SADDLE HORSES. 175 



however, most inconvenientl}', the beast started on 

 a dead run, and I found myself clinging to his neck. 

 This was bad, but worse followed, for the animal 

 kicked up behind, and shot me off so that I turned 

 a somersault, and fell on my back in the highway. 

 However, I pulled myself together, walked homeward 

 a mile, the horse having preceded me, found him 

 grazing, and, leading him up to a convenient hen 

 house, got on, to my surprise, very easily. That 

 same night I mounted the same horse again, first in 

 the stable, then in the yard, and finally, with some 

 difficulty, in the street ; but for months, if not for 

 years afterward, he was apt to resist my ascent to 

 the saddle. 



This misadventure taught me two lessons, both of 

 which I commend to the youthful reader. The first 

 is, that, in mounting a horse disposed to be fractious 

 or restive, the main thing is to have a good hold on 

 the reins, and to be prepared to keep him in check 

 if he shows any disposition to bolt. I do not mean 

 by this that you should hang on to the bit and 

 drag yourself into the saddle by means of the reins. 

 Xothing could irritate the horse more than that, or 

 tend more to spoil his mouth. But you should have 

 a short, firm hold of the reins, and be ready, men- 

 tally, to pull him up if he should start. In mount- 

 ing such horses, it is important to move quickly 

 and quietly ; any delay or clumsiness, or irresolution, 

 might easily convince the horse that you were his 

 inferior at the game. 



The second and more general lesson, already indi- 

 cated, that I learned from my nocturnal experience 

 is the folly of forcing matters with young horses, 



