CHAP. XVI.Of Pesades.
ThePesade takes its Name from the Motion of the Horse, which, in this Action, leans and lays all the Weight of his Body upon his Haunches.—To be perfect, the Hind-feet which support the whole ought to be fix'd and immoveable, and the Fore-part of the Horse more or less rais'd, according as the Creature will allow, but the Fore-legs, from the Knee to the Feet, must always be extremely bent and brought under him.
TheProperty of the Pesade is to dispose and prepare a Horse for all sorts of Manages; for it is the Foundation of all the Airs: Great Caution, however, must be had not to teach your Horse to rise up or stand upon his Haunches, which is making aPesade, if he is not quite exact and obedient to the Hand and Heel; for in this Case you would throw him into great Disorder, spoil his Mouth, and falsify the Apuy, would teach him to makePoints, as they are called, and even make him becomerestive; inasmuch as the generality of Horses only rise up to resist their Rider, and because they will neither go forward nor turn.
YourHorse then being so far advanced as to be fit to be tried and exercised in the Pesade, work him upon the Walk, the Trot, and Gallop; stop him in the Hand, keep himfirm and moderatelytogether; aid with the Tongue, the Switch, and your Legs; the Moment you perceive he comprehends what it is you would have him to do, though never so little, encourage and caress him.—If in the Beginning of this Lesson you were to use Force or Rigour, he would consider the Strictness of your Hand, and the Aids of the Legs, as a Punishment, and it would discourage him. It is therefore proper to work gently and by degrees; whenever then he makes an Attempt to rise, caress him; make him go forwards, try to make him rise a second time, either more or less, and use him by degrees to rise higher and higher; you will find that he will soon be able to make his Pesades perfect, and to make four, or even more, with Ease and Readiness; sluggish and heavy Horses require in the Beginning stronger and sharper Aids.
Thereare other Horses who are apt to rise of themselves, without being requir'd to do so; drive them forward in order to prevent them.—Some in making the Pesade, don't bend and gather up their Fore-legs, but stretch them out, paw, and cross them one over the other in the Air, resembling the Action of a Person's Hands who plays upon the Spinnet; to these Horses you mush apply the Switch, striking them briskly upon the Shoulders or Knees.—There are others, who in the Instant that you endeavour to make them rise, availing themselves of the Power which they have from being puttogether, in order to perform this Action, throw themselves forward in hopes of freeing themselves from all Subjection; the only Way to correct such Vices, is to make the Horse go backward the same Lengthof Ground, that he forced and broke through.—There is another kind of Horses, who to avoid beingput togetherin order to make a Pesade, as well as to resist the Rider, will fling their Croupeinandout, sometimes to one side, sometimes to the other; in this Case, if you perceive that your Horse is apt to fling his Croupe more to the Left than to the Right, you must put him to the Wall, the Wall being on the Left-hand, and there support and confine him with your Right-leg, and evenpinchhim if there should be occasion; taking care to carry your Hand to the Right, but imperceptibly, and no more than what will just serve to shorten the left Rein.
Ifhe throws himself to the Right, you must put him so as to have the Wall on the Right; you must support and pinch him with your Left-leg, and shorten your Right-rein by carrying your Hand to the Left.—I must however repeat it over and over, that in a Lesson of this kind, in which a Horse may find out Methods and Inventions to resist and defend himself; I say, in giving such Lessons, the Rider ought to be Master of the surest Judgment and most consummate Prudence.
Moreover, you should take care not to fall into the Mistake of those who imagine that the higher a Horse rises, the more he is upon his Haunches.—In the Pesade, the Croupe is pushed back, and the Horse bends his Haunches; but if he rises too high, he no longer sits upon his Haunches, for from that Moment he becomes stiff, and stands straitupon his Hocks; and instead of throwing his Croupe back, he draws it towards him.
ThoseSort of Pesades, in which the Horse rises too high, and stiffens his Hocks, are call'dGoat-Pesades, as they resemble the Action of that Animal.
TheAids that are to be given in Pesades are derived from those used to make a Horse go backward.—Place your Hand as if you intended to make your Horse go backward, but close your Legs at the same time, and he will rise.—For this reason nothing is more absurd than the Method which some Horsemen teach their Scholars, who oblige them, in order to make their Horses rise, to use only their Switch; they must certainly not know that the Hand confining the Fore-part, and the Rider's Legs driving the Hinder-parts forward, the Horse is compell'd, whether he will or no, to raise his Shoulders from the Ground, and to throw all the Weight of his Body upon his Haunches.