216 
THE CABINET OP NATURAL HISTORY 
whether thf horse be qualified by nature to fulfil the inten- 
tions of the owner. The age and strength of the animal 
have not been taken into consideration; and his incapacity 
to undergo the fatigue allotted to him, although proceeding 
from weakness, has very incorrectly been ascribed to stub- 
bornness and obstinacy. Resistance, as may be expected, 
has been the natural consequence; harsher usage has follow- 
ed; the temper of the animal has become soured; and he 
has really imbibed a vicious character, which, at the onset, 
was only imaginary. The result has been opea warfare be- 
tween him and his rider; in which the latter seldom gained 
an ascendancy; and the former has never been duly trained 
for the purpose for which he was destined; indeed, he has 
frequently been rendered quite unserviceable, and become 
afterwards a drug in the market, though nature had intended 
him to be useful in many capacities, which, under judicious 
management, would doubtless have been realised. 
The nature of instruction requires that he who teaches 
should be intelligent, and know how to make himself un- 
derstood by his pupils, otherwise little good can be attained. 
This is more essentially requisite in the rearing and tuition 
of an irrational animal. When the teacher knows but little 
himself, or has not the talent of imparting knowledge to his 
scholars, the design of education is not fulfilled, and coer- 
cive measures only aggravate the evil. A parity of reason- 
ing will hold good with horses. 
For a long series of years I have been in the habit of 
making observations on the errors committed in the usual 
treatment and training of horses; and I am convinced, from 
experience deduced by long study of the nature of horses, 
and continual intercourse with them, that mild discipline is 
the sine qua non of stable-management, and it is the inte- 
rest of every proprietor to see it enforced. Patience and 
good temper are cardinal requisites in a groom. Horses 
have very retentive memories, and seldom forget the unruly 
tricks or habits acquired from improper and hasty hand- 
ling. 
I have just observed that crib-biting is oftentimes caused 
by improper dressing. It also very generally dates its ori- 
gin, according to the observations I have personally made, 
to want of employment, as well as to imitation. 
Bad habits usually result from idleness. If we are inve- 
terate smokers or snuff-takers, let us ask ourselves the rea- 
son of our indulgence in these propensities? For the mo- 
ment, probably, we cannot account for them; but, after a 
little reflection, are free to admit, that imitation and too 
much leisure are the causes; and custom has tended to root 
us so firmly to these habits, that to be debarred their indul- 
gence, would to many persons be downright misery. As 
with man, so it is with the horse. 
A crib-biter, or wind-sucker, should never be turned out 
to grass promiscuously with other horses, for he most 
assuredly will get at the land marks and gates; and, whilst 
indulging in his propensity, will naturally attract the notice 
of his companions. Imitation, as I said before, is one of 
the leading inducements to this destructive habit. I was 
once an eye-witness to the fact of a horse, when in the 
field, drawing the attention of four others from amongst the 
number grazing, to his actions. They alternately began, 
first to smell, and then to nibble at the place moistened by 
the saliva of their comrade, and, as I prognosticated at (he 
time, became afterwards confirmed crib-biters. 
A horse, from want of exercise, will often take to crib- 
bing from sheer idleness, or too much confinement in the 
stable; and the abominable practice of tying the head to the 
rack, produces, particularly in young high-couraged horses, 
an impatient restlessness. Some show their dislike of the 
restraint by continual kicking with one or other of the hind 
legs; others, by licking and nibbling the rack or manger, 
till they imbibe a professed attachment to the vice, more 
especially if, in the adjacent stall, they have a companion 
addicted to crib-biting, and themselves a nice soft deal 
manger, inviting them to enter upon their noviciate. 
Confinement in the stable for too long a period, has a 
similar effect on the horse, as too great an indulgence of 
bed has on the human frame — it produces general debility 
and weakness. My advice is, when the horse be not wanted 
for service, to give him walking exercise in the open air, 
three or four hours a day, allowing him plenty to eat and 
drink; and if this do not keep him hale and fit for use, why, 
get rid of him, as, to borrow a stable phrase, “ he must be 
rotten.” When the weather will not permit of exercise in 
the dry, put on a soft bit with players, for two hours in the 
morning, and two hours in the afternoon; by an adherence 
to which rule digestion is promoted, the loss of exercise 
compensated, and, by the amusement the horse finds in the 
bit, he is not only kept out of mischief, but the carriage of 
the head is greatly facilitated. Exercise improves the 
appetite and strengthens the powers of digestion in a sur- 
prising manner; hunger becomes keen; and food is taken 
with eager relish, which is well known to be one of the j 
best signs of health. 
[To be continued.] 
QUADRUPEDS. 
Or the two hundred species of Quadrupeds which Buffon 
supposes to exist, he calculates, that about ninety are origi- 
nal inhabitants of the Old Continent, and about seventy of 
the New, and that forty may be accounted common to both. 
Since the period when he wrote, the number of species has 
been much increased. 
