THE GALLOP, AND THE GALLOP CHANGE—WHEEL IN THE GALLOP—PIROUETTE TURN—HALT IN THE GALLOP

Until the publication of "The Horse in Motion," many of the movements of the horse were but little understood, and of these the gallop was prominent by reason of its importance. In these days, thanks to the quick eye of the camera, there is no action which the horse is capable of making that may not be clearly shown in every phase.

There are several forms of the gallop, but the general principles are the same in all, the variations depending upon the speed and the state of collection of the horse.

In the hand-gallop of three beats the horse goes into air from a fore leg used as a leaping-pole; it then brings to the ground the diagonally disposed hind leg; the other hind leg and its diagonal fore leg are then planted so nearly together that the hoofs give the sound of but one beat; then the first acting fore leg comes to the ground from which the horse again goes into air in a new stride. The horse is said "to lead" with the legs which are advanced in each stride; if the horse goes into air from the right fore leg, it is in gallop right, as the fore and hind legs of that side are advanced beyond the fore and hind legs of the other side. If the horse goes into air from the left fore leg, it will be in gallop left.

In the full-gallop, or racing pace, the secondly planted hind leg is brought to the ground an appreciable time before its diagonally disposed fore leg, and we have a pace of four beats.

The canter, or lope, is a pace of feeble action and of low form of collection in which the diagonal fore leg is brought to the ground before the second hind leg is planted.

In the school-gallop, the most finished form of the pace, the horse is so closely united that the secondly planted hind leg reaches the ground before its diagonally disposed fore leg, and we have again a gallop of four beats.

It will be seen, then, that the galloping horse should be in gallop right in turning to the right, in gallop left in turning to the left, so that a hind leg will be under the centre of gravity as a bearer of the weight when the turn is made. If a horse, in gallop left, be turned shortly to the right, it will almost invariably fall, for as the horse leans over at the turn there will be no support under the mass. A horse at liberty instinctively changes the lead in the gallop as circumstances require; but the mounted horse cannot be depended upon to make the change voluntarily, and the rider should demand the change at the proper time.

Before the appearance of "Modern Horsemanship," no one had described how the horse began the change in the gallop, from right to left or from left to right, or how it was performed. Dr. Stillman, the only author who had touched upon the subject, suggested that the horse changed the lead when in air, but this was a manifestly incorrect supposition; for the photographs show that the hind legs are always committed to a certain stride before the horse goes into air. By riding trained horses in the gallop changes before the camera, I discovered when those movements were begun and how they were made, and I was able to explain how the aids should be applied to produce the changes; for previously, it had been a matter of experiment and tentative practice with each horse that had been taught to make the gallop change. The loose explanations in the riding regulations of every army, and even those of such authorities as Baucher and others, prove this assertion. I am somewhat familiar with the writings of nearly all the authors of standard works on horsemanship, from the days of Grisone to the present day, and I cannot recall a passage in any one of them that would indicate a knowledge of how the gallop change was made, or one that gave a rational explanation of how and why the aids should be applied.

The gallop changes must have been successfully demanded from time immemorial, but, as has been said, it was always considered a difficult performance to procure with certainty and precision, and in many cases was made as a turn was begun, the forehand beginning the change which would leave the hind legs false for that stride.

When the photographs proved that the hind legs were committed to a certain order before the horse left the ground in each leap, it was apparent that the change must take place in the hind quarters as soon as the legs of that part were free to change their order; and that the legs of the forehand must make a corresponding change when they were free, when the gallop change would be finished in one stride, without a false step.

To make the horse change, say from gallop right to gallop left, in any stride, the forces must first be fairly united; the right heel should be applied when the forehand is down, and as the hind legs are leaving the ground; immediately thereafter, as the forehand is rising, the left rein should make a slight play which will insure the change in the fore legs, and the change will be completed without a false step and without any disturbance of the pace.

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The change from gallop left to gallop right may be demanded in a similar manner, the left leg of the rider and the right rein giving the indications.

The gallops previously described are those in which the pace is true, the only forms in which lie ease and safety.

If the horse be in gallop right (or left) and turns to the left (or right), it is false in the gallop, and may fall.

If the horse has gallop right (or left) in the forehand and gallop left (or right) in the hind quarter, it is in the cross-gallop, which is wrong, and the error should be immediately rectified.

To make the horse take gallop right from the halt, the walk, or the slow trot, the rider should first collect the forces of the animal, apply the left heel, and make a slight upward play with the right rein; when given sufficient freedom, the horse will start off with the legs of the right side leading.

Gallop left will be procured in a similar manner by the use of the right heel and the left rein.

In a slow, measured, regularly cadenced pace, the horse should be ridden in the gallop on straight lines and on circles, the rider being careful that the horse is in the true gallop on the turns.

Habitually the horse should be kept in hand, but from time to time closer forms of union should be demanded, until the rider can bring the horse to the half-halt and resume the gallop without struggle or disturbance in the pace.

In teaching the horse to change from gallop right (or left) to gallop left (or right) in the beat of the pace, the rider should put the horse in a slow gallop and after a while bring the animal to a slow trot for a few strides, and from that pace demand the gallop with the other side leading. These trotting steps will be gradually reduced and be replaced by the half-halt, in which the change should be made; and, finally, disregarding the half-halt, the rider will be able to demand the change in any stride without breaking the cadence.

In a slow, united gallop the horse should be ridden on two paths, on straight lines and on circles, in exactly the same manner as in the trot, the horse being in gallop right in passing to the right, in gallop left in passing to the left, the forehand slightly in advance of the croup.

The wheel in the gallop is produced by following a small circle on two paths, the croup toward the centre. When the turn is so short and the union so close that the inner hind leg of the horse remains on one spot, we have the pirouette wheel,—a very important movement for the mounted soldier and a valuable one for many reasons to every horseman.

Many forms of exercise adapted to disciplining the horse in various ways will suggest themselves to the rider. As, for example, taking gallop right on a straight line, bringing the horse to a half-halt, making a gallop wheel, then a change of lead, and returning over the same path in gallop left. Or, passing on two paths in gallop left, coming to a half-halt, changing lead, and going off at a right angle in gallop right. Or, riding in gallop to right (or left) on a single path on the circumference of a small circle and changing lead in the beat of the pace to go on a similar circle to the other hand, making a figure 8 without disturbing the pace.

With a little practice the trained horse may be brought to make a finished halt in any stride of the gallop without shock or danger of injury to the animal. The rider, to obtain this, should accustom the horse to come to a halt from the walk, in answer to the pressure of his legs and an increased tension upon the reins. Then the halt should be demanded in the same manner from the trot. When the horse has been taught the various forms of collection in the gallop, the rider may bring it to a halt in that pace by leaning back, closing his legs against the sides of the animal and raising the bridle-hand, at the moment the hind legs are leaving the ground. The result of this employment of the aids will be to induce the horse to carry the hind legs simultaneously under the mass and so stop the advance; and upon the release of the tension upon the reins the forehand will take a normal position and the halt will have been effected in one stride. This position of the hind legs under the body of the horse gives an elastic bearing that will prevent any shock that might injuriously affect the houghs of the animal. All carefully conducted training is assurance against strains or hurts to the horse, and an animal that has not been schooled is far more apt to slip or in some way injure itself than one that has been taught to perform the most violent movements of the manÈge. Of the scores of horses I have trained, not one ever threw a curb or a spavin while in my hands, and all of them were the better in every way for the work they were called upon to do.

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