THE-:- HORSE 



Striking. — When a horse kicks with his 

 forelegs it is called striking. To do this he 

 rears on his hind legs and can only be really 

 dangerous on the downward and outward 

 stroke of his forelegs. A man does not need 

 to stand directly in front of such a horse to 

 receive a blow from his forelegs, because in 

 rearing to strike he will often pivot on his 

 hind legs in order to get in line with his 

 target. When the horse rears to strike, real 

 presence of mind will usually enable a per- 

 son, within the radius of his forelegs, to 

 jump backward before the horse can com- 

 plete the downward stroke. A horse can 

 only strike from a standing position, and 

 having struck once, independent of hitting 

 his target, will hardly ever strike a second 

 time in rapid succession. 



Kicking. — A horse can kick in almost any 

 direction with his hind legs. The target, 

 however, that appeals most to the horse is at 

 a point about two feet from and directly be- 

 hind them. This preference aside, however, 

 the horse with his hind legs can kick effec- 

 tively forward and sideways. This last is 

 called cow-kicking, because the cow is espe- 

 cially apt in this form of exercise. A person 

 seated on a clever kicking horse is not neces- 

 sarily placed beyond the animal's reach. I 

 remember once having the shank of my spur 

 kicked off when riding upon such an animal. 



60 



