50 THE MIND OP THE HORSE 



his owu way and not to yield to the will of others, 

 anger which makes him resent being touched, or 

 respond rebellionsly to the actions of others towards 

 himself; the feeling of viciousness or aggressiveness; 

 the excess of physical sensibility in any part of tlie 

 body, or sensitiveness of the month; the sensation 

 of tickling, and excitement induced by the spurs; 

 the excess of excitability to motion owing to which 

 he always desires to run and break away; the ex- 

 cessive feeling of fear or dread owing to which he 

 is always in great apprehension. 



The whole of these qualities of the will together 

 Avith the degree of individual sensibility constitutes 

 tlie individual character or disposition in various 

 horses, which may be more or less timid, good, 

 subject to fear, bold, choleric, vicious. 



Gaiety and melancholy also influence their na- 

 ture and are qualities which contribute to forming 

 the disposition. Writers in the sixteenth century 

 regai-ded gaiety as an advantage, for they coined 

 a proverb attributing cheerfulness as a good quality 

 to the liorse and melancholy to the dog. They re- 

 garded melancholy as a bad quality as they thought 



