Hand-book for Horsewomen Part 3

To make her horse execute a reversed half-volte, the pupil uses the same means and effects as in the preceding movement, exactly reversing them at the end; that is to say, when on the diagonal, about six paces from her track, she makes a half-circle to the left, following the rules prescribed for the volte.

The teacher must be careful to explain that, in the voltes, the pupil does not change the direction in which she is going, because she describes a circle; but in the half-volte, if she is on the right hand at the beginning, she will be on the left at the end. He must also see that her horse executes all these movements at a steady pace; and, if she will practice faithfully these different changes of direction, with the positions and effects which govern them, she will, in time, acquire the habit of guiding her horse promptly and skillfully in any direction.

_To go backward._--The pupil, being at a stand-still, the teacher will give the word of command:

1. _Prepare to back._--2. _Back._

_Explanation._--To make her horse go backward, the pupil should draw herself up and lean back very far, using her leg and whip together, in order to bring the horse's legs well under him, and at the same time raise both wrists and bring them near the body. As soon as the horse has taken his first step backward, the pupil should stop the action of her leg, whip, and hands, only to resume them almost immediately to determine the second step; to stop backing, she will stop all effects, and resume the normal positions.

After a few steps, the teacher should say:

1. _Prepare to stop backing._--2. _Stop backing._

The movement is only correct when the horse backs in a straight line, and step by step. If he quickens his movement, he must be at once carried vigorously forward with the leg and whip.

When the pupil begins to have a firm seat at the trot, the teacher will gradually let her pa.s.s the corners at that gait, and, at his discretion, will also let her execute some of the movements to the right and left.

To do this, she will use precisely the same means as at the walk, the only difference being that, as the gait is quicker, the changes of equilibrium are greater for both horse and rider, and the effects should be lighter and more quickly employed and stopped.

I have given most of the movements to the right, to avoid useless repet.i.tion, but they should be frequently reversed; and care must always be taken to avoid over-fatigue.

When the teacher is fully satisfied that his pupil has advanced far enough to profit by it, he may begin to teach her to rise at the trot; but he must not be in too great a hurry to reach this point, and he must make her understand that to rise is the result of a good seat, and that a good seat does _not_ result from rising.

For the last fifteen years I have looked in vain, in all the treatises on riding, for the reason of that rising to the action of the horse known as the "English trot," and yet I have seen it practiced among races ignorant of equestrian science, who ride from childhood as a means of getting from one place to another. The Arabs, Cossacks, Turks, Mexicans, and Apaches, all employ it, in a fashion more or less precise and rhythmical, rising whether their stirrups are short or long, and even if they have none. It is certain that this way of neutralizing the reaction spares and helps the horse; and it was calculated, at the meeting of the "Equestrian Committee" at Paris, in 1872, that each time a rider rises he relieves the horse's back of one third of the weight which must rest on it permanently if he sits fast; and since that time rising at the trot has been practiced in all the cavalry of Europe.

After the siege of Paris, in 1871, I was obliged to undertake the training of the horses of my regiment, which was then stationed at Ma.s.sy. These horses were all young and unbroken; and, as a result of their youth and the fatigues they had undergone, they were in poor condition, and nearly all had sore backs. I directed all the teachers who were under me, and the men who rode the horses during their training, to rise at the trot; and, three months later, the young horses were in perfect health, while their riders, who had been exhausted by a severe campaign, had gained on an average seven pounds in weight; and it was this experiment which was submitted by me to the "Equestrian Committee."

I was tempted to make this digression, which I hope will be forgiven me, because I have heard in this country a great deal of adverse and, in my opinion, unjust criticism of the English trot, which I ascribe to the neglect of teachers, and the indifference of ladies brought up in the old school of riding to prefer horses which cantered all the time, or were broken to artificial gaits, like racking and pacing.

The rider who wishes to rise to the trot should be careful that the stirrup is not so short as to keep her left leg in constant contact with the third pommel, or leaping-horn, as, unless there is the s.p.a.ce of three or four fingers between the pommel and the leg, the latter may be bruised, and the rider forced down too soon.

