THE GALLOP.
As to the character of the gallop, when we press a horse in the trot beyond his capacity, or animate him with the legs while we raise or retain him with the hand, we compel him to lift his two fore-feet after each other, which commences the gallop. The near fore-foot is first raised from the ground; then the off fore-foot, which, however, passes the other, and they come to the ground in the same order, the near fore-foot making one beat, and the off fore-foot another, that being the most advanced or leading foot. The hind feet follow in the same manner; the near hind-foot marking a third beat, and the off hind-foot passing forward, and marking a fourth beat. Thus, when this pace is united and true, the feet mark a regular, sharp, and quick time of one, two, three, four. The perfection of the gallop consists in the suppleness of the limbs, the union of the horse, the justness of the action, and the regularity of the time.
The gallop is of three kinds—that of the racer, that of the hunter, and that of the pleasure horse, commonly called the canter. The last of these is by far the most difficult, as it requires skill to fore-shorten and throw the horse on his haunches. In the gallop, as in the trot, there is a leading foot. On a straight line, it is immaterial with which fore-leg the horse leads, provided the hind-leg of the same side follows it. But to lead always with the same leg is injurious. In galloping to the right, the horse must lead with the inward or off fore-leg, followed by the off hind-leg. This action is termed true or united.—([Plate XL.] [69] shows this in the canter.) In galloping to the left, he must lead with the inward or near fore-leg, followed by the near hind-leg. This also is termed true or united.[70]
[69] In galloping to the right, if the horse lead with the off fore-leg and near hind-leg, or if he lead with the near fore-leg and off hind-leg, he is said to be disunited. If, in galloping to the right, he lead with both near legs, he is said to be false.
[70] In galloping to the left, if the horse lead with the near fore-leg and off hind-leg, or if he lead with the off fore-leg and near hind-leg, he is said to be disunited. If, in galloping to the left, he lead with both off legs, he is said to be false.
Plate XL
The Canter.
The Canter in particular.
To put the horse to the canter from rest at any spot, or from any pace, he must be pressed with the legs, or animated with the tongue, and at the same time, by a motion of the fingers, and a little raising of the hand, be invited to raise the fore-legs. If he do not obey this, the animation must be increased, and the hand kept more firm, to prevent his trotting; and this will constrain him to raise his fore-legs together. It is also necessary to direct the foot he is to lead with. That of course is the inner, which he will readily take by putting the croupe in, by means of the opposite thigh, thereby enabling him to advance the inner side.
As the position of the horse renders necessary a corresponding position of the horseman, it will readily be seen that whichever side the horse leads with, the rider’s thigh on that side must be rather more turned in towards the saddle, and the hip on that side brought more forward, and consequently that the other thigh must be a little turned outward, and the hip brought backward; and all this more or less in proportion to the position of the horse. This turn of the hip effects a turn of the body. The hands are carried with it, and at the same time kept up, rather above than below the elbow, and quite steady, that the cadence of every step, and the support given by the hand, may be felt. The rider’s head is of course to be directed to the horse’s nose, his eye glancing on the ground the horse’s fore-feet go over.
If the horse strike off with the wrong leg, false or disunited, the rider, at the first corner, must endeavour, by an additional feeling of the inward rein, and application of the outward leg, to make him change, and lead with the proper one. When he leads with the proper leg, the hand must resume its usual position, the rider bending him a little inwards by shortening the inward rein; the fingers slackened, if necessary, to let him advance; but the hand kept up, and every cadence felt of the fore-feet coming to the ground.
There is far more skill displayed in keeping up an animated action in the canter, at the rate of three miles an hour, than in the gallop, at that of twelve or fifteen. If the animation fail, or the action be not supported by the hand, the horse will break into a trot, particularly as the gallop is shortened or united. If the action is felt to be declining, it must be corrected instantly, by an animating touch of the fingers, the leg, or the tongue. The hand first discovers this declension, and is the first to correct it.
When the rider can put his horse off to either hand with the proper leg, and support the action, he must particularly attend to its truth and union, and try to raise it to the highest animation, riding sometimes rapidly, sometimes slowly, yet always united.
When the gallop is disunited and extended to speed, even though the horse is supple and just on his legs, it loses its harmony and regularity of time. The fore-legs then measure less space from each other, and so do the hind-legs, which makes the beats quicker in each, and leaves a space between the beats of the fore-legs and the beats of the hind. In these gallops, it would be highly imprudent to circle or turn, but on a very large scale.
Turns, Changes, Stops, &c. in the Gallop.
In turning the horse to the right and left, at a canter, his fore-hand must be raised with the leading rein, and the haunches pressed forward and under him: at the same time, the outward rein must assist to steady him, and a pressure of the calf of the outward leg keep the haunches from falling too much out. If he is turned suddenly with the inward rein only, without lifting the fore-hand, or applying the outward leg, he must turn on his shoulders, lose power to halt on his haunches, and being twisted round unprepared, will change to the outer leg.
In changing, the operation must be performed smoothly and evenly at the same instant; so that, at the finish of the cadence, the body, hands, thighs, and legs of the rider are reversed, for the horse to commence his next cadence with the contrary leg.
In stopping in the gallop, the rider must seize the time when the horse’s fore-feet are coming to the ground, which is the beginning of the cadence: and he must take care that the hind feet, coming up to their exact distance, and finishing the cadence, complete the stop: leaving the horse so balanced that he can readily set off again with the same rapidity as before. Besides seizing the exact time, a due degree of power must thus be exerted, conformably to the readiness, obedience, union, or rapidity of the action; for, should the power be deficient, the stop would not be properly effected; and if it be excessive, the horse will be overbalanced on his haunches, and compelled consequently to move his feet after the cadence is finished. Till horses are ready and obedient to the stop, it should not be attempted in violent and rapid gallops; nor even then if they are weak, or the rider heavy.—In these cases, the double arret is used.
The double arret is the stop completed in two cadences of the gallop, which is far less distressing both to man and horse. The body being gently thrown back, will not make the action instantaneously cease; but the obedience of the horse makes the effort which checks half his career in the first cadence; and, the body still being kept back, he completes it in the second. However, till practised and made obedient to the stop, he will not easily perform the double arret; for, in the first instance, he must be taught to stop by compulsion; and it is only when practice has brought him to obedience, that he readily stops at the easy throwing back of the body.
The half stop is a pause in the gallop, or the action suspended for half a second, and then resumed again. Here the body is thrown back less determinately, lest we should so overbalance the horse that he cannot readily set off again after the finish of the cadence, which no sooner occurs than the body is brought forward, to permit the action to go on. Thus the half stop is only a pause in the gallop, and it is mostly used to effect a change from the right leg to the left, or the opposite. The cadence of the stop should be no shorter than the readiness and obedience of the horse will admit; the half stop not quite so short; and the two arrets still more moderate.