262 RIDING VICIOUS HORSES. 



rough handling) is the great cause of this vice. Hence we 

 find that in countries hke England, where curbs are in general 

 use on ordinary riding horses, rearing is much more common 

 than in countries like Australia, where the snaffle is chiefly- 

 employed. Also in England, there is a far larger percentage 

 of rearers among hunters, which are almost always ridden in 

 double bridles, than among racehorses, which hardly ever 

 go out in any other bit than a snaffle. Furthermore, I have 

 invariably found both in my own case and in that of others 

 whose performances I have witnessed, that a touch of the 

 curb is the best means to make a horse which is that way 

 inclined, " stand up straight on end." I would therefore 

 advise that a curb should not be employed when riding a 

 rearer. I may state in passing, that many men who in 

 obedience to the dictates of fashion, use a double bridle 

 on every kind of horse, are unable from want of skill and 

 coolness to discriminate between the curb reins and the 

 snaffle reins on a sudden emergency, or even under ordinary 

 conditions of riding. If such men have to ride a horse that 

 has a tendency to rear, they ought to use only a snaffle bridle 

 (with an unjointed mouth-piece for choice), or if they are 

 unwilling to commit such a supposed solecism, they should 

 dismount the moment the animal shows any inclination to 

 " get up." The first thing therefore to do with a rearer is 

 to see if the bitting is in fault, and to rectify it, if such 

 be the case. With a double bridle, it will generally be 

 advisable to take off the curb-chain, the presence of which 

 might irritate the animal. In any case, the use of a curb is 

 out of the question. 



The two most important points about rearing are that 

 all rearers are too light in front, and that a horse cannot 

 rear unless his hind legs are fixed on the ground. We 

 should accordingly put all the weight we can on the fore- 

 hand, and should try to keep the horse's hind feet moving. 



