iI.(8.!£'orimi 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING, 
 
 GENTLEMEN. 
 

 4 
 
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 9 
 
 o 
 
 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING, 
 
 GENTLEMEN ; 
 
 IN WHICH 
 
 THE LATE IMPROVEMENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE MANEGE AND MILITARY SYSTEMS 
 
 ARE APPLIED TO PRACTICE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 ^romcnafce, tjje KoaD, tf)c JFtelt), ant) tf)e (bourse. 
 
 BY JOHN ALLEN, 
 
 RIDING MASTER, SEYMOUR PLACE, BRYANSTONE SQUARE. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR THOMAS TEGG, NO. 73, CHEAPSIDE; 
 
 R. GRIFFIN, AND CO. GLASGOW; AND J. CUMMING, DUBLIN. 
 
 1825. 
 
C. and C. Whittingham, Cliiswick. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 In this work, the chief labour of the au- 
 thor has been to concentrate, in the smallest 
 space, every thing really useful which has 
 appeared on the Subject of Riding, — to add 
 thereto every recent improvement, — to ex- 
 press both in more simple and intelligible 
 language, — and to give the whole a more 
 systematic and impressive arrangement. 
 
 He has, accordingly, unreservedly pro- 
 fited from all the best writers on the sub- 
 
▼1 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 ject, as well as from the practice of the 
 Military Schools, where, by the simplicity 
 and practical nature of the methods adopt- 
 ed, more is done in one lesson than, in the 
 other schools, is effected in twenty *. 
 
 While he has avoided all those peculiari- 
 ties of military riding which result from the 
 adaptation of its methods to bodies of men, 
 he has omitted none of those natural and 
 simple improvements which its teachers 
 were compelled to make, in order both 
 quickly and surely to instruct their pupils. 
 
 * The result of this is that the military schools are crowded 
 with gentlemen, while the others are almost entirely deserted 
 by them ; and that they begin even to be frequented by those 
 ladies who are aware of the privacy, the selectness, and the 
 orderliness of the system adopted in them at the hours appro- 
 priated for the instruction of ladies. This is hard indeed on 
 the old teachers. Let them improve their methods ! 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. Vll 
 
 He, therefore, flatters himself that, at a 
 time when riding* has become so fashionable 
 an exercise, his work will more than any 
 preceding one ensure the security, ease, 
 and grace of the rider, both in the practice 
 of the manege, the only true and funda- 
 mental system, and in its application to the 
 Promenade, the Road, the Field, and the 
 Course. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 OF THE HORSE, ITS EQUIPMENTS, AND THE MODES OF 
 RIDING. 
 
 r.u-e 
 
 Chap. I. Of the natural Paces of the Horse 3 
 
 Chap. II. Of the Saddle and Bridle 7 
 
 Section I.— Of the Saddle 7 
 
 Section II.— Of the Bridle 11 
 
 Chap. III. Of the Modes of Riding 26 
 
 PART II. 
 
 OF MOUNTING, DISMOUNTING, ETC. 
 
 Chap. I. Of Mounting by distinct Steps S3 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary 33 
 
 Section II. — Of Mounting by distinct Steps . 34 
 
 / 
 
\ 
 
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chap. II. Of Dismounting by distinct Steps 39 
 
 Chap. III. Of other Modes of Mounting, &c 41 
 
 Section I. — Of Mounting and Dismounting 
 without Pauses — On the Off Side — Taking 
 
 up the Stirrups 41 
 
 Section II. — Of Mounting and Dismounting 
 
 without Stirrups 40 
 
 Section III. — Of Disposing the Reins 43 
 
 PART III. 
 
 OF THE SEAT, THE BALANCE, AND THE HAND. 
 
 Chap. I. Of the Manege Seat 47 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary 47 
 
 Section II. — General Division into Parts ... 48 
 
 Section III. — Position of particular Parts . . 49 
 
 Section IV. — Concluding Remarks 55 
 
 Chap. II. Of the Balance 58 
 
 Chap. III. Of the Hand 62 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary 62 
 
 Section II.— Of Holding the Reins 62 
 
 Section III. — Of the Correspondence and 
 
 Appui 63 
 
 Section IV. — Of the Qualities of the H and . . 68 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 OF THE AIDS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chap. I. Of the Aids of the Hand 79 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary 79 
 
 Section II. — The Five Positions when the 
 
 Reins are separate 80 
 
 Section III. — The Five Positions when the 
 
 Reins are not separate 82 
 
 Chap. II. Of the Aids of the Body 85 
 
 Chap. III. Of the Aids of the Legs 89 
 
 Chap. IV. Of Animations, Soothings, and Correc- 
 tions 92 
 
 Section I. — Of Animations 92 
 
 Section II. — Of Soothings 93 
 
 Section III. — Of Corrections 95 
 
 PART V. 
 
 OF THE DIRECT PACES. 
 
 Chap. I. Of the Walk 101 
 
 Section I. — Of the Walk generally and par- 
 ticularly 101 
 
 Section II.— Of Turns in the Walk 105 
 
 Section III.— Of Wheels in the Walk 108 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Section IV. — Of Changes and Demivolts in 
 
 the Walk Ill 
 
 Section V. — Of the Stop in the Walk 114 
 
 Section VI. — Of Going Backward in the 
 
 Walk 117 
 
 Chap. II. Of the Trot 122 
 
 Section I. — Of the Trot in general 122 
 
 Section II— Of the Kinds of Trot ] 24 
 
 Section III. — The Trot in particular 12(3 
 
 Section IV. — Of Turns, Stops, &c. in the 
 
 Trot 130 
 
 Chap. III. Of the Gallop 133 
 
 Section I. — Of the Gallop in general, and of 
 
 its Kinds 133 
 
 Section II. — Of the Canter in particular . . . 136 
 Section III. — Of Turns, Changes, Stops, &c. 
 
 in the Gallop 145 
 
 PART VI. 
 
 OF THE LATERAL PACES. 
 
 Chap. I. Of Shoulder-in, &c 157 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary 157 
 
 Section II.— Of Bending 158 
 
 Section III.— Of Shoulder-in 158 
 
 Section IV. — Of Changes, &c. in Shoulder- 
 in 167 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 Page 
 
 Chap. II. Of the Passage 169 
 
 Section I. — Of the Passage in general 169 
 
 Section II. — Of the Kinds of Passage 170 
 
 Section III. — Of the Passage in particular. . 172 
 
 Section IV. — Lesson on the Passage 179 
 
 Chap. III. Of the Terre-d-terre 187 
 
 Section I. — Of the Terre-d-terre in general. . 187 
 Section II. — Of the Terre-d-terre in parti- 
 cular 188 
 
 PART VII. 
 
 OF CIRCLING, LEAPING, AND CRITICAL SITUATIONS. 
 
 Chap. I. Of the Circle 193 
 
 Chap. II. Of Leaping 198 
 
 Section I. — Of Leaping in general 198 
 
 Section II. — Of the Standing Leap 201 
 
 Section III. — Of the Flying Leap 208 
 
 Chap. III. Of critical Situations 213 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary 213 
 
 Section II. — Of Rearing 215 
 
 Section III.— Of Kicking 218 
 
 Section IV. — Of Plunging 219 
 
 Section V. — Of Shying, &c 221 
 
 Section VI. — Of Restiveness 222 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 PART VIII. 
 
 OF THE CURB, STIRRUPS, AND SPURS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chap. I. Of the Curb, &c 231 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary 231 
 
 Section II. — Modes of Holding the Reins. . 232 
 
 Section III. — Of Shifting the Reins 234 
 
 Section IV. — Of Separating the Reins 237 
 
 Section V. — Of Changing the Reins 238 
 
 Section VI.— Of Adjusting the Reins 239 
 
 Section VII.— Of the Position of the Hand. 242 
 Section VIII. — Of the Management of the 
 
 Curb 243 
 
 Chap. II. Of Stirrups 245 
 
 Chap. III. Of Spurs 247 
 
 PART IX. 
 
 OF ROAD RIDING, HUNTING, AND RACING. 
 
 Chap. I. Of Road Riding 251 
 
 Chap. II. Of Hunting 261 
 
 Chap. III. Of Racing 278 
 
DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES. 
 
 Plate Page 
 
 I. Parts of the Horse 1 
 
 II. Mounting 34 
 
 III. Mounting 37 
 
 IV. Seat 38 
 
 V. Seat 56 
 
 VI. Seat 56 
 
 VII. Persian Seat 56 
 
 VIII. Roman Seat 51 
 
 IX. Grecian Seat 51 
 
 X. Walk 101 
 
 XI. Changes and Demivolts Ill 
 
 XII. Changes and Demivolts 113 
 
 XIII. Halt 117 
 
 XIV. Trot 132 
 
 XV. Cantering right forward 134 
 
 XVI. Cantering disunited 135 
 
 XVII. Cantering left forward 135 
 
 XVIII. Long Change 147 
 
 XIX. Shoulder-in 160 
 
 XX. Paces 160 
 
 XXI. Passage 178 
 
 XXII. Lesson on the Passage 179 
 
 XXIII. Terre-a-terre 187 
 
 XXIV. Lesson of the Circle 195 
 
 XXV. Leaping, Plate 1 201 
 
 XXVI. Leaping, Plate 2 201 
 
 XXVII. Leaping, Plate 3 201 
 
 XXVIII. Road Riding facing the Title. 
 
 XXIX. Trotting 277 
 
 XXX. Galloping 277 
 
 XXXI. Hunting Leap 277 
 
 XXXII. Racing 278 
 
m 
 m 
 
 hi 
 m 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING 
 
 PART I. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HORSE, ITS EQUIPMENTS, AND THE MODES OF RIDING. 
 
 
 B 
 
PART I. 
 
 OF THE HORSE, ITS EQUIPMENTS, AND THE 
 MODES OF RIDING. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OF THE NATURAL PACES OF THE HORSE. 
 
 The natural paces of the horse are the Walk, 
 the Trot, and the Gallop. These are all dis- 
 tinguished by the action of the legs and the 
 beats of the feet, which mark a sharp, flat, 
 slow, or rapid time. 
 
 I. The Walk is the most languid pace, 
 being performed with less exertion than the 
 others. 
 
 The action of the Walk is that motion of 
 the legs in which one at a time is off* the 
 
 n 2 
 
4 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 ground, and three on ; marking four distinct 
 beats, as each foot in rotation comes to the 
 ground in the following order : — The off fore 
 foot, leading first, marks one; the near hind 
 foot, two ; the near fore foot, three ; and the 
 oft' hind foot, four. 
 
 Here though the feet follow each other 
 quickly, yet the languor of the action makes 
 the beats flat. 
 
 II. The Trot is a more animated pace, 
 proceeding from the walk ; for when we urge 
 the horse to proceed faster than he can by 
 moving one leg after the other, we oblige him 
 to take up two at a time. 
 
 In the Trot, the off fore foot and the near 
 hind foot mark one beat; and the near fore 
 foot and the off hind foot mark another beat ; 
 so that in this action there are two legs cross- 
 wise off the ground, and two legs on, which in 
 their alternate change of situation mark the 
 time of one, two. 
 
MODERN RIDING. D 
 
 Here the beats are sharp, and quick, in 
 proportion to the degree of animation and 
 extension. 
 
 III. The Gallop is a pace of still higher 
 animation, and more exertion than the trot, 
 and proceeds from the trot as the trot does 
 from the walk ; for when we press a horse in 
 the trot beyond his capacity, or animate him 
 with the legs while we retain him with the 
 hand, we compel him to raise his two fore 
 legs after each other, which commences the 
 action of the Gallop. 
 
 The action of the Gallop is in the following 
 order, when leading with the right leg. — The 
 near fore foot is first raised from the ground ; 
 then the off fore foot. These come to the 
 ground in the same order. The near fore 
 foot marks one beat or time : the off fore foot, 
 passing the other, while both are in the air, 
 comes to the ground more forward, is the 
 leading foot, and marks the second beat. 
 The hind feet follow in like manner. The 
 near hind foot marks a third beat; and the 
 
6 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 off hind foot, passing, comes to the ground 
 more forward, and marks a fourth beat. 
 Thus the action of the Gallop is by means of 
 the two fore legs leading close after each 
 other; and the hind legs immediately follow- 
 ing in like order. 
 
 Here, when the gallop is united and true, 
 the feet mark a regular, sharp, and quick 
 time, of one, two, three, four. 
 
 IV. The Amble may perhaps be considered 
 as a natural pace of the horse ; because most 
 foals following their dams amble more or less 
 to keep up with them. The difference be- 
 tween the walk and the amble is, that two 
 legs of a side are raised in the latter at one 
 and the same instant, and so on vice versa. 
 
 • 
 
MODERN RIDING. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF THE SADDLE AND BRIDLE. 
 
 Section I. Of the Saddle. 
 
 The saddle must be considered first with re- 
 lation to the horse, and secondly with relation 
 to the rider. 
 
 I. With regard to the horse, the saddle 
 prevents the friction he would endure if bare- 
 backed, or if he had merely a cloth on ; and 
 it distributes the weight of the rider to the 
 parts most capable of bearing it. 
 
 Without a saddle, the horse would sustain 
 the weight in the middle and weakest part of 
 the back ; but with a saddle, the rider's weight 
 is distributed, as the saddle has bearings be- 
 fore and behind, but none in the middle. 
 
8 PRINCIPLES OF P. T. 
 
 Hence it is evident, that the saddle should 
 be proportioned to the size of the horse ; the 
 bearings before being clear of interference 
 with the plate-bone, and not extending further 
 behind than within four inches of the hips. 
 
 The bearing of the saddle should be equal 
 on every part it is intended to touch ; and 
 the closer it comes, so that neither the weight 
 of the rider nor settling of the pannel can 
 bring it to injure the withers or chine, the 
 better. 
 
 The rider should, therefore, examine with 
 his finger from the bearing; of the side of the 
 withers to the point of the tree, whether it 
 appears to have equal pressure ; and the same 
 around the hinder part of the saddle. 
 
 If there be space for the finger between the 
 pommel and the withers, and between the 
 chine and back part of the saddle, it probably 
 will not injure the horse, unless the tree, being 
 weak, spread with the weight of the rider, or 
 the pannel is newly stuffed. 
 
 
MODERN RIDING. 9 
 
 If, on the contrary, the points are so narrow 
 that the saddle cannot come to its bearings 
 till the girths or the weight of the rider bring 
 it down, the pressure at these points may oc- 
 casion heat and inflammation ; and the same 
 is true as to the hind part of the saddle. 
 
 If, again, the saddle come down on its bear- 
 ings, and the points are short, and stand so 
 wide as not to touch, and the pommel so high 
 as not to injure the withers (being the plan 
 on which saddles are made to suit any horse), 
 still a saddle with such contracted bearings 
 cannot be said to fit, and when long journeys 
 are taken in hot weather, inflammation will 
 be produced. 
 
 If a saddle do not fit, the pannel cannot be 
 stuffed so as to insure its not injuring the 
 horse ; and where it does fit, superfluous 
 stuffing should be avoided, as causing the 
 saddle to shift its place, &c. 
 
 II. With regard to the rider, it must be 
 observed, that a saddle may form a most 
 
10 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 unpleasant seat for him, though it fit the 
 horse. 
 
 The best test of the propriety or adaptation 
 of the seat is, when the rider, without stirrups 
 and without effort, easily falls into and keeps 
 his proper situation in the saddle ; for, when 
 the seat is improperly shaped, he will be 
 shifted and placed insecurely. 
 
 When the saddle is on the horse's back, 
 the lowest part of the seat should be rather 
 behind the centre of the saddle. There the 
 weight of the body will fall, and the thighs be 
 permitted to keep their proper position. 
 
 We have no hesitation in mentioning Jack- 
 son* as the best maker of gentlemen's saddles 
 in London. His admirable improvements 
 also in ladies' saddles render them the only 
 ones fit to be used, as we have elsewhere 
 shown. 
 
 r. 
 
 * No. 115, Crawford Street. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 11 
 
 Section II. Of the Bridle. 
 
 The bridle consists of reins and bits ; for the 
 latter term may be applied to any piece of 
 metal introduced into the horse's mouth for 
 the purpose of restraint. 
 
 I. A short iron rod, made rather wider than 
 the mouth of the horse, and provided with a 
 hook or ring at each extremity for fastening 
 the reins to, affords us an instance perhaps of 
 the greatest possible simplicity in the con- 
 struction of a bit ; and such a one only slight- 
 ly curved forwards, to allow more liberty for 
 the tongue, is at present in general use for the 
 heavier kind of draft horses. 
 
 A rod similar to the former, in two pieces, 
 and connected by a joint in the middle, is 
 the next in point of simplicity, and is in 
 common use for horses of light draft, as in 
 those employed for the curricle, coach, &c. 
 
 1. The next in point of farther complica- 
 tion of parts, and which scarcely can be said 
 
12 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 to differ from the former, is the common snaf- 
 fle. This is provided with two cross pieces, 
 which rest against the lips or sides of the 
 mouth externally; for, as the snaffle is in- 
 tended for the saddle horse, and the reins go 
 to the hands, these cross pieces are useful in 
 preventing the bit from being drawn through 
 the mouth. 
 
 The distinction between a bridon and snaf- 
 fle is of little consequence ; for, on all occa- 
 sions, the cross pieces of the latter are most 
 convenient; and the bridon is merely an 
 imperfect snaffle. 
 
 To give the greatest ease possible, a large 
 and highly polished bit is necessary. 
 
 On the other hand, to give the greatest de- 
 gree of severity to the mouth piece of the 
 snaffle, it is twisted while hot in a spiral form, 
 and is made to present by this means a sharp, 
 rough, and unequal surface to the jaw, being 
 capable, according to the degree of sharp- 
 ness, of pressing the bars or lips with greater 
 
MODERN RIDING. 13 
 
 or less severity. The different degrees of 
 punishment which this kind of bit is capable 
 of inflicting will perhaps be found sufficient 
 for all the purposes of correction. 
 
 2. The next kind of bit in use for horses is 
 the curbed bit ; which, as it is an instrument 
 of much greater complication of parts than 
 the snaffle, so it appears to have been of com- 
 paratively recent date. 
 
 Stripped of all unnecessary trappings, this 
 instrument consists of the following essential 
 parts : — a mouth piece; two side branches, or 
 inflexible rods of iron, firmly fixed to the for- 
 mer ; a chain passing from side to side, behind 
 the chin, including the jaw; two eyes or rings 
 at the upper extremity of these branches, 
 serving to fasten them to the head stall, and 
 stay them in the mouth, and leaving the chain 
 attached to them ; two other rings at the lower 
 extremity of the above branches receiving the 
 reins, which pass to the hand, or sometimes 
 in draft horses to the hook of the saddle, as 
 
14 PRINCIPLES OP P. I. 
 
 a bearing rein. These are all the parts really 
 necessary to constitute the curb. 
 
 The bits thus formed being placed in the 
 mouth, and the chain passed round the lower 
 jaw, the branches, it will be readily seen, be- 
 come powerful levers when drawn backwards, 
 acting upon the mouth piece as a centre, and 
 squeezing, by means of the chain, whatever 
 interposes between it and the mouth piece, 
 with a force equal to the length of lever af- 
 forded by the lower branch. 
 
 This force, it will be perceived, is regulated 
 not only by the length of the lever below the 
 mouth piece, but also by the greater or less 
 distance at v/hich the chain is placed from it. 
 The chain is usually fixed to the eye of the 
 cheek piece, where the head stall is fastened : 
 if, therefore, this part is very long, it is evi- 
 dent it must moderate or counteract the power 
 and effect of the lower end of the branch, 
 and render it less severe, by bringing the 
 centre of motion nearer to the middle of the 
 lever. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 15 
 
 It appears manifest, from the construction 
 of this instrument, that its whole force is 
 exerted upon the jaw itself, and that it has 
 power to pinch the bars with violence, even to 
 the fracture of the bone ; and this with very 
 powerful branches has sometimes happened. 
 It can also bruise and totally destroy the ten- 
 der covering of the inside of the mouth, and 
 the skin beneath the jaw. 
 
 From considering its mode of operating, it 
 might reasonably be doubted whether it does 
 in reality stop the horse by its power and op- 
 posed force, as is generally conceived at pre- 
 sent, or rather by the severity of the pain it 
 inflicts; for should the horse arm himself 
 against this, it is totally insufficient to arrest 
 his course ; of which instances occur in run- 
 away horses every day. 
 
 We may now speak of the particular parts 
 of the curb. 
 
 The mouth piece of the curb is usually pro- 
 vided with an upset or arch in the middle of 
 
16 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 it, as it would, if perfectly straight, rest on 
 the tongue, and occasion an unpleasant re- 
 straint. This passage for the tongue is often 
 made so narrow and small by the bit makers, 
 that one would apprehend they scarcely had 
 a right idea of its use. It should not, how- 
 ever, be high. From the circumstance of its 
 allowing a passage for the tongue, it has been 
 called by some, the liberty ; and, for the same 
 reason, by others, the porte; hence we have 
 the porte-mouth bit, vulgarly called among 
 the bit makers and grooms the Portsmouth 
 bit; and by a supposed counter expression to 
 this term, we probably get the Weymouth 
 bit. 
 
 The straight part of the mouth piece which 
 rests upon the bars of the jaw is termed by 
 the French le canon, and by the old English 
 writers the jeive. This part should be well 
 polished, and may be made of any proper 
 figure, as that of a cylinder, cone, oval, globe, 
 pear shape, &c. It is obvious that the effect 
 of the curb, as far as it respects the bars, will 
 be correspondent to the thickness or thinness, 
 
MODERN HIDING. 17 
 
 smoothness or roughness, of this part : — the 
 larger and broader it is, the more surface it 
 covers; and thus the pressure, by being dis- 
 tributed over more points, becomes less felt. 
 The enlargement, however, of the canon or 
 jeive should not to be carried to an excess. 
 To render these irons less irritating to the 
 mouth, and to avoid their friction upon the 
 bars, the jeives are provided with loose mov- 
 able rollers of well polished iron, which 
 readily turning on the axes of the bits, very 
 considerably diminish their severity. These 
 movable pieces may also be useful in pre- 
 venting the horse from catching and holding 
 the bit in his teeth. 
 
 The chain is the part most essentially ne- 
 cessary to give effect to all the other parts of 
 the curb, and may be placed, as we have 
 already noticed, at any given distance above 
 the mouth piece; its operation being more 
 powerful, as this distance is exceeded by the 
 length of the branches. 
 
18 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 The chain is fastened on one side to the 
 eye of the banquet where the head-stall is 
 fastened ; on the other, to a hook hanging 
 from the same part. This chain, as it is at 
 present used, is composed of iron links or 
 rings, so bent, or indented, as to form, when 
 put together, one uniform nearly flat surface ; 
 and these links, by twisting or untwisting, 
 may be made to present a surface with any 
 degree of roughness to the chin. 
 
 The larger and thicker the rings are, pro- 
 vided they are smooth and well polished, the 
 easier the effect of the chain. 
 
 When great tenderness is required, this 
 chain may be covered with leather or cloth ; 
 or where still greater delicacy is desirable, 
 the curb may be made wholly of leather, 
 without any chain. 
 
 In the view we are taking of the construc- 
 tion of the bit, the sides have been considered 
 as straight, plain levers of indeterminate 
 
MODERN RIDING. 19 
 
 length : this is, however, in practice, often 
 varied. 
 
 By some, to prevent the horse from catch- 
 ing the bit in his mouth (when in the straight 
 kind this is not prevented by a chin strap), 
 the branch is made with an arch or semicircle 
 in the middle, like the letter C, turned back- 
 wards. Still, however, whether bent into 
 that or any other shape, it is the length of 
 the lever, and its strength, which alone give 
 the power. 
 
 As to the cheek piece or banquet, its eye 
 commands and gives efficiency to the rest of 
 the bit, or, in other words, decides the dis- 
 tance of the chain from the mouth piece, or 
 centre of motion. The eye, or hole at the 
 upper end of the branch, should be so placed 
 as not to hurt the cheek. 
 
 The most useful bit of the curbed kind 
 appears to be the Weymouth bit, which is at 
 present in common use for draft horses of 
 light work, as for carriages, coaches, Sec. It 
 
 r ° 
 
20 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 consists of a strong plain mouth piece, of 
 uniform thickness throughout, without any 
 upset or jeive, but is simply curved forwards 
 to give liberty to the tongue. This kind of 
 construction is the simplest perhaps that the 
 curb admits of. 
 
 The easier, simpler, and lighter a bit is in 
 all its parts, provided it produces the desired 
 effect, the better and more agreeable it will 
 be. 
 
 The thicker and more fleshy, and the wider 
 or broader the bars of the horse, the rougher 
 may be the mouth piece. For the leaner 
 and more delicate, consequently, the bits 
 should be less severe. Care should also be 
 taken that the mouth piece be well suited to 
 the size and width of the mouth, and be not 
 too narrow, as this would give pain, by 
 squeezing the bars together : if, on the con- 
 trary, it is very wide, it rests with more force 
 on the bars, without the interposition of the 
 lips, as is most usually the case. Where the 
 tongue is large and prominent, the upset 
 
MODERN RIDING. 21 
 
 should also be in proportion, otherwise the 
 bit could not rest upon the bars, but would 
 press upon the tongue. 
 
 3. As to the Reins, we need only observe, 
 that their centres should be accurately 
 marked ; but when, by both reins being- 
 held in one hand, the near or left rein has 
 to pass under the little finger and on the out- 
 side of the right rein over the forefinger, this 
 should cause the right rein to be held from 
 half to three quarters of an inch shorter, and 
 the centre to come proportionably toward 
 the left. 
 
 4. It remains for us to notice the proper 
 application and adjustment of these to the 
 horse's mouth. 
 
 In adjusting the bridle on the horse, the 
 headstall, parallel to the projecting cheek 
 bone, and immediately above it, must be of 
 such length as to admit the mouth piece of 
 the curb to rest on the bars, an inch above 
 
22 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 the lower tushes, but clearing the under ones. 
 Mares having no tushes, the mouth piece 
 must be placed in their mouths about two 
 inches above the corner tooth. The nose 
 band must be buckled beneath the snaffle 
 headstall, and so that a finger can pass freely 
 under it in front of the horse's nose. The bit 
 of the snaffle must be a little higher, but not 
 so high as to wrinkle the corner of the mouth. 
 The throat-lash should be buckled rather 
 loose, to admit the horse when going to bri- 
 dle his head. The mane is usually cut close 
 where the headstall comes, and the finger 
 should clear any part of the mane or fore- 
 top that may interfere with it. The foretop, 
 when combed smooth, may be put over or 
 under the front. The curb is the last thing- 
 adjusted, and though a trifling variation may 
 be proper, according to the manner in which 
 the horse carries his head, we set down that 
 which suits the generality of horses. 
 
 The curb chain is to pass under the snaffle : 
 therefore put your right hand under the 
 
MODERN HIDING. 23 
 
 snaffle reins to take hold of the curb chain ; 
 with the left, put two fingers within the 
 cheek of the bit ; and with your thumb take 
 hold of the curb hook. The end links of the 
 curb chain being in your right hand, turn 
 the chain to the right, or as you would turn 
 a screw, till every link lies smooth and flat, 
 as though it were a strap, and then without 
 losing a half turn, put that link on the hook 
 which appears to be most appropriate, i. e. 
 neither tight nor slack, and examine how the 
 branch operates. If the branch has liberty 
 to move forty-five degrees and no more, it is 
 the action which is most proper ; but a few 
 degrees more or less are not to be regarded. 
 Nevertheless, if one link of the chain confines 
 it to thirty-five degrees, and putting one link 
 lower gives it liberty to fifty-five degrees, the 
 manner your horse carries his head must de- 
 termine which of the links is most proper. 
 If the horse naturally carries his nose high, 
 let the branch have fifty-five degrees : if he 
 brings his nose in, thirty-five will be best. 
 We should be able to pass the finger between 
 the horse's jaw and the curb. 
 
