hard at first to deny the knowledge of the innovator; but the masses, who instinctively know the truth, and judge from what they see, soon range themselves on his side, turn their backs upon his detractors, and leave them to their solitude and vain pretensions. To the mass of horsemen I address my- self, when I say, either the horse is under the influence of your forces, and entirely submissive to your power, or you are THE GALLOP. " 177 struggling with him. If he gallop off with you, without your being able to modify or direct with certainty his course, it proves that, although subject to a certain extent to your power, in thus consenting to carry you about, he nevertheless uses his instinctive forces. In this case, there is a perpetual fight going on between you and him, the chances of which depend on the tempera- ment and caprice of the animal — upon the good or bad state of his digestion. Changes of foot, in such a state, can only be obtained by inclining the horse very much to one side, which makes the movement both diffi- cult and ungraceful. If, on the contrary, the animal is made submissive to a degree that he cannot con- tract any one of his parts without the inter- vention and aid of the rider, the latter can direct at his pleasure the whole of his mov- 178 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. ing partSj and, consequently, can easily and promptly execute changes of feet. We know the contraction of any one part of the horse reacts on the neck, and that the stiffness of this part prevents the proper execution of every movement. If, then, at the moment of setting off on a gallop, the horse stiffen one of his extremi- ties, and consequently his neck, of what use, in determining his starting with the right foot, can be the support of one or the other leg of the rider, or even of that of both at once? These means will evidently be ineffectual until we go back to the source of the resistance, for the purpose of combat- ing and destroying it. Here, as in every other case, we see that suppleness and light- ness alone can make the execution of the work easy. If, when we wish to make the horse start with the right foot, a slight contraction of THE GALLOr. 179 one part of the animal dispose him to start with the left foot^ and we persist in induc- ing the pace, we must employ two forces on the same side, viz., the left leg and the left hand; the first to determine the movement, the second to combat the contrary disposi- tion of the horse. But when the horse, that is perfectly supple and gathered, only brings his parts into play after the impression given them by the rider, the latter, in order to start with the right foot, ought to combine an opposition of forces proper for keeping the horse in equilibrium, while placing him in the position required for the movement. He will then bear the hand to the left, and press his right leg. Here we see that the means mentioned above, necessary when the horse is not properly placed, would be wrong when the animal is properly placed, since 180 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. it would destroy the harmony then existing between his forces. This short explanation will, I hope, suffice to make it understood that things should be studied thoroughly before laying down any principles of action. Let us have no more systems then upon the exclu- sive use of such or such a leg to determine the gallop; but a settled conviction that the first condition of this, or any other perform- ance, is to keep the horse supple and light — that is rassemhJe ; then, after this, to make use of one or the other motive power, according as the animal, at the start, pre- serves a proper position, or seeks to leave it. It must also be understood that, while it is the force that gives the position to the horse, it is position alone upon which the regularity of movement depends. Passing frequently from the gallop with the right foot to that with the left, in a THE GALLOP. 181 straight line, and with halts, will soon bring the horse to make these changes of feet by the touch, without halting. Violent effects of force should be avoided, for they only bewilder the horse and destroy his lightness. We must remember that this lightness, which should precede all changes of pace and direction, and make every movement easy, graceful, and inevitable, is the import- ant condition we should seek before every- thing else. It is because they have not understood this principle, and have not felt that the first condition, to dispose a horse for the gallop, is to destroy all the instinctive forces of the animal (forces that oppose the posi- tion the movement demands), that horse- men have laid down so many erroneous principles, and have all remained unable to show us the proper means to be employed. 16 182 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. Of leading the ditch and tlie bar. — Although the combinations of equestrian science alone cannot give to every horse the energy and vigor necessary to clear a ditch or a bar, there are, nevertheless, principles by the aid of which we will succeed in partly supplying the deficiencies in the na- tural formation of the animal. By giving a good direction to the forces, we will facilitate the rise and freedom of the bound. I do not pretend by this to say, that a horse of ordinary capabilities will attain the same height and elegance in this movement as one that is well constituted, but he will, at least, be able to display in it all the re- sources of his organization to more purpose. The great thing is to bring the horse to attempt this performance with good wdll. If all the processes prescribed by me for mastering the instinctive forces of the ani- mal, and putting him under the influence of OF LEAPING. 18 o ours have been punctually followed, the utility of this progression will be recognized by the facility we have of making the horse clear all the objects that are encountered in his way. For the rest, recourse must never be had, in case of a contest, to violent means, such as a whip in the hands of a second person; nor should we seek to excite the animal by cries ; this could only produce a moral effect, calculated to frighten him. It is by physical means alone that we should bring him to obedience, since they alone will enable him to understand and execute. We should then carry on the contest calmly, and seek to surmount the forces that lead him to refuse, by acting directly on them. To make the horse leap, we will wait till he responds freely to the legs and spur, in order to have always a sure means of government. The bar will remain on the ground until the horse goes over it without hesitation ; 184 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. it will then be raised some inches, progres- sively increasing the height, until the ani- mal will be just able to clear it without too violent an effort. To exceed this proper limit, would be to risk causing a disgust on the part of the horse that should be most carefully avoided. The bar having been thus gradually raised, ought to be made fast, in order that the horse, disposed to be indolent, should not make sport of an ob- stacle which would be no longer serious, when the touch of his feet sufficed to over- turn it. The bar ought not to be wrapped in any covering that would lessen its hard- ness ; we should be severe when we demand possibilities, and avoid the abuses that always result from an ill-devised com- plaisance. Before preparing to take the leap, the rider should hold himself sufficiently firm to prevent his body preceding the motion of OF LEAPING. 