Transcriber's Notes
Words printed in italic font are marked with _underscores_ .
Words or characters printed in bold font are marked =thus= .
[Illustration: STABLES AS THEY SHOULD BE]
THE
ILLUSTRATED
HORSE MANAGEMENT
CONTAINING DESCRIPTIVE REMARKS UPON
ANATOMY, MEDICINE, SHOEING, TEETH, FOOD,
VICES, STABLES;
LIKEWISE A PLAIN ACCOUNT OF THE
=Situation, Nature, and Value of the various Points=
TOGETHER WITH COMMENTS ON
GROOMS, DEALERS, BREEDERS, BREAKERS, AND TRAINERS
ALSO ON
CARRIAGES AND HARNESS.
Embellished with more than 400 Engravings, from Original Designs made
expressly for this Work.
BY
EDWARD MAYHEW, M.R.C.V.S.
AUTHOR OF “THE ILLUSTRATED HORSE DOCTOR,” AND OTHER WORKS
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
1864.
Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1864, by
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
PREFACE.
The reader, after having perused the present volume, may imagine the
writer should have been more explicit when advertising the book’s
intentions, that a mass of speculative novelty should not have been
hastily intruded upon the general public. Such, probably, will be the
primary impression of most purchasers. The author, however, regrets
he is by truth obliged to decline the compliment embodied in such a
complaint. Those notions which, hurriedly regarded, appear as original,
will, to the matured judgment, show only as an obvious result, worked
out by the easy application of a single idea. Common sense embraces
every merit in the ensuing pages. Grant this, and there remains no
loftier claim to advance. The different chapters contain nothing which
is not very superficial and entirely based upon fact. Every statement
included in the following articles becomes plain and self-evident to
the man who can release his mind from the trammels of conventionality,
and will allow his conceptions to be shaped by the habits and the
inclinations which are natural to the equine species.
No living creature could be more exposed to the willfulness of
perversity than the horse has hitherto been. All around and about the
quadruped was moulded by influences which never regard the instincts
of the animal. Every incident, directly or remotely concerning its
welfare, was misconstrued or misstated. In proof of this is the common
belief that Arabia produces the perfection of the tribe. This opinion
is not to be substantiated by investigation. It is accepted upon no
positive evidence. It is opposed to deductions drawn from a notorious
fact. The greater number of Arabian steeds are not much larger than
ordinary ponies. The climate dwarfs the stature. Dwindled development
is recognized as the established proof of an uncongenial location.
The Arab horse is undoubtedly the most beautiful and the most
intelligent specimen of its race. Travelers assure us it lives beside
its master. It is the companion of the man and the playmate of the
child. The country may not be favorable to its bodily perfection; but
the affections and the mental attributes of a dumb intelligence are in
that land cultivated and enlarged. Arabia boasts possession of the most
civilized race of quadrupeds which are known to mankind. Looking on the
creatures of that country, the world can contemplate the money value of
kindness, since the indulgence of this emotion can conceal a serious
corporal defect!
Probably it may be urged such intimacy between the human being and
the beast is compatible only with a wild and a half-savage state of
society. But there exist other nations as unrefined; nay, many peoples
are known to be more barbarous than are the Arabs. The animal, however,
fares as badly with inhabitants of the uncultured as with people of
the civilized regions. The absence or the presence of refinement
does not influence the welfare of an equine slave. Then gentleness in
the Arabian must be a purely responsive emotion. Its presence or its
absence is apart from mental status, or the social distinctions of the
population to whom it is subjected and by whom it is surrounded.
The horse, in Britain, generally occupies the same house as the
groom; but it is not, therefore, regarded with the feeling which is
indulged by the inhabitant of the tent. The change from the soil of
its birth to the English stable is attended with a total alteration of
circumstances. Coldness or brutality, however, cannot banish the spirit
which benevolence had fostered. The rebellion provoked by harshness is
only more complete. The quietude of content is replaced by the wildness
of timidity. Confidence is destroyed; fear assumes the likeness of
savagery. The horse becomes a brute; for ignorance will not believe its
inferior can be actuated by a reasonable motive.
In India the cavalry are mounted upon half-bred Persian horses. Not a
few of the officers, however, bestride chargers of pure Arabian blood.
These last are commonly under the charge of European servants, and
serve European masters. The animal’s nature changes with its location.
The alteration, therefore, is independent of heat or of frost. The
Arabs of India are as famed for ferocity as the creatures of the desert
are notorious for gentleness of disposition.
The English behavior is chiefly shaped by selfishness, based upon
a degraded superstition, which insists that every form of inferior
existence was created for man’s use and relinquished to his pleasure.
The author must leave to others the inquiry, whether Christianity
invests those who profess to believe its doctrines with any power
which can be separated from the potency of charity. It is not for
him to decide whether the conduct of a half-savage and a pagan tribe
should, in its fruits and in its results, shame the consequences
produced by the acts of men who boast of education and worship the
exemplification of self-sacrifice and of love.
Would man only be content to base observations upon fact, anatomy
has for a sufficient period ascertained a circumstance which should
have startled public wonder into exclamation. But, where the horse
is involved, centuries of prejudice appear to have generated
a slothfulness of comprehension which overpowers all ordinary
intelligence. In a bird a similar development has for ages been
accepted as the proof of peacefulness of disposition. The pigeon
congregates in flocks; it lives on vegetable substances, and it
possesses a liver which exhibits no gall-bladder. This deficiency and
these habits apply to the horse as literally as to the feathered type
of innocence. Perhaps the higher status of the quadruped might be
urged as the ground of a primary title to human consideration. Yet the
dove-cot would seem to have blinded man to the merits of the stable!
The horse possesses a full-sized liver; still the gland exhibits no
receptacle in which any excess of biliary secretion may be retained.
The testimony of nature associates the creatures which man views
as opposites, or regards as the emblem of peace and as the living
embodiment of inveterate vice. Sameness and dissimilarity appear oddly
united when both lives are viewed as the creations of the Omniscient.
Resemblance in body should direct recognition to a likeness in spirit.
Bearing in mind by whose ordinization all facts originate; remembering
how life in this world is linked by bonds more difficult to trace than
a positive sameness; and admitting that the One Parent had a design in
every part of the many forms which He called into existence,--human
ignorance must be wrong when it refuses to acknowledge an identity thus
plainly emphasized.
That the workings of mortal conception are peculiarly eccentric, or at
all events that candid appreciation has not embraced the helpmate of
man on earth, is established by every rule of right being perverted
when the horse appears upon the scene. The spirit of perversion seems
so powerful it involves even the people who act with the animal. When
Mr. Rarey came to England, he was hailed as a wonder. Mr. Rarey is now
away from these shores, and the persons who formerly acknowledged his
genius now speak of the system which he publicly demonstrated, as a
flagrant imposture!
Why is this? What causes such contradictory opinions? His present
defamers declare Mr. Rarey to be a humbug, because horses, when
returned to the former grooms and subjected to the former treatment,
resume the former habits. Like causes in other spheres are admitted
to produce like results. The animal merely responds to the conduct of
those who surround it. Mr. Rarey tames by the exhibition of kindness.
He convinces dumb intelligence how futile is resistance, and makes
apparent the groundlessness of fear. It is not the spirit which he
subdues, but it is the confidence which he gains. All his acts are
dictated by a desire to banish distrust. The animal having learned
its lesson is restored to its proprietor. But if the owner has not
profited by the instruction which he also has witnessed, ought he to be
surprised if his inferior should forget the lesson received?
Is there not something remorselessly evil in thus converting the bad
conduct of mankind into a reason for denying the operation of an
obvious goodness; in refusing to acknowledge the responsive nature of
the companion specially given to soften the doom of the human race;
and doing this only to warrant the insolence of severity, which would
seem to be a failing inherent in mortal breasts? But the doctrines of
love and of charity are, by many worthy individuals, supposed to apply
only to the conduct of man to man. There, in general belief, begins and
ends the lesson. Even at this late period it is often read but never
understood that Universal Benevolence looked down and blessed every
form of life which the Spirit had created.
To inculcate the Christian theory; to simply illustrate its wisdom,
and to demonstrate the folly of verbally acknowledging its teaching,
while the acts of its professed believers do not testify to its truth,
has been the endeavor of the author. He imagines that possibly he may
convince some reader of the loss which the existing customs entail upon
society. He does not anticipate to actuate many purchasers; but should
a few carry into practice one or two of his suggestions, and such
innovations should upon trial prove successful, other experiments will
be hazarded, until all meriting adoption are generally recognized.
But numerous readers, after having read the foregoing, may nevertheless
be inclined to inquire, “What is the use of this fuss about morality,
when the issue only involves _a horse_?” To this interrogatory
the writer unhesitatingly replies, that the first and the most
difficult teaching of civilization ever concerns man’s behavior to
his inferiors. Make humanity gentle or reasonable toward animals, and
strife or injustice between human beings would speedily terminate. But
instruction to be effective should be convincing: therefore, purposely
avoiding sentimentality, the author has sought to enlist the feeling
only by satisfying the judgment.
Such are the purposes which induced “Horse Management” to be indited.
But high as the object may be, the writer, when submitting his labors
to the notice of the public, cannot otherwise than feel there is a
common phrase, which passes current for criticism, and to which this
book is peculiarly exposed. The colloquialism alluded to is the more
insidious because it rather appeals to a prejudice than expresses
anything absolute or definite. It rests upon a word in general use
among the superficial of every profession, and that word is one which,
in the public credulity, exalts the individual who abuses it. Let a
medical practitioner study to master the rudiments of his calling, and
the purpose of his assiduity will be whispered away by insinuations
about the student being a most admirable theorist; but, unhappily, not
being “a _practical_ man.”
Another individual shall earn disgrace at college. Yet this man shall
start business to knock about the drugs and hack at living flesh,
without comprehending the parts he is interfering with or having any
knowledge of the medicines which he ventures to administer. This last
person, though he neither adorns nor enlarges the sphere in which
he acts, invariably attains the lucrative repute of being “a purely
_practical_ man.” The notoriety brings profit to the object who
merits no reward, while the absence of such fame acutely increases the
sufferings of a deserving gentleman who had dared to brave the thorns
which proverbially beset the pathway of desert to the recognition of
society.
