New Method of Horsemanship / Including the Breaking and Training of Horses, with Instructions for Obtaining a Good Seat.

Plate VI.

Lateral flexions of the neck.—

1. The man will place himself near the horse's shoulder as for the flexions of the jaw; he will take hold of the right snaffle-rein, which he will draw upon across the neck, in order to establish an intermediate point between the impulsion that comes from him and the resistance the horse presents; he will hold up the left rein with the left hand about a foot from the bit. As soon as the horse endeavors to avoid the constant tension of the right rein by inclining his head to the right, he will let the left rein slip so as to offer no opposition to the flexion of the neck. Whenever the horse endeavors to escape the constraint of the right rein by bringing his croup around, he will be brought into place again by slight pulls of the left rein. (Plate VII.)

2. When the head and neck have entirely yielded to the right, the man will draw equally on both reins to place the head perpendicularly. Suppleness and lightness will soon follow this position, and as soon as the horse evinces, by champing the bit, entire freedom from stiffness, the man will cease the tension of the reins, being careful that the head does not take advantage of this moment of freedom to displace itself suddenly. In this case, it will be sufficient to restrain it by a slight support of the right rein. After having kept the horse in this position for some seconds, he will make him resume his former position by drawing on the left rein. It is most important that the animal in all his movements should do nothing of his own accord. (Plate VIII.)

Plates VII and VIII.

The flexion of the neck to the left is executed after the same principles, but by inverse means. The man can repeat with the curb what he has previously done with the snaffle-reins; but the snaffle should always be employed first, its effect being less powerful and more direct.

When the horse submits without resistance to the preceding exercises, it will prove that the suppling of the neck has already made a great step. The rider can, henceforward, continue his work by operating with a less direct motive power, and without the animal's being impressed by the sight of him. He will place himself in the saddle, and commence by repeating with the full length of the reins, the lateral flexions, in which he has already exercised his horse.

Lateral flexions of the neck, the man on horseback.—

1. To execute the flexion to the right, the rider will take one snaffle-rein in each hand, the left scarcely feeling the bit; the right, on the contrary, giving a moderate impression at first, but which will increase in proportion to the resistance of the horse, and in a way always to govern him. The animal, soon tired of a struggle which, being prolonged, only makes the pain proceeding from the bit more acute, will understand that the only way to avoid it is to incline the head in the direction the pressure is felt. (Plate IX.)

2. As soon as the horse's head is brought round to the right, the left rein will form opposition, to prevent the nose from passing beyond the perpendicular. Great stress should be laid on the head's remaining always in this position, without which the flexion would be imperfect and the suppleness incomplete. The movement being regularly accomplished, the horse will be made to resume his natural position by a slight tension of the left rein. (Plate X.)

Plates IX and X.

The flexion to the left is executed in the same way, the rider employing alternately the snaffle and curb-reins.

I have already mentioned that it is of great importance to supple the upper part of the neck. After mounting, and having obtained the lateral flexions without resistance, the rider will often content himself with executing them half-way, the head and upper part of the neck pivoting upon the lower part, which will serve as a base or axis. This exercise must be frequently repeated, even after the horse's education is completed, in order to keep up the pliability, and facilitate the getting him in hand.

It now remains for us, in order to complete the suppling of the head and neck, to combat the contractions which occasion the direct resistances, and prevent your getting the horse's head in a perpendicular position.

Direct flexions of the head and neck, or ramener.[C]—

1. The rider will first use the snaffle-reins, which he will hold together in the left hand as he would the curb-reins. He will rest the outer edge of the right hand (see Plate XI.) on the reins in front of the left hand in order to increase the power of the right hand; after which he will gradually bear on the snaffle-bit. As soon as the horse yields, it would suffice to raise the right hand to diminish the tension of the reins and reward the animal. As the hand must only present a force proportioned to the resistance of the neck, it will only be necessary to hold the legs rather close to prevent backing. When the horse obeys the action of the snaffle, he will yield much more quickly to that of the curb, the effect of which is so much more powerful. The curb, of course, needs more care in the use of it than the snaffle. (Plate XI.)

