steady animal
commences to dance without any exciting cause, such as the prospect of a
hunt, his bitting and girthing up should be carefully examined, as there
may be something hurting him, or the saddle may be pinching his back.
Horses which are tormented by flies are apt to dance about, in which
case it is best to trot or canter as much as possible. In India and
other tropical countries where these pests are particularly troublesome
during the hot weather, horse-hair wisps specially made for the purpose,
are carried for brushing them away.

THROWING UP THE HEAD.

If a curb be used, care should be taken that its mouthpiece is not
placed too high up in the mouth; that the chain is not too tight, in
which case it would hurt the jaw; and that the mouthpiece of the snaffle
does not press against the corners of the mouth. If there is nothing
hurting the animal's mouth, he should be ridden by a groom in a standing
martingale, at a length which will prevent him from getting his head too
high. I like the Irish plan of buckling the standing martingale to the
rings of the snaffle, better than that of attaching it to the noseband,
because it teaches the animal to "give" to the bridle, and not to lean
persistently on the noseband. The noseband method is generally adopted
by polo players. The precaution of seeing how the horse behaves when he
finds that he can no longer indulge in his favourite vice, should always
be taken before he is ridden by a lady; because at first the checking
influence of the standing martingale is sometimes resented by efforts to
rear and plunge badly. If the use of the long reins is understood, it is
better to have the horse circled and turned with them, but very few
people are capable of using them in an efficient manner. When the animal
finds himself unable to successfully resist this fixed defence and
prefers to carry his head quietly, rather than to hurt his mouth by
violently throwing his head up, he may be safely ridden by a lady in
this martingale, and she will then be able to control him. Very few
horses will fight against the martingale for any length of time, and as
this most useful article of gear is considered to be indispensable to
polo players for controlling their animals, its value to ladies who
cannot, by reason of their perched-up position in a side-saddle, lower
their hands like men, is inestimable.

HABIT-SHY.

I use this term to designate the trick that some horses, chiefly tho