VICES PROPERLY SO CALLED. 877 



nished wheels of passing vehicles, a flock of pigeons flying to roost 

 upon the roof of a neighboring house, a drove of sheep approaching 

 in a huddled mass along the dusty road, etc. 



The exciting causes of fear which act upon the sense of hearing 

 are perhaps even more numerous and more operative than those which 

 act upon the sense of sight, because it is harder for the horse to under- 

 stand their nature. We may mention among them a sudden noise, 

 such as the report of a fire-arm or of a cannon, the explosion of a 

 piece of fireworks, the whistle of a locomotive, the barking of a dog, 

 the accidental resonance of the ground over which the horse is travelling, 

 the transition from a dirt road to a pavement, or to a wooden or an 

 iron bridge, the shaking of the ground and the noise produced by the 

 passing of a railroad train, the swift arrival of a carriage, the beating 

 of a drum, the sound of a bugle, etc. " A good bugler's horse is not 

 frightened by noises." ^ 



The odor of wild beasts, certain pungent emanations which the 

 animal perceives suddenly when passing before a menagerie or a 

 knacker's establishment, etc., may also frighten him and cause him to 

 run to one side. But influences of this kind are more rare than those 

 mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Such horses at every moment 

 expose to great dangers those who drive them. Good horsemanship 

 alone is capable of inspiring them with confidence and boldness. 



10th. Aversion to Special Objects. — We purposely take up 

 this vice immediately after the preceding, on account of the difficul- 

 ties which are sometimes experienced in distinguishing the one from 

 the other. It is characterized by the extreme repugnance, mingled 

 with hatred and aggressiveness, which some horses manifest for certain 

 colors, or towards certain animals. J.-B. Rodet^ has given three re- 

 markable examples, and we also have observed some. The following 

 are cited from Rodet : 



" In 1806, during the campaign of Austerlitz, a Piedmontese oflacer pos- 

 sessed a beautiful mare, a very good animal in all respects with the exception 

 of a vice which rendered her excessively dangerous as a saddle-mare. This 

 animal had a very decided aversion for paper, completely losing her senses not 

 only as soon as she saw it, but also whenever, even in darkness, she heard the 

 rustle produced by it. This effect was always so prompt and so violent that in 

 several instances, taken by surprise as it were, she ran away or dismounted her 

 rider, and even at one time, the foot of the latter remaining caught in the stirrup. 



1 Leroux, Dictionnaire comique, t. i. p. 162. 



2 J.-B. Kodet, Doctrine physiologique appliqu6e a la iii6decine v6t6rinaire, p. 272, et suiv. 

 In-80, Paris, 1828. 



