26 Our Noblest Friend, The Horse 



The wildest cow-pony, hardly saddle-or-bridle- 

 wise, will wait for hours at any point where he may 

 be left, providing only that the bridle-rein is thrown 

 over his head. The enthusiast is much impressed 

 at the sight of this " faithful " creature waiting for 

 his master, but does not know that the first thing a 

 broncho is taught, as vitally important, is to stand 

 and to wait anywhere, with but the horizon as a 

 boundary; and that this obligation is impressed 

 upon him by turning him loose in the corral with 

 a sharp curb-bit in his mouth, and with its reins 

 trailing on the ground. By the time he has stepped 

 upon them a few times, as he wanders about, and 

 nearly broken his jaw in consequence, he learns that 

 trailing reins are a signal to stand still, and that only 

 lack of motion ensures freedom from acute agony. 

 Pull the bridle off, and you can't get near enough 

 to " rope " him, unless in a pen, or when riding a 

 horse fast enough to run him down. The mustang 

 hates man, who in his experiences has proved himself 

 a merciless brute; yet, if bridled thus, the creature 



