horse:--"Ibrahim went frequently to Rama to inquire news of the mare
whom he dearly loved; he would embrace her, wipe her eyes with his
handkerchief, would rub her with his shirt sleeves, would give her a
thousand benedictions during whole hours that he would remain talking to
her. 'My eyes! my soul! my heart!' he would say, 'must I be so
unfortunate as to have thee sold to so many masters, and not keep thee
myself? I am poor, my antelope! I brought thee up in my dwelling as a
child; I did never beat nor chide thee----" Arabs have been known to
refuse enormous sums for horses, though actually themselves in a
condition of extreme want. That the horse can reciprocate the kindness
shown to him is proved by many a story of his fidelity. Chateaubriand
says, "When I was at Jerusalem the feats of one of these steeds made a
great noise. The Bedouin to whom the animal, a mare, belonged, being
pursued by the governor's guards, rushed with her from the top of the
hills that overlooked Jericho. The mare scoured at full gallop down an
almost perpendicular declivity without stumbling, and left the soldiers
lost in admiration and astonishment. The poor creature, however, dropped
down dead on entering Jericho, and the Bedouin, who would not quit her,
was taken, weeping over the body of his faithful companion."
More romantic is the story told by M. de Lamartine, thus quoted by Mrs.
Bowdich. "An Arab chief and the tribe to which he belonged attacked a
caravan in the night, and were returning with their plunder, when some
horsemen belonging to the Pasha of Acre surrounded them, killed several,
and bound the rest with cords. Among the latter was the chief Abou el
Marek, who was carried to Acre, and, bound hand and foot, laid at the
entrance of their tent during the night. Kept awake by the pain of his
wounds he heard his horse, who was picketed at a distance from him,
neigh. Wishing to caress him, perhaps for the last time, he dragged
himself up to him, and said, 'Poor friend! what will you do among the
Turks? You will be shut up under the roof of a khan, with the horses of
a Pasha or an Aga. No longer will the women and children of the tent
bring you barley, camel's milk, or dhourra, in the hollow of their
hands; no longer will you gallop free as the wind in the desert; no
longer will you cleave the waters with your breast, and lave your sides,
as pure as the foam from your lips. If I am to be a slave, at least you
may go free. Return to our tent, tell my wife that Abou el Marek will
return no more; but put your head still into the folds of the tent, and
lick the hands of my beloved children.' With these words, as his hands
were tied, the chief with his teeth undid the fetters which held the
courser bound, and set him at liberty; but the noble animal, on
recovering his freedom, instead of galloping away to the desert, bent
his head over his master, and seeing him in fetters and on the ground,
took his clothes gently between his teeth, lifted him up, and set off at
full speed towards home. Without resting he made straight for the
distant but well-known tent in the mountains of Arabia. He arrived there
in safety, laid his master down at the feet of his wife and children,
and immediately dropped down dead with fatigue. The whole tribe mourned
him, the poets celebrated his fidelity, and his name is still constantly
in the mouths of the Arabs of Jericho."
For the sake of the beautiful moral it contains the following story is
well worth adding. In the tribe of Negde there was a mare of great
reputation for beauty and swiftness, which a member of another tribe
named Daber desired to possess. Having failed to obtain her by offering
all he was worth, he sought to effect his object by stratagem. Disguised
as a lame beggar he waited by a roadside, knowing that Nabee, the owner
of the horse, would shortly pass that way. As soon as Nabee appeared,
Daber cried out to him, begging assistance and pretending to be too weak
to rise. Nabee thereupon dismounted from the mare, and helped the beggar
to mount her. The moment he was mounted Daber declared himself and made
off. Nabee called to him to stop, and on his turning round said to him,
"Thou hast my mare, since it pleased God I wish you success but I
conjure thee tell no one how thou hast come by her." "Why not?" said
Daber. "Lest others should refrain from charity because I have been
duped," said Nabee, whereupon Daber dismounted and returned the mare.
The Domestic Horse.
