As the Perfection of the Trot consists in the Suppleness of the Joints and Limbs, that of the Gallop depends upon the Lightness and Activity of the Shoulders; a good Apuy, and the Vigour and Resolution of the Career, must depend upon the natural Spirit and Courage of the Horse. It should be a Rule, never to make a Horse gallop, till he presents and offers to do it of himself.—Trotting him out boldly and freely, and keeping him in the Hand, so as to raise and support his Fore-parts, will assist him greatly; for when his Limbs are become supple and ready, and he is so far advanced, as to be able to unite and put himself together without Difficulty, he will then go off readily in his Gallop; whereas, if on the contrary he should pull or be heavy, the Gallop would only make him abandon himself upon the Hand, and fling him entirely upon his Shoulders.
To put a Horse in the Beginning of his Lessons from the Walk to the Gallop, and to work him in it upon Circles, is demanding of him too great a degree of Obedience. In the first place, it is very sure that the Horse can unite himself with greater Ease in going strait forward, than in turning; and, in the next place, the Walk being a slow and distinct Pace, and the Gallop being quick and violent, it is much better to begin with the Trot, which is a quick Action, than with the Walk, which is slow and calm, however raised and supported its Action may be.—Two things are requisite to form the Gallop, viz. it ought to be just, and it ought to be even or equal.—I call that Gallop just, in which the Horse leads with the Right-leg before, and I call that the Right-leg which is foremost, and which the Horse puts out beyond the other. For Instance—A Horse gallops and supports himself in his Gallop, upon the outward Fore-foot, the Right Fore-foot clears the Way, the Horse consequently gallops with the Right-foot, and the Gallop is just, because he puts forward and leads with his Right-foot.
This Motion of the Right-foot is indispensably necessary, for if the Horse were to put his Left Fore-foot first, his Gallop would be false; so that it is to be understood, that whenever you put a Horse to the Gallop, he should always go off with his Right fore-foot, and keep it foremost, or he can never be said to gallop just and true.—I understand by an even or equal Gallop, that in which the Hind-parts follow and accompany the Fore-parts; as for Example—If a Horse gallops, or leads with his Right-leg before, the Hind Right-leg ought to follow; for if the Left Hind-leg were to follow, the Horse would then be disunited: The Justness then of the Gallop depends upon the Action of the Fore-feet, as the Union or Evenness of it does on the Hind-feet.
This general Rule which fixes the Justness of the Gallop, that is to say, this Principle which obliges the Horse to lead with the Right Fore-foot when he gallops, strict as it is, yet sometimes parts with its Privileges in deference to the Laws of the Manage.—The Design of this School is to make equally supple and active all the Limbs of a Horse.—It is not requisite then that the Horse should lead always with the same Leg, because it is absolutely necessary that he should be equally ready and supple with both his Shoulders, in order to work properly upon the different Airs.—It seems but reasonable that this Rule should be observed likewise out of the Manage; and therefore it has of late obtain'd that Hunting-horses should lead indifferently with both Legs; because it has been found on Trial, that by strictly adhering to the Rule of never suffering a Horse to gallop but with his Right Fore-leg, he has been quite ruin'd and worn out on one Side, when he was quite fresh and sound on the other.—Be that as it will, it is not less certain, that in the Manage a Horse may gallop false, either in going strait forward, or in going round, or upon a Circle; for instance—He is going strait, and to the Right-hand, and sets off with the Left Fore-foot; he then is false, just as he would be, if in going to the Left, he should lead with his Right Fore-foot.
The Motions of a Horse, when disunited, are so disorder'd and perplex'd, that he runs a risque of falling, because his Action then is the Action of the Trot, and quite opposite to the Nature of the Gallop. It is true, that for the Rider's Sake he had better be false.
If a Horse in full Gallop changes his Legs from one side to the other alternately, this Action of the Amble in the Midst of his Course, is so different from the Action of the Gallop, that it occasions the Horse to go from the Trot to the Amble, and from the Amble to the Trot.
When a Horse gallops strait forward, however short and confin'd his Gallop is, his Hind-feet always go beyond his Fore feet, even the Foot that leads, as well as the other.—To explain this.—If the inner Fore-foot leads, the inner Hind-foot ought to follow, so that the inner Feet, both that which leads, and that which follows, are prest, the other two at liberty.—The Horse sets off, the outward Fore-foot is on the Ground, and at liberty, this makes one Time; immediately the inner Fore-foot which leads and is prest, marks a second, here are two Times; then the outward Hind-foot which was on the Ground, and at liberty, marks the third Time; lastly, the inner Hind-foot which leads and is prest, comes to the Ground, and marks the fourth; so that when a Horse goes strait forward and gallops just, he performs it in four distinct Times, one, two, three, four.
It is very difficult to feel exactly, and perceive these Times of the Gallop; but yet by Observation and Practice it may be done.—The Times of a Horse, who covers and embraces a good deal of Ground, are much more easy to mark than his who covers but little.—The Action of the one is quick and short, and that of the other long, slow, and distinct; but whether the natural Motions and Beats of the Horse are slow or quick, the Horseman absolutely ought to know them, in order to humour and work conformably to them; for should he endeavour to lengthen and prolong the Action of the one, in hopes of making him go forward more readily, and to shorten and confine that of the other, in order to put him more together; the Action of both would in this Case not only be forced and disagreeable, but the Horses would resist and defend themselves, because Art is intended only to assist and correct, but not to change Nature.—In working your Horse upon Circles, it is the outward Rein that you must use to guide and make him go forward; for this purpose turn your Hand in from time to time, and aid with your outward Leg.—If the Croupe should be turn'd too much out, you must carry your Hand on the outward Side of your Horse's Neck; and you will confine it, and keep it from quitting its Line.—I would be understood of Circles of two Lines or Treads, where the Haunches are to be attended to.—Before you put your Horse to this, he should be gallop'd upon plain, or Circles of one Line only.—In this Lesson, in order to supple your Horse, make use of your inner Rein to pull his Head towards the Center, and aid with the Leg of the same Side, to push his Croupe out of the Volte; by this means you bend the Ribs of the Horse.
The Hind-feet certainly describe a much larger Circle than his Fore-feet; indeed they make a second Line: but when a Horse is said to gallop only upon a Circle of one Line or Tread, he always and of necessity makes two; because, were the Hind-feet to make the same Line as the Fore-feet, the Lesson would be of no use, and the Horse would never be made supple; for he only becomes supple in proportion as the Circle made with his Hind-feet is greater than that described by his Fore-feet.
When your Horse is so far advanced, as to be able to gallop lightly and readily upon this sort of Circle, begin then to make frequent Stops with him.—To make them well in the Gallop, with his Head in, and Croupe out, the Rider must use his outward Leg, to bring in the outward Leg of the Horse; otherwise he would never be able to stop upon his Haunches, because the outward Haunch is always out of the Volte.