74 WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANIMALS. 



His dam was a mare celebrated for her speed, and 

 she had a jockey on her back. She outstripped 

 the rival horse, and her long-legged offspring kept 

 level with her with ease. 



If you watch how a young colt takes his nour- 

 ishment, you will see that his habit tells the same 

 story. He never takes a full meal like that glut- 

 tonous suckling the calf, which will distend its 

 stomach with a gallon of milk at a time, but keeps 

 constantly running to his dam, and refreshing 

 himself with a few mouthfuls. This shows, firstly, 

 that it is not his custom to be long absent from 

 his dam, as are young animals which lie hidden 

 among the thickets while their 'parents go to seek 

 pasture ; and, secondly, that his stomach is never 

 so loaded with food as to hinder his running 

 powers, which were all - important when the 

 youngest member of the band had to keep up 

 with the rest in their flight from wolves or other 

 enemies. Again, a colt, when he lies down, does 

 not curl himself up in small compass as if to 

 escape observation after the bashful manner of 

 a calf, but extends his long limbs conspicuously. 



Another sure sign that the early horses lived 

 on open plains is seen in the manner in which 

 their modern descendants bear themselves when 



