Jacques de Solleysel (1617-1680) studied with the Jesuits at Lyon, then went to Paris where he became a student of Menou de Charnizay's. From 1645 to 1648, he accompanied the French plenipotentaries to the peace negotiations in Muenster that led to the Westphalian treaty, which ended the 30 Years' War, an extremely bloody internecine war between the protestant and catholic states in Germany during which approximately half of the population was killed. Jacques de Solleysel socialized with the German riders during this time and learned to speak German perfectly. Upon his return to France, he started a school of horsemanship in his own province (Clapier, close to Saint Etienne). Later he returned to Paris as ecuyer de la Grande Ecurie and assisted his former student Bernardi to organize his own academy of horsemanship on Rue de Conde, which flourished until the death of its founder in 1725. De Solleysel died on his own land in 1680.
His contemporaries praised his integrity, his distinction, and his talents as musician and painter. He was such a gentleman that they said he could have written a book on the "Perfectly Honnest Man", rather than the "Perfect Stable Master".
However, de Solleysel had the weakness of writing, under the pseudonym of La Bessee, great eulogies to himself - to "Monsieur de Solleysel, my master".
He was a veterinarian rather than an ecuyer (up to Bourgelat, both disciplines were united). He established the first serious foundations of hippology and described with precision the conformation and gaits of the "serious" horse. At first, he seems to talk about the race horse, to which he prefers the War Horse and Manege Horse.
"Le Parfait Marechal" was first published in Paris in 1664. The following quotes on grooming and on different breeds of horses is from an English translation issued in 1717.
p. 145-148:
"How Horses are to be Curry'd and Drest
"Let us return again to our Subject, and say, that of Necessity, Horses should be Curry'd, and that to do it well, one Groom cannot take care of or dress above six, and if People desire that he perform his Work well, they should not charge him with any more, for I assure you he would but very badly acquit himself; neither must he have any other Work to do in the House, to the end he may be always about the Stable.
"A Groom should be Skilful, Active, Nimble, Vigorous, and Hardy, should love Horses, and have a desire to perform his Work well; when a Man findeth one with these Qualities, he should not easily part with him; for this Merchandize altho' gross and clownish, is hard enough to be found in many Places of the Country.
"He should then rise early in the Morning, immediately make clean the Manger before his Horses, and give to each of them a good Measure full of Oats, which may contain very near as much as the Crown of a large Hat, which will be near two of these commonly made use of in the Inns.
"He should also truss up their Litter with a wooden Fork, (one shod with Iron being dangerous for pricking) separate the dry from the wet for the next Evening, and take that which is dirty and spoilt to the Dung-hill; he shall afterwards make clean and sweep the whole Stable, and all Day long keep it neat and in good Order with the Broom and Shovel, for it is no-wise decent to see a Horse's Dung lying beneath him in the day Time.
"It is however good during the great Frosts in Winter, to shake down again the Litter beneath the Horses, after it hath been clean'd, and to leave it so all Day long: the Evening or Supping-time being come, he should truss it up again, make clean the Place where it lay, separate the dry from the wet, and shake it down beneath them as in the Morning, for this Method keeps Horses warmer the whole Day long, and their Coat is also preserved more clear and beautiful, during the Severity of the Cold.
"The Horse having eaten his Oats, he shall put a small Watering-bitt or Masticadour (...) in his Head, and shall either lead him out, if the Place will allow it, or otherwise tye him betwixt two Pillars in the Stable, to curry and rub him; for being curry'd within the Stable, his dust will fly upon the rest of the Horses if they are not covered; however, when a Man can do no better, he may dress him within doors.
"Beginning then at his Near or left Side, he shall take the Curry-comb into his right Hand, laying the left upon the Horse's Back, and shall curry him all along his Body both with and against the Hair, behind and before, taking always care not to Place himself behind him for fear of Striking, and this he must continue until the Curry-comb bring away no more Dust; neither must he press it too hard or rudely upon the Horse's Body, but let it go easily and lightly, for it is not Strength that taketh away the Filth and dust, but only the Slight and Dexterity wherewith the Curry-comb is moved, that produceth Cleanness.