185 the horse. His loins should be supple^ his buttocks well fixed to the saddle, so that he maj experience no shock nor violent reac- tion. His thighs and legs exactly enveloping the body and sides of the horse, will give him a power always opportune and infallible. The hand in its natural position will feel the horse's mouth in order to judge of the effects of impulsion. It is in this position that the rider should conduct the horse to- wards the obstacle ; if he come up to it with the same freedom of pace, a light opposition of the legs and hand will facili- tate the elevation of the fore-hand, and the bound of the posterior extremity. As soon as the horse is raised, the hand ceases its effect, to be again sustained when the fore- legs touch the ground, so as to prevent them giving way under the weight of the body. We should content ourselves with exe- cuting a few leaps in accordance with the 16* 186 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. horse's powers, and above all avoid pushing bravado to the point of wishing to force the animal over obstacles that are beyond his powers. I have known very good leapers that people have succeeded in thus disgust- ing forever, so that no efforts could induce them to clear things only half the height of those that at first they leaped with ease. Of the ^{ajfer.*~Until now, horsemen have maintained that the nature of each horse permits of only a limited number of movements, and that, if there are some that can be brought to execute a piaffer high and elegant, or low and precipitate, there are a great number of them to whom this exercise is forever interdicted. Their con- struction, they say, is opposed to it ; it is, then, nature that has so willed it ; ought we * " The piaffer is the horse's raising his legs diagonally as in the trot, but without advancing or receding."— Bau- cher's ^^ Dictionaire d^ Equitation.^' OF THE PIAFFER. 187 not to bow before this supreme arbiter and respect its decrees ? This opinion is undoubtedly convenient for justifying its own ignorance, but it is none the less false. We can hring all horses topiaffer ; and I will prove that, in this particularly, without reforming the work of nature, without deranging the formation of the bones, or that of the muscles of the animal, we can remedy the consequences of his physical imperfections, and change the vicious disposition occasioned by faulty con- struction. There is no doubt that the horse whose forces and weight are collected in one of his extremities will be unfit to exe- cute the elegant cadence of the piaffer. But a graduated exercise, the completion of which is the rassemhler, soon allows us to remedy such an inconvenience. We can now reunite all these forces in their true centre of gravity, and the horse that bears 188 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. the rcLssembler perfectly has all the necessary qualifications for the piaffer. For the piaffer to be regular and graceful, it is necessary that the horse's legs, moved diagonally, rise together, and fall in the same way, upon the ground, at as long inter- vals as possible. The animal ought not to bear more upon the hand than upon the legs of the rider, that his equilibrium may present the perfection of that balance of which I have spoken in another place. When the centre of the forces is thus dis- posed in the middle of the body, and when the rassemhler is perfect, it is sufficient, in order to induce a commencement of piaffer to communicate to the horse with the legs a vibration at first slight, but often repeated. By vibration, I mean an invigoration of forces, of which the rider ought always to be the agent. After this first result, the horse will be OF THE PIAFFER. 189 put at a walk, and the rider's legs, gradually brought close, will give the animal a slight increase of action. Then, but only then, the hand will sustain itself in time with the legs, and at the same intervals; in order that these two motive powers, acting conjointly, may keep up a succession of imperceptible movements, and produce a slight contrac- tion which will spread itself over the whole body of the horse. This reiterated activity will give the extremities a motion, which at the beginning will be far from regular, since the increase of action that this new exercise makes necessary will for the moment break the harmonious uniformity of the forces. But this general action is necessary in order to obtain even an irregular mobility ; for without it the movement would be dis- orderly, and there would be a want of har- mony among the different springs. We will content ourselves, for the first few days, 190 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. with a commencement of mobility in the extremities, being careful to stop each time that the horse raises or puts down his feet, without advancing them too much, in order to caress him, and speak to him, and thus calm the invigoration that a demand, the object of which he does not understand, must cause in him. Nevertheless, these caresses should be employed with discern- ment, and only when the horse has done well; for, if badly applied, they would be rather injurious than useful. The fit time for ceasing with the hands and legs is more important still ; it demands all the rider's attention. The mobility of the legs once obtained, we can commence to regulate it, and ^k the intervals of the cadence. Here again, I seek in vain to indicate with the pen the degree of delicacy necessary in the rider's proceed- ings, since his motions ought to be answered OF THE PIAFFER. 191 by the horse with an exactness and a pi^opos that is unequalled. It is by the alternated support of the two legs that he will succeed in prolonging the lateral balancings of the horse's body^ in such way as to keep him longer on one side or the other. He will seize the moment when the horse prepares to rest his fore-leg on the ground, to make the pres- sure of his own leg felt on the same side, and add to the inclination of the animal in the same direction. If this time is well seized, the horse will balance himself slowly, and the cadence will acquire that elevation so fit to bring out all its elegance and all its majesty. These times of the legs are diffi- cult, and require great practice ; but their results are too splendid for the rider not to strive to seize the light variations of them. The precipitate movement of the rider's legs accelerates also the piaffer. It is he, then, who regulates at will the greater or 192 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. less degree of quickness in the cadence. The performance of the piaffer is not ele- gant and perfect until the horse performs it without repugnance, which will always be the case when the forces are kept together, and the position is suitable to the demands of the movement. It is urgent, then, to be well acquainted with the amount of force necessary for the performance of the piaffer, so as not to overdo it. We should above all be careful to keep the horse rassemhUj which, of itself, will induce the movement without effort. DIVISION OF THE WORK. 193 YIII. DIVISION OF THE WORK. I HAVE developed all the means to be em- ployed in completing the horse's education ; it remains for me to say how the horseman should divide his work, in order to con- nect the different exercises, and pass by de- grees from the simple to the more compli- cated. Two months of work, consisting of two les- sons a day of a half hour each — that is to say, one hundred and twenty lessons, will be amply sufficient to bring the greenest horse to perform regularly all the preceding exer- cises. I hold that two short lessons a day, one in the morning, the other in the after- noon, are necessary to obtain good results. We disgust a young horse by keeping 17 194 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. him too long at exercises that fatigue him; the more so as his inteUigence is less pre- pared to understand what we demand of him. On the other hand, an interval of twenty-four hours is too long, in my opinion, for the animal to remember what he may have comprehended the day before. The general work will be divided into five series or lessons, distributed in the fol- lowing order: — First lesson. Eight days of loor.h — The first twenty minutes of this lesson will be devoted to the stationary exercise for the flexions of the jaw and neck; the rider first on foot, and then on horseback, will follow the progression I have previously indicated. During the last ten minutes, he will make the horse go forward at a walk, without try- ing to animate him, applying himself all the while to keeping the animal's head in the position of ramener. He will content himself DIVISION OF THE WORK. 195 with executing a single change of hand, in order to go as well to the right hand as to the left. The fourth or fifth day, the rider, before putting his horse