Against the facts declared in the present pages those who are
interested to uphold existing foolish and cruel customs will
probably urge their “_favorite phrase_.” To conceal its hollowness
and to render acceptable its wholesale condemnation, it may be
ushered in by an appearance of candor: thus, “Oh! the book is very
pretty--nice reading--very humane--a little weak--rather overdone--too
philanthropical, and wholly ‘_unpractical_.’ It teaches nothing which
experience could adopt or which the thorough horseman can do more than
laugh at. _Entirely unpractical._”
How long are men to be subjugated by mere verbal assertion? All this
world has to boast of--all mighty truths, all great inventions--have
originally had to _struggle_ against this “_practical_” bugbear, which
ignorance sets up to frighten its fellows from those doctrines which
aim at the amelioration of mankind. Recently it delayed the realization
of railways. It has long opposed all social improvement; and as this
is written it is being advanced as a barrier to Practical Christianity
itself! Those who can regard the instruction of the Creator as too
fine for the creature of his creation, may readily condemn all human
promptings!
To deprive this phrase of its abuse and destroy its mysterious
signification, let the reader quietly ask himself what is really meant
by a thing, a book, or a doctrine being “_practical_.” If the word
bears any construction, it obviously must imply that which can be used,
or a lesson which is capable of being illustrated by performance. The
test of “_practicability_,” then, resides in the sincerity of those
endeavors which attempt to embody certain instructions. Where no wish
to exemplify exists, of course no teaching can be “_practical_.” The
proof, consequently, generally reposes with the person who advances the
accusation, and the accuser is by this prejudice constituted judge of
that he has already condemned.
What is there in the present volume or in the “Horse Doctor” which
cannot possibly be enacted, supposing an actuating motive to influence
the trial? Nothing can be practical if there be wanting the desire to
embody particular directions; but to ascertain the value of a current
phrase, he to whom it is addressed should ask for the special passage
to which this condemnation pointedly alludes. If no specific warrant
can be produced, a verdict merely founded upon generalities should
never be accepted.
The author, when seeking to accomplish the evident purpose of the
volume, deeply regrets those comments which a regard for correctness
has compelled him to offer upon the present race of grooms. He can,
however, with sincerity deny that the indulgence of dislike, or the
gratification of malice, has induced him to travel beyond the limits of
his subject. The men in this capacity occupy an unfortunate position.
They and their interests range in the foremost rank of existing wrong.
It is impossible to amend the regulations of any modern stable without
removing some of this calling, or overthrowing some of the abuses,
with a perpetuation of which the stable servant and his perquisites
are directly involved. An earnest desire for improvement, therefore,
compelled the review of that class who, if unassailed, were interested
to be the most strenuous advocates of the bad usages which it was
desired should be overthrown.
In conclusion, the getting up of the work bespeaks the care bestowed
upon the volume by the publishers, to whom the author offers his most
fervent acknowledgments. Nor can the writer bid adieu to his patrons
without directing attention to the talent exhibited by the numerous
artists and engravers whose labors adorn the pages of the present
publication.
Norbury,
Lansdowne Road, Torquay.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
The body of the horse anatomically considered 17
CHAPTER II.
Physic--The mode of administering it, and minor operations 53
CHAPTER III.
Shoeing--Its origin, its uses, and its varieties 95
CHAPTER IV.
The Teeth--Their natural growth, and the abuses to which they
are liable 133
CHAPTER V.
Food--The fittest time for feeding, and the kind of food which the
horse naturally consumes 168
CHAPTER VI.
The evils which are occasioned by modern stables 200
CHAPTER VII.
The faults inseparable from most present erections which are used
as stables 233
CHAPTER VIII.
The so-called “incapacitating vices,” which are the results of
injury or of disease 263
CHAPTER IX.
Stables as they should be 297
CHAPTER X.
Grooms--Their prejudices, their injuries, and their duties 327
CHAPTER XI.
Horse Dealers--Who they are, their mode of dealing, their profits,
their morality, and their secrets 357
CHAPTER XII.
Points--Their relative importance, and where to look for
their development 379
CHAPTER XIII.
Breeding--Its inconsistencies and its disappointments 427
CHAPTER XIV.
Breaking and Training--Their errors and their results 449
CHAPTER XV.
Carriages--Their cost, their make, their excellences, and
their management 477
CHAPTER XVI.
Saddlery, Harness, and Stable Sundries--Of what these consist;
their application and their preservation 494
INDEX 527
THE
ILLUSTRATED HORSE MANAGEMENT.
CHAPTER I.
THE BODY OF THE HORSE ANATOMICALLY CONSIDERED.
[Illustration: STUDENTS DISSECTING AT THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE,
LONDON.]
Were the equine race extinct, nevertheless an anatomist, by studying
its bones, might affirm its instincts and assert its uses. Every
part declares it to be a creature of speed; while its large cranium
and beautifully-arranged teeth would announce it to have once been
connected with civilization by its intelligence, by its uses, and its
herbivorous habit. The provision made for the united strength and
elasticity of the spine would indicate the care nature had bestowed
upon the comfort of a rider; while the mode in which the members were
joined to the body, with the reach of limb peculiar to the skeleton,
would equally announce that grace and that ease which had characterized
the lost animal’s movements.
What lamentation would be poured forth over the absence of such
a treasure! How would poignant regrets be awakened, as science
demonstrated what once were the endowments of an extinct inhabitant
of earth! Yet, at the present time, humanity possesses this priceless
creature to lighten toil and heighten pleasure. But, how few of
mankind have ever reflected upon the marvelous delicacy of the slave’s
construction! It is lashed unto exhaustion and worked into deformity.
Because of the treatment it experiences at the hands of the master,
whom it serves, it generally ceases to exist before its body is
matured; but short as its life may be, existence is to it only one
continued misery!
Even mortal instruments, things of the world’s manufacture, are limited
in their applications, and capable of being deranged. A spring carriage
is, obviously, not a suitable conveyance for a load of paving stones.
He would be esteemed mad, who should appropriate such a vehicle to so
gross a purpose. The horse’s body is more delicately arranged and more
nicely balanced than the perfection of human skill can hope to imitate;
nevertheless, people expose themselves to no rebuke when they wrench,
cripple, or destroy the beauty which is intrusted to their authority.
Yet, the thing constructed by human hands, if injured, can be repaired,
and may be thus rendered again equal to its uses. A living animal,
however, being damaged, is not, on this earth, to be restored to its
integrity. That has been, and is lost! Mortal science may relieve the
wound, but the scar remains, to conjure up thoughts of that deeper
seated derangement, which is beyond the reach of this world’s medicine.
The body may partially recover and the life may be prolonged; but
deformity, accompanied by a proportionate loss of function, will
testify to the folly that deteriorated the perfection which was given
as a helpmate.
Those forms of agony, which a few years ago were more common in England
than such are even at the present time, evidently declared that the
horse was altogether unequal to increasing wants and growing desires of
mankind. Neither the fleetness of the courser nor the strength of the
heavier breed embodied the requirements of the age. Something faster
and more powerful had become a public necessity; therefore railroads
were permitted.
Such persons as can talk of railroads being destined to destroy the
breed of horses, must suffer under a confusion of ideas. The breed of
horses may be endangered, as this is being written; but the source of
peril lies very far removed from the lines of tramway. The objects,
capable of being fulfilled by breathing flesh and by steaming iron,
are altogether separate and distinct. No living body can aspire to
contend, in strength or in speed, with the results of mechanical
contrivance. Neither can the forge or the furnace ever hope to produce
any combination of springs and wheels which can compare with the ease
of motion, the docility of temper, or the intelligence of spirit
that should recommend the quadruped to the kindness of its earthly
proprietor.
The horse is the associate of man. It is true, the poor animal can be
goaded to excessive labor; but the creature becomes degraded when it
toils beyond the sphere of mortal sympathy. No living animal should be
subjected to the exactions of avarice. Life was not made to be thus
debased. What, however, the horse, when properly treated, is capable
of performing, remains to be hereafter demonstrated. How much it can
enact, and how greatly it can benefit, when justly treated, the present
customs refuse the willing drudge a chance of proving. No steed is now
permitted to grow till its thews and muscles are matured. Before the
season of its utility can come round, the colt is seized upon by the
impatience of gain, and the baby limbs are distorted by that early
affliction which forbids the natural powers to be developed.
We can, however, even by the inspection of the body, discover that
it is admirably adapted for continuous and prolonged exertion. The
maintenance of animal motion chiefly depends on the provision made
for aerating the blood. In proportion as the vital current can be
revivified or oxygenated is health promoted by those efforts, which in
most bodies would, assuredly, induce congestion and death. Age becomes
very important when the subject is thus considered. Respiration is
in youth quicker than during adultism, because there is so much more
oxygen needed when the frame is in a growing state. By working the
horse before maturity is attained, the animal is obliged to labor
when the ordinary velocity of the respiration permits of the less
marginal speed for the breathing apparatus to exert upon extraordinary
occasions. Nevertheless, that the reader may judge correctly of the
care nature had bestowed upon the formation of a creature destined for
subserviency to man, the following engraving is appended.
The accompanying illustration exhibits the lungs as of large
proportional dimensions; while the stomach will be recognized as
of more than an equally diminished capacity. Everybody must have
experienced how greatly respiration is impeded by a loaded digestion;
and the Common Benefactor, when creating an animal destined to display
speed, seems to have anticipated the probability of such a contingency.
The intestines, however, are comparatively of large extent. Into
these receptacles the horse’s food passes, after having perfected the
first process of digestion, and there it is subsequently mixed with
the fluid secretion of the bowels, whereby the nutritive matter is
separated and rendered fit for absorption.
[Illustration: THE FIGURE OF A HORSE, PORTRAYING THE COMPARATIVE
IMPORTANCE AND THE RELATIVE SITUATIONS OF SOME INTERNAL ORGANS.