"The Dust being thus taken away from the Skin, he shall next take the Hair or Wiping-cloth (which is about Half a Yard of coarse Linen or Woolen-cloth, but many Times they are made of Hair) and holding it by one Corner, shall whisk all his Body over to remove the loose Dust that was upon his Skin; afterwards with the same Cloth he shall clean his Ears within and without, rub him beneath the Jaw-bones, betwixt his Legs before and Thighs behind, and in all other Parts of the Body which the Curry-comb cannot reach; then he shall take the Brush, and pushing the Head-stall of the Water-bitt, or Masticadour, as far Back as he can upon his Neck, (or if he have nothing but a Binding he shall wholly unty it) he shall with his left Hand take hold of the lower Part of his Chin, and brush his Head pretty hard beginning at the Fore-head; but he shall take care not to neglect his Eyes and Eye-brows, because the Dust cleaves strangely to those Places, and thus he shall continue to go over all his Head, always smoothing down the Hair at the last; next he shall brush all his Body, and even his Legs if the Length of the Hair will permit, and shall continue his Work, (still now and then cleaning the Brush with the Curry-comb,) until he perceive no more Scales, Dust, of other Nastyness upon the Horse's Body.
"He is moreover to brush the Mane, both above, below, and within it, by separating the Hair, that so he may take away the Dust that cleaves to it: Last of all, he shall take a Wisp that is made of either Straw or Hay, twisted very hard, about the bigness of ones Arm, and a Foot in Length, which should be moisted in a little Water, (those which are made of Hay are the best for Horses which have a thin and tender Skin) with this he shall pass and repass the Horses whole body, particularly his Legs; for it is upon them that he is to continue his Work for a Quarter or Half an Hour, to divert himself by rubbing the Nerves of the Legs, above and below, with and against the Hair, within the Pasterns, and upon the Joints, that so no Dust or Foulness may remain upon them, and that the Hair may remain as bright and shining as that of the Mane; he shall also with another Wisp, if the first be much worn with rubbing, chafe the whole Nerves of the Legs, from Top to Bottom, and from Bottom to Top, to render them supple, disobstruct them, and facilitate the Passage of the animal Spirits which give them their Motion; so that a Groom cannot rub too much a Horse's Legs in the Morning, and a good hard Hay-wisp is an excellent Stable-moveable: The Hay of those Wisps which have served a long Time, it if be open'd out, dryed, and given to Horses to eat, will give those which are disgusted a good Appetite, because of the Salt of the Dust which hath adhered to the Hay, and penetrated it, I make frequently use of them, provided their Hay have neither a rotten nor musty Smell: There are many Grooms who will not make use of a Hard-wisp, as in Germany where it is not practiced, but that is to dress well the Body and badly the Legs; and a Body without Legs is in my opinion of no great use.
"Some again after they have gone over them with a moist Wisp, have a Piece of green Frize that they moisten with Water, and with this they pass and repass the whole Body, to render the Skin more Smooth and Glossy; this is good, however few French People make use of it, it was the Germans that introduced this Method which is a very excellent one: The English have Whisks of Hair (called Hair-cloaths) that are very good, they are woven of gross Hair-thread, as the country Peoples coarse Cloth is made of that of Wool; with this they wipe their Horses and take away all the Dust, rub them very well betwixt the Legs, Thighs, and all other Parts of the Body whereat the Curry-comb, and Brush cannot come, after which they wash them in a Pail of Water, and so hang them up to dry: I admire that the Use of them has not been brought into France, especially seeing they are both good and cheap, for in England they are very common.
"There are some Horses so very sensible and ticklish, that they will not suffer the Curry comb, yea with difficulty can they endure the Brush; these require to be drest only with the Palm of One's Hand, which is kept a little moist with Water and past flat alongst the Horse's Body as if he were Brush'd: When the Hand is sufficiently cover'd with Dust then it is to be washt and half-dryed, and they must continue thus to pass it with and against the Hair, until they can take away no more Dust, and then at last they should smooth down the Hair, to make it appear more Glossy.
"This Method of dressing a Horse is tedious, but good, because it renders the Skin very beautiful, and keeps the Body always clean; there is not a better for this purpose, and those who have Horses of a very tender and delicate Skin, should never suffer them to be drest otherways.
"For large Horses which have a fine Skin, a Groom should make it his Business to dress them more with the Brush, and Palm of his Hand, than with the Curry-comb, because as they have a delicate Coat, so the Curry-comb scratches and galls them, which makes them oppose their Keeper, and fret and torment themselves to no Purpose; whereas, with a little more Time, the Brush and Hand, as I have directed, would keep them more clean and neat, without giving them so much Trouble with the Curry-comb.
