New Method of Horsemanship Part 2

5. Position of the rider, the horse being at a walk, trot and gallop, in order to fashion and settle the seat at these different paces 15 30

6. Education of the horse by the rider 75 150

Total 121 242

CHAPTER II.

OF THE FORCES OF THE HORSE.

_Of their causes and effects._--The horse, like all organized beings, is possessed of a weight and a force peculiar to himself. The weight inherent to the material of which the animal is composed, renders the ma.s.s inert, and tends to fix it to the ground. The force, on the contrary, by the faculty it gives him of moving this weight, of dividing it, of transferring it from one of his parts to another, communicates movement to his whole being, determines his equilibrium, speed and direction. To make this truth more evident, let us suppose a horse in repose. His body will be in perfect equilibrium, if each of its members supports exactly that part of the weight which devolves upon it in this position. If he wishes to move forward at a walk, he must first transfer that part of the weight resting on the leg he moves first to those that will remain fixed to the ground. It will be the same thing in other paces, the transfer acting from one diagonal to the other in the trot, from the front to the rear, and reciprocally in the gallop. We must not then confound the weight with the force; the latter determines, the former is subordinate to it. It is by carrying the weight from one extremity to the other that the force puts them in motion, or makes them stationary. The slowness or quickness of the transfers fixes the different paces, which are correct or false, even or uneven, according as these transfers are executed with correctness or irregularity.

It is understood that this motive power is subdivided _ad infinitum_, since it is spread over all the muscles of the animal. When the latter himself determines the use of them, the forces are instinctive; I call them transmitted when they emanate from the rider. In the first case, the man governed by his horse remains the plaything of his caprices; in the second, on the contrary, he makes him a docile instrument, submissive to all the impulses of his will. The horse, then, from the moment he is mounted, should only act by transmitted forces. The invariable application of this principle const.i.tutes the true talent of the horseman.

But such a result cannot be attained instantaneously. The young horse, in freedom, having been accustomed to regulate his own movements, will, at first, submit with difficulty to the strange influence which comes to take the entire control of them. A struggle necessarily ensues between the horse and his rider, who will be overcome unless he is possessed of energy, patience, and, above all, the knowledge necessary to gain his point. The forces of the animal being the element upon which the rider must princ.i.p.ally work, first to conquer, and finally to direct them, it is necessary he should fix his attention upon these before anything else. He will study what they are, whence they spring, the parts where they contract the most for resistance, the physical causes which occasion these contractions. When this is discovered, he will proceed with his pupil by means in accordance with his nature, and his progress will then be rapid.

Unfortunately, we search in vain in ancient or modern authors, on horsemanship, I will not say for rational principles, but even for any data in connection with the forces of the horse. All speak very prettily about resistances, oppositions, lightness and equilibrium; but none of them have known how to tell us what causes these resistances, how we can combat them, destroy them, and obtain this lightness and equilibrium they so earnestly recommend. It is this gap that has caused the great doubts and obscurity about the principles of horsemanship; it is this that has made the art stationary so long a time; it is this gap that, I think, I am able to fill up.

And first, I lay down the principle that all the resistances of young horses spring, in the first place, from a physical cause, and that this cause only becomes a moral one by the awkwardness, ignorance and brutality of the rider. In fact, besides the natural stiffness peculiar to all these animals, each of them has a peculiar conformation, the more or less of perfection in which const.i.tutes the degree of harmony that exists between the forces and the weight. The want of this harmony occasions the ungracefulness of their paces, the difficulty of their movements; in a word, all the obstacles to a good education. In a state of freedom, whatever may be the bad structure of the horse, instinct is sufficient to enable him to make such a use of his forces as to maintain his equilibrium; but there are movements it is impossible for him to make until a preparatory exercise shall have put him in the way of supplying the defects of his organization by a better combined use of his motive power. A horse puts himself in motion only in consequence of a given position; if his forces are such as to oppose themselves to this position, they must first be annulled, in order to replace them by the only ones which can lead to it.

Now, I ask, if before overcoming these first obstacles, the rider adds to them the weight of his own body, and his unreasonable demands, will not the animal experience still greater difficulty in executing certain movements? The efforts we make to compel him to submission, being contrary to his nature, will they not find in it an insurmountable obstacle? He will naturally resist, and with so much the more advantage, that the bad distribution of his forces will of itself be sufficient to paralyze those of the rider. The resistance then emanates, in this case, from a physical cause: which becomes a moral one from the moment when, the struggle going on with the same processes, the horse begins of his own accord to combine means of resisting the torture imposed on him, when we undertake to force into operation parts which have not previously been supplied.

