Bourgelat Claude
A New System of Horsemanship

Content, if hence th' Unlearn'd their Wants may view, The Learn'd reflect on what before they knew.

Pope's Essay on Crit.

THE TRANSLATOR's PREFACE

It is not my Design, in the Task I undertake of giving some Account of this Work, as well as of the Art which is the Subject of it, to trace its Origin back into past Times, or to wander in search of it in the Darkness and Confusion of remote Antiquity. Let it suffice to say, that though its Beginning, as well as that of other Arts, was imperfect, yet its Use, and the Entertainment it affords, have been known and tasted in all Ages. But however distinguish'd it may be by the Notice of the Great, who have at all Times deign'd to profess and practise it; it is yet less entitled to our Regard for these Distinctions, than for the real Advantages we derive from it. Riding consists of two Parts, the useful and the ornamental. That the latter of these may be dispensed with, is most readily granted; but that it behoves every one who puts himself upon a Horse to have some Knowledge of the first, is most evident. – For who would trust to the Mercy of an Animal that may prove wild and ungovernable, who knows himself to be incapable of controuling him, and of acting for his own Safety? Who would venture alone into a Vessel, that can neither row, nor manage a Sail, but must trust entirely to the Winds and Tide? Yet is this the Case with the Generality of Mankind, who are carried upon the Back of a Horse, and think they ride. The Utility of this Art consists then in knowing how to guide and direct your Horse as you please, and in reducing him to Obedience, so as to make him execute readily what you require of him. Thus far it is to be wish'd every Person who is conversant with Horses, would endeavour to attain. The ornamental Part, I have already said, is not so requisite to be known: It can only be called an Accomplishment, and placed among the superfluous but refin'd Pleasures of Life. In what Esteem and Honour however it has constantly been held, abundantly appears from the Schools and Academies every where erected for teaching its Elements, as well as from the Number of Books, ancient and modern, given to the World by eminent and accomplished Persons who have studied and practis'd it. Among these our illustrious Countryman, William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, has the highest Claim to our Praise and Acknowledgments. It would be needless to describe his Excellencies; his Character, as a Horseman, is universally known, and universally admir'd. The Truth and Soundness of his Principles, and the Extensiveness of his Knowledge, have opened to us an easier, a shorter, and more certain Way to Perfection in the Art, than was known before. His Precepts have accordingly been adopted by all succeeding Professors, and his Writings consider'd as the Oracle of Horsemanship, notwithstanding a Want of Method and Exactness, which has been objected to them. To remedy these Imperfections, is the Design of the present Undertaking, and the Labours of a judicious and experienced Foreigner, must consummate in the Knowledge of the Art he professes. He has presented us with a new System of Horsemanship, extracted from the Rules of that great Master. The Method and Conciseness with which he has digested the Whole, have made the Copy much less than the Original, but it is a small well-polished Gem. To speak truth, he has made the Subject so much his own by the Refinement of his Remarks, the Justness of his Reasoning, and the Light he has diffused through it, that it must have the Merit of an Original; at least the Reader will be divided to whom he shall render most Thanks, whether to him who has given the Food, or to him who has prepar'd and set it before us with so much Elegance and Order. This at least is our Author's Praise. – The Translator has endeavoured to do him as much Justice, in the following Sheets, as he has done his great Original; sensible of the Danger of so difficult an Enterprize, but prompted to it in hopes of making his Merit more known. He translated the Work, that the Treasures it contains may be gathered by those who are so unfortunate as to want this Assistance to obtain them. He has been as faithful to his Author, as the Languages will allow, judging that to be the surest way of doing him Justice. In some Places however he has used (as all Translators must) a discretionary Power. Every Art has technical terms, or Words of its own; these he has preserved in the Translation, the English affording none adequate to them. He has given no Notes or Comments, imagining the Original can, and hoping the Translation will, want none. Of this however his Readers will be the best Judges; he will say no more of himself, but that he has endeavoured to make the Work as perfect as he could; and for this Reason will be very ready to own any Faults that may be pointed out; for, though desirous of Approbation, he is not vain enough to think, there may not be room for Censure.

