Jules Jacoulet

“ The history of equitation reaches back to remotest antiquity. The horse has always been used in combat, and here we find the origin or, more properly speaking, the cause of the equestrian art. If man had utilized the horse merely to cover long distances or to bear burdens, sufficient training for the purpose would have been an easy matter. But when he decided to fight from the horse's back he was obliged to develop a complete and logical system of steps in training and handling. ”

“ Riding-hall work should be of short duration. The horse should be often taken out, galloped over good ground and jumped over obstacles. It must not be forgotten that the desirable qualities in an officer's mount are that he shall he perfectly willing, go perfectly straight, and remain perfectly calm, all of which qualities would disappear if he were kept constantly shut up in a riding hall, working at slow and shortened gaits. ”

“ The jigging horse.—Begin by giving the leg lesson until the horse moves freely to the front. When he is well up on the bit, make him half lower the head, keeping the reins taut but following the balancing of the head and neck. Whenever the horse resumes the trot, push him sharply with the legs and then, carrying the body back, exact a half halt to bring him down to the walk.
The horse that gallops when he should trot.—It is almost always because he holds back or because the hind quarters are overloaded that a horse, even a hot-headed one, makes trouble at the trot. ”

“ Feed during training.—As a general rule a horse never eats too much during training. But if he eats heartily and if his legs will stand it increasing the work is sufficient to prevent him from taking on too much flesh, and training in such a case will go on under the best possible condition. This, however, is rarely the case; increasing the work generally decreases the appetite, and it is difficult to make a horse eat more than 14 quarts of oats a day. As soon as a horse stops eating with relish, the gallop should be decreased or stopped, and resumed only when the horse cleans up his oats. ”

“ Amount of work.—Training a service mount for a military steeple chase does not involve such complete conditioning as is required in training a thoroughbred for a flat race. Moderate work should be sufficient to put him in condition, keeping in view the main object which is to bring him up to his maximum strength and energy on the day of the race. First, it must never be forgotten that the less the horse has of pure blood, the less he should be worked into condition for a speed test. ”

“ Change of lead.—Change of lead is nothing more than exacting the gallop lead when the horse is at the gallop. It is the most difficult of leads and must not be attempted until the horse is thoroughly confirmed in the gallop lead from the trot and walk. If the lesson of change of lead is given too soon or if the rider is too exacting at first the horse will slow up and become uncertain in gait. ”

“ A rider should always select a long and powerful neck, with the head well set on. And it should be remembered that we said that in training it is more difficult to raise than to lower the head; a high neck branching firmly from a sloping shoulder will diminish the difficulties of training and will permit the rider to produce more easily a brilliant, well set up horse. ”

“ The kicker.—If a horse has the bad habit of kicking, use the snaffle bit to prevent his lowering the head and at the same time push him vigorously with the legs.
It is a mistake to always hold up a kicker's head; it frequently happens that kicking is caused by some pain in the back or hocks, and, if so, raising the animal's head will merely increase his irritability and incite resistance. ”

“ Part played by the neck in equitation.—When a horse is left to himself and is free to apply his own natural methods, he makes uses of his head and neck as a balancer to keep his forces in equilibrium or to modify their action. If he wishes to go forward, he pushes out his head and extends his neck in order to shift the center of gravity in the direction of the desired movement. If, on the contrary, he wishes to go back, he pulls in his head and shortens his neck, thus starting the mass in the movement to the rear. ”

“ Perhaps, if your horse is too fat, too heavy, I will allow you one more at the end of August, but that is all. For in sane hygiene you should avoid the pit into which many hunting horses in England fall, the destruction of the stomach and intestines by an excess of purges and of drugs intended to give an appetite. Moreover, in France our hunters must be in much finer condition than in England. They are not required to do the same kind of work. A hunter in England must withstand two hours of fast gait and constant effort. ”

“ Should halts be frequent?—The halt should not be frequently practiced on horses inclined to fret nor on those with hind legs set under and thus liable to sit down on the haunches. On the contrary, it should be often used in cases where the conformation throws too much weight on the shoulders. Training is nothing more than the quest of balance, and the halt will be a well-chosen suppling exercise for a horse with a high, powerful croup that makes him difficult to slow up. ”

“ A horse with croup too high and whose weight is on his shoulders will not be trained along the same lines as one with high forehand or weak hind quarters. In one case we must raise the head and force the weight back; in the other we must lower the head and load the forehand. A good horseman must therefore study his horse's conformation and adapt his methods of training to the kind of resistance he encounters. ”

“ Successive steps to accustom the young horse to the curb bit.—In the first lessons in the double bridle, work should be begun on the snaffle bit. When the horse has settled down and is well in hand he can be ridden on the curb. It is to be remarked, and the remark is important, that bending lessons are never to be given in the early stages of work on the curb. For these lessons you must wait until the horse fearlessly accepts contact with the bit and tightens the curb reins as he formerly did the snaffle reins. ”

