Page:Equitation.djvu/405

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by the reversed effects. By doing this several times alternately, he will make it impossible for the horse to place all four feet at the same time on the ground. The horse is, therefore, unable to bound; and after he has tried several times and failed, he will cease to try.

THE BUCK-JUMP

A YOUNG horse, not yet wonted to the pressure of the girths and the weight of the rider on its back, is likely to stiffen its spine, and at the same time to rear slightly with its front legs. In this position, the hind legs tend to send the body forward.

THE BUCK-JUMP

But since the spine is everywhere rigid, the two hind legs cannot function independently. Both, therefore, act together to throw the croup violently up. Thus the movement becomes a sort of kick, in which, however, the hind legs do not extend backward. Following this, the front legs return to the ground reaching forward. The hind legs follow; and immediately the buck- jump is repeated. Meanwhile, the head is held low and the neck stiff, in order to resist the effect of the rider's hand; since, if the head were up