CHAP. I.
Of the Horseman's Seat

The Principles and Rules which have hitherto been given for the Horseman's Seat, are various, and even opposite, according as they have been adopted by different Masters, and taught in different Countries; almost each Master, in particular, and every Nation, having certain Rules and Notions of their own. Let us see, however, if Art can discover nothing to us that is certain and invariably true.

The Italians, the Spaniards, the French, and, in a word, every Country, where Riding is in repute, adopt each a Posture which is peculiar to themselves; the Foundation of their general Notions, is, if I may so say, the same, but yet each Country has prescribed Rules for the Placing of the Man in the Saddle.

This Contrariety of Opinions, which have their Origin more in Prejudice, than in Truth and Reality, has given rise to many vain Reasonings and Speculations, each System having its Followers; and, as if Truth was not always the same and unchangeable, but at liberty to assume various, and even opposite Appearances; sometimes one Opinion prevailed, sometimes another dazzled; insomuch, that those who understand nothing of the Subject, but yet are desirous of informing themselves, by searching it to the Bottom, have hitherto been lost in Doubt and Perplexity.

There is nevertheless a sure and infallible Method, by the Assistance of which it would be very easy to overturn all these Systems: But not to enter into a needless Detail, of the extravagant Notions which the Seat alone has given rise to, let us trace it from Principles by so much the more solid, as their Authority will be supported by the most convincing and self-evident Reasons.

In order to succeed in an Art where the Mechanism of the Body is absolutely necessary, and where each Part of the Body has proper Functions, which are peculiar to it, it is most certain, that all and every Part of the Body should be in a natural Posture; were they in an imperfect Situation, they would want that Ease and Freedom which is inseparable from Grace; and as every Motion which is constrained, being false in itself, is incapable of Justness; it is clear that the Part so constrained and forced would throw the whole into Disorder, because each Part belonging to, and depending upon the whole Body, and the Body partaking of the Constraint of its Parts, can never feel that fix'd Point, that just Counterpoise and Equilibre in which alone a fine and just Execution consists.

It is not therefore sufficient in giving Directions for the Seat, to keep altogether to trivial and common Rules which may be followed or left at pleasure; we ought to weigh and examine them with Skill and Judgment, in order to know how to apply them properly and suitably as the Shape and Figure of the Person to whom we undertake to give a Seat will allow; for many Motions and Attitudes that appear easy and natural in one Man, in another are awkward and ungraceful; whence all those Faults and Difficulties which in many Persons have been thought insuperable; whereas a little more Knowledge, a closer Attention, and a more serious Examination into the Principles of the Art, would convert in the same Subject an awkward and displeasing Appearance, into an easy, natural, and graceful Figure, capable of drawing the Eyes even of Judges themselves.

Indeed the Objects, to which a Master, anxious for the Advancement of his Pupil, should attend, are infinite. To little Purpose will it be to keep the strictest Eye upon all the Parts and Limbs of his Pupil's Body; in vain will he endeavour to remedy all the Defects and Faults which are found in the Posture of almost every Scholar in the Beginning; unless he is intimately acquainted with, and apprized of, the close Dependance and Connection that there is between the Motions of each Part of the Body, and all the Rest; a Correspondence caused by the reciprocal Action of the Muscles which govern and direct them; unless therefore he is Master of this Secret, and has this Clue to the Labyrinth, he will never attain the End he proposes, particularly in his first Lessons, upon which the Success of the rest always depends.

These Principles being established, let us reason in consequence of them; we shall display them with great Force and Clearness.

The Body of a Man is divided into three Parts, two of which are moveable, the other immoveable.

The First of the two moveable Parts is the Trunk or Body, down to the Waist; the Second is from the Knees to the Feet; so that the remaining immoveable Part is that between the Waist and the Knees.

The Parts then which ought to be without Motion, are the Fork or Twist of the Horseman, and his Thighs: Now, that these Parts may be kept without Motion, they ought to have a certain Hold and Center, if I may so say, to rest upon, which no Motion that the Horse can make, can disturb or loosen; this Point or Center is the Basis of the Hold which the Horseman has upon his Horse, and is what is called the Seat. Now, if the Seat is nothing else but this Point or Center, it must follow, that not only the Grace, but the Symmetry and true Proportion of the whole Attitude depends upon those Parts of the Body that are immoveable.