in motion, will make him commence some slight flexions of the croup. Second lesson. Ten days of icorh. — The first fifteen minutes will be occupied in the stationary supplings, comprising the flexions of the croup, performed more completely than in the preceding lesson ; then will be- gin the backing. We will devote the other half of the lesson to moving straight ahead, once or twice taking the trot at a very moderate pace. The rider during this second part of the work, without ceasing to pay attention to the ramener^ will com- mence light oppositions of hand and legs, in order to prepare the horse to bear the combined efiects, and to give regularity to his paces. "We will also commence the 196 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. changes of direction at a walk, while pre- serving the ramener, and being careful always to make the head and neck go first. Third lesson. Twelve days of icorh. — Six or eight minutes only will at first be occu- pied in the stationary flexions; those of the hind parts should be pushed to the comple- tion of the reversed pirouettes. We will continue by the backing ; then all the rest of the lesson will be devoted to perfecting the walk and the trot, commencing at this latter pace the changes of direction. The rider will often stop the horse, and continue to watch attentively the ramener during the changes of pace or direction. He will also commence the exercise de deux pistes at a walk, as well as the rotation of the shoul- ders around the haunches. Fourth lesson. Fifteen days of ivorh. — After five minutes being devoted to the stationary supplings, the rider will first re- DIVISION OF THE WORK. 197 peat all the work of tlie preceding lessons; he will commence, with a steady foot, the attaques,^ in order to confirm the ramenery and prepare the rassembler. He will renew the attaques while in motion, and when the horse bears them patiently, he will com- mence the gallop. He will content himself in the commencement with executing four or five lopes only, before resuming the walk ; and he will then start again with a different foot — unless the horse require being exer- cised oftener on one foot than the other. In passing from the gallop to the walk, we should watch with care that the horse resumes this latter pace as quickly as pos- sible, without taking short steps on a trot, all the while keeping his head and neck light. He will only be exercised at the gallop at the end of each lesson. * The use of the spurs. 17* 198 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. • Fifth lesson. Fifteen days of worlc. — These last fifteen days will be occupied in assuring the perfect execution of all the preceding work, and in perfecting the pace of the gallop, until we can easily execute changes of direction, changes of feet at every step, and passaging. We may then exercise the horse at leaping the bar, and at the j^iaffer. Thus in two months, and upon any horse, we will have accomplished a work that formerly required years, and then often gave incomplete results. And I repeat, however insufficient so short a space of time may appear, it will produce the effect I promise, if you follow exactly all my directions. I have demonstrated this upon a hundred different occasions, and many of my pupils are able to prove it as well as myself. In establishing the above order of work, be it well understood, that I base my directions DIVISION OF THE TfORK. 199 upon the dispositions of horses in general. A horseman of any tact will soon understand the modifications that he ought to make in their application, according to the particular nature of his pupil. Such a horse, for ex- ample, will require more or less persistence in the flexions ; another one in the backing ; this one, dull and apathetic, will require the use of the spurs before the time I have indi- cated. All this is an affair of intelligence ; it would be to insult my readers, not to suppose them capable of supplying to the details what it is impossible to particu- larize. You can readily understand that there are irritable, ill-disposed horses, whose defective dispositions have been made worse by previous bad management. With such subjects it is necessary to put more persist- ence into the supplings and the walk. In every case, whatever the slight modifica- 200 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. tionSj that a difference in the dispositions of the subjects render necessary, I persist in saying that there are no horses whose edu- cation ought not to be completed, by my method, in the space which I designate. I mean here, that this time is sufficient to give the forces of the horse the fitness necessary for executing all the movements ; the finish of education depends finally on the nicety of the rider's touch. In fact, mv method has the advantages of recognizing no limits to the progress of equitation ; and there is no performance, equestrianly possible, that a horseman, who understands properly apply- ing my principles, cannot make his horse execute. I am about to give a convincing proof in support of this assertion, by ex- plaining the sixteen new figures of the manege which I have added to the collec- tion of the old masters. APPLICATION OP PRINCIPLES. 201 IX. APPLICATION OF THE PRECEDING PRINCIPLES TO THE PERFORMANCE OF THE HORSES, PAR- TISAN, CAPITAINE, NEPTUNE, AND BURIDAN. The persons who systematically denied the efficacy of my method, should also ne- cessarily deny the results shown to them. They were forced to acknowledge that my performance at the Cirque- OJympiqiie was new and extraordinary ; but they attributed it to curious causes — some more strange than others ; all the while insisting that the eques- trian talent of the rider did not go for nothing in the expertness of the horse. According to some, I was a second Carter, accustoming my horses to obedience by de- priving them of sleep and food ; according to others, I bound their legs with cords, and 202 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. thus lield them suspended, to prepare them for a kind of puppet-show ; some were not far from believing that I fascinated them by the power of my looks. Finally, a certain portion of the public, seeing these animals perform in time to the charming music of one of my friends, M. Paul Cuzent, insisted seriously that they undoubtedly possessed, in a very great degree, the instinct of melody, and that they would stop short with the clarionets and trombones. So, the sound of the music was more powerful over my horse than I was myself! The animal obeyed sl do or a sol, nicely touched, but the effects of my legs and hands went for nothing. Would it be believed that such nonsense was uttered by people that passed for riders? I can comprehend their not having understood my means at first, since my method was new; but before judging it in so strange a manner, they ought, at APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES. 203 least, it seems to me, to have sought to un- derstand it. I had found the round of ordinary eques- trian feats too limited; since it was sufficient to execute one movement well, to imme- diately practise the others with the same facility. So, it was proved to me, that the rider who passed with precision along a straight line sideways, {de deux pistes) at a walk, trot, and gallop, could go in the same way with the head or the croup to the wall, with the shoulder in, perform the ordinary or reversed volts, the changes and counter- changes of hands, &c. &c. As to the piaffer, it was, as I have said, nature alone that settled this. This long and fastidious per- formance had no other variations than the different titles of the movements, since it was sufficient to vanquish one difficulty to be able to surmount all the others. I then created new figures of the man^ge^ the exe- '^ 204 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. . » cution of which rendered necessary more suppleness, more eiisemhle, more finish in the education of the horse. This was easy to me, with my system ; and to convince my adversaries that there was neither magic nor mystery in my performance at the Cirque^ I am about to explain by what pro- cesses, purely equestrian, and even without having recourse to piUers, cavessons, or horsewhips, I have brought my horse to execute the sixteen figures of the manege which appear so extraordinary. 