.ROBERTS HORSE. 443 



is extremely vicious and quick, there are two sources of 

 danger : First, of being kicked while catching the tail, on 

 which account it cannot be safely attempted with mustangs 

 or horses of this character ; second, of missing the tail, or 

 of inability to run fast enough to keep up with the horse 

 in his rapid circular motion. In which case there would 

 be no alternative but to let go or be dragged under the 

 fore feet. In either case, should the horse be really vicious, 

 as in the present instance, I would have been brought within 

 reach of his mouth, helpless to resist his biting or striking, 

 which would be extremely perilous. 



CASE 11. MUSTANG PONY. 



The question is frequently asked, Can any horse be 

 subdued ? Practically there is no horse that cannot be 

 subdued ; but I will refer to a case, the only one I ever 

 found, that would not yield to treatment, though I am con- 

 vinced that with time and proper opportunity there would 

 be no real difficulty in making even this case manageable. 

 Two years before my visiting the northern part of New 

 York, there had been shipped into that part of the country 

 seven car-loads of wild mustangs. Two of these ponies, 

 up to the time of my coming, could not be broken, and one 

 of these is the subject referred to here. At North Lawrence 

 I had for subjects a six-year old, runaway, kicking mare 

 that had not been harnessed in two years, and a cream- 

 colored mustang pony. As was often the case, there was 

 nothing said about the bad character of this pony, but there 

 was something about his appearance that I could not 

 understand, and had never seen in any other horse. He 

 crouched up in a corner, apparently indifferent to all around 

 him, his head down, and his ears, which were heavy and 

 long as a mule's, thrown back and out. His under lip was 

 large, and hung down, leaving his mouth in appearance 



