316 HORSE AND MAN. 



with me. Unsaddled, and with only a halter instead 

 of a bit, she would carry me anywhere. Once, a 

 child ran under her feet. The thing was so sudden 

 that I was powerless, but she at once stopped, and 

 held up her hind leg so as not to hurt the child. 

 Yet, when I was obliged to sell her no one could ride 

 or do anything with her. 



' There were two other horses, " The Baroness " 

 and " War Eagle," that were perfectly quiet with me, 

 but would carry no one else without putting them to 

 great trouble, not to say danger. People wondered 

 how I made my horses so showy and cheerful, and 

 yet so gentle and docile. The secret is simple enough. 

 Kindness, sympathy, and patience. I am never un- 

 kind to any animal, and they seem to know it. E. S. 

 CREASY.' 



There is one point in the horse's character which 

 the ordinary groom invariably ignores. This is the 

 animal's extraordinary capacity for affection. He 

 must love something, man in preference to any other 

 being. In default of man, he will naturally be best 

 pleased with the society of his own kind. He is 

 essentially as gregarious an animal as the sheep, and 

 in the wild state is never found alone. In North 

 America, as is well known, the horses always assemble 

 in large droves, and even in the semi-wild state to 



