THE-:- HORSE 



only to his knees, which is hard on the knees, 

 but not so serious to the rider. 



Prancing. Prancing is a harmless form of 

 activity often indulged in by a high-strung 

 horse. It consists merely in a kind of hop- 

 ping up and down, and occasions a rider with 

 a poor seat discomfiture, since he finds it dif- 

 ficult in keeping in rhythm with the action of 1 

 the horse. Hard and long rides have a seda- 

 tive effect in this regard upon the horse and 

 lessen his desire to jump up and down. 



Plunging. Plunging is a kind of exagger- 

 ated prancing. A plunging horse will easily 

 turn into a runaway. 



Crow-hopping. Crow-hopping is a mild 

 form of bucking, in which the fore feet and 

 the hind feet of a horse leave and return to 

 the ground alternately. This motion of a 

 horse should not occasion a good rider any 

 discomfort. An old horse that has passed its 

 bucking sage will often crow-hop as a result 

 of a tight cinch and a cold back. 



Bucking. Of the many annoyances that a 

 horse can occasion his rider, bucking is by 

 far the worst. The best rider in the world 

 will some time find a horse that will buck him 

 off, and the most terrific bucking horse will 

 some time find a rider that he cannot throw. 



Most horses on the American and Aus- 

 tralian continents have been allowed to run 

 wild from colthood. These will instinctively 

 buck the first time they are ridden, unless 



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