|
Federico Grisone Ordini die Cavalcare (Ruiterregels) 1550
The goal was to train the war horse to become absolutely obedient in close combat and to react quickly to the rider’s aids.
In 1550, Federigo Griso published his "Riding Rules" (Ordini die Cavalcare) in Naples which advocated his riding methods. The goal of training was to train the war horse to become absolutely obedient in close combat and to react quickly to the rider's aids.
Griso's rules cover the gymnastics of demanding movements such as bending the haunches which is a prerequisite for turns on the hindquarters as well as pirouettes, describes the volte and passage as well as the courbette and capriole which aided the rider in battle manoeuvres and removed him from the danger zone. Griso's means were not very gentle, beating between the ears and other sensitive parts of the body were deemed a preventive panacea in training to suppress unruly behaviour before it started and achieve automatic obedience. Martially constructed spurs drew blood.
His candid description of using force allows the conclusion that brutal subjugation with torture instruments was a generally accepted practice that did not seem to shock anyone. On the other hand, Grison did realize the connection between driving and guarding collection although he came to the wrong conclusion and tried to collect the horse from the front to the back by brutally reigning the horse in, destroying the forward thrust.
Griso's riding rules had fundamental influence. They were translated throughout Europe, setting the trend, and they found many imitators who did nothing to improve them. Pignatelli made his reputation through a torture instrument named after him - a bit that left a lot of port with long levers, just the presence and weight of which hurt the horse's mouth even before activation. The Pignatelli bit was used in many variations all over, right up to the 18th century.
Grison did realize the connection between driving and guarding collection although he came to the wrong conclusion and tried to collect the horse from the front to the back by brutally reigning the horse in destroying his forwards thrust.
DLR gerelateerd:
De behoefte aan totale controle over de bewegingen van het paard en het bewerken van het paard via de voorkant en de stang, om de hals en het nek aan het nageven te krijgen.Het gebruik van hulpmiddelen zoals vandaag de aansnoerneuriem, die ook gebruikt wordt om het paard de mogelijkheid te nemen zich aan de al zeer brutale inwerking van de stang te onttrekken. |
Antoine de Pluvinel (1556-1620), "Le Manage Royal par Antoine de Pluvinel",
The Frenchman, Antoine de Pluvinel (1556-1620), a talented student of Pignelli's did not care to follow the violent guidelines of his teacher. He refused to use corporal punishment or torture with spurs and advocated that the Neapolitans should be treated with more feeling, not only during training but also when teaching them manners as they grew up. Praise and reward were his most important means of teaching the horse to understand what humans wanted from him. His principles were that the voice could be punishment enough, if necessary, and beating should only be used sparingly. He was the first riding master after Xenophon to take the psyche and behaviour of the horse into consideration and to incorporate this into teaching and training. Compared with the Neapolitan Riding School, his teachings were more like a book on the prevention of cruelty to animals, even though horses were still treated rather roughly.
According to the testimony of colleagues, Pluvinel was a perfect rider by the age of 17, completely taken with the art of riding and very sensitive to the horse as a living creature. In Naples, horses were literally broken into resigned dressage machines without any will of their own, injured not only psychologically but also physically by the rough training. Pluvinel did not think much of forced subjugation and endeavoured to encourage his horses to participate of their own free will and to maintain their mental unselfconsciousness. He was also a highly educated man, advancing to riding teacher and intimate advisor to King Ludwig XIII, spending part of his time in foreign countries in diplomatic service. Even his compatriots at court admired his perfect riding skills. Pluvinel's life's work found its zenith in his book on teaching riding, "Le Manage Royal par Antoine de Pluvinel", which was composed as a dialogue and illustrated with wonderful copperplate engravings. Pluvinel did not live to see his work completed, he died in 1620. The book was presented to the King in 1623.
.
It seems rather strange to discover that horse-friend Pluvinel was also the inventor of the pillars, those controversial posts which, in the hands of a bungler, can cause much more harm than good and when used incorrectly can cause a horse to panic. He also expressly warned against the compulsory use of pillars. Pluvinel rode in a contemporary saddle in the traditional fork seat but rejected the hefty spur action that automatically occurred because of the rider's fully stretched legs. He oriented dressage movements to the horse's natural moving behaviour, advocated thorough gymnastic exercises to strengthen the horse's supporting structure as well as the haunches for bending, and he rejected bridles with an action that was too strong.