"When a Horse is well drest after this manner, his Sweat, when he is warm, will come from him clear as Water; if he be exactly well drest the first Day with the Hand, the next Morning there will be almost nothing to do, but the first Time he is drest after this Fashion, it will take near three Hours to make him very clean, but afterwards, one Hour a Day will be sufficient.
"After all this, the Groom should comb and gently disentangle the Hairs of the Mane, beginning always at the lower Parts of them, and not at the Roots, then he shall take his Tail in a full Handful, about a Foot from the lower End, and shall likewise gently rid and disentangle it with the Comb, ascending always by degrees, until it be all very well separated: There are some People who will never suffer their Horses Tails to be comb'd, for fear they be pull'd out and shortened by it.
"The Comb, when full of Dust, is to be wash'd, and every Groom, when he is dressing a horse, should have a Pail of Water by him. After he hath, as I have order'd, unravelled and separated the Hairs of the Mane and Tail, he must then take a Piece of Sponge dip'd in Water, into the left Hand, and the Mane comb in his Right, and shall comb down the Mane beginning at its Root, and wetting it with the Spunge after each stroke with the Comb; next he shall comb the Tail, beginning also at its Root, and always smoothing down the Hair upon the upper Part of his Dock with the wet Sponge, after which he shall wipe down the Mane and Tail with a dry Hair-cloth, to remove any superfluous Moisture.
"When the Tail is foul and dirty, which frequently happens to white Horses, then it should be dip'd and soak'd a little in a Pail of Water, and afterwards well scoured and rubb'd betwixt one's Hands: There are some who make use of black Soap, or white in its Place, when it cannot be had: Others again, wash their Horses Tails once every Day and then truss or tie them up neatly, that they may be preserv'd clean when they either go to the City or Country; and if it be in the Summer-time, they also wash their Horses Legs very carefully with a wet Sponge.
"They likewise make, for that purpose, Brushes which are about four Fingers broad, and somewhat more than half a Foot long, that with these they may wash and scour their Horses Legs, and clean them of all the Dust that cleaves to them: These Brushes should be made of Wild-Boar Bristles, and well pitch'd and rozen'd upon the Top, that so the Water may not rot the Pack-thread which fixes the Bristles to the Wood, and those who will not be at this Expence, altho' small, take the Half of any old Brush, wherewith they serve themselves as with the former, after this manner: They first wash very well the Horse's Legs, then rub them with the wet Brush, which must be every Moment dip'd into Water, the Water which first cometh from the Leg thro' the Brush, will be white as Milk, but the Washing and Rubbing must be still continued, 'till the Water come away clear, and then the Leg will be very clean. This Invention is excellent in the Summer-time, but not in Winter, because cold Water founders light siz'd Horses, which are of a more delicate Constitution than others; however, those who have fine Horses and take delight in them, may, in the Summer-time, make use of this Method.
"The Horse being thus Curry'd and Drest, they then put on his Sheet and Mane-cloth, if he have one, and girt it on with a broad Surcingle or Housing girth, which hath two little Cushions about the Bigness of one's two Fists, fast'ned to it about half a Foot distant from each other, and which are placed one upon each Side of the Backbone when the Girth is to be fast'ned; those two little Cushions facilitate a Horse's Breathing, by preventing his being press'd by the Surcingle; then you shall turn him to the Manger, and give him some Hay, which you shall have before shaken, that so it may be both well separated and freed from its Dust, before you throw it before him.
"If People do not shake out that Earth or Dust, which hath adher'd to the Grass, while it was growing in the Meadow when the Water overflow'd it, and that the Water passes over it when it is yet uncut, and that the Horse eat of this Grass when it is made Hay, without being well shak'd and toss'd, it will make him cough extremely, and be prejudicial to his Lungs; as also, if the Water happen to overflow the Meadows when the Hay is cut, this Kind of Hay which hath been in a great Part cover'd with the Mud of these overflowing Waters, altho' it be afterwards well dry'd, and also exactly shaken, yet is most prejudicial to Horses, and worse than the former: You are to suffer your Horses, which are first drest, to eat from the Time they are drest until nine a Clock, and those that are last, till ten."