Let the Horseman then place himself at once upon his Twist, sitting exactly in the Middle of the Saddle, let him support this Posture, in which the Twist alone seems to sustain the Weight of the whole Body, by moderately leaning upon the Buttocks; let his Thighs be turned inward, and rest flat upon the Sides of the Saddle, and in order to this, let the Turn of the Thighs proceed directly from the Hips, and let him employ no Force or Strength to keep himself in the Saddle, but trust to the Weight of his Body and Thighs; this is the exact Equilibre; in this consists the Firmness of the whole Building; a Firmness which young Beginners are never sensible of at first, but which is to be acquired, and will always be attained by Exercise and Practice.

I demand but a moderate Stress upon the Buttocks, because a Man that sits full upon them, can never turn his Thighs flat upon the Saddle; and the Thighs should always lay flat, because the fleshy Part of the Thigh being insensible, the Horseman would not otherwise be able to feel the Motions of his Horse. I insist that the Turn of the Thigh should be from the Hip, because this Turn can never be natural, but as it proceeds from the Hollow of the Hip-bone. I insist further, that the Horseman never avail himself of the Strength or Help of his Thighs; because, besides that he would then be not only less steady, but the closer he prest them to the Saddle, the more would he be lifted above it; and with respect to his Buttocks and Thighs, he ought always to be in the Middle of the Saddle, and sit down full and close upon it.

Having thus firmly placed the immoveable Parts, let us pass on to the first of the Moveable; which is, as I have already observed, the Body or Trunk, as far as to the Waist: I comprehend in the Body or Trunk, the Head, the Shoulders, the Breast, the Arms, the Hands, the Loins, and the Waist, of the Horseman.

The Head should be free, firm, and easy, in order to be ready for all the natural Motions that the Horseman may make, in turning it to one Side or the other: It should be firm, that is to say strait, without leaning to the Right or Left, neither advanced, nor thrown back; it should be easy, because if otherwise, it would occasion a Stiffness, and that Stiffness affecting the different Parts of the Body, especially the Back-bone, they would be without Ease, and constrained.

The Shoulders alone influence by their Motion the Breast, the Reins, and the Waist.

The Horseman should present or advance his Breast; by this his whole Figure opens and displays itself: He should have a small Hollow in his Loins, and should push his Waist forward to the Pommel of the Saddle, because this Position corresponds and unites him to all the Motions of the Horse. Now, only throwing the Shoulders back produces all these Effects, and gives them exactly in the Degree that is requisite; whereas, if we were to look for the particular Position of each Part separately, and by itself, without examining the Connection that there is between the Motions of one Part with those of another, there would be such a Bending in the Loins, that the Horseman would be, if I may so say, hollow-back'd; and as from that he would force his Breast forward, and his Waist towards the Pommel of the Saddle, he would be flung back, and must sit upon the Rump of the Horse.

The Arms should be bent at the Elbows, and the Elbows should rest equally upon the Hips; if the Arms were strait, the Consequence would be, that the Hands would be infinitely too low, or at much too great a Distance from the Body; and if the Elbows were not kept steady, they would of consequence give an Uncertainty and Fickleness to the Hand, sufficient to ruin it for ever.

It is true, that the Bridle-hand is that which absolutely ought to be steady and immoveable, and one might conclude from hence, that the Left-elbow only ought to rest upon the Hip, but Grace consists in the exact Proportion and Symmetry of all the Parts of the Body, and to have the Arm on one Side raised and advanced, and that of the other kept down and close to the Body, would present but an awkward and disagreeable Appearance.

It is this which determines the Situation of the Hand, which holds the Switch. The Left-hand being of an equal Height with the Elbow, so that the Knuckle of the Little-finger, and the Tip of the Elbow, be both in a Line; this Hand then being rounded neither too much nor too little, but just so that the Wrist may direct all its Motions; place your Right-hand, or the Switch-hand, lower and more forward than the Bridle-hand; it should be lower than the other Hand, because if it was upon a Level with it, it would restrain or obstruct its Motions; and were it to be higher, as it cannot take so great a Compass as the Bridle-hand, which must always be kept over against the Horseman's Body, it is absolutely necessary to keep the Proportion of the Elbows, that it should be lower than the other.