The Horse has only to be known to be loved, and has only to be loved to
become the most tractable, patient, and useful of animals. "In the
domestic horse," says Colonel Smith, "we behold an animal equally strong
and beautiful, endowed with great docility and no less fire; with size
and endurance joined to sobriety, speed, and patience; clean,
companionable, emulous, even generous; forbearing, yet impetuous; with
faculties susceptible of very considerable education, and perceptions
which catch the spirit of man's intentions, lending his powers with the
utmost readiness, and restraining them with as ready a compliance:
saddled or in harness, labouring willingly, enjoying the sports of the
field and exulting in the tumult of the battle; used by mankind in the
most laudable and necessary operations, and often the unconscious
instrument of the most sanguinary passions; applauded, cherished, then
neglected, and ultimately abandoned to the authority of bipeds who often
show little superiority of reason and much less of temper." "One who,
like ourselves," continues Colonel Smith, "has repeatedly owed life to
the exertions of his horse, in meeting a hostile shock, in swimming
across streams, and in passing on the edge of elevated precipices, will
feel with us, when contemplating the qualities of this most valuable
animal, emotions of gratitude and affection which others may not so
readily appreciate."
The Structure of a Horse.
"The beauty of the form of the horse has often been commented upon, his
structure is thus admirably described by a writer in "Cassell's Magazine
of Art": "His nature is eminently courageous, without ferocity,
generous, docile, intelligent, and, if allowed to be so, almost as
affectionate as the dog. In his structure, the ruling characteristic may
be said in one word to consist in obliquity--all the leading bones in
his frame are set obliquely, or nearly so, and not at right angles. His
head is set on with a subtle curve of the last few vertebræ of the neck,
which at the shoulders, take another subtle curve before they become the
dorsal vertebræ, or backbone; which end, in their turn, with another
curve, forming the tail. His shoulders slope back more than those of
other quadrupeds, the scapula, or shoulder-blade, being oblique to the
humerus, which, in its turn, is oblique to the radius, or upper part of
the fore-leg. So, again, in the hind-quarters, the haunch is set
obliquely to the true thigh, the thigh, at the stifle joint, to the
upper bone of the hind-leg, which at the hock makes another angle. The
fore and hind quarters form so large a portion of the entire length that
a horse, though a lengthy animal from the front of the chest to the back
of the haunch, is, comparatively, very short in the actual back or
'saddle-place.' Then his hocks are much bent, and his pastern joints are
rather long, and again are set at an angle, succeeded by a slightly
different angle in the firm but expanding hoof, thus completing the
beautiful mechanism, which preserves the limbs from jar, and ensures
elasticity in every part of an animal destined to carry weight and to
undergo rapid and continued exertion--a combination not existing in any
other quadruped to anything like the same degree, and fitting him
precisely for the purposes for which he was given to man. At present we
have said nothing about his head, every part of which is equally
characteristic. His well-shaped, delicate ears are capable of being
moved separately in every direction, and every movement is full of
meaning and in sympathy with the eye. The eye is prominent, full, and
large, and placed laterally, so that he can see behind him without
turning his head, his heels being his principal weapon of defence; his
nostrils are large, open and flexible, and his lips fleshy, though thin,
and exquisitely mobile and sensitive. The large, open nostril is
essential to him, as a horse breathes solely and entirely through it,
being physically incapable of breathing through his mouth, as a valve in
the throat actually precludes him from so doing; hence the mouth of a
horse, without a bridle in it, is opened only for purposes of eating or
biting, but never from excitement or from exhaustion, like that of most
other quadrupeds, except the deer species. The lips are, perhaps, even
more characteristic; they are his hands as well as part of his mouth,
and the horse and others of his family alone use them in this way. The
ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the giraffe above all, and, in fact,
we believe all graminivorous animals except the horse, either bite their
food directly with the teeth, or grasp and gather it with the tongue,
which is prehensile, and gifted with more or less power of prolongation;
but the horse's tongue has no such function, and, therefore, no such
powers, as these services are all performed in his case by the lips: and
no horseman, who has let a favourite horse pick up small articles of
food from the palm of his hand, can have failed to be struck with the
extreme mobility, and also the sensibility and delicacy of touch, with
which the lips are endowed."