1. Instantaneous flexion and support in the ail' of either one of the fore legs, while the other three legs remain fixed to the ground. The means of making the horse raise one of his fore legs is very simple, as soon as the animal is perfectly supple and rassem- hle. To make him raise, for example, the right leg, it is sufficient to incline his head slightly to the right, while making the MOBILITY OF HAUNCHES. 205 weight of his body fall upon the left side. The rider's legs will be sustained firmly (the left a little more than the right), that the effect of the hand which brings the head to the right should not react upon the weight, and that the forces which serve to fasten to the ground the over-weighted part may give the horse's right leg enough action to make it rise from the ground. By a repetition of this exercise a few times, you will succeed in keeping this leg in the air as long a time as you wish. 2. Mohility of tlie haunches, the horse resting on his fore legs, while his hind legs halance tliemseli'es alternately, the one over the other: when the hind leg, which is raised from left to right, is moved, and is placed on the ground to become pivot in its turn, the other to he instantly raised and to execute the same movement. 18 206 METHOD OF 'HORSEMANSHIP. The simple mobility of the haunches is one of the exercises that I have pointed out for the elementary education of the horse. We can complicate this performance by multiplying the alternate contact of our legs, until we succeed in easily carrying the horse's croup, one leg over the other, in such a way that the movement from left to right, and from right to left, cannot exceed one step. This exercise is good to give great nicety of touch to the rider, and to prepare the horse to respond to the lightest effects. 3. Passing instantly from the slow "piaffer to the pi^ecipitate piaffei^ and vice versa. After having brought the horse to dis- play great mobility of the legs, we ought to regulate the movement of them. It is by the slow and alternated pressure of his legs that the rider will obtain ihQ^low piaffer. He will make it precipitate by multiplying THE EIAFFERS. — BACKING. 207 the contact. Both these piaffers can be ob- tained from all horses; but as this is among the great difficulties, perfect tact is indispens- able. 4. To hdch with an equal elevation of the transverse legs, which leave the ground, and are placed again upon it, at the same time; the horse executing the movement with as much freedom and facility as if he were going forward, and without apparent aid from the rider. Backing is not new, but it certainly is new upon the conditions that I lay down. It is only by the aid of a complete suppling and ramener that we succeed in so suspend- ing the horse's body that the distribution of the weight is perfectly regular and the ex- tremities acquire energy and activity alike. This movement then becomes as easy and graceful as it is painful, and devoid of 208 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. elegance, when it is changed into accule- ment. 5. Simultaneous mobility of the tioo di- agonal legs, the liorse stationary. After Jiav- i7ig raised the ttvo opposite legs, he carries them to the rear and hidings them hack again to the place they first occupied, and then recom- mences the same movement with the other diagonal. The suppling, and having got the horse in hand; make this movement easy. When he no longer presents any resistance, he appreciates the lightest effects of the rider; •\vhich are intended, in this case, to displace only the least possible quantity of forces and weight necessary to set in motion the oppo- site extremities. By repeating this exer- cise, it will in a little while be rendered familiar to the horse. The finish of the me- chanism will soon give the finish of intel- ligence. TROTTING. 209 6. Trot ivith a sustained extension; the Jiorse^ after having raised his legs, carries them forward^ sustaining them an instant in the air before replacing them on the ground. The processes that form the basis of my method reproduce themselves in each simple movement, and with still more reason in the complicated ones. If equilibrium is only obtained by lightness, in return, there is no lightness without equilibrium; it is by the union of these two conditions that the horse will acquire the facility of extend- ing his trot to the farthest possible limits, and will completely change his original gait. 7. terpentine trot, the horse turning to the right and the left, and returning nearly to his starting 'point, after having made five or six steps in each direction. This movement will present no difficulty if we keep the horse in hand, while exe- 18* 210 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. cuting the flexions of the neck at the walk and trot; you can readily see that such a performance is impossible without this con- dition. The rider's leg, opposite to the side towards which the neck turns, ought always to be pressed. 8. Instant halt hy the aid of the spurs, the horse being at a gallop. When the horse, being perfectly suppled, will properly bear the attaques and the ras- semhler, he will be fit to execute the halt upon the above conditions. In the applica- tion of this, we will start with a slow gallop, and go on successively to the greatest speed. The legs preceding the hand, will bring the horse's hind legs under the middle of his body, then a prompt effect of the hand, by fixing them in this position, will immediately stop the bound. By this means we spare the horse's organization, CONTINUED MOBILITY. 211 which can thus always be kept free from blemish. 9. Continued mobility or paiving, icldle stationary, of one of the horse^s fore legs; the horse, at the 7'iders will, executing the movement hy which he, of his own aocord, often manifests his imjpatie7ice. This movement will be obtained bj the same process that serves to keep the horse's leg in the air. In the latter case, the rider's legs must impress a continued support, in order that the force which holds the horse's leg raised keep up its effect; while, for the movement now in question, we must renew the action by a quantity of slight pressures, in order to cause the motion of the leg held up in the air. This extremity of the horse will soon acquire a movement subordinate to that of the rider's legs, and if the time be well seized, it will seem, so to say, that we 212 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. make the animal move by the aid of me- chanical means. 10. To trot hackioardsy the liorse preserv- ing the same cadence and the same step as in the trot forwards. The first condition, in order to obtain the trot backwards, is to keep the horse in a perfect cadence, and as rassemble as possible : the second, is all in the proceedings of the rider. He ought to seek insensibly, by the combined effects, to make the forces of the fore hand exceed those of the hind parts, without affecting the harmony of the move- ment. Thus we see that by the rassemhler, we will successively obtain the piaffer sta- tionary, and the piaffer backwards, even without the aid of the reins. ^ 11. To gallop hachwardsy the time being the same as in the ordinary gallop; hut the fore legs once raised, in place of coming to the ground, are carried hachivardsy that the THE BACKWARD TROT. 213 hind parts may execute the same hacJcward movement as soon as the fore feet are placed on the ground. The principle is the same as for the pre- ceding performance; with a perfect rassem- hler, the hind legs will find themselves so brought under the centre, that, by raising the fore hand, the movement of the hocks can only be an upward one. This perform- ance, though easily executed with a power- ful horse, ought not to be attempted with one not possessing this quality. 