110 ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



LE COMTE D'AURE 



The Comte d'Aure was Commandant at Saumur in 

 1847, and he taught that the legs should be placed so 

 as to be ready to immediately press the horse forward. 

 He made use of the pressure of the reins against the 

 neck to maintain the quarters in line with the shoulders, 

 and he kept in constant touch with the mouth by 

 pressing the horse against the bit. His horses answered 

 readily to the spur, and were obedient to the hand ; he 

 had also extraordinary power of getting the best out of 

 them, because he seized at once every favourable 

 opportunity, and he helped his horses to make the most 

 of themselves. 



So far as regards the rider's seat, his principle was 

 that the back should be kept supple and the seat bones 

 pressed as far under as possible ; he taught that the 

 rider's body should be as free from stiffness in the 

 saddle as a sack of corn, which, by the way, can be 

 quite upright. In fact, as I have tried to explain in 

 this book, the secret of fine horsemanship is the ability 

 to keep the muscles of the body, legs, and arms relaxed 

 and supple whilst working. 



ROUSSELET 



General I'Hotte considered Rousselet, Commandant 

 at Saumur, 1832, one of the most remarkable of horse- 

 men after Baucher and the Comte d'Aure. He treated 

 his horses with the same courtesy as he did his friends ; 

 there was not anything rigorous or excessive in his 

 methods. He believed in studying the laws of nature ; 

 he did not try to force a horse to do what nature had not 

 fitted him for, and he gave them an appearance of 

 liberty, while at the same time insisting on obedience. 

 His regard was kind and his caresses gentle, whilst the 

 tone of his voice was low and soft. 



