292 THE HORSE. 
termed “ persuaders.” Sir Francis Head lays it down as a rule, that all 
horses in this country are so generous, as to be excited by every carriage 
or rider that passes them; but though this is certainly the rule, there are 
numerous exceptions to it, and to ride a “slug” without spurs on the road 
would. be a nuisance, and in the hunting-field a service of extreme danger. 
That they may be abused is true enough; and that they often are so, is 
equally correct; but that is no reason why they should not be worn by those 
who can be trusted with them. On the road, they are only required for 
sluggish or vicious horses; but in the hunting-field, it is never safe to be 
unprovided with them, as a prick at the right moment has saved many 
a fall 
MODES OF STARTING THE HORSE INTO HIS VARIOUS 
PACES. 
To MAKE A HORSE start off in a quick walk, when he is not inclined to 
do so, either from being too fresh or too raw, is by no means an easy task. 
I have often ridden one for several days in succession, before I could 
make him settle down to a fair walk, and even then the slightest excite- 
ment would upset all my apparent previous progress. This is especially 
true of those horses possessed of such elastic joints, that they could “jog” 
at a rate much slower than they could walk. Here restraint by the 
bridle is out of the question, and any excitement by the voice or heel 
increases the jog into a full trot, without passing through any intermediate 
stage. The difficulty consists in the fact that for a perfect walk the head 
must be at liberty, and when this is allowed to a generous horse, he is 
inclined to go off ata rate faster than suffices for the pace in question. The 
only plan, therefore, is to ride such horses quietly, till they are leg weary, 
whatever the number of hcurs may be required, and then it is possible to 
loose their heads without their taking advantage of the liberty to go off 
“at score.” Indeed, in the walk, the head should never be much con- 
fined, and yet the rider should not entirely leave it uncontrolled; the 
finest possible touch is enough, so that on any trip the hand is at once 
informed of it by the drop of the head, when, by a sudden jerk of the 
bridle, not too forcible, it rouses the horse, and prevents his falling. It is 
not that he is kept up by pulling the rein, but that he is roused by it and 
made to exert himself, for many horses seem regardless of falls, and would 
be down twenty times a day if they were not stimulated by the heel 
and bit. Confinement of the head in the walk is absolutely injurious, 
and more frequently causes a fall than saves one. A good walker will go 
on nodding his head to each step, more or less as it is a long or a short 
one ; and if this nodding is prevented by the heavy hand of the rider, the 
fore-foot is not properly stretched forward, the step is crippled, and very 
often the toe strikes the ground ; when, if the head were at liberty, it 
would clear it well. In horses which are apt to stumble in the walk, 
I have generally found that a loose rein, with the curb held ready for a 
check, is the safest plan; and then the horse soon finds that he is 
punished the moment he stumbles, and in a very short time he learns to 
recover himself almost before he is reminded. I do not like the spur or 
the whip so well, because the use of either makes the horse spring forward, 
and often blunder again in his hurry to avoid this kind of punishment. 
The check of the curb, on the other hand, makes him recover himself 
without extra progress, or rather by partially stopping him, and thus he is 
better able to avoid his fall, The body is allowed to yield slightly to the 
