HORSES WHICH RUN AWAY. 189 



take a spring to raise it with greater violence. Others con- 

 tent themselves with throwing the head sharply back, with- 

 out lowering it in the first instance. In the former case we 

 should catch the horse with the snaffle reins (which are held 

 in the right hand) at the exact moment when he begins to 

 lower it. On account of the shock he wiU quickly raise his 

 head, at which instant we should drive him forward by a 

 strong pressure of the legs. The curb reins are loose, but 

 are firmly held in the left hand in such a way that the moment 

 when the horse, by raising his head, tightens the curb reins, 

 he will receive a severe blow on the bars of the mouth. 

 Therefore he has been stopped by the snaffle when he wished 

 to lower his head in order to get his impulse, and has been 

 punished by the curb when, in throwing up his head, he 

 brought it too far back. When he thus throws back his head 

 without obtaining an impulse, we should drive him forward 

 with a pressure of the legs the moment he raises his head, 

 and should receive him on the curb, under the same condi- 

 tions as those first mentioned. 



To sum up, we make in the first case three movements of 

 the snaffle, legs and curb. In the second, we use only the 

 legs and the curb. Although these movements are succes- 

 sive, they follow each other so closely that they almost unite 

 into a single one. In both cases, if the action of the legs 

 does not precede by ever so little that of the curb, we shall 

 run the risk of making the horse rear, or at least by crushing 

 the hind quarters we make him get behind his bit. 



HORSES WHICH RUN AWAY. 



I have always been fairly lucky, both as regards my pupils 

 and myself, in avoiding accidents from run-away s. My good 

 luck was not altogether a matter of chance. 



When a horse is running away, he will not listen to reason, 

 and I do not think any one rider would be able to stop him 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