24 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 If there is a chain-strap, the strap must be 
 placed so high on the branch, that when 
 passed through the ring in the curb-chain, it 
 must be buckled to such tightness as to pre- 
 clude the possibility of the horse lodging the 
 branch on his teeth. Unnecessary tightness 
 should be avoided, as it renders the bit less 
 comfortable to the horse. 
 
 When a horse can stop readily and with 
 ease, when his head is constant and steady, 
 and he is light and firm in the hand, and so 
 supple as to be able to obey it in all its mo- 
 tions with ease and readiness, he gives ample 
 proof that the bit is properly adjusted and 
 fitted to his mouth, and that he is reconciled 
 and even pleased with the power it exercises 
 over him : on the contrary, if he open his 
 mouth as if he was gagged, if he writhe and 
 twist his jaws, if he draw up his tongue above 
 the mouth piece, or thrust it out of his mouth 
 sideways, if he retain himself or run back- 
 ward, if he carry his head very low, and 
 endeavour to force the hand, if he fear the 
 impression of the bit, have no appuy, toss his 
 
MODERN RIDING. 25 
 
 head up and down, or refuse to advance and 
 go forward, interrupting his manege with 
 various disorders, he gives evident reason to 
 suspect that the bit is not properly adapted 
 to his mouth, and offends or hurts it, either 
 within side or without. 
 
26 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE MODES OF RIDING. 
 
 Manege riding is the art which teaches us 
 command over the horse. For this purpose, 
 it shows the effect and power produced by 
 every variation of situation and aids. These 
 are its means of rendering the horse obedient 
 to the most delicate touches, of riding him 
 with the greatest ease and exactness either 
 forward, backward, or sideways, and of mak- 
 ing him display himself in the most elegant 
 attitudes. 
 
 By this method we ride with perfect se- 
 curity ; for though we do so with the highest 
 animation, and occasional rapidity, we never 
 suffer the ascendency of the hand to be trans- 
 ferred to the horse. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 27 
 
 By this continual restraint, the horse is of 
 course in general prevented from making the 
 speed his capacity would admit : and the 
 more he exerts himself to that purpose with- 
 out the rider's permission the sooner he is 
 exhausted. 
 
 It is evident that to those who ride fast 
 long distances, or who hunt, the manege style 
 is not calculated, either as regards their own 
 ease or that of the horse. 
 
 Nevertheless, besides the fundamental and 
 indispensable knowledge which it imparts, the 
 study of the manege has many advantages. 
 
 We are not confined to riding in the manege 
 style when we find it more convenient to ride 
 in any other ; but whenever we adopt the 
 proper style for more extended paces, and 
 suffer the horse to take a support and as- 
 cendency of the hand, we can, when neces- 
 sary, more readily recover the superiority of 
 the hand than those who are ignorant of the 
 art. 
 
28 PRINCIPLES OF P. I. 
 
 There are many persons who have been in 
 the habit of riding from their infancy, who 
 ride boldly in hunting, or on other occasions, 
 and who yet, if by chance their horses hap- 
 pen to be restive, stop short, turn round, and 
 refuse to obey the bridle or answer the spurs, 
 are very awkward, destitute of knowledge to 
 act effectively, and really in danger of being 
 thrown. This may arise not from any extra- 
 ordinary effort of the horse, but from defect 
 in the seat ; which, though sufficient to keep 
 them in the saddle in the common paces of 
 the horse, exposes them to danger on the 
 most trifling occasions. 
 
 From ignorance of the principles of riding, 
 such persons, moreover, are continually ex- 
 posed to innumerable hazards, which they do 
 not see, nor will attribute to the true causes 
 when they happen. 
 
 A horse trips, for instance, and the rider 
 tumbles over his head. He then ascribes 
 that to the horse's falling, which is really 
 ascribable to his bad riding ; as he ought not 
 
MODERN RIDING. 29 
 
 to have fallen with his horse, but should have 
 assisted him, and prevented the accident. 
 The general cause of horses falling is more 
 the fault of the rider than the horse, namely, 
 bad sitting, and heavy hands. 
 
 We are often told that a horse reared, and 
 the person fell off behind, in order that the 
 horse might not fall backwards on him ; but 
 we are not told the occasion of the horse's 
 rearing, which was perhaps only the severity 
 of the rider's hand . 
 
 Another's horse is said to have shyed to 
 the other side of the road, and the rider is 
 thereby said to have lost his stirrup and fallen 
 into the ditch. The rider of course never 
 says, he fell because he could not ride, but 
 because the horse shyed. 
 
 We have all heard also of persons, who, 
 riding against other horses, or meeting car- 
 riages in narrow places, could not stop the 
 horse, but ran against the shafts, killed the 
 horse on the spot, or providentially escaped 
 
30 MODERN RIDING, ETC. P. I. 
 
 with only a few contusions and bruises. No 
 prudent horseman ever met with such disas- 
 ters. 
 
 The reason of such accidents is obvious. 
 
 A person may sit prepared for a horse's 
 rearing ; yet, if the horse were only to stum- 
 ble on his knees he would tumble over his 
 head. 
 
 The rider who, on the contrary, should 
 guard only against kicking and stumbling, 
 would be exposed to danger if the horse 
 reared. 
 
 The rules of manege riding place every 
 member in a situation to act on every 
 emergency. 
 
 Other modes of riding will be explained in 
 the sequel. 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 OF 
 
 MOUNTING, DISMOUNTING, ETC. 
 
 «! 
 
 \ 
 
/ 
 
PART II. 
 
 OF MOUNTING, DISMOUNTING, ETC. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF MOUNTING BY DISTINCT STEPS. 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary . 
 
 The pupil should be brought forward by 
 degrees, and with due preparation. His les- 
 sons should be short and gentle, as well with 
 a view to his gradual progress, as to prevent 
 injury from too great exertion. 
 
 Some teachers so much regard this pro- 
 gression that before they place a man on 
 horseback they make him execute, and that 
 with facility, lessons with the bridle and sad- 
 
 D 
 
34 PRINCIPLES OF P. II. 
 
 die alone ; and these occupy his attention 
 several days. 
 
 The early lessons are given with a snaffle 
 bridle, on a well trained and steady horse. 
 
 The first instructions are those of Mounting 
 and Dismounting. 
 
 Section II. — Of Mounting by distinct Steps. 
 
 Whatever the disposition of a horse may 
 be, he should be approached apparently in 
 good temper. Horses know by appearance 
 whether the rider is angry or pleased, bold 
 or timid, handy or awkward. A soothing 
 tone of voice and caresses are pleasing ; and 
 to such as are unsteady, or have a dislike to 
 be mounted, it helps to dispel their fears. 
 Young horses especially should therefore be 
 thus gently treated and much encouraged. 
 
 Before mounting, it is proper to observe 
 whether the saddle is rightly placed, the girths 
 
MODERN RIDING. 35 
 
 secure and not too tight (for many horses are 
 apt to plunge when they are), the bridle 
 fitly on, and the curb when used smoothly 
 placed. 
 
 It is customary to mount a horse on the 
 near or left side. 
 
 The rider presents himself rather before 
 the horse's shoulder, with his left breast to- 
 wards that shoulder, and with his whip or 
 switch in his left hand. 
 
 He then takes the snaffle reins in the cen- 
 tre with the right hand, introduces the little 
 finger of the left hand between them from 
 before, the back of that hand being towards 
 the horse's head, and places the left hand 
 below the right on the neck of the horse, 
 about twelve inches from the saddle. 
 
 The right hand draws the reins through 
 the left and shortens them, so that the left 
 has a light and equal feeling of both reins on 
 
 d 2 
 
36 PRINCIPLES OF P. II. 
 
 the horse's mouth ; the right hand remaining 
 for an instant over the left. 
 
 The right hand, after throwing the reins to 
 the off side, takes a lock of the mane, brings 
 it through the left hand, and turns it round 
 the left thumb. The left hand closes firmly 
 on the mane and reins. 
 
 The right hand, after quitting the mane, 
 lays hold of the left stirrup ; the fingers be- 
 hind, and the thumb in front of it. Plate II. 
 
 4 
 
 m 
 
MODERN RIDING. 37 
 
 The left foot is raised, and put into the 
 stirrup as far as the ball of it; and, while the 
 right hand is placed on the cantle, or back 
 part of the saddle, the left knee is placed 
 against the saddle on the surcingle, and the 
 left heel is drawn back, in order to avoid 
 touching the horse's side with the toe. 
 
 By a spring of the right foot from the in- 
 step, the rider raises himself in the stirrup *, 
 bringing both heels together, the knees firm 
 against the saddle, and the heels drawn back 
 a little, the body erect, and partially sup- 
 ported by the right hand. Plate III. 
 
 * In this motion, the learner should be cautioned not to 
 attempt to raise himself by pulling with his right hand, which 
 would tend to displace the saddle : he must depend chiefly 
 on the spring of the right foot. 
 
38 PRINCIPLES OF P. II. 
 
 The right hand moves from the cantle to 
 the pummel of the saddle, and supports the 
 body while the right leg passes clearly over 
 the horse's quarters to the off side. The 
 right knee closes on the saddle, and the body 
 comes gently into it. 
 
 The left hand quits the mane, and the right 
 the pummel. The left or bridle hand, with 
 the wrist rounded outwards, is placed oppo- 
 site the centre of the body, and at three 
 inches distance from it. The right arm is 
 dropped, extended without constraint, the 
 hand by the side of the thigh. The stirrup 
 is taken instantly with the right foot, without 
 the help of hand or eye. Plate IV. 
 
 The clothes are adjusted, and the whip 
 exchanged from the left hand to the right, 
 being held with the lash upwards, but inclin- 
 ing a little towards the left ear of the horse, 
 and never departing from the right hand, 
 except while mounting or dismounting. 
 
 The horse is to be accustomed to stand till 
 you request him to move. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 39 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF DISMOUNTING BY DISTINCT STEPS. 
 
 Dismounting is to disengage oneself from 
 the horse in like manner. 
 
 First, the whip is to be returned into the 
 left hand. 
 
 The right hand takes hold of the rein above 
 the left. The right foot quits the stirrup. 
 
 The right hand holding the rein, the left 
 slides forward on it, about twelve inches from 
 the saddle, feeling the horse's mouth very 
 lightly. 
 
 The right hand dropping the reins to the 
 off side, takes a lock of the mane, brings it 
 through the left, twists it round the left thumb. 
 The fingers of the left hand close on it. 
 
40 PRINCIPLES OF P. II. 
 
 The right hand is placed on the pummel. 
 The body is kept erect. 
 
 Supporting the body with the right hand 
 and left foot, the right leg is brought gently 
 (without touching the horse's hind quarters 
 or the saddle) to the near side, the heels 
 close ; the right hand passing at the same 
 time to the cantle of the saddle to preserve 
 the balance of the body, as in the act of 
 mounting. 
 
 The body is gently lowered until the right 
 toe touches the ground. 
 
 Resting on the right foot the left stirrup is 
 quitted, and the left foot is placed in line with 
 the horse's hoofs ; the hands remaining as in 
 the former motion. 
 
 Both hands quit their hold of the mane and 
 cantle, and the right hand lays hold of the 
 snaffle rein near the ring of the bit. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 41 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF OTHER MODES OF MOUNTING, ETC. 
 
 Section I. — Of Mounting and Dismounting with- 
 out Pauses — On the Off Side — Taking up the 
 Stirrups. 
 
 As soon as the learner is perfect in these 
 detailed motions, he should be practised in 
 mounting and dismounting at once, without 
 pausing between the several motions. 
 
 At all riding lessons, learners should go 
 once through the detailed motions of Mount- 
 ing and Dismounting. 
 
 Learners should also be occasionally prac- 
 tised in Mounting and Dismounting on the 
 Off Side. 
 
 It is good to be expert at mounting on 
 either side. The instructions given for the 
 
42 PRINCIPLES OF P. II. 
 
 one will answer for the other, taking only the 
 right hand for the left, and the left for the 
 right, and when mounted, shifting the bridle 
 instead of the whip. 
 
 When the learner has been practised a 
 few times in the motions of Mounting and 
 Dismounting, he should, when mounted, be 
 taught to take up the stirrups, and to fasten 
 them in front of the saddle, over the horse's 
 neck. 
 
 Section II. — Of Mounting and Dismounting 
 zmthout Stirrups. 
 
 In mounting without stirrups — After taking 
 up the reins, instead of seizing the mane, the 
 pupil is to lay hold of the pummel and cantle 
 of the saddle, and mount by a spring of both 
 legs from the insteps, by which means the 
 body is raised to the centre of the saddle. 
 By a second spring of both arms, the leg is 
 carried over the horse, and the man enters 
 his proper seat by closing the knees on the 
 saddle, and sliding gently into it. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 43 
 
 The pupil is to be taught to dismount with- 
 out stirrups on either side of the horse, by 
 throwing the weight of the body on the hands, 
 which must be placed on the pummel, and by 
 a spring, raising the body out of the saddle 
 before the leg is brought over the horse. 
 
 Section III. — Of Disposing the Reins. 
 
 The pupil should then divide the reins, 
 placing them between the third and fourth 
 fingers of each hand, the end of the reins 
 being thrown over the fore fingers, the thumb 
 closed on them, and the fingers shut. 
 
 When afterwards further advanced, he 
 holds the reins in the left hand as they are at 
 first taken up. 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING 
 
 PART III. 
 
 OF 
 
 THE SEAT, THE BALANCE, AND THE HAND. 
 
PART III. 
 
 OF THE SEAT, THE BALANCE, AND THE 
 HAND. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF THE MANEGE SEAT. 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary . 
 
 The Seat is the Disposition of the several 
 parts of the horseman's body, agreeably to 
 the manner in which the horse works. 
 
 The immediate result of this is the keep- 
 ing firm in the saddle at such times as the 
 body is liable to be thrown on the horse's 
 neck, if not over his head, or to tumble back- 
 ward over the horse's tail. 
 
48 PRINCIPLES OF V. III. 
 
 The fundamental Seat is that medium posi- 
 tion from which all others proceed, and in 
 which the rider sits when the horse is not only 
 going straight forward, but without any bend 
 in his position. 
 
 Section II.' — General Division into Parts. 
 
 In describing this, it is usual to consider the 
 horseman in three parts, and to explain their 
 different functions. 
 
 I. The first are the thighs, from the fork to 
 the knees. 
 
 These are commonly called the immovable 
 parts ; and upon them the whole attitude 
 depends. They ought certainly to be so far 
 without motion as not to wriggle and roll 
 about so as to disturb the horse, or render 
 the seat weak and loose ; but the thighs may 
 be relaxed, and even opened to a certain 
 degree Avith propriety and advantage, when 
 the horse hesitates, and doubts whether he 
 shall advance or not. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 49 
 
 II. The next are the legs, from the knee 
 downwards. These are auxiliaries, and oc- 
 casionally strengthen the hold of the thighs 
 by a grasp with the calves. They likewise 
 aid, support, and chastise the horse. 
 
 III. The last is the body, from the fork 
 upwards, which must always be in a situation 
 to preserve the balance, and take the corres- 
 ponding motion. 
 
 Section III. — Position of particular Part*. 
 
 I. Let the horseman then place himself at 
 once upon his fork, sitting exactly in the 
 middle of the saddle, and let him support 
 this posture in which the fork alone seems to 
 sustain the weight of the whole body, by very 
 moderately leaning upon his buttock. 
 
 Let the thighs be turned inward, and rest 
 flat upon the sides of the saddle ; and, in 
 order to do this, let the turn of the thighs 
 proceed directly from the hips, and let him 
 
30 principles or P. III. 
 
 employ no force or strength to keep himself 
 in the saddle, but trust to his weight. 
 
 The horseman never avails himself of the 
 strength of his thighs, because, besides that 
 they would then be less steady, the closer he 
 pressed them to the saddle, the more would 
 he be lifted above it. 
 
 The muscles of the thighs however act as 
 springs, taking a moderate and pleasant hold, 
 and by practice they act involuntarily in pre- 
 serving the seat. Thus, when the body is a 
 little thrown to one side, the next motion the 
 body receives, the muscles in the opposite 
 thigh recover the seat again, and by this nice 
 action of the muscles the seat is continually 
 preserved. 
 
 The knees must be stretched down and 
 kept back, so as to place the thighs about 
 twenty-five or tlurty degrees short of a per- 
 pendicular. This will cause the rider to sit 
 on his fork. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 51 
 
 The rider is never to gripe the horse with 
 his knees, unless there be danger of losing all 
 other hold. If the knees be forced or closely 
 pressed against the saddle, the proper action 
 of the body with that of the horse will be 
 lost. 
 
 II. If the thighs are upon their flat side in 
 the saddle, the legs will by a necessary con- 
 sequence be turned just as they ought to be, 
 and will infallibly give the same turn to the 
 feet, because the feet depend upon them as 
 they depend upon the thighs. 
 
 The legs then are to be in a line with the 
 rider's body, and they are to hang near the 
 horse's sides, but not to touch. 
 
 The legs are also to give an additional hold 
 to the seat when necessary ; and the calves 
 are to act in support of the aids of the hand. 
 Being near the part of the horse's body where 
 his feeling is most delicate, they are ready to 
 do their office the instant they are wanted. 
 
 e 2 
 
52 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 The heels are to be sunk as low as pos- 
 sible, and the toes to be raised from the 
 insteps, and to be as near the horse as the 
 heels. 
 
 This will give firmness and strength to the 
 muscles of the legs and thighs, and prevent 
 the heel touching the horse ; for the lower 
 the toe is as well as the more outward, the 
 nearer the heel will be to the sides of the 
 horse, and the more in danger of touching 
 his flank. 
 
 III. The head should be free, firm, and 
 easy. It should be firm, that is to say, straight, 
 without leaning to the right or left, neither 
 advanced nor thrown back, in order to be 
 ready for all the natural motions that the 
 horseman may make in turning it to one side 
 or the other. Otherwise it would occasion a 
 stiffness • and that stiffness affecting the diffe- 
 rent parts of the body, especially the spine, 
 they would be constrained. 
 
 The shoulders should be thrown back. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 53 
 
 The chest should be advanced. 
 
 The small of the back should be bent a 
 little forward. 
 
 IV. The upper parts of the arms should 
 hang perpendicularly from the shoulders. 
 
 The lower parts should beat right angles 
 with the upper. 
 
 The elbows should be lightly closed to the 
 hips, but without stiffness. 
 
 If the elbows are not kept steady, they 
 will give an uncertainty and fickleness to the 
 hand, sufficient to ruin it for ever. 
 
 The wrist should be rounded a little out- 
 wards. 
 
 The hands should be placed so that the lit- 
 tle fingers may be on a level with the elbows, 
 about four, and never more than six inches 
 
54 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 apart; the thumbs and knuckles pointing 
 towards each other. 
 
 When at rest, the hands are to be in line 
 with each other, and about three inches from 
 the body. When in motion round the ma- 
 nege or the circle, the inward hand (which is 
 the hand on which he turns), is to be a little 
 lower than the outward one. 
 
 When the rider is in the proper position on 
 horseback without stirrups, his nose, breast, 
 knee, and instep, will be nearly in a line. 
 With stirrups, the nose, breast, knee, and toe 
 will form a perpendicular line. 
 
 The manege seat in these respects corres- 
 ponds with the advice of Xenophon : — " We 
 would not have him sit in the attitude of one 
 who drives a chariot, but as if he were stand- 
 ing erect with his legs somewhat astride, for 
 thus his thighs will cling closer to the horse, 
 and, being upright, he will be better able to 
 wield his lance, and strike with more force/' 
 
MODERN RIDING. 55 
 
 This, then, is the general position on horse- 
 back, when the horse stands still or is moving 
 at a walk. 
 
 Section IV. — Concluding Remarks. 
 
 It is ever to be understood, that the man and 
 the horse are to be of a piece. In other 
 words, when the horse is at liberty and dis- 
 united, then the rider, in like manner, sits at 
 his ease, and may be said to be disunited ; 
 and as he begins to collect and unite his horse, 
 so he collects and unites himself. When the 
 rider is pressing a horse to the union, and 
 drawing from him the most elegant attitude 
 and lofty action, the rider's attitude must like- 
 wise be in the extreme of elegance, and his 
 exertions in the same proportion as that of 
 the horse. 
 
 We may conclude by observing with Be- 
 renger, that the seat alone may be cultivated 
 for some time ; and when the scholar is 
 arrived at a certain degree of firmness and 
 confidence, if the horse can be trusted, let 
 
56 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 the master hold the longe, and the pupil, 
 abandoning the government of him to the 
 master, ride him to both sides with his hands 
 behind him. This will very soon settle him 
 with firmness in the saddle, will advance his 
 waist, will place his head, will stretch him 
 down in the saddle, will teach him to lean 
 gently to the side to which he turns, so as to 
 unite himself to his horse, and go with him, 
 and will give that firmness, ease, and just 
 poise of the body which constitute a perfect 
 seat, founded in truth and nature, and upon 
 principles so certain, that whoever shall think 
 fit to reduce them to practice, will find them 
 confirmed and justified by it. 
 
 Plates V. VI. and IV. examined in suc- 
 cession illustrate the Seat. 
 
 The seat of the eastern people appears to 
 have been nearly the same in ancient as in 
 modern times. Plate VII. is supposed to 
 represent Darius, saluted King of Persia, 
 when he had gained the empire by the neigh- 
 ing of his horse. These nations have, in all 
 
i 
 
 
 
 

 dks *tf 
 
- >,Xy "0\>l 
 
MODERN RIDING. 57 
 
 ages, been much accustomed to ride ; and 
 their seat, nearly resembling our racing seat, 
 is adapted for speed. 
 
 The Roman seat is shown in the following- 
 Sketch of the Emperor Theodosius, Plate 
 VIII. which, as the Romans were a more 
 military people, approaches nearer to our 
 manege seat, and indeed is nearly the same 
 with our road or hunting seat. 
 
 The Greek seat, shown in Plate IX. two 
 horsemen from the frieze of the Parthenon, 
 is, like every thing relating to that tran- 
 scendent people, perfectly beautiful; but it 
 is a parade or promenade seat, in which the 
 rider is rather disunited, and as such is at 
 present imitated by our fashionable horse- 
 men. 
 
58 PRINCIPLES OF P. Ill 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF THE BALANCE. 
 
 The balance in riding is the preserving the 
 body from that inclination to one side or the 
 other, which even the ordinary paces of the 
 horse in the trot or gallop will occasion. 
 
 The balance is preserved when the horse- 
 man sits upon his fork directly down upon 
 the saddle, and so firmly that nothing can 
 loosen his seat. But the firmness here neces- 
 sarjr is that hold with which he keeps himself 
 on horseback, without employing strength, 
 trusting entirely to the natural balance of his 
 body to accompany all the motions of the 
 horse. 
 
 Nothing but practice can give this balance, 
 and consequently this hold upon the horse. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 59 
 
 Let us illustrate this balance. 
 
 If the horse work straight and upright on 
 his legs, the body must be in the same up- 
 right direction. 
 
 As the horse moves into a trot, the body 
 must be inclined a little more back ; while 
 the whole figure must be pliant, and accom- 
 pany all the movements of the horse; the 
 elbows and lower limbs being kept steady. 
 So also in the gallop, in leaping, or in any 
 violent movements of the horse, the body 
 must chiefly be kept back, and accompany 
 the various actions of the horse with an easy 
 pliancy. 
 
 When the horse bends or leans, as he does 
 when he works on a circle or trots briskly 
 round a corner, then the body must lean in 
 the same direction and proportion, or the 
 balance will be lost. 
 
 To preserve the balance, it is evident that 
 the body must keep in the same direction as 
 
60 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 the horse's legs ; and thus the balance is 
 maintained by as many different positions as 
 the horse has capacity to work in. 
 
 The pupil must take no assistance from the 
 reins to support the balance. The hand must 
 be fixed, and the reins of such a length as to 
 feel and support the horse, but never to hold 
 on. 
 
 To acquire the balance the practice on 
 circles, or what is called the longe, is recom- 
 mended. Here it is right to begin on large 
 circles, and at an easy gentle trot, by which 
 the horse will be so little bent as scarcely to 
 make a perceptible alteration in the funda- 
 mental position ; but as the circles are con- 
 tracted, and the face extended, it is necessary 
 not only for the body to lean with the horse, 
 but likewise to bend or be turned in the 
 same direction as the horse's head, which, of 
 course, is a little within the circle. In doing 
 this it is useful to work equally to both hands, 
 and not to use stirrups till the pupil has 
 acquired the balance without them. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 6l 
 
 Experience proves, that the body, if in the 
 manege seat and fundamental position, almost 
 involuntarily takes the corresponding motion, 
 whether the horse rears, springs forward, 
 kicks, stumbles, &c. 
 
62 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE HAND. 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary \ 
 
 On the hand depends all excellence in horse- 
 manship. The hand directs the action and 
 time, raises the horse's forehand, lightens the 
 mouth, and supports the position. In violent 
 contentions with the horse, the hand deprives 
 the horse of half of his power to throw the 
 rider, and it would otherwise be impossible to 
 keep on the back of some horses. 
 
 Section II. — Of Holding the Reins. 
 
 Before the operation and effects of the hand 
 can be attained, an expertness at holding the 
 reins must be acquired. 
 
 There are various methods of holding the 
 reins, according to the style of riding, the 
 
xMODERN RIDING. 63 
 
 design of the rider, and the propensities or 
 defences of the horse. 
 
 Here we consider bridles which have but 
 one rein attached to each end of the bit, such 
 as snaffles. 
 
 I. In these as well a*s in other cases, the 
 reins ought generally to be separated, passing 
 into the hand between the third and fourth 
 fingers, and out of it over the forefinger, 
 where they are held clown by the thumb. 
 
 II. When the snaffle is held in the common 
 way, both reins are placed in the left hand. 
 The left rein passes under the little finger, and 
 the right under the third finger, both lying 
 smooth through the hand, the superfluous 
 quantity of rein hanging over the first joint 
 of the fore finger, and the thumb placed upon 
 them. 
 
 Section III. — Of the Correspondence and Appui. 
 
 To convey to the pupil an idea of the man- 
 ner in which the hand operates on the horse's 
 
64 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 mouth, he should be placed on a horse whose 
 mouth is perfectly formed and obedient, but 
 not too delicate ; the reins being held as 
 described, the hand placed so that the ends 
 of the fingers are opposite to the centre of 
 the body, and about the height of the elbow ; 
 the reins collected to such determined length, 
 that, bracing the muscles of the hand, would 
 rein the horse back, and easing them permit 
 the horse freely to advance. The hand, for 
 preserving a medium effect on the mouth, 
 should be only half shut ; the knuckles next 
 the wrist being nearly open. 
 
 I. The hand being connected to the reins, 
 the reins to the bit, the bit operating in the 
 curb on the bars in the horse's mouth, and in 
 the snaffle on the lip, the rider cannot move 
 the hand, nor scarce a finger, but the horse's 
 mouth is more or less effected. This is called 
 the correspondence. 
 
 II. If then the hand be held steady, as the 
 horse advances in the trot, the fingers will 
 feel, by the contraction of the reins, a slight 
 tug, occasioned by the cadence of every step. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 65 
 
 This tug, which is reciprocally felt in the 
 horse's mouth, by means of the above de- 
 scribed correspondence, is called the appui. 
 
 While this appui is preserved between the 
 hand and mouth, the horse is in perfect obe- 
 dience to the rider, the hand directing him 
 with such ease that the horse seems to work 
 by the will of the rider, rather than the com- 
 pulsion of the hand. 
 