2. The horse will have completely yielded to the action of the hand, when his head is carried in a position perfectly perpendicular to the ground; from that time the contraction will cease, which the animal will show, as in every other case, by champing his bit. The rider must be careful not to be deceived by the feints of the horse—feints which consist in yielding one-fourth or one-third of the way, and then hesitating. If, for example, the nose of the horse having to pass over a curve of ten degrees to attain the perpendicular position (Plate XI.), should stop at the fourth or sixth and again resist, the hand should follow the movement and then remain firm and immovable, for a concession on its part would encourage resistance and increase the difficulties. When the nose shall descend to No. 10, the perpendicular position will be complete and the lightness perfect. The rider can then cease the tension of the reins, but so as to keep the head in this position, if it should offer to leave it. If he lets it return at all to its natural situation, it should be to draw it in over again, and to make the animal understand that the perpendicular position of the head is the only one allowed when under the rider's hand. He should, at the outset, accustom the horse to cease backing at the pressure of the legs, as all backward movements would enable him to avoid the effects of the hand or create new means of resistance. (Plate XII.)

Plates XI and XII.

This is the most important flexion of all; the others tended principally to pave the way for it. As soon as it is executed with ease and promptness, as soon as a slight touch is sufficient to place and keep the head in a perpendicular position, it will prove that the suppling is complete, contraction destroyed, lightness and equilibrium established in the fore-hand. The direction of this part of the animal will, henceforward, be as easy as it is natural, since we have put it in a condition to receive all our impressions, and instantly to yield to them without effort.

As to the functions of the legs, they must support the hind-parts of the horse, in order to obtain the ramener, in such a way that he may not be able to avoid the effect of the hand by a retrograde movement of his body. This complete getting in hand is necessary to drive the hind-legs under the centre. In the first case, we act upon the fore-hand; in the second, upon the hind-parts; the first serves for the ramener, the second for the rassembler, or gathering the horse.[D]

The combination of effects means the continued and exactly opposed force of the hand and legs. Its object should be to bring back again into a position of equilibrium all the parts of the horse which leave it, in order to prevent him from going ahead, without backing him, and vice versâ: finally, it serves to stop any movement from the right to the left, or the left to the right. By this means, also, we distribute the weight of the mass equally on the four legs, and produce temporary immobility. This combination of effects ought to precede and follow each exercise within the graduated limit assigned to it. It is essential when we employ the aids (i.e. the hand and legs), in this, that the action of the legs should precede the other, in order to prevent the horse from backing against any place, for he might find, in this movement, points of support that would enable him to increase his resistance. Thus, all motion of the extremities, proceeding from the horse himself, should be stopped by a combination of effects; finally, whenever his forces get scattered, and act inharmoniously, the rider will find in this a powerful and infallible corrective.

It is by disposing all the parts of the horse in the most exact order, that we will easily transmit to him the impulsion that should cause the regular movements of his extremities; it is then also that we will address his comprehension, and that he will appreciate what we demand of him; then will follow caresses of the hand and voice as a moral effect; they should not be used, though, until after he has done what is demanded of him by the rider's hand and legs.

The horse's resting his chin on his breast.—Although few horses are disposed by nature to do this, it is not the less necessary, when it does occur, to practise on them all the flexions, even the one which bends down the neck. In this position, the horse's chin comes back near the breast and rests in contact with the lower part of the neck; too high a croup, joined to a permanent contraction of the muscles that lower the neck, is generally the cause of it. These muscles must then be suppled in order to destroy their intensity, and thereby give to the muscles that raise the neck, their antagonists, the predominance which will make the neck rest in a graceful and useful position. This first accomplished, the horse will be accustomed to go forward freely at the pressure of the legs, and to respond, without abruptness or excitement, to the touch of the spurs (attaques); the object of these last is to bring the hind legs near the centre, and to lower the croup. The rider will then endeavor to raise the horse's head by the aid of the curb-reins; in this case, the hand will be held some distance above the saddle, and far from the body[E]; the force it transmits to the horse ought to be continued until he yields by elevating his head. As these sorts of horses have generally little action, we must take care to avoid letting the hand produce an effect from the front to the rear, in which case it would take away from the impulse necessary for movement. The pace commencing with the walk, must be kept up at the same rate, while the hand is producing an elevating effect upon the neck. This precept is applicable to all the changes of position that the hand makes in the head and neck; but is particularly essential in the case of a horse disposed to depress his neck.

