Horse

“ And then I have a new horse, which met us at the foot of the hills, and which has turned out a treasure, and is such a beauty, a grey Arab. He is as quiet as a lamb, and as far as I can see, perfect—and a horse must be very perfect indeed that I get upon before daylight, when I am half-asleep and wholly uncomfortable, and which is to canter over no particular road, and to go round elephants, and under camels, and over palanquins, and through a regiment, without making itself disagreeable. ”

“ As horse after horse swells the thundering crowd.
Speed, speed, to thy footsteps! thy track has been found;
Now, sport for the rider, and blood for the hound!
Through brake and through forest the man-prey is driven;
O, help for the hopeless, thou merciful Heaven!
On! on to the mountain! ”

“ On level ground spare me not,
And in the stable forget me not.
Shoe the horse, and shoe the mare;
But let the little colt go bare.
SEE, see! what shall I see?
A horse's head where his tail should be. ”

“ As he strove to force his horse nearer to this gesticulating, screaming grey object that struggled up and down, there came a clatter of hoofs, and the little man, in act of mounting, swordless, balanced on his belly athwart the white horse, and clutching its mane, whirled past. ”

“ The perfect horse must have been far larger than those at St. Mark's: moreover, the head alone, when closely viewed, enables you distinctly to recognise and admire the character and spirit of the animal. The splendid frontal bones, the snorting nostrils, the pricked ears, the stiff mane,—a strong, excited, and spirited creature! ”

“ The ancients had a fable of a horse and a rider so attuned—so wholly one—that the brain of the man and the power of the horse were a single being, a wonderful creature to whom the impossible was easy play. And there is good foundation for the myth. Who that has ridden on the polo field or swung the lasso behind the bounding herd, can forget the many times when he dropped the reins and signalled to the horse only by the gentle touch of knee, of heel, by voice, by body swing, by wishing thus and so, and got response? For the horse and he were perfectly attuned and trained—the reins superfluous. ”

“ Now, however, this clumsy-barrelled, cloddy-shouldered, round-legged animal, something between a coach and a dray horse, as fat as an ox, and, with all his prancing at first starting, not capable of more than six miles an hour, and rendered useless by a day’s hard work, is no more seen; and, instead of him, we find a horse as tall, deep-chested, rising in the withers, slanting in the shoulders, flat in the legs, with more strength, and with treble the speed. ”

“ The long-legged horse with his ill-groomed coat, all hairs on end like the fretful porcupine his quills, and his tail whisking with derisive defiance in the face of the fare, carries his head on one side, foams at the mouth, and is evidently a dissipated quadruped, guilty, I am afraid, of every vice except hypocrisy. ”

“ And when employed in military bands—why, a horse looks a complete fool between a couple of these gigantic basins, each with its long tag-rag of unmeaning velvet, beplastered and bedizened with lace and gold, streaming from it ”

“ Is there anywhere, has there ever been, a finer or more useful animal than the horse, the swift racer of the plains, the noble lord of the desert, the mainstay of the city and farm? To us the horse is as familiar a friend as the dog. We see this fine animal everywhere that man lives, now valued for his speed, when he flies away over the racing field "with the wings of the wind;" ”

“ Before the big event the paddock was thronged with those who came to see the horses. A curious crowd they were—stout men, heavy-jawed and coarse-lipped; thin men, sharp-eyed and fox-faced; small, keen men, evil-looking boys, and round-faced, jovial-looking fellows—all stamped with horse. ”

“ KING RICHARD
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
CATESBY
Withdraw, my lord! I'll help you to a horse.
KING RICHARD
Slave, I have set my life upon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the die:
I think there be six Richmonds in the field:
Five have I slain to-day instead of him.—
A horse! ”

“ Far in the distance one could see a horseman. The well trained horse like a cat hung on to the mountain, taking advantage of the most insignificant little trail or plateau and of every imaginable hardly noticeable highland road. ”

“ In a second or two it becomes a horse and rider, [58] rising and falling, rising and falling—sweeping towards us nearer and nearer—growing more and more distinct, more and more sharply defined, nearer and still nearer, and the flutter of the hoofs comes faintly to the ear. ”

