Notes on equitation and horse training/Question 27
XXVII.
Function of the legs.—The legs act on the hind quarters. Their business is to communicate the rider's will to the horse in order to move him straight to the front, to make him extend or increase his gaits, and to start him in movements of all kinds. It is also their special business to control the haunches, to restrict them to the direction pursued by the shoulders or to swing them in reference to the shoulders. Finally, they are used to collect the horse by bringing his hind legs closer to the center of gravity.
To recapitulate, the legs have three effects:
- (1) To produce a forward movement.
- (2) To swing the haunches in reference to the shoulders.
- (3) To bring the hind legs under.
The simultaneous action of both legs produces a double pressure to which the horse should respond by moving to the front.
The action of a single leg, while it incites motion, forces the weight of the hind quarters toward the opposite side. Thus, for instance, if the rider closes his left leg, he produces two effects: a general forward movement of the mass and a right lateral movement of the haunches.
Unison of the legs.—Whenever one leg acts to swing the haunches, the opposite leg must receive the mass in order to limit and rectify the movement. The legs, therefore, should always be close enough to the horse to act without sudden jolts and to lend mutual assistance.
A horse is in the legs when he obeys at the slightest indication and when the gentle closing of the calves is sufficient to make him move out boldly to the front.[1]
Perfect obedience to the legs is to be considered as the characteristic sign of successful training.
In the use of the horse everything is based upon the movement to the front; the upper aids merely utilize and direct the impulse produced by the lower aids; and if this impulse is wanting or is incomplete, the horse escapes more or less from the rider's control. We have said several times that the lesson of the legs must take precedence over all others and that it is necessary to return to this lesson every few minutes during the whole period of the instruction of the young horse.
A horse is behind the legs when he remains indifferent to their action either through sluggishness or unwillingness.
A horse behind the legs is, as a natural result, behind the bit. He is completely out of his rider's control; this is the beginning of obstinacy.
Length of stirrups.—Our regulations (French) say:
The stirrups are suitably adjusted if the tread of the stirrup is level with the top of the boot heel when the trooper is sitting properly on his horse, with the knees closed and the legs hanging naturally.
In his treatise on equitation, Count d'Aure admits the same principle but states it less precisely. According to him, "the tread of the stirrup, before the foot is inserted, should be at the height of the rider's heel."
In the Austrian cavalry the stirrups are worn somewhat shorter. Their regulations say:
The trooper adjusts the stirrups so that the tread shall be about 1 inch above the seam at the heels. If, from this adjustment, the trooper stands in his stirrups, there will be a space of four fingers between his crotch and the saddle.
The German regulations give the same instructions as the Austrian. (See also paragraph 247, U. S. Cavalry Drill Regulations.)
When the stirrups are too long, the rider is said to be on his crotch (fork seat); he loses all stability; his legs flap about the sides of the horse and act with neither strength nor accuracy.
When the stirrups are too short, they support more than the weight of the legs; they raise the knees and thighs and force the seat back. The trooper is then said to be hung up, and, although he has a stronger support in the stirrups, he is less secure, because he is not so far down in the saddle. Moreover, the legs necessarily become rigid; they lose all freedom of movement and in consequence all nicety (of action as aids).
The stirrups, then, should be neither too long nor too short. But of the two faults the latter is the more serious; a trooper can shorten his stirrups without anxiety, whereas he feels a certain reluctance about lengthening them. It is to be noticed that the man who loses his suppleness or his confidence always has a tendency to diminish the length of his stirrup straps.
Position of the foot in the stirrup.—At least one-third of the foot should be inserted into the stirrup; the heel should be slightly lower than the toe; the part of the sole of the foot included between the joint of the great toe and the little toe (ball of the foot) should rest upon the tread.
The support should be secured mainly on the inside portion of the foot; this method results in closing the knee and holding the lower leg in proper position.
- ↑ In the United States Cavalry Drill Regulations a horse is described as "leg wise when he obeys the lightest correct combined action of the rider's legs." Although this definition is almost identical with the first clause of the definition of "in the legs" as given in this text, the second clause establishes the difference in meaning. To understand a signal is one thing, to be ready to move at the signal is another.