 Now the correspondence, as it is termed 
 when we speak of the effective communica- 
 tion between the hand and mouth, — the appui, 
 when we speak of the quality or strength of 
 the operation in the mouth, — the support, 
 when we speak of the effect the hand pro- 
 duces in the position or action — are always 
 to be maintained in the manege and all united 
 paces ; and, without these, a horse is under 
 no immediate control, as we find in the ex- 
 tended gallop or full speed, where it may 
 require a hundred yards to pull before you 
 can stop. 
 
 p 
 
66 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 The strength or degree of this appui (al- 
 lowing for the different qualities of horses' 
 mouths), depends on the relative situation of 
 the hand and position of the horse. 
 
 The raising of the rider's hand increases his 
 power ; and this, raising the horse's head, 
 diminishes his power. 
 
 If a garter were placed across the pupil's 
 forehead, and a person behind him held the 
 two ends in a horizontal direction, if the pupil 
 stood quite upright, he could not pull at the 
 person's hand, nor endure the person's hand 
 to pull at him without falling or running back- 
 wards. This is the situation of a horse when 
 united. 
 
 Accordingly, when the pupil felt the hand 
 severe, or expected it to pull, he would guard 
 against it by bending the body, projecting 
 the head, and planting one foot behind. This 
 is the situation of the horse when disunited, 
 or defending himself against the heaviness of 
 the hand. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 67 
 
 Hence a heavy insensible hand cannot unite 
 a horse, because the horse cannot bear its 
 severity when united. And hence heavy 
 hands make hard-mouthed horses. 
 
 If then the appui be heavy, from the head 
 being carried too low, and the horse not suf- 
 ficiently united, raise the hand, and let the 
 fingers, by moving, rather invite than compel 
 the head to rise ; the legs at the same time 
 pressing the haunches under. By this means, 
 the horse will become more united, and the 
 appui will be lightened. 
 
 Should the hand be too straight or con- 
 fining to the horse (which it may be, though 
 it does not pull half an ounce), by the rider 
 collecting the reins to unite the horse, and 
 the horse freely uniting himself, he may be- 
 come so balanced on his haunches, that, while 
 the hand supports him thus, though it do not 
 pull in the least, he cannot disunite himself, 
 nor advance one step ; and, should the rider 
 then press him without yielding or dropping 
 the hand, he would compel him to rear. 
 
 f 2 
 
6*8 PRINCIPLES Ol P. III. 
 
 By these two extremes may be understood, 
 first, where the horse is disunited ; and last, 
 where he is too much united. The interme- 
 diate consequence and effect of the hand and 
 heel must be acquired by practice. 
 
 Section IV. — Of the Qualities of the Hand. 
 
 There are many properties requisite to con- 
 stitute a masterly hand. That is called a 
 masterly hand, which is not only well formed 
 in itself by tuition, and riding manege horses, 
 but can make the untutored mouth partake of 
 the sensibility of the hand, which, in other 
 terms, is dressing the horse. 
 
 Three qualities are essentially necessary to 
 such a hand. It ought to be firm, gentle, and 
 light, 
 
 I. That may be called a firm or steady 
 hand whose feeling corresponds exactly with 
 the feeling in the horse's mouth. This de- 
 mands a certain degree of steadiness, and 
 constitutes that just correspondence between 
 
MODERN RIDING. 69 
 
 the hand and the horse's mouth, which every 
 horseman wishes to find. 
 
 Such a hand will not yield to the soli- 
 citation or craving of the horse to get the 
 ascendency of the hand ; for an ascendency 
 of the hand is obtained when the horse aban- 
 dons that delicate correspondence producing 
 the appui, and keeping him under the strictest 
 obedience, and makes a dull or insensible 
 pull on the hand. And horses, though they 
 have been ever so well broke, after being 
 rode a few times by an untutored hand, will 
 fall into this, if permitted, 
 
 To frustrate the little efforts of the horse 
 to obtain his purpose, the hand is kept firm, 
 and the fingers braced, by which their opera- 
 tion becomes severe, and is a proper punish- 
 ment. Should the horse disregard this, and 
 plant his head low, to endure the severity of 
 the hand, the hand must act by moving the 
 fingers, shaking the reins, &c. to raise the 
 head and divert him from his purpose ; and 
 lastly, the correction of the hand must be 
 
70 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 given severely, if necessary, to deter him 
 from further attempts. This correction is 
 given by first yielding the hand that the reins 
 may become slack, then giving them a smart 
 or violent snatch in an upward direction, 
 which will make the horse raise his head ; 
 and the apprehension of a repetition of it will 
 deter him from putting it down again. 
 
 II. An easy or gentle hand is that which, by 
 relaxing a little of its strength and firmness, 
 eases and mitigates the degree of feeling 
 between the hand and the horse's mouth. 
 
 It is a rule in this respect not to pass, at 
 once, from one extreme to another, as from a 
 firm hand to a slack one, or to jump over 
 that degree of sensation which is derived 
 from the easy or gentle hand. Were the 
 rider at once to go from a firm hand to a 
 slack one, he would entirely abandon his 
 horse, he would surprise him, deprive him of 
 the support he trusted to, and precipitate him 
 on his shoulders. On the contrary, were he 
 to pass from the slack to the tight rein all at 
 
MODERN RIDING. 71 
 
 once, he must jerk his hand, and give a vio- 
 lent shock to the horse's mouth : — rough and 
 irregular motions which would be sufficient to 
 falsify the firmest appui, and to ruin a good 
 mouth. 
 
 The hand, moreover, must be sensible and 
 discriminating whether the horse wishes to 
 disengage himself from its restrictions, or 
 whether he wants a momentary liberty for his 
 accommodation and ease. He will remove 
 the rider's hand if he wants to cough ; he will 
 move his head if cramped by too long con- 
 finement, or to dislodge a fly, and the like. 
 The rider, discovering the cause of such 
 removal, will not correct (unless the horse, 
 presuming on his compliance, takes too much 
 liberty), but rather allow a reasonable accom- 
 modation, and be gentle and pleasant while 
 the horse is united and obedient. 
 
 III. A light hand is that which lessens still 
 more the feeling between the rider's hand and 
 the horse's mouth, which was before mode- 
 rated by the gentle hand. 
 
72 PRINCIPLES OP P. 111. 
 
 The appui being always in the same de- 
 gree, would heat the mouth, would dull the 
 sense of feeling, would deaden the horse's 
 bars, and render them insensible and callous. 
 Lightness of hand consists, then, in an almost 
 imperceptible alternate feeling and easing of 
 the bridle, regulated by the motion of the 
 horse. 
 
 By proper attention to this practice, the 
 natural delicacy and feeling of the horse's 
 mouth will be preserved, — the rider's hand 
 will be gradually formed, — and a constant 
 correspondence between the horse and the 
 rider will be established. On the contrary, 
 any dead or continued pull will produce 
 effects directly opposite to those desired. 
 
 It is indispensably necessary, therefore, that 
 all the operations of the hand should be firm, 
 gentle, and light ; and, in order to this, it is 
 necessary that the wrist alone should direct 
 all its motions, by steering it, if we may so 
 say, through every motion which it is to 
 make. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 73 
 
 It is, nevertheless, true, that with horses 
 that are well dressed, one may take liberties. 
 Such are those motions which are called de- 
 scents of the hand. These are made three dif- 
 ferent ways, either by dropping the knuckles 
 directly and at once upon the horse's neck, 
 or by taking the reins in the right hand, about 
 four finger's breadth above the left, and let- 
 ting them slide through the left, dropping the 
 right hand at the same time upon the horse's 
 neck ; or else by taking the end of the reins 
 in the right hand, quitting them entirely with 
 the left hand, and letting the end of them fall 
 upon the horse's neck. These motions, how- 
 ever, which give a grace to the horseman, 
 never should be made but with great caution, 
 and exactly at the time when the horse is 
 quite together, and in the hand ; and the 
 rider must take care, by throwing back his 
 body, to counterbalance the weight of the 
 horse upon his haunches. 
 
 Besides these rules, there are others not less 
 just and certain ; but the niceness of which 
 every rider is not able to understand. 
 
74 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 
 
 Both reins being in one hand, and that 
 being in the first position, if I open the two 
 middle fingers, I slacken my right rein. If 
 I shut my hand, the right rein operates 
 again, and resumes the appui. If I open my 
 little finger, carrying the end of it upon the 
 right rein, I thereby slacken the left and 
 shorten the right. If I shut my hand entirely 
 and open it immediately again, I thereby 
 lessen the degree of tension and force of the 
 two reins at the same time. Again I may 
 close my hand not quite so much, but still 
 close it. It is by these methods, and by the 
 vibration of the reins, that we may unite the 
 feeling in the hand with that in the horse's 
 mouth ; and it is thus that we may play with 
 a fine and made mouth, and freshen and re- 
 lieve the two bars in which the feeling or 
 appui resides. 
 
 It is the same with respect to the second 
 descent of the hand. The right hand holds 
 the reins, and we pass and slide the left hand 
 upon the reins, up and down, and in that 
 degree of appui of the easy and slack hand ; 
 
MODERN RIDING. 75 
 
 by means of which the horse endeavours of 
 himself to preserve that mutual sensation be- 
 tween his mouth and the rider's hand, which 
 alone can make him submit with pleasure to 
 the constraint of the bit. 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 OF 
 
 THE AIDS. 
 
PART IV. 
 
 OF THE AIDS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF THE AIDS OF THE HAND. 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary. 
 
 Aids are the indication of the horseman's 
 will to the horse, and are so called, because 
 they not only require, bat assist, the horse to 
 execute. They, at the same time, check or 
 obstruct him from acting contrarily. 
 
 These aids are certain positions of the 
 hand, body, legs, and sometimes of the switch 
 or whip ; the hand being the principal. The 
 others are sometimes called accompaniments, 
 
80 PRINCIPLES OF P. IV. 
 
 as they give greater power and efficacy to the 
 hand. 
 
 A horse can move four different ways. He 
 can advance, turn to the right, to the left, 
 and stop or go back, but he cannot make 
 these different motions, unless the hand of 
 the rider permits him, by making four cor- 
 responding motions which answer to them. 
 Thus there are five different positions for the 
 hand. 
 
 The first is that general position from which 
 proceed the other four. 
 
 Section II. — The Five Positions when the Beins 
 are separate. 
 
 When the reins are separate and one held in 
 each hand, the first position is that which has 
 been already given ; viz. the reins passing up 
 between the third and fourth fingers of each 
 hand, their ends being thrown over the fore 
 finders, the thumbs closed on them, and the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 81 
 
 fingers shut, the hands in line with each other, 
 about three inches from the body, and the 
 little fingers as high as the elbows. 
 
 The second position consists of a slight 
 relaxation of the preceding, and permits the 
 horse to advance. 
 
 The third position shortens the right rein 
 rather upward, and turns the horse to the 
 ri«;ht. 
 
 The fourth position shortens the left rein 
 rather upward, and turns the horse to the 
 left. 
 
 The fifth position shortens both reins, and 
 stops or reins the horse backward. 
 
 In all these cases, the hands are kept near 
 the body. 
 
 G 
 
82 PRINCIPLES OF P. IV 
 
 Section 111. — The Five Positions when the Bcins 
 are not separate. 
 
 When both reins are held in one hand, these 
 rules are modified as follows : — 
 
 First, let the hand be held three fingers 
 breadth from the body, as high as the elbow, 
 in such a manner that the joint of the little 
 finger is upon a right line with the tip of the 
 elbow ; — let the wrist be sufficiently rounded, 
 so that the knuckles may be kept directly 
 above the neck of the horse ; — let the nails be 
 exactly opposite the body, the little finger 
 nearer to it than the others, the thumb quite 
 flat upon the reins, which must be separated 
 by putting the little finger between them, the 
 right rein lying upon it. This is the first and 
 general position. 
 
 Would you have your horse go forward? 
 Yield to him j^our hand ; and for that pur- 
 pose turn your nails downwards, in such a 
 
MODERN HIDING. 83 
 
 manner as to bring your thumb near your 
 body, to remove your little finger from it, and 
 to bring the thumb into the place where the 
 knuckles were in the first position, keeping 
 your nails directly above your horse's neck. 
 This is the second position. 
 
 Would you turn your horse to the right? 
 Leave the first position, and carry your nails 
 to the right, turning your hand upside down, 
 in such a manner, that your thumb be carried 
 out to the left, and the little finder brought in 
 the right. This position of the hand will 
 carry the operation of the reins nearly three 
 inches more to the right, by which the left 
 reins will press the neck, and the right reins 
 will be slack. This is the third position. 
 
 Would you turn your horse to the left? 
 Leave the first position, turn the little finger 
 to the left, the thumb to the right, the back 
 of the hand upwards. This will carry the 
 operation of the reins to the left, the right 
 reins will press the neck, and the left reins 
 will be slack. This is the fourth position. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 PRINCIPLES OF P. IV. 
 
 Would you make your horse stop or go 
 backward ? Quit the first position, let the 
 wrist be quite round ; turn the nails quite 
 upwards, and the knuckles towards the horse's 
 neck. This is the fifth position. 
 
 These different positions, however, are not 
 alone sufficient ; we must be able to pass from 
 one to another with readiness and order. 
 
 These aids where the reins are held in one 
 hand are not so effective as those where the 
 reins are separate ; which have already been 
 described. 
 
 They may be more simply given by a little 
 extending or bending the wrist to make the 
 horse advance or go backward, and by slightly 
 carrying the hand to the right or left, and ra- 
 ther upward, to make the horse turn in these 
 directions. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 85 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF THE AIDS OE THE BODY. 
 
 II. To cause the horse to advance, while 
 the hand is relaxed, throw the body a little 
 forward, but do not press the horse's fore 
 parts with your weight ; and at the same time 
 approach your legs to his sides. 
 
 If your horse rise up, bend your body more 
 stronger forward. 
 
 If he kick, leap, or jerk out behind, throw 
 your body back also. 
 
 If he gallop when he should not, oppose all 
 his motions ; and, for this purpose, push your 
 waist forward towards the pummel of the 
 saddle, making a bend or hollow at the same 
 time in your loins.' 
 
86* PRINCIPLES OF P. IV. 
 
 III. and IV. In order to make the horse 
 go into the corner of the manege, you must 
 begin by opening it. 
 
 To open a corner is to turn the shoulder 
 before you come to it, in order to make it 
 cover the ground ; and then the croupe, 
 which is turned in, will not follow the line of 
 the shoulders till they are turned and brought 
 upon a straight line, in order to come out of 
 the corner. In order to turn the shoulder to 
 the corner, you must carry your hand to the 
 side to which you are to go ; and to throw in 
 the croupe, you must support it with the leg 
 on that side to which you carry your hand. 
 
 To make the shoulders turn, and come out 
 of the corner, you must carry your hand on 
 the side opposite to that to which you turned 
 it, in order to go into the corner ; and that 
 the croupe may pass over the same ground 
 as the shoulders, you must support with the 
 leg of the same side to which you now carry 
 your hand. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 87 
 
 The horse never can perform any of these 
 actions without an entire agreement of all 
 these aids, and one single motion of the body 
 will be sufficient to unite them all with the 
 utmost exactness. In effect, instead of car- 
 rying your hand out, and seconding thai aid 
 with the leg, turn your body, but impercep- 
 tibly, towards the corner, just as if you 
 intended to go into it yourself; your body 
 then turning to the right or left, your hand, 
 which is one of its appurtenances, must 
 necessarily turn likewise, and the leg of the 
 side on which you turn will infallibly press 
 against the horse and aid him. If }^ou would 
 come out of the corner, turn your body again, 
 your hand will follow it, and your other leg 
 approaching the horse, will put his croupe 
 into the corner, in such a manner, that it will 
 follow the shoulders, and be upon the same 
 line. 
 
 It is by these means that you will be 
 enabled to time the aids of the hand and legs 
 with greater exactness than you could do, 
 were you not to move your body ; for how 
 
88 PRINCIPLES OF P. IV. 
 
 dexterous and readily soever you may be, 
 yet when you only use your hand and leg, 
 without letting their aids proceed from, and 
 be guarded by, your body, they never can 
 operate so effectually, and their action is infi- 
 nitely less smooth, and not so measured and 
 proportioned, as when it proceeds only from 
 the motion of the body. 
 
 The same motion of the body is likewise 
 necessary to turn entirely to the right or left, 
 to make your horse go sideways on one line, 
 or to make the changes. 
 
 V. If you would make the horse go back- 
 ward, throw gently back your own body, 
 your hand will go with it, and you will make 
 the horse obey by a single turn of the wrist, 
 
MODERN HIDING. 89 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE AIDS OF THE LEGS. 
 
 II. If you want to make the horse go for- 
 ward, while you yield your hand to him, at 
 the same time close your legs. The hand 
 ceasing to confine, and the legs driving his 
 hinder parts, the horse obeys. 
 
 III. If you want to go to the right, while 
 you carry your left hand to the right, and 
 support him with your right hand, your right 
 leg determines his croupe to the left, and 
 facilitates the action of the shoulder, which 
 your hand had turned to the right. 
 
 IV. If you want to turn him to the left, 
 while you carry your right hand to the left, 
 and support him with your left hand, you 
 approach your left leg. 
 
90 PRINCIPLES OP P. IV. 
 
 When you would make a change to the 
 right, your left leg confines the croupe, so 
 that it cannot escape, but must follow the 
 shoulders. If you would change hands again 
 to the left, your right leg acts as your left 
 did in going to the right. 
 
 V. When you wish to stop him, hold him 
 in, and approach your legs gently to his 
 sides. 
 
 The aids of the legs have their progressive 
 strength and effect, thus given : — The leg 
 being brought nearer the side, is the first 
 degree, or lightest aid ; placing the leg fur- 
 ther back, with the toe turned out, is the 
 next ; the lightest possible touch with the calf 
 of the leg, is the third ; and so on, increas- 
 ing the degree of pressure according to the 
 strength of aid required, with the toe kept 
 up firmly, that the muscles of the leg may be 
 hard and operative. The strongest aid is the 
 scratch, which is thus given : — when the leg 
 is laid on hard without effect, drop the toe ; 
 and if the spin is placed in a horsemanlike 
 
MODERN RIDING. 91 
 
 manner on the heel, the rowel of the spur will 
 thereby pinch or scratch the horse's side : to 
 this let a correction succeed by giving the 
 spur sharply. 
 
 Aids with the whip are sometimes used to 
 give greater effect to the heel. These are 
 gentle taps with the whip on the hind quar- 
 ters, and sometimes on the shoulders. 
 
 When given on the near side, the hand is 
 either applied behind the back, with the whip 
 held by the fingers as you would a pen, with 
 the lash downwards ; or crossing the bridle 
 hand before, the whip being held with the 
 lash upwards. 
 
 When the aids are properly displayed, they 
 discover the taste and judgment of the horse- 
 man, and have a pleasing appearance. 
 
92 PRINCIPLES OF P. IV. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Or ANIMATIONS, SOOTHINGS, AND COR- 
 RECTIONS. 
 
 Section I. — Of Animations. 
 
 Animations are requisitions of more exer- 
 tion, life, and spirit, and proceed from the 
 hand, the leg, the whip, or the tongue. 
 
 Those of the hand and of the legs have 
 been already described among the aids. 
 
 Animations of the whip are mild taps to 
 quicken the horse ; or, if the lash is upwards, 
 switching it in the air. This has a gay ap- 
 pearance, as well as effect, if not too often 
 repeated, or continued too long. 
 
 The animations of the legs and whip, are 
 menaces which indicate a punishment, if not 
 attended to. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 93 
 
 The animation of the tongue seems to ope- 
 rate by surprise. It is a sound which letters 
 cannot easily express, and is produced by 
 placing the tongue flat against the roof of the 
 the mouth, and suddenly displacing the pos- 
 terior part of it by drawing the air laterally 
 between it and the palate. This noise is the 
 most animating sound to the horse, and, when 
 judiciously applied, has its proper effect ; but 
 if too much continued, or too frequent, its 
 design is done away, for it no longer alarms 
 or surprises. 
 
 Thus the rider may use his animations 
 alternately to keep up an effect; and with 
 sluggish horses, he may be necessitated to 
 use the whip and spurs. 
 
 Section II. — Of SootJi ings . 
 
 Soothings are the reverse of animations, and 
 are used to pacify horses that are alarmed, or 
 have too much fire in their constitutions. 
 
94 PRINCIPLES OF P. IV. 
 
 Of all the means we use in dressing horses, 
 soothings and caresses are the most salutary. 
 These dispel their fears, reconcile them to 
 new operations, and give them confidence in 
 their master. 
 
 The voice sooths by the soft and mild tones 
 with which we accompany such expressions, 
 as— So, so, so ! poor fellow ! and the like : 
 the hand, by gentle patting, stroking, &c. : 
 the body and legs, by a stillness, and relin- 
 quishment of all unnecessary firmness, sitting 
 easy, and not moving a muscle. 
 
 From this it will appear, that a horseman 
 should have perfect command of temper, in 
 order that the horse may not irritate and pro- 
 voke him to anger, as well as invincible pa- 
 tience and perseverance, to make the horse 
 comprehend and perform. Mildness and 
 perseverance will overcome all difficulties. 
 Demand but little the first time, and you 
 will be more readily obeyed the next; and 
 increase your demands as the horse becomes 
 accustomed and has temper to submit to it. 
 
MODERN RIDING. [)5 
 
 Section III. — Of Corrections. 
 
 Corrections are of two sorts. You may 
 punish a horse with the spurs, the switch, or 
 chambriere ; you may punish him by keeping 
 him in a greater degree of subjection. In all 
 cases, a real horseman will endeavour rather 
 to work upon the understanding of the crea- 
 ture, than upon the different parts of his 
 body. 
 
 In reality, the corrections which reduce a 
 horse to the greatest obedience, and which 
 yet dishearten him the least, are such as are 
 not severe ; but such as oppose him in what 
 he wants to do, by restraining and putting 
 him to do directly the contrary. If your 
 horse do not advance, or go off readily, or if 
 he be sluggish, make him go sideways, some- 
 times to one hand, sometimes to the other ; 
 drive him forward, and so alter alternately. 
 If he go forward too fast, being extremely 
 quick of feeling, moderate your aids, and 
 
96 PRINCIPLES OF P. IV. 
 
 make him go backward some steps : if he 
 press forward with hurry and violence, make 
 him go backward a great deal. If he is 
 disorderly and turbulent, walk him straight 
 forward, with his head in and croupe out. 
 These sorts of correction have great influence 
 upon most horses. 
 
 When you do correct with the whip, it 
 should be given with strength. For this pur- 
 pose, let the lash be upwards, lift the arm 
 high, and apply it behind the girths round 
 the belly. Sometimes correction is also given 
 forward over the shoulders, between the fore 
 legs. 
 
 Should your horse kick at the application 
 of the whip to his flank or quarter, you must, 
 at that instant, apply the correction as smart 
 and determined as possible, and must repeat 
 it sharper, if possible, should he kick at that. 
 By this the horse is made sensible of his fault, 
 and is punished for it. Indeed without such 
 punishment the horse might be ignorant of 
 doing; amiss. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 97 
 
 To give a horse both spurs properly the 
 rider must change the posture of his legs, and, 
 bending his knee, strike him with them at 
 once, as quick and firmly as he can. 
 
 When, however, the whip or spurs are 
 applied two or three times sharply to restive 
 horses without effect, desist, and try other 
 methods. 
 
 Some horses disregard the whip, but fly at 
 the spurs : others disregard the spurs, and 
 are terrified at the whip : the rider conse- 
 quently will apply that which is most likely to 
 produce the desired effect. 
 
 1-1 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING. 
 
 PART V. 
 
 THE DIRECT PACES. 
 
 II 2 
 

PART V. 
 
 OF THE DIRECT PACES. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 OF THE WALK. 
 
 Section I. — Of the Walk generally and par- 
 ticularly. 
 
 For the lessons of a few clays, the pupil 
 should ride quietly at a walk round the ma- 
 nege, in order to have an opportunity of 
 becoming, in some degree, accustomed to 
 the movements of the horse, of extending his 
 limbs, and of preserving the proper position 
 and balance while he is in motion. 
 
 He should not suffer the horse to»move, if 
 he can help it, till his clothes are adjusted, 
 
102 PRINCIPLES OP P. V. 
 
 and his whip shifted. Then collecting his 
 reins and taking one rein in the right hand, 
 he must close his legs to request the horse to 
 move forward in the walk, and till he makes 
 this request the horse should not be permitted 
 to advance. 
 
 As soon as the horse begins to move, the 
 legs are to resume their former position, — the 
 hands are to remain perfectly steady, — the 
 body is to yield to the movements of the 
 horse. The walk is begun at a slow rate, as 
 this prevents confusion, and by the etiquette 
 of the riding house it is directed to the right 
 hand first. 
 
 The excellence of the walk depends on that 
 degree of union which supports the horse's 
 head, and raises his feet without shortening 
 or retarding the step ; and that degree of 
 animation which quickens the step, and 
 sharpens the beats, without falsifying the 
 time or altering the action. The perfection 
 of the walk therefore is, an animated quick 
 step, measuring exact distances, and mark- 
 
MODERN RIDING. 103 
 
 ing a regular time, by putting the foot flat to 
 the ground. 
 
 If the horse's head is not supported, he not 
 only carries himself slovenly, but does not 
 raise the foot sufficiently to put it out flat, 
 and he therefore shortens his step, and is 
 liable to touch with his toe. If, on the con- 
 trary, the head is supported too high, he 
 cannot put his foot out, and the step will also 
 be shortened and retarded. In this situation, 
 should the rider animate the horse to quicken 
 his step, or put out his foot, he would break 
 time, and go into the trot. 
 
 Thus if you do not support the horse suffi- 
 ciently, his head will be low, and his walk 
 slovenly. If you support him too much, you 
 will shorten his step so that he cannot walk 
 freely. If you do not animate him, he will 
 not exert himself. If you animate him too 
 much, he will trot. 
 
 If the horse trots when you design him to 
 walk, check him immediately, and examine 
 
104 rJUNClPLES OS F. V. 
 
 the cause. You will find your animation 
 somewhere above the walk ; for, though you 
 do not animate with whip, legs, or tongue, 
 yet your hand, or even your body, may be 
 too animating, when added to the natural spi- 
 rits and vivacity of the horse. The hand, if 
 too high or confining, is too animating for 
 the walk : the body, if braced too firm, or as 
 might be necessary in the trot, would also be 
 too animating in the walk ; for as the horse 
 is, so must the rider be. 
 
 The rider must practise the walk to both 
 hands, by crossing over in the long change. 
 Let us therefore consider that and turns in 
 general. 
 
 Plate X. illustrates the Walk, 
 
MODERN RIDING. 105 
 
 Section II. — Of Tunis in the Walk. 
 
 All Turns are, at first, to be made very 
 slowly. 
 
 The inward hand (which is the hand on 
 which we turn to the right or left), is to be a 
 little below the outward hand, and the in- 
 ward rein leads, and is to be held with double 
 power or pressure, in comparison with the 
 outward rein. This aid is to be given by the 
 little finger pulling gently upwards and to- 
 wards the body — never downwards to the 
 knee. The outward hand is to retain a steady 
 hold of the outward rein. 
 
 The horse is to be supported, and kept up 
 to the bridle, by an occasional slight pressure 
 of the calves of both legs. He will thus be 
 made to obey the leading rein, and to bring 
 his haunches under him. The pressure of 
 the inward leg only would occasion the horse 
 to throw his haunches too much outwards. 
 
106 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 The aids are to be proportionately applied, 
 according to the effect you mean to produce. 
 The greatest exactness, uniformity, and deli- 
 cacy is required in the execution. 
 
 To give an idea of this, suppose a circle of 
 thirty yards diameter, and the number of cir- 
 cles that can be described within so large a 
 circumference. Just so many degrees of ope- 
 ration have those aids to perform. Even in 
 the centre, these aids, judiciously managed, 
 can turn the horse on three distinct and sepa- 
 rate pivots : — first, on his centre, or the point 
 directly under the seat of the horseman, in 
 which the fore feet take place of the hind, 
 and the hind of the fore : — secondly, on the 
 fore feet, in which the fore feet keep their 
 ground, and the hind feet move round them : 
 — lastly, on the hind feet, which keep the cen- 
 tre, while the fore feet describe the circle. 
 