12. Changing feet every step, each time of the gallop heing done on a different leg. In order to practise this difficult perform- ance, the horse ought to be accustomed to execute perfectly, and as frequently as pos- sible, changing feet at the touch. Before attempting these changes of feet every step, we should have brought him to execute this movement at every other step. Every- 214 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. thing depends upon his aptness, and above all, on the intelligence of the rider; with this latter quality, there is no obstacle that is not to be surmounted. To execute this performance with the desirable degree of precision, the horse should remain light, and preserve the same degree of action ; the rider, on his part, should also avoid roughly inclinino; the horse's fore hand to one side or the other. 13. Ordinary pirouettes on three legs, the fore leg on the side towards which we are turning remaining in the air during the whole time of the movement, Ovdimwcj pirouettes should be familiar to a horse broken after my method, and I have above shown the means to make him hold up one of his fore feet. If these two move- ments are well executed separately, it will be easy to connect them in a single perform- ance. After having disposed the horse for TO BACK WITH A HALT. 215 tlie jpirouette, we will prepare the mass in such a way as to raise the fore leg ; this once in the air, we will throw the weight on the part opposite to the side towards which we wish to turn, by bearing upon this part with the hand and leg. The leg of the rider placed on the converging side, will only act during this time so as to carry the forces forward, in order to prevent the hand producing a retrograde effect. 14. To hack ivith a halt at each step, the right leg of the horse remaining in front, motionless, and held out at the full distance which the left leg has jpassed over, and vice versa. This movement depends upon the nicety of touch of the rider, as it results from an effect of forces impossible to specify. Though this performance is not very grace- ful, the experienced rider will do well to practise it often, in order to learn to modify 216 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. the effects of forces, and acquire all the niceties of his art in perfection. 15. Regular piaffer loitJi an instant halt on three legs, the fourth remaining in the air. Here, also, as for the ordinary pirouettes upon three legs, it is by exercising the piaffer and the flexion of one leg separately, that we will succeed in uniting the two movements in one. We will interrupt the piaffer by arresting the contraction of three of the legs so as to leave it in one only. It is sufficient, then, in order to accustom the horse to this performance, to stop him while he is piaffing, by forcing him to contract one of his legs. 16. Change of feet every time, at equal intervals, the horse remaining in the same place. This movement is obtained by the same proceedings as are employed for changing feet every time while advancing, only it is CHANGE OF FEET. 217 mucli more complicated ; since we must give an exact impulsion, sufficiently strong to determine the movement of the legs, with- out the body advancing. This movement consequently demands a great deal of tact on the rider's part, and cannot be practised except upon a perfectly broken horse, — broken as I understand it. Such is the vocabulary of the new figures of the manege which I have created, and have so often executed before the public. As you see, this performance, which ap- peared so extraordinary that people would not believe that it belonged to equestrianism, becomes very simple and comprehensible, as soon as you have sudied the principles of my method. There i» not one of these movements in which is not discovered the application of the precepts which I have developed in this book. But, I repeat, if I have enriched equita- 19 218 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. tion with a new and interesting work, I do not pretend to have attained the farthest limits of the art; and one may come after me, who, if he will study my system, and practise it with intelligence, will be able to pass me on the course, and add something more to the results which I have obtained. EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 219 X. SUCCINCT EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD BY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Question. What do you understand by force ? Answer. The motive power which results from muscular contraction. Q, What do you understand by instinctive forces ? A. Those which come from the horse ; — that is to say, of which he himself deter- mines the employment. Q. What do you understand by trans- mitted forces ? A. Those which emanate from the rider^ and are immediately appreciated by the horse. 220 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. Q. What do you understand by resist- ances ? A. The forces which the horse presents, and with which he seeks to establish a struggle to his advantage. Q. Ought we first set to work to annul the forces which the horse presents for re- sistance, before demanding any other move- ments from him ? A. Without doubt ; for unless we do so, the force of the rider, w^liich should displace the weight of the mass, finding itself ab- sorbed by an equivalent resistance, every movement becomes impossible. Q. By what means can we combat the resistances ? A. By the methodical and separate sup- pling of the jaw, the neck, the haunches, and the loins. Q. What is the use of the flexions of the jaw ? EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 221 A. As it is upon the lower jaw that the effects of the rider's hand are first felt, these will be null or incomplete if the jaw be contracted or closed against the upper one. Besides, as in this case the displacing of the horse's body is only obtained with difiiculty, the movements resulting therefrom will also be painful. Q. Is it enough that the horse cliamp his hit, during the flexion of the jaw, to leave nothing more to wish for ? A. No, it is also necessary that the horse let go of the hit; — that is to say, that he should separate his jaws (at our will) as much as possible. Q. Can all horses have this mobility of jaw ? A, All, without exception, if we follow the gradation pointed out, and if the rider do not allow himself to be deceived by the flexion of the neck. Useful as this is, it 222 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. would be insufficient without the play of the jaw. Q. In the direct flexion of the jaw, ought we to give a tension to the curb-reins and those of the snaffle at the same time ! A. No, we must use the snaffle first (the hand being placed as indicated in Plate No. 3), until the head and neck are lowered ; afterwards the pressure of the bit, in time with the snaffle, will promptly make the jaws open. Q, Ought we often to repeat this exer- cise ? A. It should be continued, until the jaws separate by a light pressure of the bit or the snaffle. Q. "Why is the stiffness of the neck so powerful an obstacle to the education of the horse ? A. Because it absorbs, to its profit, the EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 223 force which the rider seeks in vain to trans- mit throughout the whole mass. Q. Can the haunches be suppled separ rately ? A. Certainly they can ; and this exercise is comprised in what is called stationary exercise. Q. What is its useful object ? A. To prevent the bad effects resulting from the instinctive forces of the horse^ and to make him appreciate the forces transmit- ted by the rider, without opposing them. Q. Can the horse execute a movement without a shifting of weight ? A. It is impossible. We must first seek to make the horse take a position which' causes such a variation in his equilibrium, that the movement may be a natural conse- quence. Q. What do you understand by position? A. An arrangement of the head, neck, and 224 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. body, previously disposed according to the movements of the horse. Q. In what consists the ramener? A. In the perpendicular position of the head, and the lightness that accompanies it. Q. What is the distribution of the forces and weight in the ramener 1 A. The forces and weight are equally dis- tributed through all the mass. Q. How do we address the intelligence of the horse ? A. By the position, because it is that which makes the horse understand the rider's intentions. Q. Why is it necessary that, in the back- ward movements of the horse, the legs of the rider precede the hand ? # A. Because we must displace the points of support, before placing upon them the mass which they are to sustain. EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 225 Q. Is it the rider that determines his horse ? A. No. The rider gives action and posi- tion, which are the language ; the horse answers this demand, by such a change of pace or direction as the rider intended. Q. Is it to the rider or to the horse that we ouglit to impute the fault of bad execu- tion ? A. To the rider, and always to the rider. As it de]3ends upon him to supple and place the horse in the way of the movement 5 and as, with these two conditions faithfully fulfilled, everything becomes regular, it is therefore to the rider that the merit or blame should belong. Q. What kind of bit is suitable for a horse ? A. An easy bit. Q. Why is an easy bit necessary for all horses, whatever may be their resistance ? 