336 HOW TO MOUNT THE COLT. 



prevent the stirrups flying about and hitting him, 

 and the girths alarming him by being drawn too 

 tight at first. Now we are told " how to mount 

 the colt'* with a block to mount from, which we 

 are informed has three advantages, although I am 

 obtuse or perverse enough not to see one, but just 

 the reverse, for should this said block be sent 

 rolling against the colt's legs, which is not at all 

 unlikely to happen on first mounting him, it would 

 set him snorting, jumping, and kicking directly, at 

 once overturning all " assurance of confidence and 

 absence of fear which cause him to stand without 

 holding;" and my impression is, if the block in 

 question were sent rolling against or between the 

 colt's legs, Mr. Rarey himself would find some 

 trouble to hold him, unless he had undergone a 

 thorough good nosing with the block previously, or 

 been used to the game of skittles. 



Britishers are accused of being very great fools, 

 but we must be bigger fools still not to know how 

 to mount a colt without using a block to stand on, 

 and " how to ride him" afterwards, without taking 

 a leaf out of Mr. Rarey's book. We know all 

 about " getting on and ofi" his back a good many 

 times before we take him out of the stable," and 

 when out of the stable we calculate on understand- 

 ing how to manage him with or without a martin- 