 In walking a horse upon a circle of thirty 
 yards diameter, the delicacy of these aids is 
 not perceivable ; and yet, if there were none, 
 the horse would certainly work on a straight 
 
MODERN HIDING. 107 
 
 line. This shows how susceptible and obe- 
 dient a horse is to the most imperceptible 
 touch ; for while a proper correspondence is 
 maintained, and the appui delicate and true, 
 a hair's breadth alteration of position affects 
 the horse's mouth. 
 
 This proportionate degree of aids proceeds 
 from, and is directed by, the eye. Thus: the 
 eye traverses about three or four yards before 
 the horse on the ground intended to be gone 
 over ; the body presents itself to the direction 
 of the eye ; the hand, in its proper situation, 
 moves with it ; and the hand being moved off 
 the line, though but half an inch, directs the 
 horse off the line in that proportionate degree. 
 The more the circles are contracted, the eye, 
 of course, in traversing the ground, will be 
 the more directed to the hand you are work- 
 ing to, and, consequently, the body and hand, 
 presenting themselves in that direction, give 
 the proportionate degree of aid required. 
 
108 PRINCIPLE!? OF P. V. 
 
 Section III. — Of Wheels in the Walk. 
 
 A hopvSe may wheel or turn on his own 
 ground, on three pivots. The first two are in 
 continual use in the army — the first, by the 
 centre man of three — and the second, by the 
 standing flank man in all wheels — the third is 
 rarely wanted, but all should be practised, to 
 give a thorough knowledge of the power and 
 efficacy of the hand and heel. 
 
 I. Here it is to be observed, that the aids 
 of the hand direct all before the horseman, 
 and the aids of the heel all behind him: hence, 
 in wheeling on centres, the hand and heel 
 operate together — the hand leading the shoul- 
 ders round — the leg directing the croupe. 
 Thus, in going about, the fore feet describe 
 half a circle, and the hind feet another half 
 circle ; by which means the fore and hind 
 feet change situations. 
 
 The great attention of the hand is to sup- 
 port that degree of appui which will carry its 
 
MODERN RIDING. 109 
 
 aids into effect, and not suffer the horse to 
 move off* his ground ; for if the appui is too 
 weak, the horse will advance over his ground, 
 and, if too strong, he will retire from his 
 ground. But whether you wheel to the right 
 or left, let the aids of the hand, body, and 
 leg, exactly correspond, and practise, slowly 
 at first, as much to the one hand as the other. 
 
 As the horse arrives at the situation you 
 intend him to halt, whether it is a wheel, 
 which is a quarter circle — about, which is half 
 a circle — or about and about, which is a 
 whole circle — the hand, body, and leg must 
 resume their proper straight position ; the 
 hand being dropped, and the fingers eased, 
 that the horse may stand quiet. 
 
 II. In wheeling the horse on his fore feet, 
 the hand has to support and confine the fore 
 part, while the heel directs the croupe round. 
 
 The aiding with the leg will induce the 
 horse to advance, if a proper restriction be 
 not put in the fingers. The hand, therefore, 
 
110 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 keeps its proper centrical situation, putting so 
 much restriction in the fingers as is necessary 
 to prevent the horse from advancing ; while 
 the leg, by a proportionate strength of aid or 
 pressure, directs the croupe round. 
 
 The further attention of the hand is to cor- 
 rect any propensity of the shoulders to move, 
 and that in the most delicate manner, lest 
 you create a greater disorder than you meant 
 to prevent. 
 
 III. The wheeling a horse on his hind feet 
 is by far more difficult than the preceding. 
 
 The hand possessing a greater power than 
 the heel, if it act too precipitately or con- 
 finingly, will force the croupe off its ground : 
 the hand therefore must act with the greatest 
 caution and delicacy , allowing sufficient scope 
 for the shoulders not to force the croupe to 
 shift. 
 
 Both legs are to be attentive to the croupe. 
 The inner leg, which is that to which hand 
 

 
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MODERN RIDING. Ill 
 
 you are turning the horse, is to be placed 
 back, but not to touch, lest you should throw 
 the croupe out. The outer leg must be 
 ready to stay the croupe, if it has such a 
 propensity. 
 
 Section IV. — Of Changes and Demivolts in the 
 Walk. 
 
 I. A change is no more than the altering 
 the hand to which you were going, or the 
 foot with which you were leading; but this 
 being done by different tracks or modes, and 
 in several actions, gives corresponding names 
 to them. 
 
 The long change is crossing the riding 
 house in a diagonal line, the whole length of 
 the house. In this, when you are working to 
 the right, you quit the wall at Figure 1, and 
 cross to Figure 3 ; or quit the wall at Figure 
 3, and cross to Figure 1 ; by which you 
 change the hand to which you were going. — 
 Plate XI. Figure 1. In like manner when 
 working to the left, and you would change to 
 
119 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 the right, you depart from the wall at Figure 
 2, and cross over to Figure 4 ; or at Figure 
 4, and cross over to Figure 2 ; which effects 
 the change. 
 
 When working on circles of a lar^e di- 
 ameter, and you would effect a change, you 
 form another circle of the same dimensions, 
 making a Figure 8 ; in the intersection of 
 which circles, you change your own and 
 horse's position, and work to the contrary 
 hand. These are called Large Changes. — 
 Figure 2. 
 
 When you change on circles which are so 
 circumscribed that the two do not exceed the 
 width of the riding house, they arc called 
 Narrow Changes.— Figure 3. 
 
 If, when you make a change, you perceive 
 the croupe to be too much in, by turning 
 your body in, you will drive it out ; and the 
 hand following the body, determines the shoul- 
 der by means of the outward rein, which is 
 shortened. Jf the croupe is too much out. 
 
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MODERN RIDING. 113 
 
 turn your body out, and this posture, carry- 
 ing the hand out, shortens the inner rein, and 
 confines the croupe. This aid is so much 
 better, because, if executed with delicacy, it 
 is imperceptible, and never alarms the horse. 
 In order to make the hand and leg work to- 
 gether, it is necessary that the motion should 
 proceed from the horseman's hip, which, in 
 turning, carries with it the rest of the body 
 insensibly : without this, very far from being 
 assisted by the balance of your body in the 
 saddle, you would lose it entirely, and, toge- 
 ther with it, the gracefulness of your seat. 
 
 II. An air performed on a circle is called 
 a Volt ; and consequently the half circle is a 
 Demi-Volt. 
 
 The change by the Demi-Volt is effected, 
 when working to the right, as from A to B, — 
 Plate XII. Figure 2. At B you quit the line, 
 and work on a Demi- Volt, which brings you 
 to the point C, at which place you change 
 and work to the left. In changing again from 
 
 i 
 
114 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 the left to the right, you quit the line at the 
 point D, — Figure 3, work on a Demi- Volt "o 
 the point E, change and work to the right. 
 
 The changes on the Volt are confined to 
 particular airs. When the Volt is complete, 
 make a half stop, change the kg, and work 
 the Volt round to the contrary hand, on the 
 same ground as before. 
 
 The change reverse is worked on traversing 
 lines, and confined to the same airs as the 
 Volt. It is done by reversing your hands, 
 position, &c. and consequently the horse's 
 position and foot at every angle. — Figure 4. 
 
 Section V. — Of the Stop in the Walk. 
 
 The Stop in horsemanship is an instanta- 
 neous prevention of action at the height of 
 animation, without the least previous notice 
 or indication by which the horse could be 
 aware of your intent : otherwise the effect 
 and intention would be lost. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 115 
 
 The generality of horses and horsemen are 
 not capable of stopping at the word, and are 
 content to effect this by a gradual cessation 
 of action in an uncertain distance, depending 
 on the degree of animation and speed, dis- 
 union of the horse, or inefficacy of the rider's 
 hand, which may require the space of from 
 one to one hundred yards. 
 
 The Stop properly performed shows the 
 great superiority of the rider's hand over the 
 horse, thereby gives him confidence, confirms 
 the horse in obedience, unites him, supples 
 the haunches, and bends the houghs. 
 
 Though its effects are beautiful and salu- 
 tary, mischief may occur from a too frequent 
 or injudicious practice of it; for, should we 
 act too powerfully on a horse weak behind, 
 or in his loins, we may spring his sinews, or 
 sprain his back. 
 
 The perfection of the Stop consists in the 
 action ceasing at the finish of a cadence, with- 
 
 i 2 
 
116 PRINCIPLES OI P. V. 
 
 out breaking the previous time ; the horse 
 being so balanced on his haunches, and the 
 animation still alive, that, with liberty given, 
 he can advance with the same rapidity as 
 before. 
 
 The Stop is performed by die rider putting 
 a proportionate strength in the muscles of the 
 hand, bracing his arms to his body, feeling 
 both reins equally and firmly, drawing the 
 fingers toward the body, closing for an instant 
 both legs in order to press the horse up to 
 the bridle, and throwing the body back. All 
 this must be done at one and the same in^ 
 stant, making but a single motion ; for, if the 
 rider omit to close his legs, the horse may not 
 bring his haunches under, and consequently 
 the Stop will be on the shoulders, and spoil 
 the effect. 
 
 The time must be seized when the first part 
 of the cadence is coming to the ground ; so 
 that the finish of that cadence completes the 
 Stop. If this time is not seized by the horse- 
 
MODERN RIDING. 117 
 
 man, the cadence will be broken, and the 
 Stop irregular. 
 
 If your horse has not readily obeyed in 
 making his Stop, make him go backwards; it 
 is a proper punishment for the fault. If in 
 stopping, he tosses up his nose, or forces the 
 hand, keep your bridle hand low and firm, 
 and your reins quite equal, give him no 
 liberty, press upon his neck with your right 
 hand, till he has brought down his nose, and 
 then immediately give him all his bridle ; this 
 is the surest method to bring him into the 
 hand. 
 
 Plate XIII. illustrates the Stop. 
 
 Section VI. — Of Going Backward in the Walk. 
 
 The action of a horse when he goes back- 
 ward is, to have always one of his hinder legs 
 under his belly, to push his croupe backward, 
 to bend his haunches, and to rest and balance 
 
118 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 himself one time on one leg, and then on the 
 other. 
 
 Care must be taken that this action of go- 
 ing backward be just ; and that in performing 
 it the horse keep his head steady, fixed, and 
 in a right place, that his body be trussed or 
 gathered up as it were under him, that he be 
 not upon his shoulders, but, on the contrary 5 
 on his haunches, and that his feet be even. 
 
 It is by an equal and steady feeling of both 
 reins of the bridle, that the horse is made 
 thus to step back ; and to give greater effi- 
 cacy to this, the hand should be kept from 
 rising, the knuckles a little down, and the 
 belly drawn in. The body should no longer 
 be thrown back as in the stop, but rather 
 bend forward, which gives the hand greater 
 effect without provoking the horse to rear — a 
 circumstance that might occur with horses 
 which do not readily obey the hand, particu- 
 larly if you leaned back to give power to the 
 hand. If you attempt to compel the horse 
 
MODERN RIDING. 119 
 
 back by the power or weight of the body, 
 and he should rear, the body cannot be 
 brought forward, you hang on by the bridle, 
 and should you happen to have the prepon- 
 derance, you pull the horse backwards o» 
 yourself. The horse must at the same time 
 be gently felt with both legs, in order to keep 
 him up to the bridle, and to prevent him from 
 swerving. 
 
 The operation of the hand in reining back 
 is a kind of invitation. Should the horse not 
 readily obey, play with the mouth by moving 
 the fingers : this will induce the horse to raise 
 his head. 
 
 The instant the horse is constrained to 
 back, the body, if in a proper position, will 
 incline forward, and the fingers must be eased. 
 A horse that is properly broke, obeys the 
 slightest pressure of the fingers, and backs 
 without throwing himself off his balance, but 
 the horse that is constrained to back, is over- 
 balanced, and, if the body did not come for- 
 
120 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 ward, or the hand relinquish its severity, he 
 must back till he fell : therefore, the instant 
 the horse yields to the hand, the body and 
 hand yield to the horse, that he may recover 
 his balance. He should then be gently in- 
 vited or pressed to back again. 
 
 In reining back, the hand must preserve 
 its centrical situation, so that it may not com- 
 pel the croupe to traverse off the line. If the 
 hand is from the centre to the left, the croupe 
 will traverse to the right ; and if to the right, 
 the croupe will traverse to the left. 
 
 With the greatest exactness of the hand, 
 however, some horses' croupes will traverse, 
 and require the particular attention of the 
 heel to support and direct them on the line. 
 The hand and heel are always to support and 
 assist each other. Thus : should the croupe 
 traverse to the right, you must, of course, lay 
 the right leg on; then to give assistance or 
 cooperation, the hand must be carried a little 
 to the right ; but this must be done with the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 121 
 
 greatest delicacy, lest you should throw the 
 croupe too much to the left, and reverse the 
 disorder instead of correcting it. 
 
 It is to be observed, that, in reining back, 
 the hand and the heel change their func- 
 tions ; that is, the hand compels the action, 
 and the heel directs it. 
 
 This operation ought to be performed very 
 slowly at first, and only two or three steps at 
 a time. 
 
122 PRINCIPLES OF P. V 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF THE TROT. 
 
 Section I. — Of the Trot in general. 
 
 When the pupil has been sufficiently prac- 
 tised in the turnings, &c. at a walk, he is to 
 be instructed to urge his horse into a gentle 
 trot. 
 
 This pace is the foundation of excellence 
 in all others. By its alternate action, we 
 supple every joint— the shoulders, the elbow, 
 the knee, the loins, the haunches, the houghs : 
 we raise the head and foot, and make the 
 mouth, without which the faculties of the 
 horse are confined, and all his actions stiff 
 and uneven. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 123 
 
 The perfection of the Trot consists ; first, 
 in its suppleness, which gives the horse a free 
 use and extension of his limbs, either on 
 straight lines or circles ; next in its union, by 
 which the labour is more equally distributed, 
 for a little observation points out, that the 
 horse's fore legs have a greater portion to 
 sustain than the hind, especially when the 
 horse is disunited, or, what is termed, on the 
 shoulders; then in its action, which should 
 be true and equal, the liberty of the fore 
 quarters not exceeding the hind, nor the hind 
 the fore, — the knee up, the haunches bent, 
 springy and pliant, the step measuring exact 
 distances, marking a regular time of one, 
 two, the measure of which depends on the 
 animation, restriction, or rapidity of the ac- 
 tion. By these qualities, the horse is capa- 
 citated to work freely to right or left, on 
 circles, without falsifying his step, or break- 
 ing his time. 
 
 In the trot, as in the gallop, the horse leads 
 with a foot, either right or left, by which the 
 leading side is a little more advanced than 
 
124 PRINCIPLES OF \\ V. 
 
 the other. This nice discrimination is ob- 
 served only by those much acquainted with 
 horses. The suppling to both hands, capaci- 
 tates him to work to one hand as well as the 
 other ; and in horses that have not been so 
 suppled, if chance or fatigue make them 
 change their leg for that which they are not 
 accustomed to, their action is stiff, confined, 
 irregular, and unpleasant. 
 
 Section II. — Of the Kinds of Trot. 
 
 There are three kinds of Trot — the extend- 
 ed, the supple, and the even. These depend 
 upon each other. In effect, you cannot pass 
 a horse to the supple trot, without having first 
 worked him upon the extended trot ; and you 
 can never arrive at the even and equal trot, 
 without having practised the supple. 
 
 I. By the extended, is meant that trot in 
 which the horse steps out without retaining 
 himself, being quite straight, and going di- 
 rectly forwards. This, consequently., is the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 125 
 
 kind of trot with which the pupil may begin ; 
 for before any thing else ought to be medi- 
 tated, the horse should be taught to cover his 
 ground readily, and without fear. 
 
 II. The trot, however, may be extended 
 without being supple ; for the horse may go 
 directly forward, and yet not have that ease 
 and suppleness of limb which distinguishes 
 and characterizes the supple trot. The supple 
 trot is that in which the horse, at every motion 
 that he makes, bends and plays the joints of 
 his shoulders, knees, and feet. This no colts 
 or raw horses, who have not had their limbs 
 suppled by exercise, can execute : on the 
 contrary, they always trot with surprising 
 stiffness and awkwardness, and without the 
 least spring or play in their joints. 
 
 III. The even or equal trot is that wherein 
 the horse makes all his limbs and joints move 
 so equally and exactly, that his legs never 
 cover more ground one than the other, nor at 
 one time more than at another. To do this, 
 
126' PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 the horse must of necessity unite and collect 
 all his strength, and, if we may be allowed 
 the expression, distribute it equally through 
 all his joints. 
 
 To go from the extended trot to the sup- 
 ple, you must gently, and by degrees, hold in 
 your horse ; and when by exercise he has 
 attained sufficient ease and suppleness to 
 manage his limbs readily, you must insensibly 
 hold him in still more and more, and by 
 degrees you will lead him to the equal trot. 
 
 Section III. — Of the Trot in particular. 
 
 Begin each pace conformably with etiquette, 
 by going first to the right. Therefore, from 
 the walk cross over from the left by the long 
 change, and put your horse to the trot. 
 
 To make the horse trot, apply, for an in- 
 stant, both legs to his sides : at the same time 
 raise the fore hand by a light feeling of the 
 bridle, drawing the little finger of each hand 
 
MODERN RIDING. 127 
 
 rather upwards and towards the body. This, 
 as well as all other aids of the hands, must be 
 done smoothly, avoiding all jerks or sudden 
 motions. 
 
 The instant the action commences, the 
 hand receives and regulates it. If too rapid, 
 it is checked by strengthening the hand ; — if 
 too slow, by easing the fingers, and more 
 animation ; — if not sufficiently united, by col- 
 lecting the reins, and raising the head. 
 
 The beginning is always moderate. The 
 rider sits close to the saddle, not rising nor 
 standing in the stirrups ; and he keeps the 
 hands up in their proper situation, steady and 
 pliant, preserving a due correspondence, and 
 just appui. 
 
 As the horse moves on in the trot, the body 
 of the rider should incline a little backwards, 
 and the whole figure must be pliant, partak- 
 ing of, and accompanying, the movements of 
 the horse. 
 
128 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 The seat must chiefly be preserved, by the 
 balance of the body, and not by the pressure 
 of the knees ; for all attempts to hold on by 
 the gripe of the legs and thighs would tend to 
 derange the balance, and destroy that easy 
 and unconstrained position of the limbs, which 
 is essential to a firm and graceful seat. 
 
 These things attained, the rider may pro- 
 ceed as rapidly as the firmness of his seat and 
 balance will admit, — being mindful not to 
 exceed that, lest his seat should be thrown 
 into disorder, and he contract a habit of 
 applying the calves before he attains the com- 
 plete balance with the thighs. 
 
 When the pupil is confirmed, in some de- 
 gree, in his seat at a trot, he should be taught 
 to collect his horse, and to bring his haunches 
 under him. This is effected by pressing the 
 horse up to the bridle by the aid of the legs ; 
 but care must be taken that this is not done 
 too hastily or violently, as the horse might 
 thereby be injured. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 129 
 
 It is of importance to remark, that the rider 
 ought at no time, neither in the extended, 
 supple, nor equal trot, to confine his horse in 
 the hand, in expectation of raising him, and 
 fixing his head in a proper place. If the 
 appui be full in the hand, and the action of 
 his trot should be checked and restrained by 
 the power of the bridle, his bars would very 
 soon grow callous, and his mouth be hardened 
 and dead : if, on the contrary, he has a fine 
 and sensible mouth, this very restraint would 
 offend and make him uneasy. The rider must 
 endeavour, then, to give him by degrees, the 
 true and just appui, to place his head, and 
 form his mouth by stops and half stops, — by 
 sometimes moderating and restraining him 
 with a gentle and light hand, and yielding it 
 to him immediately again, — and by sometimes 
 letting him trot without feeling the bridle at 
 all. 
 
 The only proof, or rather the most certain 
 sign of a horse's trotting well, is, that when 
 he is in his trot, and the rider begins to press 
 him a little, he offers to gallop. 
 
 K 
 
130 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 As the rider improves, he will encourage 
 his horse to put his foot out freely, supporting 
 his fore hand up, and his haunches under. 
 For this purpose he must keep up a sufficient 
 degree of animation ; and the instant he per- 
 ceives a languor, which may be felt before 
 any visible abatement in the action takes 
 place, he must throw in his animation in time 
 — a touch of the finger, the animation of the 
 tongue, the switch of the whip, or the appli- 
 cation of the legs, whichever comes the most 
 ready, so that it is not too frequently used to 
 lose its effect. 
 
 Section IV. — Of Turns, Stops, fyc. in the Trot. 
 
 The operations, directed in the preceding 
 Chapter to be performed at the Walk, are 
 now to be practised at a Trot. 
 
 On Turns and Changes in the Trot there 
 is nothing to be added ; but as stops were re- 
 quired to coincide with cadences, it is neces- 
 sary to observe that the first cadence in the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 131 
 
 trot is performed by the two feet that lead, 
 and mark the time, one; and that the feet 
 that mark the time, two, finish the cadence, 
 and should complete the stop. 
 
 To give variety and information, the rider 
 should occasionally alter the cadence or mea- 
 sure of the action, by strengthening the hand, 
 and keeping up a sufficient degree of anima- 
 tion, to prevent the horse from stopping. 
 Then again he should give him liberty, and 
 proceed with the same spirit as before. Now 
 he may make a stop : then rein him back 
 two or three steps, keeping the horse so united 
 and animated, that the instant the hand may 
 give him liberty, he advances as rapidly 
 again. 
 
 The pupil by thus exerting himself, and 
 progressively aiming from one degree of ex- 
 cellence to another, till he can ride a spirited 
 horse to the height of his animation, will 
 strengthen his seat, get the true balance of 
 body, and learn the operation, effect, and 
 power of the hand . 
 
 k 2 
 
132 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 When the pupil rides with this animation 
 and spirit, which cannot be expected for some 
 time, the lessons must be proportionably short. 
 If we ride a horse to the height of his ani- 
 mation, though he were in regular exercise 
 and the best condition, he would be so heated 
 in ten minutes, that humanity would say — 
 " Stop ; let the horse take breath, and reco- 
 ver himself/' 
 
 This, in horsemanship, is called a reprise ; 
 and two such breathings is sufficient for any 
 horse to do in one day ; for the moderate 
 riding of a horse twenty miles on the road 
 would not be more distressing, nor reduce 
 his condition so much, as riding two such 
 reprises. 
 
 Plate XIV. illustrates the Trot. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 133 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE GALLOP. 
 
 Section I. — Of the Gallop in general, and of its 
 Kinds. 
 
 We do not recommend the Gallop to be be- 
 gun soon, because the Trot is the foundation of 
 good riding. The young horseman, however, 
 being duly prepared by the practice of the 
 foregoing lessons, may proceed to that of the 
 Gallop. 
 
 The Gallop may be considered under three 
 distinct heads, namely : — That of the Racer, 
 on the course at Newmarket; that of the Hun- 
 ter, under moderate animation, on the plain ; 
 and that of the Lady's or Pleasure Horse, on 
 the road, which is commonly called the Can- 
 ter. Each of these actions has its peculiar 
 excellence ; but the last is the most difficult 
 
134 PRINCIPLES or p. v. 
 
 to accomplish, as it requires the skill of an 
 able rider to foreshorten and throw the horse 
 on his haunches, sufficiently to complete it. 
 
 In Cantering or Galloping on a straight line, 
 it is immaterial whether the horse leads with 
 the off leg before, or with the near leg before, 
 provided the hind leg of the same side follows 
 the fore leg. Indeed 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 worn out on 
 one side, when he was quite sound on the 
 other. It is, however, proper that the horse 
 should be determined by the rider as to the 
 leg with which he should lead. 
 
 In Cantering round the circle, or the ma- 
 nege to the right, it is necessary the horse 
 should lead with the inward, or off fore leg, 
 followed by the off hind leg. This action is 
 termed true or united. — Plate XV. 
 
 In Cantering to the right, if the horse lead 
 with the off fore leg, and near hind leg, he is 
 
Hi 
 
 : 
 
 y 
 
 
MODERN RIDING. 135 
 
 said to be disunited : it is a rocking motion, 
 the legs interfere, and he cannot sustain it. 
 Or if he lead with the near fore leg, and off 
 hind leg, he is equally disunited. — Plate XVI. 
 
 In Cantering to the right, if the horse lead 
 with both near legs, he is said to gallop false. 
 
 In Cantering round the circle, or the ma- 
 nege, to the left, it is necessary the horse 
 should lead with the inward, or near fore leg, 
 followed by the near hind leg. This is termed 
 true or united. — Plate XVII. 
 
 In Cantering to the left, if the horse lead 
 with the near fore leg and off hind leg, he is 
 said to be disunited. Or if he lead with the 
 off fore leg and near hind leg, he is equally 
 disunited. 
 
 In Cantering to the left, if the horse lead 
 with both off legs, he is said to be false. 
 
13(5 PRINCIPLES OF P. V 
 
 Section II . — Of the Canter in particular. 
 
 In the early practice of the Canter, it should 
 be commenced from a short, animated, and 
 collected Trot. After some practice it may 
 be done from the Walk ; and finally from the 
 Halt. 
 
 The first thing to learn is, how, in a proper 
 and horsemanlike manner, to put the horse 
 into a Canter ; for to begin the Canter well, 
 and to finish it well, displays more the skill of 
 the horseman than any part of it. 
 
 To put the horse immediately to the Canter 
 from the spot where you may be standing, or 
 from any pace you may be riding, the hands 
 and heel must collect and press the horse 
 together : in other words, press the horse with 
 the legs, or animate with the tongue; and at 
 the same time, with a quickening sensation in 
 the fingers, and a little raising of the hand, 
 invite the fore legs to rise in the action of the 
 Canter. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 137 
 
 If the horse do not readily obey this, you 
 must increase your animation, and keep the 
 hand more firm, to prevent the horse trotting. 
 By this means, you will constrain him to raise 
 his fore legs together, which commences the 
 action. 
 
 Besides raising the action to the Canter, 
 you are likewise to direct the horse which 
 foot he is to lead with. The foot the horse 
 should lead with is the inner ; and horses that 
 have been equally suppled to Canter with 
 either leg, readily take the foot, by putting 
 the croupe in. This will be understood by 
 what follows. 
 
 In the Canter, the horse leads with one side, 
 and that side is advanced somewhat more 
 forward than the other, which is increased 
 as a horse may canter more or less with his 
 croupe in. The position of the horse makes 
 a corresponding position of the horseman 
 necessary, whereby the balance is kept more 
 steady, and the position of the horse better 
 supported. 
 
138 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 It may, then, be taken as a general rule, 
 that whichever side the horse leads with, the 
 rider's thigh on that side must be rather more 
 turned in towards the saddle. This brings 
 the hip on that side more forward, and con- 
 sequently turns the other thigh a little out, 
 and the hip back . 
 
 This turn of the hip effects a turn of the 
 body ; and the hands being fixed, and con- 
 sidered a part of the body, are carried with 
 it. 
 
 The rider's head, by a like general rule, is 
 always to be directed to the horse's nose, his 
 eye glancing on the ground the horse's fore 
 feet go over. In the Canter the horse's nose 
 is directed to the ground : the rider's face is 
 consequently the same. 
 
 This position of the rider must be propor- 
 tioned to the position of the horse ; that is, 
 as the horse Canters more or less with his 
 croupe in. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 139 
 
 Let the pupil then attempt to put his horse 
 to the Canter, we will say to the right : that 
 is, leading with the right foot foremost. At 
 the instant he makes the disposition with his 
 hands and animations to raise the action to 
 the canter, let him take the corresponding 
 position, by turning the right thigh in, ad- 
 vancing the right hip, &c. and the effect will 
 be this : the hands will be carried more to 
 the left, which will determine the shoulders 
 out and support the horse's head in a proper 
 position ; while the left, which is the outer 
 thigh, being turned a little out, will bring the 
 left leg farther back, and nearer to the horse's 
 side, and that will support the croupe to the 
 right, that is, in. 
 