It should be remembered that the horse has two ways of responding to the pressure of the bit; by one, he yields but withdraws himself at the same time by shrinking and coming back to his former position; this kind of yielding is only injurious to his education, for if the hand is held too forcibly, if he does not wait till the horse changes of his own accord the position of his head, the backward movement of his body would precede and be accompanied by a shifting of the weight backwards. In this case, the contraction of his neck remains all the while the same. The second kind of yielding, which contributes so greatly to the rapid and certain education of the horse, consists in giving a half or three-quarter tension to the reins, then to sustain the hand as forcibly as possible without bringing it near the body. In a short time the force of the hand, seconded by the continued pressure of the legs, will make the horse avoid this slight but constant pressure of the bit, but by means of his head and neck only. Then the rider will only make use of the force necessary to displace the head. It is by this means that he will be able to place the horse's body on a level, and will obtain that equilibrium,[F] the perfect balance of which has not hitherto been appreciated.

Resuming what we have just explained in the case of a horse who rests his chin on his breast, we repeat that it is by producing one force from the rear to the front with the legs, and another from below upwards with the hand, that we will soon be enabled to improve the position and movements of the horse. So that whatever may be his disposition at first, it is by first causing the depression of the neck that we will quickly gain a masterly and perfect elevation of it.

I will close this chapter by some reflections on the supposed difference of sensibility in horses' mouths, and the kind of bit which ought to be used.

Of the horse's mouth and the bit.—I have already treated this subject at length in my Comprehensive Dictionary of Equitation; but as in this work I make a complete exposition of my method, I think it necessary to repeat it in a few words.

I cannot imagine how people have been able so long to attribute to the mere difference of formation of the bars,[G] those contrary dispositions of horses which render them so light or so hard to the hand. How can we believe that, according as a horse has one or two lines of flesh, more or less, between the bit and the bone of the lower jaw, he should yield to the lightest impulse of the hand, or become unmanageable in spite of all the efforts of two vigorous arms? Nevertheless, it is from remaining in this inconceiveable error, that people have forged bits of so strange and various forms, real instruments of torture, the effect of which is to increase the difficulties they sought to remove.

Had they gone back a little further to the source of the resistances, they would have discovered that this one, like all the rest, does not proceed from the difference of formation of a feeble organ, like the bars, but from a contraction communicated to the different parts of the body, and, above all, to the neck, by some serious fault of constitution. It is, then, in vain that we attach to the reins, and place in the horse's mouth a more or less murderous instrument; he will remain insensible to our efforts as long as we do not communicate suppleness to him, which alone can enable him to yield.

In the first place, then, I lay down as a fact, that there is no difference of sensibility in the mouths of horses; that all present the same lightness when in the position called ramener, and the same resistances in proportion as they recede from this position. There are horses hard to the hand; but this hardness proceeds from the length or weakness of their loins, from a narrow croup, from short haunches, thin thighs, straight hocks, or (a most important point) from a croup too high or too low in proportion to the withers; such are the true causes of resistances; the contractions of the neck, the closing of the jaws are only the effects; as to the bars, they are only there to show the ignorance of self-styled equestrian theoricians. By suppling the neck and the jaw, this hardness completely disappears. Experiments a hundred times repeated give me the right to advance this principle boldly; perhaps it may, at first, appear too arbitrary, but it is none the less true.

