SWIMMING A HORSE. 425 



let the man never abdicate his throne, but stick to his 

 pig-skin as he would to his ship, with all his wits about 

 him. It is very dangerous to lay hold of the tail of a 

 horse, and to let him tow you in the water, and for this 

 reason., in swimming, a horse uses his hinder legs 

 much as if he were in fall trot, and having no ground to 

 catch the impetus of the heels, which all the time seek 

 and expect to be stayed by it, the hind legs go forth as it 

 were in a succession of kicks, and to the very extent of 

 their muscular power. If one of these kicks happened 

 to strike a man, he would be injured and probably 

 drowned. If a man must be off his saddle in the water 

 on account of the inferiority or weakness of his horse, let 

 him hold as lightly as he can to the mane, and thus 

 support himself and maintain command of the animal, 

 but on no account get behind him. I have swum by the 

 side of a horse, and I know very well what I am saying. 

 In the picture accompanying the 79th page, wherein 

 Captain Marcy and myself differ, the illustration of a horse 

 thus swimming is not at all what it should be, and it is 

 not in accordance with the writer's instructions as to the 

 " loose rein." The rein of the swimming horse in the 

 picture is too tight, and the rein, unless a rider sat on 

 his back to loosen it sufficiently, should never be left in 

 that position on a horse when in the water. The rein on 

 an unridden horse should be gathered up to the cheek in 

 such a way that it could neither get under the foreleg of 

 the horse, nor have any action on his bit. The least touch 

 of the mouth guides a horse when in the water ; the least 

 touch stops, and, if over-hard, sets him fighting and paw 

 ing, and even, when the water is very deep, brings him 

 backwards, and risks his life. The stirrups too, if a 

 man is not on his horse's back, should be crossed safely over 



BANCROFT 

 LIBRAE 



