that point, on which they expect she will attack them; now, the object of the lady in this contest must be, to frustrate the horse’s intentions, and protect herself from injury in the struggle.

Some horses have a vicious habit of turning round suddenly; instead of endeavouring to prevent him, in which the lady would in all probability be foiled, were she to try to do so by force; the better plan is, to turn the horse smartly round to the side to which he is turning, until his head has made a complete circle, and he finds to his astonishment, that he is precisely in the place from which he started. Should he, on the lady attempting to urge him forward, repeat the trick; she should pull him round on the same side three or four times, and assist the hand in doing so, by a smart aid of the whip, or the leg; while this is doing, she must take care to preserve her balance, by an inclination of the body, towards the centre of the circle which is described by the horse’s head in his revolution. The same plan may be pursued, when the horse endeavors to turn a corner contrary to the wish of his rider; and if he be successfully baffled three or four times, it is most probable that he will not renew his attempts.

When a horse refuses to advance, and probably whipping would increase his obstinacy, or make him rear, or bolt away in an opposite direction, it is advisable, on the same principle, to make him walk backwards, until he evinces a willingness to advance: should the rider not mind her horse giving a kick or two, a couple of smart cuts over the croup, will generally prove successful.

Should a horse back into difficulties; he must be turned with his head towards the danger, and then backed off, until there be sufficient room to handle him.

Restive horses, and even docile animals when put out of temper, sometimes rear up against a wall or a carriage; an inexperienced rider, in such a situation, would strive to pull his head from the wall, which would bring her knee in contact with it, consequently, all further chastisement thereupon ceases; for were the rider to make her horse plunge, her legs would be crushed against the wall, the horse discovering the rider’s weakness, and that punishment had ceased; would turn it to her disadvantage, and on future occasions fly to the wall for shelter. Instead of from the wall. The horse’s head should be pulled towards it, so as to place his eye, in place of his rider’s knee, against it. She should use her leg, and whip, to force the croup out, when the horse can be easily backed off, and he will never go near a wall again.

Some horses will stand stock still, if ladies have the patience to sit on their backs, and keep them in the same spot for a time, it is the most proper punishment for such an offence, and will surely cure that mode of defence.

When a horse begins to kick, the rider must bear forcibly upon his mouth, and keep his head up, at the same time, she should press her leg to the horse’s side, keeping her body well back, to save herself from being thrown forwards. She should use as little coercion as possible, and be careful to preserve her own temper, and her seat; should the horse, in spite of her exertions, get his head down; she must endeavour to give him a smart blow with her whip on his head, which will induce him to throw it up, and thereby stop his kicking; should an opportunity occur, she should also try to give the horse, two or three smart turns; this may also be done with effect, as a preventative, should she detect any incipient attempts in the animal to kick.

Rearing is a bad vice, and in weak horses especially, a dangerous one. When the horse rears, the rider must cease to bear upon the mouth, she should lean her body well forward, towards his neck, and with her right hand take hold of the mane, to save herself from falling off, or pulling the horse backwards upon her; as the horse comes to the ground with his fore-feet, not before, she should give him a few smart cuts with the whip on his croup, to force him forward, and endeavor to pull him round two or three times, and thus divert him from his object; the latter course may also be adopted to prevent rearing, if the rider can foresee the horse’s intention.

If a lady have the misfortune to be mounted on a runaway horse, she may avoid evil consequences, if she can but contrive to retain her self-possession. She must endeavor also to retain her seat at all hazards, sitting well back and perfectly quiet, for the least symptom of alarm on her part, will increase the terror, or determination of the horse. She should not attempt to throw herself off the horse, except in cases when the horse may be taking her into imminent danger; she should separate her reins, holding the curb in her left hand, and the snaffle in her right, and pull at each alternately; which renders the mouth more sensitive, than a dead heavy pull upon any one bit, and the horse consequently more obedient to the hand. Should an open space present itself, turning a horse in a circle, will frequently bring him up in a few seconds.

Plunging, is very common amongst restive horses. If the horse continue to do so in one place, or backing; he must be urged forward; but if the horse does it flying forward, he should be kept back, and ridden slowly for some time.

Starting, often proceeds from a defect in sight, which therefore should be carefully looked to. When a horse starts or shies, no notice should be taken of the movement, further, than to meet him, with the proper bearings and pressures, to compel him to move in the true direction; should he however, be alarmed at an object, and instead of going up to, or passing it, turn round; he should be soothed, and brought up gently to it, caressed at every step, he advances. To attempt to force the horse up to the object he dreads, would not only be ridiculous and dangerous, but the punishment would add to the alarm, and the horse would take an early opportunity to shy afresh, at the first strange object that presented itself, and very probably he would add another start, in anticipation of the chastisement that might be in store for him. Thus, what was originally a failing from defect of vision, or ebullition of spirit from over feeding, or want of proper exercise, becomes a vice rooted, and confirmed, and of a dangerous character. When passing an object that the horse may be alarmed at, his head should be turned away from it, rather than towards it, a good rider thus prevents her horse from shying, while the young and bad rider, by the reverse treatment, of pulling a horse’s head towards the object, and whipping him up to it, makes her horse shy. The horse should never be allowed to evade passing the object, but he should be got past in the manner, that occasions the least alarm to, or contention with him.

When the horse starts, the rider should instantly direct her eyes to the horse’s ears, when her body will naturally take the same direction that the horse shies to, but if her eyes be directed to what the horse shies from, she may loose her balance, and fall.

PACES OF THE HORSE.

The walk is the least raised, the slowest, and the most gentle of all the paces; but it should be an animated quick step, and to be pleasant to the rider, it must be true; that is, it should be conducted by a harmonious elevation and setting down of the feet, each foot being dropped flat on the ground, and not, as is too often the case, the toe being placed first, and then