338 THE HORSE 



they are made up and down in the same place, or nearly so, are called "buck- 

 ing," from their resemblance to the playful antics of the deer. A bucking 

 horse is very difficult to sit, but by sawing the mouth with a twisted snaffle 

 it may generally be stopped at once. 



By shouldering is understood the attempt to crush the leg of the rider 

 against a wall, which some ill-tempered horses are fond of doing. It is 

 easily avoided by pulling the horse's head round to the wall instead of 

 from it. 



Running away is too well known to need descrijDtion. In some horses 

 it is a species of temporary madness, and scarcely any bit, however severe, 

 will stop them. When there is room and scope enough, the remedy is 

 simple, but, unfortunately, runaway horses generally choose a crowded 

 thoroughfare to indulge their fancies in. A gallop to a standstill, with 

 the free use of the spur or whip at the latter part of it, will sometimes 

 prevent a recurrence of this vicious act ; but where the tendency is very 

 strong it will have little effect. Punishing bits only make some high- 

 couraged horses worse, but the majority of runaways would be dangerous 

 with a plain snaffle only, and yet there are some which will go quietly 

 enough in it, while the adoption of a curb will rouse their tempers at 

 once. Of course they can only be ridden with great care and judgment 

 and must never be roused unnecessarily. Fortunately the mouths of horses 

 are now made so much more carefully than in former times, and their 

 management is so much better understood, that we seldom hear of or see 

 an accident from this cause, either in the saddle or in harness. The most 

 essential part of the treatment of a runaway is the proper selection of a 

 bit, wliich should be sufficient to control him without exciting opposition 

 from the pain it gives. For the majority of such horses I know nothing 

 better than the Bucephalus noseband, which I have already described at 

 page 324. 



Stumbling arises from a variety of causes, and the nature of any 

 particular case should be thoroughly investigated before any remedy for it 

 is attempted. Sometimes it is merely dependent upon low or "daisy- 

 cutting " action, and then it is possible that it may not be attended with 

 danger. I have known many hoi-ses which would stumble at least every half- 

 mile, but yet they would travel for years with sound knees, the other leg 

 being always ready to catch the weight. In other cases a stumble would 

 only occur at rare intervals, but if the trip was made it was rarely 

 recovered, and a fall was almost sure to follow. Again, it happens with 

 some horses that when they are fresh out of the stable, their action is 

 high and safe, but after a few miles the extensors of the leg tire and they 

 are constantly making a mistake. Inexperienced judges are very apt to 

 examine the action of the fore-legs alone, while that of the hind-quarter 

 is of quite as much importance to safety, and is more so as regards the 

 ease of the rider. Lameness is a frequent source of a fall, from the ten- 

 dency to put the foot too soon to the ground in order to take the weight 

 off the other. And lastly, upright pasterns will produce stumbling, when 

 the shoulders are so formed that the foot is put down too near the centre 

 of gravity. 



The best plans for remedying these several conditions are as follows. 

 If the cause is weakness of the extensors no care can be of much service ; 