p. 195-199:
"Of the Shapes of Horses in general, and of Horses of different Kingdoms
"Several people have ask'd me which was the best and most beautiful Horse in the World? To whom I reply'd, that until they told me for what Use they desired him, I could give them no positive Answer, because the most part of the Horses of all these different Kingdoms, are Good and Beautiful in their Sizes, and may be made use of according to their kinds, in that Service for which they are most proper; let us consider then a little particularly the good and bad Qualities which they have. I have seen but few Turkish Horses, and they are of different Races, in respect that the Territories of the Grand Seignior, are very Large and Spacious; the Turk is high set upon his Legs, being of an unequal Stature, is very Beautiful, Swift, and well Winded, but hath very rarely a sure and certain Mouth.
"Altho' the Territories of the Grand Seignior differ very much, not only as to their Climate, but also in respect of their Situation and vast Extent, yet the Turkish Horses which we commonly see in this Kingdom, differ little from the Barb; I have seen some in Germany and other Parts, but almost of the same Size and Stature with them, and those of them which were Coarsest, resembled the Mountain Spanish Horses, and all of them Good and Vigorous, but having, as the Duke very well observes, their Mouths ticklish and uncertain, and many times very difficult to be made sure and fixed, by reason of the Bitts called a la geneste, which they are accustomed to carry in Turky.
"The Turkish Horses live long, and it is no extraordinary thing, in that Country, to see Horses of Thirty Years of age, vigorous, active, clever, and sound in all their Members; the Governour of Buda called Ali Basha, whom the Grand Seignior caused to be Strangled upon suspicion of his keeping Intelligence with the French, had two of the best Horses in his Stable, whereof the youngest was Thirty six Years old, neither did he mount any other in time of Action, altho' he had a good many that were a great deal younger.
"People may chiefly observe three kinds of Horses, all very excellent, which go under the name of Turks, and whereof few come so far North as to us, amongst which shall be ranked first, those of Persia, the most part whereof come from Media where is the Campus Nizeus, from whence Herodotus sayeth there cometh large, bold, and broad Buttock'd Horses, which are strong, vigorous, swift, and great Fatiguers, and which are not to be found but in the Stables of the Basha's, and Grandees of Turky, but never amongst the common Gentry, because of their being sold at a very high Rate.
"After these, are those of Armenia and Arabia, which are of the Persian race, their good Stallions, being Persian Horses, and of those whereof I have been Discoursing, they being no further distant from one another than the breadth of the Persian Gulf; these last are less, and are not of such a stately Size, but are broader Limb'd, less Fiery and Cholerick; but then for their goodness it is incomparable, and it is for that their Prices are so very excessive in Turky; these are also only Horses for the great People in Turky.
"The third kind are the Moresques or Moorish Horses, they are of a middle size, and very swift, enduring fatigue admirably well, and if they had the same stature and stateliness with the Persians, they would be most perfect Horses; of these we see some in France, but they are so very sensible of Cold, that the Winter destroys them, unless they be had a very great care of.
"This is what I have learn'd of that which is most certain concerning the Turkish Horses; for the two first kinds I acknowledge, it is only by hear-say, because I never saw any of them, but for the third I have seen many of them which were very good. And, generally speaking, the Persian Horses are the best in the World, and they are much sought after in Turky and Indostan, whereof also some are found at Babylon, which come with the Caravans from Hispahan; but these are for the most part ambling Horses, which they call Alascia, which are the Horses in the World which make the quickest dispatch, continue longest Healthful and Sound, and which least fatigue the Rider; however, it is not of these I pretend to Discourse, altho' in Europe we have none comparable to them, nor which can endure such fatigue as they: Let us now proceed to the rest.
"I have heard great esteem made of the Neapolitans, and in effect they are brave Horses; those of them which I have seen were of a large Size, however had a great deal of Strength, and abundance of Spirit and Vigour.
"There are different Races in the Kingdom of Naples, whereof some are in great repute, and they are for all Uses; for the War, for the high Manege, as Capriols, Croupades, &c. As also Pad-nags for travelling, out of the Breed at Gravina and several other Places.
"At present the Races of that Kingdom are so degenerate, that they are no more worth any Thing; I have seen many Horses brought from thence, and which were pick'd out of the best Races in the Kingdom, whose Qualifications did no-wise come near those which Authors attribute to them in their Writings, for they had big Heads, were Fierce and Ill-natured, the most part of them being more fit to break a Neck than a Lance.
