Kicking in the Stable 295 



same manner as biting and may become very dan- 

 gerous. Another prolific cause of striking is the 

 arranging of the bit too high in the mouth, especially 

 when the mouth is tender, as the horse naturally 

 throws his head down and strikes out with a front 

 foot in an endeavor to remove the source of pain. 

 When the vice is due to the latter cause, the first 

 thing is to use a properly fitting bit and bridle. 

 When the vice is due to infirmities of temper, other 

 means must be employed. The horse should first be 

 given a general course in subjection by the use of the 

 tail-rope (p. 219), or by the thro wing-harness (p. 212). 

 Teach him to obey the commands thoroughly, and 

 especially '^steady." Then place him back in the 

 stable, attach the war bridle modified (p. 192) and 

 gentle both forelegs. If he strikes, punish him se- 

 verely with the war bridle. Continue until he be- 

 comes perfectly submissive and will not raise either 

 foreleg until commanded to do so. 



Kicking in stable. — The horses that are given to 

 this vice may be divided into two general classes : 

 those that kick at persons who may be entering the 

 stall or passing by, and those that kick to hear the 

 noise; the latter usually kick at night and are 

 spoken of as ^^ night kickers." The former may 

 prove very dangerous and the latter very annoy- 

 ing. The causes that produce the vice of kicking 

 at persons are practically the same as those that 

 make the horse difficult to groom (p. 288). To over- 



