Kitabı oku: «A New System of Horsemanship», sayfa 6

CHAP. XI.
Of working with the Head and Croupe to the Wall

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

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

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

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

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

CHAP. XII.
Of Changes of the Hand, large and narrow, and of Voltes and Demi-voltes

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

Changing large, is when the Line, if the Horse makes but one, or both Lines, when he describes two, cross the Manage from Corner to Corner; changing narrow, is when these Lines pass over but a Part of it.

A Volte is generally defined to be whatever forms a Circle. – Voltes of two Lines or Paths, describe two, one with the Horse's Fore, the other with his Hinder-feet.

If the Circle then forms a Volte, by consequence half a Circle forms what is called the Half-volte. – These Half-voltes, and Quarters of Voltes, are made upon two Lines, as well as the Volte. – A Demi-volte of two Treads, is nothing else than two half Circles, one drawn by the Horse's Fore-feet, the other by the Hinder; it is the same with Quarters of Voltes. – A Horse can be work'd, and put to all sorts of Airs upon the Voltes, Half-voltes, and Quarters of Voltes. – But as the Rules necessary to be observed and followed in making Voltes of two Treads, and in changing of Hands in the Passage, are only general, I shall content myself with explaining them in this Chapter; reserving to myself a Power of pointing out the Exceptions, when I shall come to treat of the different Airs, and the different Manages, that are practised upon the Voltes. Three things equally essential, and equally difficult to attain, must concur to form the Justness of a Change; they are the manner of beginning it, of continuing, and closing it. – We will suppose you in the Manage, you walk your Horse forward, you bend him properly, and you are come to the Place where you intend to change large. For this Purpose, make a half Stop, and take care never to abandon the Rein which is to bend your Horse's Neck; the other Rein, that is, the outward Rein, is that, which you must use to guide and direct him, but you must proportion the Stress you lay upon one with the other. – As it is the outward Rein which determines your Horse the Way he is to go, make that operate, its Effect will be to bring the outward Shoulder in; if then it brings the outward Shoulder in, it guides and determines the Horse to the Side to which you are going, and confines and fixes the Croupe at the same time. This is not all, at the same Instant that your Hand operates, support your Horse with your outward Leg: Your Hand having determined the Shoulder, and fixed the Croupe, your Leg must help to secure it; for without the Aid of the Leg, the Croupe would be unconfined, would be lost, and the Horse would work only upon one Line. You see then, how requisite it is for the Horseman to be exact, active, and to give his Aids with the greatest Delicacy, in order to begin his Change with Justness; because it is necessary, that the Times of giving the Hand and Leg, should be so close one to the other, as not to be perceived or distinguished. – You should never abandon, I have already said, that Rein with which you bend your Horse; this is the Reason – Every Horse when he makes a Change, ought to look towards the Way he is going; this Turn of the Neck, this Attitude, enables him to perform his Work better, and makes him appear graceful in it; therefore if he is turned or bent before he begins to change, why should you abandon the Rein that serves to bend him; since in this case, you would be under a double Difficulty in wanting on one hand the Point of Apuy, which ought to be found in the Rein which serves to bend him, and the Point of Apuy which ought to result from the working of the other Rein, which is to determine him. – The outward Rein operates to bring in the outward Shoulder, your outward Leg accompanies the Action of your Hand; here then is your Change begun.

The outward Shoulder and Leg never could have been brought in, without passing over or crossing the inner Leg and Shoulder; this is the Action which the outward Leg should constantly perform through the whole Change. In order to arrive at a just Execution of this, you should be able to feel which Feet are off the Ground, and which are upon it. If the inner Leg is in the Air, and the Horse is ready to put it to the Ground, raise your Hand, and carry it in insensibly, and your Horse will be oblig'd to advance his outward Leg and Shoulder, which must by this means cross the inner Leg and Shoulder whether he will or no.

It is not sufficient for the Horse to cross his Legs only one over the other, he must go forward likewise at the same time, because in making the Change large, his Feet should describe two diagonal Lines. – It is of Importance therefore, that the same Attention be had to the inner as the outward Leg, for it is by the means of his Legs only that he can advance. It is true that you should endeavour to make him go forward by putting back your Body, and yielding your Hand; but if he won't obey these Aids, you must make use of the Calfs of your Legs, aiding more strongly with your Left-leg when you are going to the Right-hand, and more strongly with your Right-leg when you are going to the Left. Besides, it is so necessary to have an equal Attention to the Legs, because the Horse could never work with Justness, if he were not ballanced equally between the Rider's Legs; and it is from this exact Obedience only, that he is enabled to make the Changes with Precision, because without a Knowledge of the Hand and Heels, it is impossible he should obey the Motions of his Rider – In order to close the Change justly, the Horses Fore-legs should arrive at the same time upon a strait Line; so that a Change justly executed, and in the same Cadence or Time, is such, as is not only begun, but finish'd likewise, and closed in such a Proportion, that the Croupe always accompanies and keeps Pace with the Shoulders throughout. – In order to finish it in this manner, you must observe the following Rules. The greater Number of Horses, instead of finishing their Changes with Exactness, are apt to lean on one Side, to make their Croupe go before their Shoulders, and to throw themselves with Impatience, in order to get upon one Line again; the Method of correcting them for these Irregularities, is to make a Demi-volte of two Lines, in the same Place where they were to have closed their Change; for Example, if in changing to the Right, they are too eager to come upon the strait Line, without having properly finish'd their Change, demand of them a Demi-volte to the Left, which you must make them round equally with their Shoulders and Haunches.