"I have seen many Spanish Horses, and have also had some my self, they are extremely beautiful, and the most proper of all to be drawn by a curious Pencil, or to be mounted by a King, when he intends to show himself in his Majestick Glory to the People; for they are neither so slender as the Barbs, nor so large as the Neapolitans, but have the perfection of being betwixt the two; the Genet hath a bold and stately Step, a lofty Trot, an admirable Gallop, and a most swift Carriere; they are for the most part neither very Tall nor excessively Broad, and if they be right chosen, there will hardly be found any kind of Horses more noble than they; I have heard remarkable Stories of their Courage, for People have seen their Intrals hanging from their Bellies, through the number of Wounds received therein, and thereby having lost their Blood, yet notwithstanding of all, to have carried off the Rider safe and sound, with the same Courage and Pride with which they brought him to the Field, after which they died, having less Life than Courage; the best Races are at Andaluzia, but particularly that of the King of Spain in Corduba is the best; that of Cardona is very good, as is also that of Molina.
"As for the Barbs, I must confess they are my Favourites, which may be because I have had more of them than of any other kind of Horses; I never knew their equals for the excellency of their Size, of their pure and nervous Force, of their gentle Nature and Tractableness; People say that the Barbs die, but never become old, because they retain always their Strength and Vigour; it is true that they have neither the Step, Trot nor Gallop, so stately as the Genets or Spanish Horses, but when once they are well Re-search'd or put to it, I never saw Horses go so well as they, all sorts of Airs, as well for the Manege de Guerre, Passades, terra a terra, as in the Leaps, and they are the only best Horses for Stallions, provided they be short joynted: An old Nobleman who was a Souldier under Henry IV, told me in France, that he had seen Barbs several times overthrow great Flanders Horses in a Shock. Take the shank Bone of a Barb, which I have several Times made Trial of my self, and you will find it almost all solid Bone, and that it hath no greater Hollow in the middle, than what will scarcely receive a Straw, whereas the shank Bone of a Dutch Horse hath a Hole in it, wherein you may almost thrust your Finger.
"The Barbs are most Nervous, Strong and Swift, and are also excellently well Winded; some of them are Dull and Melancholick, yea even in the Fields until they be awaked, or that there be some thing required of them; the Mountain Barb is the best, he is very couragious, and many of them carry the marks of Wounds they have received from Lions: It is certain that the Courage of Barbs is remarkable, for in Action they always go on until they have their Bones broke, or so long as they have a drop of Blood in their Body; they also bring their Master off from any Battle or dangerous Engagement, where without doubt he would have lost his Life, had it not been for his Horse's Courage, so that they cannot be bought at too dear a Rate, to be made use of upon a Day of Action, altho' to do them Justice in other things, except in that and the Manage, I assure you, they don't like much fatigue, and few of them are able to travel under a Man.
"I learnt of a Gentleman, who enquired in the two Kingdoms of Tunis and Algier, after all those Parts where they bred up Horses, and who saw alll which were any thing good in all those Places; having run through all the most remote Countries of those two Kingdoms, where he bought about Thirty Horses, not having bought so much as one in the Weekly Market of Tunis; he told me that all the Horses of these Countries are Fat, and go without Shoes; their Food being Barley twice a Day, and but a little Straw, and that they cause them to Drink only once a Day, and but little: He had bought a little Nagg of four Years old, with which he had made four or five Days Journies, at about Thirty Leagues at least each Day, without suffering him either to Eat or Drink upon the Way, but only before parting in the Morning, and at Night he gave him Barley, and the other half of his Water, and yet at the end of his Journey his Horse was Hearty and Vigorous, without giving any sign of being fatigu'd; he brought the same Horse to France, where he was not capable to Ride ten Leagues without being so very fatigu'd, that he was not the next Day in a condition to Ride as many; it must therefore certainly be the Climate and manner of Feeding in Africk, which occasions this extraordinary Change and Alteration: They back all their Horses at Eighteen Months old, at latest at two Years, and the first time they mount them, they purposely Gallop and fatigue them for eight or ten Days together, until they either Cold them, or cause them to cast at the Nose and Cough, so that some of them dye thereof; but if they escape, then the more they have Casr and Cough'd, the more they esteem them, saying that after that, they have past their Trial for all.