1. The lungs.
2. The stomach.
3. The colon.
4. The diaphragm.
5. The situation of the bladder.
]
The smallness of the horse’s stomach is in itself sufficient evidence
that the quadruped was designed to be a frequent feeder. It was not
intended to endure prolonged abstinence; for almost in every region
which the animal may canter over, its legitimate food abounds. Man,
however, frequently starves the creature, that a loaded stomach may not
interfere with the activity of the respiration; he, in his ignorance
and in his presumption, not being willing to trust to such provision as
the _All-wise_ had made, anticipatory of this accident. At other times,
the quadruped is suffered to over-gorge, its keeper paying no regard to
its requirements. After an excessive fast, a quantity of cut food is
placed in the manger, and the ravenous horse eats, and eats, till its
small stomach, being unequal to the reception of much bolted provender,
cracks its walls from excessive repletion. Such a circumstance does
not demonstrate that nature was wrong, or that the equine races were
formed unequal to their purposes; but it satisfactorily establishes
that man cannot, with impunity, cross the designs or run counter to the
institutions of Omnipotence.
The horse was created to live off the grass of the field. This habit
necessitated that much ground should be traveled before the appetite
of so large a body could be appeased; and the distance was the greater
as the animal was sent upon the earth a nice feeder--biting oft the
juicy tops of the herbage, not tearing up roots and all, like the less
scrupulous bovine tribe. The time was also lengthened, by the equine
race not being gifted with a power to ruminate. The ox, having filled
the mouth, bestows little care upon the comminution of the food; but
the jaw being moved twice or thrice, thereby crushing the herbage, so
as to form it into a pellet, the mouthful is forwarded at once to the
rumen. This receptacle is large, and is somewhat hastily filled. Then
the ox retires to a quiet spot and there enjoys its meal; the grass
being regurgitated and fully masticated, during which time the animal
is said to be “chewing the cud.” The horse has no such power. The food
it gathers must be prepared by mastication and insalivation before
it enters the stomach; consequently, because of the niceness of its
appetite, and the absolute necessity for each mouthful being separately
comminuted, the horse, in a free state, has to journey far and to feed
long before it can lie down and rest.
The equine race were meant to collect their sustenance from the surface
of the earth; and, doubtless, the tribe are most at ease when feeding
with the head lowered to the necessary position. A dog naturally lowers
the mouth when it laps a fluid; but, if this creature be tempted to
drink from a saucer held on a level with the ordinary elevation of the
head, repeated coughing will interrupt the draught and testify to the
inconvenience experienced by the animal. So, in the instance of the
horse, we may infer the meal is most relished when the head sinks to
its gratification; and, to justify such an inference, anatomy discloses
a special provision made to that end. Such a proof is, to the author’s
mind, of much more weight than any assertion to the contrary of the
united British public, as emphasized by the fixed altitude of all the
mangers throughout the three kingdoms.
A serious suggestion here forces itself upon the mind of the writer;
and it is one the importance of which should recommend it to the
consideration of the public. Laryngeal affections are among the most
frequent annoyances of every stable, and stand foremost among the most
vexatious of the many evils which the veterinary surgeon is expected to
eradicate.
However, it is proved that if sustenance be swallowed with the head
at a certain elevation, it must interfere with the most irritable
organ entering into the composition of the entire body. Then, horse
proprietors would do well to reflect upon the fact, and to say, how far
constantly-repeated provocation may aggravate or induce the fearful
laryngeal maladies to which domesticated horses are peculiarly liable.
The valves existing in the jugular veins are formed by duplicatures
of its internal lining membrane; and they are so arranged as to
prevent the natural tendency to regurgitate when the fluid within the
vessel moves against gravity. When the head is erect, and the venous
current, flowing toward the heart, is of course downward or is favored
by gravity, then the valves do not act; but the passage of the blood
forces the duplicatures of membrane to remain close against the sides
of the tube.
The jugulars conduct the dark-colored blood from the brain; and
as that important organ cannot endure the smallest pressure, some
special provision was imperative to carry away the fluid, and also to
anticipate the possibility of its return to oppress the sensorium.
When the horse is grazing, the head is lower than the heart, and
it naturally occupies that position for the greater portion of the
twenty-four hours. During all that time the venous current must mount
against the influence of gravitation; and to aid the reader in properly
understanding the means by which this is effected, his attention is
invited to the following diagrams.
[Illustration: A SKETCH, DISPLAYING THE ACTION OF THE JUGULAR VALVES
WHEN THE HEAD IS LOWERED TO FEED OFF THE GROUND.]
The elevated crest, therefore, presents a clear channel to the vital
current. For that reason, the violent action or the most rapid pace
of the animal never produces congestion of its brain. The racer may
sink from exhaustion, but does not perish from apoplexy. The head,
when depressed, however, shows the same canal divided by numerous
intersecting marks. Such lines are intended to represent the venous
valves, which assist the blood in its upward journey, and render
impossible the slightest pressure upon the sensorium. The first thing
which strikes the reader, upon beholding the arrangement depicted
above, is the vast number of valves; and this causes him to inquire,
where was the necessity for such repeated checks. If the conservation
of the brain was the only end to be attained, might not that object
have been assured by a single set of valves? Such may seem a feasible
objection; but to prevent the return current was, as nature appears to
have conceived, best done by repeated assistance of the onward flow;
consequently, these numerous valves anticipate the possibility of
regurgitation in any degree, and provide repeated checks to pressure
from the supported column of heavy venous blood.
There remains, however, another provision to be explained. The return
current has hitherto been spoken of, as though the upward flow of fluid
was its natural tendency. Still, every person must have perceived
the necessity, when liquid was to be propelled in that direction, of
something resembling a forcing pump. Such an apparatus nature has
provided. The head of a healthy animal is depressed only when eating or
when drinking. During the performance of either function, muscles are
contracting which compress the soft coats of the veins, and thus help
to drive the circulation against gravity.
Thus, during feeding, the head is maintained in a depressed attitude
for hours together; and, throughout that space, a most powerful
agent is in operation. The lower jaw, while the quadruped chances
to be thus engaged, is in constant motion, being opened and closed
either in biting or in chewing. When the jaw sinks, the muscles of
mastication are relaxed, and the venous blood rushes from the cranium
into the sinuses. But when the bone is raised by those strong motor
agents which render the bite of a horse so fearful an infliction, the
current from the brain is for a moment checked, and the contents of the
maxillary sinuses are energetically propelled up the jugulars. During
the first half of the action, the valves are in operation, having all
the strength necessary for the perfect performance of their allotted
function; but, during the latter part, they are forced against the
sides of the vessels by the contractive masticatory influence, and
cease to act in any way upon the internal current of the blood.
Notwithstanding the strong conviction emphatically asserted by the
fixed position of the nation’s mangers, the author must be obstinate
enough to disregard human authority, when he has an opportunity of
studying the living book, written by the unerring hand of nature.
Valves, though generally present in veins, are never discovered where
the position of the vessel or other reason would render such provisions
unnecessary. The Great Creator often makes one thing to serve more than
one use; but never creates when _His_ work can answer no profitable
purpose.
The use of veins is simply that of conduits, to convey the refuse
blood back to the heart, whence it is forced into the lungs, and there
revivified or rendered equal to its many forms of nutrition. This
mighty change is very simply effected. When the thorax expands, air
merely enters the lungs to anticipate the vacuum, which otherwise must
be occasioned by the enlargement of the chest. The air consists chiefly
of two substances in a gaseous state--of oxygen and of nitrogen. The
venous blood, being very near to the inhaled air within the lungs,
extracts the oxygen from it, and in exchange sends forth a quantity of
carbonic acid, which is voided with the expired breath.
[Illustration: A DIAGRAM, EXPLANATORY OF THE SPECIAL PROVISIONS
DISCOVERABLE IN THE HEAD OF A HORSE.
1. The nostril leading direct to--
2. The larynx, situated at the commencement of the windpipe.
3. The tongue.
4. The œsophagus or gullet.
5. The soft palate, which lies upon the tongue and affords a
resting-place whereon reposes the epiglottis, or the guardian
cartilage to the entrance of the larynx (2).
6. The guttural pouches, or large membranous and open sacs,
containing nothing but atmospheric air.
7. Nasal or frontal sinuses.
]
This change will take place when blood is extracted from the body. If
the contents of some vein are exposed to the atmosphere, they will
in time change from a deep modena to a bright scarlet hue. There is,
however, this difference which marks the two processes. The alteration,
when quickened by vitality, is instantaneous; but the change, when it
ensues under human inspection, is slowly, and, as it were, laboriously
accomplished. The size of the equine nostrils informs us of the ample
draughts of air which the animal is fitted to appropriate; it likewise
testifies to the high state of that vitality which could necessitate
such a provision. Creatures with small nostrils, for instance ox and
dog, are endowed with a limited capacity as respects nasal respiration.
Yet, as a recompense, such creatures are formed to inhale through the
mouth. The horse, however, requires no such faculty, its nostrils are
ample; and, under ordinary circumstances, the mouth is closed by a
thick, fleshy screen, which hangs pendulous from the most backward
portion of the bony palate.
In the previous diagram, figure 1 indicates the space allotted to the
nasal chamber, near the external opening to which will be observed
the numeral 8. The dotted lines surrounding the last figure represent
the dimensions of a blind pouch, or cul-de-sac, which separates the
external from the internal wall of the true nostril. The existence of
such a provision has long been a puzzle to physiologists; but, would
these gentlemen have given _nature_ full credit for that care with
which the _Common Parent_ studies to preserve the beauty of the higher
order of _His_ children, and have considered that the horse’s necessity
for different quantities of air varies with different times and during
different occupations, they might have sooner comprehended the utility
of the development.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE FALSE NOSTRILS.
1. The septum nasi.
2. The nasal chambers.
3. The upper lip.
4. The false nostrils.
]
Where the false nostril is placed is the only portion of the nasal
chamber which is not inclosed by bone; consequently it is situated
at the only place where the cavity admits of distention and of
contraction. The animal, in a passive state, breathes very leisurely;
at such times the nostrils would sink inward, or be deformed by the
unavoidable collapse of the wall, were not the false nostril present to
permit its diminution without materially affecting the external form.
But subsequent to severe exertion, everybody must have remarked the
nostril spasmodically strain, as though each effort would crack the
boundaries of the opening. At such times the false nostril offers no
stubborn opposition to the violence of respiration, while it serves to
soften down the aspect, which, if laid bare, might show too fearfully.
