I’ve just recently discovered that Google Book Search has scanned in a translation of the book of François Robichon de La Guérinière “Ecole de Cavalerie” (a translation made by William Frazer).
You can directly have access for free to this rare translation!
Click on François Robichon de La Guérinière “Ecole de Cavalerie”
That is a statement of François Robichon de La Guérinière, (1688-1751) a French riding master who wrote a book about schooling horses.
It’s his conclusion when Guérinière talks about unwillingness in horses in his book.
He writes about timid horses, cowardice, laziness, malice, skittish horses, vicious, angry, stubborn, balky and obstinate horses.
Unwillingness in horses ordinarily results from two causes, according to Guérinière: either exterior faults or those that are interior.
Take a look what François Robichon de La Guérinière is saying:.
François Robichon de La Guérinière (1688-1751) was a French riding master who had a profound effect on the accepted method for correct training of the horse and is one of the most influential grandmasters on the art of riding off all times.
He was born in France as a son of a lawyer and during his life he earned him an excellent reputation as an instructor and rider.
In 1715 he received the title from the French Royal Court as ‘Ecuyer du Roi’, which entiteld him to give lessons.
In 1730 he became director of the Royal Stables, which had been founded by Antoine de Pluvinel, Louis XIII’s teachers.
In 1730 book ‘ Ecole de Cavalerie’ was published. It consists of three parts: Knowledge of the Horse In and Out of the Stable, Training and Treatment of Illness.
The part ‘Training’ of Ecole de Cavelerie is a revolutionairy book on riding and one of the best works on equitation ever to appear in France.
What the γυμνάσιο (gymnasium) was for the young Greek, the institution in which he developed the gifts of his body to the fullest and the greatest harmony through daily exercises, that is the riding arena for the horse.
In the arena we do horse gymnastics where we develop the horse’s muscle structure through a system of stages of ever-increasing exercises.
These exercises follow one another in a logical sequence to enable the muscle to easily put the skeleton into the carriage it requires for service under saddle and to move with strength and agility.
Photo: Gustav Steinbrecht (1808 – 1885)
Lateral bending in the body is one of the first exercises and a very important one. Because of the lateral bending, the inside hind leg will step under the point of weight. This is the beginning of shoulder-fore and shoulder-in and it is the basis for all dressage training up to its highest perfection.
© Das Gymnastium des Pferdes – Gustav Steinbrecht – ISBN – 978-86127-357-8
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