294 



The Book of the Horse. 



Here I come to the end of my hints — they are nothing more than hints — on the various 

 paces to be practised successively by those who would be horsemen — walking, trotting, canter- 

 ing, and galloping. I have done all I expected if I have succeeded in impressing on my reader 

 the importance of mastering the details of each pace. 



There can be no doubt that if a novice has found out what it is necessary for him to 

 learn before he becomes a finished horseman, he will learn more from watching a skilful and 

 illiterate colt-breaker than from any number of printed lessons. He will thus learn the how, 

 although the colt-breaker may not be able to tell him the why. 



A great deal has been written, and might be written, on the management of the reins and 

 the sort of bridle to be used for fast paces ; but I think that everything useful may be summed 

 up in this axiom': " Always have a bit that will stop your horse ; but, as long as you can, keep 

 to the snaffle." 



RUNAWAYS. 



It is much easier to say what will not, than what will, stop a runaway horse, horses run 

 away from so many different causes. Some from mere temporary excitement gallop off witli 

 a feeble rider, and, if wildly handled, make a regular bolt of what a skilled horseman would 

 have reduced to a measured canter in a few minutes ; others will try to run away when asked 

 to do something they do not like, as, for instance, to jump a trifling fence. I have seen :\ 

 horse in the hands of an accomplished horseman walk out of a yard, in spite of all his efforts, 

 on being shown a leaping-bar — this walk would have been exchanged for a trot, and the trot 

 for a gallop, in the hands of a less skilful liorseman. 



Other horses will, on slight provocation, run away if ridden with a snaffle bridle, when 

 they would not attempt anything of the kind with the common double bridle of curb and 

 bridoon, although the curb-reins hung loosely without being used. Such horses have felt the 

 effect of the chain on the chin, and its pressure has what is sometimes called a " moral 

 influence." 



Some liorses will be perfectly docile until alarmed by the sight of a few scarlet-coated 

 soldiers, or the sound of artillery, of thunder, or of a pack of hounds, and then become abso- 

 lutely mad and unmanageable ; but nearly all such liorses may be subdued by patient, gentle 

 treatment, judicious training, and the application of proper bits. But for the moment a nervous 

 horse in a fright is as dangerous in a crowded city as a real " rogue runaway " — indeed, more 

 dangerous, for the rogue will generally take care of himself, although ready to dash under or 

 through anything, at the sacrifice of his rider's head or limbs. 



The horse that has once acquired the habit of running away will bolt on the first opportunity. 

 If you suspect his intention, the best plan is to check it the moment he begins to move, taking 

 hold of one rein with both hands, and giving it one or two such violent jerks that the rogue 

 must pause or turn round. Then stop him, and, if you doubt your being able to hold him, 

 get off. Perhaps a too vigorous " plug " may make him cross his legs and fall — not a 

 pleasant contingency, but anything is better than being run away with in a street. 



In open country you may compel tlie runaway to gallop with a loose rein until he is 

 tired, or to move in a constantly-narrowing circle until he is glad to halt. A ten-acre field 

 is big enough for this expedient. But the great point is to stop a runaway before he getj 

 into his stride ; after he is once away few bits will stop a real runaway — a steady pull is a 

 waste of exertion on the rider's part. Some horses may be stopped by sawing the mouth 

 with the snaffle, but nothing will check an old liand. Another expedient is to hold the reins 