Consequently, I only allow one kind of bit, and this is the form and the dimensions I give it, to make it as simple as it is easy.

The branches straight and six inches long, measuring from the eye of the bit to the extremity of the branch; circumference of the canon,[H] two inches and a half; port, about two inches wide at the bottom, and one inch at the top. The only variation to be in the width of the bit, according to the horse's mouth.

I insist that such a bit is sufficient to render passively obedient all horses that have been prepared by supplings; and I need not add that, as I deny the utility of severe bits, I reject all means not coming directly from the rider, such as martingales, piliers, etc.

CHAPTER IV.

I have just explained the simple and easy means of giving to the fore-parts the qualities indispensable to a good management thereof: it remains to tell how we will fashion, in the same way, the hind-parts, in order to complete the suppling of the horse, and bring about a uniform harmony in the development of all his moving parts. The resistances of the neck and croup mutually aiding one another, our labor will be more easy, as we have already destroyed the former.

The flexions of the croup, and making it movable.—

1. The rider will hold the curb-reins in the left hand, and those of the snaffle, crossed, in the right, the nails of the right hand held downward; he will first bring the horse's head into a perpendicular position, by drawing lightly on the bit; after that, if he wishes to execute the movement to the right, he will carry the left leg back behind the girths and fix it near the flanks of the animal, until the croup yields to this pressure. The rider will at the same time make the left snaffle-rein felt, proportioning the effect of the rein to the resistance which is opposed to it. Of these two forces transmitted thus by the left leg and the rein of the same side, the first is intended to combat the resistance, and the second, to determine the movement. The rider should content himself in the beginning with making the croup execute one or two steps only sideways. (Plate XIII.)

2. The croup having acquired more facility in moving, we can continue the movement so as to complete to the right and the left reversed pirouettes.[I] As soon as the haunches yield to the pressure of the leg, the rider, to cause the perfect equilibrium of the horse, will immediately draw upon the rein opposite to this leg. The motion of this, slight at first, will be progressively increased until the head is inclined to the side towards which the croup is moving, as if to look at it coming. (Plate XIV.)

The horse, in all his movements, cannot preserve a perfect and constant equilibrium, without a combination of opposite forces, skillfully managed by the rider. In the reversed pirouette, for example, if when the horse has yielded to the pressure of the leg, we continue to oppose the rein on the same side as this leg, it is evident that we will shoot beyond the mark, since we will be employing a force which has become useless. We must then establish two motive powers, the effect of which balances, without interfering; this, the tension of the rein on the opposite side from the leg will produce in the pirouette. So, we will commence with the rein and the leg of the same side, until it is time to pass to the second part of the work, then with the curb-rein in the left hand, and finally, with the snaffle-rein opposite to the leg. The forces will then be kept in a diagonal position, and in consequence, the equilibrium natural, and the execution of the movement easy. The horse's head being turned to the side where the croup is moving, adds much to the gracefulness of the performance, and aids the rider in regulating the activity of the haunches, and keeping the shoulders in place. For the rest, tact alone will be able to show him how to use the leg and the rein, in such a way that their motions will mutually sustain, without at any time counteracting one another.

I need not remind you that during the whole of this exercise, as on all occasions, the neck should remain supple and light; the head in position (perpendicular) and the jaw movable. While the bridle hand keeps them in this proper position, the right hand, with the aid of the snaffle, is combating the lateral resistances, and determining the different inclinations, until the horse is sufficiently well broken to obey a simple pressure of the bit. If, when combating the contraction of the croup, we permitted the horse to throw its stiffness into the fore-parts, our efforts would be vain, and the fruit of our first labors lost. On the contrary, we will facilitate the subjection of the hind-parts, by preserving the advantages we have already acquired over the fore-parts, and by keeping separated those contractions we have yet to combat.

