256 ON RIDING A CRAVING HORSE 



fast hold of his horse's head and kick him along." By 

 these directions, the boy understands that he is to have 

 a steady pull on his horse, and often to persevere in 

 urging him on with his legs and feet against the horse's 

 sides. They seldom proceed far before the lad sees it 

 necessary to speak again to the boy, (perhaps, rather 

 sharply,) as thus, — " Come, boy, sit well down, get at 

 your horse's head, and twist him along ;" meaning by 

 this, that the boy is to sit upright, but well down in 

 the saddle, to raise his hands off his horse's withers, 

 first giving a little to him with the reins, (but they are 

 not to be slack,) and then having a pretty strong hold 

 of his horse's head ; giving him two or three good 

 hustles, and persevering at the same time with his 

 hands and feet, he urges the horse on at a better pace. 



Now suppose the horse in question to have gone a 

 mile and a half or two miles, whether more or less 

 must depend on what portion of the ground the groom 

 may have given orders for them to come home at a 

 sweating pace. At whatever point this order is to be 

 put in practice, the boy is to be apprised of it at the 

 proper time by the head lad, who again says, — " Come, 

 boy, get at your horse, for we must now go a telling 

 pace the whole of the way home." The boy imme- 

 diately gets himself ready to set-to, and as soon as he 

 has roused his horse into a still better pace, the head 

 lad, in order to continue the craving horse at it, gives 

 a quiet pull at his own horse, and goes up to the 

 other, head and girth. The craving horse being thus 

 challenged, and the boy now and then persevering 