A varied capacity for admitting air also presupposes a varied capacity
to alter the dimensions of the passages through which the atmosphere
travels to the lungs. If the reader will again refer to the facial
diagram, he will perceive a free space, in the center of which is
placed the figure 6. These spaces (one on either side of the face)
represent what are termed the guttural pouches, they being merely
bladders containing air, and communicating separately with each nasal
chamber. A bladder with an external opening is of course most readily
compressible. That no doubt may be entertained of the use for which
these vacant spaces were established, they are placed immediately above
the course of the atmosphere to the lungs, and would contract or dilate
according to its volume.
Such a condition of parts imagines the windpipe also able to alter its
dimensions, so that it may be in accord with other structures; and
anatomy discloses facts which amply support such a supposition. The
larynx or opening to the windpipe is composed of several pieces of
cartilage and of numerous muscles. The presence of the first plastic
and highly elastic structure is a proof that the larynx is of no fixed
shape, while the division of the organ into distinct parts, together
with the internal and external presence of many muscles of motion, is
absolute confirmation that the larynx was created not only to assume
various forms, but also to exhibit different capacities, according to
the requirements of the animal economy.
So also with the windpipe itself, and the tubes which proceed from it;
these are formed of distinct rings, or of separate pieces of elastic
cartilage so curved as to form rings, but having free overlapping ends,
which are operated upon by muscular fiber.
The diagram inserted below accurately represents such a ring; it
also shows that the springy cartilage is not made of one thickness
throughout, but is of that form which the mechanic of the present time
recognizes as that best adapted for the preservation of continued
elasticity. The shape and the free ends convinces that such a ring must
always have a tendency to expand, and by this perception we recognize
the purpose of the muscle, which draws the extremities over each other;
thus two opposing forces regulate the capacity of the circle.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE CARTILAGINOUS RINGS, NUMBERS OF WHICH JOINED
TOGETHER FORM THE TRACHEA OR THE WINDPIPE OF THE HORSE.
_a_ One of the cartilages from the trachea of a horse, having free and
overlapping extremities.
_b_ The muscular fiber situated within the ring, which regulates the
diameter of the circle.]
The presence of muscular fiber is always absolute proof of motion.
Where muscle exists and morbid circumstances render motion an
impossibility, the function being destroyed, the motor organ becomes
pallid, or suffers atrophy. The existence, therefore, of such a
structure in a healthy condition is always sufficient proof that the
function of expansion and of contraction was present during life; thus
we reach an absolute certainty that the air-passages of the horse
possess a property of adapting themselves to the necessities of the
animal.
Then, looking at these structures, we find them not only free, but so
composed as to be always open, excepting when the momentary swallowing
of the food causes the larynx to close. To breathe is the primary
necessity of life. Health cannot be maintained unless the blood is
sufficiently oxygenated; this fact makes us doubt the national wisdom,
which persists in thrusting the quadruped into stables, rendered close
and hot by the products of impurity. Oxygen is always deficient where
impurity prevails; and, having seen the necessity of its presence,
because it is the primary requirement of existence, and not because of
the warmth or oppression which its absence generates, does the author
presume to oppose his opinion to the decision apparently approved by
the entire British public.
Seeing these provisions made _by nature_ to preserve the beauty of her
most graceful quadruped, and remarking how profusely, in various forms,
loveliness is distributed throughout this earth, we cannot slightingly
esteem the attribute which _Perfect Knowledge_ has impressed, as
an order of merit, upon its creations. Beauty is here spoken of as
distinct from gaudiness. The term is employed not to represent the
luster of the beetle or the vividness of the tropical bird, but to
portray that harmony of parts and deep-seated perfection which is
present only in the more elaborate works of the _Creator_, and which
renders the horse, even when deprived of its skin, a picture deserving
mortal adoration. Viewing the world and its inhabitants, we must
confess that nothing was formed without its uses; on such a basis, we
may safely assert that the horse was not made the most beautiful of
beasts without intention. This quality appeals in a most mysterious
and powerful manner to the human sympathies. It should influence the
mind even more than it gratifies the eye, and though avarice may blind
humanity to its claims, yet even the most hardened cannot witness the
destruction of perfection without a poignant pang of regret.
In the head of the animal we discern evidences of the care bestowed
to preserve a harmony of form. Above the nasal chambers are certain
hollow spaces, indicated by the figure 7. These empty chambers may
serve to impart depth to the voice, but as the horse is generally a
silent creature, such, obviously, must be only a secondary purpose.
To preserve the undulation of the outline was assuredly the primary
intent, though at the same time the vacancies aid the reverberation of
sound, and with other structures also lighten that part of the body in
which they are situated.
[Illustration: A DIAGRAM, EXPLANATORY OF THE SPECIAL PROVISIONS
DISCOVERABLE IN THE HEAD OF A HORSE.
1. The nostril leading direct to--
2. The larynx, situated at the commencement of the windpipe.
3. The tongue.
4. The œsophagus or gullet.
5. The soft palate, which lies upon the tongue and affords a
resting-place, whereon reposes the epiglottis, or the guardian
cartilage to the entrance of the larynx (2).
6. The guttural pouches, or large membranous and open sacs,
containing nothing but atmospheric air.
7. Nasal or frontal sinuses.
The passage of the air to the lungs, and the admirable provisions to
admit its ingress and its egress, without destroying the mild and
characteristic aspect of the quadruped, having been described, it now
becomes the author’s duty to dwell upon the extraordinary conditions
which conserve the passages of the food. Referring again to the diagram
here reproduced, we see the mouth, occupied by the tongue, (figure 3,)
on the base of which organ reposes a dark body, particularized by the
figure 5. This last is the soft palate, which drops pendulous from the
osseous roof of the masticatory orifice. Upon the soft palate lies
the most forward of the laryngeal cartilages, which is anatomically
spoken of as the epiglottis; while the most backward of the laryngeal
cartilages, which are called the aretenoids, repose beneath the roof of
the pharynx. This pharynx is the enlarged and muscular commencement of
the gullet, the situation and direction of which channel is notified by
the number 4.
We thus perceive in its course the food is apparently thrice forbidden
to enter the gullet of the horse. In the first place, there is the soft
palate, retained firmly in its position by pressure of the epiglottis.
The second obstacle we recognize in the opening of the larynx; the
third impediment appears in the aretenoids, that seem to bar all
entrance to the tube which leads to the stomach. Moreover, the gullet
itself being a muscular organ, in the passive state of semi-contraction
is closed; thus appearing to oppose a further hinderance to the
admission of sustenance into its proper receptacle. However, upon
inquiry, the reader will discover these provisions, which appear at
first glance to be ranged against the entrance of nutriment, are in
reality only so many elaborate protections, all tending to the comfort
and well-being of the animal.
The soft palate so effectually closes the posterior of the mouth as to
prevent that cavity from being employed to modulate the voice, though
such a peculiarity does not distinguish all the equine tribe. Everybody
must have remarked the bray distend the jaws of an ass, whereas the
neigh flutters only the nostril of the horse, the different channels
through which the sound has to emerge fully accounting for the marked
contrast which is conspicuous in the voices of the animals. Moreover,
the horse does occasionally vomit; but, save when the organization
is disturbed by the agonies of death, the voided matter is generally
ejected through the nostrils.
However, the reader will perhaps best understand how the apparently
closed cavity is rendered subservient to its uses by the process of
deglutition being described. A portion of food is bitten off by the
incisors; the substance is, by the action of the tongue, next passed
to the molars, or is placed between the grinding teeth. There it is
thoroughly comminuted. While this is being performed, the saliva is
secreted and mingled with the mass, so as to render it quite soft or
pultaceous. In this state it is formed into a pellet, and is then
pressed by the tongue against the palate or roof of the mouth. The
morsel, being now round and soft, is afterward, by a more energetic
contraction of the tongue, driven against the pendulous palate, which
seemingly closes the posterior of the orifice.
The last organ lies in that direction which enables it to offer a
formidable resistance, especially when supported by the base of the
tongue, to any substance proceeding _from_ the stomach. In the contrary
direction it is only held down by the epiglottis; that comparatively
feeble body is forced to yield before the greater contractile power of
the lingual organ. The epiglottis flies forward, covering the opening
to the larynx, in which position the posterior cartilages or the
aretenoids also fold over the more forward protector. A secure floor is
thus formed, preventing anything from falling into the windpipe, where
intrusion of the smallest substance would provoke the most alarming
spasm; while a roof to the passage is also made by the raised, soft
palate, whereby the nasal chambers are protected from the encroachment
of undigested matters.
A safe way being thus provided, the pellet is shot into the pharynx,
which, independently of the will, immediately contracts upon any
substance coming within its reach, and drives the morsel into the
œsophagus or gullet. The tube, surprised by the presence of the morsel,
is obliged to separate for its reception; but it immediately closes on
the stranger, thereby driving it lower down, when, the contractility of
the fiber being again aroused, it is once more driven onward, and this
action is continued until the food is safely lodged within the walls of
the stomach.
Few persons can comprehend the above explanation without being forcibly
impressed by the beauty and the nicety of the whole arrangement. The
elevation of the soft palate closes the nostrils, and at the same time
provides a floor for the gaping passage to the lungs. The motion of
the soft palate nudges the epiglottis, which lies upon it and causes
that cartilage to bend over the opening to the larynx. The bowing down
of the epiglottis induces the aretenoids also to stoop, thus forming a
safe floor to the necessitated passage. Across the chasm, now rendered
secure, the food is shot into the pharynx and conveyed to the stomach,
the whole process being accomplished in an instant, for the act of
swallowing provokes no sensible impediment to the continuance of
respiration.
These things, however instructive or amusing they may be when related,
nevertheless are too little thought of; nor is the horse itself
sufficiently considered. Were the lessons, which its body should
teach mankind, properly understood, those abuses, that are at present
limited to no class, would instantaneously cease to be practiced. Most
people of this country, however, treat the horse as though it were
an original inhabitant of the English climate. Rich and poor in this
respect are equally faulty, save that those are most to blame who,
possessing wealth, can command the leisure requisite for inquiry, and,
being blessed with ability to gratify their inclinations, have no
excuse for lack of sympathy in the pressure of necessity. The great
error, however, consists in a national carelessness about the matter.
