252 



CHAPTER XII. 

 RIDING AND BRIDLING HORSES WITH VICES. 



General Remarks — Boring — Buck-jumping — Throwing Up the Head — Throwing 

 Down the Head — Difficult to Mount — Kicking — Rearing — Jibbing — Pulling 

 and Running Away — Shouldering — Getting the Tongue over the Bit — Shying 

 and Unsteadiness — Stumbling. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



As I have described in Illustrated Horse-Breaking what I 

 have found to be the best methods for " making " and 

 breaking horses, and for curing them of various faults of 

 mouth and temper ; I shall in this chapter confine my 

 observations to the procedure a rider ought to adopt if he 

 finds his mount to be fractious, and has got no time to 

 break him. 



The ability to make a difficult horse conform to the wishes 

 of his rider, who of course ought to be a good horseman, 

 is mainly dependent on the fact of his possessing nerve, 

 patience, firmness and knowledge. It often happens that 

 a man who in his youth could have done almost anything 

 he pleased with horses, begins to lose his wonderful power 

 as soon as his nerve commences to " go." A hesitating 

 manner in going up to a horse, a trembling about the knees, 

 or a nervous clutching at the reins when mounted, betrays 

 the rider's secret, often before he is conscious of it himself, 

 to the observant animal, who is only too ready to change the 

 position of servant for that of master. Although our 

 horses should never be allowed to successfully oppose their 

 will to ours, we should try to obtain from them friendly 