“ I invite the boy to watch how the horse uses his legs, and how rhythmically and beautifully he places his feet, and how his whole attitude serves the end for which he is exerting himself—to gain speed. ”

“ Where a black, a white or a bay horse would stand out and make a mark for hostile sharpshooters, a mottled gray might well elude their view. And the horse, apart from this, was just what he wanted. He paced fast, he galloped fast, and he walked fast, which is a rare and precious accomplishment in a horse. ”

“ How pale her cheeks grow as she drops the rein from her nerveless fingers! The observant horse needs no words to check his swift career. The scene of desolation stops him in an instant. He stretches out his head and looks with staring eyes upon the ruin. ”

“ The horse seems drowsy and stupid, standing with semi-closed eyes, often drooping lower lip and ears, head pendent and resting in the manger or against the wall in front, the back arched and the limbs drawn together. ”

“ Why, there you kill me, there am I! and turn me to a horse and a wench, and I have no peer.
Ateu. Art thou so good in keeping a horse? I pray thee, tell me how many good qualities hath a horse.
Slip. Why, so, sir: a horse hath two properties of a man, that is, a proud heart, and a hardy stomach; four properties of a lion, a broad breast, a stiff docket,—hold your nose, master,—a wild countenance, and four good legs; nine properties of a fox, nine of a hare, nine of an ass, and ten of a woman.
Ateu. A woman! why, what properties of a woman hath a horse? ”

“ The acquirement of the bearing upon the horse’s mouth, the turning the horse upon the proper rein, the power of collecting the horse, and retaining him on his proper balance, smoothness of indications, in the shortening of the reins, and the working together of the hand, leg, [14] and whip, are the unseen, and unappreciated foundation, upon which good riding stands; these, and not strength, nor violence commands the animal, with these, the horse will rely on the hand, comply to it, and without force on the rider’s part, he will bend to the hand in every articulation. ”

“ Have you ever seen a horse as has been clipped and kept all winter on hay in the stables when he chances to get out into a meadow, up go his heels, he turns frisky, gallops about, and there's no catching him again—not even with oats. He prefers the fresh grass and his freedom. ”

“ Sharing the same range with these, the most truculent of quadrupeds, may be seen the noblest and most beautiful of animals—perhaps nobler and more beautiful than man—certainly the most distinguished of man’s companions—the horse! ”

“ In this first affair of the new-comer, the horses are not so much on show as the swells; you get only glimpses of shining coats and tossing manes, with a glint here and there of a flying hoof through the lines of people coming and going, and the ranks of people, three or four feet deep, against the rails of the ellipse; but the swells are there in perfect relief, and it is they who finally embody the Horse Show to you. ”

“ The gods were kind to them and gave them beautiful chariots and swift horses with which to ride through the heavens. Look out of the window, children, and see how bright it is. That is because the mane of Night's horse is shedding light upon the earth as he travels onward. ”

“ No dumb-bells or clubs for fifteen minutes in the morning—but astride a horse, his thighs gripping a bare-back, roaming the hills day after day—the kind of outdoor experience that hardens a man all over without specializing his biceps or his running gear. ”

“ The horse, who understood and enjoyed the game as well as the man on his back, once he had distinguished the bullock they were riding down, needed no stimulant of whip, but would follow him of his own accord, twisting and doubling like a retriever after a wounded hare, or a terrier after a rat. ”

“ The horse is a very well-defined matter-of-fact sort of animal, and we are all pretty familiar with its structure. I dare say it may have struck you, that it resembles very much no other member of the animal kingdom, except perhaps the zebra or the ass. But let me ask you to look along these diagrams. Here is the skeleton of the horse, and here the skeleton of the dog. You will notice that we have in the horse a skull, a backbone and ribs, shoulder-blades and haunch-bones. ”

“ When a large quantity is prepared the horse is brought into requisition, the ears being thrown into a circular shallow pit, round and round which six or seven horsemen urge their steeds, shouting and yelling as if mad. ”

