Considerations when Studying the Old Masters

Many classical riding enthusiasts plunge headfirst into reading the original texts and frequently become daunted by what they read. Some masters contradict others, and some contradict modern understanding altogether. The language, of course, is also a challenge in itself. Then, there are also disturbing passages that make us modern readers cringe. So, is it worth reading them or not?

In my opinion, it is definitely worth reading, but we have to keep in mind many different things as we read these passages. As someone who has studied classics and period texts, sometimes in the original language, these things are second-nature, but to those who have not learned how to read period texts, its daunting if not impossible to read the texts without these contexts. Those who aren’t used to bearing context in mind may be turned away by one negative passage or may hold the entire text as infallible, leading to other problems. We have to remember that these authors were, in fact, human, and therefore, their texts are based on their experiences, their values, and their own biases. However, they were also greatly respected horsemen of their time and held timeless wisdom.

Politics

One of the most important contexts to remember when reading the Old Masters is politics. As most of these horsemen were funded by the royal courts, they were not immune to the politics of their countries and courts. We see a lot of this feuding back and forth between the English and Italians and later the French and Germans. These biases bleed throughout the texts; authors complain about generalities of other nationalities and how bad their horsemanship is, finding any number of things to complain about.

There’s also internal politics that come to the forefront. French history is a dramatic and excellent example. We see a huge shift in horsemanship writings between the 1700s and the 1800s. Why would that be? Look at history: we have the French Revolution, the French Republic, Napoleon, the reinstatement of the monarchy, and then another republic. All in less than a century. With the Revolution came the dissolution of the court riding school at Versailles, so French riding masters had to make do with what they could with the rapid changes to their daily lives. Horsemanship was forced to adapt to new fashions imposed by new political climates.

Fashions/Fads

This brings us to the next contextual element to remember: fads and fashion. This has a very powerful impact on writings. Steinbrecht is a great example. He constantly talks about bringing the horse’s heads down, down, down, but look at other writings that existed at around the same time, namely one very famous novel: Black Beauty. What was the fashion? Tightening the overcheck rein until the heads were raised to the limit, and the horses were in pain. Therefore, it would make sense that a veterinarian and horseman like Steinbrecht would be emphatic about dropping the head down. Does that mean he was wanting long and low? Or just perhaps more what we consider “natural carriage,” which was certainly lower than the fad? That’s another topic for another day, but it’s something to ponder. There are countless other fads and fashions that color different horsemen’s approaches.

Types of Horses

Another element to remember is that the types of horses were not always the same throughout the centuries. Medieval and Renaissance horses were smaller and stockier, more like old-fashioned Iberians or Morgans. However, as warfare changed, they used larger horses that could cover more ground more quickly. Therefore, authors started to change what they promoted. Earlier writers promoted more collected maneuvers and low airs, but the later writers warned against collecting too much. Why? The horses were less able to handle those kinds of loads. Does it mean one is better than the other? Of course not, but we can use the information from different eras to apply to different horses. Perhaps those of us with warmbloods would do better with later authors, and those of us with more primitive horses would do better with earlier. This is where context can actually be helpful, as we have hundreds of years of wisdom with vastly different horses at our disposal.

Tack/Equipment

Tack is also widely varied. Bits, saddles, and more have a huge range of designs through the centuries. We have to learn and understand what the tack differences are to understand the different aids, seat positions, and more. Curb bits, for example, take an entirely different approach than snaffles. Baroque and Renaissance saddles take a slightly different seat position than modern saddles, and even those were designed for specific purposes. Just as we nowadays have different saddles for different purposes, so did they. However, we can’t always apply antique saddle approaches to modern seat approaches, and that takes knowledge to be able to adapt what we read to what tack we use nowadays. Some elements are perfectly applicable to modern riding, and different authors may have a way of writing that works for different people. However, we have to understand that not everything can be immediately applied without thinking about tack first.

Jargon

Jargon has also a huge impact, and not all interpretations of such jargon have survived the centuries. There are sayings or names for things that they took for granted when writing their works, and those may not have survived. This can change the translations or add confusion. So, we have to have an open mind that some things may not be easily understood with a first glance. We have a number of jargon words nowadays for horses: curry combs, bight, wither, volte, etc. The authors back then did too, and we may not have the translations for all of those. We may not get the answer to those mysteries in our lifetime, and that’s okay. We do what we can with what we know, and we look to other writings for clues.

Artistic Renderings

Another source we often use is artistic renderings. However, we have to remember that those artists were just as biased as the writers if not more so. Modern art isn’t so different either; how many drawings go against nature? Likewise, period artists tended to exaggerate certain features they found “fashionable.” Horses often look angry or scared in period art, but what were horses used a lot for in those days? War. War is terrifying, even to the animals. So in such a bellicose era, it makes sense that they would romanticize those expressions, especially often in contrast with the somewhat determined or serene expression of the rider. This was an artistic message, and there are other elements in period equestrian art that are also expressing a message. These change how we look at these artistic renderings, and it explains why some of them don’t quite match what the authors were saying. Does that mean they’re worthless? No; they provide a lot of contextual evidence of tack and equipment as well as other elements that perhaps were not so exaggerated. We just have to be careful not to put utter faith that they are picture-perfect renderings.

Conclusion

The Old Masters’ writings are invaluable pieces of wisdom, but it takes understanding the various contexts so that we do not get confused and so that we can better use them. It is not easy, but it is vital to research and learn the context around the times and places the Old Masters lived so that we can better understand what they were writing. It is only then that we can glean the full wisdom from their words and use their writings to better our riding.

-Emily Wright

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