Hand-book for horsewomen

by Henri Lucien de Bussigny

1. Prepare to trot.—2. Trot.

To make her horse trot, she must advance her wrists, lean the body forward, and use the leg and whip, resuming the normal position as soon as her horse obeys her.

In order not to fatigue the pupil, the teacher will only allow her to trot a short distance, and will remind her to keep her right foot well back and close to the saddle, and to sit close without stiffness. He will also take care that she passes from the walk to the trot gradually, by making her horse walk faster and faster until he breaks into a slow trot.

Each time that a pupil changes from a slow to a faster gait, she should accelerate the former as much as possible, and begin the latter slowly, increasing the speed gradually up to the desired point; and the same rule holds good, reversing the process, if she wishes to change from a fast to a slower gait.

As the pupil gains confidence, and feels at home in the trot, the teacher will let her practice it at shorter intervals, and for a longer time, taking care, however, that she does not attempt to rise to it; if she loses the correct position, she must come to a walk, and, having corrected her fault, resume the trot.

In the intervals of rest, in order not to lose time, the pupil should repeat at a walk the movements which she has learned already, the teacher becoming gradually more exacting in regard to the correctness of the positions and effects, adding also the three following movements, which are more complicated, and which complete the series, dealing with changes of direction.

The volte is a circular movement, executed by the horse upon a curved line, not less than twelve of his steps in length. The pupil being at a walk, and on the right hand of the school, the teacher will say:

1. Prepare to volte.—2. Volte,

explaining that the pupil should direct her horse to the right, exactly as if she merely meant to turn him in that direction, continuing, however, the same position, and using the same effects, until the twelve paces have been taken, which will bring her to the point of beginning, when she will resume the normal position, and go forward on the same hand.

The half-volte, as its name implies, comprises the first part of the movement, the pupil coming back to her place by a diagonal line.