28 MENTAL QUALITIES OF THE HORSE. 



some horses have of attacking men or other animals with- 

 out sufficient provocation. Horses are said to " savage " 

 when they use their teeth as weapons of aggression. Entires 

 are specially prone to this mode of assault, and, if they 

 succeed in overthrowing their opponent, to increase their 

 advantage by kneeling on him. Mares delight most in 

 kicking. My expeiience gained chiefly in South Africa 

 of absolutely unhandled horses is, that when caught 

 for the first time, they will strike out freely in front, lash 

 out behind, or cow-kick, but that they will very rarely 

 attempt to bite. The acquisition of that fatal knowledge 

 of his own power to injure or terrify his enemy, especially 

 if resentment for the infliction of pain be added to it, is 

 without doubt the chief cause of aggressiveness. A here- 

 ditary tendency to aggressiveness is often well marked. 

 Teasing a horse is usually effective in developing that un- 

 desirable quality. 



Treachery, as I have stated on page 22, is a rare vice 

 in the horse. It is fortunate for horse-owners that it is 

 seldom met with ; for of all equine failings, it is the most 

 dangerous and the most difficult to cure. The treacherous 

 horse, after having gained one's confidence by a more or 

 less prolonged course of docility, may in a moment, without 

 any warning and apparently without the slightest provoca- 

 tion, buck one off its back, kick the trap to pieces, bolt 

 madly away in saddle or harness, savage one, or kick one. 

 And yet, the instant it has effected its deliberately planned 

 purpose, it may assume an air of innocence, and act as if it 

 were the impersonification of virtue. I cannot help giving 

 treacherous horses credit for the possession of a com- 

 paratively large amount of intelligence. 



