SAWING WITH THE SNAFFLE 



the bolting and remove that. The cure will then go 

 deeper and be more permanent. 



Running away is not quite the same thing as 

 bolting. It is rather the result of the habit of getting 

 out of control. The horse bolts because of too se- 

 vere correction, defective eyesight, too tight a curb 

 chain, too severe jerks upon the mouth, sore bars, 

 a sore tooth, a bit set too high and cutting the com- 

 missure of the lips, the continual pricking of the 

 spurs of a rider without seat. The bolt is repeated, 

 until by and by habit and memory suggest the 

 possibility of resisting in the same way all demands 

 of the rider which are unpleasant to the horse. The 

 horse thereupon becomes a runaway. The French 

 express this desperate action by prend le mors aux 

 dents, s'emporter, and s'emballer. 



Naturally, the cure for running away is to dis- 

 cover the cause of the original bolting from which 

 it developed, and to remove that. The scientific 

 equitation does not recognize the utility of martin- 

 gales and other straps. It depends solely on pro- 

 gressive education, holding that, after a horse is 

 properly suppled, it is impossible for it to run away 

 without giving to its rider the opportunity to pre- 

 vent the first sign of revolt, of which the running 

 away is the sequel. 



SAWING WITH THE SNAFFLE 



IT sometimes happens that a young horse not com- 

 pletely trained, or an older animal surprised by a 



337 



