t many
bad accidents have occurred through riders becoming frightened and
refraining from the use of force in stopping a hard puller, who is thus
allowed to run away. I think that if people could keep their heads clear
and not clutch on to the saddle and let the reins loose, or maintain a
dead hold of them, which is equally ineffective, but husband their
resources for determined attacks, very few horses would succeed in
bolting with their riders. Of course a great deal depends on the
strength of the seat of the rider; for we must sit very tight and not
let our mount feel us wobbling about in the saddle. We should never
forget the power of the voice as a factor in horse control, and our
attempts to stop a pulling animal should always be accompanied by a
sternly expressed word of command. In my travels abroad, I have ridden
some extremely bad pullers which were said to bolt with men; but
although I certainly had trouble with such animals, none of them
succeeded in running away with me and taking me where they liked. My
husband also has a similar record in this respect, so I cannot help
thinking that when a rider is actually bolted with, he or she must have
got frightened and confused at a critical moment and have allowed the
animal to literally take the reins of authority in his teeth. It
requires a good deal of physical strength to control a hard puller, and
I have had my gloves and hands badly cut in wrestling with particularly
headstrong brutes. On the other hand, some horses which have really nice
mouths, get the name of being pullers, on account of having been ridden
by "mutton-fisted" men who hang on to the reins and thus irritate them
beyond control. I am reminded of a big Australian horse, about seventeen
hands high, which Mr. Macklin, the Australian horse-shipper, brought to
Calcutta and lent me to ride in a paper-chase there. This animal carried
me perfectly, although his rough rider (more "rough" than "rider")
afterwards showed me an unjointed snaffle bent almost double, which he
said had been caused by this "pulling devil of a horse"! There is a
great deal of truth in the saying, that if you don't pull at a horse, he
won't pull at you. I am sure that many horsemen, and certainly every
riding member of my sex, will bear me out in stating that women manage
pullers far better than do men, because they do not hang on to their
mouths, in order to help them in keeping their seats. Where many women
greatly err in ridi