880 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



wild animal, or the odor emanating from it, the breaking down of a 

 carriage, the snapping of the axle-tree, the shaft, the pole, of some 

 part of the harness, as the girth, the crupper, the trace, the lines, the 

 accidental unfastening of the collar, etc., any sudden pain, a wound, 

 brutal traction upon the bit, a violent cut of the whip, immoderate 

 use of the spurs, sometimes the simple inconvenience occasioned by a 

 disarranged harness, etc., any of these circumstances, or many other 

 analogous ones, may cause a horse to run away. 



Often it results from a vicious disposition, a bad education of the 

 horse, which, at the slightest provocation, becomes irritable, defends 

 himself, and runs away. 



Sometimes, on the contrary, the act implies neither fear, pain, nor 

 annoyance, and occurs in animals which display in other respects 

 extreme gentleness. High spirits, the desire to run, the need of exer- 

 cise, a whim, or some internal impulse as yet not satisfactorily explained, 

 leads them on, intoxicates them little by little, and the next moment 

 they " lose their head ;" they fall a prey to the mad impulse and are 

 deaf to all restraint. Some people are imprudent enough to unbridle 

 their horses entirely, in order to give them a drink or to feed them, 

 along the roadside or on the street, without keeping a watchful eye over 

 them. In such cases accidents are not rare. Accustomed to work 

 with a bridle and with blinds, and thus to see only what is in front of 

 them, these animals become frightened at the sight of objects in motion 

 alongside of them, and will at once start to run away. For this reason 

 the use of blinds should be avoided as much as possible, and especially 

 should the bridle never be taken off upon the public road, unless 

 extreme watchfulness is exercised upon the vehicles, or the brake 

 applied to the wheels, and the horse's head tied to a weight or to some 

 fixed body close by. 



Again, there are some persons who will not allow any other car- 

 riage to pass them on the road, and on that account urge and excite 

 their horses in every possible way. The latter at first quicken their 

 gait, become excited by degrees, redouble their speed, and often end by 

 running away. In time the spirit of emulation becomes a part of the 

 horse's disposition and develops into a veritable mania. He will no 

 longer allow another horse to pass him on the road, and manifests this 

 determination, if needs be, by indocility. 



The animal which runs away usually breaks suddenly into a gallop 

 and rushes forward headlong with all the speed of which he is capable. 

 Sometimes the increase of speed is gradual ; little by little the animal 

 becomes unmanageable, and in a short time he is beyond the control of 



