KICKERS AND RED BOWS. 343 



try to get a sly kick at even our own wow-wows 

 during a hacking ride. We had some foxhound puppies 

 at walk, but I never allowed her to get near them, and 

 our own dogs got so artful that they always managed 

 to evade her kicks. I do not believe that mare would 

 ever have been safe with hounds, so I took good care 

 to give her no opportunity of disgracing the pair of us 

 in the hunting field. In every other respect she was 

 most amiable. As there are inconsiderate people who 

 ride kickers, a lady should carefully avoid getting near 

 a horse whose tail is adorned with a red bow. If this 

 is impossible, and it often is in crowds, she should try 

 and keep to the left of the kicker, so that if he lashes 

 out he may not be able to break her legs. Scrutator 

 in his book on Foxhunting points out that <( the risks 

 men encounter in the chase are great enough without 

 being subjected to the chance of having their legs 

 broken by a bad-tempered brute at the covert side/' 

 I once had the misfortune to see a man's leg broken 

 by a vicious kicker in Leicestershire. Another case 

 happened while I was in Cheshire, and yet these 

 dangerous be-ribboned animals can still be seen in 

 almost every hunting field. 



We must here draw a sharp line of distinction 

 between horses which kick from vice, and those, 

 especially young ones full of corn and short of work, 

 which throw up their heels from exuberance of 

 spirits. Many mares, particularly in springtime, are 

 apt to kick from causes which I need not discuss. 

 Hence, geldings are more free from this baneful habit 



