THE ETHICS OF HORSE-KEEPING. 15 



that when horses are in good spirits, especially in 

 cold weather, they will often shy at sights or sounds 

 which under other circumstances they pass by with- 

 out notice. In such a case it is always assumed that 

 the horse, out of roguishness, is simply pretending to 

 be afraid ; and commonly this is true. Frequently, 

 indeed, horses work themselves into a condition of 

 panic for the mere fun of the thing, — to enjoy the 

 pleasure of running or shying off from the object 

 of their half-real, half-fictitious terror, just as a 

 school-girl might scurry through a churchyard at 

 dusk. 



In one of Mr. G-alton's books there is a passage 

 about wild animals which throws light on the conduct 

 of some tame animals. He says : " From my own recol- 

 lection, I believe that every antelope in South Africa 

 has to run for its life every one or two days upon an 

 average, and that he starts or gallops under the influ- 

 ence of a false alarm many times in a day. Those 

 who have crouched at night by the side of pools in 

 the desert, in order to have a shot at the beasts that 

 frequent them, see strange scenes of animal life : how 

 the creatures gambol at one moment and fight at an- 

 other : how a herd suddenly halts in strained atten- 

 tion, and then breaks into a maddened rush, as one of 

 them becomes conscious of the stealthy movements or 

 rank scent of a beast of prey. Now this hourly life- 

 and-death excitement is a keen delight to most wild 

 creatures." 



But there is more behind. I am convinced that 

 nervous horses, when in high condition, and stimu- 

 lated by the cold or otherwise, are often actually 

 frightened by objects which do not thus affect them 