"They don't use the common Method of tying their Horses by the Heads, they are only made fast by the four Feet, and the Horses and Mares are placed promiscuously together in the Stable, without offering to trouble each other: Yea one shall see the Moors coming to the Fairs and Horse-markets, who alighting in the middle of the Streets, throw the Reins over their Horses Necks, so leaving them, in which Place thy will continue three Hours without so much as stirring from it, altho' other Horses pass and repass both before and behind them.
"They esteem Mares infinitely more than Horses, as well because of their Swiftness, as because they can be three Days without Drinking as they say, whereas a Horse can be but one; when their Horses are sick or indisposed, they have no other Remedy but Firing, which they apply themselves: For example, if they have the Colick, they Fire them beneath the Belly; and if the Vives, then they apply it behind the Jaw-bone; in fine, for all Diseases they use Firing, so that ffor their bery selves they make use of it; if they have a Head-ake, they Fire their Fore-head, and so likewise in all other Diseases the same, as for a Sciatick, the Haunch or Thigh, &c. and they confidently affirm that they are eased by it.
"The People of Quality keep their Horses housed, and Feed them with either a little Barley or Wheat Straw, and with Barley twice a Day; the Commons take no care about the Housing of their Mares, but leave them to take their Fortune with their Horses in the Pastures, where they are kept almost the whole Year, for altho' they make no Hay in these Countries, yet they have in many Places good Pastures: they breed up also many Mules in Barbary, where they are very dear and of great use; and they are the Moors who were driven from Andaluzia which raise up these Mules, and dwell in a very good Country.
"Each family is careful to have a good Horse in the Stable, as well because of the intestine Wars they have among themselves, as because of the Courses they are accustomed to have at Marriages and at other joyful Festivals: They never Shoe their Horses, and this Gentleman told me that since he came to France, he sensibly observed that his Horse's Feet did daily straiten, and become Hoof-bound, notwithstanding any care he could take to prevent it, which is so much the more surprizing, in that the Air and Soil of that Country, are hotter and drier than in France.
"The Reason why there cometh not so very fine Horses to us from Africk, is because those who bring them from Barbary, are Mariners or Masters of Ships, who take indifferently what the Moors bring to them; for provided they get them at an easie Rate, it is enough; whereas if they were Persons skilled in Horses, who went to search after them in those Parts of the Kingdoms of Tunis and Algiers, and other Places where they bring up fine Horses, then we should have excellent ones Transported; but as there is a necessity for a Man to go two or three Days' Journey into the Country, and to lodge in the Tents of the Arabians who Camp in the open Fields, exposed to the hazard of being knock'd down, or at least robb'd, few skilful People will take that Pains, and run those Risks as this Gentleman did, who brought with him the most beautiful Horses, have come from thence to France these hundred Years.
"As for the Frizland and thick knit Dutch Horses, I have seen very beautiful ones in their kind, which went all sorts of Airs in the Manage as well as any, and who had I think a greater disposition for Leaping, because they bended their Fore-legs extremely in that Air, which is the most beautiful Action a Horse can have in any kind of Manage, and which Horses of a light Size very rarely have.
"But they are contrary to the Barbs in one thing, which is, that they soon become old, and are a long time a dying, so that in that case, they are an excessive Charge to their Owner, whereas the Barbs die, but never become old.
"You shall find a thousand strong Dutch Horses fit for Draught, before you find one proper for the Manage, so that you may observe by this, how ridiculous a thing it is to represent the exact and perfect Shape of a Horse, which is just the same as if one should attempt to describe that of a Dog; for certainly the perfect Shape of a Gray-hound, is neither the same with that of a Mastiff, nor with that of a Spaniel, nor that of a Hound, altho' all of them be very well Shap'd in their kinds; it is the same with a Horse, for provided that he have his Neck exactly proportion'd and well placed, and the rest of his Shapes according to the Size, or Product of the Country where he hath been brought up, it is sufficient: A Man should chiefly take notice that the Feet be good, in respect that they are the Foundation, or otherwise the whole Edifice will come to Ruin; if the Pasterns are short and stiff, the Horse will never be nimble, and if they are long and feeble, he will be defective in that Part, neither will he be capable to endure Fatigue: The Italians say that such Horses go upon eight Feet; but the Pasterns to be right, should be short and flexible, because commonly such Horses will be strong and agile: 'And proper to make good Stallions of, because a long jointed Barb would be worth nothing to Breed upon, no more than one which hath too large and fat Feet.'