 In this position, the animation and union 
 raising the action to the Canter, the horse 
 cannot but take the right leg ; unless he has 
 never been suppled, or accustomed to gallop 
 with any other than the left. 
 
 In military riding this turn of the body for 
 obvious reasons is not admitted. The soldier. 
 
140 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 to begin the Canter or Gallop (for they are 
 the same), round the manege draws both the 
 reins a little towards himself, feeling the in- 
 ward rein with double power, and at the 
 same time closes his outward leg, which dis- 
 poses the horse to advance, and strike off 
 with the inward leg. 
 
 If the horse strike off with the wrong leg, 
 false or disunited, the rider must endeavour, 
 at the first corner at which he arrives, by an 
 additional feeling of the inward rein, and 
 application of the outward leg (without using 
 the spur), to make him change, and lead with 
 the proper leg. 
 
 It is extremely necessary that a horse 
 should be suppled, and accustomed to change 
 and gallop with either leg ; for then, even if 
 the rider is inattentive, when the horse finds 
 himself insecure by leading with the wrong- 
 leg, he can readily change, and will do so of 
 his own accord ; but horses that have not 
 been suppled and united cannot change with- 
 out a great risk of falling. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 141 
 
 When the horse leads with the proper leg, 
 the hand should resume its usual position, the 
 rider observing to make the horse bend a 
 little inwards, by shortening the inward rein. 
 The fingers should be softened, if necessary, 
 to let the horse advance, but the hand kept 
 up, and every cadence felt of the fore feet 
 coming to the ground. 
 
 Beginners cannot be expected at first to 
 know when the horse takes the proper leg : 
 practice alone must give them that know- 
 ledge. If the rider, however, take the proper 
 position, and if the horse goes off smoothly, 
 and continue the croupe in, he may reason- 
 ably suppose him right ; but on the contrary, 
 if the horse appear to resist these aids, and 
 the croupe be out and the shoulders in, he 
 will, most likely, be false. 
 
 It is natural with beginners, to suppose that 
 the faster they ride, the better they ride ; but, 
 however, gratifying the riding fast may be, 
 there is more skill displa}^ed in keeping up 
 
142 PRINCIPLES OF P. V, 
 
 an animated action in the Gallop, at the rate 
 even of but three miles an hour, than at that 
 of twelve or fifteen miles an hour. The at- 
 tention of the pupil should therefore be, to 
 keep up the animation and action of the 
 Gallop, without going fast. If the animation 
 fail, or the action be not supported by the 
 hand, the horse will break into the trot, 
 particularly as the Gallop is shortened or 
 united. 
 
 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 when disunited and when ex- 
 tended to speed, even though the horse is 
 supple and just on his legs, loses its harmony 
 and regularity of time. In these cases, the 
 fore legs 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 
 
MODERN RIDING. 143 
 
 beats of the hind. In these Gallops, it would 
 be highly imprudent to circle, or turn, but on 
 a very large scale. 
 
 Begin, therefore, in a medium way, nei- 
 ther too rapid nor too slow. Be sure to 
 keep the hands up, rather above than below 
 the elbow, and quite steady, that you may 
 feel the cadence of every step, and the sup- 
 port your hand gives. If you feel the action 
 declining, correct it instantly, before worse 
 disorder takes place, by an animating touch 
 of the fingers, the leg, or the tongue. The 
 hand first discovers any disorder or relin- 
 quishment going to take place, and conse- 
 quently is the first to correct it. 
 
 Horses, when broke, in many instances, 
 discover the inefficacy of the rider's hand, 
 particularly in the gallop round the riding- 
 house. If the hand be not attentive, the 
 horse will break his ground at the ends : he 
 will not only evade filling the corners, but 
 will circle without going to the extent of the 
 
144 PRINCIPLES OP P. V. 
 
 house. To prevent this, keep the horse suf- 
 ficiently united, and properly supported by 
 the hand. Do not suffer him to depart from 
 the side wall, till his nose arrives within five 
 yards of the end wall. As you become pro- 
 ficient, you may ride him up to a yard. 
 Then gradually turn or incline your body, to 
 let the horse circle ; but still keep the hands 
 sufficiently operating outward, to keep the 
 horse's fore legs on the outer extent of the 
 ground, and close the outer leg, to support 
 the croupe in, and haunches under; by which 
 the horse will be properly balanced, and in 
 no danger of slipping. 
 
 When you have sufficiently practised to 
 the right, and find you can support the action 
 in a united Gallop, in which the horse never 
 breaks the time, or falls into the trot, which 
 shows a defect in the rider, stop and practise 
 the Gallop to the left. 
 
 In galloping to the left the position is re- 
 versed, which needs no farther explanation. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 145 
 
 The pupil must be trained by practice and 
 instruction to retain his seat and balance, and 
 to make his horse obey the aids, with as 
 much ease and steadiness at a Canter as at 
 the walk. 
 
 When the rider finds he can put his horse 
 off to either hand with the proper leg, and 
 support the action, he must particularly at- 
 tend to the truth and union of the action, 
 and try to raise it to the highest animation, 
 riding sometimes rapidly, sometimes slowly, 
 yet always united. 
 
 When capacitated to ride the Gallop in 
 high animation, lofty action, united and true 
 to both hands, he will proceed to make the 
 Changes. 
 
 Section III. — Of Turns, Changes, Stops, §c. in 
 the Gallop. 
 
 I. When the rider is familiar with the paces, 
 easy in his seat, and has learned to apply the 
 
146 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 proper aids, he should be taught how to turn 
 his horse to the right and left, at a canter. 
 This is to be done with the leading rein, by 
 raising the horse's fore hand, and pressing 
 the haunches forward and under him ; at the 
 same time the outward rein assists to steady 
 the horse, and a pressure of the calf of the 
 outward leg keeps the haunches from falling 
 too much out. 
 
 If the man turn his horse suddenly with the 
 inward rein only, without lifting the fore hand 
 or applying the outward leg, the horse must 
 turn on his shoulders, and lose all power to 
 halt on his haunches, and being twisted round 
 unprepared, he will change to the outward 
 leg, to counteract the effect of this uncol- 
 lected turn. 
 
 II. The Changes in the Gallop will be more 
 easily and readily performed by the horse, if 
 the rider be particularly careful to bring him 
 properly to his ground where he is to change 
 in such position, that, when the legs are 
 changed, he will be as truly on the lines he 
 
MODERN HIDING. 147 
 
 is to proceed on, as he was on those before 
 he changed. 
 
 For example, if you make the long change, 
 you cross the riding house from A to B 
 (Plate XVIII. Figure 1); and at B you are 
 to change and gallop, with the left leg towards 
 C or D. Now, if you bring the horse pro- 
 perly across the house, the croupe not being 
 too much in, when you arrive at B, the central 
 line of your horse will be in the same direc- 
 tion on the new lines B, C, when the horse 
 has changed his legs, as they were on the 
 former lines A, B, as the Plate shows. The 
 horse-shoes on the lines A, B, show the posi- 
 tion of the horse's feet when galloping from 
 A to B, leading with the right leg; the horse's 
 shoes at B show the position of the horse's 
 feet when changed to gallop with the left 
 leg. 
 
 Were you to gallop across the riding house 
 with the croupe so far in, as is described by 
 the footmarks on the lines E, F, and to con- 
 tinue the position till you changed at F, your 
 
 l 2 
 
148 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 horse, when changed, would be in a position 
 to gallop to G ; and consequently, if you de- 
 signed to gallop to H, you would be obliged 
 to alter the position of your horse as you 
 arrived at F, before you changed, that the 
 horse might, when changed, be capacitated 
 to work on the lines F, H. 
 
 For trial, — begin with the long change, and 
 bring your horse properly to his ground, as 
 has been explained. When you arrive at the 
 place, seize the time the horse's fore feet are 
 coming to the ground, and lean the body a 
 little back, nearly as when you intend to 
 make the half stop : then as the cadence 
 finishes, bring your body upright, and change 
 your position, and the horse will begin the 
 next cadence with the other leg. 
 
 The inner hand always supports the posi- 
 tion the horse works in, and must be fixed to 
 the body. The outer hand must be accom- 
 modating to the inner : that is, it may be 
 detached from the body, — placed forward to 
 admit the little turn of the horse's nose to the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 149 
 
 lines he is to work on, — carried higher than 
 the inner, to raise the action and animation 
 without moving the hand that supports the 
 position, — and if the outer elbow is raised, 
 the hand, elbow, and shoulder must be of a 
 parallel height, and form a graceful arch. 
 
 When you change, the whole must be per- 
 formed smoothly and evenly at one and the 
 same instant; so that, at the finish of the 
 cadence, your body, hands, thighs, and legs 
 are reversed, for the horse to commence his 
 next cadence with the contrary leg. 
 
 The other Changes in the Gallop are done 
 on a similar principle, — a due regard to the 
 position of the horse before you change, that, 
 when changed, he may be capacitated to pro-* 
 ceed on the intended lines. 
 
 III. The pupil should also practise the 
 Stop frequently, always changing the place 
 where he stops, lest the horse should prepare 
 himself to halt when he comes to the place at 
 which he has been accustomed to stop. 
 
150 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 1. To avoid any unnecessary shock either 
 to rider or horse (especially to the former 
 when riding without stirrups), during the ma- 
 nege lessons, the halt should at first be pre- 
 ceded by the trot, and the pupil should stop 
 his horse well on the haunches, by applying 
 the flat of both legs as he feels the bridle, 
 raising his horse's forehand, and suffering 
 him to go a pace or two at the trot before he 
 finally halts. 
 
 To stop skilfully in the gallop, you seize 
 the time when the horse's fore feet are coming 
 to the ground, which is the beginning of the 
 cadence ; and the hind feet coming up to 
 their exact distance finish the cadence, and 
 complete the stop ; while the horse is so 
 balanced, that he can readily set off again 
 with the same rapidity as before. 
 
 The skill of the rider and obedience of 
 the horse are happily displayed in the Stop, 
 during the gallop ; for, besides seizing the 
 exact time, as above observed, a due pro- 
 portion of power must be attended to, agree- 
 
MODERN RIDING. 151 
 
 able to the readiness, obedience, union, or 
 rapidity of the action. Should your opera- 
 tion be too feeble, the Stop would not be 
 effected, at least in a proper manner : if it 
 be too powerful, you overbalance the horse 
 on his haunches, and compel him to move 
 his feet after the cadence is finished, to re- 
 cover his balance. Besides, in these over 
 violent operations of the body and hand, you 
 risk the extension of the sinews behind, or 
 hurting the back and loins ; and therefore, 
 till horses are ready and obedient to the Stop, 
 it should not be attempted in too violent and 
 rapid gallops ; nor even then, if the horse is 
 weak, or the rider heavy, in which case, the 
 double arret is used, as being less liable to 
 injure the horse or shake the rider. 
 
 2. The double Arret is, the Stop completed 
 in two cadences of the gallop, which, in vio- 
 lent action, is far less distressing, both to man 
 and horse. The horse, till practised and 
 made obedient to the Stop, will not, however, 
 be handy at the double Arret ; for, in the first 
 
152 PRINCIPLES OF P. V. 
 
 instance, he stops by compulsion ; but, when 
 practice has brought him to obedience, he 
 readily stops at the easy throwing back of 
 the body. In rapid action, 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. 
 
 3. The half Stop is a pause in the gallop, 
 or the action suspended for half a second, and 
 then resumed again. 
 
 Now, the difference in performing the half 
 Stop is throwing the aid of the body back, 
 not so determinately, lest you should there- 
 by so overbalance the horse that he cannot 
 readily set off again without moving his legs 
 after the finish of the cadence ; for the ca- 
 dence is no sooner finished than the body is 
 to come forward, to permit the action to go 
 on : so that the half Stop is only a pause in 
 
MODERN RIDING. 153 
 
 the gallop. It is mostly used to effect a 
 change ; that is, changing from the right leg 
 to the left, &c. 
 
 The cadence of the Stop, half Stop, and 
 double Arret, are quicker than the gallop, 
 because, when the aids are thrown in to effect 
 the Stop, the hands check the fore legs, while 
 the rider's legs drive in the haunches ; and 
 this occasions the feet to come to the ground 
 quicker and nearer together. 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, by which 
 the horse stops with more ease to himself in 
 two cadences. 
 
 As the Canter is a severe exercise both for 
 men and horses, the duration of it should be 
 short. 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING 
 
 PART VI. 
 
 OF 
 
 THE LATERAL PACES. 
 
PART VI. 
 
 OF THE LATERAL PACES. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF SHOULDER-IN, ETC. 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary. 
 
 When the pupil has obtained a perfect 
 knowledge of the Turnings, &c. in the direct 
 or straight forward paces, and of the Aids to 
 be applied in those movements, he may pro- 
 ceed to the lateral paces of Bending or 
 Shoulder-in, Passaging, and Terre-a-terre. 
 
 The pupil should be cautioned, that in 
 these, as in other lessons, he must avoid all 
 sudden and violent changes of the Aids, 
 which would defeat the object in view — to 
 teach the skilful management of the horse. 
 
158 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 Section II. — Of Bending. 
 
 To bend the horse's head to the right or to 
 the left, the pupil shortens his inward rein, 
 and holds it with a firm, but light hand ; sup- 
 porting his horse at the same time with the 
 outward leg and rein. 
 
 If these Aids be properly applied, the 
 horse will readily yield to them, and bend in 
 the degree required, which commences from 
 the poll of the neck, and turns the head so that 
 the rider can see the horse's inward eye. 
 
 Section III. — Of Shoulder-in. 
 
 The Shoulder-in is a greater degree of the 
 Bend. 
 
 Till a proficiency in this, and in head and 
 croupe to the wall, called the keys of the 
 manege, are acquired, a person is but indif- 
 
MODERN RIDING. 159 
 
 ferently qualified to ride the Gallop with the 
 Changes. 
 
 The particular intention of this operation is 
 to bend, supple, and retain the horse's shoul- 
 ders ; and as the position of the rider varies 
 according to the position the horse works in, 
 it is equally indispensable, for the suppling 
 the rider, retaining the hips and shoulders, 
 giving freedom and ease in the seat, and a 
 balance in side actions. 
 
 Here the position of the horse is nearly 
 opposite to that in the gallop ; the gallop 
 having the croupe in, and this having the 
 shoulders in. 
 
 As this lesson is sometimes taught both 
 horse and man first on circles, it is more 
 easily explained on them. The horse being 
 bent with his head more or less towards the 
 centre, agreeable to the suppleness he has 
 acquired, retains the inner shoulder, and 
 advances the outer, which is the reverse of 
 
160 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 the gallop, where the inner shoulder is the 
 advanced, or leads. The croupe, by this, is 
 thrown out ; that is, the hind legs describe a 
 circle without, or larger than the fore legs. 
 
 In the same manner, if you work the horse 
 along the wall, though the horse bends his 
 neck within the house, if the hind feet do not 
 describe lines without the fore feet, the horse 
 does not work the lesson true. 
 
 The position of the horse is bent, and he 
 works to the convex side, while his head 
 is turned in the opposite direction. — Plate 
 XIX. 
 
 Hence not only the neck, but the shoulders, 
 loins, and haunches, become suppled ; and if 
 worked equally to both hands, this gives a 
 surprising capacity or ability to the horse. 
 
 In the following Plate XX. Figure 1, the 
 dotted lines represent the outlines of a horse's 
 body, without having regard to the head or 
 
PI 20 
 
 
 -^Fig.2 
 
 Fig3 
 
 Fig 4 
 
 Davenp:?r:. sculp. 
 
 IP A C IE 
 
 London. Published March. 1825. by Tho s Tegg,^?. CheapHde 
 
MODERN RIDI3STG. 16*1 
 
 neck, supposing you take your view from an 
 eminence directly over the horse, where his 
 body entirely obstructs the sight of his legs. 
 
 Now when a horse works straight, we may 
 suppose that, if lines were drawn from each 
 quarter to each shoulder, it would form a 
 trapezium,— as represented in that figure. 
 The intent of this lesson, however, is to retain 
 the inner shoulder, and advance the outer ; 
 and therefore, by working the horse in a 
 curved position, as Figure 2, if lines were 
 drawn from the points, as before, it would 
 form an oblique trapezium, and show the 
 inner shoulder retained considerably behind 
 the outer. 
 
 This position of the horse's body affecting 
 the feet, if we draw lines through the angles 
 they will show the treads the horse's feet 
 work on, three or four in number according 
 as the shoulder is worked more or less in. 
 This may be seen by Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, which 
 represent the horse on straight lines and cir- 
 cles, in different degrees of suppleness. 
 
16' ( 2 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 The corresponding position of the rider to 
 support the position and action of the horse, 
 and maintain an undisturbed balance is next 
 to be considered. 
 
 For this purpose, collect and separate the 
 reins, or in other words take one in each 
 hand. In doing this, let them be taken short 
 enough, because, if too short, you can with 
 ease slip them to a proper length ; but if too 
 long, you cannot shorten one hand without 
 the assistance of the other. Bring your inner 
 hand down, letting the wrist rest on, or just 
 above, the hip. By this, if your rein is of a 
 proper length, you will draw the horse's nose 
 within the circle and support the position ; 
 and as this is your aim, be mindful not to pre- 
 vent your own intentions by pulling with the 
 outer hand. For this purpose, as you draw 
 the inner hand towards you, advance the 
 outer, to admit the horse freely bending. At 
 the same time, present your own body (as 
 the horse bends himself) towards the horse's 
 nose. Whether the horse is bent much or 
 little, your body having the like degree of 
 
MODERN RIDING. [6'3 
 
 inclination, will give the corresponding posi- 
 tion, by which to support the attitude the 
 horse is to work in, and maintain your balance 
 undisturbed. 
 
 To make this more easy and effective, ad- 
 vance the outer hip, and retain the inner one. 
 This will turn the inner thigh a little out, and 
 the outer thigh more in. The inner leg, by 
 this means, will be brought nearer the horse, 
 to aid and drive the croupe out ; and the 
 outer thigh will be in a position to support 
 the balance, — for the horse being bent, and 
 working to the convex side, the rider's body 
 is thereby impelled inward, till such time as 
 he acquires the method of supporting his 
 balance by the muscles in the outer thigh. 
 
 The outer hand, as already said, is to be 
 placed forward, to admit the horse bending 
 himself to the inner hand. It is likewise to 
 be placed so high, that the shoulder, elbow, 
 and wrist, are in a horizontal situation, — the 
 arm forming a graceful arch, — and the fin- 
 gers being soft and pliant, that the operations 
 
 m 2 
 
164 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 may be the more delicate. The inner hand, 
 however, being fixed and determinate, no ope- 
 ration of the outer hand must be so strong as 
 to destroy the effect of the inner. In this situ- 
 ation, the operation of the outer hand may 
 assist the inner, by occasional touches inward 
 or outward, as the circumstances may require. 
 The animating touches of the fingers, in an 
 upward direction, will likewise rouse the apa- 
 thy, raise the action, and unite the horse. 
 
 In the practice of this, the pupil should 
 clearly understand that it is the outward rein 
 which leads the horse, the inward rein which 
 preserves the bend ; the inward leg which 
 presses the horse to cross his legs ; and the 
 feeling of the outward leg which keeps him 
 up to the hand. 
 
 These constraints keep the horse together, 
 and prevent his taking too long a side step 
 which might strain him. 
 
 In this and in all side movements, a certain 
 freedom of action must be allowed for the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 165 
 
 horse, to enable him to cross his legs. If the 
 hand should pull at the moment when he is 
 crossing his legs, it would prevent his action, 
 and he would rein back. On the contrary, 
 if the horse be allowed too much liberty when 
 stepping sideways, he will be disposed to 
 advance. 
 
 The horse will yield to these aids (if they 
 be properly applied and timed to his pace), 
 so that his whole figure will be bent ; the fore 
 and hind legs moving on two lines parallel 
 to the sides of the manege ; the shoulders 
 leading ; and the inward crossing over the 
 outward legs. 
 
 The ground you intend to work on must be 
 particularly attended to ; and this the aids of 
 the body and leg, if properly applied, will 
 regulate, without the motion of the inner 
 hand, or the interference of the outer. Not 
 that the outer hand is not to be used : the 
 one hand is always to be assisting to the 
 other ; but the inner hand and heel constitute 
 the principal support of the position, action, 
 
16*6 PRINCIPLES OP P. VI. 
 
 time, &c. as well as direct the ground the 
 horse is to work on. 
 
 Thus, should the horse traverse within the 
 intended lines you meant to work on, exa- 
 mine the cause. It may be from your inner 
 hip and shoulder being turned beyond a due 
 proportion, or the body too much bent, or 
 inclined inwards. Correct your own error, 
 and as you assume a more straight or upright 
 position of the body, which will carry the 
 shoulders out, you must proportionately apply 
 the inner leg to keep the croupe out; by 
 which you will support the position as before, 
 and only enlarge your ground. 
 
 On the other hand, should the horse break 
 his ground, by going without the lines, let 
 the body be more turned or inclined inward, 
 which will bring the shoulders to work on a 
 less circle. Should an unwilling obedience 
 of the horse occasion the croupe to be too 
 far out, keep off your inner leg, and it will 
 come to its proper situation. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 167 
 
 The eye glancing on the ground your horse 
 is to work on, the aids of the body and hand 
 will naturally operate to that direction. 
 
 On the arrival of the rider at any corner 
 of the manege, he should feel the inward rein 
 twice as strongly as die outward one in order 
 to stop the fore hand of the horse, and at the 
 same time press with the inward leg, with 
 double strength, to bring his quarters gradu- 
 ally on the new line in a circular direction. 
 He should then lead the horse off with the 
 outward rein, and preserve the bend by care- 
 fully applying both hands and legs, as before 
 directed. 
 
 Section IV. — Of Changes, fyc. in Shoulder-in. 
 
 The usual Changes in this lesson are, by the 
 long change and demi-volt. 
 
 As a trial of proficiency, occasionally work 
 from the wall towards the middle of the riding: 
 house, as though you were going to make the 
 
168 principles or P. VI. 
 
 long change ; but when arrived at the middle 
 of the house, work back to the other end of 
 the wall from which you came. This is no 
 change, but only tries the obedience of the 
 horse, and the proficiency of your hand and 
 aids. 
 
 It is in these lessons that the pupil acquires 
 an accurate knowledge of the use and effect 
 of the aids necessary in more confined move- 
 ments. 
 
 This pace should be performed with great 
 care at a walk. 
 
 This and all constrained lessons, being par- 
 ticularly distressing to the horse, and rendered 
 more so, frequently, by the awkwardness of 
 beginners, they should not be continued too 
 long at a time, and in that short time should 
 be frequently changed. The working twice 
 round the riding house to one hand — chang- 
 ing and working to the contrary hand, is suf- 
 ficient. 
 
MODERN RIDING, 169 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF THE PASSAGE, 
 
 Section I. — Of the Passage in General. 
 
 When the pupil has arrived at some degree 
 of dexterity in the use of the Aids necessary 
 in Shoulder-in, he should be taught the Pas- 
 sage. 
 
 The Passage is the key which opens all the 
 justness of the art of riding,, and is the only 
 means of regulating horses in all sorts of airs ; 
 because, in this action, we may work them 
 slowly, and teach them all the knowledge of 
 the leg and hand, as it were insensibly, and 
 without running any risk of disgusting them, 
 or making them rebel. 
 
170 PRINCIPLES OP P. VI. 
 
 In the Passage, the action of the horse's 
 legs is the same as in the Shoulder-in ; but 
 the horse is supported in a different and 
 more graceful attitude ; the small but elegant 
 bend is on the side he moves to ; so that he 
 works to the concave side, which is more 
 brilliant in appearance, as well as more dif- 
 ficult to execute. In the Shoulder-in, the 
 horse looks the contrary way to that in which 
 he moves ; but in the Passage, he looks the 
 way he is going and follows the leading rein ; 
 his shoulders preceding his haunches, and the 
 body being placed obliquely to the lines on 
 which his legs are made to move. The action 
 is grand, and the time as regular as the beats 
 of a clock. 
 
 Section II. — Of the Kinds of Passage. 
 There are several sorts of the Passage. 
 
 In that which is derived from the trot, the 
 action of the horse's legs is the same as in the 
 trot. The Passage is distinguished from the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 171 
 
 trot, which is the foundation of it, only by. 
 the extreme union of the horse, by the action 
 being raised before and lowered behind, by 
 his keeping his legs longer in the air, and 
 lifting them both equally high, and by being 
 neither so quick nor violent as in the action 
 of the trot. 
 
 In the Passage which is founded on the 
 walk, the action of the horse is nevertheless 
 the same as in the trot, and consequently the 
 same as in the walk, with this difference, that 
 the horse lifts his fore feet a good deal higher 
 than his hinder, and that he marks a certain 
 time or interval sufficiently long between the 
 motion of each leg ; his action being much 
 more together and shortened, more distinct 
 and slow than the ordinary walk, and not so 
 extended as in the trot, in such a manner, 
 that he is, as it were, kept together and sup- 
 ported under himself. 
 
 There is another sort of Passage to which 
 the trot likewise gives birth, and in which the 
 action is so quick, so diligent, and so sup- 
 
172 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 ported, that the horse seems not to advance, 
 but to work upon the same spot of ground. 
 The horses which take this sort of Passage 
 have not their action so high and strong as 
 the other, it being too quick and sudden ; 
 but almost all horses which are inclined to 
 this, are endowed with a great share of gen- 
 tleness and activity. 
 
 Section III Of the Passage in particular. 
 
 In the Passage, the forehand is raised, — the 
 shoulders out, — the croupe in, — and the neck 
 partakes of a two-fold bend, — that is, the 
 neck bends a little inward, and the nose is 
 a little turned from the perpendicular, and 
 this bend and turn put the forehand into an 
 elegant form. The inner side of the horse, 
 which is that to which he is working, is 
 advanced or leads, the same as in the gallop ; 
 but the feet are lifted as in the trot, only 
 raised higher before and less behind, the 
 consequence of a closer union. The fore feet 
 
MODERN RIDING. 173 
 
 being raised higher and retained in hand, 
 make a shorter step and slower time, and the 
 action not being so rapid as the trot, the 
 beats are not so sharp. 
 
 Let the pupil try this first to the right. 
 For this purpose, collect and separate the 
 reins, bring your right hand down to your 
 body, letting your wrist steadily rest against 
 it, the little finger being of a parallel height 
 with the elbow. This hand supports the po- 
 sition or attitude of the horse, and is never to 
 move but with the body, while you work the 
 horse to the right. The left hand having the 
 rein of equal length will be somewhat ad- 
 vanced, to admit the small bend of the neck 
 and turn of the nose, as described. The 
 right hand being fixed to the body to support 
 the position, the left may be detached, the 
 hand and elbow being raised to a parallel 
 with the shoulder, and the elbow so bent as 
 to form a graceful arch. In this situation, 
 it operates in the same direction from the 
 horse's mouth as the right, only higher, for 
 the purpose of raising the forehand, and by 
 
174 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 those delicate sensations of the fingers, inse- 
 parable from a good hand, it enlivens the 
 mouth, lightens the appui, animates the horse, 
 and raises the action. 
 
 The corresponding position of the body 
 (as has been described in the gallop with the 
 croupe in), is the right hip advanced, the 
 thigh turned inward, &c. But as the side 
 action of the horse is more liable to disturb 
 the balance than the gallop, be sure to keep 
 the body upright, steady, square to the same 
 front as the horse, and dressing to the right. 
 
 As to the legs, press with the calf of the 
 left leg to make the horse place his haunches 
 in the proper direction, cross his legs, and 
 answer the leading rein. Stretch also the right 
 leg down, and brace the muscles firm. 
 
