KICKERS AND RED BOWS.
Unless a lady is perfectly certain that her mount will not lash out at hounds, she should keep well away from them, and should never ride into a covert where they are. I once had a mare of this description who never kicked horses, but who would try to get a sly kick at even our own wow-wows during a hacking ride. We had some foxhound puppies at walk, but I never allowed her to get near them, and our own dogs got so artful that they always managed to evade her kicks. I do not believe that mare would ever have been safe with hounds, so I took good care to give her no opportunity of disgracing the pair of us in the hunting field. In every other respect she was most amiable. As there are inconsiderate people who ride kickers, a lady should carefully avoid getting near a horse whose tail is adorned with a red bow. If this is impossible, and it often is in crowds, she should try and keep to the left of the kicker, so that if he lashes out he may not be able to break her legs. Scrutator in his book on Foxhunting points out that “the risks men encounter in the chase are great enough without being subjected to the chance of having their legs broken by a bad-tempered brute at the covert side.” I once had the misfortune to see a man’s leg broken by a vicious kicker in Leicestershire. Another case happened while I was in Cheshire, and yet these dangerous be-ribboned animals can still be seen in almost every hunting field.
We must here draw a sharp line of distinction between horses which kick from vice, and those, especially young ones full of corn and short of work, which throw up their heels from exuberance of spirits. Many mares, particularly in springtime, are apt to kick from causes which I need not discuss. Hence, geldings are more free from this baneful habit than their female relations, and are consequently, as a rule, more reliable mounts. Great care should be observed in gradually accustoming a young horse to placidly bear the excitement of being surrounded by a large number of his equine companions, and he should thoroughly learn this part of his education before he is required to quit the outskirts of the field, and take his place as a hunter. This preliminary training of course comes under the heading of breaking and not of hunting. A young horse “turned out” in the open, not unfrequently gives a companion a playful kick, which very seldom inflicts any injury, because it has no “venom” in it, and the hoof that administers the tap is unshod. I have even seen mares with a foal at foot, give the young one a slight push with the hind hoof, to make him get out of the way. The motives of such taps are of course entirely different from the dangerous malevolence that prompts a confirmed kicker to “lash out” at horse or man who comes within striking distance. We should bear in mind that a touch behind is very apt to provoke a kick, whether of the vicious, playful or get-out-of-the-way kind. Hence a rider should always be careful never to allow her horse’s head to touch the hind quarters of an animal in front, which is a precaution that is of special application in crowds of pulled-up horses. Also, on such occasions, she should keep him straight and should prevent him from reining back. Any man or woman who knowingly rides a kicker in a large hunting field, is guilty of disgraceful conduct; because it is impossible for everyone to get out of reach of this bone-breaker’s heels, during the frequent stoppages which occur out hunting. Some persons have a red bow put on their animal’s tail, or they place a hand at the small of their back, with the palm turned to the rear, as a sly device to get more elbow-room in crowds. It is evident that such artful tricks are unworthy of imitation.