70 BIDING AND TRAINING SADDLE-HOESES. 



the mane and throwing himself aside, and although he .. 

 may not be able to clear himself of the horse, he will at 

 least avoid coming down under the saddle. 



If a horse is shy at passing an object, he can generally 

 be made to proceed by turning his head away, and pass- 

 ing him along with the leg opposite to the object, as in 

 trayersing. If he is a young horse, and does not seem to 

 have known fear, he will usually face that which has 

 caused his alarm if he is allowed to take as much room 

 as the way ofEers. The rider should avoid, as much as 

 possible, taking notice of the horse's fright, as any ner- 

 vousness on the part of the rider will confirm the horse 

 in the opinion that there is danger. If a horse takes 

 alarm on the road at things with which he is familiar, it 

 is either through defective eye-sight, or because he has 

 found out that he can take liberties with his rider. A 

 man of discretion will know when a horse should be 

 whipped up to an object of which there is a pretence of 

 fear, but the horse must never be struck after he has 

 passed on. 



We do not like a horse that has low action, for he must 

 trip, and he is likely, sooner or later, to come down. A 

 horse stumbles when, through weakness, weariness, or 

 stiffness from age and work, he is not able to recover 

 himself from a trip. He usually bears the evidence of 

 his accident on his knees. 



A horse that stumbles from weakness is not fit for 

 saddle use. If the rider is unfortunate enough to find 

 himself mounted upon a horse that gives indications of 

 being insecure upon his feet, he should demand free and 

 -lively action, with rein and legs. The horse should not 