 The eye must always traverse the ground 
 the horse is to work on. 
 
 In this movement, then, the right rein leads, 
 and the left leg presses, and obliges the horse 
 
MODERN RIDING. 175 
 
 to place his left foot before the right; the left 
 rein keeps the horse's head up, assists and 
 balances the power of the right, and the right 
 leg presses the horse up to the hand, pre- 
 vents the croupe from coming too much to 
 the right, and retains the horse in the oblique 
 direction on two diagonal lines. 
 
 In all this, the pupil begins cautiously, and 
 gently presses and collects his horse into his 
 hands, till he feels that he has him completely 
 united and balanced there. The arms are 
 firm and steady, and the fingers as soft and 
 pliant as the obedience and working of the 
 horse will admit, — supporting the appui as 
 lightly and delicately as possible, leading the 
 shoulders off first, and letting the croupe 
 accompany them. 
 
 The pupil is now to observe, that the horse 
 does not advance over his lines ; that he does 
 not retreat from his lines ; that the shoulders 
 work no faster than the croupe, by which the 
 horse would become straight on his lines ; 
 
176 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 that the croupe does not work faster than the 
 shoulders, by which the horse would not be 
 able to advance ; and that the balance is pre- 
 served without leaning the body outward. 
 
 If the horse advance over his line (if the 
 reins are of a proper length), the operation 
 of the hand is not sufficiently strong, there- 
 fore brace the tendons of the fingers, which 
 will cause the sensation or appui to be 
 stronger. 
 
 Should the horse retreat from his lines, 
 the hand may be too strong, therefore ease 
 the fingers, and close both legs, to bring him 
 to his ground. 
 
 Should you perceive the shoulders gain on 
 the croupe, you need not move your hands, 
 if they are properly placed, but keeping them 
 perfectly steady, turn your body a little out- 
 ward, which is the contrary way to which the 
 horse is working. This will stay the shoul- 
 ders while the croupe comes up. 
 
MODERN HIDING. 177 
 
 The right hip, however, being much ad- 
 vanced, to preserve the balance and support 
 the position, to prevent any unseemly distor- 
 tion which the body would have by thus turn- 
 ing beyond a certain medium, the shoulders 
 may be stayed by carrying the left hand a 
 little outward, or letting the hand operate 
 outward by the turn or motion of the wrist. 
 
 Observe, when the body and hands are 
 placed straight with your horse, an imper- 
 ceptible turn of the body will remove the 
 hands an inch, which is about a fifth part 
 of the power the aid of the body possesses, 
 independent of any removal of the hand. 
 
 The leg, always remember, is to assist the 
 hands, by putting the croupe forward, while 
 you stay the shoulders ; and when both are 
 right, let them proceed together. 
 
 Should the croupe advance too forward, as 
 mostly happens from a defective balance, the 
 body by leaning to the outward stoping the 
 shoulders, — if so, correct your seat; otherwise 
 
178 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 aid less with the leg, or turn the body a little 
 more inward. Either or both will correct 
 the error. 
 
 Should you find your balance disturbed, 
 stretch down your inward leg, brace the mus- 
 cles strong, and press the inner part close to 
 the saddle. 
 
 But you must not be satisfied while you 
 suffer those disorders to take place ; for they 
 are generally more from the defect of the 
 rider than of the horse. 
 
 Plate XXI. illustrates this pace. 
 
 When you have worked the length of the 
 riding house to the right, work back again. 
 
 For this purpose reverse your position, 
 i.e. bring your left hand down to your body, 
 to support the position, advance and raise 
 your right hand to support the action, — ad- 
 vance your left hip to maintain the balance, 
 — direct your face to your horse's nose, and 
 

 

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MODERN RIDING. 1?9 
 
 your eye along the line his fore feet are to 
 work on. — In this manner you work to the 
 left. 
 
 From perfecting yourself in this lesson 
 with both hands, proceed to work it with one 
 hand. The reins properly adjusted, and the 
 hand in its usual situation, the same aids of 
 the body and hands will produce the same 
 effects. 
 
 Section IV. — Lesson on the Passage. 
 
 To give practice in this operation, the follow- 
 ing method may be adopted. 
 
 Begin to work the head to the wall to the 
 right, and when you arrive at the corner A, 
 Figure 1, Plate XXII. observe the turning 
 of the corner. 
 
 If you lead, or suffer, the shoulders to go 
 round too soon, the corner would not be filled, 
 
 n 2 
 
180 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 and it would be seen that the hand permitted 
 the horse to break ground, which all horses 
 will do with inattentive hands. 
 
 On the other hand, if you worked too close, 
 the shoulders would not have room to turn, 
 and you would be what is termed locked up. 
 Attending to this, stop the haunches in time, 
 that the shoulders may have just room to 
 turn. 
 
 If you have your horse properly united, 
 and, as it were, balanced in your hands, the 
 gradual turn of your bodjr, desisting at the 
 same time from aiding with the leg, will lead 
 the shoulders round ; and, as the shoulders 
 advance to their proper situation on the new 
 lines, the body and leg should resume their 
 former position, and work both shoulders and 
 croupe together. 
 
 Remember that the beaut} r of this lesson 
 consists in working the ground truly, support- 
 ing the proper position, high animation, ele- 
 gant action, and regular time. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 181 
 
 When arrived at the corner B, in like man- 
 ner, lead the shoulders round till they are 
 properly situate to work on the diagonal lines 
 which cross the house to the corner D. 
 
 If you bring the horse properly to this cor- 
 ner, he will be situate, by only the change 
 of your position, to work on the described 
 lines to the left. Carefully observe, then, to 
 turn and fill the corner C, and work to the 
 point E. 
 
 Here stay the croupe while you lead the 
 shoulders round to station them on the in- 
 tended demi-volt; then, forming with your 
 eye as true a half circle as you can, cor- 
 rectly work thereon ; keeping the croupe 
 all the way towards the centre, as the situa- 
 tion of the marks on the lines more clearly 
 express. 
 
 Here lead the shoulders from the wall, 
 work the volt correct, keep the horse in a 
 true position and situation in every part of 
 the volt, turn the croupe at the finish, for the 
 
182 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 purpose of changing and working to the right, 
 in high animation, close union, and without 
 breaking time. 
 
 Having arrived at the point F, turn the 
 croupe sufficiently in, and work to the right, 
 round by the wall, observing properly to fill 
 your corners till you arrive at G. 
 
 There, in like manner, work on a demi- 
 volt to the point H, where you change and 
 work to the left, filling your corners. 
 
 Work to the corner C, then cross the house 
 in a diagonal line to the corner A, Figure % 
 where instead of changing, turn the croupe 
 round, and work croupe to the wall, to the 
 corner B. 
 
 Here you may change and work to the 
 right hand across the house to the corner D. 
 
 There you may stay the shoulders while 
 you turn the croupe, till your horse is pro- 
 perly stationed to work croupe to the wall, to 
 
MODERN RIDING. 183 
 
 the corner C, and then turning the croupe, 
 continue to work to the point E. 
 
 At E stay the shoulders, turn the croupe 
 in, make the change, and work the demi-volt, 
 which brings you to the point F. 
 
 From F, carefully turning the horse's croupe 
 to the wall, work to the corner C, and from 
 thence to D, observing to turn the croupe 
 round at each corner, and continue working 
 to the point G . 
 
 At G make the change, and turn the croupe 
 round, so that the the horse may be properly 
 stationed to work on the demi-volt, to the 
 point H. Then turning the croupe to the 
 wall, work to the corner D, and from thence 
 toC. 
 
 At C, change and work across the house 
 to the corner A, Figure 3. 
 
 Now turn the croupe round in the corner, 
 and work to the corner B. 
 
184 PRINCIPLES Of l J . VI. 
 
 Here change and work the traversing lines 
 up the riding house, reversing your hand at 
 every angle, which is called the Change Re- 
 verse, till you arrive at the point E, where 
 you halt for a moment. 
 
 Now work upon the volt to either or both 
 hands, terminating at E, where the volt 
 began. 
 
 Here the principal object is, to station the 
 horse properly at the commencement, turn- 
 ing the croupe toward the centre, in the 
 exact position on the lines, as the horse is to 
 preserve throughout the volt; and, the volt 
 being determined by the eye, the hand and 
 heel must aim to work to it, observing that 
 the shoulders here, as well as in straight 
 lines, rather take the lead. The more con- 
 tracted or narrow the volts are, the body 
 must have a proportionate turn, and likewise 
 a backward inclination to assist and facilitate 
 the shoulders, which have a larger circle or 
 space to work over than the haunches. Care 
 must be taken that this inclination of the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 185 
 
 body does not affect or cause the horse to 
 retire from his ground. The hand, therefore, 
 must preserve its exact situation and opera- 
 tion ; letting the body, as it inclines, depart 
 from the hand ; that, while you are assist- 
 ing the one part, you may not disorder the 
 whole. 
 
 Then rein the horse back to the point F, 
 and work the horse forward to the point E, 
 in a straight position, lofty action, slow time, 
 and as much united as possible. 
 
 Observe, that when working the croupe to 
 the wall round the riding house to the right, 
 you are working to your left hand ; and when 
 working round the riding house to the left, 
 you are working to your right hand. Ob- 
 serve likewise, that the changes in the croupe 
 to the wall are made both previous to cross- 
 ing the riding house, and at the commence- 
 ment of the demi-volt, contrary to the head 
 to the wall, where the changes are made at 
 the termination of each. If this is not at- 
 
186 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 tended to, you may confuse and bewilder 
 yourself. 
 
 At the finish of the demi-volt, you have 
 carefully to turn the croupe on the lines you 
 intend to proceed on, when working croupe 
 to the wall ; and the shoulders on their re- 
 spective lines, when working head to the wall; 
 before you make the change. In croupe to 
 the wall, the change was made at the com- 
 mencement of the volt. 
 
 This lesson is the test of horsemanship; 
 and it is therefore recommended for continual 
 practice. 
 
 In the half passage, the horse should only 
 half cross his legs, placing one foot before 
 the other. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 187 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE TERRE-A-TERRE. 
 
 Section I. — Of the Terre-a-terre in general. 
 
 Galloping a Terre-a-terre, is the galloping 
 sideways, with the head to the wall or other- 
 wise. 
 
 The position of the horse in galloping a 
 Terre-a-terre, is the same as working the 
 lesson of head to the wall; and the only 
 difference is, that the legs are lifted in the 
 action of the gallop, and mark four beats, 
 rather quicker than the gallop ; because the 
 horse is more together, the feet measure less 
 space, and the hind legs follow the fore 
 more rapidly. 
 
188 PRINCIPLES OF P. VI. 
 
 The gallop, however, is the foundation of 
 the Terre-a-terre, for in these two motions, 
 the principle of the action is the same, since 
 the Terre-a-terre is only a shortened gallop, 
 with the croupe in, and the haunches follow- 
 ing in a close and quick time. 
 
 When a horse works Terre-a-terre, he 
 always ought, the same as in the gallop, to 
 lead with the legs that are within the volte, 
 his two fore feet being in the air, and the 
 moment that they are coming down, his two 
 hind feet following. 
 
 The action of the gallop is always one, two, 
 three, and four : the Terre-a-terre is per- 
 formed upon two lines, and in two times. 
 
 Section II. — Of the Terre-a-terre in particular. 
 
 To work a horse Terre-a-terre upon large 
 circles, take care to keep your body straight, 
 steady, and true in the saddle, without lean- 
 ing to one side or the other. Lean upon the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 189 
 
 outward stirrup, and keep your outward leg 
 nearer the side of the horse than the other 
 leg, taking care to do it so as not to be per- 
 ceived. If you go to the right, keep your 
 bridle hand a little on the outside of the 
 horse's neck, turning your little finger up 
 without turning your nails at the same time ; 
 although, if need be, you must turn them, in 
 order to make the inner rein work, which 
 passes over the little finger. Keep your arms 
 and elbows to your hips ; for, by this means, 
 you will assure and confine your hand, which 
 ought to accompany, and, if I may so saj^, 
 run along the line of the circle with the 
 horse. 
 
 Plate XXIII. illustrates this pace. 
 
 The like changes and airs, which are 
 wrought in the last lesson, may be performed 
 in this ; namely, the long change, demi-volls, 
 change reversed, volts, &c. 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING. 
 
 PART VII. 
 
 OF 
 
 CIRCLING, LEAPING, AND CRITICAL SITUATIONS. 
 
PART VII. 
 
 OF CIRCLING, LEAPING, AND CRITICAL 
 SITUATIONS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 OF THE CIRCLE. 
 
 The Circle should, at first, be from twelve 
 to twenty yards in diameter, and the horse be 
 made to move on it for some days at a walk. 
 
 In moving round a Circle, in order to pre- 
 serve the poise of his body, the horse must 
 necessarily lean inwards in proportion to the 
 size of the Circle, and to the speed at which 
 he is made to move upon it. The rider must 
 of course conform to, and partake of, that 
 
 o 
 
194 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 inclination, or the equilibrium of both will be 
 disturbed, and the man will lose the power to 
 retain his seat. 
 
 This exercise of the Circle confirms the 
 equilibrium and unity of the man and horse. 
 
 Commence the Circle to the right, by lead- 
 ins; off the horse with the inward rein, so that 
 you can see the inward eye ; and support 
 the horse with the outward leg, to keep his 
 haunches under him. 
 
 The direction already given, that the in- 
 ward rein is to be lower than the outward 
 one, should be particularly attended to, when 
 riding with the snaffle. 
 
 Here, besides keeping up a proper corres- 
 pondence in the hand, supporting the action, 
 and regulating the time, your eye is to mark 
 the ground your horse is to work on ; and 
 your aids for that purpose are to be smooth 
 and delicate, that the action or time may not 
 be interrupted. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 195 
 
 To be certain that your hand and aids are 
 correct, you may at first have some mark to 
 direct your eye, which the horse would not 
 be directed by; for if your Circles were 
 trodden on a green sod, your horse would 
 of himself follow the beaten path, and you 
 would not be able to discover the truth of 
 your aids. Having, therefore, ground which 
 is not marked, if you place four or five marks 
 on each Circle, endeavour to pass directly 
 over each mark. You will then discover how 
 near you can work. 
 
 Do not confine yourself to work the whole 
 time on two Circles, because that would not 
 only become irksome, but the horse might 
 work it by rote. After some continuance at 
 it, therefore, diversify your track, and change 
 your ground as often as you please, that the 
 horse may never be aware of your intention, 
 except by the correctness of your aids. 
 
 Plate XXIV. will more clearly describe 
 the lines to work on. The intersection of 
 
 o 2 
 
196 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 the Circles, and the termination of the diago- 
 nal lines, are the points where you change 
 your ground from one Circle to another. 
 The letters a are where you may drop your 
 marks to direct you to your ground, and dis- 
 cover the correctness of your performance. 
 
 Begin, then, with a slow cadence, and 
 moderate animation, till you can keep your 
 ground, and change smoothly without break- 
 ing time or pace. Then attempt a brisker 
 action, and higher animation, always attend- 
 ing to the accuracy of the performance. As 
 you attain perfection in the large changes, 
 occasionally attempt the narrow, which still 
 makes a greater diversity, always aiming at 
 exactness in working your ground true, and 
 changing without breaking time. 
 
 As the rider is confirmed in his balance 
 and seat, the Circle may be gradually dimi- 
 nished, and he may urge his horse into a 
 gentle trot ; and finally, when properly pre- 
 pared, into a short, collected canter. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 197 
 
 This lesson, after being practised with both 
 hands, must be accomplished with one. 
 
 This occasioning great exertion to the horse 
 must be of short duration, and relieved by 
 frequent halts. 
 
 After due preparation, the Circle should 
 be the concluding part of each day's lesson, 
 and should, at first, be done without stirrups, 
 and afterwards with them. 
 
198 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF LEAPINtl. 
 
 Section I. — Of Leaping in general. 
 
 For the practice of Leaping in the manege, 
 the moveable bar is preferable to fixed posts, 
 as by being easily removed, it leaves the 
 place free for other purposes of exercise 
 when the bar is not wanted. The bar should 
 be ten feet in length, which will admit of two 
 horses leaping abreast. It should be low at 
 first (from one to two feet) ; and never very 
 high. 
 
 Stirrups are no security to the seat in any 
 situation on horseback ; and those who can- 
 not forbear pressing a weight in them, had 
 better, when learning to leap, have none. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 199 
 
 It is true that many leap entirely by the 
 help of their stirrups, but they leap very 
 badly ; they sometimes with great difficulty 
 save themselves from coming to the ground ; 
 and, when a horse makes a rough or awkward 
 Leap, they generally do fall. Let it be ob- 
 served that any disturbance of the seat, whe- 
 ther you are thrown up from the saddle, or 
 your body falls forward, or you get out of 
 balance, is as disgraceful as falling to the 
 ground. A person should sit so close as to 
 carry a shilling under each thigh, just above 
 the knee, one in each stirrup under each toe, 
 and one under his breech, — and this, when 
 practised on steady leaping horses, should 
 seldom fail. 
 
 It is evident, that when any action of the 
 horse tends to lift you from the saddle, stir- 
 rups cannot keep you down. Nothing but 
 the gravity of the body presses to the saddle. 
 The pressure of the thighs indeed holds it 
 down ; and when the action is so violent that 
 the hold with the thighs is not sufficient, then 
 the legs are applied, which is a deeper and 
 
200 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 stronger hold. Bearing in the stirrup, how- 
 ever, must operate to the lifting you from the 
 saddle, and must loosen any hold you may 
 take with the thighs or legs. 
 
 Hence, those who bear in the stirrups when 
 leaping, are thrown high from the saddle, and 
 the use they make of the stirrups is to catch 
 them on their return. They plant their legs 
 forward to keep them from being thrown 
 upon the horse's neck ; and, while they keep 
 the body back, the reins hold them from 
 tumbling backward; but a rough or irre- 
 gular Leap so disconcerts the best practi- 
 tioners in that way, that if they do not come 
 to the ground, they are thrown out of their 
 seat, and scramble into it as they can. 
 
 Leaps are taken standing or flying. The 
 first is most difficult to sit, though always 
 practised first, because the slow and steady 
 Leaping of a properly broke horse, gives the 
 rider time and recollection, and the master 
 standing by can direct, and prevent acci- 
 dents. 
 

MODERN RIDING. 201 
 
 Section II. — Of the Standing Leap. 
 
 In the Standing Leap, the horse first shortens, 
 and then extends himself, in a considerable 
 degree. Great readiness in the hand of the 
 rider is, therefore, requisite to give the ap- 
 propriate aids. These, if well timed, will 
 assist the horse ; but if otherwise, they will 
 check or embarrass him, and endanger both 
 the animal and his rider. 
 
 Plates XXV. XXVI. and XXVII. illus- 
 trate the Leap. 
 
 In commencing the lesson of Leaping, the 
 rider must chiefly depend on the natural 
 effort of his horse. The pupil who has the 
 advantage of learning on a well trained horse, 
 must therefore be first taught to leave him at 
 liberty to extend himself by a ready and 
 fearless yielding of the bridle, observing only 
 to preserve his own equilibrium by leaning 
 
202 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 forward, as the horse rises, and backward, as 
 he alights. — See the Plates. 
 
 By practice and attention, he will soon 
 learn to apply the aids necessary to assist the 
 horse. These are few; but to a beginner, 
 they may be of difficult application. 
 
 The position, then, of the horseman when 
 leaping changes as the horse changes his 
 position. 
 
 Thus, when the horse is brought to the bar, 
 the body is to be upright, exactly in the posi- 
 tion which has been taught. — The legs are to 
 be applied to the horses side, with such firmness 
 as to keep you dozm to the saddle, and in such 
 place that the action of your own body shall 
 not loosen or disturb them. The place of 
 the legs, accordingly, must be perpendicular 
 from the knee. If you place them more 
 backward, the action backward which the 
 body must take will loosen them, and then 
 you have no hold. The toe must be pulled 
 
MODERN RIDING. 203 
 
 up, to make your muscles firm, and to pre- 
 vent the spur from approaching too near the 
 horse. If you find it necessary, you may 
 turn your toes out a little to strengthen your 
 hold ; but if you have stirrups, bear no weight 
 in them. — Keep your hand in the centre, and 
 quite low; and your reins not too short, but 
 just by the pressure of your fingers to feel 
 the horse's mouth. 
 
 In this position you come to the bar. The 
 pressure of your legs and fingers will invite 
 the horse to rise ; and, as he rises the body 
 comes forward, and preserves its perpendicular. — 
 Be sure to keep the back in, and the head firm. 
 
 As the horse springs from his hind legs, 
 you slip your buttock under you, and let your 
 body go freely back, keeping your hands down, 
 legs close, and body back, till the horse's hind 
 legs have come to the ground. 
 
 Now we may explain the consequences of 
 omitting any of these precepts. 
 
204 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 The application of the legs to hold you 
 firm to the saddle carries conviction with it. 
 — While the body indeed is upright, you will 
 find a faster hold with your legs, when placed 
 a little more backward than here directed, 
 and you might therefore be induced to place 
 them too backward; but you will perceive 
 the impropriety of this if you lean the body 
 quite back, for you can then have a firm 
 hold only with your legs, where directed to 
 be placed. 
 
 The hand being kept low is an essential 
 thing. The hand is raised principally from 
 fear. It is either done with the intention of 
 holding on by the bridle, or of making the 
 horse rise before. 
 
 The consequence of the latter motive so far 
 as regards the horse, is, that they raise the 
 horse's head and nose out of place, which 
 straightens his neck, and he consequently 
 cannot gather himself to rise, till he has 
 dropped his nose and curved his neck. This, 
 
MODERN RIDING. 205 
 
 the hand will not suffer him in that situation 
 to do ; and the consequence is, that he makes 
 an awkward short leap of all four together, 
 which is dangerous and unpleasant both to 
 horse and man. 
 
 As to the man, the hand raised in this situa- 
 tion prevents the body from going back ; for, 
 were the body improperly thrown back, the 
 rider must then check the horse, and prevent 
 him from covering his leap. This the horse is 
 very sensible of; and, therefore, he prepares 
 himself to force the hand. The consequence 
 is, the rider is pulled forward, and the shock 
 he receives when the horse meets the ground, 
 tumbles him on its neck, if not completely 
 off. 
 
 We have said — the body comes forward to 
 preserve its perpendicular, &c. Were the 
 body to hang back as the horse rises before, 
 the weight would hang on his mouth, and 
 prevent his leaping at least, if he did not pull 
 the rider over backwards. 
 
206 PRINCIPLES OF P. VIT. 
 
 We also said — The back should be hollow, 
 &c. — Were the body to be brought forward, 
 with a round back and shoulders, it would 
 not be in a situation to get back in time, 
 without much exertion of the rider; but if 
 the back be hollow, when the horse springs 
 forward, it will, of itself, fall backward if the 
 hand be not raised to prevent it. If the head 
 be loose, the action of the body may cause a 
 small wrench of the neck, or a bite of the 
 tongue. 
 
 Slipping your breech wider you gives the 
 body more liberty to lean back ; and unless 
 the body is well back, the shock, when the 
 horse's feet meet the ground, will shake it 
 forward, whereby you not only deprive the 
 horse of the support, which at this time he 
 should have from the hand, but are in danger 
 of falling. If you recover your right posi- 
 tion, or take your legs from their situation 
 before the Leap is completed, you will be 
 liable to disorder, loss of balance, and the 
 like. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 207 
 
 These are the principles by which the seat 
 is maintained in all violent exertions of the 
 horse. 
 
 Such being the position and action of the 
 body, — with regard to the reins, the pupil, in 
 riding up to a Leap, must yield the bridle to 
 his horse, guiding him in a straight line to the 
 bar, or fence ; — bring him in the Standing 
 Leap up to the bar at an animated pace ; — 
 halt him with a light hand, and upon his 
 haunches; — when he perceives the horse 
 rising, only feel the reins so as to prevent 
 their becoming slack ; — when the horse springs 
 forward, yield the hand without reserve ; — 
 and, when the horse's hind feet come to the 
 ground, again collect his horse, and resuming 
 his usual position, move on at the former 
 pace. 
 
 If the horse be too much collected previous 
 to his Leap, he will bound, or " buck over," 
 as it is called. If not sufficiently collected 
 or animated, he will probably not clear the 
 
208 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 Leap. The degree in which a horse should 
 be collected or animated, must entirely de- 
 pend on the temperament of the animal, and 
 must be left to the judgment of the rider. 
 
 Section III. — Of the Flying Leap. 
 
 The pupil should not be put to the Flying 
 Leap, until he is familiar with the Standing 
 Leap. He will then find no difficulty in 
 making it at any pace, if it be gradually in- 
 creased from the walk to the gallop. 
 
 The Flying Leap is distinguished from the 
 Standing Leap by its being made from any 
 pace, without a previous halt ; and although 
 the action is quicker, it is much easier to the 
 horseman than the Standing Leap. 
 
 The pace at which you should go at a Fly- 
 ing Leap, must always be moderate. You 
 must never flurry the horse with a view of 
 making him take a determined spring. By 
 
MODERN RIDING. 20.Q 
 
 so doing you will often deter him from taking 
 his proper distance, and make him leap at 
 hap-hazard, to the great danger of your own 
 neck. A horse, which rises too soon, seldom 
 clears his Leap, and risks being strained by 
 the effort to cover it ; a horse, which rises 
 too late, or too near the bar or a strong 
 fence, will be likely to strike his knees against 
 it, and thereby throw his rider, or hurt him- 
 self. The rider on the contrary must, with a 
 light and ready hand, keep his head steady 
 and straight to the bar. 
 
 If a horse leap willingly, let him take his 
 own pace to it, and he will be sure to spring 
 from his proper distance, and give himself 
 that velocity which will assist his spring. 
 Twelve yards from the Leap, the rider may 
 turn his horse to it in a trot : the horse will 
 strike into the gallop ; and a stroke or two 
 before he springs will increase his velocity, 
 if he perceive that the height he has to cover 
 requires that exertion. If a horse be indo- 
 lent and require some animation, it is better 
 to apply the spurs to rouse his apathy just 
 
210 PRINCIPLES OP P. VII. 
 
 before you turn his head toward the Leap, 
 than while he is running at it. 
 
 The seat, in the Flying Leap, is exactly 
 the same as in the standing one ; but easier 
 to sit, as already said, because, the horse's 
 body keeps a more horizontal position ; and 
 if it is a Leap of inconsiderable height, it 
 appears no more than a springing stroke in 
 the gallop. On this account, the rider has 
 no occasion to bring his body forward at the 
 raising of the fore legs, for the spring from 
 the hind legs immediately follows, and the 
 body might not get back in time. It is even 
 dangerous to let the body have a propensity 
 to come forward at the raising of the fore 
 feet, for sometimes a horse does not come 
 fair, or will refuse to take his Leap, and check 
 himself; in which case, if the body is for- 
 ward, you may tumble over his head. There- 
 fore, keep your body upright ; take hold with 
 your legs ; be sure to keep your hand down ; 
 and, as the horse springs forward, your body 
 is sure to take the corresponding action of 
 leaning back, particularly if you, at the in- 
 
MODERN RIDING. 211 
 
 stant, slip your breech under you, and bring 
 your waist forward with an exertion propor- 
 tioned to the spring the horse makes. Bring 
 not your body upright, nor slacken the hold 
 with your legs, till after the hind feet have 
 come to the ground. 
 > 
 A horse requires but little support or as- 
 sistance from the hand till he is over his 
 Leap, or coming to the ground : then the 
 support of the hand is proper and assists to 
 bring the body upright. The assisting and 
 lifting a horse over Leaps, may be done by 
 old practitioners, but the attempting it by 
 young ones is improper ; they cannot judge 
 when ; and in the attempt would, most likely, 
 balk rather than assist. At the best, it can 
 only be done when a horse leaps freely and 
 determinedly : at other times, the offer to 
 assist would deter him from the Leap. 
 
