200 THE DOMESTIC HORSE. 



prejudices, and confirmed them among his be- 

 lievers, by asserting u that prosperity is with sorrel 

 horses," that certain white marks on the head are 

 advantageous, and others, on the legs, signs of ill 

 luck. Although in Europe we are by no means in 

 want of mysteries in the stable, the proverb, that 

 " Every good horse is of a good colour," is luckily 

 well established ; but there was a time, and that 

 even not long since, when similar absurdities were 

 believed and gravely set down by learned writers. 



The life of horses extends naturally from twenty- 

 five to thirty years; cases have occurred of indivi- 

 duals attaining the age of more than forty ; and in 

 countries where they are not tasked by constant over 

 exertion, the period of existence is usually between 

 nineteen and twenty-one. But in England the 

 destruction of these noble animals is excessive : the 

 value of time with a commercial people, incessantly 

 urged into activity both mental and corporeal, has 

 demanded rapidity of communication, and spread an 

 universal taste for going fast ; the fine roads have 

 permitted horses to be subjected to more than they 

 can draw ; betting, racing, and hunting are pursued 

 by persons whose animals are not constructed for 

 such exertions, and violent usage in grooms, stable- 

 boys, and farm-servants is so common, that few 

 reach the age of fifteen years, and all are truly 

 old at ten. Were statistics directed to the relative 

 length of life of horses between Germany, Belgium, 

 and England, the comparison would show an enor- 

 mous difference against us, and the mischief can be 