The slave is accepted as a property; its life is wasted; its body is
abused; man sleeps happy in the belief that animals were created for
his use. To render them subservient to his pleasure is the amount of
all that he conceives to be his duty. The winter’s straw yard and the
autumn’s run are both follies--sadly common, but nevertheless deserving
the condemnation of all good or thoughtful men.
The animal carries about its person the signs which testify it
once roamed within a warmer climate than our northern region. The
certificate of its origin is legibly written in the eye of the
quadruped. This organ mutely attests, that the temperate zone was
not the birthplace of its progenitors. It has long been a captive
in Britain; but the proof of its proper dwelling-place no time can
obliterate. The eye of the horse, like that of the camel, displays a
special provision, fitting the creature to endure the strongest glare
of a tropical sun, even when reflected from a level waste of shining
sand; or, in other words, the first parents of the tribe must have
careered across some burning desert.
[Illustration: THE PUPIL OF THE HORSE’S EYE IN THE OPPOSITE STATES OF
CONTRACTION AND DILATATION, SHOWING THE SITUATION AND THE USE OF THE
CORPORA NIGRA.]
The corpora nigra, in the eye of the camel, are black bodies, pendent
from the margin of the iris. The purpose of so special a provision is
not apparent, when darkness occasions the opening to dilate; but when
the glare is powerful--so powerful as to induce blindness even in the
natives of those lands where a concentrated light is possible--then the
intent of its Beneficent Creator becomes apparent.
The pupil of the horse’s eye is never circular, being, when much
dilated, rather oblong in figure; but, when exposed to the direct rays
of the summer’s sun, the opening energetically contracts. Then the
pupil is best represented by a mere line; for the edges of the iris at
such a season seemingly touch each other. In this condition, the uses
of the corpora nigra can hardly be mistaken: the little black bodies
appear to fit into one another, forming apparently an impenetrable
network opposed to the entrance of too strong a glare.
Let the author and the reader, however, temperately consider this
matter. The pupil in the eye of the horse is not more distant than two
inches from the origin of the optic nerve. When the division to be seen
through is so close, and the object to be viewed is exhibited under the
strongest natural light, the merest crevice will be equal to all the
purposes of perfect vision. The full glare of the sun alone occasioning
the horse’s pupil to contract, that which causes the opening to almost
shut also provides the excess of light, which alone could render useful
that narrow division through which objects must be recognized; while
the dark bodies, being stationed before the point of sight, answer the
purpose of the smoke which lads load upon glass when they are ambitious
of gazing at the sun.
The reader must have remarked the pupillary line through which the
domestic cat exercises perfect vision during the bright noon of a
midsummer day. The eye of the feline race is, however, possessed of
no other protection. The contraction may be the effect of weakness of
sight; at all events, the author thinks he may conclude the far-famed
eye of the cat to be inferior to that of a horse. The domestic mouser
is popularly said to see in the dark; the steed has been long known
to penetrate the gloom which sets the strained vision of its master
at defiance; but it remains to be granted that both horse and cat are
equally fitted to roam by night. The habits of the herbivorous creature
would, however, assert it to be possessed of such a faculty; and the
anatomist discovers in the visual organ of the animal a provision
specially adapting it for these peregrinations.
Upon the upper and forward surface of the inner, dark chamber, and so
placed as to catch, to concentrate, and to reflect every stray ray of
light upon the optic nerve, the tapidum lucidum is discovered within
the globe of the horse’s eye. This structure is, after death, very
bright or of metallic luster, and, because of its concave form, is
admirably adapted to its particular function. That no doubt may remain
as to the design of such a provision, the tapidum lucidum is found only
within the eyes of those quadrupeds created to roam by night. It is
altogether absent in such animals as were destined to move about during
daylight.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM, EXPOSING THE INTERIOR OF THE HORSE’S EYE, AND
DISPLAYING THE SITUATION OF THE TAPIDUM LUCIDUM, OR GLOSSY SURFACE
DEVELOPED WITHIN THE ORGAN.]
The tapidum lucidum, therefore, viewed in conjunction with the
corpora nigra, becomes an inferential proof that the horse originally
inhabited some land in which the coolness of the night offered the
greatest temptation for pleasant pasturage. The _Mighty Benefactor_,
consequently, formed _His_ creature to enjoy the bounties among which
it was permitted to roam. We know the cat was imported from the
tropics; and, seeing that the eyes of both animals, in one marked
particular, resemble each other, we may conjecture the horse originally
inhabited a warmer climate; while the likeness between the equine race
and “the ship of the desert” demonstrates that that locality was the
hottest portion of the earth.
The eye of the horse is also provided with a power which could seldom
be needed in these Northern climes, where the fleetness of the equine
tribe might readily set at defiance the comparative feebleness of all
the predatory beasts of prey. Besides, the wooded state of this country
must have rendered the presence of telescopic vision unnecessary. Upon
the far-stretching level of the desert, however, where larger and more
ferocious animals prowl by night, the possession of such a faculty
would be a needed protection. Accordingly, we find the interior of the
globe to consist chiefly of water, the outward covering being formed of
a tough substance, which is easily compressible; while all the hidden
portion of the exterior is enveloped by muscular fiber.
Situated directly upon the forward portion of the ball are the two
oblique muscles. These are inserted at opposite places, and each pulls
in a contrary direction to the other. The two, simultaneously acting,
could not move the organ, but would, obviously, tend to fix it or
to render the globe stationary. The outer substance of the horse’s
eyes is composed of a thick and pliable covering, purely tendinous
in character. The interior consists of fluid perfectly pure and
transparent. At the back of all is placed the optic nerve; while the
exterior is enveloped by several thick and straight muscles.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM, DISPLAYING THE COATING OF MUSCULAR FIBER WHICH
COVERS THE SOFT GLOBE OF THE HORSE’S EYE.]
The motor agents are endowed with an ability to contract or to shorten
in their reach. When parts of this nature operate upon a plastic
substance, which is filled only with a fluid, they must of necessity
tend to alter the shape of that body on which they repose. The oblique
muscles act to prevent rotation; the pressure, therefore, can only
compress, elongate, and force backward the ball of the eye. By such a
capacity that telescopic property is produced which man feebly imitates
by a complex and costly machine.
Anatomy also discovers another important function proper to the eye
of the horse, which equally indicates a sandy plain to have been the
original habitat of the tribe.
The soft sand of the Southern region would form a soil over which the
equine foot could safely travel. The horn, in an unprotected state, was
created to journey over so yielding and so dry a surface. Harder ground
is poorly suited to the tread of the animal, a fact well established by
the brittle hoof being among the recognized diseases of this country;
while a wet soil is by no means advantageous, which circumstance is
amply illustrated by the weak horn characteristic of those animals
reared on the fens of Lincolnshire. The level of the desert presented
that combination of qualities which could render the exhibition of its
speed a delight to the unbroken quadruped; while the warmth of the
climate would afford the medium in which a lustrous coat testifies to
the health of a beautiful body.
In opposition to the above inference is the recorded fact that, when
English horses were transported as cavalry into Egypt, the dryness
of the climate frequently caused the hoofs so to crack as to render
the animals totally useless. This circumstance, when first learned,
appears to weigh heavily against the conclusion toward which the
author’s arguments were tending. In reality, however, it establishes
nothing; it fades before rational investigation. A life, after having
left its native country, does not necessarily thrive when it revisits
the land of its origin. Englishmen, who have spent their youth in
India, generally return to the variableness and to the humidity of
this climate, and complain of the country which, when it was quitted,
appeared to be cursed with no evil properties. Negroes captured by
British cruisers, and set free on the far-famed colony of emancipation,
are ascertained to perish the more rapidly on their return to Africa.
These poor people are said to sink more speedily than even Europeans
succumb before the clime of flame.
The speed of the horse would enable the quadruped to travel with
comparative ease between those remote spots of verdure which lie
scattered throughout the desert. The distance which divides these
luxuriant localities could present no insurmountable obstacle to the
unburdened steed, since the domesticated animal has carried its rider
more than one hundred miles. The horse can endure long fasts, and even
sustain severe thirst--the colon being a portion of the bowel generally
devoted to the store of liquid nutriment; but the distance must have
been accomplished in a cloud of sand sufficiently dense to blind the
creature which traveled in the center of a moving herd.
The eye of the horse, however, is by nature provided with a protection
against so terrible an affliction, which would expose any wild animal
to a fearful death. The outer membrane of the eye is almost limited
to covering the more forward or transparent surface, being thence
reflected upon the interior of the eyelids. This membrane, when in
a single layer, is incapable of communicating to the sensorium more
than a feeling of uneasiness. When single, it may be touched, burnt,
and cut, without producing actual pain; but the unpleasant sensation
provokes a desire to wink, and the instant the lid descends upon the
globe, or from the moment when two surfaces of the membrane are in
apposition, agony ensues.
[Illustration:
DIAGRAM, EXPLANATORY OF THE SITUATION OF THE LACHRYMAL GLAND, OR
THE SOURCE OF TEARS, AND OF OTHER PARTS PROPER TO THE HORSE’S EYE.
_a._ The outer angle.
_b._ The puncta lachrymalis, or round body, situated at the inner
angle of the eye.
_c._ The lachrymal gland, covered by the upper lid and placed near
the outer angle of the eye.
_e e._ The position, extent, and doubling of the conjunctiva, or of
the investing mucous membrane, which envelops the outer portion
of the globe and lines the lids.
]
The membrane now under consideration renders it an impossibility for
any substance to get “into the eye;” the pain present, when such an
assertion is commonly made, gives the strongest proof that the foreign
body is retained between two surfaces of that delicate structure which
is called conjunctiva. Dryness is, however, destructive of the feeling
and of the transparency of this membrane. Nature, therefore, has
created a special gland for assuring its perpetual moisture. This last
body is situated immediately beneath the surface, under the upper lid
and toward the outer corner of the eye. It is, on ordinary occasions,
stimulated to send forth its secretion by the act of winking; and the
outer corner being situated above the inner corner of the horse’s eye,
the moisture is, by the motion of the lid, instantaneously brushed over
the circular globe.
The gland of the horse, however, has a distinct use not shared by any
similar provision to be found in the eye of man. In the human being,
grief or pain provokes the secretion; these are always accompanied by
floods of tears. Some writers assert they have witnessed agony induce
tears in the quadruped; but the author has seen fearful operations
inflicted on the noble animal--he has heard huge groans testify to the
sufferings endured; yet he has never beheld the eye overflow, or seen
anything present which approximated to weeping.