 The necessity of caution and delicacy in 
 the application of the aids naturally increases 
 in proportion to the speed at which the Leap 
 
 p2 
 
212 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 is to be performed : but practice, under pro- 
 per instruction, will remove every difficulty. 
 
 It will be advisable in early practice at the 
 leaping bar, to use the snaffle rein only, 
 taken in both hands. 
 
 Whips should not be used while the pupil 
 practises in Leaping. The rider must be 
 taught to depend upon his own aids to ensure 
 the obedience of his horse. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 213 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF CRITICAL SITUATIONS. 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary. 
 
 When a horse is addicted to rearing, kick- 
 ing, and bolting, plunging, shying, and res- 
 tiveness, the seat is maintained in like manner 
 as in Leaps. Hence we consider these after 
 Leaping. 
 
 In all these cases, the operation of the 
 hands is to prevent, deter, and disarm him as 
 much as possible. For this purpose, the arms 
 are held firm to the body, the reins separated, 
 and the hands kept up. 
 
 When you feel the horse disposed to play 
 these tricks, you consequently prepare your- 
 self for the encounter, by separating the 
 
214 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 reins, &c. Now, the body must be kept up- 
 right, but very flexible, accompanying every 
 action of the horse, to be ready to repel every 
 effort he may make. Your balance is to be 
 nicely preserved by the muscles of the thighs ; 
 and the legs are to be kept near the horse, 
 but not to grasp till you feel the necessity, 
 for the horse is in alternate motion with his 
 fore and hind legs, and you know not whether 
 he will rear before or kick behind. Your 
 body, therefore, should accompany the action 
 of his legs. Accordingly, when he lifts his 
 fore legs, your breech must be thrust out be- 
 hind, by which you are prepared if he rears. 
 As the fore feet come to the ground, you slip 
 the buttocks under, which prepares you for 
 his kicking or springing forward. If either 
 take place, your legs are in a situation at the 
 instant to grasp, and keeping a firm hold 
 with your hands, you support the horse from 
 falling, and keep a proper restraint upon 
 him. 
 
 On this subject, it is right to ascertain die 
 horse's modes of defence, the action which he 
 
MODERN RIDING. 215 
 
 employs when inclined to disobedience, and 
 his action when passion has subsided. Until 
 this information is obtained, the man and 
 horse cannot be said to have established their 
 friendship ; and patience with resolution, on 
 the part of the rider, are the only means to 
 effect it. 
 
 Section II. — Of Rearing. 
 
 Of all the defences a horse makes, that of 
 rearing is the most dangerous, when they rise 
 so rapidly and unexpectedly that you are 
 scarcely aware of them, and so high as to 
 endanger their falling backwards. It is for- 
 tunate that a horse, which rears to this ex- 
 treme, seldom or never kicks. You have, 
 therefore, principally to guard against his 
 rearing. 
 
 Whenever the horse rises straight up, throw 
 your body forward, and give him all the bri- 
 dle. The weight of your body upon his fore 
 parts will oblige him to come down. In the 
 
216 PRINCIPLES OF p. vir. 
 
 minute that his fore feet are coming to the 
 ground, give him both the spurs firmly, and 
 as quickly as you can. 
 
 These aids and corrections, however, must 
 be given with the greatest caution and exact- 
 ness ; for were you to give him the spurs 
 when he is in the air, he would fall over. If, 
 however, you watch the time so as not to spur 
 him, till he is coming down, and his fore feet 
 near the ground, it is impossible he should 
 fall backward ; for then his balance is de- 
 stroyed, — he is upon all his legs again, and 
 cannot rise without first touching the ground 
 and thence taking his spring. 
 
 If, therefore, you give him the spurs be- 
 fore he is in a situation to rise again, you will 
 punish him, and drive him forward at the 
 same time. 
 
 Another method is the following : — When- 
 ever you are aware of the horse's disposition 
 to rear, have your reins separated and be 
 prepared for him. The instant you perceive 
 
MODETiN RIDING. 217 
 
 him going to rise, slack the one hand, and 
 bend him with the other, keeping your hand 
 low. This bending compels him to move a 
 hind leg, and being thrown off his balance, 
 he of necessity comes down with his fore feet. 
 Twist him then round two or three times, to 
 convince him of your superiority. This like- 
 wise confuses and baffles him. 
 
 By these means you may deter a horse 
 from rearing to any dangerous height; and 
 after he has convinced himself by a few ex- 
 periments, he will give it up for that time. 
 
 To break horses of this dangerous vice, it 
 has sometimes been expedient to quit the 
 horse, and alighting to pull him backwards. 
 
 This, however, though an effective expe- 
 dient, is to be attempted only at a particular 
 crisis, and by persons perfectly collected, 
 active, and agile. It indeed so frightens a 
 horse to be thus foiled, that he is wary of 
 giving the opportunity of using him so again. 
 
218 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 Section III. — Of Kicking. 
 
 A horse addicted to kick high, seldom or 
 never rears high, unless the firmness of the 
 hand compels him to it. 
 
 Horses subject to kick, either when they 
 go forward, or stand still, must be kept much 
 together, or held in closely. 
 
 The hands, though fixed, are not to pull at 
 the horse, if he do not attempt to force the 
 hand and get his head. Give him the liberty 
 to go forward, though not to get his head 
 down, which would enable him to kick with 
 such violence as to throw himself down. 
 Confining the head up disarms him ; and he 
 makes a bolt from all fours, or springs for- 
 ward somewhat like the awkward leap a horse 
 makes when you confine his head to a stand- 
 ing leap, but not quite so rough. 
 
 If your hand confine the head, as has been 
 directed, you may bid defiance to his kick- 
 
MODERN RIDING. 219 
 
 ing ; and, when a horse finds his defences do 
 not avail, he wisely gives it over. 
 
 The twisting a horse round a few times for 
 this vice will have its effect. 
 
 Every horse has a favourite side, on which 
 he is prepared for defence ; your attack must, 
 consequently, be on his weak or unprepared 
 side, not only in this, but in every other in- 
 stance. If you seize a favourable opportunity 
 to attack his feeble side, and have the oppor- 
 tunity of twisting him without his power of 
 resistance, his astonishment and confusion 
 will deter him from farther contention, unless 
 you provoke it by ill timed correction, pas- 
 sion, and the like. 
 
 Section IV. — Of Plunging. 
 
 Plunging is seldom attempted by horses, 
 but at their first backing or breaking. It is 
 then attempted by some to a most violent 
 degree ; and it is so exhausting to the horse, 
 
220 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 that if he fails in throwing the rider, bursting 
 his girths, or breaking any of his tackle, he 
 soon gives it over. But if he succeed, he is 
 encouraged to try again. Till horses are 
 broke of this, they are not ridable without 
 proper assistance. 
 
 When a horse plunges, he gets his head 
 down, cringes his tail between his quarters, 
 sets up his back, swells his body to burst his 
 girths, and, in this position, kicks and plunges 
 till he can hold his wind no longer. He holds 
 his breath all the time ; consequently, when 
 he makes six or eight Plunges he is done : his 
 breath can be held no longer. 
 
 To sit these Plunges is to cure them. 
 About three days' trial, of which the first is 
 generally the most violent, decides the con- 
 test. Success in their endeavours, or impro- 
 per treatment, may provoke farther attempts : 
 otherwise the contest is given up. 
 
 To sit a horse when he plunges you must 
 take a firm hold with your legs and be mindful 
 
MODERN RIDING. 221 
 
 that, in getting his head down, he does not 
 pull your body forward. You are in no dan- 
 ger of his rearing ; and, therefore, have only 
 to keep your body back and hold firmly with 
 your hands, to prevent him throwing himself 
 down, which is not unlikely, if he get his 
 head entirely loose. 
 
 Section V. — Of Shying, §c. 
 
 The next danger the rider is exposed to is, 
 when a horse, either by shying or restiveness, 
 springs to one side, or turns short round. 
 
 Security, in these situations, depends on a 
 strict conformity to the rules laid down. If 
 you observe the precepts of not bearing in 
 the stirrups ; keeping the legs near to the 
 horse, to be ready on these sudden and un- 
 expected occasions to lay hold ; and yielding 
 the body to go with the horse ; you will be 
 safe. 
 
222 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 Section VI. — Of Restiveness. 
 
 The horse generally commences his attack 
 by stopping, turning short round, mostly to 
 the right hand, as taking the rider at the 
 greatest disadvantage ; for few men are so 
 powerful with the left as the right hand. 
 
 The horse expects you will oppose the 
 opposite hand to which he turns, to prevent 
 him ; he designedly attacks the weakest hand ; 
 and he is so prepared to defend against your 
 utmost efforts that it is vain to attempt it. 
 Instead of attempting to prevent him with 
 your left hand, attack him rather with your 
 right, and turn him completely round, so 
 that his head is presented the way you were 
 going. 
 
 Here an application of the whip may be 
 tried, to compel him forward, but it seldom 
 does. He generally turns round again ; and 
 you, in like manner, attacking his unguarded 
 
MODERN RIDING. 223 
 
 side, turn him two or three times, letting your 
 heel and spur, if necessary, powerfully assist 
 your hand, before he can arm or defend him- 
 self against it. 
 
 Finding themselves baffled in their defence, 
 some give it up and go on ; others will make 
 a more obstinate resistance. 
 
 If he still refuse to go the way you want 
 him, you must studiously prevent his going 
 any other ; and if you find him set himself 
 against your endeavours to make him go for- 
 ward, immediately change your attack, turn 
 him about, and rein him backward. When 
 a horse sets himself against going forward, he 
 is easily compelled backward. 
 
 Here his defence is again baffled, and this 
 is ever to be your rule — never to contend with 
 him on that point he is prepared to resist. 
 
 In these contests, you must be collected, 
 and have an eye to the surrounding objects, 
 
224 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 that you may not put yourself in an awkward 
 situation, which through inattention you may 
 do, without the design of the horse. 
 
 Yet it frequently happens, that restive 
 horses try their utmost to get into these situa- 
 tions, by sidling to other horses, carriages, 
 walls, rails, the foot pavement, the houses, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 It is natural for persons to pull the horse 
 from the object that he makes for ; but this 
 gives a determined horse the completest op- 
 portunity of accomplishing his intention, and 
 some restive horses would be always crushing 
 your knee against a wall, if you had not the. 
 means to prevent him. 
 
 Whenever, then, you find the horse so dis- 
 posed, instead of pulling him from the wall, 
 bend his head to it, by which the side of the 
 horse next the wall is in a concave position, 
 which prevents his utmost endeavours from 
 doing you an injury. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 225 
 
 In the streets, or on the roads, innumerable 
 objects more dangerous than a wall, will 
 present themselves, which you must be atten- 
 tive not to come near. The instant, there- 
 fore, that you perceive a horse sidling to 
 any object, turn his head to that object, and 
 back him from it. 
 
 By this means you protect yourself from 
 injury, foil his intentions, and, after a fruitless 
 contest, he is obliged to submit. 
 
 A horse's defences in the above instances, 
 in a manner defeat their own purpose, be- 
 cause you immediately convert their defence 
 to their punishment. There are, however, 
 some few horses who fix themselves like 
 stocks, setting all your endeavours at defi- 
 ance to move them. Were they to move, 
 you could convert that to your purpose ; but 
 while they stand as stocks, they defy you to 
 move them forward, backward, to right or 
 left. There happily they set up a defence 
 that can in no way endanger your person. 
 
 Q 
 
2 C 26 PRINCIPLES OF P. VII. 
 
 This defence, however, must also be con- 
 verted to punishment. Let them stand; make 
 no attempt to move them ; and you will find 
 that in a short space, frequently less than a 
 minute, they will move of themselves. If 
 you have patience to sit on their backs, and 
 keep them there for a time, it is the most 
 proper punishment for the offence, and will 
 surely cure them of that mode of defence. 
 
 When these various defences, however, are 
 not powerfully set up, the general rule is to 
 push and carry your horse forward ; and, for 
 this purpose, at first make use of your switch, 
 in order to drive him forward, as you will 
 thus alarm him least ; for the spurs surprise a 
 horse, abate his courage, and are more likely 
 to make him restive than oblige him to go 
 forward, if he refuses to do so. Indeed the 
 application of either whip or spurs in these 
 contests, more than to shift the croupe, or 
 give efficacy to the hands, is of little use. 
 To repeat either, to make a horse go forward 
 when he refuses, is certainly wrong. He must 
 
MODERN RIDING. 227 
 
 be immediately manoeuvred by the hands, by 
 turning about and about, reining back, and 
 the like, till he finds his designs frustrated ; 
 he will then, finding he can go no other, 
 reluctantly go your way ; and when you pre- 
 sent his head for that purpose, you may 
 apply the whip or spurs sharply, compelling 
 him at last to obey that which he at first 
 refused. 
 
 Whatever passion possesses the rider, it 
 prevents that concord and unity taking place, 
 which ever should subsist between the rider 
 and the horse. The rider therefore must 
 always be disposed to amity, and should 
 never suffer the most obstinate resistance of 
 the horse, to put him out of temper. If the 
 contest do not demand his utmost exertion of 
 strength, he should be able to hum a tune, 
 or converse with the same composure and 
 indifference as though the horse were all 
 obedience. By this means, the instant a 
 horse finds himself foiled, he desists, having 
 no provocation to contend farther, and is 
 abashed at his own weakness. 
 
 Q 2 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING. 
 
 PART VIII. 
 
 OF 
 
 THE CURB, STIRRUPS, AND SPURS. 
 
PART VIII. 
 
 OF THE CURB, STIRRUPS, AND SPURS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF THE CURB, ETC. 
 
 Section I. — Preliminary . 
 
 All the preceding lessons are supposed to 
 be given with the snaffle alone. 
 
 When the pupil has attained some profi- 
 ciency in horsemanship, and has acquired a 
 proper degree of knowledge of the aids, he 
 may be instructed to ride with the Curb in 
 addition to the Snaffle. 
 
 The construction of the Curb, and the mode 
 of using it, have been already explained. 
 
232 PRINCIPLES OF P. VIII. 
 
 Section II. — Modes of Holding the Reins. 
 
 We have already described the modes of 
 holding the Snaffle either with two hands or 
 with one. Those of holding the Curb are 
 somewhat similar. 
 
 Considering these in the same order, we 
 may first notice the practice of the army, who 
 always ride with bits and bridoons. The bit 
 or curb rein is placed within the bridoon or 
 snaffle rein, and passes through the hand 
 exactly in the same manner as the snaffle 
 was before described to do ; the little finger 
 separating the left rein from the right, &c. 
 The left rein of the bridoon or snaffle then 
 passes through the hand, laying smooth on 
 the left rein of the bit or curb, with the 
 thumb, as before observed, placed on it ; and 
 the right rein hangs loose. 
 
 Soldiers belonging to cavalry must neces- 
 sarily be taught to ride with the curb ; and 
 
MODERN RIDING. 233 
 
 that the hand may not be too much incum- 
 bered with reins, the bridoon rein, which, in 
 military bridles, is always a light, short rein, 
 passes through the left hand as above noticed, 
 where it may be readily seized by the right 
 hand, when occasion may require its assist- 
 ance, either to bend the horse, enliven the 
 mouth, or give more efficacy to the bridle 
 hand, which are the principal uses of the 
 bridoon rein. 
 
 Sometimes, however, instead of the right 
 rein hanging loose, it is carried back through 
 the left hand ; and, as the left rein enters and 
 passes through that hand by the side of the 
 little finger, so the right rein enters and 
 passes through it between the fore finger and 
 thumb ; the rein thus being doubled in the 
 hand and its superfluous part forming a noose 
 between the hand and the body. 
 
 The next method of holding the reins dif- 
 fers from the last only by taking up the right 
 rein of the bridoon or snaffle with three 
 fingers, thereby still having the curb rein 
 
234 PRINCIPLES OF P. VIII. 
 
 within the snaffle rein. The little finger 
 alone separates the left reins from the right 
 reins, and laying smooth through the hand, 
 of equal length, the superfluous reins hang 
 over the first joint of the fore finger. 
 
 The more usual method of holding the 
 reins is that wherein the little finger sepa- 
 rates the curb reins, and the second finger 
 the bridoon reins. 
 
 Section III. — Of Shifting the Reins. 
 
 This should be done expertly without stop- 
 ping the horse, altering his pace, breaking 
 the time, or looking to the hands. 
 
 When the snaffle reins are held in one 
 hand, the method of shifting from the left 
 hand into the right is as follows. 
 
 Turn the thumbs toward each other, carry 
 the right hand over the left, put the fore 
 
MODERN RIDING. 235 
 
 finger of the right hand downwards between 
 the reins in the place of the little finger of the 
 left hand, and lay the reins smoothly through 
 the right hand. 
 
 By this means the fore linger separates the 
 left reins from the right; the superfluous 
 reins hang downward through the hand ; and 
 the thumb presses the left reins between the 
 first and second joint of the fore finger. 
 
 If the reins are shortened by this method 
 of shifting, it is easy to let them slip to their 
 proper length ; but, whenever they are too 
 long, it requires the assistance of the other 
 hand to shorten them. 
 
 The shifting them again into the left hand 
 is only carrying the left hand over the right, 
 putting the little finger of the left hand down- 
 ward between the left and right reins, placing 
 them smoothly upward through the hand, and 
 letting the ends hang over the fore finger as 
 at first. 
 
236 PRINCIPLES OF P. VIII. 
 
 When both curb and snaffle reins are held 
 in the last and more usual method, you shift 
 them into the right hand (after turning the 
 left thumb towards the right), by putting the 
 fore finger of the right hand into the place of 
 the little finger of the left, the second finger 
 of the right into the place of the third finger 
 of the left, and the third finger of the right 
 into the place of the second finger of the left, 
 placing the reins smoothly through the right 
 hand, with the ends hanging down. 
 
 Thus you have every rein separate in the 
 right hand. 
 
 When you shift them again to the left, put 
 the fingers of the left hand into the places you 
 took them from. 
 
 When you are handy and expert at this, 
 your reins will never be in disorder. 
 
 The shifting of the reins is principally in- 
 tended to relieve the left hand when cramped 
 
MODERN RIDING. 237 
 
 or tired, or when you have occasion to use it, 
 or when you mean to work or attack your 
 horse on the left side. 
 
 Section IV. — Of Separating the Reins. 
 
 Separating the Reins, on several occa- 
 sions, is very necessary. Two hands can 
 execute more than one ; and, consequently, 
 when a horse refuses obedience to one hand, 
 you take two. 
 
 You seldom have occasion to take more 
 than one rein in the right hand, which, if a 
 single-reined bridle, you cannot mistake ; but 
 when it is a double-reined bridle, you take 
 the right rein only of the snaffle in the right 
 hand. 
 
 For this purpose, turn the back of your 
 right hand upwards ; put the first three fin- 
 gers over the bridoon rein, by which you 
 receive the rein between your little and third 
 
238 PRINCIPLES OF P. VIII. 
 
 finger, let the superfluous end hang over the 
 fore finger with the thumb placed on it ; and 
 then carry the thumb upwards as you do the 
 bridle hand. 
 
 Section V. — Of Changing the Reins. 
 
 Changing the Reins, when working with a 
 double reined bridle, may, at times, be neces- 
 sary. 
 
 For this purpose, when you are working to 
 the right, you have the reins of the bit only 
 in the left hand, the bridoon rein being 
 entirely detached from it ; and the right hand 
 holds only the right rein of the bridoon. 
 
 Now, when you change to the left, first 
 throw all the superfluous rein of the bridoon 
 over to the right, so that the rein is straight 
 from the horse's mouth to the neck on his left 
 side, and quit it with the right hand. Then 
 change the reins of the bit into the right 
 
MODERN HIDING. 239 
 
 hand, with the fore finger downward between 
 them, as other reins have been directed to be 
 shifted. Lastly, the left hand, being disen- 
 gaged, lays hold of the bridoon rein, which, 
 by the superfluous rein being over on the 
 right, you can take as short as you please, 
 and let it slip to the length you require. 
 
 In changing again to the right, be sure 
 first to throw all the superfluous bridoon rein 
 to the left, and then you will not be embar- 
 rassed when you come to take it up with the 
 right. 
 
 Section VI. — Of Adjusting the Reins. 
 
 Adjusting the Reins is altering them by 
 shortening or lengthening in whole, or in 
 part, as occasion may require. This will be 
 as often as you change from one place to 
 another. Besides, the reins, being held as 
 pliant and easy as circumstances will admit, 
 imperceptibly slip, particularly with begin- 
 ners. 
 
240 PRINCIPLES OF P. VIII. 
 
 To become expert at adjusting the reins, 
 take the superfluous reins that hang over the 
 fore finger of the left hand into the right hand 
 altogether. Do not remove the left hand ; 
 but only open the fingers so that you can slip 
 the hand up and down the reins smoothly 
 and freely, while the right hand supports the 
 horse, and feels every cadence or step the 
 horse takes. By this method you will become 
 handy in altering the reins altogether. 
 
 Would you shorten the curb rein and 
 lengthen the bridoon, apply the right hand 
 to the end of the curb rein, that hangs over 
 the fore finger. First slip the whole of the 
 reins too long : then slip the left hand down 
 the reins, keeping the centre of the curb rein 
 fast in your right hand, and feeling with your 
 fingers whether both the curb reins are of 
 equal length before you grasp with the left 
 hand or quit the right. 
 
 In like manner you shorten the bridoon or 
 snaffle, and lengthen the curb ; first slipping 
 
MODERN HIDING. 241 
 
 the whole too long ; and then applying the 
 right hand to the rein you mean to shorten. 
 
 When any single rein wants shortening, 
 apply the right hand to that part which hangs 
 over the fore finger, and draw it tighter. 
 
 A little observation and practice will soon 
 make you so perfectly acquainted with their 
 situation, that you will find them as readily in 
 the dark as in the light. 
 
 When the reins are separate, i.e. both 
 hands occupied by reins, and they want ad- 
 justing, you bring the hands together to assist 
 each other ; remembering, that the hand that 
 supports the attitude or position the horse 
 works in, which is always what is termed the 
 inner hand, is not to depart from its situation 
 so as to occasion any disorder, but rather the 
 outward hand to be brought to the inner, for 
 the purpose of adjusting them. 
 
 R 
 
242 PRINCIPLES OP P. VIII. 
 
 Section VII. — Of the Position of the Hand. 
 
 The left elbow is to touch the hip lightly. 
 The arm is to be steady against the side, 
 without force or stiffness. The hand is to be 
 about three inches from the body, and as 
 much above the pommel of the saddle. The 
 little finger is to be in a line with the point of 
 the elbow. The wrist is to be rounded. The 
 finger nails are to front the centre of the body. 
 The thumb is to point across the body. 
 
 From this position of the bridle hand, the 
 little finger should at least have three lines of 
 action, upward, to guide the horse; — towards 
 the right shoulder, — towards the left, — to- 
 wards the breast. The little finger should 
 move on these lines only as the aids require. 
 Thus the horse will be guided, and lifted up 
 at each turn, by the inward, or leading rein ; 
 the outward acting in unity with it. 
 
 Pupils should be cautioned not to throw 
 their right shoulders back, which they are 
 
MODERN RIDING. 243 
 
 apt to do, when they first take the reins in 
 one hand. The right arm should hang in an 
 easy and natural position by the side, with 
 the hand by the side of the thigh ; or holding 
 the whip it may be situate a little lower than 
 the left, not to obstruct the operation of the 
 bridle. 
 
 Section VIII. — Of the Management of the Curb. 
 
 The Curb requires a light hand in the ma- 
 nagement. It is necessary to feel and ease 
 the reins in the degree suitable to the indivi- 
 dual horse. Some horses require rather a 
 firmer feel than others, and most have some 
 peculiarity, which experienced horsemen dis- 
 cover and turn to account. 
 
 The pupil cannot be too deeply impressed 
 with the necessity of a constant attention 
 to the proper management of the Curb, by 
 means of which a correspondence is kept up 
 between the mouth of the horse and the hand 
 
 r 2 
 
244 PRINCIPLES OF P. VIII. 
 
 of the rider. When judiciously held, it oc- 
 casions a playful action of the horse's mouth. 
 It is by a firm, easy, and light hand only, 
 that the sensibility and freshness of feeling of 
 the horse's mouth, so essential in riding, can 
 be preserved. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 245 
 
 CHAP. II 
 
 OF STIRRUPS. 
 
 The pupil having been instructed in the use 
 of the different aids, and how to maintain his 
 seat, and to ride with ease to himself in the 
 proper equilibrium without Stirrups, may be 
 considered sufficiently advanced to be per- 
 mitted to ride with them. 
 
 The proper length of the Stirrup is, when 
 the upper edge of the bottom bar of the iron 
 reaches one finger's breadth below the inner 
 ankle bone. 
 
 The position on horseback with Stirrups, 
 differs in nothing from that described for the 
 position without Stirrups, except that, the 
 thigh being relieved from the weight of the 
 
246 PRINCIPLES OF P. VIII. 
 
 leg and foot by their resting on the Stirrup, 
 the knee will be a little bent, and rather be- 
 fore the line described in the Position without 
 Stirrups. 
 
 When the feet are in the Stirrups, the heels 
 should be about two inches lower than the 
 toes ; and no more than the natural weight of 
 the limbs should be borne in the Stirrups. 
 
 It is by an easy play of the ankle and 
 instep, that the Stirrup is retained, and the 
 position preserved. Till you have acquired 
 this play of the instep, you will find, if your 
 toe be too forward, the Stirrup will fall to the 
 instep ; and if too back, you will lose the 
 Stirrup ; but when the foot is in its proper 
 situation, if the toe be raised, the Stirrup will 
 not immediately depart from it. 
 
 It is a good practice for all horsemen to 
 ride occasionally without Stirrups, for a short 
 time in the course of the Manege Lesson. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 247 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF SPURS. 
 
 When the pupil has learned to preserve his 
 proper Seat and Balance in the several turn- 
 ings and paces of the horse, and has acquired 
 a knowledge of the Aids of the hand and legs, 
 he may be permitted to ride with Spurs. 
 
 When it is necessary to use the Spurs, in 
 order to urge the horse to action, they should 
 be applied three or four inches behind the 
 the girth, as low as the legs can reach, and 
 with the lightest touch that will effect the 
 purpose. 
 
PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN RIDING 
 
 PART IX. 
 
 OF 
 
 ROAD RIDING, HUNTING, AND RACING. 
 
PART IX. 
 
 OF ROAD RIDING, HUNTING, AND RACING 
 
 CHAP. I, 
 
 OF ROAD RIDING 
 
 When persons are pursuing their business, 
 pleasure, or recreation on the road, attention 
 to the strict rules of manege riding would in- 
 terrupt their enjoyment, and divert them from 
 the various objects that present themselves, or 
 the conversation of a companion. 
 
 The rudiments of the art, therefore, being 
 once known, no more is to be applied on the 
 road than will, with the greatest ease, facili- 
 tate our design. 
 
252 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 Although, however, we admit deviation 
 from precise rules, yet we do not mean to 
 vary the system of riding or substitute ano- 
 ther for the road. 
 
 If, as already described, you place your 
 feet parallel to each other, and about two 
 feet asunder, and your body upright, then 
 bend your knee, and sink your body that the 
 knee shall just, and no more than, interrupt 
 the sight of the toe, you will be in the exact 
 position of the manege seat. Still, then, 
 keeping the body upright, but sinking as low 
 as you can without stooping, or projecting 
 the knee before the toe, and you will be in a 
 correct position for Road Riding. The dif- 
 ference, therefore, you find in a shorter seat, 
 consequently a shorter stirrup. 
 
 The restraint to be thrown off is this : first 
 that of the mind ; for having nothing to per- 
 form but what by your former practice you 
 can now execute without an effort, your 
 attention is amused by various other objects : 
 — next of the body ; for the exertions of the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 253 
 
 horse, in the manege lessons, are drawn from 
 him by a similar exertion ; but in the rider 
 exertion now becomes unnecessary, since you 
 require no more than the natural paces of the 
 horse, performed with the greatest ease and 
 freedom to himself; and your whole system 
 falls into an easy flexibility, pleasant both to 
 yourself and to the horse. 
 
