The walk.—This pace is the mother of all the other paces; by it we will obtain the cadence, the regularity, the extension of the others. But to obtain these brilliant results, the rider must display as much knowledge as tact. The preceding exercises have led the horse to bear the combined effect of hand and legs, which could not have been done previously to the destruction of the instinctive resistances; we have now only to act on the inert resistances which appertain to the animal's weight; upon the forces which only move when an impulse is communicated to them.
Before making the horse go forward, we should first assure ourselves of his lightness; that is to say, of his head being perpendicular, his neck flexible, his hind-part straight and plumb. The legs will then be closed lightly, to give the body the impulse necessary to move it. But we should not, in accordance with the precepts of the old method, give the bridle hand at the same time; for then the neck, being free from all restraint, would lose its lightness; would contract, and render the motion of the hand powerless. The rider will remember that his hand ought to be to the horse an insurmountable barrier, whenever he would leave the position of ramener. The animal will never attempt it, without pain; and only within this limit will he find ease and comfort. By the application of my method, the rider will be led to guide his horse all the time with the reins half tight, except when he wishes to correct a false movement, or determine a new one.
The walk, I have said, ought to precede the other paces, because the horse having three supports upon the ground, his action is less, and consequently easier to regulate than in the trot and gallop. The first exercises of the supplings will be followed by some turns in the riding-house at a walk, but only as a relaxation, the rider attending less to animating his horse than to making him keep his head, while walking in a perpendicular position. Little by little he will complicate his work, so as to join to the lightness of the horse that precision of movement indispensable to the beauty of all his paces.
He will commence light oppositions of the hand and legs to make the forces of the fore and hind-parts work together in harmony. This exercise, by accustoming the horse always to yield the use of his forces to the direction of the rider, will be also useful in forming his intelligence, as well as in developing his powers. What delights the expert horseman will experience in the progressive application of his art! His pupil at first rebellious will insensibly yield himself to his every wish; will adopt his character, and end by becoming the living personification of him. Take care, then, rider! If your horse is capricious, violent, fantastic, we will have the right to say that you yourself do not shine by the amenity of your disposition, and the propriety of your proceedings.
In order to keep the measure and quickness of the walk equal and regular, it is indispensable that the impulsive and governing forces which come from the rider, should themselves be perfectly in harmony. We will suppose, for example, that the rider to move his horse forward, should make use of a force equal to twenty pounds, fifteen for the impulse forward, and five to bring his head into position. If the legs increase their motion without the hands increasing theirs in the same proportion, it is evident that the surplus of communicated force will be thrown into the neck, cause it to contract, and destroy all lightness. If, on the contrary, it is the hand which acts with too much violence, it will be at the expense of the impulsive force necessary to move the horse forward; on this account, his forward movement will be slackened and counteracted, at the same time that his position will lose its gracefulness and power.
This short explanation will suffice to show the harmony that should exist between the legs and hands. It is understood that their motion should vary according as the formation of the horse renders it necessary to support him more or less before or behind; but the rule is the same, only the proportions are different.
As long as the horse will not keep himself supple and light in his walk, we will continue to exercise him in a straight line; but as soon as he acquires more ease and steadiness, we will commence to make him execute changes of direction to the right and left, while walking.
Changes of direction.—-The use of the wrists, in the changes of direction, is so simple that it is unnecessary to speak of it here. I will only call attention to the fact, that the resistances of the horse ought always to be anticipated by disposing his forces in such a manner that they all concur in putting him in the way of moving. The head will be inclined in the direction we wish to go by means of the snaffle-rein of that side, the curb will then complete the movement. General rule: the lateral resistances of the neck are always to be opposed by the aid of the snaffle, being very careful not to commence to wheel until after destroying the obstacle that opposed it. If the use of the wrists remains very nearly the same as formerly, it is not so with the legs; their motion will be diametrically opposite to that given them in the old style of horsemanship. This innovation is so natural a one, that I cannot conceive why some one never applied it before me.
It is by bearing the hand to the right, and making the right leg felt, people have told me, and I have myself at first repeated it, that the horse is made to turn to the right. With me, practice has always taken the precedence of reasoning; and this is the way I first perceived the incorrectness of this principle.
Whatever lightness my horse had in a straight line, I remarked that this lightness always lost some of its delicacy when moving in small circles, although my outside leg came to the assistance of the inside one. As soon as the hind leg put itself in motion to follow the shoulders in the circle, I immediately felt a slight resistance. I then thought of changing the use of my aids, and of pressing the leg on the side opposite to the direction of wheeling. At the same time, in place of bearing the hand immediately to the right, to determine the shoulders in that direction, I first, by the aid of this hand, made the opposition necessary to render the haunches motionless, and to dispose the forces in such a way as to maintain the equilibrium during the execution of the movement. This proceeding was completely successful; and in explaining what ought to be the function of the different extremities, I recognize this as the only rational way of using them in wheeling.