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But tho the form of the New-foreft horle 

 is feldom beautiful; yet as the ornament of 

 a foreft-fcene, he is very pidurefque. The 

 horfe, in his natural ftate, rough with all 

 his mane about him, and his tail waving 

 in the wind, as he feeds, is always beautiful; 

 but particularly in fo wild a fcene as this, 

 which he graces exceedingly*. 



On this fubjedl I cannot forbear digreffing 

 a little, (and I hope the reader will not be 

 too faftidious,) on the great indignity the 

 horfe fuffers from the mutilation of his tail, 

 and ears. Within this century, I believe, 

 the barbarous cuilom of docking horfes came 

 in ufe ; and hath palled through various mo- 

 difications, like all other cuftoms, which are 

 not founded in nature, and truth. A few 

 years ago the Pdort dock was the only tail (if 



* Hogarth, in his analyfis of beauty, (in which, among 

 fome refinements, are many excellent remarks on forms) gives 

 us a very pifturefque idea of the movements of " a fine Arabian 

 " horfe, unbacked, and at liberty, in a wanton trot, prefling 

 " forward; and yet curvetting from fide to fide; whilft hii 

 *' long mane,' and tail play about in ferpentine motion." p. 140. 



it 



