172 THE HOME, FARM AND LH SINKSS CYCLOPAEDIA. 



the road, or any object which might frighten him. Always keep your horse 

 well in hand that is, feel his mouth ; if you do not, you are never pre- 

 pared for emergencies : if he stumbles, you cannot help him to revover 

 his legs; if he starts, you cannot check him. But in keeping him in hand, 

 as it is called, you may still fall into error, for if the horse be very light 

 in the mouth, there is a probability that an inexperienced person may so 

 check him as not only to impede his progress, but to put him out of tem- 

 per ; and as nothing is more difficult for a novice to manage than a very 

 light-mouthed horse, when he once takes it in his head to have his own 

 way, you must be careful merely to feel his mouth so as to have the reins 

 at command, but still not sufficiently tight to check him ; this is called 

 driving with a light hand, and indeed is the perfection of driving, when 

 it has become so habitual as to have assumed the character of " a style." 



DIFFICULT SITUATIONS FOE YOUNG DKIVEKS. 



TUSKING THE BIT AND RUNNING AWAY. Some ill-tempered horses 

 will become violent upon being in any manner put out of their way- 

 such, for instance, as being suddenly stopped two or three times within a 

 short distance, or receiving a sudden cut with the whip ; but instead of 

 exhibiting this violence by rearing or kicking, they will seize the bit in 

 their mouths, close against the tusk, and run violently to one side of the 

 road, as if with the intention of landing you in a ditch, or giving you a 

 resting-place in a shop-window. The best mode is to stop them at once 

 by a quiet pull, speaking softly, as if nothing were the matter ; and then 

 coax them into good temper. If this cannot be done, give them the head 

 for a moment (a short one it must be), and after bestowing a violent 

 switch across the ears, snatch the reins suddenly towards the side to 

 which the horse is bearing, which will probably, from the surprise, disen- 

 gage the bit, and enable you almost simultaneously either to pull him up 

 or draw him away from the danger. You will observe we have said on 

 the side to which he is pressing, for it would be all but impossible to draw 

 him to the other ; for -such a brute always seizes the bit by the branch or 

 side which is next to the place he is running to, knowing or rather 

 thinking, you will pull the other rein, in which case the side of the face 

 would aid him in resisting your efforts. The remedy for this is a ring 

 bit, for it has no branches for the horse to get hold of, and if he merely 

 seizes that part of the bit which is in his mouth, a sudden jerk will 

 instantly disengage it, that is, if it be done with sufficient decision. 



Frequently, however, a horse tusks the bit, as it is called, with a view 

 of bolting ; if you cannot disengage the bit in the way directed, you have 



