74 MY horse; my love. 



and gives to his faithful servant the rest he 

 needs." 



Is the operation of docking a very severe or pain- 

 ful one? 



" To explain why it is a fearful ordeal, I must give 

 you a short lesson as to the anatomy of the horse's 

 tail. First, there are from fifteen to seventeen bones. 

 There are two pairs of tendons to lift the tail up and 

 to draw it down, and there are two pairs of tendons to 

 turn it sideways from left to right, and from right to 

 left. There are strong ligaments joining the bones, 

 and arteries, veins, and nerves intertwined through- 

 out. Covering all, with Nature's perfect finish, is the 

 muscular tissue from which grow the long heavy 

 hairs. Therefore, to cut through the quivering flesh, 

 the bones and tendons and ligaments, to sever the 

 great arteries and the smaller veins, and to expose 

 the shrinking nerves, is not only to produce exquisite 

 agony to the terrified helpless being, but the opera- 

 tion being of so dangerous a nature, must necessarily 

 be prolonged beyond bearing." 



Are the nerves of a horse very sensitive? 



" That no animal, not even man, has such an ex- 

 cessive development of nerves as the horse, has been 

 proved over and over again by post-mortem exami- 

 nations, betraying the closeness with which they are 

 interlaced. With this exceedingly fine nervous con- 

 stitution, are given the patience and pluck, to endure 

 longer, more severe pain than any other animal 

 living. In comparison to his size he possesses also 

 a very small stomach, and the power to endure 

 longer and more tedious work." 