When things get into this state, they can only grow worse. The rider, soon disgusted with the impotence of his efforts, will cast back upon the horse the responsibility of his own ignorance; he will brand as a jade an animal possessing the most brilliant resources, and of whom, with more discernment and tact, he could have made a hackney as docile in character, as graceful and agreeable in his paces. I have often remarked that horses considered indomitable are those which develop the most energy and vigor, when we know how to remedy those physical defects which prevent their making use of them. As to those which, in spite of their bad formation, are by a similar system made to show a semblance of obedience, we need thank nothing but the softness of their nature; if they can be made to submit to the simplest exercises, it is only on condition that we do not demand anything more of them, for they would soon find their energy again to resist any further attempts. The rider can then make them go along at different paces to be sure; but how disconnected, how stiff, how ungraceful in their movements, and how ridiculous such steeds make their unfortunate riders look, as they toss them about at will, instead of being guided by them! This state of things is all perfectly natural, unless we destroy the first cause of it: _the bad distribution of their forces, and the stiffness caused by a bad conformation_.

But, it is objected, since, you allow that these difficulties are caused by the formation of the horse, how is it possible to remedy them? You do not possibly pretend to change the structure of the animal and reform the work of nature? Undoubtedly not; but while I confess that it is impossible to give more breadth to a narrow chest, to lengthen too short a neck, to lower too high a croup, to shorten and fill out long, weak, narrow loins, I do not the less insist that if I prevent the different contractions occasioned by these physical defects, if I supply the muscles, if I make myself master of the forces so as to use them at will, it will be easy for me to prevent these resistances, to give more action to the weak parts, and to moderate those that are too vigorous, and thus make up for the deficiencies of nature.

Such results, I do not hesitate to say, were and still are forever denied to the old methods. But if the science of those who follow the old beaten track finds so constant an obstacle in the great number of horses of defective formation, there are, unfortunately, some horses who, by the perfection of their organization, and the consequent facility of their education, contribute greatly to perpetuate the impotent routines that have been so unfavorable to the progress of horsemanship. A well const.i.tuted horse is one, all of whose parts being regularly harmonized, induce the perfect equilibrium of the whole. It would be as difficult for such a subject to leave this natural equilibrium, and take up an improper position for the purpose of resistance, as it is at first painful for the badly formed horse to come into that just distribution of forces, without which no regularity of movement can be hoped for.

It is then only in the education of these last that the real difficulties of horsemanship consist. With the others the breaking ought to be, so to say, instantaneous, since all the springs being in their places, there is nothing to be done but to put them in motion; this result is always obtained by my method. Yet the old principles demand two or three years to reach this point, and when by feeling your way without any certainty of success, the horseman gifted with some tact and experience, ends by accustoming the horse to obey the impressions communicated to him, he imagines that he has surmounted great difficulties, and attributes to his skill a state so near that of nature that correct principles would have obtained it in a few days. Then as the animal continues to display in all his movements the grace and lightness natural to his beautiful formation, the rider does not scruple to take all the merit to himself, thus showing himself as presumptuous in this case as he was unjust when he would make the badly formed horse responsible for the failure of his attempts.

If we once admit these truths:

That the education of the horse consists in the complete subjection of his powers;

That we can only make use of his powers at will by annulling all resistances;

And that these resistances have their source in the contractions occasioned by physical defects;

The only thing will be to seek out the parts where these contractions operate, in order to endeavor to oppose and destroy them.

Long and conscientious observations have shown me that, whatever be the fault of formation that in the horse prevents a just distribution of his forces, it is always in the neck that the most immediate effect is felt.

There is no improper movement, no resistance that is not preceded by the contraction of this part of the animal; and as the jaw is intimately connected with the neck, the stiffness of the one is instantly communicated to the other. These two points are the prop upon which the horse rests, in order to annul all the rider's efforts. We can easily conceive the immense obstacle they must present to the impulsions of the latter, since the neck and head, being the two princ.i.p.al levers by which we direct the animal, it is impossible to obtain anything from him until we are master of these first and indispensable means of action. Behind, the parts where the forces contract the most for resistance, are the loins and the croup (the haunches).

The contractions of these two opposite extremities are, mutually the one to the other, causes and effects, that is to say, the stiffness of the neck induces that of the haunches, and reciprocally. We can combat the one by the other; and as soon as we have succeeded in annulling them, as soon as we have re-established the equilibrium and harmony that they prevented between the fore and hind-parts, the education of the horse will be half finished. I will now point out the means of infallibly arriving at this result.

CHAPTER III.

THE SUPPLINGS.

This work being an exposition of a method which upsets most of the old principles of horsemanship, it is understood that I only address men already conversant with the art, and who join to an a.s.sured seat a sufficiently great familiarity with the horse, to understand all that concerns his mechanism. I will not, then, revert to the elementary processes; it is for the instructor to judge if his pupil possesses a proper degree of solidity of seat, and is sufficiently a part of the horse; for at the same time that a good seat produces this identification, it favors the easy and regular play of the rider's extremities.

