special Forms of Restiveness. 345 



Should the horse, during this period of training, ** try 

 on" his old tricks, the rider must be prepared for it, 

 watching its movements attentively, and especially all 

 slackening or cringing in its paces, which should be 

 promptly attacked, though not roughly. Acting merely 

 on the defensive is quite out of place in handling vicious 

 horses ; one must meet them boldly. One or two 

 promptly administered cuts of the whip over the shoul- 

 ders will frequently nip any renewed attempt at rearing 

 in the bud. With all restive horses, but more especially 

 with rearers, it is essential that the regular seat should 

 not be in the least disturbed by the necessity for using 

 either whip or spur. A seat that may do admirably 

 well for riding a willing horse over the stiflest countiy 

 in England may be perfectly useless for the sort of work 

 described here. 



Horses that have become confirmed rearers, and fre- 

 quently thrown themselves back with the rider, will re- 

 quire great caution, and must be handled in a somewhat 

 more methodical manner, though still on the same prin- 

 ciple. We have shown what the horse does when it is 

 preparing to rear ; let us now for a moment look at it in 

 the act of rearing. After slinking away from the rider's 

 hand and seat, so that he loses all hold of it, the animal 

 suddenly stiflens its hocks, throwing its whole weight 

 on them, and at the same moment stiflens also its neck, 

 and especially the throat, somewhat in the position 

 shown by the upper horse in fig. 7? so that it becomes 

 quite impossible to get a downward pull at it, and thus 

 defies the rider most completely. It is always the same 

 story — stiffened hocks and a stifl' neck.* Tlie safest way 

 of managing confirmed rearers is on the lounge, without 



* In the English method of handh'ng horses little attention is paid 

 to the horse's hocks or neck ; while, on the contrary, the pasterns are 

 severely worked, which is precisely the reason why school methods 

 must be employed for rearers. 

 21 * 