“ It is self-evident that a horse kept on grass until he is 4 years old needs more nursing than the pure-bred horse that is raised almost from birth on oats.
It is also obvious that conditions of training will differ widely according to the skill of the person in charge. An
expert horseman will finish the work more satisfactorily and more quickly, and his composure and experience will enable him to mount without trouble a younger horse, because, in his hands, there will be none of those struggles that produce blemished animals. ”

“ As a rule any excess of fat disappears with ordinary work.
When giving a sweat, a suitable day and hour should be selected; the horse should be well covered, wrapping especially the parts where there is most fat; work the horse a little at a walk and then gallop him steadily until he is in profuse perspiration; do not hurry about scraping, but let the sweat have plenty of time to exude; uncover the horse little by little and scrape slowly, bearing well on the edge of the scraper to force out the sweat; reblanket the horse and lead him around at a walk for a few minutes ”

“ Take does not consist in drawing the hand back and give does not mean carrying the hand forward and releasing the reins.
Assuming the permanent contact which should exist between the horse's mouth and the rider's hand, take means to fix the wrist and tighten the fingers at the moment of halting or of half halting; give means to relax the wrist and loosen the fingers without losing touch with the horse's mouth; if the horse has been well trained, touch will not be lost, because the horse will himself feel for his rider's hand. ”

“ If you have available only bad or fair footing, do not gallop. By rigidly enforcing a schedule, regardless of conditions, the result will inevitably be injury to the animals. In any case, galloping should not begin outside until the rider is sure of his ability to make his horse lead off freely with either foot. He can then work his mount equally on both sides and can avoid those struggles that put a horse in the air during the whole ride.
Sweats.—A horse should not be sweated at the beginning of training, at least not until his disposition has been ”

“ Put your horse into a slow gallop, keeping him well in hand; make him work his hind quarters and bend his neck a little. The horse immediately begins to blow and in a moment is dripping wet. The sweat is white, and resembles soap suds. Do not go any further; your horse is not in condition, and you must require nothing further of him for the present. Take him quietly back to the stable and for two days put him on bran mash and diet, and on the third day give him a purge. ”

“ Suppose, for instance, a horse that always gallops on the right foot: to lead with the right foot the horse sets the right shoulder in advance of the left. If, therefore, the rider persists, for a certain length of time, in rising from the left diagonal pair, the left shoulder, as has been explained above, will be pushed further forward than the right and the horse will be in a position at a trot that will induce him to lead with the left foot at a gallop. ”

“ All the youths of the French nobility, eager to rise to the dignity of knighthood, received an education in which the first essential was to learn how to ride. Equitation, it is true, was very limited. The lancer's deep saddle, required to resist an adversary's shock, led to a very constrained seat. Methods of controlling the horse were neither accurate nor progressive; the legs held straight and far out from the horse could be closed only by jerks; the overloaded horses necessarily lacked suppleness. ”

“ First, run your hand all over your horse, but mainly over the body, and pay special attention to the croup and neck. If you find the flesh soft and yielding under the fingers, the legs rather round and pasty, have your horse saddled, mount him, and ride him into a ploughed field or upon a road deep with sand. ”

“ At a walk, the head and neck are in constant motion in order to take weight off the legs that are moving to the front and place weight on those that rest on the ground.
At a gallop, the balancer is alternately raised and lowered according as the horse is supported on the hind quarters or on the forehand and is extended or brought in according as the gait is rapid or slow. ”

“ The breeding of a horse (thoroughbred or underbred) , the nature of his feed, and the amount of work he has been equal to in the hands of his breeder are considerations that will allow us to fix upon the date, more or less distant, when he should be fit for service. Training when once begun must be regulated by these same considerations. ”

“ Military schools.— It is important to note that progress in equitation was due not solely to instruction received at the Versailles school, but also to the reforms in cavalry tactics introduced by Frederick the Great. The necessity of having squadrons able to maneuver proved to the King of Prussia that equitation should be the basis of the instruction of the trooper. He built riding halls in all cavalry garrisons and caused the principles of the equestrian art to be taught. ”

“ The first part of the movement is easy enough, but the last part is difficult. Take for instance the right about. Begin the movement like a change of direction to the right, holding the haunches firmly with the left leg. In the remainder of the exercise the controlling aids are the left rein and the left leg. The left rein has first a bearing effect that, assisted by the right rein, swings the forehand on its path; thereafter, it has an effect of diagonal traction, pulling the mass back upon the right hock and thus holding the haunches stationary. ”

“ On hard ground the fetlock joints become fatigued and the lower legs are liable to injury; the horse develops windpuffs and splints. But it would be wrong to work over heavy ground; the hocks would suffer and eventually spavins would appear.
When training has been completed, good results may be obtained by riding a horse with loose reins over bad roads. This forces the horse to take the initiative and as he is allowed complete freedom of the head, he easily gets out of difficulties even on very bad ground. ”

“ As soon as hunting stops, let your horse rest. Exercise him only at a walk and for his health. Take particular care of the legs and lower his condition by cooling mashes, for a horse can not be kept with impunity on such substantial and heating feed the year around. You might then turn him out in a paddock without grass or with grass that you have had cut short. Give him a mash, a full feed of carrots, and only 6 quarts of oats. ”