SPECIAL FORMS OF RESTIVENESS. 321 



of his horse with both his hand and heels, and pays 

 attention to the play of its ears and to every variation 

 of its pace, will seldom if ever let it come to rearing, 

 because the moment he detects the least slackness he 

 will at once apply the proper remedy, which will be to 

 make the horse come up to the mouthpiece at once ; 

 but then his own legs must be well closed up to enable 

 him to do so. 



If you have ascertained that the trick of rearing was 

 first practised somewhat after the manner described 

 above, you may very reasonably hope to cure your 

 horse without much difficulty. The animal must be 

 led, ready saddled and bridled, into a riding-school, or 

 some enclosed space of convenient dimensions, in order 

 to avoid giving it an opportunity for attempting dis- 

 obedience on the way thither. The rider will then 

 mount, and begin by riding quietly round about at a 

 walk, not as if he were merely wanting to see whether 

 the horse would rear or not, but with the very distinct 

 idea constantly before his eyes of getting it in the first 

 instance well up to the mouthpiece, so as to have a 

 firm leaning, recollecting always that this will depend 

 quite as much on his own legs as on those of the horse; 

 after which he will proceed to correct the carriage or 

 " form " of the animal in the way described in the 

 introductory chapter to Part IV., halting occasionally, 

 bending the neck and head ; and, finally, when he 

 finds that he has got a hold of his horse between his 

 own legs and the reins — that is to say, feels that he is 

 the regulator of the steed's movements at a walk — he 

 may urge it gradually into whatever trot it pleases to 

 go itself, and subsequently bring it into the form he 

 himself pleases n fact, he will re-train it till it is ia 



Y 



