B UCK-JUMPING. 47 



horse, after longeing him well, to some heavy, swampy, 

 or deep ground, and mount him there, so that he may 

 have as little purchase as possible for his feet. He may 

 fix the reins as directed on page 235. A gag snaffle is 

 the best general bit with which to ride a buck-jumper, 

 as he cannot buck if his head be kept up, though the 

 one fatal mistake inexperienced riders make, is to hang 

 on to the reins ; for in doing so they will almost inevi- 

 tably be pulled on to the horse's neck, from whence 

 they will have but a remote chance of getting back into 

 the saddle. A sharp pull on the gag reins, if made in 

 time, may possibly stop the horse throwing his head 

 down. In all cases the rider should sit and lean as far 

 back as he can, and let the reins slip through his hands 

 if the horse succeeds in lowering his head, for unless the 

 animal is able to bear on the reins, he cannot, as a rule, 

 buck with his wonted viciousness ; at least, he will not 

 appear to the rider to be able to do so. After he has 

 bucked a few times, the man, if he feels secure in his 

 seat, may pull him round from one side to the other, so 

 as to counteract his tricks. Or he may pull him round, 

 if he can do so in time, the monient he feels him arching 

 his back preparatory to bucking. 



Colonel Hardy, in his interesting book, ' Our Horses,' 



