HISTORY OF MORO 145 



iron grey, the colour called moro by the natives, and 

 as he was the only one of that colour in our troop we 

 named him Moro. He came to us from some gaucho 

 friends who lived at their estancia about forty miles 

 south of our home; and as we were warned that 

 Moro was a home-loving horse, it was necessary to 

 keep him collared to one of the horses of the estab- 

 lishment for a month before letting him go free. I 

 retain a vivid recollection of this animal, so that he 

 stands out from the hundreds of horses I have ridden 

 among the half a dozen or so that have most impressed 

 me with their personality. He had a spirit and dash 

 above all the horses I have known and ridden: to 

 be touched with whip or spur would drive him wild. 

 One had to keep a tight rein on him, as with a man 

 on his back his one desire was to let himself go at his 

 topmost speed. But he had a silken mouth and the 

 most perfect control over his motions. He was the 

 only horse I ever possessed that when at full speed 

 could be brought to a sudden stand, and then, with 

 a touch on his neck, be made to spin round as on 

 a pivot. His instant response when you set him to 

 do these things seemed to show that he loved doing 

 them. His chief fault was that he was intolerant of 

 strangers, and if carelessly approached by one he 

 did not know he would lash out with his heels, so 

 that our visitors always had to be warned not to go 

 near the dangerous animal. 



One day on coming home on Moro I rode into the 

 patio or yard, and leaving him standing there went into 

 the house, and just then a child of some people on a 



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