Uoiv to Reiider Morses Obedient, 201 



of stupidity, and why? Is it not because it seldom if 

 ever opposes anything more than passive resistance to 

 the tyranny of its oppressors ? it wants tiie strength and 

 the active courage that would enable it to act aggress- 

 ively and deserve the title of vicious enjoyed by its near 

 relative the zebra, whose indocility is not considered to 

 be stupidity. We doubt much whether the horse is 

 really more intelligent than the ass ; it has greater 

 strength and agility, and a more active courage, which, 

 if it knew how to use, would enable it to set mankind 

 at defiance equally as well as the zebra ; and it argues 

 a certain amount of stupidity when so powerful an ani- 

 mal suffers itself to be converted, as it often is, into the 

 abject slave of a miserable taskmaster. The intelligence 

 of the horse is, however, sufficient to enable it to find 

 out ^■ery soon whether its rider be or be not deficient in 

 that self-same quality or in courage ; and, in the former 

 case, the consciousness of superior strength encourages 

 it to use this '' il se defend" — that is to say, it sets the 

 rider at defiance and turns restive. 



There is another thing to be considered with regard 

 to the horse's character : it loves to exercise its powers, 

 and it possesses a great spirit of emulation ; it likes 

 variety of scene and amusement ; and under a rider that 

 understands how to indulge it in all this without over- 

 taxing its powers, will work willingly to the last gasp, 

 which is what entitles it to the name of a noble and 

 generous animal. Now, while over-exertion, when 

 unfit, will very frequently make horses refuse work, on 

 the other hand, deficiency of exercise and constantly 

 riding the same dull round, either alone or in company 

 with other horses, will give rise to a whole string of 

 evils ; as, for instance, refusing to go any but a certain 

 way, or to leave their stable, or clinging to other horses 

 they meet with, etc. ; and this is just the reason why so 

 many cases of restiveness may be traced to the stupidity 



