THE HOKSE. 63 



Horses of this kind should not be too highly fed, and should have suffi- 

 cient daily exercise. 



AYhen the difficulty of mounting arises, not from eagerness to start, 

 but unwillingness to be ridden, the sooner that horse is disposed of the 

 better. He "may be conquered by a skillful and determined horseman ; 

 but even he will not succeed without frequent and dangerous contests 

 that will mar all the pleasure of the ride. 



Rearing. — This sometimes results from playfulness, carried indeed to 

 an unpleasant and dangerous extent ; but it is oftener a desperate and 

 occasionally successful elfort to unhorse the rider, and consequently a 

 vice. The horse that has twice decidedly and dangerously reared, 

 should never be trusted again, unless, indeed, it was the fault of the 

 rider, Avho had been using a deep curb and a sharp bit. Some of the 

 best horses will contend against these, and then rearing may be im- 

 mediately and permanently cured by using a snaffle-bridle alone. 



The horse-breaker's remedy, tliat of pulling the horse backward on 

 a soft piece of ground, should be practiced by reckless and brutal 

 fellows alone. Many horses have been injured in the spine, and others 

 have broken their necks, by being thus suddenly pulled over; while 

 even the fellow who fears no danger, is not always able to extricate 

 himself from the falling horse. If rearing proceeds from vice, and is 

 unprovoked by the bruising and laceration of the mouth, it fully par- 

 takes of the inveteracy which attends the other divisions of restiveness. 



Running Away, — Some headstrong horses will occasionally endeavor 

 to bolt with the best rider. Others with their wonted sagacity endea- 

 vor thus to dislodge the timid or unskillful one. Some are hard to 

 hold, or bolt only during the excitement of the chase ; others will run 

 away, prompted by a vicious propensity alone. There is no certain cure 

 here. The method which atfords any probability of success is, to ride 

 such a horse with a strong curb and sharp bit ; to have him always 

 firmly in hand ; and, if he will run away, and the place will admit of 

 it, to give him (sparing neither curb, whip, nor spur) a great deal more 

 running than he likes. 



Vicious to Clean. — It would scarcely be credited to what an extent this 

 exists in some horses that are otherwise perfectly quiet. It is only at 

 great hazard that they can be cleansed at all. The origin of this is 

 probably some maltreatment. There is, however, a great diff'erence in 

 the sensibility of the skin in difi"erent horses. Some seem as if they 

 could scarcely be made to feel the whip, while others cannot bear a fly 

 to light on them without an expression of annoyance. In young horses 

 the skin is peculiarly delicate. If they have been curried with a broken 

 comb, or hardly rubbed w'ith an uneven brush, the recollection of the 

 torture they have felt makes them impatient, and even vicious, during 

 every succeeding operation of the kind. Many grooms, likewise, seem 

 to delight in producing these exhibitions of uneasiness and vice ; 

 although, when they are carried a little too far, and at the hazard of 

 the limbs of the groom, the animals that have been almost tutored into 

 these expressions of irritation are brutally kicked and punished. 



This, however, is a vice that may be conquered. If the horse is 

 dressed with a lighter liand, and w^isped rather than brushed, and the 



