Litchfield enquirer., 1860-12-20
Whole No. 1888.
THE WILD AND SOPHISTICATED
 HORSES

: notwithstanding the horse has been tho servant and companion of man for hundreds of years, and his nature, disposition. and
 habits have been studied more than tbose of
 most other of our useful domestic aaimoia yet there is deplorable degree of irnorance
 of the extent of his intelligence when in fine
 natural or wild state That the various breeds or races differ very much in intelli.
 gence, disposition, and temper, no one at all informed will for moment doubt. Ncithee
 will it be denied that these faculties may De
 cultivated and greatly improved and increas-
 ed by judicieus infringement and education.
 The horse like the child, may be made gen
 tie and affectionate, or vicious and ugly by
 education. Few children or horses are, in
 our opinion, vicious or unmindful of kindness
 from their teachers or superiors. By all his
 movements and actions, the horse admits, Or
 seems to admit the superiority of man, and if kindly treated looks to him as his best friend; and every enlightened and humane
 man will treat his horse as his most faithful
 servant, and tlo best of all his mute friends
 In the wild state, says we'll informed
 writer, the horse has no intermediate pace
 between walk and gallop. Hence it will
 be seen that the thirty-two trotters have
 been made such by breeding for-generations;
 and education. Much may be known of the
 intelligence and disposition of the horse. by
 the shape and size of bis ears, and their no:
 sition upon the head Horses with rather
 small, slim ears, not far apart, erect, lively
 in motion, indicate breeding, intelligence.
 and spirit. More may be known from ths
 ear than the eye. If the horse is in the ire ~ n haI, .rho,,
 one ear forward and the other backward he
 will be found to possess both spirit and en-
 dnrance. This shows that he is attentive
 to everything that is passing around him,
 and can not be much fatigued or likely soon
 to become so. IL has been remarked that
 few horses sleep without pointing one ear forward and the other back, in order that they may receive notice of the approach of objects in any direction. Dr. Arnott says that, when horses or mules march in com pany at night, those in front direct their ears forward; these in the rear direct them backward; and those in the center direct them lateraliy, or across; the whole troop being actuatcd by one feeling, which watch e. the general safety" Another writer says that, "an experienced observer of horses can tell, by the motion of their ears, all that they think and moan" The hearing of the horse is remarkably acute; thousand yi- brations of the air, too slight to make any impression on the human ear are readily perceived by him. It is we'll known to sportsmen, that the cry of hounds will be recognized by tle horse, and his ears will be erect, and he will be all spirit and impa- tience, considerable time before the rider is conscious of the least sound
 When kindly treated, the horse often be- comes firmly attached to the habits ahd man. ners to which he has long been accustomed. He manifests strong disposition, and often great pleasure, in doing tue bidding of his master He not only yields to the hand, but seems to consult the inclination of his rider. In measure, he renounces his very exist ence to the pleasures of man. In the wild state, they possess force and dignity, which are the gifts ofnuture; they are by no means ferocious in temper, but are only fiery and wild. Though of strength superior to most animals, they never make an attack; but when assaulted, they either disdain the ene- my, bound out of his way, or perhaps strike him dead with their heels. They associate in troops, acquiring a natural attachment for each other, from no other motives than the pleasure of being together. They appear to be under the command of leader, which they implicitly obey When attacked by . tiger at some signal inteliigible to them all, they either close into a dense mass and trample their enemy to death, or place the mares and foals in the center, forming them selves iuto circle, and welcome him with out with theirheels In the attack, their leader is the first to brave the danger, and when prudence demands retreat, they follow his rapid fight.--AaOericnn Stock Journal