Quirts and trail safety

[cberto@juno.com]

This is probably message no. 59 telling you what a quirt is -- a western
style crop, often with a short braided handle, with two or three
free-swinging lengths (1 ft or so) of leather at the other end.  They can
really sting a horse's tender underbelly when used with force.  I prefer
a short stiff bat with a wide leather flap at the end and I use it within
a few seconds of the deserving misbehavior.  Gets his attention and the
popping noise of the flap reinforces the message.
   About trail safety -- police on horseback are trained to never allow
their horse's head where the baddie can grab the headstall.  In other
words, you meet someone who looks like a problem, swing your horse around
and keep its rear end pointed thataway, circling the horse as necessary. 
I once had to use a quick circle to break a headhold on my horse;  it
worked just great and the baddie was prevented from efforts to come
around to grab the bridle again.  It was a v. bad experience.  Cheers,
(;-), Connie  (Calif.)

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