STUMBLING. 283 



manifested by impatience of control. Its worst forms are 

 generally associated with the habit the animal has of " blowing 

 his nose." This kind of snorting, exhibited without adequate 

 cause, is a certain sign of an unruly temper, as I have found, 

 particularly in my breaking experiences with wild and vicious 

 horses. 



STUMBLING. 



The usual causes of stumbling, which may act singly or 

 in a combined form, are failure to raise the feet high 

 enough, undue depression of the toe when the foot is being 

 brought forward, and excessive weight on the fore-hand. 

 When a horse stumbles from the first two causes, but not from 

 the third, the accident will not as a rule be enough to upset 

 the equilibrium of the body, and a not very nervous rider may 

 well disregard it, unless the animal is intended for show, 

 rather than for use. Many horses which have low and good 

 galloping action, trip or " toe " when walking. The animal 

 which stumbles from being heavy in front is dangerous to ride ; 

 because if he catches the ground with the toe of an advancing 

 fore foot, a fall will be the probable result, from the centre of 

 gravity being too far beyond the base of support. If the animal 

 be also infirm in front, he will have but a remote chance of 

 recovering himself in the event of a bad trip. All that the 

 rider can do to prevent such a catastrophe is to lean well to 

 the rear and ride the horse up to his bridle, so as to get the 

 weight back. In doing this, a properly adjusted curb will be 

 more efficacious than a snaffle. When a horse stumbles, I 

 think it is best for the rider to leave the animal's mouth alone 

 as much as he can ; because anything he may do by jerking 

 the reins to prevent the horse coming down, will more or less 

 interfere with the efforts made by the animal to save himself. 

 These efforts, being instinctive, are no doubt the best for the 

 purpose. The fact that a horse which falls from a stumble 



