Evening star., 1895-08-07
A TRusrY ANIMAL.
Very Few Horses Are Vicious and
Mean by Nature.

From the Boston Transcript.
The man who, In one of the papers, has
protested against the agitation against
overhead checks, binders, &C., on horses,
on the ground that such guards are needed
because there never was a horse that
would not play a mean trick on man II
he could" has simply made an exhibition
Of his ignorance of horses. There are some
OF us who fancy that we know horses
pretty well, aud who have the absolute
knowledge Of experience to sustain us in
the opinion that not only Is q tricky horse
a rare thing, but that it is in rinety-nine
cases out Of a hundred the product of
abuse. A thorough, practical "horse man"
oEce told the writer that "a fractions horse
was always made by fractions man."
The writer himself had the advantage. all
through his youth. Of daily and constant
association with horses. Every day of his
life he rode or drove horses, almost from
infancy. They were Of several generations
and Of all sorts. There were sometimes
six or eight in the paternal stable. and in
all those years there was but one horse
which by any stretching Of terms could be
called "tricky't-and there were extenuat--
Ing circumstances in her case. The nature
OF the horse. as every real and intelligent
student Of the horse knows. is essentially
among animals in this characteristic, ex-
cept by certain breeds Of dogs. Even the
honest OK is capable Of a kick, or thrust
OF the horn Generally the result Of ignor-
design at unexpected moments; but the
horse has no natural propensity to any
form Of treachery. The always well-treat-
ed and trusted horse may be depended
upon.
Nevertheless the horse Is very apt to re-
nect the characteristics Of the people he
lives with or has lived with. Some of our
abroad Of being bs Tricky" % The ns writer Ra has
been told In the west that Yankees word
out there will not stand for a moment
against that of German or a Scandina-
Wan. Some good city men who have bought
country places. and have had dealings of
various sorts with the people about them,
have told astonishing and incredible stories
OF their perf1dy in ordinary business trans
actions The marketmen all tell us that
the average New England farmer will
cheat apparently for the fun Of cheating,
when ne might make a great deal Of money
by dealing honestly with agents and COM
mission men. OF course. 1t will not do to
believe all these tales. The Yankee race,
the pick of all creation, Is not dishonest.
But there may be a good many dishonest
men mixed up among the honest ones
enough, perhaps. to educate a good many
horses In thickness who would otherwise
be perfectly trustworthy. It is a safe
wager wage that a vast majority Of cases of
human influence, il the history of the
horses could only be known.
Perhaps good deal Of the writer's per-
sonai love for horses is traceable back to
the age Of six he once mounted old ROSY
(the term "old' at that time was merely
ore Of endearment. for the mare was NOT
as old as the boy) to ride to neighbor's.
the boy; her back was SO round that her
spine was a little hollow instead of a pro-
Jec ton. On this glossy, round back was
no SADDLE. not even blanket; the fat lit
tie boys short legs simply stuck out into
the air on either side. The greater part of
the journey had been achieved, and the
boy ana marc were returning homeward,
when, IN going down slope. Rosy mad
vertently began to trot, and the boy, nav
Ing no kind Of anchorage, began to slide
forward upon the mares neck Upon that
he let go the bride. hugged the neck, and
screamed. Not knowing quite what this
performance meant, Rosy continued to trot
piacidly down the hill, and the boy con-
tinued to slide. Doubtless she thought it
was some new kind Of boys play. At last
he slid clear over her head and rolled upon
the ground. The mare must have aased
the fall for him by ducking her neck slow
ly, and she certainly kept her feet entirely
clear Of him. He simply rolled into the
hurt, but boo-hooing Justify.
And then comes the pretty part Of the
story. The young mare did not go on ten
steps after the small boy rolled off her
neck, but stopped turned back, came down
to the screaming child, nosed him affec-
tionately. and, as he will swear to his dy-
ing day, comforted him as best she could
She showed him that the bride reins were
hanging down within his reach. Under
such an influence the boy of six-which Is
an age, 1t is scarcely needful to say, when
few Boston boys are intrusted with the
management Of a horse-stopped weeping,
get up, took hold of the bride and reflect
ihgiy led the mare home
This occurrence happened when the writer
subsequent experiences have convinced him
of the essential benevolence of the horse
kind; but no horse will ever occupy in his
heart the place that is occupied by old
Rosy. who treated him SO 'tenderly and
lovingly.
Visiting Cards Of Royalty.