Pluvinel did not view horses as dressage objects without a soul but as sensitive creatures and his view culminated in his words, "We must take care not to discourage the horse and suffocate its natural grace which is like the flowery scent of fruit that will never return if it is lost!" Pluvinel was a riding arena academic who viewed riding as an end in itself, a view generally accepted right up into the 18th century.
|
|
William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle (1592-1676)
"The New Way to Break in Horses "
, was an English cavalry officer who left England in 1645 because of the revolutionary confusion and spent 15 years in Antwerp as a riding teacher before he returned to England in 1660, where he was later awarded the duke title.
In 1658 he published his teachings on riding, "The New Way to Break in Horses " which was distinguished by numerous absurdities, mainly serving the purpose of presenting himself. The work was illustrated with copperplate engravings by Ruben's pupil, Diepenbeeke, which were really the only thing of merit in the whole book, even if they only served to glorify the Duke. Some of the text is in crass contradiction to the illustrations. For example, Cavendish advocated a dressage method that corresponded to the natural movement behavior of the horse while the illustrations show horses with draw reins (which the Duke was supposed to have invented), drawn together from front to back in a forced position.

Adoration of the horse, the Duke of Newcastle allows himself to be celebrated on the back of the winged Pagasus while they hover up into some heaven-like realm.
Draw reins, an unfortunate inheritance from the Duke, have triumphed right up to the present day in the hands of people with no horsem anship. On another page he rejects all of the teachings on riding prior to his own as incorrect even though he borrows from their words. His knowledge on riding was limited to collected paces, artificial backward movements and violent subjugation of the horse. He praised himself for being able to force every horse into obedience which means that he played the game of fear and used rough force. Since the Duke was very lively and his writing style was amusing, his book was well received, causing a lot of harm at the horse's expense, for example with his draw reins which have not been eradicated even to this day. If it were not for the outstanding illustrations, these teachings would have been quickly forgotten.
Draw reins, one of the Duke of Newcastles' inventions, attached here to a cavesson, is a plague for the horse even today. Attaching them high on the saddle (instead of at the lower part of the breast) and the preposterous knick of the horse's head and neck demonstrates the Duke's cruel riding methods.
William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle Cavalry officer in Antwerpen en Engeland 1660 The way to break in horses.
Cavendish invented the side reins. He advocated a dressage method that corresponded to the natural movement behaviour of the horse while the illustrations show horses with draw reins, drawn together from front to back in forced positions. On another page he rejects all of the teachings on riding prior to his own as incorrect even though he borrows from their words. He praised himself for being able to forze every horse into obedience which means that he played the game of fear and used rough force. Since the Duke was very lively and his writing style was amusing his book was velll received, causing a lot of harm at the horse’s experience. If it were not for the uitstanding illustrations, these teachings would have been quickly forgotten.
DLR-gerelateerd:
Doelgericht gebruik van de knik bij de derde halswervel en het verbuigen van de paardenhals en het verzoek het paard zijn eigen initiatief te nemen. Eveneens herkenbaar de bewering, dat met deze methode nieuwe grenzen overschreden zouden zijn. Ook de stijl van Cavendish over zichzelf , zijn methode en andere hippologen te praten komt sterk overheen met diegene van een vooruitstaande vertegenwoordiger van de DLR-methode. (Ik meen mij te kunnen herinneren, dat hij eens in een interview beweerde, dat hij met zijn methode instaat zou zijn een ezel te leren piafferen.) Het grote verschil tussen, wat beweerd wordt en hoe de lichaamsuitdrukking van de paarden zich voordoen, die volgens de methode opgeleid worden is eveneens een parallele met het historische pendant op sommige punten.
|
. Francois Robichon de la Guérinière (1688-1751), "L'Ecole de Cavalerie"
Dressage started to reform in the first half of the 18th century. Francois Robichon de la Guérinière (1688-1751), who had operated a riding school in Paris since 1716 and had been called to Ludwig XV's court as trainer in 1730, published a work called "L'Ecole de Cavalerie" three years later that surpassed everything that had ever been written, which not only banned torturous riding equipment but also thoroughly changed traditional riding methods. He found a comrade-in-arms in his colleague, Gaspard de Saunier, who published his book "L'Art de la Cavalerie" in 1756, protesting the use of force. His thesis was, "The less metal in the horse's mouth, the better the horse feels!"
Francois de la Guérinière (standing) with a riding pupil who demonstrates "shoulder-in", a movement invented by Guérinière
Guèrinière was a genius when it came to riding and he by far surpassed all of his predecessors. He is significant not only because he put an end to torturing horses but especially because he advocated a riding method appropriate for the horse which did not demand subjugation but a partnership practically free of force and violence. He reduced the risky use of pillars to a minimum, rejected the contemporary saddle which only allowed a fork seat with stiffly stretched legs, induced bloody spur marks and did not allow the leg to be used as an aid. He introduced a light, flat saddle which, in principle, is still used today, allowing the rider to sit with a relaxed seat, brace his spine, hold his knees at an angle and differentiate leg aids.