 This freedom and ease, so desirable and 
 so universally admired, are affected by every 
 person who is in the habit of riding, but with 
 this difference, that some unite system with 
 negligence and ease, and others have negli- 
 gence and ease without system. 
 
 This ease or inattention is not to suffer un- 
 seemly habits to take place, such as the back 
 or shoulders to get round, the hand to shake, 
 the legs to dangle against the horse's sides, or 
 to be placed considerably forward to bear in 
 the stirrups. These errors may creep on a 
 person who has not confirmed the principles 
 by sufficient practice ; but when habits of 
 
254 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 good riding are firmly established, the ease 
 and liberty he assumes will not exceed pro- 
 priety, risk his security, nor neglect the horse 
 — his hand will keep its situation and pro- 
 perties, though the body be turned to any 
 extreme for the purpose of viewing, con- 
 versing, and the like. Nor will the body, by 
 any freedom it takes, throw itself out of 
 balance, nor take liberty at a period when it 
 cannot be done with safety. 
 
 Since the rider's ease and convenience is 
 the principal consideration in riding on the 
 road, it is admissible, when the trot is ex- 
 tended to an unpleasant roughness, to ease 
 the jolting by rising in the stirrups. This is so 
 soon learned that it scarcely needs a descrip- 
 tion, since there are none in the habit of riding 
 who do not actually accomplish it ; and it is 
 generally the first thing the young untutored 
 horseman aims at, though a ridiculous awk- 
 wardness frequently attends some at their first 
 attempt, and many imbibe unseemly habits 
 which they cannot easily abandon. 
 
MODERN RIDING. %55 
 
 To do this with ease, the following remarks 
 may be useful, or may at least prevent ridi- 
 culous habits. 
 
 Let the trot be extended to such a degree 
 that the action of the horse may raise you 
 considerably from the saddle, while the sitting 
 becomes rous;h and uncomfortable. To at- 
 tempt it before would be not only unseemly, 
 but difficult: for the faster the horse trots, the 
 easier it is to rise. 
 
 Beginners are apt to try this in a slow trot, 
 in which the action of the horse does not suf- 
 ficiently raise them, and they endeavour to 
 raise themselves by the stirrups. This is 
 labour instead of ease, and such persons are 
 said, in derision, to ride faster than their 
 horse. 
 
 It is then the action of the horse, and not 
 any effort of your own, that should raise you. 
 If you accordingly bring your body a little 
 forward when the action of the horse raises 
 
256 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 you from the saddle, a greater proportion of 
 your weight will be received in the stirrups, 
 by which you ease your return to the saddle. 
 
 Now a horse leads with one or the other 
 foot in the trot, the same as in the gallop, 
 and the feet beat the time of one, two. The 
 foot which the horse leads with, determines 
 the one you are to rise to, and you cannot 
 change the order if you would by rising to 
 the contrary ; but if the horse change his foot 
 you are necessitated to change with him, till 
 which your time is broken and you are dis- 
 united ; so that you rise and fall with his 
 leading foot, which, beating the time of two, 
 you rise at one, the leading foot being in the 
 air, and fall at two when it comes to the 
 ground. 
 
 Thus the horse renders it perfectly easy to 
 you by raising the body and marking the 
 time, which, if you do not counteract by any 
 endeavours or efforts of your own, you soon 
 fall into. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 25? 
 
 The rise and return of the body are to be 
 smooth, even, and as regular as the beats of 
 the feet. If you, through inattention lose 
 your time, you get bumped upon the saddle 
 till you fall into it again. 
 
 Though this is called rising in the stirrups, 
 it is to be remembered that no great stress or 
 dependance is to be made on them. 
 
 A person can rise to the trot without the 
 assistance of the stirrup, but not with so much 
 ease to himself. It is, therefore, to be used 
 as such and no more. Thus, when the body 
 is raised from the saddle, the feet have a 
 momentary pressure in the stirrups, which 
 subsides as the body returns to the saddle. 
 If you make more use of the stirrups than 
 this, you risk your own safety ; for an im- 
 proper use of the stirrups occasions many 
 persons to be thrown, and a horse shying or 
 suddenly turning round would occasion such 
 a disaster. 
 
258 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 The rising of the body is not to be accom- 
 panied by any motion of the arms or lifting 
 the shoulders. 
 
 The body must have no assistance from 
 the bridle to accompany the action of the 
 horse, the hand must be held steady, and the 
 reins of that determined length which pre- 
 serves a correspondence between the hand 
 and mouth ; and though the rising of the 
 body diminishes the effective operation of the 
 appui, yet still there remains a proportion 
 according to the goodness of the rider's hand, 
 and the quality or fineness of the horse's 
 mouth. 
 
 The small forward inclination of the body, 
 moreover, is not to occasion any roundness 
 in the back ; this is invariably to be hollow, 
 not only for the seemliness, but for the safety 
 of your person. 
 
 The action of the body likewise must not 
 cause the legs to move. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 259 
 
 Plate XXVIII. illustrates the seat, &c. in 
 road riding. 
 
 In road riding, the rule of taking the right 
 hand of all you pass is well known ; but 
 there are some exceptions which are noticed 
 by Mr. Bunbury, as follows, in his ironical 
 style. 
 
 " In riding the road, observe, in passing a 
 whisky, a phaeton, or a stage coach, in short, 
 any carriage where the driver sits on the 
 right hand, to pass it on that side, he may 
 not see you on the other, and though you 
 may meet with a lash in the eye, what is the 
 loss of an eye to a leg, or perhaps neck.— 
 Should a man on horseback be on the road, 
 and leading another horse, always dash by 
 the led one ; you might otherwise set the 
 man's horse capering, and perhaps throw him 
 off; and you can get but a kick or two by 
 observing my instructions. — In passing a wag- 
 gon or any tremendous equipage, should it 
 run pretty near a bank, and there be but a 
 ditch, and an open country on the other side, 
 
 s 2 
 
260 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 if you are on business, and in a hurry, dash 
 up the bank without hesitation ; for should 
 you take the other side, and your horse shy 
 at the carriage, you may be carried many 
 hundred yards out of your road ; whereas by 
 a little effort of courage, you need only graze 
 the wheel, fly up the bank, and by slipping 
 or tumbling down into the road again, go 
 little or nothing out of your way." 
 
MODERN ItlDTNG 26"l 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF HUNTING. 
 
 Every system of riding, except the manege, 
 is occasionally used in Hunting, but the seat 
 which is properly called the Hunting-seat, is 
 that of riding in the stirrups. 
 
 The intention of this style of riding, is to 
 give the horse a steady and firm support from 
 the hand, and to relieve yourself from the 
 friction and heat which you would receive 
 from strong and continued gallops, if seated 
 close down in the saddle. 
 
 The first thing to be considered is the 
 length of stirrup, which must not be too 
 short, though somewhat shorter than what 
 was recommended for road riding. That 
 
262 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 length of stirrup, though it would raise you 
 sufficiently from the saddle to ride in the stir- 
 rups for a while, yet would not be found short 
 enough for a long gallop. 
 
 The stirrup must be shortened to prevent 
 the bottom coming in too close contact with 
 the saddle. 
 
 It must likewise permit you to stoop the 
 body forward to go under boughs of trees 
 and the like, without losing your centre of 
 gravity, and thereby abandoning your horse. 
 
 Therefore, from the above position, if you 
 stoop the body forward, and preserve the 
 centre of gravity, and the powers of support- 
 ing your horse, you are necessitated to sink 
 and thrust the rump out behind. 
 
 Were you to stoop your body forward, 
 without thrusting the rump out behind, you 
 could not support your horse ; and if you 
 thrust the rump out beyond the proportion 
 that the body is projected forward, you im- 
 
MODERN RIDING. 263 
 
 pede the horse. The first of these circum- 
 stances should never happen ; and the other 
 only for the purpose of impeding. 
 
 The uprightness or forward inclination of 
 the body, is to be that which is most natural 
 and pleasant to yourself, and will be more or 
 less according to the rate you gallop, and the 
 support the horse requires. If you affect 
 to stoop beyond a certain medium, it looks 
 ridiculous. 
 
 The centre of gravity must be preserved in- 
 dependent of any assistance from the bridle. 
 
 A little practice will soon discover to you 
 the exact length you should ride. Observe, 
 however, that you cannot ride too long, when 
 you can sit as described, and the bottom, 
 after strong galloping, does not bump or 
 come in contact with the saddle. 
 
 I shall now note the precise position of 
 every part, that errors and unseemly habits 
 may be avoided. 
 
2(54 principles or p. ix. 
 
 When the horseman is raised in the stir- 
 rups the body must have a forward inclina- 
 tion from about twenty to forty-five degrees 
 short of a perpendicular, as the rider shall 
 find most pleasant and convenient for himself. 
 If he is galloping at a moderate pace, from 
 twenty to twenty-five degrees of inclination 
 might be most pleasant, and to stoop to 
 forty-five degrees would look ridiculous, as 
 being unnecessary; but when galloping at 
 full speed, you may find it necessary to thrust 
 your rump out farther behind to increase 
 your powers to support the horse, and this 
 gives the body a greater inclination. But 
 whether the body has a great or small incli- 
 nation, the position otherwise must be the 
 same as when upright — that is, the breast 
 open, the shoulders down, the back hollow, 
 the head firm. 
 
 The thighs are more or less oblique, as the 
 rump is more or less thrust back, but they 
 otherwise act and have the same functions, 
 as explained in the seat. The situation of 
 the leg is, as before described. The toe is 
 
MODERN RIDING. 265 
 
 to be perpendicular to the knee, horizontal 
 with the heel and foot, and nearly parallel 
 with the horse's sides. 
 
 Many sportsmen, in the habit of riding 
 home in the stirrups, will object to the me- 
 thod of not riding home ; and their reason 
 is because they from custom cannot ride 
 otherwise. If, however, they had begun and 
 continued this method, they would have found 
 no difficulty in it, and the chafing their legs 
 and galling their insteps would have been 
 avoided. Beside, they lose a considerable 
 easement ; for when you ride in the stirrups 
 under the ball of the foot, you have the play 
 of the instep, which acts as a spring, as does 
 also the knee, and the hip, which save the 
 body from a great part of the roughness which 
 the action of the horse occasions. 
 
 The arms must be placed firmly, and close 
 to the body ; and the reins are mostly held 
 by both hands without separating, for the 
 eagerness of horses when hunting will occa- 
 sion them to pull even in their slow paces : 
 
266 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 you therefore require the assistance of both 
 hands. Now the firmest hold you can have 
 with both hands, without separating the reins, 
 is to apply the right hand before the left, 
 put the middle finger downward between the 
 reins, then grasping the hand, turn your 
 elbows down close to your body, and your 
 thumbs up, you will find this a secure hold. 
 
 Though you can ride the trot in this posi- 
 tion, nevertheless begin your practice in a 
 moderate or slow gallop, as being the easiest. 
 Raise yourself in your stirrups, and, if neces- 
 sary, at the same time shorten your reins. 
 That you may not in this, nor in any other 
 change of position, abandon your horse, when 
 raised in your stirrups, endeavour to find and 
 preserve your gravity without the least assist- 
 ance from the bridle, for which reason begin 
 with a slow gallop, in which the horse rides 
 light, and plays upon the bit. So that you 
 are completely poised in your stirrups, it is 
 immaterial what elevation, or inclination you 
 give your body ; you must be able to vary 
 that after awhile, as circumstances may re- 
 
MODERN RIDING. 267 
 
 quire : for the present, let it be that which 
 you find most pleasant to yourself. Endea- 
 vour, then, to obtain a firmness that neither 
 the action of the horse, nor his tugs, or play- 
 ing on the bit, shall in the least disturb. 
 
 This firmness depends on the correctness 
 of your position, aided by the grasp of mus- 
 cles in the thighs just above the knees. Not 
 that you are to fatigue yourself by applying 
 unnecessary exertion : sufficient to keep you 
 steady in the saddle, and afford the horse the 
 required support, is all that is necessary ; and 
 that may be more or less, according to the 
 roughness of the action, the speed the horse 
 goes at, and the pull or support he takes. 
 
 Thus having considered the position of 
 every part in this system of riding, let us 
 consider the situation, operation, and effects 
 of the hands, in particular. 
 
 The situation of the hand or hands (if both 
 are employed), is to be in the centre. The 
 arms being pressed to the body will be the 
 
268 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 exact situation in respect to the body which 
 was originally directed; but the position of 
 the body makes it operate lower or nearer to 
 the pommel of the saddle. In this situation, 
 the reins properly collected to retain and 
 support die horse, in a slow or short gallop, 
 you will feel the appui at every cadence, 
 light, obedient, and pleasant, or you will feel 
 the horse champ and play pleasantly on the 
 bit. 
 
 Should the eagerness of the horse make 
 him desirous of going faster, you will feel the 
 appui stronger, inviting liberty, and trying to 
 force it. This it is in the power of any mid- 
 dling horseman to prevent. If however, you 
 permit him to increase his speed, give him a 
 little more liberty ; and grant him that sup- 
 port which the extension you have allowed 
 requires, for the more a horse extends his 
 speed, the more support he takes from the 
 hand. By practice you will be able to dis- 
 cover what is the requisite support the horse 
 should have, and to check what he impro- 
 perly takes through eagerness or the habit he 
 
MODERN RIDING. 269 
 
 has acquired by bad riding. When you let 
 the horse extend himself in the gallop, you 
 will feel the support he takes to be a steady 
 pull ; and when this support, with his eager- 
 ness to get on, occasions him to pull beyond 
 your strength to hold, you are to check him, 
 by raising your hand and body, and thereby 
 throwing your weight off the centre back- 
 wards. This checks and pulls him a little 
 together, an advantage you must endeavour 
 to keep, by not letting him get so much su- 
 periority again, for you are not to continue 
 with your weight out of centre, but ride with 
 your body more upright, which will raise 
 your hands, and increase your power, while 
 it diminishes the horse's. 
 
 If it should happen that by raising your 
 hand and body to check, and get the ascen- 
 dency of the horse, you raise and throw his 
 head out of place, you must let him drop it 
 again, for no horse can gallop well, nor safely, 
 if his head is not in the place in which, ac- 
 cording to the make of his forehand, nature 
 intended he should carry it. 
 
2?0 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 As, then, all horses pull more or less when 
 extended in the gallop, and as some from 
 their formation, and the situation in which 
 they carry their heads, together with the con- 
 firmed habit of being rode with heavy in- 
 sensible hands, pull so hard that a weak 
 or inferior horseman cannot hold or govern 
 them, for the harder he pulls, the faster they 
 run, it becomes necessary to show the most 
 powerful means to stop them. 
 
 This is done by repeated efforts to raise 
 the head, and get the haunches under, which 
 diminishes his power, and gives your hand 
 the ascendancy. 
 
 First, then, as directed in the stop, seize 
 the time, and with all your strength and 
 weight throw your body back, taking a firm 
 hold with your legs, bracing your arms strong, 
 and letting your hands have a firm upward 
 operation to get the head up. The instant 
 this is performed (it will not do afterwards), 
 let the body come upright, that the hands 
 may be eased. 
 
MODERN RIDING. 271 
 
 The first throwing of the whole strength 
 and weight of body back, while the hands 
 operate to raise the head, is a great check ; 
 and the body then instantly coming forward 
 to ease the hands, deprives the horse of the 
 support which even in that check he depended 
 on. This deters him from extending himself 
 so freely as before. 
 
 The next stroke you must repeat your 
 effort, which will have a greater effect in 
 proportion to the check the first effort made. 
 The third effort will generally, if firmly and 
 properly applied, bring the horse in hand 
 that you can stop, turn, or do as you please 
 with him. If not, you must repeat your 
 efforts till you can. 
 
 Be mindful to leave no interval between 
 your efforts, whereby the horse would recover 
 one check before you gave him the next. 
 
 Should the horse obstinately defend himself 
 against the efforts of the hand, to raise the 
 
272 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 head, separating the reins will increase your 
 power, and moving the bit by opening the 
 fingers first of one hand and then of the other, 
 will disarm a part of his defence. 
 
 The planting your feet forward in the stir- 
 rups, to pull against, is not to be done in 
 these cases ; your hold must be from the 
 grasp of the legs and knee, and the check 
 which you give the horse will not then dis- 
 turb your seat ; but were your legs planted 
 forward, the check of the horse would throw 
 you high from the saddle, and, if it should 
 be on one side, you might come to the 
 ground. 
 
 There are occasions on which the legs are 
 placed a little forward to increase your pull, 
 but this is only when you intend to impede 
 the horse without stopping. You then put 
 your legs forward, and throw your weight 
 out of centre, for the moment only ; for by 
 this you increase the weight or pressure of 
 the saddle on the horse, which would be 
 
MODERN RIDING. 2?3 
 
 very distressing to him, were it for a con- 
 tinuance. 
 
 To direct and turn a horse in those ex- 
 tended paces requires neither art nor deli- 
 cacy. The horse should obey the pressure, 
 which must be given forcibly, in proportion 
 to the pull or support he takes from you. 
 Where he does not readily obey the pressure, 
 you assist and compel him by pulling the 
 rein of the side to which you wish to turn, as 
 before explained. 
 
 This extension of the horse and your ina- 
 bility to stop him at the instant, shows the 
 impropriety of such riding on the road near 
 town ; and that when in the field it is neces- 
 sary that you carry your eyes well forward, 
 to be aware of pulling your horse together in 
 time whenever you have occasion either to 
 stop or change your direction ; for a horse, 
 when extended, requires considerable space 
 to turn in. Should you neglect this cau- 
 tion, the horse may precipitate himself and 
 you into imminent danger ; or, checking him- 
 
 T 
 
274 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 self unawares, may throw you out of your 
 seat. 
 
 In hunting, spare your horse as much as 
 possible, and never rate him against other 
 horses, though you find him or them inclined 
 so to do. You must necessarily ride to keep 
 up with the hounds, but you must be mindful 
 to keep sufficiently behind, never to ride 
 among them. By being a moderate distance 
 behind, you may observe the course of the 
 leading hounds, and save a considerable deal 
 of ground. Should the doubling of the game 
 put you in a situation before the hounds, 
 though you view it and know the course, 
 3^ou are not to ride till the hounds have 
 passed you. Avoid hallooing to the hounds : 
 it is the business of the huntsman ; and it is 
 generally offensive to him and to the pro- 
 prietor. 
 
 Should circumstances throw you out, or 
 leave you considerably behind, fast riding 
 may be necessary. Do not, however, rate 
 your horse at speed ; for, by this, you would 
 
MODERN RIDING. 275 
 
 soon distress him, so that he could not cover 
 his leaps. A rate considerably short of speed 
 will bring you up. Therefore, the freeness 
 of your horse, even in this case, must not 
 induce you to let him exhaust himself, but 
 pull at, and save him as much as you can. 
 
 Look before you leap, is a necessary cau- 
 tion; a person who knows the country may 
 ride more forward than one who is a stranger 
 to it. Never take unnecessary leaps to dis- 
 play your horse, nor leap at gate or rail, if 
 you can get through or over the hedge or 
 fence. Nay, if your horse is not a very safe 
 leaper and used to take timber, it is advisable 
 to go round, if you cannot open the gate. 
 
 Never push your horse up hill, nor too fast 
 down, and spare him all you can in unfavour- 
 able ground, such as ploughed fields, swamps, 
 and the like. 
 
 Fern, furze, heath, hillocks, &c. to persons 
 not accustomed to them, may appear great 
 
 t2 
 
c 276 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 obstacles ; but horses and men, when accus- 
 tomed to hunt, find them small impediments, 
 and ride as freely over them as on plain 
 ground. 
 
 Be cautious of riding into close covers, 
 lest you should not find your way out. 
 Where there are rides on passable tracts, 
 you may ride in, being mindful to avoid and 
 defend your head from the boughs, &c. In 
 forest hunting, or among trees, hard mouthed 
 and untractable horses are not only unplea- 
 sant, but dangerous, and therefore must be 
 rode with more care. 
 
 For the care and accommodation of the 
 horse, let him take either leg, or change his 
 leg as often as he pleases ; and, for your own 
 ease, change your mode of riding as often as 
 you find it pleasant and convenient. You 
 can frequently keep up in a trot, in which 
 you can, by way of change, sit close to the 
 saddle, rise in the stirrups, or stand in the 
 stirrups. 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
MODERN RIDING. 277 
 
 Attending to these remarks, the young- 
 sportsman may appear in the field without 
 being ridiculous. 
 
 Plates XXIX. XXX. and XXXI. illus- 
 trate the seat in Trotting, Galloping, and in 
 Leaping in Hunting. 
 
 
278 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF RACING. 
 
 The system of riding adapted for Racing is 
 exactly the same as the hunting seat, when 
 rode in the stirrups. There is, consequently, 
 but little more to say on a subject that has 
 been so fully discussed. A few remarks, 
 which were foreign to the subject of hunting, 
 are all that is requisite. 
 
 The person who is to ride a race (besides 
 in hired riders, the grand requisite of honesty) 
 should have qualities which fit him for die 
 performance. 
 
 His strength should be sufficient to hold, 
 support, and assist the horse, otherwise the 
 
MODERN RIDING. 279 
 
 horse will exhaust his wind. If he is obliged 
 to pull him together by raising his hands, 
 or throwing his weight out of centre, these 
 checks produce an additional stress on the 
 hocks or loins, which must tend to weaken or 
 exhaust ; and, if it is a close match, the heat 
 might be lost by the riding. That the horse 
 therefore may have every fair advantage, the 
 rider should be strong enough to hold him 
 without raising his hands, which might put 
 the horse's head out of place ; and though it 
 were but an inch, this would be unpleasant 
 and detrimental to him. 
 
 His judgment should be able to discover 
 how the horse gallops with the greatest ease 
 to himself— if he carries his head lower than 
 is pleasant to the rider, — if he is accustomed 
 to bear more on one rein than the other, — or 
 has a favourite leg. This is a material thing 
 to know ; for no horse can be made the most 
 of, that is put out of his usual method of 
 carrying himself; and this being known or 
 discovered, should be submitted to. This is 
 
^80 principles or P. IX. 
 
 not the time to dispute or quarrel, — you 
 must find his favourite manner, and comply 
 with it. 
 
 Such being the case, start your horse 
 coolly and temperately. If you flurry him 
 at starting, his own eargerness will be very 
 detrimental. Endeavour to keep him mode- 
 rate, that his gallop may be smooth and 
 steady. You must give him all the support 
 he requires from the hand in a smooth steady 
 pull, and not increase it. 
 
 If his eagerness to get on compels you to 
 do this, you must increase your pull, with the 
 same steadiness as before, which will hold 
 him and save his wind. If you raise your 
 hand to keep him in, you will raise his head 
 out of place, which will cause him to fret, 
 and he will be fighting for the ascendancy of 
 the hand. If you are obliged to do this, to 
 prevent the horse from running away with 
 you, your strength is not competent for such 
 a horse. Neither must you throw your body 
 
MODERN RIDING. 281 
 
 out of centre ; nor plant your feet forward 
 to increase your pull without raising your 
 hands. These operate to the disadvantage 
 of the horse. 
 
 In situations where you are to push and 
 do your utmost, you must assist the horse's 
 efforts with the greatest exactness and judg- 
 ment, without depriving the horse of the 
 requisite support. Your hand must permit 
 him to extend himself to the utmost, and assist 
 him in collecting himself together. This is 
 done by permitting the horse to draw your 
 hand from your body, to favour his exten- 
 sion; and, as he collects himself, the hand 
 returns to the body, and assists him in col- 
 lecting his haunches under him. 
 
 This action of the hands must be done 
 with the nicest judgment : otherwise you 
 would abandon, deceive, deter, and prevent 
 rather than assist the horse's exertion. Be 
 mindful, therefore, that the hand does not 
 move till the extension of the horse removes 
 it ; and, during this removal, that the hand 
 
282 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 affords the same support that the horse 
 requires. When the horse gathers himself 
 together, the reins would be slack if the hand 
 was not to return back again, and the horse 
 would not be able to bring his legs so close, 
 as by the assistance of the rider's support he 
 would be enabled to do. Therefore, as the 
 horse gathers himself, the hand must return, 
 yielding him that support which assists the 
 haunches coming forward. 
 
 This skill of the rider is mostly displayed 
 at the running in. Over eagerness of the 
 rider, flurry, or the like, may sometimes take 
 place with young jockeys. Gentlemen who 
 choose to ride their own matches should be 
 collected at this time ; for, if it is a near 
 match, their winning or losing depends on the 
 riding. A steady support must be given, 
 which at this crisis must be neither more nor 
 less than the horse requires. 
 
 The over doing or under doing is equally 
 detrimental. Were you to yield your hand 
 too much, you abandon your horse ; and if 
 
MODERN RIDING. 283 
 
 in gathering him together, you over do your 
 part, you check his next extension. 
 
 If you do not sufficiently support the horse, 
 he dare not extend himself so far as he could 
 under a confident support of the hand, be- 
 cause that support is a great assistance in 
 gathering himself together. The eagerness 
 of the horse will make him extend himself 
 as far as he can safely, independent of the 
 hand ; and the labour and exertion of gather- 
 ing himself, without support from the hand, 
 exhausts his wind and strength, and the horse 
 is said to be blown. It is therefore neces- 
 sary that the rider's strength should hold out 
 with that of the horse : the one depends on 
 the other. 
 
 On the other hand, the support the hand is 
 to afford is to be no more than what the 
 horse takes ; for the hand is not to dictate to 
 the horse at what rate he is to pull. If the 
 horse rides cool and steady, he will take a 
 support equal to the rate or extension he is 
 
284 PRINCIPLES OF P. IX. 
 
 at ; but, if hot and eager, he will require a 
 greater support to restrain him from over 
 running and exhausting himself, and the hand 
 must give that support to prevent such con- 
 sequences. At the push or running in for 
 the heat, you must give him the liberty to 
 exert his utmost, and so much support, and 
 no more than will enable him to do it — if you 
 give him more, you restrain him — if you give 
 him less, he cannot confidently throw himself 
 out. 
 
 If, in endeavouring to assist the horse, you 
 pull him too much together, you check him, 
 particularly if your horse is nearly spent. 
 When you find the horse has done pulling, it 
 is time you had done running : he is then 
 exhausted, and must lose if the others are not 
 in the same state. If you find your horse 
 strong, and close pushed at running in, the 
 application of the whip, given at the instant, 
 before he takes his stroke, may draw an 
 additional spring or two from him, and give 
 you some assistance. The whip or spurs, at 
 
MODERN RIDING. 285 
 
 other times, are of little service ; the emula- 
 tion and eagerness of horses will carry them 
 beyond what they can hold ; and the whip or 
 spurs discourage, if too much or injudiciously 
 applied. 
 
 You will observe in the hunting and racing- 
 systems of riding, that pressing the feet in 
 the stirrups to increase your pull, is not 
 allowable if it can be avoided, but particu- 
 larly in racing ; for you must thereby con- 
 siderably increase your weight or pressure 
 on the saddle. Though it is called riding in 
 the stirrups, when you ride properly, the stir- 
 rups sustain a very inconsiderable weight ; 
 and when the horse is extended and pulls 
 fair, you may ride in the same position with- 
 out the stirrups and the grasp with the knees, 
 and the pull of the horse will keep your 
 position steady. 
 
 Having pointed out what operates to the 
 advantage and disadvantage of the horse's 
 speed, the rest must be left to that practice 
 
286 MODERN RIDING. P. IX. 
 
 which perfects every art. Without so far 
 studying theory, however, practitioners are 
 very liable to run into error. 
 
 Plate XXXII. illustrates the Seat, &c. in 
 Racing. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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