In order to explain this movement, the teacher may proceed as follows: Placing himself at the left side of the horse, he will ask the pupil to take the reins in her left hand and put her right hand on the first pommel, with the thumb inside and the palm of the hand on the pommel; he will then take her left foot in his left hand, in order to prevent her from pushing it forward, explaining that, by pressing on the stirrup, she will develop the obtuse angle formed by her leg, of which the knee is the apex; whereas, if she pushes her foot forward, the angle will cease to exist, and she can not lift herself. With his right hand placed under her left arm, he will help her to lift herself perpendicularly; while she is in the air he will count one, will let her pause there for a short s.p.a.ce of time, and will then help her to let herself slowly down, continuing the pressure on the stirrup, and, when she has regained her saddle, he will count two; then he will recommence the movement of rising, and will count three while she is in the air, and four when she is again seated; and this may be continued until he sees that she is beginning to be tired. The foot must only be one third of its length in the stirrup; for, if it is pushed home, she will lose the play of the ankle, which will tend to stiffen the knee and hip. When the pupil begins to understand, the teacher will let her go through the movement rather more quickly, still counting one, two, three, four; then he will allow her to practice it without his help: all this preparatory work being done while the horse is standing still. It is important that she should not drop into her saddle, but let herself down by pressing on the stirrup; and on no account should the right knee cease to be in contact with the second pommel, as this is the sole case in which the lower part of this leg is motionless while the upper part moves. As soon as the pupil can rise without too much effort, and tolerably quickly, she may practice it at the walk, and then at the trot, counting for herself, one, two, three, four; and she must put a certain amount of energy into it, for all the theory in the world will not teach her to rise in time with the horse unless she also helps herself. The theory of the rhythmical cadence is easy enough to give: the rider rises when the horse takes one step, and sinks back at the second, to rise again at the third; but the cadence itself is not so easy to find; and to rise at the wrong step is like beginning on the wrong beat of a waltz. Many young persons get into the bad habit of lowering the right knee when they rise, and lifting it when they regain their seat; but this is a mistake, as the right knee should be immovable, and in constant contact with the second pommel.

As soon as the pupil has struck the cadence (and, once found, it comes easily afterward), she should discontinue the use of her right hand on the pommel, and the teacher may be more exacting as to the regularity of her position than is necessary in her first efforts. During rising to the trot, the upper part of the body should be very slightly bent forward; and, if the teacher notices that the pupil is rising from right to left, or left to right, instead of perpendicularly, he should make her put the fingers of her right hand on the top of her saddle behind, and thus give herself a little help in rising, until she gets used to it. Each time that the rider wishes to make her horse trot, she should sit close while he changes from a walk to a trot, and until he is trotting as fast as is necessary, because he does not arrive at that speed instantly, but by hurrying his steps, so that there is no regular cadence of the trot to which she can rise; and she should follow the same rule when she makes him slacken his pace before coming to a walk.

The teacher must be careful to see that the hands do not follow the movements of the body, as they must keep quite still, the arms moving at the elbow.

There is not, nor can there be, any approximate calculation of the height to rise, as that depends entirely upon the gait of the horse. If he takes short steps, the rider must rise oftener, and consequently not so high; but, if he is long-gaited, she must rise high, in order not to get back into the saddle before he is ready to take his second step.

CHAPTER III.

Cla.s.ses--Successive and individual movements--The gallop--Leaping--Suggestions for riding on the road.

When the pupil has taken from ten to fifteen lessons, she ought to be able to execute the movements she has studied with a certain degree of correctness, and to remain a full hour on horseback without fatigue; and she should then, if possible, be placed in a cla.s.s composed of not less than twelve nor more than twenty-four members. Children in a cla.s.s should be of the same s.e.x, and, as near as may be, of the same age and equestrian experience. It is not necessary that the cla.s.s should meet every day; it may come together one, two, or three times a week, under the guidance of the same teacher, and this need not prevent a pupil who is in it from coming to the school at other times to practice the various movements by herself.