An essential Point, which nevertheless is little regarded, is the making your Horse resume his Line, or go off again to the other Hand, when he has made his Change. To make him do this, you must carry your Hand to the Side to which you have closed your Change, and carry it insensibly as it were, after which you will be able with great Ease to bend your Horse to the Inside. I must further explain the Necessity of this Action.

It is evident that a Horse in the Passage, neither can, nor ought if he could, move the two Feet on the same Side together. In beginning and finishing the Change, the outward Leg and Shoulder pass and cross over the inner Leg and Shoulder; he is consequently supported in this Action on the outward Haunch, for the inner Foot behind was off the Ground; now, if at the Closing of the Change, and in the Instant that he is again upon one Line; as for Example – If in closing his Change to the Right, the Horse is supported in this Action by the left Haunch, how is it possible that he can be bent to the Left? To attempt this, would be to make him move two Legs on the same Side, which would be undertaking a thing impossible to be done. Being therefore arrived upon one Line, carry your Hand to the Wall, this will make your Horse change his Leg; he will be supported in his Action by his right Haunch, and will be able to bend himself with great Facility.

In order to make the Volte true and perfect, he ought to be just with respect to his Head and Neck, and have the Action of his Shoulders and Haunches quite equal. When I say that a Horse should have his Shoulders and Haunches equal, I would not be understood to mean, that his Fore-feet should not cover more Ground than his Hinder; on the contrary, I know it is a Rule never to be departed from, that his Shoulders should precede half of the Haunches; but I insist that the Haunches should go along with, and follow exactly the Motion of, the Shoulders; for 'tis from their Agreement, and from the Harmony between the Hind-legs and the Fore, upon which the Truth of the Volte depends. The four Legs of a Horse may be compared to the four Strings of an Instrument; if these four Cords don't correspond, it is impossible there should be any Musick; it is the same with a Horse, if the Motions of his Haunches and Fore-legs don't act together and assist each other, and if he has not acquired a Habit and Ease to perform what he ought to do, the most expert and dextrous Horseman will never be able to acquit himself as he ought, nor execute any Air justly and with Pleasure, be it either on the Volte or strait forward.

Whenever you put your Horse to the Passage upon the Voltes, he ought to make the same Number of Steps or Times with his Hinder, as with his Fore-feet; if the Space of the Ground upon which he works is narrow and confin'd, his Steps should be shorter.

I will suppose that he describes a large Circle with his Fore-feet; the Action of his outward Shoulder ought consequently to be free, and the Shoulder much advanced, in order to make the outward Leg pass over and cross at every Step the inner Leg, that he may more easily embrace his Volte, without quitting the Line of the Circle, and without disordering his Hinder-leg; which ought likewise to be subject to the same Laws as the Fore-legs, and cross the outward Leg over the inner, but not so much as the Fore-legs, because they have less Ground to go over, and should only keep the Proportion. – In working upon Voltes of two Lines, the Horse should make as many Steps with his Hinder as with his Fore-feet; because those Horses whose Haunches go before the Shoulders, and who cut and shorten the exact Line of the Volte, are apt to keep their Hinder-feet in one Place, and make at the same time one or two Steps with their Fore-feet, and by this means falsify and avoid filling up the Circle in the Proportion they begun it. The same Fault is to be found with Horses who hang back at the End of a Change, and throwing out their Croupe, arrive at the Wall with their Shoulders, and consequently fail to close their Change justly.

Further, in working upon this Lesson, it is indispensably necessary that at every Step the Horse takes, he should make his outward Leg cross and come over the inner, because this will prevent a Horse that is too quick of Feeling, or one, that is ramingue, from becoming entier, or to bend himself, or lean in his Voltes, Vices that are occasion'd from having the Haunches or Hinder-legs too much constrain'd. There are Horses likewise who have their Croupe so light and uncertain, that from the Moment they have begun the Volte, they lean and widen their Hinder-legs, and throw them out of the Volte.

To remedy this, aid with the outward Leg, carrying your Bridle-hand to the same Side, and not in, because it is by the Means of the outward Leg and inner Rein, that you will be enabled to adjust and bring in the Croupe upon the Line which it ought to keep.