“ They only smile. They regard me with the languid interest that, say, a horse might exhibit were a lady to present herself in leathers minus a riding-habit. Don't know why I think of a horse—later on their presence calls to mind an animal traditionally far less sagacious, and I don't mean a mule! ”

“ The horse would playfully nibble [107] the neck of the sheep, and, without hurting it, would lift it into the manger of a neighboring shed belonging to the field, as much as to say, ‘Though you are not able to reach it, I will help you to the banquet.’ Besides this, the horse would, on all occasions, protect his new friend, and would suffer no one to interfere with him. ”

“ The lady's horse, the cavalry horse, every horse in which prancing action is esteemed a beauty, and in which utility is, to a certain degree, sacrificed to appearance, must not be too long in the arm. If he is long there, he will be proportionally short in the leg ”

“ Give to this horse a mare having a fine and expressive head, lighted up with a large, intelligent, well-opened eye; let her possess lean, elegant, and perfect limbs, and, a hundred to one, you will get a valuable colt. ”

“ In like manner in history, sacred, profane, and modern, the horse is to be found omnipresent, sharing in the conquests, in the defeats, in the prosperity, in the adversity, in the joys, in the sorrows, in the occupations, and in the amusements of man. ”

“ I have only to answer you, that the bad, vicious horse I spoke of before, was bred in the same place, lived in the same stable, and the only difference between them was the different usage that they had received.
The horse is one of the most sensible and most affectionate of creatures. You see, every day, how they will obey the man who drives them, going on, stopping, moving to the right or left, and turning any corner, all without the driver going near them. ”

“ The horses, with drooping heads, and each with a mane and tail as scanty and straggling as those of a worn-out rocking-horse, are standing patiently on some damp straw, occasionally wincing, and rattling the harness ”

“ Schoolboys are coming to see the start on ponies; farmers on clever nags; others on young horses of great price; neatly-dressed grooms, some heavy and some light, are riding, or riding and leading, horses magnificent in shape and breeding, in the most beautiful condition, all as clean and well-appointed as if they had been prepared to do miserable penance in Rotten Row. ”

“ When horses work, or travel over a hard road, they have iron shoes nailed to their hoofs, so that they will not be hurt by striking the stones.
13. The hoofs have no feeling on the outside, and it does not hurt the horse to have these shoes nailed on. They grow like our nails, and must be pared once in a while.
14. The horse can paw with his fore feet, and kick with his hind ones, and, when he kicks hard, he breaks things. He has a tail covered with long hair, and this he uses as a switch to keep off flies in summer.
[59]
LESSON XXII. THE HORSE AND ITS FRIENDS.
1. ”

“ The traveller, supposing this fine horse to have strayed from his master, and considering him as a good catch for carrying him a part of the way, would approach the horse with the greatest caution, soothing it with proogy proogy, and many other terms of endearment, in the event of his taking to his heels, as wild horses are sometimes apt to do. ”

“ Then he sprung to the back of his own noble horse, a tall, powerful, thorough-bred hunter, of about sixteen hands in height, with bone and muscle to match, capable, as it would appear, of carrying a man-at-arms in full harness through a long march or a pitched battle. ”

“ Suddenly I am pushed by a movement of the horse on which I am lying. I see that he has turned his great head aside; he is mournfully eating grass. I saw this horse but lately in the middle of the regiment—I know him by the white in his mane—rearing and whinnying like the true battle-chargers; and now, broken somewhere, he is silent as the truly unhappy are. ”

“ He doctors sick horses, I dare say?’
‘Oh yes, sir.’
‘Very well, then. He is a veterinary surgeon, a farrier, and horsebreaker. Give me your definition of a horse.’
(Sissy Jupe thrown into the greatest alarm by this demand.)
‘Girl number twenty unable to define a horse!’ said Mr. Gradgrind, for the general behoof of all the little pitchers. ‘Girl number twenty possessed of no facts, in reference to one of the commonest of animals! Some boy’s definition of a horse. ”

“ The horse is the most noble of all the thick-skins, and indeed of all brutes. Its immediate relatives are the ass, quagga, and zebra. The curious stages and changes in the development of the horse have already been given. ”