My present object is to treat princ.i.p.ally of the education of the horse; but this education is too intimately bound up in that of the rider, for him to make much progress in one without the other. In explaining the processes which should produce perfection in the animal, I will necessarily teach the horseman to apply them himself; he will only have to practise tomorrow what I teach him today. Nevertheless, there is one thing that no precept can give; that is, a fineness of touch, a delicacy of equestrian feeling that belongs only to certain privileged organizations, and without which, we seek in vain to pa.s.s certain limits. Having said this, we will return to our subject.

We now know which are the parts of the horse that contract the most in resistances, and we feel the necessity of suppling them. Shall we then seek to attack, exercise and conquer them all at once? No; this would be to fall back into the old error, of the inefficiency of which we are convinced. The animal's muscular power is infinitely superior to ours; his instinctive forces, moreover, being able to sustain themselves the one by the others, we will inevitably be conquered if we set them in motion all at once. Since the contractions have their seat in separate parts, let us profit by this division to combat them separately, as a skillful general destroys, in detail, forces which, when together, he would be unable to resist.

For the rest, whatever the age, the disposition, and the structure of my pupil, my course of proceeding at the start will be always the same. The results will only be more or less prompt and easy, according to the degree of perfection in his nature, and the influence of the hand to which he has been previously subjected. The suppling, which will have no other object in the case of a well-made horse than that of preparing his forces to yield to our impulsions, will re-establish calm and confidence in a horse that has been badly handled, and in a defective formation will make those contractions disappear, which are the causes of resistances, and the only obstacles to a perfect equilibrium. The difficulties to be surmounted will be in proportion to this complication of obstacles, and will quickly disappear with a little perseverance on our part. In the progression we are about to pursue in order to subject the different parts of the animal to suppling, we will naturally commence with the most important parts, that is to say, with the jaw and neck.

The head and neck of the horse are at once the rudder and compa.s.s of the rider. By them he directs the animal; by them, also, he can judge of the regularity and precision of his movements. The equilibrium of the whole body is perfect, its lightness complete, when the head and neck remain of themselves easy, pliable and graceful. On the contrary, there can be no elegance, no ease of the whole, when these two parts are stiff. Preceding the body of the horse in all its impulsions, they ought to give warning, and show by their att.i.tude the positions to be taken, and the movements to be executed. The rider has no power so long as they remain contracted and rebellious; he disposes of the animal at will, when once they are flexible and easily handled. If the head and neck do not first commence the changes of direction, if in circular movements they are not inclined in a curved line, if in backing they do not bend back upon themselves, and if their lightness is not always in harmony with the different paces at which we wish to go, the horse will be free to execute these movements or not, since he will remain master of the employment of his own forces.

From the time I first noticed the powerful influence that the stiffness of the neck exercises on the whole mechanism of the horse, I attentively sought the means to remedy it. The resistances to the hand are always either sideways, upward or downward. I at first considered the neck alone as the source of these resistances, and exercised myself in suppling the animal by flexions, repeated in every direction. The result was immense; but, although, at the end of a certain time, the supplings of the neck rendered me perfectly master of the forces of the fore-parts of the horse, I still felt a slight resistance which I could not at first account for. At last I discovered that it proceeded from the jaw.

The flexibility I had communicated to the neck even aided this stiffness of the muscles of the lower jaw, by permitting the horse in certain cases to escape the action of the bit. I then bethought me of the means of combating these resistances in this, their last stronghold; and, from that time, it is there I always commence my work of suppling.

_First exercise on foot._--Means of making the horse come to the man, of making him steady to mount, etc., etc.

Before commencing the exercises of flexions, it is essential to give the horse a first lesson of subjection, and teach him to recognize the power of man. This first act of submission, which might appear unimportant, will have the effect of quickly rendering him calm, of giving him confidence, and of repressing all those movements which might distract his attention, and mar the success of the commencement of his education.

Two lessons, of a half hour each, will suffice to obtain the preparatory obedience of every horse. The pleasure we experience in thus playing with him will naturally lead the rider to continue this exercise for a few moments each day, and make it both instructive to the horse and useful to himself. The mode of proceeding is as follows: the rider will approach the horse, his whip under his arm, without roughness or timidity; he will speak to him without raising the voice too much, and will pat him on the face and neck; then with the left hand will lay hold of the curb-reins, about six or seven inches from the branches of the bit, keeping his wrist stiff, so as to present as much force as possible when the horse resists. The whip will be held firmly in the right hand, the point towards the ground, then slowly raised as high as his chest, in order to tap it at intervals of a second. The first natural movement of the horse will be to withdraw from the direction in which the pain comes; it is by backing that he will endeavor to do this. The rider will follow this backward movement without discontinuing the firm tension of the reins, nor the little taps with the whip on the breast, applying them all the time with the same degree of intensity. The rider should be perfectly self-possessed, that there may be no indication of anger or weakness in his motions or looks. Becoming tired of this constraint, the horse will soon seek by another movement to avoid the infliction, and it is by coming forward that he will arrive at it; the rider will seize this second instinctive movement to stop and caress the animal with his hand and voice. The repet.i.tion of this exercise will give the most surprising results, even in the first lesson. The horse having discovered and understood the means by which he can avoid the pain, will not wait till the whip touches him, he will antic.i.p.ate it by rushing forward at the least gesture. The rider will take advantage of this to effect, by a downward force of the bridle hand, the depression of the neck, and the getting him in hand; he will thus early dispose the horse for the exercises that are to follow.