The leg of the rider opposite to that which determines the rotation of the croup, must not be kept off during the movement, but remain close to the horse and keep him in place, while giving from the rear forward an impulse which the other leg communicates from right to left, or from left to right. There will thus be one force which keeps the horse in position, and another which determines the rotation. In order that the pressure of the two legs should not counteract one another, and in order to be able to use them both together, the leg intended to move the croup will be placed farther behind the girths than the other, which will remain held with a force equal to that of the leg that determines the movement. Then the action of the legs will be distinct, the one bearing from right to left, the other from the rear forwards. It is by the aid of the latter that the hand places and fixes the fore legs.

To accelerate these results, at first, a second person may be employed who will place himself at the height of the horse's head, holding the curb-reins in the right hand, and on the side opposite to which we wish the croup to go. He will lay hold of the reins at six inches from the branches of the bit, so as to be in a good position to combat the instinctive resistances of the animal. The one in the saddle will content himself with holding lightly the snaffle-reins, acting with his legs as I have already shown. The second person is only useful when we have to deal with a horse of an intractable disposition, or to aid the inexperience of the one in the saddle; but, as much should be done without assistance as possible, in order that the practitioner may judge by himself of the progress of his horse, seeking all the while for means to increase the effects of his touch.

Even while this work is in an elementary state, he will make the horse execute easily all the figures of the manège de deux pistes.[J] After eight days of moderate exercise, he will have accomplished, without effort, a performance that the old school did not dare to undertake until after two or three years' studying and working at the horse.

When the rider has accustomed the croup of the horse to yield promptly to the pressure of the legs, he will be able to put it in motion, or fix it motionless at will, and can, consequently, execute ordinary pirouettes.[K] 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 opposite leg, if it is 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 management the results will soon be attained; at the start, the horse should be allowed to rest after executing two or three steps well, which will give five or six halts in the complete 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, otherwise called backing, is an exercise, the importance of which has not been sufficiently appreciated, and which yet ought to have a very great influence upon his education. When practised after the old erroneous methods, it would have been without success, since the thread of exercises that ought to precede it were unknown. Backing properly differs essentially from that incorrect backward movement which carries the horse to the rear with his croup contracted and his neck stiff; that is, backing away from and avoiding the effect of the reins. Backing correctly supples the horse, and adds grace and precision to his natural motions. The first of the conditions upon which it is to be obtained, 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 equally his fore and hind legs.

It is here that we will be enabled to appreciate the good effects and the indispensable necessity of suppling the neck and haunches. Backing, which at first is tolerably painful to the horse, will always lead him to combat the motions of our hand, by stiffening his neck, and those of our legs, by contracting his croup; these are the instinctive resistances. If we cannot obviate the bad disposition of them, how will we be able to obtain that shifting and re-shifting of weight, which alone ought to make the execution of this movement perfect? If the impulsion which, to back him, ought to come from the fore-parts, should pass over its proper limits, the movement would become painful, impossible in fact, and occasion, on the part of the animal, sudden, violent movements which are always injurious to his organization.

On the other hand, the displacements[L] 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 previous exercise to which we have subjected the croup will aid us in keeping it in a straight line with the shoulders, in order to preserve the necessary transferring of the forces and weight.

After having defined what I call the proper backing (reculer), I ought to explain what I understand by backing so as to avoid the bit (l'acculement). This movement is too painful to the horse, too ungraceful, 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 too much his forces and weight 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, the touchstone of all beautiful execution. With this, all is easy, as much for the horse as the rider. That being the case, it is understood that the difficulty of horsemanship does not consist in the direction to give the horse, but in the position to make him assume—a position 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 movement.