Guérinière recommended the piaffe as the basis for all of the high school dressage movements.
His principle was to collect the horse from the back to the front and not to impede forward thrust. He rejected all reins that used force such as draw reins and all torture instruments á la Pignatelli, preferring bits that had only a mild effect. He realized that for collection a state of being relaxed and a sort of submissiveness were indispensable prerequisites for answering finer aids as well as for obedience by the horse's own free will.
If the horse is suitable, the bending of haunches is the first step to high school movements.
He advocated gymnastic exercises to improve the flexion of the horse in lateral movements, to eradicate the stiffness of the horse's natural crookedness. The movement "shoulder-in" is his invention which, although it does not represent a natural movement of the horse, serves as a means to an end to make the spine more flexible on both sides. The piaffe and, in conjunction with it, the bending of haunches which lead to strengthening the muscles that support the hindquarters and also help the horse in learning to find his balance, were deemed the basis of all demanding dressage movements and have the goal of self-carriage. His teachings on riding found unanimous recognition in Europe's riding scene and still serve as a guideline for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, although with some deviation.
|
|
Francois Baucher (1796 - 1873 "Methode der Reitkunst nach neuen Grundsätzen"
In France, during the 19th century, a riding master caught attention because he boasted that he could train practically any horse. Francois Baucher (1796-1873), who operated his own private riding school, not only trained cavalry officers but also appeared in a circus for quite a while. In 1843, he published his teachings on riding called "Methods of the Art of Riding According to New Principles" which were also translated into German. His teachings were controversial although they did find some followers in Germany for awhile, but were mainly rejected. His theoretical expositions, however, do contain proved and very knowledgeable notes concerning the ability to collect Thoroughbred and Warmblood types of horses whose anatomy - as opposed to the baroque horses - is less suitable for pronounced bending of the haunches, and therefore find it more difficult.

Francois Baucher tried to collect the horse without lowering the hindquarters so as not to overstrain them.
"Placing the mountain goat at the peak of a mountain", the hind hooves come closer to the front hooves, the horse head lowers. An exercise to stretch the back muscles and help the horse learn to find its balance according to Francois Baucher (Ruth Giffels).
A lesson attributed to Baucher for stretching and exercising back muscles which also helps the horse find its balance ("placing the mountain goat on the peak of a mountain") has proved to be useful to this day for horses with a well balanced anatomy. The riding rules of the Cadre Noir in Saumur are mainly based on his theories. Eye witnesses, who experienced Baucher's riding art in practice, reported on forceful muzzling and brutal subjugation of the horse which robbed it of impulsion and the joy of moving. Baucher, on the other hand, considered himself the new spirit in an outdated riding system and tried to achieve a high degree of collection with Thoroughbred and Warmblood type horses even though they were less suited than the baroque horses for pronounced collection because of their anatomy.
Since deep bending of the haunches in conjunction with a lowered croup and a sloped, upward direction of the body could not be achieved with this type of horse - as opposed to the baroque horses - he advocated maintaining the body horizontally so as not to overstrain the horse. Perhaps, if eye witnesses are correct, he sometimes resorted to forceful means to collect a horse that was anatomically less suited?
Gerelateerd met DLR:
Niet meer werken met de Hankenbeugung en geen echte verzameling willen bereiken. Argumenten, dat de hedendaagse paarden anders gebouwd waren, en daarom anders te rijden waren. Sterke concentratie op de hals en nek van het paard en het stretchen. Baucher bewerkte zijn paarden ook op stal in de halshouding en flexte. Ook de menselijke eigenschappen van Monsieur Baucher komen overheen met diegene van voorstaande vertegenwoordigers van de LDR-methode. Ook hij beweerde, dat zijn vorm van training revolutionair was en een echte aanvulling of verderontwikkeling van de klassieke leer.
Er moet wel worden vertelt, dat Monsieur Baucher op latere leeftijd zijn leer behoorlijk heeft aangepast
Binnekort aanvulling: James Fillis |
Gustav Steinbrecht, Das Gymnasium des Pferdes
During the 19th century in Germany, two decisive opponents of Baucher who were already highly regarded in riding circles as outstanding riders made a name for themselves. The Prussian riding master, Louis Steeg, a pupil of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, ran a private riding school in Berlin. He followed the principle "The forward movement is the fundamental concept of all riding, impulsion develops from the horse's hindquarters", a rule that still stands true today, but perhaps needs to be underlined more strongly in view of the effect Baucher had. Steeg's teachings on riding, which were recognized everywhere, were published in 1844.

