The Horse 259 



comes at you open-mouthed, the picture of 

 fury, his teeth bare and gleaming, nostrils 

 wide, eyes rolling-red, ears laid close to the 

 head. Batted ears indeed are the danger sig- 

 nal. Mares with foals at foot, especially very 

 young foals, keep their ears batted all the 

 while, in sign of war to the teeth. Nor do 

 many of them hesitate to attack whatever 

 comes closer than they think proper. Other 

 horses, cattle, dogs, men, even their own famil- 

 iar grooms, all are objects of suspicion. 



Not without reason. Working horses, 

 mules, and barren mares, all will chase and 

 maltreat very young foals, biting them, tramp- 

 ling them savagely underfoot, and killing them 

 if permitted. Brood mares rarely join in such 

 attacks. Sometimes a mare late in foaling or 

 which has lost a colt, tries to steal another 

 mare's foal, and thus brings on a battle royal. 

 Mares are indeed throughout the breeding sea- 

 son, of a temper so uncertain they bear watch- 

 ing and a great plenty of it. After grazing 

 peacefully side by side for weeks, they may 

 engage in a melley whose cause nobody knows, 

 and fight, kicking, screaming, biting, rearing, 

 lashing out with the fore legs, until half the 

 combatants are seriously, even mortally dis- 

 abled. Yet if separated before serious harm 

 is done, once the mad fit is past, the fighters 

 call to each other disconsolately, and whinny 



