100 



injurious, and more frequently causes a fall than saves one. 

 A good walker will go on nodding his head to each step, 

 more or less as it is a long or short one ; and if this nod- 

 ding is prevented by the heavy hand of the rider, the fore- 

 foot is not properly stretched forward, the step is crippled, 

 and very often the toe strikes the ground ; when if the head 

 were at liberty it would clear it well. In horses which are 

 apt to stumble on the walk, I have generally found that a 

 loose rein with the curb held ready for a check is the safest 

 plan ; and then the horse soon finds that he is punished the 

 moment he stumbles, and in a very short time he learns to 

 recover himself almost before he is reminded. I do not 

 like the spur or the whip so well, because the use of either 

 makes the horse spring forward and often blunder again in 

 his hurry to avoid this kind of punishment. The check 

 of the curb, on the other hand, makes him recover him- 

 self without extra progress or rather by partially stopping 

 him, and thus he is better able to avoid his fall. The 

 body is allowed to yield slightly to the motion of the horse, 

 but not to waddle from side to side as is sometimes seen. 

 Some horses do not stir th*e rider at all, while others throw 

 him about and fatigue him greatly ; and this may gener- 

 ally be foretold when the tail sways much from side to 

 side in the walk, which is caused by the over-long stride 

 of the horse, a desirable accomplishment in the race horse, 

 but not in the lady's horse. 



The trot is altogether an acquired pace, and, in the 

 natural state, is never seen for more than a few yards at a 

 time. In it the fore and hind legs of opposite sides move 

 together and are taken up and put down exactly at the 

 same moment. To start a horse in the trot, take hold of 

 both the reins of the snaffle, and bear firmly, but steadily, 



