THE MIND OF THE HORSE 9 



His delicate sense of smell does not allow him 

 to eat things having a bad odonr or to drink bad 

 water. The odour of decomposing substances and 

 that emanating from wild beasts alarms him. I do 

 not know how he distinguishes good plants from 

 bad. Probably poisonous plants have a peculiar 

 odour by which the horse is instinctively warned 

 not to eat them. 



Ordinarily the horse has no great sensitiveness 

 in the skin covering the body and the legs; his 

 sensitiveness is, however, great behind the second 

 bone of the shoulders, on the flanks, beneath the 

 belly and on the inside part of the thigh. He feels 

 the excitement or irritation known as tickling on 

 being touched in these pai-t^. He gives signs of 

 this by becoming restive, by kicking, pawing and 

 trying to bite, and by these movements he endea- 

 vours to prevent the irritation being continued. 



He experiences annoyance if touched roughly, 

 and fear if touched unexpectedly. If touched roughly 

 so that he experiences pain about the eyes, ears 

 or head, he raises his head, turns it in another 

 direction, recedes, attempts to bite, and employs 



