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LETTER, 



pretension to mend Nature's work by docking the 

 tail, a practice offensive to humanity, and replete 

 with absurdity, begins now to be unfashionable, while 

 we must still regret the continuance of the custom of 

 forming it by nicking, which is equally cruel and 

 useless, as it gives to the horse no real, but only a 

 fancied ornament. 



The ponies of Wales, and those bred in the high- 

 lands of Scotland, seem to be an original and un- 

 mixed race. Both kinds are much esteemed for the 

 neatness of their shapes, and the agility of their mo- 

 tion, but still more for their vigor in supporting fa- 

 tigue, as well as for being exceedingly sure-footed in 

 difficult roads ; qualities well adapted to the mowW 

 tainous tracts of which they are natives. 



It is very probable, that the horse was not origi- 

 nally a native of this island ; but at what time, or 

 from what part of the continent this noble quadruped 

 was first introduced, history does not inform us. We 

 learn, however, from the commentaries of Julius 

 Ciesar, that horses were plentiful in this country at 

 the time of his invasion ; and although that celebrated 

 commander has not given us any description of their 

 kind and shape, his narrative atibrds a suificient 

 proof of their activity and discipline, when used in 

 the war-chariots of the Britons. 



We cannot, my dear Sir, dismiss this article, with- 

 out making some reflections on the wisdom and good- 

 ness of Divine Providence, in creating an animal of 

 such singular utility to the human species. If we 

 rightly consider the difficulties of our situation, if tlio 

 goodness of Providence had not provided us the as- 

 sistance of the horse, we shall find that the obstacles 

 we should in many cases have met with would have 

 been almost insurmountable. The want of horses 

 was one of the principal causes which rendered the 

 natives of the new world so much inferior of the Eu- 

 ropean invaders ; and the decided superiority of the 

 Spaniards over the Mexicans was owing almost, as 

 much to their horses :is to their fire-arms. Indeed, 

 /he want of horn's would always hove operated 



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