Читать книгу A New System of Horsemanship - Bourgelat Claude - Страница 3

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.