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 forward 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 resistances we encountered everywhere, seemed as if they might defy our efforts forever. Without doubt they would have been vain, had we made use of a bad course of proceeding, 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 the mechanism to such a degree as to enable us to govern it completely, and to restore that pliability, ease, and harmony of the parts, which their bad arrangement appeared as if it would always prevent. As I shall point out hereafter in classing the general division of the labor, it will be seen that eight or ten days will be sufficient 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 evil effect of his physical defects, so as to render him as fit to do everything with grace and natural ease, as the better formed horse? In suppling the parts of the animal upon which the rider acts directly, in order to govern and guide him, in accustoming them to yield without difficulty or hesitation to the different impressions which are communicated to them, I have, by so doing, destroyed their stiffness and restored the centre of gravity to its true place, namely, to the middle of the body. I have, besides, settled the greatest difficulty of horsemanship: that of subjecting, before everything else, the parts upon which the rider acts directly, in order to prepare for him infallible means of acting upon the horse.

It is only by destroying the instinctive forces, and by suppling the different parts of the horse, that we will obtain this. All the springs of the animal's body are thus 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, 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 progression 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 depression of the neck.

3. Lateral flexions of the neck with the snaffle-reins and with the curb.

Stationary exercise, the rider on horseback.—

1. Lateral flexions of the neck with the snaffle-reins, and with the curb-reins.

2. Direct flexions of the head or placing it in a perpendicular position with the snaffle, and with the curb-reins.

Hind-parts.—

3. Lateral flexions, and moving 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 shoulders around the haunches in the nomenclatere of stationary exercise. But the ordinary pivoting, or pirouettes, being a pretty complicated movement, and one difficult 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 will easily execute the changes of direction.

CHAPTER V.

The young horse, at first stiff and awkward in the use of his members, will need a certain degree of management in developing them. In this, as in every other case, we will follow that rational progression which tells us to commence with the simple, before 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 execution, by exercising all his forces together. If the animal responds to the aids of the rider by the jaw, the neck and the haunches; if he yields by the general disposition of his body to the impulses communicated to him, it is by the play of his extremities that he executes the movement. The mechanism of these parts ought then to be easy, prompt and regular; their application, well directed in the different paces, will alone be able to give them these qualities, indispensable to a good education.[M]

Before making the horse go forward, we should first assure ourselves of his lightness; that is to say, of his head being perpendicular, his neck flexible, his hind-part 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 insurmountable barrier, whenever he would leave the position of ramener. The animal will never attempt it, without pain; and only within this limit will he find ease and comfort. By the application of my method, the rider will be led to guide his horse all the time with the reins half tight, except when he wishes to correct a false movement, or determine a new one.

The walk, I have said, ought to precede the other paces, because the horse having three supports upon the ground, his action is less, and consequently easier to regulate than in the trot and 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 perpendicular position. Little by little he will complicate his work, so as to join to the lightness of the horse that precision of movement indispensable to the beauty of all his paces.

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 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 experience in the progressive application of his art! His pupil at first rebellious will insensibly yield himself to his every wish; will adopt his character, and end by becoming the living personification of him. Take care, then, rider! If your horse is capricious, 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 quickness of the walk equal and regular, it is indispensable that the impulsive and governing forces which come from the rider, should themselves be perfectly in harmony. We will suppose, for example, that the 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 position will lose its gracefulness and power.

This short explanation will suffice to show the harmony that should exist between the legs and hands. It is understood that their motion should vary according as the formation of the horse renders it necessary to support him more or less before or behind; but the rule is the same, only the proportions are different.

As long as the horse will not keep himself supple and light in his walk, we will continue to exercise him in a straight line; but as soon as he acquires more ease and steadiness, we will commence to make him execute changes of direction to the right and 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 concur in putting him in the way of moving. The head will be inclined in the direction we wish to go by means of the snaffle-rein of that side, the curb will then complete 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 opposite to that given them in the old style of horsemanship. This innovation is so natural a one, that I cannot conceive why some one never applied it before me.

It is by bearing the hand to the right, and making the right leg felt, people have told me, and I have 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 straight line, I remarked that this lightness always lost some of its delicacy when moving 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 immediately 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 immediately to the right, to determine the shoulders in that direction, I first, by the aid of this hand, made the opposition necessary to render the haunches motionless, and to dispose the forces in such a way as to maintain the equilibrium during the execution of the movement. This proceeding was completely successful; and in explaining what ought to be the function of the different extremities, I recognize this as the only rational way of using them in wheeling.

