THE BUCK-JUMP 



by the reversed effects. By doing this several times 

 alternately, he will make it impossible for the horse 

 to place all four feet at the same time on the ground. 

 The horse is, therefore, unable to bound ; and after 

 he has tried several times and failed, he will cease to 

 try. 



THE BUCK-JUMP 



A YOUNG horse, not yet wonted to the pressure of 

 the girths and the weight of the rider on its back, is 

 likely to stiffen its spine, 

 and at the same time to 

 rear slightly with its front 

 legs. In this position, the 

 hind legs tend to send the 

 body forward. But since 

 the spine is everywhere 

 rigid, the two hind legs 

 cannot function independ- 

 ently. Both, therefore, act 

 together to throw the croup 

 violently up. Thus the 

 movement becomes a sort 

 of kick, in which, how- 

 ever, the hind legs do not extend backward. Follow- 

 ing this, the front legs return to the ground reach- 

 ing forward. The hind legs follow; and immediately 

 the buck- jump is repeated. Meanwhile, the head is 

 held low and the neck stiff, in order to resist the 

 effect of the rider's hand; since, if the head were up 



347 



THE BUCK-JUMP 