The Horse's Speed.
The quality of speed for which the horse is so justly esteemed has been
the subject of extensive culture in which the Arabian horse has
contributed no mean share. "Some of the horses first brought from Arabia
having been by no means celebrated," says Captain Brown, "the breed had
fallen into disrepute, till the descendants of one procured by Mr.
Darley from the deserts, and on that account called the Darley Arabian,
having borne away the palm for fleetness from all others, turned the
tide of fashion in favour of that breed. Yet it is only the progeny of
the Arabian horses that excels. The English race-horses are equal, if
not superior, to all other coursers. As the extraordinary swiftness of
the horse has been most signally displayed in the English race-course,
and can also be there most precisely measured, we cannot omit the notice
of some of the most remarkable of our racers. The most celebrated of
these--and indeed the fleetest horse that ever was bred in the
world--was Flying Childers, got by the Darley Arabian. What Achilles was
among warriors, and Cæsar among conquerors, such was Childers among
horses, without an equal and without a rival. He ran against the most
famous horses of his age, and was always victorious. He has been known
to move at the rate of nearly a mile in the minute. Next to Childers, in
fame and fleetness, is Eclipse, so called from having been foaled during
the great eclipse of 1764. This horse likewise was never beaten: one
contemporary rival alone was supposed to exist, Mr. Shaftoe's horse
Goldfinder, but Goldfinder broke down the October before the proposed
competition. Eclipse's rate of going was 47 feet in the second. Childers
had a rate of 49. One hundred to one were offered on Eclipse against the
most famous racers of his day. Mr. O'Kelly purchased him for sixteen
hundred and fifty guineas, and cleared by him twenty-five thousand
pounds. He had a vast stride,--never horse threw his haunches below him
with more vigour or effect; and his hind legs were so spread in his
gallop, that a wheelbarrow might have been driven between them. King
Herod, another famous horse, which was generally, though not like
Eclipse uniformly, successful, is chiefly celebrated for his progeny;
his immediate descendants having gained to their owners above two
hundred thousand pounds."
The Horse's Endurance.
Many marvellous stories are told of the endurance of the horse. Sir John
Malcolm says, "Small parties of Toorkomans, who ventured several hundred
miles into Persia, used both to advance and retreat at the average of
nearly one hundred miles a day. They train their horses for these
expeditions as we should do for a race, and describe him when in a
condition for a foray by saying that his flesh is marble. When I was in
Persia, a horseman mounted upon a Toorkoman horse, brought a packet of
letters from Shiraz to Teherary, which is a distance of five hundred
miles, within six days." Almost equally remarkable records are held by
English horses, but the invention of the locomotive has done away with
the necessity for such trying expeditions in civilized countries, and
the horse is trained more for speed and strength than for such long
distance efforts. M. de Pages in his travels round the world, tells a
remarkable story of the endurance of the horse when out of his natural
element; he says, "I should have found it difficult to give it credit
had it not happened at this place (the Cape of Good Hope) the evening
before my arrival; and if, besides the public notoriety of the fact, I
had not been an eyewitness of those vehement emotions of sympathy,
blended with admiration, which it had justly excited in the mind of
every individual at the Cape. A violent gale of wind setting in from
north and north west, a vessel in the road dragged her anchors, was
forced on the rocks and bulged; and, while the greater part of the crew
fell an immediate sacrifice to the waves, the remainder were seen from
the shore struggling for their lives, by clinging to the different
pieces of the wreck. The sea ran dreadfully high, and broke over the
sailors with such amazing fury, that no boat whatever could venture off
to their assistance. Meanwhile a planter, considerably advanced in life,
had come from his farm to be a spectator of the shipwreck; his heart was
melted at the sight of the unhappy seamen, and knowing the bold and
enterprising spirit of his horse, and his particular excellence as a
swimmer, he instantly determined to make a desperate effort for their
deliverance. He alighted and blew a little brandy into his horse's
nostrils, and again seating himself in the saddle, he instantly pushed
into the midst of the breakers. At first both disappeared, but it was
not long before they floated on the surface, and swam up to the wreck;
when taking with him two men, each of whom held by one of his boots, he
brought them safe to shore. This perilous expedition he repeated no
seldomer than seven times, and saved fourteen lives; but, on his return
the eighth time, his horse being much fatigued, and meeting a most
formidable wave, he lost his balance and was overwhelmed in a moment.
