No one should ride a horse that has the habit of stumbling, but sometimes the most agile of animals will step on a rolling stone or make a mistake through carelessness. When a good horse trips and falls, the rider is almost always in fault; in the first place, for letting the horse grow careless, and secondly, for permitting the animal to go down. An active horse should never stumble badly when ridden in hand; and if the rider leans back and supports the forehand until a bearer is carried under the centre of gravity, it is seldom that the horse will fall. Many falls are occasioned by the horse being leg weary through overwork or from being ridden too rapidly at turns; so that, however the mark comes, a broken knee is taken as a sign of poor or careless riding.
FIG. 99.—RACKING
FIG. 100.—RUNNING WALK
FIG. 101.—CASTING A HORSE