1 64 HANDS, VOICE, WHIP AND SPUR 



a lady is approaching, it would not be wise for her 

 to interfere with her hunter, because, if he knows his 

 business, he won't fall if he can help it. But if, on the 

 other hand, the only practicable place in a fence is 

 not free, the keenness of the animal must be checked 

 by a judicious use of the curb. If he is so headstrong 

 as to refuse to obey this command by slackening 

 speed, he should be turned round either to right or 

 left, whichever may be the easier for his rider. 

 When we find ourselves in such a tight corner we 

 must, for our own safety as well as for that of our 

 neighbours, exercise a certain amount of force in 

 controlling our horses. The " silken thread " method 

 of handling, which is, or should be, employed at any 

 other time, stands us in poor stead in the face of 

 this difficulty. There are horses which will neither 

 slacken speed nor turn for their riders, and a runaway 

 in the hunting field is by no means rare. If any 

 lady has a hunter who takes charge of her in 

 this manner, I would strongly advise her to ride him 

 in a standing martingale (p. 82), because with its 

 aid she will generally be able to turn him, even if 

 she cannot stop him in any other way. A horse 

 which will neither slacken speed nor turn in any 

 direction gallops on, as a rule, with his head up, and, 

 having succeeded in shifting the snaffle from the bars 

 to the corners of his mouth, he is impervious to the 

 action of the curb, because his head is too high for 

 the curb to act with advantage. On such an animal 

 the standing martingale is valuable, because it makes 