The horse swam safely to land, but his gallant rider was no more!"
The Horse's Memory.
Many remarkable instances are recorded of the exercise of the faculty of
memory by horses. Colonel Smith mentions an instance of a horse which he
had used for two years while in the army abroad, and which some years
later made himself known to his old master with every demonstration of
pleasure, though harnessed to a mail coach. "That the horse remembers
the scenes and transactions of past times," says Captain Brown, "is
proved from every day's experience. It enters familiarly into its usual
abode; inclines to stop at its ordinary halting-place; prefers a journey
which it has formerly taken, and falls readily into an occupation to
which it has been accustomed. It seeks the fields in which it has
formerly pastured, and has been known long afterwards to repair to the
scenes of its earlier days. A horse belonging to a gentleman of Taunton
strayed from a field at Corfe, three miles distant from thence. After a
long and troublesome search, he was discovered on a farm at Branscombe,
in Devon, a distance of twenty-three miles, being the place where he was
foaled, although it is certain that the animal had not been there for
ten years, during the whole of which time he had been in the possession
of the gentleman who then owned him." Horses seem to have a similar
sense of locality to that for which dogs are so famous. A horse will
find its way home when its master cannot see a yard before him,
instances being recorded of parties lost in the snow which covered all
tracks, who only saved their lives by letting a horse loose and
following him. Captain Brown gives two instances of horses who on
becoming ill, found their way to the veterinary surgeon, who had
previously treated them, entirely of their own accord. Instances are
recorded also of Cavalry horses, who, on hearing thunder while out
grazing, have mistaken it for the sound of cannon and who with great
excitement have formed themselves into line and "presented the front of
a field of war". Old Hunters who have become coach horses have been
known upon hearing the hounds, at the moment of "changing" to dash after
them with their harness on their backs and riderless and guideless
follow the hunt for hours. These are instances of the ruling passion
strong in after life, or perhaps more correctly speaking of the force of
habit, of which there are countless illustrations. Kosciusko had a horse
which he once lent to a young man whom he employed upon a commission,
but who on his return declared that he would never use the horse again
unless also supplied with his master's purse; for said he, "as soon as a
poor man on the road takes off his hat and asks charity the animal
immediately stands still, and will not stir until something is bestowed
upon the petitioner; and as I had no money about me I had to feign
giving, in order to satisfy the horse and induce him to proceed." Such
loyalty to habit, however interesting, is not always convenient, as the
following, which I quote from "Anecdotes in Natural History" by the Rev.
F. O. Morris will show.
"Towards the close of last century, when volunteers were first embodied
in the different towns, an extensive line of turnpike road was in
progress of construction in a part of the north. The clerk to the
trustees upon this line used to send one of his assistants to ride along
occasionally, to see that the contractors, who were at work in a great
many places, were doing their work properly. The assistant, on these
journeys, rode a horse which had for a long time carried a field
officer, and, though aged, still possessed a great deal of spirit. One
day, as he was passing near a town of considerable size which lay on the
line of road, the volunteers were at drill on the common; and the
instant the horse heard the drum he leaped the fence, and was speedily
at that post in front of the volunteers which would have been occupied
by the commanding officer of a regiment on parade or at drill; nor could
the rider by any means get him off the ground until the volunteers
retired to the town. As long as they kept the field the horse took the
proper place of a commanding officer in all their man[oe]uvres, and he
marched at the head of the corps into the town, prancing in military
style as cleverly as his stiffened legs would allow him, to the great
amusement of the volunteers and spectators, and to the no small
annoyance of the clerk."
