46 MANAGEMENT OF THE HOESE 



or owner, they may become so vicious and bad as to make them almost 

 as worthless as the horse Cognac, well known all over California, that 

 became so vicious and unmanageable, that when he got loose and out 

 of his stall, on the Fair Grounds of Petaluma, Sonoma County, he 

 killed a man who undertook to return him to his stall. 



This horse at one time was as tractable and gentle as it was possible 

 for a horse to be, but by the improper treatment he suffered at the 

 hands of his groom while in Illinois, he became very vicious and un- 

 manageable. 



The groom, in order to show the intelligence of the horse, would 

 put his arm up to the horse's mouth, coaxing him to take hold of it, 

 in the same way as is often done by foolish people, who are not 

 thoroughly conversant with the habits of the horse. In doing this, 

 the groom succeeded in getting the horse to bite, or pinch him, on the 

 arm, with his teeth. 



One day Cognac bit him harder than usual. This enraged the 

 groom, and he took the horse out of the stable and began to whip him 

 in an unmerciful manner about the body and legs, until the horse lay 

 down, squealing from the pain inflicted by the groom. And when he 

 got up, the once gentle and kindly-disposed horse was transformed 

 into a demon, with a disposition to eat up and destroy his master, who 

 had wantonly and cruelly beat him, or any one who attempted to 

 manage him. 



It was considered, by numerous judges, that this horse had no 

 sense, as the term is generally used among horsemen, but the writer 

 looks upon this horse as having more sense than if he had allowed the 

 groom to punish him wantonly and cruelly for doing that which he 

 — the groom — had taught him to do, without making an effort to 

 retaliate. 



I was in Chicago in 1880, and my attention was called to 

 another very bad horse, called the Duke of Normandy, that had 



