CHAPTER XXVIII 

 THE PIAFFER 



ANOTHER of the low airs is the piaffer, in which the 

 horse trots, with perfect motion of its diagonal 

 bipeds alternately, yet without progress in any 

 direction. The piaffer is, then, one stage beyond 

 the passage, since it presupposes an even more 

 perfect state of equilibrium and a still further devel- 

 opment of the horse's muscular strength. All mas- 

 ters regard the piaffer as the foundation, the sine 

 qua non, of the whole scientific equitation. 



There are, however, two sorts of piaffer, the slow 

 and the quick. There is also still another kind, that 

 exhibited by a horse which, through excitement, 

 excess of energy, or nervous temperament, cannot 

 stand still. If, then, the rider does not permit the 

 animal to go forward, it prances impatiently on the 

 same spot. Such a mount is annoying and even 

 dangerous to an inexperienced horseman; so that 

 the fault needs to be corrected by a moderate and 

 progressive training, in which the chief difficulty is 

 to stop the creature and to keep it still. 



Both the quick and the slow piaffers are recog- 

 nized by the scientific equitation. They are, indeed, 

 closely related. The quick piaffer, as its name sug- 

 gests, has the more rapid tempo. It is also com- 



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