The Horse, as Comrade and Friend 



;Now examine this newly-born, gasping, 

 shivering Httle person. All of his previous 

 existence has been so warm and comfy, that 

 to be suddenly ejected from his agreeable 

 habitation, in an exceedingly moist condition, 

 even into the sunshine of a May morning, is 

 the most chill and most surprising experience. 

 He is very wet, feels the cold horribly, and is 

 shaking all over with it. He sits up quite 

 alert, but the bright sunshine makes him bhnk 

 and shut his eyes. His ears are quivering 

 with the cold, but already he is using them — 

 pricked forwards and backwards as they are 

 attracted by the early morning sounds, the 

 distant bark of a dog, the lowing of a cow. 

 What a perfect httle thing he is ! That tiny 

 little nose and mouth ! His hps are moving, 

 and you can just see the httle pink tongue. 

 That exquisite httle mane, with the curl in 

 the hair and the beautiful arch of his neck ! 

 His steaming coat shines in the sun, acurl and 

 wavy. Look at the long yellow legs and their 

 clean-cut firm tendons ; the very perfection of 

 modelhng ! 



Now look out for the curious and most 

 interesting vestigial zebra markings, which 

 many foals possess, especially if they are got 

 by Arab sires. The markings are most clearly 

 distinguishable at birth and for the first few 

 weeks afterwards, but fade as the foal's coat 

 grows longer, and it quite often happens that 



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