SADDLE HORSES. 175 
however, most inconveniently, the beast started on 
a dead run, and I found myself clinging to his neck. 
This was bad, but worse followed, for the animal 
kicked up behind, and shot me off so that I turned 
a somersault, and fell on my back in the highway. 
However, I pulled myself together, walked homeward 
a mile, the horse having preceded me, found him 
grazing, and, leading him up to a convenient hen 
house, got on, to my surprise, very easily. That 
same night I mounted the same horse again, first in 
the stable, then in the yard, and finally, with some 
difficulty, in the street; but for months, if not for 
years afterward, he was apt to resist my ascent to 
the saddle. 
This misadventure taught me two lessons, both of 
which I commend to the youthful reader. The first 
is, that, in mounting a horse disposed to be fractious 
or restive, the main thing is to have a good hold on 
the reins, and to be prepared to keep him in check 
if he shows any disposition to bolt. I do not mean 
by this that you should hang on to the bit and 
drag yourself into the saddle by means of the reins. 
Nothing could irritate the horse more than that, or 
tend more to spoil his mouth. But you should have 
a short, firm hold of the reins, and be ready, men- 
tally, to pull him up if he should start. In mount- 
ing such horses, it is important to move quickly 
and quietly ; any delay or clumsiness, or irresolution, 
might easily convince the horse that you were his 
inferior at the game. 
The second and more general lesson, already indi- 
cated, that I learned from my nocturnal experience 
is the folly of forcing matters with young horses, 
