82 WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANIMALS. 



about. Did the earth gradually dry up so as 

 to give the one-toed varieties, which preferred 

 a firm foothold, the advantage ? Or had the 

 sedgy marshes and thicket - lined streams too 

 many bloodthirsty inhabitants with a taste for 

 horse - flesh, so that the early equine creatures 

 were driven to take refuge in the open ? I am 

 inclined to think that the latter guess is the 

 correct one. Even now most young horses 

 resemble wild animals in being extremely sus- 

 picious of any strange sound or object, especially 

 if they are among bushes or high grass so that 

 they cannot obtain a clear view of their sur- 

 roundings. "Shying" is most distinctly a relic 

 of a valuable ancestral instinct. The wild horse, 

 swift of foot and clear of vision, feared few 

 enemies when out on the naked plains ; but 

 every bush or tuft of long grass might, and 

 often did, contain a fierce foe lying in ambush. 

 Many and many a time must the wild horse 

 have saved his life by a sudden swerve and 

 leap in the opposite direction the moment he 

 heard the rustle of leaves or descried some 

 strange and dimly outlined object among the 

 underwood. 



I know several horses which are not timid or 