226 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. A. Because tlie effect of a severe bit is to constrain and surprise a horse, when it should only prevent him from doing wrong, and enable him do well. Now, we cannot obtain these results except by the aid of an easy bit, and above all of a skillful hand ; for the bit and the hand are as one, and a good hand is the perfection of a rider. Q. Are there any other inconveniences connected with the instruments of torture called severe bits ? A. Certainly there are ; for the horse soon learns to avoid their painful inflictions, by forcing the rider's legs, the power of which can never be equal to that of a barbarous bit. He succeeds in this by yielding with his body, and resisting with his neck and jaw ; so that we miss altogether our proposed aim. Q. How is it that nearly all the horse- EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 227 men of renown have invented a particular kind of bit ? A. Because, wanting in personal science, they sought to replace their own insuffi- ciency by aids or strange machines. Q. Can the horse, perfectly in hand, de- fend himself? A. No ; for the just distribution of weight, which this position gives, supposes a great regularity of movement, and it would be necessary to overturn this order, before any act of rebellion, on the part of the horse, could take place. Q. What is the use of the snaffle? A. The snaffle serves to combat the oppos- ing lateral forces of the neck, and to make the head precede, in all the changes of direc- tion, while the horse is not yet familiarized with the effects of the bit ; it serves also to arrange the head and neck in a perfectly straight line. 228 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. Q. In order to obtain the ramener, should we make the legs precede the hand, or the hand the legs ? A. The hands ought to precede, until they have produced the effect of giving great suppleness to the neck — (this ought to be practised in the stationary exercises) ; then come the legs, in their turn, to combine the hind and fore parts in the movement. The continual lightness of the horse at all paces will be the result of it. Q. Ought the legs and the hands to aid one another, or act separately ? A. One of these extremities ought always to have the other for auxiliary. Q. Ought we to leave the horse a long time at the same pace in order to develop his powers ? A. It is useless, since regularity of movement results from regularity of position. The horse that makes fifty steps at a trot, EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 229 regularly, is much further advanced in his education than if he made a thousand in a bad position. We must then attend to his position, that is to say his lightness. Q. In what proportions ought we to use the force of the horse ? A. This cannot be defined, since these forces vary in different subjects; but we should be sparing of them, and not expend them without circumspection, particularly during the course of his education. It is on this account that we must, so to say, create for them a reservoir ; that the horse may not absorb them uselessly, and that the rider may make a profitable and more last- ing use of them. Q. What good will result to the horse from this judicious employment of his forces? A. As we will only make use of forces useful for certain movements, fatigue or ex- 20 230 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. haustion can only result from the length of time during which the animal will remain at an accelerated pace ; and will not be the effect of an excessive muscular contraction, which would preserve its intensity even at a moderate pace. Q. When should we first undertake to make the horse back ? A. After the suppling of the neck and haunches. Q. Why should the suppling of the haunches precede that of the loins (the reculer) ? A. To keep the horse more easily in a straight line, and to render the flowing, backward and forward, of the weight more easy. ' Q. Ought these first retrograde move- ments of the horse to be prolonged during the first lessons ? A. No. As their only object is to annul EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 231 the instinctive forces of the horse, we must wait till he is perfectly in hand, to obtain a backward movement, a true reculer. Q. What constitutes a true reculer ? A. The lightness of the horse (head per- pendicular), the exact balance of his body, and the equal elevation of the legs diago- nallv. Q. At what distance ought the spur to be placed from the horse's flanks before the attaque commences? A. The rowel should not be farther than two inches from the horse's flanks. Q. How ought the attaques to be practiced ? A. They ought to reach the flanks by a movement like the stroke of a lancet, and be taken away as quickly. Q. Are there circumstances where the attaqite ought to be practiced, without the aid of the hand ? A. Never ; since its only object should be 232 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. to give the impulsion which gives the hand an opportunity to contain [renfermer) the horse. Q. Is it the attacks themselves that chas- tise the horse ? A. No. The chastisement is in the con- tained position which the attaques and the hand compel the horse to assume. As the animal then finds himself in a position where it is impossible to make use of any of his forces, the chastisement has all its efficiency. Q. In what consists the difference be- tween the aitaqueSy practiced after the old principles, and those which the new method prescribes ? A. Our predecessors (whom we should venerate) practiced spurring in order to throw the horse out of himself; the new method makes use of it to contain him within himself — that is, to give him that EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 233 first position which is the mother of all the others. Q. What are the functions of the legs during the attaques ? A. The legs ought to remain adherent to the horse's flanks^ and in no respect to par- take of the movements of the feet. Q. At what moment ought we to com- mence the attaques ? A, When the horse supports peaceably a strong pressure of the legs, without getting out of hand. Q. Why does a horse, perfectly in hand, bear the spur without becoming excited, and even without sudden movement ? A. Because the skillful hand of the rider, having prevented all displacings of the head, never lets the forces escape outwards, but concentrates them by fixing them within the mass. The equal struggle of the forces, or if you prefer it, their ensemble, sufficiently 20* 234 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. explains the apparent dullness of the horse in this case. Q. Is it not to be feared that the horse may become insensible to the legs, and lose all that activity necessary for accelerated movements ? A. Although this is the opinion of nearly all the people who talk of this method, with- out understanding it, there is nothing in what they say. Since all these means serve only to keep the horse in the most perfect equilibrium, promptness of movement ought necessarily to be the result of it ; and, con- sequently, the horse will be disposed to re- spond to the progressive contact of the legs, when the hand does not oppose it. Q. How can we judge whether an atlaque is regular? A. When, far from making the horse get out of hand, it makes him come in to it. Q, How ought the hand to be supported, EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 235 at moments of resistance on the part of the horse ? A. The hand ought to stop^ fix itself, and only be drawn sufficiently towards the body to give the reins a three quarter tension. In the contrary case, we must wait till the horse bears upon the hand, to present this insurmountable barrier to him. Q. What would be the inconvenience of increasing the pressure of the bit, by draw- ing the hand towards the body, in order to slacken the horse's paces by getting him in hand ? A. It would not produce an effect upon a particular part, but would act generally upon all the forces, displacing the weight instead of annulling the force of impulsion. We should not wish to unsettle that which we cannot stop. Q. In what case ought we to make use of the cavesson ; and what is its use ? 