HORSES. 255 



are listening to sounds which their rider cannot hear ; 

 and when they are pointed forward, they rejoice in the 

 affectionate voices of those whom they love. Those 

 full, hazel eyes denote passions of various kinds, are 

 often turned full of parental love on the offspring 

 which gambols by their side, or of gratitude upon their 

 kind masters, following their benefactors with a melan- 

 choly look when they take their departure. Those nos- 

 trils are dilated sometimes with anger, at others with 

 the pleasures of the chase ; and the arched neck, the 

 broad muscular chest, the graceful, curving lines of the 

 body, the well-shaped, sinewy limbs, sometimes slender 

 and delicate in their proportions, bear these beautiful 

 creatures over hill and dale almost with the swiftness of 

 a bird ; while their long mane and tail float in the air, 

 as if the creature whom they adorn were about to soar 

 to heaven. 



In a state of freedom, horses are swift, fierce, and 

 inquisitive. They herd together in large numbers. The 

 males evince the most faithful attachment to the females, 

 and protect them and their offspring to the death, often 

 fighting with their fore-feet. The latter are fond and 

 devoted mothers. 



In activity there is no animal which more decidedly 

 takes its character from its early masters or instructors. 

 Their admirable qualities are heightened, their fierceness 

 becomes courage, their wild actions are turned into play, 

 and their attachment and sagacity are only surpassed 

 by those of the dog. On the other hand, most of what 

 are called their vices may be traced to their early train- 

 ing. Allowances must, of course, be made for natural 

 disposition, which varies as much in the brute creation 

 as it does in man ; and I have met with ill-tempered 



