special Forms of Restiveness, 347 



the rearer shows signs of getting tired of standing on its 

 hind legs, and is about to go down. This is the mo- 

 ment at which the last and most effective cut of the whip 

 should be inflicted ; and this, too, is the moment for the 

 trainer to give a short sharp drag on the lounge down- 

 ward ; and if the whip has been applied at the right 

 moment, the horse will have been compelled to obey 

 the lounge, the trainer's master^' will have been asserted, 

 and if the horse ever again attempts to rear during 

 lounging, a very gentle pull of the cavesson on its nose 

 reminds it of its previous defeat, and will probably en- 

 sure obedience ; if not, the lesson must be repeated in 

 the same manner. 



Should one or the other hind leg appear to be giving 

 way, as often happens, while the horse stands erect, the 

 trainer should give a good smart pull on the lounge to 

 the same side, which will throw the animal flat on its 

 side, instead of allowing it to fall on its back, which is 

 always attended with danger. Sometimes, no doubt, a 

 fall of the latter kind will cure the animal for ever ; but 

 it is better, for many reasons, that the horse, having lost 

 the power of maintaining itself and offering further 

 opposition to the trainer's will, should be compelled to 

 take the inevitable fall in the direction he prescribes. 



Most horses, when they do at length consent to bring 

 their fore legs to the ground, especially if the whip has 

 been vigorously applied at the proper moment, will make 

 a sudden plunge forward, w hich is so much the better ; 

 the trainer must then step smartly to one side — the ofl' 

 one, if possible — and catch the horse cannily in mid-air 

 with the lounge, handling it quickly and neatly, and 

 taking especial care not to stumble into the slack coils 

 in his left hand. This manoeuvre, if well carried out, 

 will aflbrd complete mastery, and render the animal per- 

 fectly obedient once for all. All that remains to be done 

 is to get the horse to stand still, the trainer shortening 