Seeger's honorable successor was his pupil, Gustav Steinbrecht, who followed in Seeger's footsteps ideologically in sum and substance and became well known for his famous saying, "Ride your horse forwards and straighten him". Steinbrecht's life work, "Gymnasium of the Horse", appeared the year he died in 1885, which became trend setting in Germany and has remained valid to this day. The value of both of these teachings as far as the principle is concerned is based on the knowledge that thorough gymnastic exercising of the horse, making him fit for dressage, provides the horse with the necessary strength for bearing the weight of the rider and that sensitively reacting to the horse's psyche will make him a willing co-operator of his own free will.
Military cavalry troops used for fighting became a thing of the past more than half a century ago. The last cavalry units in German riding history went to battle towards the end of World War II in the years 1943-1944 to fight partisans in the East behind the front. As the age of the cavalry drew to an end, essential elements of military riding rules were reflected in the guidelines for dressage in civilian sport which began to take root in the second half of the 20th century. Through the selective breeding of Warmblood dressage horses for shows, not only did the capacity for dressage improve but the demands placed in the dressage ring also increased. In the meantime, movements from the classic art of riding, limited to school movements on the ground, have been included in the tests. Sometimes even Thoroughbreds, who do not meet racing performance requirements, are discovered as random talents for high school movements.
|
|
Cadre Noir, France's Elite Riders.
Since the Cadre Noir was committed to military requirements right from the beginning, the training program
included cross-country and jumping as well as dressage. Since riders were trained on Thoroughbred
and Warmblood types of horses, the Cadre Noir relied on the teachings of Francois Baucher.

Re-enactment by Sauteur, courbette, static carriage without bent haunches and forward jumps.
In recent times, this elite corps which, in the meantime, had become a part of the training team of the National Riding School, increasingly
trained riders for participation in horse shows. The Cadre Noir's understanding of riding is increasingly directed to modern types of horses and
the guidelines of international shows while the Spanish Riding School in Vienna preserves the traditional baroque art of riding.
Re-enactment by Sauteur, croupade, the front hooves remain on the ground.
Re-enactment by Sauteur, capriole, which corresponds to the capriole of the Spanish Riding School.
Relatie met DLR:
Ik zelf heb een directe vergelijking tussen de klassieke school van de Spaanse Rijschool en het Cadre Noir kunnen maken, door beiden aan het werk te hebben gezien. In de uitvoering van het Cadre Noire miste ik de verzameling via de Hankenbeugung en observeerde ik zeer vaak een halshouding kort in de hals en achter de loodlijn. De paarden waren vaak niet echt verzameld en gingen in een harder tempo met vaak meer stelling dan buiging. Vaak durfden de paarden niet met vertrouwen aan het bit te rekken. |
T
he Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Die Urdirectiven
which was originally founded in 1572 but moved to its final domicile in 1735, has carefully cultivated the riding traditions of the French riding master, Francois Robichon de la Guérinière.
Gelijktidjig met de la Gurieniere werd ook in Wenen een boek geschreven over de Directieven. Dit boek werd pas in de jaren 80 in Wenen ontdekt. Het is niet duidelijk wie het nu heeft geschreven, maar het was begin van 1700, dus geliktijdig met de oevres van de la Gueriniere. De vondst van dit boek maakt aannemelijk, dat de ideeën van het sinvolle training van het schoolpaard aan het begin vrij onafhankelijk van elkaar ontstonden, maar veel overeenkomsten vertonen en uiteindelijk in een school bij elkaar kwamen.

Throughout the centuries to the present day, their training program for horses and riders has continuously remained at the very highest level.
Spanish Riding School in Vienna, high school movements on the ground, for example, pirouette
High school movements above the ground, for example, the pesade with weakly bent haunches and the levade with strongly bent haunches.

The Vienna School's style of riding is still oriented to a baroque horse type, the Lipizzaner. The breeding of this type of horse had faded into the background by the end of the 18th century in favor of Thoroughbred and Warmblood type horses since these, through the change in riding history, had become more in demand. With the increasing enthusiasm of the numerous practicing riders, especially in the hobby area, who had decided on the classical art of riding and Spanish or baroque types of horses, the Vienna School, which had been rather quiet in the past, once again became a role model.
High school movement, for example, the capriole.
|