Pain, when occasioned by some foreign body between the two layers of
membrane, produces not weeping, but a positive overflow of liquid, the
purpose of which will be best explained after the reader has been made
acquainted with a particular organ situated at the inner angle of the
eye.
[Illustration: THE CARTILAGO NICTITANS, WHEN REMOVED FROM THE EYE OF A
HORSE.]
The lower corner of the organ is characterized by a round body, which,
being enveloped in a single layer of membrane, is strictly without
sensation. Upon this body the grime of the human eye accumulates,
and we shall shortly perceive that its presence in the horse is not
without a purpose. Next to the foregoing development, and so placed as
to accurately fit the globe, is a structure which anatomists name the
cartilago nictitans, or the winking cartilage. The more forward portion
of this cartilage possesses a fine edge, while its base presents a
broad surface, which reposes upon the fat at the back of the orbit.
Now, as fat is not compressible by ordinary force, whenever the muscles
draw the globe backward, the adipose matter is driven forward; this
last carries with it the cartilago nictitans, which is consequently
projected suddenly over the surface of the globe. But when the muscles
relax, the fat resumes its original place, and with it the cartilage
also retires.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM, TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACTION OF THE CARTILAGO
NICTITANS UPON THE HORSE’S EYE.]
When any foreign body gets between the two layers of membrane, instant
winking results; the gland, stimulated by the motion of the lid, sends
forth a gush of liquid. It is not simply a tear or two, but a deluge of
fluid is emitted; this flood, aided by the action of the lid, carries
the foreign substance in the course of gravity, or from the external
toward the internal corner of the globe. While this is taking place,
the pain also excites the powerful muscles of the eye to spasmodic
activity. With every spasm the fat is displaced, and the cartilage
darts from the inner corner partially over the round surface of the
eyeball. The process continues until the substance is partly brushed
and partly washed to within the range of the fine anterior edge of the
cartilage; when, by its withdrawal, the foreign particle is lodged
upon the round insensitive body developed at the inner corner of the
eye. Toward the last point the tears naturally tend, and any exciting
substance, when there placed, is soon floated on to the hair of the
cheek.
By joining these many proofs, we gain a moral certainty concerning
the region whence the horse originated. The eye is seen to be gifted
not only with a special provision against the glare of the desert,
but it also possesses a peculiar development fitting the animal to
enjoy the cool pasturage of the night. The eye is likewise endowed
with a telescopic power suited to sweep the far-stretching horizon of
the sandy waste. Moreover, the organ discloses a special apparatus
evidently designed to overcome those accidents to which inhabitants of
arid plains, when rapidly traveling long distances, and in large herds,
were exposed.
The reader, perhaps, somewhat wearied by this lengthened description,
may, however, be inclined to exclaim, “So that we possess the horse,
what care we whence the beast was derived?” There can be no crumb of
knowledge so small, but it is worth man’s while to stoop and pick
up the treasure. Its uses may not be apparent at the time of its
discovery, but its application is certain before long to repay the
person who prizes it. Taking the instance just narrated about the
horse, an assured knowledge of the land whence the beautiful stranger
came enables man the better to feel for its requirements; attention
to the welfare of its life will be repaid by more lasting service to
the master who claims it as a property. By disregarding this teaching,
we subject the quadruped to suffering, which cramps the limbs, limits
the utility, and shortens the existence, thus stinting the worth and
curtailing the lease of the possession.
When writing the foregoing, the author is aware that gentlemen of known
probity have reported the existence of herds of wild horses careering
free and unbroken over the plains of Asia. Such was formerly said to
be the case, and was also credited as an established fact with regard
to Southern America. Subsequent inquiry, however, has shown that the
wild animals of the pampas are no more than neglected flocks roaming,
apparently without an owner, but which, in reality, are allowed thus
to gain a cheap livelihood by a careless proprietor. These American
herds are liable to the claim of some man, almost as wild as the
animals themselves; so also the reported Asian quadrupeds turn out to
be the recognized possession of some wandering Tartar.
However, to leave the consideration of particular parts, and to view
the entire body anatomically, the vertebræ or spinal chain, as forming
the base of the skeleton, becomes of primary importance. The back-bone
of the horse consists of various pieces, so firmly held together by
interlacing ligaments and muscles that students, when desirous of
dividing the spine of a dead animal, often find it easier to saw
the bones asunder than to separate them with the knife. The neck is
composed of seven bones; the back is formed by eighteen vertebræ; the
loins consist of six pieces, and the sacrum is made up of five distinct
parts, although long before adultism all of these last are united by
osseous junction.
[Illustration: SOME OF THE DEEP-SEATED MUSCLES IMMEDIATELY INVESTING
THE SPINE OF THE HORSE.
1. The hair.
2. The skin.
3. The adipose, or fatty tissue directly under the skin.
4. The bursæ mucosæ, or synovial sacks placed above each dorsal spine.
5. The yellow, elastic ligament connecting the dorsal spines together.
6. The spines of the dorsal vertebræ.
7. The semi-spinalis dorsi muscle.
8. The heads of the ribs.
9. The levatores costarum muscle.
10. The ribs.
]
The sacrum, therefore, is not reckoned among the true vertebræ,
the number of which, however, amounts to thirty-two. Of these many
divisions, the bones of the neck alone are not subject to deviations.
The lumbar may be five or seven, and the dorsal limitation is either
one above or one below the usual amount, neither of which varieties
are of very rare occurrence. The links of the back-bone differ in form
and in function. The dorsal vertebræ seem, at first sight, to possess
no lateral processes; whereas in the lumbar region these developments
are so extended as to constitute the principal features of the several
parts. So also the two first bones of the neck enjoy great motion, and
all the links of the neck are very far from stationary. But the parts
of the back, on the contrary, are all but fixed; yet, although each
is endowed with a very limited movement, the whole is gifted with an
evident elasticity which affords an easy seat to the rider.
[Illustration: THE SPINE OF THE HORSE, OR THE BASIS OF ITS ANATOMICAL
FRAMEWORK.]
Along the top of the back-bone runs a strong cord of yellow, elastic
fiber, which unites the several parts, holding these firmly together
as one whole. The elastic cord, however, passes directly from the last
dorsal spine, to be fixed into the back portion of the skull, thus
skipping over all the bones of the neck. The fibers of this cord are
longitudinally arranged; and however elastic such a substance may be,
the dorsal arrangement would not allow of that freedom of motion which
was requisite in the neck of an animal which was to crop its food from
the surface of the earth.
The necessity, however, was fully met by an elastic cloth being, as
it were, thrown over the cord, and extending thence to the bones of
the neck. By this arrangement, frequent attachments were avoided and
grace of outline was preserved, while no deterioration was made in
that provision by means of which the heavy head is supported without
apparent strain upon the muscular fiber. One end of the elastic
expansion being inserted into the cervical bones, all the ease and
beauty of movement is rendered possible by the retractile property of
the cloth-like ligament being fully equal to the sustenance of the
weight, but not strong enough to resist the action of the muscles when
excited. Thus, the muscles situated at the base of the neck serve to
depress the head; the elastic cloth answers as a counterpoising force,
which steadies the movement; the action of the motor agents near the
crest, aided by the ligamentous elasticity of the neck, serve to
elevate the part, while the muscular power at the base of the bones
regulates and guides the upward motion.
But the reader may be desirous to learn how far the back of the animal
is suited to endure the weight of the rider. The bones of the spine,
not being joined by osseous union, may give solidity to the part;
but it must be self-evident the chain possesses no inherent power to
sustain the smallest pressure. Therefore, the body of the rider, when
placed upon the back, cannot be upheld by bone alone. The weight must
repose upon the muscles and the ligaments by which the solid parts are
kept together. Man, therefore, when mounted upon a horse, is seated
upon elastic substances, animated by the powers of vitality. This
circumstance readily accounts for the pleasurable feelings and the
lightness of spirit communicated to the master when within the saddle;
although the delicacy of the structures on which the burden is cast
should also instruct that an elaborately and a delicately-organized
body ought to be shielded from labor until age has confirmed and
strengthened the several portions of the frame.
When contemplating the uses for which the quadruped was created, we
perceive the necessity of that huge mass of muscular fiber with which
the back is cushioned. We also recognize the beauty of intention
which those numerous supports, called ribs, embody and declare. These
props, eighteen on either side, must greatly strengthen the main
structure, although each is of a loose texture, and every one is more
or less pliable. The innate property of elasticity belonging to the
horse’s ribs seems to have been long known to country urchins, who,
out of these bones, have been accustomed to form bows whence to propel
juvenile arrows. Nature, however, seems not to have been satisfied
with this provision, for the inferior portion of the ribs consists of
cartilage, which anatomists speak of as the most elastic substance
in the body; this yielding termination rests on the sternum or
breast-bone, a structure more than three parts of which are composed of
the last-named material.
[Illustration: THE THORACIC FRAMEWORK OF THE HORSE.
Showing the manner in which the ribs spring from the spine to unite
upon the bone of the breast.]
The manner in which the fore limb is united to the trunk likewise
offers matter for the reader’s admiration. Considering that the horse
is a beast of burden, man, were he designing a creature fitted for such
uses, would assuredly have sought to gain strength by the insertion of
bone. Bone, however, would have interfered with that agility which, no
less than strength, is an attribute of the horse’s body. The presence
even of a clavicle joining the shoulder to the thorax would have
exposed a jumping quadruped to repeated fractures. Nature, therefore,
bound the parts together by interlacing fibers. And to afford an idea
of the marvelous care bestowed on this arrangement, the following
diagram is submitted to the contemplation of the reader.
[Illustration: SOME OF THE MUSCLES WHICH ATTACH THE FORE LIMB TO THE
TRUNK.
Three muscles have already been removed, viz., the panniculus
carnosus, the levator humeri, and the latissimus dorsi.