The Legs and Feet make up the second Division, of what I call the moveable Parts of the Body.

The Legs serve for two Purposes; they may be used as Aids, or Corrections, to the Animal. They should then be kept near the Sides of the Horse, and in a Line with the Man's Body; for being near the Part of the Horse's Body where his Feeling is most delicate, they are ready to do their Office in the Instant they are wanted. Moreover, as they are an Appendix of the Thighs, if the Thigh is upon its Flat in the Saddle, they will, by a necessary Consequence, be turned just as they ought, and will infallibly give the same Turn to the Feet; because the Feet depend upon them, as they depend upon the Thighs.

The Toe should be held a little higher than the Heel, for the lower the Toe is, the nearer the Heel will be to the Sides of the Horse, and must be in danger of touching his Flank. Many Persons, notwithstanding, when they raise their Toe, bend and twist their Ankle, as if they were lame in that Part. The Reason of this is very plain; it is because they make use of the Muscles in their Legs and Thighs; whereas, they should employ only the Joint of the Foot for this Purpose; a Joint, given by Nature to facilitate all the Motions of the Foot, and to enable it to turn to the Right or Left, upwards or downwards.

Such is, in short, the mechanical Disposition of all the Parts of the Horseman's Body. I will enlarge no further upon a Subject treated on already so amply by every Writer; as it is needless to write what has been already handled. I have had no other Design in this Chapter, than to give an Idea of the Correspondence that there is between all the Parts of the Body, because it is only by a just Knowledge of this mutual Relation of all the different Parts, that we can be enabled to prescribe Rules for giving that true and natural Seat, which is not only the Principle of Justness, but likewise the Foundation of all Grace in the Horseman.

CHAP. II.
Of the Hand, and its Effects

The Knowledge of the different Characters, and the different Nature of Horses, together with the Vices, and Imperfections, as well as the exact and just Proportions of the Parts of a Horse's Body, is the Foundation upon which is built the Theory of our Art; but this Theory will be unnecessary and even useless, it we are not able likewise to carry it into Execution.

This depends chiefly upon the Goodness and Quickness of Feeling in the Hand, a Delicacy which Nature alone can give, and which she does not always bestow. The first Sensation of the Hand consists in a greater or less Degree of Fineness in the Touch or Feeling; all of us are equally furnished with Nerves, from which we have the Sense of Feeling, but as this Sense is much more subtle and quick in some Persons than in others, it is impossible to give a precise Definition of the exact Degree of Feeling in the Hand, which ought to communicate and answer to the same Degree of Feeling in the Horse's Mouth; because there is as much difference in the Degrees of Feeling in Men, as there is in the Mouths of Horses.

I suppose then a Man, who is not only capable to judge of the Qualities of a Horse's Mouth from a Knowledge of the Theory, but who has likewise by Nature that Fineness of Touch, which helps to form a good Hand; let us see then what the Rules are that we must follow, in order to make it perfect, and by which we must direct all its Operations.

A horse can move four different Ways, he can advance, go back, turn to the Right, and to the Left; but he can never make these different Motions, unless the Hand of the Rider permits him by making four other Motions which answer to them: So that there are five different Positions for the Hand.

The first is that general Position, from which proceed, and indeed ought to proceed, the other four.

Hold your Hand three Fingers breadth from your Body, as high as your Elbow, in such a Manner that the Joint of your Little-finger be upon a right Line with the Tip of the Elbow; let your Wrist be sufficiently rounded, so that your Knuckles may be kept directly above the Neck of your Horse; let your Nails be exactly opposite your Body, the Little-finger nearer to it than the others, your Thumb quite flat upon the Reins, which you must separate, by putting your Little-finger between them, the right Rein lying upon it; this is the first and general Position.

