THE HORSE. 11 



dressed to him, that he would seldom have a bad 

 horse, if it were not for gross mismanagement. It^- 

 norance is the sole cause of the non-discovery of the 

 good qualities of the animal, and the natural effect 

 is to mar them. 



In a religious point of view, it is also incumbent 

 upon us to treat with kindness all those animals 

 which are given to us for our use. The horse, in 

 particular, should be an object of our especial 

 regard. How many of the complaints under which 

 he labours are the consequences of man's brutality! 

 His diseases are few, even in an artificial state, 

 and those few are brought on by ill-treatment, or, 

 in milder language, mismanagemeilt. Yet there may 

 be quite as much cruelty in the oue case as the 

 other, if the latter be not of the two the worst. 



Whose horses have to undergo such unremitting 

 fatigue as those of commercial travellers'? Yet, 

 where is there besides so large a body of men who 

 are enabled to pay so little regard to them, or to ac- 

 quire a competent knowledge of the best mode of 

 treating them I They know that horses have mouths 

 to be fed, for this knowledge is forced upon them by 

 the cost of their keep, and they know also that the 

 mouth is useful as a place for the bit, without which 

 they could not be ridden or driven, antl this, gene- 

 rally speaking, is the full ext ,nt of the knowledge 

 possessed by the class of persons alluded to of horses. 

 To understand the quantities of solids or fluids they 

 require for the preservation of health, is scarcely to 

 be expected of them. Some persons have a fanciful 

 theory in favour of giving them drugs, both in their 

 meat and water; in most of which cases, if the 

 animals could speak, they would say, " Throw physic 

 to the dogs." Others think that soapy, or dirty, filthy 

 water, is better than the clearest, as they will drink 

 more sparingly of it ; but horses are not likely, any 



