MANAGEMENT AND CARS. 3 1 



simply follow the horse about, guiding him with the bridle so he will not 

 precipitate himself against the side of the stable or room in which you are 

 exercising him. When held and guided properly, he will soon sink 

 down. Corn-fed horses will hold out longer than grass-fed ones, and the 

 most energetic horse will not struggle more than ten or fifteen minutes. 

 Usually at the end of eight minutes violent struggling, the animal sinks 

 forward on his knees, sweating profusely, with heaving flanks and shak- 

 ing tail. If he resists, he may be forced by the bit to walk backwards 

 and forwards, but this is generally unnecessary, as by pushing gently at 

 his shoulder or by pulling steadily the off-rein, you can get him to fall, 

 in the one case on the near side, in the other on the off-side; but this assist- 

 ance should be. so slight that the horse will not attempt to resist it. 

 The horse will often make a final spring when you think he is quite 

 beaten ; but at length he slides over, and lies down, panting and ex- 

 hausted, on his side. If he is a pretty spirited animal take advantage 

 at the moment to tie up the off fore-leg to the surcingle, as securely as 

 the other, in a slip-loop knot. 



Now let your horse recover his wind, and then encourage him to 

 make a second fight. It will often be more stubborn than the first. 

 The object of this tying-up process is that he shall thoroughly exhaust 

 without hurting himself, and that he shall come to the conclusion that 

 it is you who, by your superior strength have conquered him, and tha,t 

 you are always able to conquer him. 



Under the old rough ridinj system, the most vicious horses were oc- 

 casionally conquered by daring men with firm seats and strong arms, 

 who rode and flogged them into subjection; but these conquests were 

 temporary, and usually personal; with every stranger the animal would 

 begin his game again. 



One advantage of this system is, that the horse is allowed to exhaust 

 himself under circumstances that render it impossible for him to strug- 

 gle long enough to do himself any harm. It has been suggested that a 

 blood vessel would likely be broken or apoplexy produced by the exer- 

 tion of leaping from the hind legs; but up to the present time no acci- 

 dent of any kind has been reported. 



Treatment of the Horse After He is Down. If the horse 

 has fought hard in going down, he will then lie perfectly still, and you 

 can gentle him, scrape the sweat off, and rub him down, smoothing the 

 hair of his legs, and drawing the fore one straight out. In this position 

 you have the opportunity of making him perfectly familiar with you, 



