Horse-breaking. 1 3 



a ditch, it generally slowed a little before reaching 

 it, and the rider was prepared against a sudden turn ; 

 but sometimes it would go bounding forwards to make 

 the leap, then, seeing it more formidable than it 

 had expected, would make a sudden stop or swerve 

 abruptly on one side, with the result that might be 

 expected to the boy on its back. What was most 

 surprising and no less agreeable to the latter was that 

 the colt, after thus throwing him, would stand still till 

 he got up off the ground or out of the ditch, as the 

 case might be, and remounted. No serious accident 

 happened, though, on the occasion of one of these 

 halts, which was more than usually sudden and unex- 

 pected, it is probable that David's neck was saved by 

 the circumstance that his head, instead of being dashed 

 upon the hard ground, was plunged over eyes and 

 mouth into soft mud. 



He rode the colt long without bridle or rope to 

 guide him. His stick was sufficient, according as he 

 held it up to one side or the other of the animal's 

 head, to turn him the way he was wanted to go. 

 Wishing him to stop, he pulled at his mane and lay 

 backward ; wishing him to gallop, he lay forward and 

 pressed his heels close to his sides. The creature 

 soon came to understand what was desired, and, when 

 in a willing mood, was easy enough to manage. Some- 

 times, however, he preferred taking his own way, and 

 in such cases the rider was much at his mercy. A 

 time, indeed, arrived when the colt began to think 

 himself the best judge of what was proper for him to 

 do. For the better control over him, a kind of bridle 

 was then contrived, with a piece of round stick for a 