Perhaps no more amusing illustration of this force of habit could be
found than that cited by Captain Brown of a Scotch lawyer who purchased
a horse at Smithfield upon which to make a journey north. The horse was
a handsome one and started well, but on reaching Finchley common, at a
place where the road ran down a slight eminence, and up another, the
lawyer met a clergyman driving a one horse chaise. "There was nobody
within sight, and the horse by his man[oe]uvre instantly discovered the
profession of his former owner. Instead of pursuing his journey he laid
his counter close up to the chaise and stopped it, having no doubt but
his rider would embrace so fair an opportunity of exercising his
profession. The clergyman seemed of the same opinion, produced his purse
unasked, and assured the astonished lawyer, that it was quite
unnecessary to draw his pistol as he did not intend to offer any
resistance. The traveller rallied his horse, and with many apologies to
the gentleman he had so innocently and unwillingly affrighted, pursued
his journey. The horse next made the same suspicious approach to a
coach, from the windows of which a blunderbuss was levelled with
denunciations of death and destruction to the hapless and perplexed
rider. In short, after his life had been once or twice endangered by the
suspicions to which the conduct of his horse gave rise, and his liberty
as often threatened by the peace-officers, who were disposed to
apprehend him as a notorious highwayman, the former owner of the horse,
he was obliged to part with the inauspicious animal for a trifle, and to
purchase at a large price one less beautiful, but not accustomed to such
dangerous habits."
The Horse's Intelligence.
Of the larger quadrupeds the horse is said to be only second in
intelligence to the Elephant, and many proofs could be given of the high
standard of intelligence to which he sometimes attains. The Rev. F. O.
Morris says,--"We knew a blind coach-horse that ran one of the stages on
the great north road for several years, and so perfectly was he
acquainted with all the stables, halting-places, and other matters, that
he was never found to commit a blunder. He could never be driven past
his own stable; and at the sound of the coming coach he would turn out,
of his own accord, into the stable-yard. So accurate was his knowledge
of time, that though half-a-dozen coaches halted at the same inn daily,
he was never known to stir till the sound of his own coach, the "ten
o'clock" was heard in the distance." The intelligence of this horse was
somewhat circumscribed but it was perfect within its limits. Colonel
Smith, as already quoted, says, "Bipeds who exercise authority over
horses, often show little superiority of reason, and much less of
temper." The way in which horses have preserved masters who have
rendered themselves incapable of taking care of themselves is proof of
this. A horse has been known to poke his nose in at a tavern door and
shake his master by the shoulder, when he has been lingering too long
over his potations. Another horse whose master from a similar cause was
unable to keep his seat watched by his side in the road all night, and
on being discovered by some labourers in the early morning vigorously
resented their attempts to awaken him. Professor Kruger of Halle says,
"A friend of mine was one dark night riding home through a wood, and had
the misfortune to strike his head against the branch of a tree, and fell
from his horse, stunned by the blow. The horse immediately returned to
the house which they had left, about a mile distant. He found the door
closed, and the family gone to bed. He pawed at the door till one of
them, hearing the noise, arose and opened it, and to his surprise saw
the horse of his friend. No sooner was the door opened than the horse
turned round, and the man, suspecting there was something wrong,
followed the animal, which led him directly to the spot where his master
lay on the ground in a faint." A pony has been known to leap into a
canal and save the life of a child in danger of drowning, and a cart
horse to lift a child out of the road and place it carefully on the side
walk before proceeding with his load. A remarkable illustration of the
intelligence of the horse under circumstances in which most human beings
would have lost all presence of mind, is quoted by Captain Brown. "In
the month of April, 1794, owing to a strong wind blowing contrary to the
current of the river, the island Kroutsand, surrounded by the two
branches of the Elbe, became entirely covered with water, to the great
alarm of the horses, which, with some foals, had been grazing on it.
They set up a loud neighing, and collected themselves together within a
small space. To save the foals that were now standing up to their
bellies in water seemed to be the object of their consultation. They
adopted a method at once ingenious and effective. Each foal was arranged
between horses, who pressed their sides together so as to keep them
wedged up, and entirely free from injury from the water. They retained
this position for six hours, nor did they relinquish their burden till
the tide having ebbed and the water subsided, the foals were placed out
of danger."
Horse Play.