This training, besides being a great recreation, will serve to make the horse steady to mount, will greatly abridge his education and accelerate the development of his intelligence. Should the horse, by reason of his restless or wild nature, become very unruly, we should have recourse to the cavesson, as a means of repressing his disorderly movements, and use it with little jerks. I would add that it requires great prudence and discernment to use it with tact and moderation.

_Flexion of the jaw._--The flexions of the jaw, as well as the two flexions of the neck which follow, are executed standing still, the man on foot. The horse will be led on the ground saddled and bridled, the reins on his neck. The man will first see that the bit is properly placed in the horse's mouth, and that the curb-chain is fastened so that he can introduce his finger between the links and the horse's chin. Then looking the animal good-naturedly in the eyes, he will place himself before him near his head, holding his body straight and firm, his feet a little apart to steady himself, and dispose himself to struggle with advantage against all resistances.[B]

[B] I have divided all the flexions into two parts, and, in order to facilitate the understanding of the text, I have added to it plates representing the position of the horse at the moment the flexion is about to commence, and at the moment it is terminated.

1st. In order to execute the flexion to the right, the man will take hold of the right curb-rein with the right hand, at about six inches from the branch of the bit, and the left rein with the left hand, at only three inches from the left branch. He will then draw his right hand towards his body, pushing out his left hand so as to turn the bit in the horse's mouth. The force employed ought to be entirely determined by and proportioned to the resistance of the jaw and neck only, in order not to affect the _aplomb_, which keeps his body still. If the horse backs to avoid the flexion, the opposition of the hands should still be continued. If the preceding exercise has been completely and carefully practised, it will be easy by the aid of the whip to prevent this retrograde movement, which is a great obstacle to all kinds of flexions of the jaw and neck. (Plate I.)

2d. As soon as the flexion is obtained, the left hand will let the left rein slip to the same length as the right, then drawing the two reins equally will bring the head near to the breast, in order to hold it there oblique and perpendicular, until it sustains itself without a.s.sistance in this position. The horse by champing the bit will show his being in hand as well as his perfect submission. The man, to reward him, will cease drawing on the reins immediately, and after some seconds will allow him to resume his natural position. (Plate II.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plates I. and II.]

The flexion of the jaw to the left is executed upon the same principles and by inverse means to the flexion to the right, the man being careful to pa.s.s alternately from one to the other.

The importance of these flexions of the jaw is easily understood. The result of them is to prepare the horse to yield instantly to the lightest pressure of the bit, and to supple directly the muscles that join the head to the neck. As the head ought to precede and determine the different att.i.tudes of the neck, it is indispensable that the latter part be always in subjection to the other, and respond to its impulsions. That would be only partially the case with the flexibility of the neck alone, which would then make the head obey it, by drawing it along in its movements. You see, then, why at first I experienced resistances, in spite of the pliability of the neck, of which I could not imagine the cause. The followers of my method to whom I have not yet had an opportunity of making known the new means just explained, will learn with pleasure that this process not only brings the flexibility of the neck to a greater degree of perfection, but saves much time in finishing the suppling. The exercise of the jaw, while fashioning the mouth and head, brings along with it the flexion of the neck, and accelerates the getting the horse in hand.

This exercise is the first of our attempts to accustom the forces of the horse to yield to ours. It is necessary, then, to manage it very nicely, so as not to discourage him at first. To enter on the flexion roughly would be to shock the animal's intelligence, who would not have had time to comprehend what was required of him. The opposition of the hands will be commenced gently but firmly, not to cease until perfect obedience is obtained, except, indeed, the horse backs against a wall, or into a corner; but it will diminish or increase its effect in proportion to the resistance, in a way always to govern it, but not with too great violence. The horse that at first will, perhaps, submit with difficulty, will end by regarding the man's hand as an irresistible regulator, and will become so used to obeying it, that he will soon obtain, by a simple pressure of the rein, what at first required the whole strength of our arms.

At each renewal of the lateral flexions some progress will be made in the obedience of the horse. As soon as his first resistances are a little diminished, we will pa.s.s to the perpendicular flexions or depression of the neck.

_Depression of the neck by the direct flexion of the jaw._--