ACTS OF PASSION 79 



Scraping. To run or buck under low 

 branches or against trees or walls. Some 

 civilised horses know this. 



Backfalls. These may be used to add to 

 the general effect of either rearing or bucking. 

 I once bought a black mare seven years old, 

 snared in the forest, who had probably never 

 seen a man. When ridden she bucked, and 

 while bucking threw herself seven times on her 

 back, three falls being over a cut bank on to a 

 rocky river bed. Towards evening she cricked 

 her neck, and showed blood at the nostrils, 

 making an awful picture of despair. During 

 the night she slipped a foal, of which there had 

 been no sign. Before dawn she died — a case of 

 broken heart. The horse breaker, an English 

 gentleman, stayed with her throughout, and 

 was not hurt. 



So far we have dealt with acts of hot-blooded 

 passion, culminating in suicidal rage. The 

 fiercest buckers, having dislodged the rider, 

 will turn at once to grazing and wait with 

 cheerful defiance for the next bout. Almost 

 all horses are sportsmen and there is nothing 

 that they dread more, or are so careful to 

 avoid as treading upon a disabled man. Even 

 in cavalry charges a man down has only to lie 

 still so that the horses can see exactly where he 



