The Yale expositor., 1898-11-11
a VIEW OF THE HORSE
IDEA THAT STEED is NOBLE is
CONTRADICTED.
Equine Reasoning Is Bad-A Writer
Who Does Not Love This Patient
Servant of Man Draws Several Uncom-
pllmcntary Comparisons.


disrespectful of lunatics in general,
who have usually a great deal OF in
tellectual ability. 1.-The horse as an
idiot might be better, except that
philosophy tells us that a lunatic
is one whose logic is perfectly sound,
but who holds faulty premises-as a
man, for instance, who considers him
self made of glass and guards himself
against every chance of being shat
tered Thus the horse regards the
breaker as a representative of the evil
one and the first operations Of riding
as the final dissolution of the uni
verse and acts accordingly. If an or
binary black coat lying on the road
were really an internal machine or a
bottomless abyss, as he supposes, his
subsequent proceedings would be
strictly correct. If a dog were to al
low himself to be managed all his life
with little bride and saddle,
he would be thought to be suffering,
In medical language. from some cere-
bral disturbance, says the Country
Gentleman. A shake of the head
would free the horse; yet he looks
through his bride in the same hope
less way all his days, like the pris-
! oner who for twenty years never
thought of escaping; when he did, he
simply opened a window and got out,
Yet horse will stand and starve,
tied up to a post by "a little piece Of
string He will look over a railing
and be consumed with thirst, when by
going twenty yards higher up he could
get round to the water. He pulls back
when tied up and finds it hurts his
head; therefore he pulls back again.
He kicks at his stable and finds it
hurts his heels, so he kicks some more.
The water jump, which for an animal
or his shape ought to be the easiest,
he fears the most. In these points
he shows mental power which any
other creature, from the oyster up
ward, would ridicule. Though there
are horses who look out carefully for
things to shy at and feel disappointed
If nothing offers itself, the majority
of horses, without doubt, do so unin
tentionally, not of malice afore-
thought. Uncommon objects, like a
man or saddle, that a puppy be-
comes intimately acquainted with the
day he Is born, horse looks at with
terror and suspicion for twenty years.
He will jump carefully over every
shadow he crosses at night. Most
children's essays begin with THE
horse is a noble animal" passing to
an allusion to the war horse, regard
less Of the fact that in cavalry
charge the unfortunate creatures are
running for fear of being left behind.
If they had an idea Of the connection
between gunpowder and bullets they
would die at their posts rather than
charge-probably get behind their
posts and lie down. They put down
the heavy mortality in battle entirely
to sudden indisposition. Painters and
poets should observe these facts. The
horses memory, again, his one re-
deeming feature, is generally for evil,
not good. If in the country, he passes
the parish church at gallop, but pulls
up opposite the private bar" and re-
fuses to move-pleasant If one is rid
ing with ladies! He remembers the
stable lad" who has annoyed him
with the spurs, and savages him years
after, but passes with bored and alb
stracted air the owner who has had
him in for selling plate a week be-
fore; yet If the said owners stables
are in an out-o'-the-way part of the
country, he will turn up there for the
next five years whenever he gets loose.
Wax to receive and marble to re-
tain" will apply as far as disagree
able habits go. AS to the difficulties
of teaching a horse anything, there is
really something to be said for the
original system practiced by some
savages. He is lured into a quagmire,
where his feet become fixed Saddles,
brides and other horrors are then put
upon him, clothes are tapped in his
face, tribe of children climb on his
back and slide gleefully over his tail.
From being absolutely paralyzed with
terror, he gets into a don't-care, can't
possibly e-worse-than-this state OF
mind, and is comparatively indiffer-
Cit W guns DClHS AlOu Oh past Ills
ears, or squibs being attached to his
tail. Somewhat similar are the meth
DDS of the rough rider, who filings him
self on a 2-year-old's neck and works
about playfully with the spurs, on the
principle of getting the worst over as
soon as possible. This is one meth
cd of solving the difficulties raised by
the horses weakness of intellect
though not recommended by the best
breakers. But consider instances like
this: A horse is ridden half a mile
from the hall door steps and stopped
for a moment to have a mouthful of
water The moment this is over he
turns and tries to get back to the
stable again. He assumes that all the
trouble of Harvesting him, grooming
and bringing him round to the door
has been gone through to take him
out to have a drink.
BattleshIp Gray liked.
"Battleship gray is the newest col
or The haberdashers have n In Ties