THE HORSE, 47 



others, who do not seem to consider it at all un- 

 feminine or coarse for a woman to give some 

 personal care and supervision to her horses. 

 But to enter into more details would prove tire- 

 some, and the example given is enough to si- 

 lence the scruples of the followers of fashion. 



Like all herbivorous creatures that love to 

 roam in herds, the horse is naturally of a rest- 

 less temperament. Activity is the delight of 

 his existence, and when left to nature and a 

 free life he is seldom quiet. Man takes this 

 creature of buoyant nature from the freedom of 

 its natural life, and confines the active body in 

 a prison house where its movements are even 

 more circumscribed than are those of the wild 

 beasts in the menagerie ; they can at least turn 

 around and walk from side to side in their cages, 

 but the horse in his narrow stall is able only to 

 move his head from side to side, to paw a little 

 with his fore-feet, and to move backwards and 

 forwards a short distance, varying with the 

 length of his halter ; when he lies down to sleep 

 he is compelled to keep in one position, and 

 runs the risk of meeting with some serious acci- 

 dent. In some stables wdiere the grooms de- 

 light in general stagnation, the horses under 

 their charge are not allowed to indulge in even 

 the smallest liberty. The slightest movement 



