70 SELF-DEFENCE 



branding irons, and instruments which dock 

 tails. 



My own impression, after many ^^ears of 

 experience with both, is that man, and especi- 

 ally civilised man, is much more ferocious than 

 the horse. May I venture then to quote the 

 wisdom of a gentle Bengali Baboo who wrote 

 an essay as follows : 



" The horse is a highly intelligent animal, 

 and, if you treat him kindly, he will not do so." 



The discovery was made in Arabia, also in 

 Kentucky, in Ireland and elsewhere, that if a 

 foal is handled as a pet, and so brought up that 

 he remembers nothing but kindness and con- 

 stant care at the hands of men, it never 

 occurs to him that he needs to defend himself 

 from his master as from an enemy. He never 

 develops the arts of self-defence. As a colt he 

 learns that to get at his feed he must jump over 

 a stick on the ground. As he grows the stick 

 is raised inch b}^ inch until jumping over it 

 becomes a part of his accomplishments in 

 which he takes a natural pride and delight. 

 So with the rest of his education. Horses can 

 learn a great deal of the language we speak, to 

 enjoy music, to select colours, to add up 

 figures, to take a vivid interest in sport, to 

 share with us the terror and glory of battle. 