1. The trapezius.
2. The seratus magnus.
3. The subscapulo hyoideus.
4. The rhomboideus.
5. The pectoralis anticus.
6. The anterior portion of the pectoralis magnus.
7. The pectoralis parvus.
8. The pectoralis transversus.
]
The rider, therefore, when mounted on a horse, is not only seated upon
fleshy and ligamentous fiber, and upheld by pliable bone based upon
elastic cartilage, but as the thorax is supported by the anterior
extremity, he actually swings upon the strongest and most yielding
substance known throughout animated nature. Could mortal ingenuity, by
the exercise of any force or duration of thought, have perfected so
exquisite a work? But the mind is abased and humbled before the proofs
of Superior Wisdom, when we find that all hitherto made known is but a
part of the lavish provision bestowed upon the perfection of God’s most
beautiful gift to man.
The bones within the fore limb are not self-sustaining. Remove their
coverings, and they will not retain their several places, but will fall
in a heap upon the earth. The fact proves that the osseous framework,
although it confers solidity upon the body, is nevertheless upheld by
the structures with which it is enveloped. The bony column, however,
when united and bound together, exhibits an intention of bestowing
elasticity quite as much as of conferring strength. In the first place,
the solid column is crowned by a broad but thin plate of cartilage,
the yielding property of which has already been dilated upon; so that
the trunk not only swings upon living fiber, but the primary weight is
endured by what anatomists designate “the most elastic substance in the
body,” of a shape and form which develops to the uttermost its bending
property.
The arrangement of the shoulder-blade and the bone on which it rests
being angular, evidently contemplates a yielding to any force coming
from above. The two next bones cannot be viewed as meant solely for
strength; though the several parts of the knee and shank are slightly
columnar in their order, nevertheless the pastern bones again display
an intent to yield rather than a design at gaining decided resistance.
Yet, even there remains further food for contemplation when viewing
these dry bones of a quadruped. The shock, of which the rider complains
when doomed to cross the trunk of some poor animal whose body has been
disorganized by abuse, is occasioned by the bones having been, through
disease, thrown from their natural positions.
Engineers well know that sand will oppose the force of a cannon ball,
the power being rapidly exhausted which has to travel through numerous
separated particles. Each grain of sand, therefore, being distinct,
a bag of that substance offers a good preventive to the concussion
produced by the explosive force of gunpowder. But the reader, when
endeavoring to ascertain the provisions instituted by Benevolence to
save the equestrian from concussion, can at once perceive the purpose
for which the osseous support of the limb was formed of several pieces,
as well as appreciate the beauty and grace of motion which is thereby
assured.
[Illustration: THE BONES OF THE FORE LIMB.]
Looking at the illustration, we observe that certain of the component
solids of the limbs are altogether out of the perpendicular, and
consequently must receive other support than is derived from the
bone immediately below them. Indeed, no portion of the structure is
decidedly columnar in its arrangement. Either the parts are crooked,
or they lean in a direction from the plummet line. The angularity
of the two topmost pieces can, however, not possibly escape notice;
neither can the slanting position of the pastern bones fail to attract
attention. Noting these peculiarities, the reader recognizes that the
bones of the fore extremity cannot be self-sustaining, but they must be
upheld or retained in their relative situations by the structures which
surround them in the living subject.
The scapula and humerus, or the two topmost bones, are rendered firm
by the joint action of the powerful extensor and flexor muscles
appertaining to the shoulder. The pastern bones transfer their weight
to the strong tendon which passes immediately under their lower
surfaces. The other bones are held in their situations by the energetic
contractility of the muscles which embrace them. Hence it is obvious
the rider, when seated on the back of a horse, is not upheld by any
osseous resistance. His burden reposes upon living fiber. The bone
limits the sphere of contractility, and thus gives firmness to the
limbs; but it endures no portion of the weight. So exquisitely has
nature adapted her creature to its uses, that in the horse man is
provided with a means of conveyance remarkable for fleetness, but more
wonderful for the elastic and buoyant seat which an admirable body
affords to an ungrateful master.
[Illustration:
THE PRINCIPAL FLEXOR TENDONS OF THE FORELEG.
1. The perforans.
2. The perforatus.
3, 4. Accessory muscles.
5, 6. Restraining ligaments.
7. The pedal cartilage divided.
8. The navicular bone.
]
Had weight been cast upon bone, the shock communicated by placing
the foot upon the ground would have been so powerful as must have
made the saddle a seat of torture. This is no speculative conjecture,
but it is a deduction drawn from positive fact. Hard work causes the
pastern bones to quit the slant, which is their natural position, and
to assume a more upright direction. They very rarely become actually
perpendicular; but as they verge toward that attitude, so as partially
to transfer their weight from the tendon to one another, the jar
communicated to the rider becomes most distressing. The tendons of
the foreleg are, therefore, of all importance; the utility of these
structures cannot be better illustrated than by appealing to the
terrible effects which ensue upon injury to these organs.
However, that the reader may fully appreciate the simplicity and the
seeming complexity developed in the various arrangements exposed upon
dissection, the next illustration is inserted, against which numerous
lines are fixed. Those marks indicate the points where a substance,
like to white of egg, is interposed between the extremities of the
bones. Each separate bone thus not only rests upon a liquid, but the
ends of these formations are likewise tipped with cartilage, thus
doubly securing the ease of progression. Nor have the perfection of
these various arrangements received full justice, for concussion of the
foot has not only to travel through different bones tipped by cartilage
and separated by the interposition of a fluid, but it also has to
progress through the various structures of which the limb itself is
composed, and to travel in different directions.
So elaborate an arrangement, or one better fitted to answer its
intention, no human study could invent. Man has for ages labored to
disarrange the parts thus admirably adjusted; when so employed, he has
only followed the example of the savage who destroys the product he
is incapable of understanding. No injury, no wrong, no cruelty can be
conceived which barbarity has not inflicted on the most generous of
man’s many willing slaves. While this has been going forward, nations,
at a vast outlay, have retained expensive establishments to entreat the
mercies of a Superior to be lavished upon themselves, and at the moment
these people were boasting aloud of their refined feelings or of their
exalted civilization, they have been incapable of sympathizing with the
agony which was imprisoned within the walls of their premises.
[Illustration: THE ARTIST’S IDEA OF A HORSE’S FORE LIMB.
The lines indicate the places where synovia (or a fluid
resembling white of egg) is interposed between the different
structures.
]
Looking toward the quarters of the horse, we perceive the spines of the
lumbar and sacral bones arranged in so peculiar a manner as to excite
remark. Those of the loins bend forward, while those of the haunch
incline backward, thus leaving a free space dividing the uppermost
bones of two neighboring regions. There must be a reason for so evident
a design. Inspecting the last lumbar bone, we ascertain it to be united
by its lateral processes, yet it does not touch the first sacral body,
all other parts of the chain joining at their centers.
Here is cause for reflection! What takes place at this spot which
could render imperative such an arrangement? In what action is the
inclination of the trunk so opposite to the position of the quarters as
to render imperative such a special provision as is here exemplified in
the skeleton? In prancing, in rearing, and in jumping, the hind legs
are firmly planted upon the earth; then, by exertion of the powerful
muscles of the quarters, the forward trunk is raised. This action could
not have been exhibited had the spines of the sacral bones ranged in
the same direction as those of the lumbar vertebræ; and to enforce
the reason of this evident provision a free space characterizes this
particular joint, others being formed by the interposition of cartilage.
[Illustration: THE BONES OF THE HIND EXTREMITY.]
The skeleton of the quarters is characterized by further distinctive
peculiarities. The sacral bones are fixed one to another, and joining
them at the spine is the huge hip-bone. This is the heaviest of the
many weighty pieces which compose the osseous frame of the horse. It
is irregular in form, and remarkable for an unusually rugged exterior.
An anatomist, by simply inspecting it, could designate its uses,
so emphatically is everywhere written the origin and insertion of
powerful motor muscles. In every ridge, in every indentation, in every
inequality anatomy discovers such a purpose; thus, when “the gnarled
and bossy” developments upon this bone are viewed in conjunction with
the solid and uneven appearance of the lower osseous supports of the
hind limb, no person properly instructed can doubt that the quarters
are peculiarly the seat of muscular power in the equine race.
Then the angular arrangement of the bones suggests the immediate
purpose of flexion and extension. “Yes,” interrupts the reader, “that
is true; but supposing the loose bones of the skeleton only to exist,
what was to suggest the angularity of arrangement?” Such a fact could
be thus readily ascertained. The bodies of other animals would inform
the anatomist of the relative situations of the stifle and the elbow
joints, while the different lengths and points of bearing in the fore
and hind extremities would instruct him concerning all the rest.
But no knowledge could enable the anatomist to infer the gracefulness
of form and flow of line which characterizes the body of the horse,
even when deprived of its outward investment. Here is a sketch of the
quarter after partial dissection. It scarcely awakens the disgust which
anatomical labors generally create. The elegance which distinguishes
the living creature is hardly lost--certainly it is not entirely
destroyed--and the author is acquainted with no other body which could
equally endure so harsh a test.
[Illustration: THE HIND QUARTER OF A HORSE, FROM WHICH THE SKIN HAS
BEEN REMOVED.]
The inferior bones of the subjoined sketch lead to the foot; but as
the osseous structure of this part was illustrated in a previous
sketch, and as the fore and hind feet of the horse are in the leading
particulars alike, the author will not fill valuable space by
unnecessary repetition. However, the hind foot of the horse being the
point whence all the strain of propulsion must proceed, the part, from
such a cause alone, will be liable to certain distortions. The evils
engendered by the cruel impatience of mankind, which forces the colt
into too early labor, causes the natural position of the member to
become altered. The pastern bones grow to be erect, and, should the
toil still be enforced, the shank bone afterward projects. If these
warnings are disregarded, inhumanity provokes the heels to be drawn
upward, and a valuable helpmate is thus incapacitated from assisting
man in his earthly task.
While writing of the horse, it should not be forgotten that in this
country there is another animal which properly belongs to the equine
race, and which is liable to most of the evils as well as worthy of
much of the commendation that has been already pronounced, as though
these referred only to one specimen of the tribe. The donkey is much
misunderstood. Because its name has become a figure of reproach, no
writer hitherto has dilated seriously upon its requirements, although
several have been ignorantly sentimental, where suffering needed only
truth to plead in its behalf. The animal must have its uses, or its
breed would not be preserved.
