16 MENTAL QUALITIES OF THE HORSE. 



ceed. My friend laughingly asked the Colonel to kindly 

 dismount, to go in front of the horse while continuing to 

 talk, then to cease speaking, and, when the horse moved 

 off again, to get into the dog-cart without uttering a word. 

 As soon as the horse thought that the owner of the detested 

 voice had gone away, he started on his journey in obedience 

 to the signal of his driver, and carried the two gentlemen 

 to their destination in his usual orderly manner. 



When a horse is under the influence of either fear or 

 anger, he will often act with total disregard to his own 

 safety. I knew a case of a pony mare who, on getting by 

 accident over her head a bag which prevented her from 

 seeing, started off in a mad gallop, and dashed out her 

 brains against the first lamp-post she encountered. Some 

 jibbers have been flogged and spurred in the most cruel 

 manner, without being induced to proceed in the required 

 direction ; and others, which have thrown themselves down 

 in their sulky fit, have had fires lighted under them 

 without making them get up. From anger as well as from 

 fear, horses have kicked so violently against hard objects, 

 that they have not alone inflicted severe wounds on their 

 legs, but have even broken them. A dog, unless he was 

 mad, would do none of these things ; because he has 

 intelligence enough to recognise the folly of needlessly 

 hurting himself. I have observed that if a kicking mule, 

 when in harness, gets a hind leg over a shaft or trace, 

 he will, unlike what a horse would usually do under similar 

 conditions, keep quiet and allow himself to be released 

 as speedily as possible. This, I think, is a valid argument 

 in favour of the idea that mules are, as a rule, more intel- 

 ligent than horses. 



Horses will sometimes treasure up the feeling of revenge 

 against those who have injured them, whether the offenders 

 be men or animals of their own kind. I once owned 3 