In fact, in wheeling to the right, for example, 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 action 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 impossible.

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 pace at a very moderate rate of speed, following 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 affecting the impulse necessary to the movement. The legs will lightly second the hands, and the horse between these two barriers, which are obstacles only to his improper movements, will soon develop all his best faculties, and with precision of movement, will 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 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 conditions indispensable for regularity in executing 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 not trotting really, but were 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 extension, with such lightness that the animal can easily execute all changes of direction, moderate his speed, halt, or increase his 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 impossible for me to count up the number of horses that have been sent me to break, and whose paces have been so spoiled that it was impossible for them to trot a single step. A few lessons have always been sufficient for me to get them back into regular paces, and these are the means I employed.

The difficulty which the horse experiences 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 the superior vigor of the fore-parts, the motions of these parts, which receive the shock and give the bound, in each case become powerless, and in consequence, render the movement irregular.[N] There is, then, 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 equilibrium 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 the forces of the two opposite extremities of the horse, in order to make them harmonious, and induce regularity in their working. The horse being 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 principles that I explain in this work, will place in the rank of choice horses, animals whose inferiority caused them to be considered jades, and that 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 pirouettes, 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 less the continuance of an exercise than its being properly done that perfects the execution of it. Besides, as this pace requires a considerable displacement of forces, and as the animal will have been already subjected to a rather painful exercise, it would be dangerous to prolong it beyond the time I mention. The horse will lend himself more willingly to your efforts when nicely managed, and of short duration; his intelligence, becoming familiar with this efficient progression, will hasten success. He will submit himself calmly and without repugnance 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 physical organization, but in restoring to their normal state organs that a forced exercise might have weakened. This regular development of all the organs of the horse will not only give him grace, but also strength and health, and will thus prolong his existence, while increasing a hundredfold the delights of the true horseman.

CHAPTER VI.

The rider now understands that the only means of obtaining precision and regularity of movement in the walk and 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.[O]

The use of the spurs.—Professors of equitation 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 approach 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 auxiliary, without which it would be impossible to break any horse perfectly. How! you exclaim, you attack with the spur, horses 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 animal.

Long before publishing my "Comprehensive Dictionary of Equitation," I was aware of the excellent effects of the spur; but I abstained from developing my principles, being prevented 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 hands of a monkey." It is true that the use of the spurs requires prudence, tact, and gradation; but the effects of it are precious. 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 sensibility of different horses' flanks than in their sensibility of mouth—that is to say, that 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 the resistances to the hand. It is clear enough that if the nose 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 hundred pounds, when we bring the horse's head half-way towards a perpendicular 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 the bad position of the head caused by the stiffness of the neck and the faulty construction of the loins and haunches of the horse. If we carefully examine the causes that produce what is called sensibility of the flanks, we will discover that they have very much the same kind of source.

The innumerable conjectures to which people have devoted themselves, in attributing to the horse's flanks a local sensibility that had no existence, have necessarily injured 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, and bad position resulting therefrom. To a horse of natural action, but with long weak loins, and bad action behind, every motion backward is painful, and the very disposition that leads him to rush ahead, serves him 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 feels 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 prevent every displacement. We must separate 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 prevent him from carrying his frenzied thoughts into execution.

The best proof we have that the promptness of a horse in responding to the effect 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 equilibrium and organization are inferior.

But the spur is not useful only in moderating the too great energy of horses of much action; its effect being equally good in combating the dispositions which lead the animal to throw its centre of gravity too much forward, or back. I would also use it to stir up those that are wanting 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, that is, the middle of the animal's body; 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 practice these oppositions. It is also of the first importance to put into our 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 explanation.

