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down regularly, he will do so by mere chance. Almost always, the hind legs will be raised and put down at the same time, and consequently the movement will not be a pace.
We should teach the horse the piaffer by calming him down, because he will not understand what is wanted of him, unless he is in a quiet state of mind.
To obtain the piaffer, we ought to collect the horse, by closing the legs, until we touch him with the spurs. It is difficult to explain in a book the exact moment when the spur should reinforce the action of the leg ; in fact, this is evidently a question of tact. It is easier to show this on the ground, because one can then see if the rider uses the spurs too much or too little. As I have already said, the office of the spur is to make the horse yield to the pressure of the leg, when that pressure is not sufficient by itself. Besides, it is necessary for the horse to feel the spurs in order to remain rassemblé'd[1] Also, to make a horse piaffer, we must prevent him going forward, and if we do not use the spurs, he will infallibly throw himself to the right or left by forcing the respective leg. Therefore, we should use the legs sufficiently to steady the horse. Nevertheless, to hold him in check, the spurs should brush his coat.
To get the piaffer[2] we should use light pricks of the spurs ;[3] and, as in all other cases, we should at the beginning be contented with two times.
The question has often been discussed, whether the spurs are an "aid " or a punishment. As I have already said, they are sometimes one, sometimes the other, according to need. During breaking, they ought always to be an "aid," and ought not to become a punishment, unless the animal openly rebels, in which case we should try to find out if the disobedience is due to pure caprice on the part of the horse or to our fault. If caprice is the cause, the spurs ought to punish him. We should remember in all cases that the English very rightly call the spurs "persuaders." ↩︎
The hurried piaffer and the slow piaffer are obtained by the same means. I practise only the slow piaffer. ↩︎
This is what La Guérinière admirably calls "the delicate pinch of the spurs." ↩︎