All concerned should do their best to have all the members of the cla.s.s present, and the school should be kept clear of other riders during such cla.s.ses. The presence of spectators is objectionable, particularly where there is a cla.s.s of young girls. Granted that they are the parents, for instance, of one or two of the pupils: to the rest they are strangers, who cause constraint, as the teacher is obliged to criticise, correct, and, in a word, instruct, in a loud voice, so that the observation made to one may serve as a suggestion to all.

The difference of progress between cla.s.ses and individual pupils is so great that one may calculate that, after one hundred private lessons, a pupil will not ride so well as if she had taken fifty lessons in cla.s.s.

In a cla.s.s she is obliged to keep her horse at a certain distance from the others, and in his own place, and, in her turn, go through exercises directed by a will other than her own, while the constant repet.i.tion of principles by the teacher fixes them in her memory. On the other hand, the private pupil takes her time to make her horse go through a movement; and, that movement once understood, there is no reason for the repet.i.tion of the explanations which can alone make the theory and principle of riding familiar. I am certainly not an advocate for theory without practice; but I insist that a rider must know what she ought to do before she can do it really well, as all good results in riding are obtained by long practice, based on a rational theory.

The teacher should choose out of his cla.s.s the four most skillful pupils, whose horses are free and regular in their gaits, to serve as leaders, one at the head and one at the end of the two columns, which should be drawn up on the long sides of the school, each rider having a s.p.a.ce of at least three feet between the head of her horse and the tail of the one in front of her, the heads of the leaders' horses being about six feet from the corner of the school. While the columns are standing still, the teacher should explain distinctly the difference between distance and interval, and he had better be on foot at the end of the school, facing the columns.

By "distance" is meant the s.p.a.ce between the tail of one horse and the head of the next in the column.

"Interval" is the s.p.a.ce between two horses who are standing or going forward on parallel lines.

All movements are executed singly or in file: in the first case each pupil goes through the movement, without regard to the others; in the second, the pupils execute the movement in turn after the leaders of the column.

A movement in file, once known, may be repeated individually, but only at a walk in the beginning, in order to insure attention. The columns should both be on the right hand; consequently the head of one will be opposite the end of the other as they are drawn up on their respective sides. First order:

1. _Prepare to go forward._--2. _Go forward._

When the final word of command is given, the pupils will advance simultaneously, each one using the same effects as if she were alone, and being careful to preserve the correct distance.

The two leaders should so regulate the gait of their horses as to pa.s.s the opposite corners of the school at the same moment, and this gait should be uniform. If a pupil loses her distance, she should regain it by making her horse walk faster; but she should try to keep her place, as the whole column must quicken its pace when she does, and all suffer from the carelessness of one.

When the columns are on the short sides of the school, the teacher should give the order:

1. _Prepare to halt_;

and when they are on the long side,

2. _Halt._

When they are again going forward, always on the right hand, the order should be given:

1. _Prepare to turn to the right._--2. _Turn to the right._

At the final order each pupil will turn to the right on her own account, and according to the rules already prescribed; at the end of this movement all will find themselves on parallel lines, and about twelve feet apart; they should then turn the head somewhat to the right, in order to see that they are on the same line, and cross the width of the school in such a way that the columns will meet and pa.s.s each other in the middle. When they have reached the opposite side, they will turn to the right without further order, the leaders at the end of the column being now at its head. This movement should _never_ be executed except at a walk.

To replace the columns in their accustomed order, the teacher should have this movement executed a second time. When the columns are going forward on the right hand, the order will be given:

1. _Prepare to volte in file._

In this movement the same principles and the same means are used as in a private lesson; the leaders, however, describe a larger circle proportionate to the length of their columns, and at the end their horses' heads should be about three feet behind the tails of the last horses in their respective columns. The other pupils then, in turn, execute the movement upon the same ground as the leader. The leaders having moved two thirds down one of the long sides, the teacher will order:

2. _Volte in file_;

and, when the columns are again going forward on the right hand,

1. _Prepare to half-volte in file._

The leaders turn to the right, describe their half-circle, and go forward on a diagonal line ending just behind the last rider in the column; once there, they turn to the left and fall into line, being duly followed by each pupil over the same ground.

When the leaders are about eighteen feet from the corner of the school, the teacher will order: