MOULTING— MENTAL DEVELOPMENT- -STOMACH. 29 



bbnt it is no wonder they become diseased, and seldom die from 

 old age : but brood-mares are not so mismanaged, and it is found 

 that they become quite worn out soon after their twentieth year ; 

 j,nd even if allowed to live they waste away and die by degrees, 

 generally somewhere between their twenty-third and twenty-eighth 

 year. 



PERIODICAL MOULTING. 



The horse sheds his coat once a year in all countries, and 

 in our climate a second half-moult is performed in the autumn, 

 when the summer short coat is partially shed. This second change 

 consists, however, chiefly in a growth of the already existing hairs, 

 which become coarser and longer, especially about the legs and 

 under-parts of the body. At the same time the coat loses its gloss, 

 and the color is less rich, blacks becoming rusty brown, and bays 

 more yellow or sandy-colored than before. The hair of the mane 

 and tail is constantly in a state of growth, and is not shed period- 

 ically. 



MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. 



In mental development the horse ranks below the dog, but 

 he is capable of a considerable degree of education, though in 

 countries where he is kept constantly confined he does not appear 

 to great advantage in this respect. That he may be made to 

 understand what is said to him is clear enough from the mode of 

 managing farm-horses, which are all taught to obey the voice. I 

 have on one occasion seen a circus-horse walk, trot, and gallop at 

 the word of command, and change his paces on the instant; but 

 this feat I have never known performed by any other exhibitor, 

 nor do I think it would easily be imitated. It requires a high 

 order of intellect to distinguish between the three paces ar.d 

 change them on the instant, and if I had not myself witnessed the 

 performance on two several occasions I should scarcely have cred- 

 ited it. The brain of this animal does not require much rest by 

 sleep, and four or five hours in quiet are sufficient to keep him in 

 health if he is not very hard worked. He readily sleeps standing, 

 and some individuals never lie down ; but this habit of sleeping 

 standing should not be encouraged, as it greatly distresses the legs, 

 and lends to produce fever of the feet, or some other mischief in 

 the lower extremities. 



SMALL STOMACH. 

 One of the greatest peculiarities in the structure of the 

 horse is the small size of his stomach, which is also of a very 

 simple nature. Ho is likewise without a gall bladder, showing 

 that the digestion must be continuous and not interrupted by dis- 

 tinct intervals, as in the ruminants and carnivora. Nature has 

 thus framed this animal in order that he may be at all times able 



