Page:Equitation.djvu/393

 It is, therefore, very nearly impossible to stop a horse when once the bolt is under way, though it is comparatively easy to prevent his entrance into the state, except where the habit is already formed as the consequence of defective eyesight or the memory of pains from over-hard whippings or the too severe use of sharp spurs. One should, then, endeavor to find the reason for the bolting, and remove this. This done, the fault will sometimes disappear.

When a horse is bolting, its vertebral column from atlas to coupling becomes stiff. The neck is rigid. The bit is without effect. It is sometimes possible, under these conditions, to release the contraction of the neck by lifting the horse's head, but not so high that it cannot see out in front, and sawing with the snaffle rein. But if the rider feels that