We will suppose a horse at a walk, employing a force of forty pounds, necessary to keep the pace regular till the moment of the opposition of the hands and legs which follow. By and by comes 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 perfectly 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 continue their pressure, to the end that these forces thus driven back may not return to the focus they had left, which would 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 animal will lose its instinctive energy. When the pressure of the legs becomes insufficient to entirely collect the forces, more energetic means must be employed, viz.: the touches of the spur.

The spurring ought to be done, not violently, 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 off, if possible. The hand should ever be the echo to the light touches with which we commence; it should then be firmly held, so as to present an opposition equal to the force communicated by the spur. If by the time being badly chosen, the hand does not exactly intercept the impulse given, and the general commotion resulting therefrom, we should, before recommencing, 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 increasing the speed of his pace, or without displacing himself as 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 transfer the weight with ease, when necessary.

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 that 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 his croup when the animal 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 their true place, which they occupy in the finest organizations. It is this that makes me assert that a well-formed horse will not make resistance nor move irregularly, for to do so 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 transforms ugliness into grace, and gives elegance and lightness to movements which were before heavy and confused.[P]

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 finds in the hand the energy and àpropos necessary to regulate its effects, the pain the animal sustains will be always proportioned to his resistances, and his instinct will soon make him understand how he can diminish, and even avoid altogether 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 repeat, it is only by means of tact and delicate management that we will gain this important point. If the legs give too vigorous an impulse, 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 presents 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 serious ones when no rational principle gave the means of surmounting them. The application 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 oppositions, it will become 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 getting 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 were able to oppose the proper harmony of forces, and prevent 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 injuring any of the joints of his hind-parts. In fact, since it is the hocks which propel the mass forward, it suffices to destroy their motion 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 decomposed, is scarce perceptible to either horse or rider.

If, on the contrary, we stop the horse by making the hand move first, the hocks remain far in the rear of the plumb-line; the shock is violent, painful for the animal, and especially injurious to his physical organization. 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 halting suddenly their horses, by making use of murderous bits that break the bars of their horses' mouths. Thus, notwithstanding the wonderful powers with which nature has gifted them, are these excellent animals injured. 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 spur should be made felt. We will continue to make use of it, at long intervals, until the horse, after his bound forward, presents no resistance to the hand, and avoids the pressure of the bit, by bringing in his chin towards his chest, of his own accord. This submission once obtained, we can undertake the use of the spurs with oppositions, but we must be careful to discontinue 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 gradation.[Q]

To the work, then, cavaliers! If you will follow my principles, I can promise you that your purse 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 that 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 preserve his equilibrium without the aid of the reins. The suppleness given to all parts of 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 regularly, the horse must neither increase nor diminish the speed of his pace, and his head and neck 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 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 immediately 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 supposing that he is preserving an entire independence.

Of gathering the horse, or rassembler.—The preceding exercise will render easy to the 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 to great, we might say that the more or less absurd theories that 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 rassembler. 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 the regular application of the principles that I have developed for the first time. You will be convinced of this truth when you know that the rassembler 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.

Now, 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 rassembler has never been practised until now? It is, nevertheless, one of the indispensable conditions of the horse's education; consequently I think I am right in saying that before my method, horses of defective formation have never been properly broken.

How is the rassembler defined in the schools of horsemanship? You gather your horse by raising the hand and closing the legs. I ask, what good can this movement of the rider do upon an animal badly formed, contracted, and that remains under the influence of all the evil propensities of its nature? This mechanical support of the hands and legs, far from preparing the horse for obedience, will only make him redouble his means of resistance, since, while giving him notice that we are about to demand a movement on his part, we remain unable to dispose his forces in such a way as to force him to it.

The real rassembler 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 one or other of the extremities, which represent the scales, will immediately send them in the direction we wish. The rider will know that his horse is completely gathered when he feels him ready, as it were, to rise from all four of his legs. The proper position first, and then the use of the spurs, will make this beautiful execution of the gathering 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 concentration 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 movements.

Need I recommend discretion in your demands? I think not. If the rider, having reached this stage of his horse's education, cannot comprehend and seize that fineness of touch, that 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.