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to do so, until he leads with the off fore.[1] As soon as he has done three or four strides on this leg, I stop him, pat him on the neck and let him walk round the school in perfect freedom. After that I do the same exercise three or four times.[2]
Baucher, by a singular error, recommended lateral equitation for starting at the canter. In his edition of 1846, page 219, he advised for starting with the off fore leading, to carry the hands to the left — which would put tension on the right rein — and to apply the right leg. I attribute this error to the bad flexion of the neck which he practised. The neck being low and bent at the withers to the right, causes the left shoulder to be rounded, and the effect of the left leg would bend the two ends of the horse towards the inside, that is to say, to bring his head and croup towards each other. The effect of the right leg, on the contrary, is to partly remedy a bad equilibrium resulting from the faulty flexion of the neck. How could Baucher reconcile this practice with his great principle — in turning — of " applying the leg of the side opposite to which the turn is made " (Edition of 1846, page 189)?
If the horse starts disunited, that is to say, if the forehand canters to the right, and the hind quarters to the left, we should increase the action of the " aids " to obtain the canter which we require, and if the hind quarters in this case are disunited, we should use the left leg energetically.
I advise beginners who find some difficulty in understanding the canter, to exercise prudence, for there is nothing worse than to try to remedy a fault which does not exist. At first, lean forward a little, so as to see with which leg the horse canters. If the right shoulder is in advance when the fore feet come down, we may be certain that he is leading with his off fore. We should now feel our seat, and the regularity and suppleness (ease) of the displacement of the body will tell us if the canter is well united, in which case the horse will be leading with the off hind as well as with the off fore. But if the displacement of the seat is done in a jolting manner and with a double shock, the canter will be disunited, and the near hind will be leading.
We can then, but only if we are absolutely certain, use the left spur to drive the hind quarters to the right, and keep the left leg close to the animal's side, in order to force him to remain united. ↩︎
I have already said that we should always finish with the new work, so as to impress it on the memory of the horse. ↩︎