236 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP, A. We should make use of it if the faulty construction of the horse lead him to defend himself, when only simple movements are demanded of him. It is also useful to use the cavesson with restive horses ; as its ob- ject is to act upon the moral, while the rider acts upon the physical. Q. How ought we to make use of the cavesson ? A. At first, the longe of the cavesson should be grasped within fifteen or twenty inches of the horse's head, and it should be held out and supported with a stiff wrist. We must watch the proper times to diminish or increase the bearing of the cavesson upon the horse's nose, so as to use it as an aid. All viciousness is to be repressed by little jerks, which should be given at the very moment of defence. As soon as the rider's movements begin to be appreciated by the horse, the longe of the cavesson should no EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 237 longer act ; and at the end of a few days, the horse will only need the bit, to which he will respond without hesitation. Q. In what case is the rider less intelli- gent than the horse ? A, When the latter subjects him to his caprices, and does what he wishes with him. Q, Are the defences of the horse physical or moral ? A. At first they are physical, but after- wards become moral ; the rider ought then to seek out the causes that produce them, and endeavor, by a preparatory exercise, to re-establish the correct equilibrium that bad natural formation prevented. Q. Can the naturally well-balanced horse defend himself? A. It would be as difficult for a subject, uniting all that constitutes a good horse, to give himself up to disorderly movements, as it is impossible for the one, that has not re- 238 METHOD OF IIORSEJVIANSHIP. ceived the like gifts from nature, to have regular movements^ if art did not lend him its aid. Q. What do you mean by rassemhler ? A. The reunion of forces at the centre of gravity. Q. Can we rassembler the horse that does not contain himself under the attaques ? A. This is altogether impossible ; the legs would be insufficient to counterbalance the effects of the hand. Q. At what time ought we to rassembler the horse ? A, When the ramener is complete. Q. Of what service is the rassemhJer? A. To obtain without difficulty everything of a complicated nature in horsemanship. Q. In what does the piaffer consist ? A. In the graceful position of the body and the harmonized precision of movements in the legs and feet. EXPOSITION OF THE METHOD. 239 Q. Is there more than one kind of A. Two ; the slow and the precipitate. Q. Which is to be preferred of these two ? A. The slow piaffer, since it is only when this is obtained that the equilibrium is per- fect. Q. Ought we make a horse piaffe that will not bear the rassemhler ? A. No ; for that would be to step out of the logical gradation that alone can give certain results. Besides, the horse that has not been brought forward by this chain of principles, would only execute with trouble and ungracefulness w^hat we ought to accom- plish with pleasure and dignity. Q. Are all riders alike suited to conquer all the difficulties, and seize all the effects of touch ? A. As intelligence is the starting point, fur obtaining every result in horsemanship, all 240 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. tilings are subordinate to this innate disposi- tion ; but every rider will have the power to break his horse to an extent commensurate with his own abilities to instruct. CONCLUSION. 241 CONCLUSION. E^TiRYBODT complains now-a-days of the degeneration of our breeds of horses. Ap- prehensive too late of a state of things which threatens even the national independence,* patriotic spirits are seeking to go back to the source of the evil, and are arranging divers systems for remedying it as soon as possible. Among the causes which have contributed the most to the loss of our old breeds, they forget, it seems to me, to men- tion the decline of horsemanship; nor do they consider that the revival of this art is indispensable in bringing about the regenera- tion of the horse. * Mucli in this cliapter, though written for France, applies with groat appropriateness to our own country. — Translator. 21 242 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. The difficulties of horsemanship have long been the same ; but formerly constant practice, if not taste, kept it up. This stimulant exists no longer. Fifty years ago, every man of rank was expected to be able to handle a horse with skill, and break one if necessary. This study was an indispens- able part of the education of young people of family ; and as it obliged them to devote two or three years to the rough exercises of the manage, in the end, they all became horsemen — some by taste, the rest by habit. These habits once acquired were preserved throughout life ; they then felt the necessity of possessing good horses, and being men of fortune spared nothing in getting them. The sale of fine horses thus became easy; all gained by it, the breeder as well as the horse. It is not so now : the aristocracy of fortune, succeeding to that of birth, is very willing to possess the advantages of CONCLUSION. 243 tlie latter, but would dispense with the onerous obligations which appertained to an elevated rank. The desire of showing off in public places, or motives still more frivo- lous, sometimes lead gentlemen of our times to commence the study of horsemanship; but soon wearied of a work without satisfac- tory results, they find only a monotonous fatigue where they sought a pleasure, and are satisfied that they know enough, as soon as they can stick passably well in the saddle. So insufiicient a knowledge of horsemanship, as dangerous as it is thoughtless, must neces- sarily occasion sad accidents. They then become disgusted with horsemanship and horses ; and as nothing obliges them to con- tinue the exercise, they give it up nearly altogether — and so much the more easily, as they naturally care very little about the breeds of horses and their perfection. We must then, as a preliminary measure in the 244 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. improvement of horses^ raise up horseman- ship from the low state into which it has fallen. The government can undoubtedly do much here ; but it is for the masters of the art to supply, if necessary, what it leaves undone. Let them render attractive, and to the purpose^, studies which have hitherto been too monotonous and often barren; let rational and true principles make the scholar see a real progress, and that each of his efforts brings a success with it. We will then soon see young persons of fortune become passionately fond of an exercise, which has been rendered as interesting to them as it is noble; and discover, with their love for horseSj a lively solicitude for all that concerns their qualities and education. But horsemen can aim at still more bril- liant results. If they succeed in rendering easy the education of common horses, they will make the study of horsemanship popu- CONCLUSION. 