The Horse, as Comrade and Friend 



companions, decked with this fancy dress of 

 mane and tail, come prancing up to them, the 

 dames are met with open mouths and lashing 

 heels. Geldings of all kinds resent frivohties 

 in which they cannot participate. But the 

 mares don't care a continental D, they chaS 

 the old geldings and prance all the more while 

 Disciple roars to them all the love stories he 

 can think of. Well you've waked up the 

 neighbourhood, and half the farmers in the 

 county are running to see what's the matter ; 

 so curb the amatory and extremely ornamental 

 frivolling of Disciple, and come and study 

 natural history once more. 



Vigilance against enemies is the first con- 

 cern of the horse in the wild, food the next, 

 and quest of his kind the third. In this 

 country the food of a horse is all over the 

 floor and he feeds where he stops. Much 

 therefore is not to be learned here of the horse's 

 skill in foraging and discrimination in feeding 

 upon what he finds, and only in an elementary 

 way can one study him in the quest of his 

 kind. In the wild, the horse studies all spoors. 

 Those of the elephant, the buffalo, the lion, 

 tiger, panther, bear and wolf, amongst his 

 attackers, with care; mainly to learn date of 

 the track and probable vicinity of the enem5^ 

 He takes stock of the spoor of his cousins, the 

 zebra and wild ass, with general interest ; but 

 of that of his own kind he makes the most 



116 



