One sees but few Horses which in making Curvets, plant themselves well upon their Haunches and Hocks, at least that are not apt to hang back, and who beat and mark equally and smartly the Measure of the Air, and keep their Heads true and steady; for this Reason the first Lessons should be slow and gentle, making your Horse rise very high before, because the longer time the Horse is in the Air, the easier it will be to him to adjust himself upon his Haunches, and to assure his Head, and bend or gather up his Fore-legs; on the contrary, if he don't rise high before, he only beats and throws about the Dust, and shuffles his Legs, and can never assemble the different Parts of his Body and be united, as he ought to be in this Manage.
When a Horse in his first Curvets makes of himself his Beats, or Times, diligent and quick, it is to be fear'd that this is only owing to Fire and Impatience; in this Case there will be reason to suspect, that he has not Strength sufficient for this Manage, that he will soon do nothing but shuffle and throw about his Legs without rising as he ought, or else that he will become entier; but if he rises freely and sufficiently high, without being in a hurry, or stiffening himself, and bends his Hocks, it will then be very easy to shorten, reduce, and adjust the Measure of his Air, and to make it perfect in proportion to his Resolution, his Strength, and Activity.—If when you are going to raise him, he rises suddenly of himself, consider whether this hasty Action be not a Proof likewise of what I have just now told you.
The Beauty and Perfection of the fine Airs when neatly executed, and their Time just and true, don't consist so much in the Diligence and Quickness with which the Horse brings his Hind-feet to the Ground and makes his Beats; for if that were the Proof, the Horse would not have sufficient Time to raise his Fore-part, and to gather his Fore-legs under him; but the true Measure, and the Harmony of his Time, is when the Hind-feet follow smoothly, and answer immediately to the Fore-feet, and that these rise again in the Instant that the others touch the Ground.
To teach a Horse to beat his Curvets neatly, and in an equal Time and Measure, take care to keep him in a good and just Apuy; keep yourself strait and well stretch'd down in the Saddle, but without any Stiffness, preserving always a certain Ease and Freedom, which is the Characteristic of an Horseman: let your Hand be about three Fingers Breadth above the Pommel of the Saddle, and a little forward or advanced, keeping your Nails up, and be diligent and ready to raise your Horse; when you do this, put your Body a little forward, but so as not to let it be perceived: above all put no Stress in your Legs, but let them be easy and loose, they will catch the Time of themselves better than you can give it. I am now speaking of an high-drest and perfect Horse, who works with the greatest Exactness; for if he was to break the Line, to throw himself from one Side to the other, refuse to advance, or not to lift his Legs, you would then be obliged to give the Aids in proportion to his Understanding and Feeling.
It is not requisite that a Horse should be absolutely perfect in Curvets strait forward, before you put him to make them upon Voltes. By being accustom'd to make them strait forward, when he is put to do them differently, he would feel a fresh Constraint; in this Case he might break and perplex his Air in the Action of turning, he would falsify the Volte, and perhaps fall into many Disorders; it is therefore right, as soon as he is grounded a little in Curvets strait forwards, to begin to teach him the Time and the Proportions of the Volte.
Walk him then upon a Volte that is sufficiently large, and exactly round, taking care that he walks neither too slow nor too fast, and making him bring in his Head to the Volte, so that he may acquire a Habit of looking always into the Volte, without letting his Hind-feet however go off the Line of his Fore-feet.
Having thus taught him in the Walk to both Hands the Space or Ground of the Volte, let him make three Pesades, then three more, and let him make them with Patience and lightly, but without stopping. Trot him then upon the Volte, stop him without letting him rise, caress him, and begin with him again to the other Hand, and repeat the same.—When he begins to understand this Lesson, let him make two Pesades together, then let him walk as before; observe these Rules and this Method, without hurrying or pressing him; increase by degrees by the Number of Pesades, and let him walk less as he begins to work with more Ease; by these means he will soon be brought to furnish an entire Volte.
When your Horse is so far advanced as to work upon the large Voltes in this slow Manner, begin then by degrees to contract his Compass of Ground, and the Measure of the Pesades, till the Volte and the Air are reduced to their exact Proportion; preventing him by Aids and Correction from putting his Croupe out, or bringing it too much within the Volte, and taking care that he makes no wrong or aukward Action with his Head.
It is impossible that a Horse should furnish his Air high, without shortening and contracting his Body a good deal beyond his natural Posture or Make; because the Action of itself is contracted and supported on the Haunches, in such a manner that the Hind-feet must of necessity advance, and widen the Line which they made in the Walk; or else the Fore-feet must go back, and keep up the Line and Roundness of the Volte; or else that the Hind or Fore-feet keeping an equal Proportion, and answering each to each shorten it equally.—These different Effects are very essential and worth remarking.—The first Aid to be given should be with the Legs, in order to make the Horse's Fore-feet keep thro' this high Air the Line of the Volte, which he had mark'd out before in the Walk. If he goes large, or quits the Line, or abandons himself upon his Shoulders, or upon the Hand, the first Aid then should come from the Hand; this by confining will operate so as to raise him, and the Hind-feet will come upon the Line describ'd in the Passage; lastly, if the Horse is obedient, the Rider will be able to unite him both behind and before, by the usual Aids of the Hand and Heel acting together.
When a Horse walks or trots upon the Volte, he is supported in his Action by one of his Fore and one of his Hind-feet, which are both upon the Ground together, while the other two are in the Air; so that according to this Method the Line of the Fore-feet, and that of the hind, are made at the same time; but when he raises his Air and advances upon the Volte, all his Actions are changed; for then the two Fore-feet are lifted up the first, and while they are coming down, he lifts the two Hind-feet from the Ground together, to finish and continue the Beats or Time of his Air. The Fore-feet being more advanced than the hind, must necessarily come down first, and consequently the Horse can never be upon strait Lines crossing each other, as he is when he walks or trots upon the Volte. Moreover, in a high Air the Horse does not only shorten and contract his whole Action; but the better to strengthen and assist the Attitude in which he supports and goes through his Air, he opens and widens his Hind-feet, keeping them at least twice the Distance one from the other, that he did when he only walk'd or trotted upon the Volte, and by consequence describes different Lines.—There are three Actions, and three Motions, still to be consider'd in making Curvets. These are, to raise him, to support him while he is in the Air, and to make him go forwards.—To raise him, is to lift him up as it were by the Action of the Hand, and put him upon an high Air; to support, is to hinder him from bringing his Fore-part too soon to the Ground; and carrying him forward, is to raise, support, and go forward at the same time, while the Horse is off the Ground.