to turn the horse towards, which is difficult when the stirrups are hung very far from the seat.

Bucking or Plunging. In bucking, the horse gathers its legs under its body, puts its back up and its head down, and then commences a series of seesaw movements, throwing itself from the hind to the fore legs in rapid succession, either without moving forwards or in a succession of bounds, which latter, however, is more properly plunging. It occurs usually with young horses, and is much less common with English ones than with some foreign breeds, especially the Russian steppe horses. Sometimes very tight girthing, or too heavy a load on the horse's back, will cause it to buck; or the attempt to screw it up too suddenly into school form. The best method of handling young horses that have acquired this vice is on the lounge with the dumb-jockey, the great object being to get them to move forwards, and prevent the head coming down. As the bucking or plunging usually commences when the horse is put into a trot, it should be kept as long as possible at a walk on the circle, which is best effected by letting a man go alongside its head, holding the bridle, if necessary. The reins should not be buckled tight, as "forcing" a bucker will often make it throw itself down, or rear up and fall back. For the same reason, if it does begin to buck, just let it tire itself out, and when it is well wearied, one or two smart blows of the whip applied under its chest by the assistant will make it go ahead, and thus, by degrees, it will give up the habit.

If a horse takes to bucking or plunging under the rider, his object should be to make it go ahead by a few smart strokes of the whip on the shoulders, even

at the risk of its running away, which he can meet in the manner described above; and this will even give him an opportunity of getting the head up, by first bending the neck to one side. It is, of course, absurd to sit far back on a bucker, sticking out the legs in front; a man that does so will be shot off over the horse's ears at the first or second plunge. The seat must be central, and the rider's back as straight as possible, although the natural tendency is to round it; the rider's weight, too, must be thrown "into his heels," right under his seat; this is the only chance of 66 sitting out a bucker."

Rearing is the most dreaded form of vice that occurs, and therefore the dodge that cunning horses resort to most frequently, as they at once perceive that the rider is afraid of it. Still it is by no means so difficult to conquer effectually as is generally supposed; no doubt a very courageous and cool-tempered rider alone can hope to succeed.

Rearing would occur much less frequently if it were well understood that it is almost always the last stage of disobedience, and very seldom if ever the first. In fact, its occurrence is evidence of injudicious management of some kind, either from untrained horses being brought into positions for which they are as yet unfitted, or from something being demanded of them that was beyond their power; or from the rider not knowing how to recognise and subdue the very first symptoms of disobedience; or, finally, from his using violent and intemperate methods of doing so.

We have already pointed out how bad management of a backing or bucking horse may end in rearing; but bringing a remount, or sometimes even an old horse,

into the company of other horses, and then trying to get it away against its will, will often do the same; or wanting to force a horse over a jump it does not like, &c. &c. Now, let us see what a horse does with itself immediately before it actually does rear up. The rider is perhaps just congratulating himself how nicely he is getting along, when all of a sudden he feels as if the horse had collapsed under him; his seat is "nowhere;" its head or mouth has shrunk away from the feeling on the mouthpiece, and it has got its legs under its body, and is come to a dead stand-still-the rider usually, unless his seat be correct, falling forward with his body, which of course makes matters worse. Then most riders will give a great dig with their heels or spurs just anywhere they can get at the horse, or perhaps a blow with their whip, whereupon the animal elevates itself on its hind legs, and becomes a rearer. If the spurs, or even the whip, had been applied in proper time-that is to say, before the horse came to a stand-still-there would have been some use in them, and it would probably never have come to rearing at all. But if a man's legs are spread far away from the horse's sides, and he thinks proper not only to dangle his reins, but to sit with his back rounded in the so-called "knowing fashion," he will then have no "feeling in his seat," and is consequently quite ignorant of what his horse is going to do, and of course must come too late with both spurs and whip, if he happen to possess these implements. An immense majority of rearers learn this vice when being ridden about in a slovenly manner by young riders or grooms; a man that keeps a lively feel of his horse with both his hand and heels, and pays attention to the play of its ears and to every variation

of its pace, will seldom if ever let it come to rearing, because the moment he detects the least slackness he will at once apply the proper remedy, which will be to make the horse come up to the mouthpiece at once; but then his own legs must be well closed up to enable him to do so.

If you have ascertained that the trick of rearing was first practised somewhat after the manner described above, you may very reasonably hope to cure your horse without much difficulty. The animal must be led, ready saddled and bridled, into a riding-school, or some enclosed space of convenient dimensions, in order to avoid giving it an opportunity for attempting disobedience on the way thither. The rider will then mount, and begin by riding quietly round about at a walk, not as if he were merely wanting to see whether the horse would rear or not, but with the very distinct idea constantly before his eyes of getting it in the first instance well up to the mouthpiece, so as to have a firm leaning, recollecting always that this will depend quite as much on his own legs as on those of the horse; after which he will proceed to correct the carriage or "form" of the animal in the way described in the introductory chapter to Part III., halting occasionally, bending the neck and head; and, finally, when he finds that he has got a hold of his horse between his own legs and the reins-that is to say, feels that he is the regulator of the steed's movements at a walk-he may urge it gradually into whatever trot it pleases to go itself, and subsequently bring it into the form he himself pleases; in fact, he will re-train it till it is in perfect obedience, when there will be no more danger of its rearing, under a good rider at least.

Should the horse, during this period of training, "try on" his old tricks, the rider must be prepared for it, watching its movements attentively, and especially all slackening or cringing in its paces, which should be promptly attacked, though not roughly. Acting merely on the defensive is quite out of place in handling vicious horses; one must meet them boldly. One or two promptly administered cuts of the whip over the shoulders will frequently nip any renewed attempt at rearing in the bud. With all restive horses, but more especially with rearers, it is essential that the regular seat should not be in the least disturbed by the necessity for using either whip or spur. A seat that may do admirably well for riding a willing horse over the stiffest country in England, may be perfectly useless for the sort of work described here.

Horses that have become confirmed rearers, and frequently thrown themselves back with the rider, will require great caution, and must be handled in a somewhat more methodical manner, though still on the same principle. We have shown what the horse does when it is preparing to rear; let us now for a moment look at it in the act of rearing. After slinking away from the rider's hand and seat, so that he loses all hold of it, the animal suddenly stiffens its hocks, throwing its whole weight on them, and at the same moment stiffens also its neck, and especially the throat, somewhat in the position shown by the upper horse in fig. 7, so that it becomes quite impossible to get a downward pull at it, and thus defies the rider most completely. It is always the same story-stiffened hocks and a stiff neck.* The safest way of managing confirmed rearers

* In the English method of handling horses little attention is paid