78 MY horse; my love. 



'tongue-tied.' Then the tail must be artificially 

 propped and the wound will heal quickly." 



There is no danger in this, I suppose? 



" Yes, even this slight operation is dangerous to 

 the horse, and he suffers much pain. " 



Do you consider the mane also so important? 



" The mane and forelock should always be culti- 

 vated, for they are a very great protection against 

 sunstroke. To cut off the mane is therefore to 

 uncover a sensitive part of the neck and head, to an- 

 nihilate a beauty, and to defeat Nature's meaning 

 in her wise bestowal of what she deems a necessity, 

 or she would not have given it. What would you 

 think of a little colt coming into the world with an 

 ass's mane and a docked tail? Would you admire 

 it?" 



Well, it might bring its owner an income as one 

 of Nature's freaks, like the double-headed calf or the 

 four-legged chicken, if exhibited in a menagerie. 

 But I doubt if a horse, artificially deprived, would be 

 seen in company with one ready made, so to speak, 

 born with a banged mane and docked tail. 



"Of course, madam, you know that all accounts of 

 the prehistoric horse, which was little larger than a 

 sheep, prove his tail to have been prehensile. To 

 him it was as much of an absolute necessity as it is to 

 the monkey to-day. He finds it indispensable as a 

 hand in climbing from bough to bough, in swinging 

 forward to catch the swaying limb of a tree, and in 

 all his nimble movements a wonderful means of 

 defense, progression, or escape. " 



And you consider the tail of our modern horse as 