Does your Horse go forward, or rather would you have him go forward? Yield to him your Hand, and for that Purpose turn your Nails downwards, in such a Manner as to bring your Thumb near your Body, remove your Little-finger from it, and bring it into the Place where your Knuckles were in the first Position, keeping your Nails directly above your Horse's Neck; this is the second.

Would you make your Horse go backwards? quit the first Position, let your Wrist be quite round, let your Thumb be in the Place of the Little-finger in the second Position, and the Little-finger in that of the Thumb, turn your Nails quite upwards, and towards your Face, and your Knuckles will be towards your Horse's Neck; this is the third.

Would you turn your Horse to the Right, leave the first Position, 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-finger brought in to the Right; this is the fourth Position.

Lastly, Would you turn to the Left, quit again the first Position, carry the Back of your Hand a little to the Left, so that the Knuckles come under a little, but that your Thumb incline to the Right, and the Little-finger to the Left; this makes the fifth.

These different Positions however alone are not sufficient; we must be able to pass from one to another with Readiness and Order. – Three Qualities are especially necessary to the Hand. It ought to be firm, gentle, and light; I call that a firm or steady Hand, whose Feeling corresponds exactly with the Feeling in the Horse's Mouth, and which consists in a certain Degree of Steadiness, which constitutes the just Correspondence between the Hand and the Horse's Mouth, which every Horseman wishes to find.

An easy and 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 Horse's Mouth, which I have already described.

Lastly, a light Hand is that which lessens still more the Feeling between the Rider's Hand and the Horse's Mouth, which was before moderated by the gentle Hand.

The Hand therefore, with respect to these Properties, must operate in part, and within certain Degrees; and depends upon being more or less felt, or yielded to the Horse, or with-held.

It should be a Rule with every Horseman, not to pass at once from one Extreme to another, from a firm Hand to a slack one; so that in the Motions of the Hand, you must upon no account jump over that Degree of Sensation which constitutes the easy or gentle Hand. Were you at once to go from a firm Hand or a slack one, you would then entirely abandon your Horse; you would surprize him, deprive him of the Support he trusted to, and precipitate him on his Shoulders, supposing you do this at an improper time; on the contrary, were you to pass from a slack to a tight Rein all at once, you must jerk your Hand, and give a violent Shock to the Horse's Mouth, which rough and irregular Motion would be sufficient to falsify the finest Apuy, and ruin a good Mouth.

It is indispensibly necessary therefore, that all its Operations should be gentle and light; and in order to this, it is necessary that the Wrist alone should direct and govern all its Motions, by turning and steering it, if I may so say, through every Motion that it is to make.

In consequence then of these Principles, I insist that the Wrist be kept so round, that your Knuckles may be always directly above the Horse's Neck, and that your Thumb be always kept flat upon the Reins. In reality, were your Wrist to be more or less rounded, than in the Degree I have fixed, you could never work with your Hand, but by the means of your Arm; and besides, it would appear as if it were lame: Again, were your Thumb not to be upon the Flat of the Reins, they would continually slip through the Hand, and, by being lengthen'd, would spoil the Apuy; and in order to recover them, you would be obliged every Moment to raise your Hand and Arm, which would throw you into Confusion, and make you lose that Justness and Order, without which no Horse will be obedient, and work with Readiness and Pleasure.

It is nevertheless true, that with Horses that are well drest, one may take Liberties; these are nothing else but those Motions which are called Descents of the Hand, and they are to be made three different 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 Fingers breadth above the Left, and letting them slide through the Left, dropping your Right-hand at the same time upon the Horse's Neck; or else by putting the Horse under the Button, as it is call'd; that is, by taking the End of the Reins in your Right-hand, quitting them entirely with your Left, and letting the End of them fall upon your Horse's Neck: these Motions however, which give a prodigious Grace to the Horseman, never should be made but with great Caution, and exactly in the time when the Horse is quite together, and in the Hand; and you must take care to counter-balance, by throwing back your Body, the Weight of the Horse upon his Haunches.

The Apuy being always in the same Degree, would heat the Mouth, would dull the Sense of Feeling, would deaden the Horse's Bars, and render them insensible and callous; this shews the Necessity of continually yielding and drawing back the Hand to keep the Horse's Mouth fresh and awake.