"It would be an endless Work to Write of mix'd kinds of Horses, because there are so very many of them, and some of them extraordinary Good; those which are short Rein'd and well Coupled, seem to be the most proper for the Manage, in respect that we endeavour to shorten them by Art; for we stop them, pull them back, and put them together, to set them upon their Haunches, therefore a short Horse is sooner Assembled than a long; however I have had many long Horses, which were as good as any short, so that that signifieth nothing to such Persons who are Masters of a little Art: Many People say, that a Horse Charged in his Forequarters, that is to say, which hath his Head, Neck, and Shoulders big and large, is heavy on the Hand, altho' he be of a light Size, because he will rest upon the Bridle Hand, as upon a fifth Leg, just as a lame Person leans on a Staff or Crutch; but in that case it is the Farrier which must assist him, for the Rider's Art will be to no purpose if he understand not Marshalry; others say that a Horse charged in the Forehand, altho' very sound, should yet necessarily press on the Hand, and that on the contrary, a Horse discharged of Flesh Before, should be light on the Hand, but this is no certain Rule, for I have known Horses almost as heavy in the Fore-hand as Bulls, which were lighter on the Hand, than those which had their Fore-quarters extreamly Discharged; they are therefore the strong or weak Reins, which generally make a good or bad Mouth.
"The having of which then doth not consist in having the Fore-quarters large or slender, but only in the Strength and Goodness of the Reins, because the chief thing in our Art of Horsemanship, is to put a Horse upon his Haunches, and he who hath good Reins can endure it, and by the same means will be light on the Hand; whereas if his Reins be weak, he suffers so much, and is so afraid of being set upon his Haunches, that he will without doubt press upon the Bridle-hand to free himself of it, or otherwise his hinder Legs and Hammes will be ruin'd and spoilt; so that one may see that they are only the good or bad Reins, which render a Horse heavy or light on the Hand, and not his Fore-quarters being much or little charged with Flesh.
"Methinks I hear some Ignorant People, who maintain that the more strong and firm Reins a Horse hath, the more difficult he is to be put upon his Haunches; it is indeed difficult to be performed by an ignorant Horseman, but most easy for him who understands his Business, in respect that Nature furnisheth us in such Horses whereupon to work, whereas in others we have nothing at all; and when a Man hath Matter whereupon to work, it is not the Fault of the Horse, but the pure Ignorance and want of Art in the Horseman, if he succeed not.
"It is most certain that strong rein'd Horses, which have their Strength knit, and bound up as it were, and which are stiff, and in some measure want the Use of their Limbs, are most difficult to Dress, that is to say, to be Assembled and put upon their Haunches, because they defend themselves with their great Strength, neither can a Man supple them, but in a long tract of Time; but when they are once suppled, as I assure you he who hath well comprehended the Duke's Lessons, will at last effect by his Method, if he put it exactly in practice, that Person, I say, will make of such Horses somewhat to be admired, because they have a Fund and Resource, and provided they be well winded, one may say that they are good Stuff, and that there is no more required but to make good use of it.
"'Tis true some Horses are so disposed, that they have always an Inclination to Leap, in that case the Rider should follow their Disposition; but then if he do not put them upon their Haunches, they shall never go as just as a Horse should, neither will the Air be so beautiful, no appear so high.
"Some People believe that a Horse which hath a thick Mane and bushy Tail, is commonly dull and heavy, however I have had Horses, whose Manes and Tails were thick and long, and who were notwithstanding as Vigorous, and full of Spirits, as any I ever saw; so that their Rule in this Point is as false, as those Conjectures which they draw from the Colour and Marks.
"The Duke cannot approve of any Conjecture or Mark, which may make a Man know the Goodness, Agility, and Gentleness of a Horse, and saying that he had once a Horse, who having a bad Mark was very good, he would have us absolutely perswaded of the contrary, of what Experience discovers to us; and in like manner, because he once had a well Mark'd Horse, which was worth nothing, he would not have us rely upon any of the Conjectures and Observations, which have hitherto passed amongst us for very good, and that because they are not infallible; I grant they both do and may fail, but that a Man should not at all have regard to them, is what I do not acknowledge, because these Observations, together with the other means he gives, whereby to know exactly a Horse, makes us to have a far more clear and distinct knowledge."
