350 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES 



try they are constantly stumbling, owing to the way 

 they carry their feet, that is, close to the ground. A 

 man riding a pacer over a rough piece of road must 

 be mighty even tempered or he will be everlastingly 

 engaged in a "horse fight," until every time the poor 

 animal stumbles it will break and run in expectation of 

 being "worked over," as the cowboy says. 



A man riding a pacer at the head of a line of mounted 

 men can certainly deal them an immense amount of 

 misery. The pace he sets is just a little too fast for 

 them to keep up on a walk and not quite fast enough 

 .to let them trot, and thus they are continually alter- 

 nating between the gaits. For range work a horse that 

 will strike a good flat-footed walk and make about five 

 miles an hour is worth a corral full of pacers. 



A good rider can train his horse greatly to improve 

 his walking gait by forcing him on a tight rein until he 

 breaks into a trot. The instant he does this, pull him 

 down to the walk again. By continually crowding him 

 with the spurs and holding him carefully in hand just 

 at the breaking-point, he will soon learn the fox trot 

 trick and unless very tired will always take it of his 

 own accord. A little patience along this line and one 

 can make a gaited horse out of almost any horse. 



In testing out a horse, see how he jumps out from a 

 dead standstill, a slow walk and a trot into a lope. If 

 he has been well trained for cow work he should, when 

 struck sharply with the quirt or spurs, and feeling his 

 rider lean slightly forward, jump into a good lope right 

 from a walk. He should pull down from a dead run to 

 a standstill in not more than twice his own length, 

 stopping on his hind feet. With a very slight pressure 

 on his neck from the bearing rein he should swing round 



