310 LANGUAGE OF THE HOKSE. 



SAGACITY OF HORSES. 



The sagacity of horses is such as to adapt him to fill vari- 

 ous places of responsibility with a readiness unknown to any 

 other animal but man. On the battlefield he is a war-horse, 

 entering into the strife with as much zeal and interest as his 

 rider. On the race-course he is as fleet as the deer, often sacri- 

 ficing his life and dying in his determined struggles for victory. 

 On the farm he is a sagacious drudge, often using as much in- 

 telligence and judgment as his many-times ignorant and brutal 

 driver. 



On the road he becomes a locomotive, subject to such pres- 

 sure of speed-power as the circumstances may demand. In the 

 civic procession he is as airy as his rider, and intelligent enough 

 to appreciate the plaudits of his admirers. As a hackney he is 

 wise in the use of his forces and enters into the spirit of making 

 an attractive turnout -with as much pride as his master. At the 

 stage-coach he is flying all aboard ; at the private carriage he 

 is as proud and disdainful as the petted beauty who sits behind 

 him ; at the funeral he is as melancholy as the mourners. 



I occasionally get a new horse, and while I study my horse 

 he studies me, and we gradually become acquainted, and it is 

 surprising to note how soon an intelligent horse will learn the 

 ways and requirements of his owner or driver. If I am a cow- 

 ard, he is one ; if I am lazy he is lazy ; if I am impatient he is 

 impatient ; if I am lost in thought how dreamily he pursues his 

 way. 



To what other . domestic animal can we look for sagacity 

 equal to that of the horse ? 



I have always imagined I could read in the conduct of the 

 horse a certain measure of the character of his owner, somehow 

 as you can see the character of the man in the empty hat that 

 sits upon the table, yet you cannot tell why. 



From my earliest boyhood's recollections I used to estimate 

 the character and condition of my neighbors by the looks and 

 conduct of their horses. "When I saw a venerable pair seated 

 in a rickety wagon drawn by a low-headed, slabsided, ewe- 



