Kicking.
Horses apt to kick, either when they go forward or stand still, must be kept much together, or held in closely. When this is attempted, the hands, though fixed, must not pull at the horse, if he does not attempt to force the hand, and get his head, but leave him at liberty to go forward. If, however, he attempt to get his head down, which would enable him to kick with such violence as to throw himself, he may have the head confined up. This disarms him, and he makes a bolt from all-fours.
When a horse kicks, the rider must throw the body backward. It is an effective punishment to twist him round a few times for this fault. If this is done towards his weak or unprepared side (for every horse has a favourite side), astonishment and confusion will deter him from farther contention. In case of bolting, the rider must not exert one continued pull, but make repeated pulls until the horse obeys. Horses accustomed to be allowed to bear on the bit would not understand the steady pull as a signal to desist; and some would so throw up their heads as to deprive the rider of all power without dropping his hand, when the horse would drop his head. In that case, a second pull would find his mouth, and thus speedily his progress might be stopped.
Plunging.
In plunging, a horse gets his head down, cringes his tail between his quarters, sets his back up, swells his body to burst his girths, and, in this position, kicks and plunges till his breath can be held no longer—that is, till he makes six or eight plunges. To sit these is to cure them; and to do this, the rider must take a firm hold with his legs, and be mindful that the horse, in getting his head down, does not pull him forward. There is no danger of his rearing; and therefore the rider has only to keep his body back, and hold firmly with his hands, to prevent him throwing himself down.
Shying.
When a horse, either by shying or restiveness, springs to one side, or turns short round, the rider’s security depends on strict conformity to the rules already laid down, as to not bearing on the stirrups; keeping the legs near to the horse, to be ready on these sudden and unexpected occasions to lay hold; and yielding the body to go with him.
When a horse is about to fly to one side, he may be stopped by his rider’s leg being pressed on the side he would fly to, and by keeping his head high and straight forward, so as to prevent his looking towards the object he starts at, unless indeed it be something you desire to accustom him to the sight of, and then, whether you keep his face to it throughout, or avert it at first, and turn it gently towards it at last, great steadiness is necessary. When he curvets irregularly, and twists himself to and fro, his head should be turned to one side, or both alternately, without permitting him to move out of the track; and the rider’s leg should be pressed against the opposite side. In this case, he cannot spring on one side, because the pressure of the leg prevents him, nor will he spring to the other, because his head is turned that way, and a horse never starts to the side to which he looks.
Moreover, he will not fly back from anything, but go forward, if both legs be pressed against his sides. Thus he may be made to pass a carriage or other object in a narrow road; and here perseverance is especially necessary when the object is just reached, or partly passed, for if in the habit of going back and turning round when frightened, he will certainly do so when, if, by the hands slackening and legs failing to press, he discovers that you are irresolute; and this he would probably do at the most dangerous moment, when there was scarcely room for him to turn, and the wheels might take him in the rear. To touch his curb rein at such a moment would add to the confusion and danger.