y manage to turn him with the aid of a standing
martingale, and so long as we can do that, he cannot run away, as I have
found when I have been placed in somewhat critical situations, with my
curb ineffective in preventing a headstrong youngster from urging on his
wild career under the intense excitement of his first day with hounds.
The desire which a puller has to get away would probably only occur in
the early part of the day when the starting rush is made, but if it were
successful he would bolt among a lot of horses and be almost certain to
cause an accident. A cavesson nose-band properly put on, will shut the
mouth of a puller which wants to keep it open, and will thus help the
rider to control him. If a lady possesses doubts as to her ability to
hold her horse, she should keep well away from the field, so that she
may not endanger the safety of others. It is always best to put animals
which are at all likely to pull, through a regular course of cub hunting
from the very beginning of the season, so that they may gradually work
along from the "pottering" to the galloping stage. A course of such
instruction sobers them down, and they will then give their rider far
less trouble than if they are dashed off into the excitement of
fox-hunting without having had good preliminary training. This is a fact
which ladies should bear in mind; for I have found it work very
successfully.

There is nothing like plenty of regular work for taking the nonsense out
of pulling horses. Mr. Caton, a well-known American trainer of match
trotters, whom I met in St. Petersburg, told me that he always sent his
bad pullers to do a week or two's work in one of the city tram-cars, for
they always came back with a good deal of the "stuffing" taken out of
them. Pulling is of course a very bad vice; for a pulling horse knows
well enough what his rider is asking him, through the medium of the
reins, but he shakes his head, or throws it up, if he can, as much as to
say that he will _not_ obey. A lady should not be alarmed if she finds
her mount getting out of hand; but should, if possible, let him go for a
short distance and then take a pull at him, at the same time speaking
determinedly to him, and not in a frightened tone. If the brute will not
obey, we must use severe measures, and in extreme cases, it is well to
"saw" the bit from one side to the other, in order to hurt his mouth so
much, that from very pain he must perforce yield. I believe tha