The fact establishes that the creature is of service to mankind, since
the life, whose season of utility has expired, like the dodo, soon
ceases to exist. It is, however, chiefly the property of those whose
feelings are subject to their necessities. The purchase of such a
chattel is comparatively easy; the food is the refuse of the stable;
but the work is often disproportionately heavy, for the ass too
frequently belongs to those whose daily round of toil would tax the
strength of the largest horse.
The prejudice which encircles this miserable being appears to be
countenanced even in the dissecting rooms of the veterinary profession.
Anatomy is a science the only merit of which depends upon its being a
literal record of facts; yet students, at the before-mentioned places,
are fond of alluding to the larynx of the ass, as displaying a peculiar
development, which accounts for the difference of voice between the
last-named animal and the horse. The author could never discover such
a curiosity, nor is any necessary, when the peculiarity of the two
sounds is attentively noticed. One is a nasal tone, modulated by the
flutter of the nostrils; the other is a harsh, grating noise, produced
by energetically inhaling and expelling the atmosphere through the
extended pipe of the animal’s trachea.
The donkey labors, however, beyond the care of its enslaver and without
the region of human sympathy. Be its toil exhaustive, let it work
without cessation throughout the day and far into the night, no eye
regards its fatigue with commiseration. It is an object only to laugh
at. The popular belief is, that the tribe is so peculiarly hardy as to
be altogether removed from the necessities, the liabilities, or the
accidents common to every other form of life. All grades of existence
which men please to neglect, they generally designate as “hardy.”
Human beings, however, notoriously become less “hardy” as knowledge
is enlarged and as life becomes better cared for. Will the time ever
arrive when perception can embrace that which we now view only as an
object of fun, and when the donkey will be regarded as entitled to
share the consideration bestowed upon all the other inhabitants of
earth?
The country is not secure, the people are not released from barbarism,
while the pressure of want can blind the nation to the lawful needs
of the lives which surround and which serve it. Civilization must be
far from perfected, when an inquiry concerning the man who has beheld
a dead donkey can make a large assemblage laugh. The author has,
however, known poor families to be plunged into deep distress because
the assinine form of existence was _not_ immortal. His experience may,
probably, be peculiar, but it is opposed to the stale jest of our
theaters; for when he was demonstrator at the Royal Veterinary College,
he used to dispute with the man who supplied donkeys for the pupils to
dissect, whether the institution should or should not bear the loss
of such as died before their lives were required by the school. These
creatures were bought at Smithfield, and brought to Saint Pancras for
animals enjoying health; they were wanted to endure but a few days; yet
the author has seen three carcasses anticipate this brief interval of
permitted existence.
The author can further testify that, among the scores of carcasses
which he has dissected, he never examined the body of a donkey, however
young it might have been, that he did not encounter appalling proofs of
internal injuries--injuries which had resulted in change of structure,
and which would have consigned the horse to the knacker’s yard. Yet
the animals thus maimed were working up to the date of purchase; the
inability to move was attributed to the obstinacy which is generously
supposed to characterize the ill-treated animal, and the blows fell
heavier in proportion as its actual condition should have appealed to
human forbearance.
[Illustration: STABLED FOR THE NIGHT.]
To properly comprehend the sufferings of the quadruped, we must know
the country whence it is derived, and be acquainted with the soil it
is fitted to inhabit. The wild ass delights in the sandy desert of a
tropical region, and for the products of such a locality a taste is,
by the English representative, retained. It lives and thrives upon the
spontaneous herbage of the arid waste. The heat, under which other
forms of life appear to languish, fills the donkey with animation. The
comparative size of its intestines fit it to store away that amount of
water which in the land of its nativity is proverbially scarce.
The donkey in England is dragged into a wintry climate, rendered
more inhospitable by the low temperature which is the most prominent
characteristic of the country. In cold and in wet, the native of a
tropical soil must lead a miserable existence. In Britain, however, it
breathes and breeds; but it is here on the limits of even its power to
endure. In Scotland the tribe is all but unknown. Where it can live,
however, no one thinks of its real condition; no mortal is so weak as
to waste pity upon its suffering. Its toil is without other limit than
the pleasure of its master; when the day’s work is done, the nearest
lane is the only stable ready to receive it.
The author has often, when passing down some narrow and unfrequented
highway, during the early part of December, encountered a miserable
group of beings endeavoring to afford each other a little warmth by
crowding close together. The weather at this season is piercing cold.
The ground is squashy, and moisture loads the atmosphere. The fierce
wind bends the bare twigs of the adjacent hedge, and the temperature
is of that kind which heralds the Christmas frost. It is not yet so
low as to numb sensation; but it leaves the edge of feeling unblunted,
that sense may fully appreciate the heavy misery, before whose wildness
all nature moans and crouches. In such a place, and at such a season,
the author has been made sad by the living anguish which the preceding
illustration feebly depicts.
The donkey, in this country, is very unfortunate in the class whom it
principally serves. The lower order, though with impulses untainted
by politeness, yet, in the struggle for life, have little leisure to
quicken their perceptions or to cultivate their feelings. Their own
necessities forbid them to be generous, and render somewhat rude their
intercourse. They exist not within the amenities, but upon the borders
of society; the law, under whose protection the affluent breathe in
comfort, is to them a cruel institution, which forces them to endure,
which they recognize only as a restraint, and with which they are
powerless openly to contend.
In towns, the homes of such a race are without attractions. The very
poor are ignorant of domesticity. They eat and live abroad, and seek
their lodgings only when utter weariness makes them heedless where they
rest. If the lodging be large enough to conceal, it possesses all the
requirements poverty demands. To be larger is to be colder; for the
ignorant study rather to drag on existence from day to day than think
to promote the health, which is their only real possession.
When such a people rise in their sphere of contention, and can afford
to discard the hand-barrow for the donkey-tray, the inferior animal can
expect no separate lodging. That will hardly be provided for a beast
which the master was too abased to conceive necessary for the members
of his family.
The donkey is hailed as a new possession; and for security, not from
any loftier consideration, it has to share the proprietor’s home. No
hole can be too narrow, too dark, or too stifling for the animal’s
abode, so that it provides the safe keeping for which it is sought.
Humanity shudders as it pictures the strange places which poverty may
view as the fitting homes of its dependants!
The young horse may be stinted in its food, but it is spared from work
until a certain period has arrived. All classes have their stated
ages when the colt should first begin to labor; but the ass has no
recognized season of rest, even for its immaturity. It is forced to
work so soon as need can see in the growing body a capacity to assist.
Foals are often to be seen dragging loaded trays about the streets of
London, and the day’s toil is lengthened or shortened by the quickness
or the slowness of the day’s sale. The food is, during this time, the
refuse of the stock; seldom can the owner spare from his earnings that
which will purchase fodder for the life which is the partner of his
fatigues.
[Illustration: THE DONKEY’S PREPARATION FOR THE LABOR OF THE DAY.]
The donkey is harnessed for the early market. The costermonger
rides with his family to make his bargains for the day; and the
stock-in-trade being procured, he and they ride with it back again. The
very poor never walk, save upon necessity, and seem never to conceive
their animals can be tired or overladen. The wretched quadruped, on
home being reached, is not released and permitted to rest. It has to
support the tray while the family wash the stock, display the viands,
and get their morning meal; after which it is started with a kick and
a blow, and an exclamation of, “Come up, lazy! why, what ails ye, this
marning?”
Animals have generally less ability to endure fatigue than have the
human race; but if the donkey has to work before man’s daily round
commences, so also do its toils increase after the period of mortal
labor has been fulfilled. My readers must recollect to have frequently
beheld the coster’s tray, now emptied of the green stock of the
morning, but occupied by several shouting fellows, and drawn past the
windows by a little donkey. The street purveyor of vegetables often
travels far to dispose of his wares. But the green stuff distributed,
he considers his labors for the day to be ended. He then has time to
appreciate his own sensations. He flings his body full length upon the
tray, and, with the good nature which belongs to his class, does not
refuse a ride to any wayfarer so long as the vehicle can accommodate
another passenger. All, then, fully impressed with the popular
credulities concerning the donkey, commence shouting and thumping,
while the animal, which has been upon its legs before the light began,
is forced to travel homeward at a pace which is compelled to be faster
in proportion as it may be distant from its lodging.
In the country, the houses being more separated, the animal is deprived
of the frequent stoppages and the lighter draught of the towns. The
pull is heavier, and the distances are longer; but still the donkey
must progress until the master has earned a certain sum, without which
he rarely turns the creature’s head toward his home. If the proprietors
of asses have few faiths, they are all thoroughly imbued with one
belief, which is, that the animal in their keeping cannot possibly feel
exhaustion. Their credulity does not stay here. They are impressed
with a conviction that no creature of the donkey tribe has any sort
of feeling. The quadruped, they know, can bear an unusual amount of
beating with the thickest possible bludgeon, and simply requires only
the coarsest of refuse for sustenance. Moreover, such conviction leaves
the proprietor his own convenience to consider, when imposing burdens
on “the beast within his gate.”
The last article of belief makes the man select the weakest portion
of his dumb servant’s spine for a seat, when he is inclined to play
the jockey. The reader, to whose notice diagrams of the equine spine
have been submitted, knows that the loins alone are unsupported by
other bones. The absence of that which renders this region the weakest
division of the vertebræ, also makes this portion of the quadruped’s
back the most yielding and elastic. Here the fashion of vulgarity fixes
the rider’s seat when he strides the ass. The veterinary student will
remember that few of the lumbar bones in the carcasses he dissected,
when at college, were in their integrity. The author has encountered
two, three, and even four bones of the six which compose the part
locked together by osseous deposit.
Such a form of union proves the animal to have suffered inflammation.
The injury must have been endured and the agony must have run its
course; for an osseous junction is positive evidence that all the
stages of inflammation have been survived. Few persons, when they
behold the young donkey stagger under the weight of its six-foot
rider, care to think of this; nay, the writer has beheld really worthy
gentlemen stand and enjoy the scene of activity presented at evening
time by a rural gipsy’s encampment. The women were laughing, the men
were shouting, while the more jovial of the gang were racing on the
common. Those poor donkeys, which already had been goaded to the
performance of no ordinary day’s toil, were carrying terrific loads,
and beaten till they galloped, despite the deep-seated anguish with
which they were afflicted.