If it happens that the Horse don't keep up to the Line of his Volte, or throws his Croupe out, press him forward, letting him go strait on two or three Steps, keeping him firm in the Hand, and in a slow and just Time, and use the Aids which I have just now directed. – This Lesson is equally useful in case your Horse is naturally inclin'd to carry his Haunches too much in, and where he is ramingue, or in danger of becoming so; but then the Aids must be given on the Side to which he leans, and presses, in order to widen his Hinder-parts, and to push the Croupe out.

Above all you should remember, that whatever tends to bend or turn the Head on one side, will always drive the Croupe on the other; when the Horse's Croupe don't follow his Shoulders equally, the Fault may proceed either from a Disobedience to the Hand, or from his not answering the Heels as he ought. If you would remedy this, keep him low before; that is to say, keep your Bridle-hand very low, and while you make him advance upon two Treads, aid him firmly with the Calfs of the Legs; for as the outward Leg will confine and keep his Croupe in, the inner Leg, operating with the outward, will make him go forward.

If you find that your Horse disobeys the Heel, and throws his Croupe out in spite of that Aid, in this Case make use of your inner Rein, carrying your Hand out with your Nails turned upwards; this will infallibly operate upon the Croupe, and restrain it. Use the same Remedy, if in the Passage your Horse carries his Head out of the Volte, and you will bring it in; but you must remember, in both Cases, to replace your Hand immediately after having carried it out, in order to make the outward Rein work, which will facilitate and enable the outward Legs to cross over the inner.

If the Horse breaks the Line, and flings his Croupe upon the Right-heel, work him to that Side with your Left; if he would go sideways to the Left, make him go to the Right; if he flings his Croupe out, put it quietly in; in short, if all at once he brings it in, put it quietly out; and, in a word, teach him by the Practice of good Lessons to acquire a Facility and Habit of executing whatever you demand of him.

The Consequence of all the different Rules and Principles, which I have here laid down, and which may be applied equally to the Changes, large and narrow, to Changes upon the Voltes, and Half-voltes; the Consequence of these Instructions I say will be, if practised judiciously, a most implicit and exact Obedience on the Part of the Horse, who from that Moment, will resign his own Will and Inclination, and make it subservient to that of the Rider, which he must teach him to know by making him acquainted with the Hand and Heel.

CHAP. XIII.
Of the Aids of the Body

The Perfection of all the Aids consists, as I have already proved, in their mutual Harmony and Correspondence, for without this Agreement, they must be always ineffectual; because the Horse can never work with Exactness and Delicacy, and keep the Proportion and Measure which is inseparable to all Airs, when justly and beautifully executed.

This Maxim being laid down, we shall undertake to demonstrate, that the Aids of the Body contribute, and are even capable of themselves, from the Principles of Geometry, to make us acquire the Union of the Aids of the Hand and Leg; and if so, we shall be obliged to own the Conclusion, that they are to be prefer'd to all the rest.

The Justness of the Aids of the Body depends upon the Seat of the Horseman. – Till he is arrived at the Point of being able to sit down close and firm in his Saddle, so as to be immoveable in it, it would be vain to expect he should be able to manage a Horse; because, besides that he would be incapable of feeling his Motions, he would not be possessed of that Equilibre and Firmness of Seat, which is the Characteristic of a Horseman. I would define the Equilibre to be, when the Horseman sits upon his Twist, directly down and close upon the Saddle, and so firm that nothing can loosen or disturb his Seat; and by Firmness, I express that Grasp or Hold with which he keeps himself on the Horse, without employing any Strength, but trusting entirely to his Ballance, to humour and accompany all the Motions of the Horse.

Nothing but Exercise and Practice can give this Equilibre, and consequently this Hold upon the Horse. In the Beginning, the Fear which almost every Scholar feels, and the Constraint which all his Limbs are under, make him apt to press the Saddle very close with his Thighs and Knees, as he imagines he shall by this Method acquire a firmer Seat; but the very Efforts that he makes to resist the Motions of the Horse, stiffen his Body, and lift him out of the Saddle, so that any rude Motion, or unexpected Shock, would be likely to unhorse him; for from the Moment that he ceases to sit down and quite close to the Saddle, every sudden Jirk and Motion of the Horse attacking him under his Twist, must shove him out of the Saddle.

We will suppose then a Person, the Position of whose Body is just and regular, and who, by being able to sit down perpendicular and full in his Saddle, can feel and unite himself to his Horse so as to accompany all his Motions; let us see then how this Person, from the Motions of his own Body, will be able to accord and unite the Aids or Times of the Hands and Legs.

In order to make your Horse take or go into the Corner of the Manage, you must begin by opening it.