245 lar among the masses ; they will put within reach of moderate fortunes — so numerous in our land of equality — ^the practice of an art that has hitherto been confined to the rich. Such has been the aim of the labors of my whole life. It is in the hope of attaining this end, that I give to the public the fruit of my long researches. But I should say, however, that if I was upheld by the hope of being one day useful to my country, it was the army, above all, that occupied my thoughts. Though count- ing many skillful horsemen in its ranks, the system which they are made to follow — an impotent one in my eyes — is the true cause of the equestrian inferiority of so many, as well as of their horses being so awkward and badly broken. I might add, that to the same motive is to be attributed the little taste for horsemanship felt by the officers and soldiers. How can it be otherwise ? The low price 21* 246 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. allowed by government for horses of re- mount, causes few horses of good shape to be met with in the army, and it is with such only that education is easy. The officers themselves, mounted upon a very com- mon sort of horses, strive in vain to render them docile and agreeable. After two or three years of fixtiguing exercise, they end by gaining a mechanical obedience, but the same resistances and the same faults of con- struction, are perpetually recurring. Dis- gusted by difficulties that appear insur- mountable, they trouble themselves no more about horses and horsemanship than the demands of the service actually require. Yet it is indispensable that a cavalry officer be always master of his horse, so much so as to be able, so to say, to com- municate his own thoughts to him : the uni- formity of manoeuvres, the necessities of command, the perils of the battle-field, all CONCLUSION. 247 demand it imperatively. The life of the rider, every one knows, often depends upon the good or bad disposition of his steed; in the same way, the loss or the gain of a battle often hangs on the degree of precision with which a squadron is manoeuvred. My method will give military men a taste for horsemanship, a taste which is indispensable in the ^^rofession they practice. The nature of officers' horses, considered as so defective, is exactly the one upon which the most satisfactory results may be obtained. These animals generally possess a certain degree of energy, and as soon as we know how rightly to use their powers, by remedying the physical faults that paralyze them, we will be astonished at the resources which they will exhibit. The rider fashioning the steed, by degrees, will regard him as the work of his hand, will become sincerely attached to him, and will find as much charm in horse- 248 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. manship as he previously felt ennui and dis- gust. My principles are simple, easy in their application, and within the reach of every mind. They can everywhere make (what is now so rare) skillful horsemen. I am sure that if my method is adopted and well understood in the army, where the daily ex- ercise of the horse is a necessary duty, we will see equestrian capacities spring up among the officers and sub-officers by thou- sands. There is not one among them who, with the study of an hour a-day, would not be able to give any horse the following quali- ties and education in less than three months : — 1. General suppling. 2. Perfect lightness. ^ 3. Graceful position. 4. A steady walk. 5. A trot, steady, measured, and extended. 6. Backing, as easily and as freely as going forward. CONCLUSION. 249 7. A gallop, easy with either foot, and change of foot by the touch. 8. Easy and regular movement of the haunches, comprising ordinary and reversed lyiroiiettes, 9. Leaping the ditch and the bar. 10. Piaffer, 11. Halt from the gallop, first by the aid of the pressure of the legs, and then by a light support of the hand. I ask all con- scientious men, have they seen many horse- men of renown obtain similar results in so short a time? The education of the men's horses, being less complicated than that of those intended for officers, would on that account be more rapid. The principal things will be the supplings and the backing, followed by the walk, the trot, and the gallop, while keeping the horse perfectly in hand. The colonels will soon appreciate the excellent results of 250 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. this exercise, in consequence of the pre- cision with which all the movements are made. The important flexions of the fore hand can be executed, without leaving the stables, by each rider turning his horse round in the stall. It is not for me to point out to the colonels of regiments the exact way of putting my method in practice ; it is enough for me to lay down my principles, and to explain them. The instructors will them- selves supply the details of application, too long to enumerate here. I must again repeat that this book is the fruit of twenty years' observation, constantly verified by practice. A long and painful work, without doubt, but such compensation as may be found in the results, I have been happy enough to obtain. In order to let the public judge of the importance of my discoveries, it is sufficient here to give their nomenclature; and I present these processes CONCLUSION. 251 as new oneSj because I can conscientiously say that they never were practiced before me. I have added then successively to the manual of the horseman the following prin- ciples and innovations : — 1 . New means of obtaining a good seat. 2. Means of making the horse come to the man^ and rendering him steady to mount. ' 3. Distinction between the instinctive forces of the horse and the communicated forces. 4. Explanation of the influence of a bad formation upon the horse's resistances. 5. Eflect of bad formations on the neck and croup, the principal focuses of resist- ance. 6. Means of remedying the faults, or sup- plings, of the two extremities and the whole of the horse's body. 7. Annihilation of the instinctive forces 252 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. of the horse, in order to substitute for them forces transmitted by the rider, and to give ease and beauty of motion to the ungraceful animal. 8. Equal sensibility of mouth in all horses; adoption of a uniform bit. 9. Equal sensibility of the flanks in all horses ; means of accustoming them all to bear the spur alike. 10. All horses can place their heads in the position of ramener and acquire the same lightness. 11. Means of bringing the centre of gra- vity in a badly formed horse to the place it occupies in a well-formed one. 12. The rider disposes his horse for a movement, but he does not determine the movement. 13. Why sound horses often are faulty in their paces. Means of remedying this in a few lessons. CONCLUSION. 253 14. For changes of direction, the use of the leg opposite to the side towards which we turn, so that it may precede the other one. 15. In all backward movements of the horse, the rider's legs should precede the hands. 16. Distinction between the reciiler and the acculement ; the good eifect of the former in the horse's education; the bad effects of the latter. 17. The use of the spurs as a means of education. 18. All horses can j^iaffer ; means of rendering this movement slow or precipi- tate. 19. Definition of the true rassemhler ; means of obtaining it ; of its usefulness, to produce grace and regularity, in complicated movements, 20. Means of bringing all horses to step out freely at a trot. 9,9, 254 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. 21. Rational means of putting a horse at a gallop. 22. Halt at a gallop, the legs or the spur preceding the hand. 23. Force continued in proportion to the forces of the horse ; the rider should never yield until after having annulled the horse's resistances. 24. Education of the horse in parts, or means of exercising his forces separately. 25. Complete education of horses of ordi- nary formation in less than three months. 26. Sixteen new figures of the manege, proper for giving the finishing touch to the horse's education, and for perfecting the rider's touch. It is to be understood that all the details of application, appertaining to these innova- tions, are new, and likewise belong to me. THE END. JiuJiA^^ (__ 'j/////, ///'///'. v-yllJ/yA ..