192 THE HORSE 



animal to serve, the safety of the horse must be the first 

 consideration ; but with a docile, generous mare it is better 

 to act without it. Some horses are so savage in their lust it 

 is most necessary to protect the necks of the mares from 

 injury ; they receive serious bites, and may even be killed 

 if the stallion seizes them where the gaping of the atlas 

 exposes the spinal cord to external injury. A cover for the 

 neck, of sacking or leather, which cannot be torn by the 

 teeth, is therefore a wise precaution. 



Apropos of this an anecdote has been related to me, my 

 informant having been told the tale by the owner of the 

 animals, who witnessed the scene, when a donkey- 

 stallion succeeded in killing a full-grown stallion horse. 

 That it was a fight to a finish never crossed the mind of 

 the spectator, who only thought it would make for peace if 

 he allowed the two to settle the matter for themselves. 



The horse commenced proceedings by assaulting the 

 donkey, and battered his sides with kicks to the utmost of 

 his power. These the donkey bore for some time without 

 any flinching, but he gradually edged along the horse's flank 

 till he could get within reach of the forearm, when he sud- 

 denly seized the horse just above the knee with a powerful 

 grip and held on like a bulldog, despite all the struggles of 

 the other. At length the horse could stand the pain no 

 longer and came down upon his knees, when, being at last 

 within his reach, the donkey instantly quitted his hold upon 

 the forearm, and seizing the horse behind the ears, where 

 the atlas exposes the pith, he killed the horse almost 

 immediately. 



The choice of ground for breeding stock needs to be care- 

 fully made, for some parts of the country are just as suit- 

 able as others are the reverse. Upland districts are usually 

 the best, and limestone, new red sandstone, gravel, and 

 chalk are generally excellent. Black soil — not peat 

 soil, but the kind which grows excellent crops, and which 

 is beloved by pheasants and partridges — is first rate as 

 a change, but should be well drained, and stock in general 

 seems to thrive apace in such localities. On clay soils 

 horses often do well, provided they have access to light land 