To open a Corner, is to turn the Shoulder before you come to it, in order to make it cover the Ground; and then the Croupe which is turn'd in will not follow the Line of the Shoulders, till they are turn'd and brought upon a strait Line in order to come out of the Corner. – In order to turn the Shoulder to open the Corner, you must carry your Hand to the Right or Left, according to the Hand to which you are to go; and to throw in the Croupe, you must support it with the Leg on that Side to which you carry your Hand. – To make the Shoulders turn and come out of the Corner, you must carry your Hand on the Side opposite to that to which you turned it, in order to go into the Corner; and that the Croupe may pass over the same Ground as the Shoulders, you must support with the Leg on the contrary Side to that with which you aided in order to bring the Haunches in; the Horse never can perform any of these Actions without an entire Agreement of all these Aids, and one single Motion of the Body will be sufficient to unite them all with the utmost Exactness.

In effect, instead of carrying your Hand out, and seconding that Aid with the Leg, turn your Body but imperceptibly towards the Corner, just as if you intended to go into it yourself; your Body then turning to the Right or Left, your Hand, which is one of its Appurtenances, must necessarily turn likewise, and the Leg of the Side on which you turn, will infallibly press against the Horse, and aid him. – If you would come out of the Corner, turn your Body again, your Hand will follow it, and your other Leg approaching the Horse, will put his Croupe into the Corner, in such a manner, that it will follow the Shoulders, and be upon the same Line. – It is by these means that you will be enabled to time the Aids of the Hand and Legs with greater Exactness, than you could do, were you not to move your Body; for how dextrous and ready soever you may be, yet when you only use your Hand and Legs, without letting their Aids proceed from, and be guided by your Body, they can never operate so effectually, and their Action is infinitely less smooth, and not so measured and proportioned, as when it proceeds only from the Motion of the Body.

The same Motion of the Body is likewise necessary in turning entirely to the Right or Left, or to make your Horse go sideways on one Line, or in making the Changes.

If when you make a Change, you perceive the Croupe to be too much in, by turning your Body in, you will drive it out, and the Hand following the Body, determines the Shoulder by means of the outward Rein, which is shorten'd; if the Croupe is too much out, turn your Body out, and this Posture carrying the Hand out, shortens the inner Rein, and confines the Croupe, acting in concert with the outward Leg, which works and approaches the Side of the Horse. – This Aid is by so much better, because if executed with Delicacy, it is imperceptible, and never alarms the Horse; I say, if executed as it ought to be, for we are not talking here of turning the Shoulder, and so falsifying the Posture. In order to make the Hand and Leg work together, it is necessary that the Motion should proceed from the Horseman, which in turning carries with it the rest of the Body insensibly; without this, very far from being assisted by the Ballance of your Body in the Saddle, you would lose it entirely, and together with it the Gracefulness of your Seat; and your Ballance being gone, how can you expect to find any Justness in the Motions of your Horse, since all the Justness and Beauty of his Motions must depend upon the Exactness of your own?

The secret Aids of the Body are such then as serve to prevent, and accompany all the Motions of the Horse. If you will make him go backward, throw back your own Body, your Hand will go with it, and you will make the Horse obey by a single Turn of the Waist. – Would you have him go forward, for this purpose put your Body back, but in a less degree; don't press the Horse's Fore-parts with your Weight, because by leaning a little back you will be able to approach your Legs to his Sides with greater Ease. – If your Horse rises up, bend your Body forward; if he kicks, leaps, or strikes out behind, throw your Body back; if he gallops when he should not, oppose all his Motions, and for this purpose push your Waist forward towards the Pummel of the Saddle, making a Bend or Hollow at the same time in your Loins: In short, do you work your Horse upon great Circles, with the Head in and Croupe out? let your Body then be a Part of the Circle, because this Posture bringing your Hand in, you bring in the Horse's outward Shoulder, over which the inner Shoulder crosses circularly, and your inner Leg being likewise by this Method near your Horse's Side, you leave his Croupe at liberty. I call it becoming a Part of the Circle yourself, when you incline a little the Balance of your Body towards the Center; and this Balance proceeds entirely from the outward Hip, and turning it in.

The Aids of the Body then are those which conduce to make the Horse work with greater Pleasure, and consequently perform his Business with more Grace; if then they are such, as to be capable alone of constituting the Justness of the Airs; if they unite, and make the Hand and Legs work in concert; if they are so fine and subtle, as to be imperceptible, and occasion no visible Motion in the Rider, but the Horse seems to work of himself; if they comprize at the same time, the most established and certain Principles of the Art; if the Body of the Horseman, which is capable of employing them, is of consequence firm without Constraint or Stiffness, and supple without being weak or loose; if these are the Fruits which we derive from them, we must fairly own, that this is the shortest, the most certain, and plainest Method we can follow, in order to form a Horseman.