THE HORSE. 83 



given to shying as a general rule, but which be- 

 come almost mad with terror when they hear the 

 loud rustle of reeds by a river-bank. Yet there 

 is no danger whatever to be anticipated from this 

 sound as far as their own experience goes. Such 

 seizures of panic in the modern horse tell us a 

 tale of many a tragic incident in the remote past, 

 when the herds of wild desert steeds, parched 

 with thirst, sought the watercourses where was 

 "grass with reeds and rushes," and were there 

 pounced upon by leopards or tigers, crouching in 

 ambush on the watch for prey. 



No doubt the so-called vice of "bucking" was 

 at one time a savingr virtue as far as the horse 

 was concerned, for by this means he would often 

 -be able to shake off an enemy which had pounced 

 upon him. The habit is rather a curious one, 

 and seemed to be partly due to imitation ; for 

 one finds that horses in certain localities are 

 specially addicted to it, although they do not 

 seem to belong to any one special breed. For 

 instance, the horses in some parts of Australia 

 and the mustangs of Northern Mexico are noto- 

 rious buck -jumpers ; whereas their relatives in 

 other parts are not nearly so given to the habit. 

 It is worth while noting, however, that both the 