Besides these Rules and Principles, there are others not less just and certain, but whose Niceness and Refinement it is not the Lot of every Man to be able to taste and understand. My Hand being in the first Position, I open the two Middle-fingers, I consequently ease and slacken my Right Rein; I shut my Hand, the Right Rein operates again, and resumes the Apuy. I open my Little-finger, and putting the End of it upon the Right Rein, I thereby slacken the Left, and shorten the Right. 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 close my Hand not quite so much, but still I close it. It is by these Methods, and by the Vibration of the Reins, that I unite the Feeling in my Hand with that in the Horse's Mouth; and it is thus that I play with a fine and made Mouth, and freshen and relieve the Bars in which the Feeling or Apuy resides.

It is the same with respect to the second Descent of the Hand: My Right-hand holding the Reins, I pass and slide my Left-hand upon the Reins up and down, and in the Degree of Apuy of the easy and slack Hand; by the means of which the Horse endeavours of himself to preserve the Correspondence and Harmony of that mutual Sensation, between his Mouth and the Rider's Hand, which alone can make him submit with Pleasure to the Constraint of the Bit.

I have thus explained the different Positions and Motions of the Hand; let me shew now in a few Words the Effects which they produce.

The Horseman's Hand directs the Reins; the Reins operate upon the Branches of the Bit; the Branches upon the Mouth-piece and the Curb; the Mouth-piece operates upon the Bars, and the Curb upon the Beard of the Horse.

The Right Rein guides the Horse to the Left; the Left Rein to the Right. Would you go to the Right, you pass to the fourth Position of the Hand, that is, you carry and turn your Nails to the Right; now in carrying thus your Nails to the Right, and reversing your Hand in such a manner, that your Thumb point to the Left, and your Little-finger being raised turns to the Right, you by this means shorten your Left Rein; it is this Left therefore that turns and guides the Horse to the Right: Would you go to the Left, pass to the fifth Position, you will carry the Back of your Hand to the Left, so that your Nails will be turned down a little, your Thumb will be to the Right, and the Little-finger to the Left; this will shorten the right Rein, and the right Rein determines your Horse to the Left.

I have already said, that the Effect which the Mouth-piece has upon the Bars, and the Curb upon the Beard, depends upon the Branches of the Bitt; when the Branches rise or are turned upwards, the Mouth-piece sinks, and when the Branches sink, the Mouth-piece rises; so that when your Horse is going strait forward, if you keep your Hand low and close to your Body, the Mouth-piece then presses strong upon the Bars, and the Chain or Curb having, in consequence more Liberty, acts less upon the Beard; on the contrary, if you keep your Hand high, a little forward, and consequently a little out of the Line of the End of the Branches, the Mouth-piece then sinks, and the Branches of necessity operate upon the Curb, which presses then very strongly upon the Beard; now, in order to place, and to bring in your Horse's Head, you must hold your Hand low, and in order to raise and lighten a Horse that weighs upon the Hand, and carries his Head too low, you must advance your Hand a little, and keep it high.

Would you have your Horse go backward? Come to the third Position, but take care to round your Wrist exactly, in order to work equally with both Reins, and by this means to aid your Horse more effectually to go backward strait and ballanced between your Legs, which he could never do, if one Rein was to operate stronger than the other.

There are particular Cases, where the Reins are separated, and one held in each Hand; it is usual to separate them when you trot a young Horse, or when you are to work one who is disobedient, and resists his Rider; upon these occasions, keep both your Hands upon a Level, low and near your Body: To turn to the right, use your right Rein; to go to the left, use your left Rein; but in order to make them have their Effect, move your Arm gently, turning it a little from your Body, keeping your Hand always low and even near your Boot.

Such are the Principles upon which the Perfection and Justness of the Aids of the Hand depend, all others are false, and not to be regarded; Experience has so much the more evinced the Truth of this, as the new Discoveries which some People imagine they have lately made, have produced nothing but Hands, cold and unactive, without Firmness, whose irregular and capricious Motions serve only to render a Horse's Mouth uncertain and fickle, and who, by their manner of holding them high, have ruined absolutely the Hocks of all the Horses, that they have worked according to these absurd Notions.