Horses. 



75 



that would dance or fire a pistol, or pick up a pocket-hand- 

 kerchief, yet it would be pleasant to have in our horses the 

 degree of docility and intelligence which circus-trainers 

 direct to these vain objects. Many accompUshments might 

 be attained that would be valuable everywhere. It would 

 be extremely convenient if a horse would follow you with- 

 out being pulled by halter or bridle, and wait for you in 

 one place without being fastened. A man who had trav- 

 elled amongst the Arabs told me that he had seen many 

 horses that would stand where they were left, without any 

 fastening, and some will follow you like a dog. 



A great deal of accomplishment may go into the ordi- 

 nary work of saddle and carriage-horses, and almost escape 

 notice because we think it only natural. But how wide 

 is the difference between a trained horse and a raw one ! 

 How slight are the indications by which the master con- 

 veys the expression of his will, how rapid and exact the 

 apprehension ! With horses of the finest organisation this 

 apprehension rises into a sympathy above the necessity for 

 any definite command ; they know the master's will by a 

 sense of faint pressures, of limb on saddle, of hand on rein. 

 I used to ride a horse which would go on trotting so long 

 as I was not tired, but when I began to feel fatigued he 

 walked, knowing by my altered manner of rising in the 

 saddle that rest would be a relief to me. By this accurate 

 interpretation of our muscular action, even when it is so 

 slight as to be imperceptible to the eye of a by-stander, the 

 horse measures the skill, the strength, the resolution of his 

 rider. He knows at once whether you are at home in the 

 saddle or not, and if your movements do not correspond 

 accurately to his own, he is aware that he can take liberties. 

 A bad rider may sometimes deceive the people in the street, 

 but it may be doubted whether he ever deceived the animal 



