27 2 RIDING VICIOUS HORSES. 



Major W. M. Sherston told me that a capital plan for 

 stopping a horse from rearing, is to hit him a blow over the 

 eye with the 'flat of the hand the moment he " gets up." 

 He said that one or two applications are enough for the 

 animal's life. Although I have never tried this plan, I 

 can fully believe in its good effects, especially as it makes 

 the horse bring down his head and shy off to one side, which 

 are actions that are opposed to the attainment of an upright 

 position. It has the disadvantage of being apt to make him 

 shy of being handled about the head. 



JIBBING. 



The vice of restiveness, or that of obstinately refusing 

 to go on, is called "jibbing," or being "nappy." Ignorant 

 people often apply the word " restive " to a horse that is 

 unsteady ; in fact, one which will not remain standing in 

 the same place. As passive resistance is more difficult to 

 overcome than active opposition, the exhibition of this vice 

 will try a rider's temper and baffle his powers of persuasion 

 and coercion, more than the whole list of equine tricks put 

 together ; except, perhaps, the unpleasant habit some animals 

 have of prancing, dancing about, and refusing to walk quietly 

 when mounted. We should here bear in mind that rearing 

 is often a form of jibbing ; that in all cases these two vices 

 are closely allied to each other ; and that the horse when 

 practising either of them, is too light in front. If the rider 

 tries in the usual way to urge on a restive animal, the horse 

 will probably back, kick, shoulder his man up against the 

 first convenient object, bite him if he can get in reach, rear 

 straight on end, or even throw himself down and roll. A 

 friend of mine who was a brilliant 'cross country rider, was 

 once riding a horse of this description. They got on all 

 right together until they came to a small watercourse, at 

 which the horse stopped and refused to proceed. My friend, 



