NOTES.ABOUT HORSES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 484, 17 April 1909, Page 15

NOTES.ABOUT HORSES.

SOME HABITS AND THEIR CAUSES. , THE GRIP OF ENVIRONMENT. , (Br R. C. Bmjoe.) • I have seen it somewhere stated that cortain scientists decline to admit that acquired >- habits of mind can bo transmitted to posterity. To mo it would appear that those holding this theory should logically refuse to beliovo in the results of environment. A friend in Australia somo time ago sent me a work upon education which was written by a young French savant, who died at the early ago of jthirtv-nve, but who has loft a ' 'monument to his momory. In tho book to 'which I havo alluded ho tells of a flock of -geeso in Franco which wa9 attacked and : terribly maltreated by dogs. Tho descend- . siits of theso geese occasionally flew into perfect 'paroxyms of terror and tumult. The • shrowd Yankee sheop-farmors always prefer —other things being equal—a colho pup from parents that havo been trained as sheep dogs. Theso foregoing question's arc closely associated with'the subject of instinct; in, referenco to which I have sent somo contributipns to your columns. Measured by our standards, the horso is ono of tho noblest, most beautiful, and, to mankind, tho most useful animal on tho surface-of our little planet; and I havo thought that the following instances, derived from my own observation, regarding the instincts of horses, might, not prove uninteresting to many who ', lovo and admire our useful four-footed friend, ,- Objects at which They Shy. '. I have noticed that nearly every horso will shy at .a bag lying on the roadsido, at a little heap of brown dried gorso, and also at a .bleached neap of manuka scrub of a whitish grey colour. These aro facts admitted by all experienced, observant .horsemen with 'Whom / I havo discussed tie question. None with whom I have spoken havo ever suggested a reason; but in this world of cause and effect there must be" reasons for these very pro- • nounced characteristics to which I have. alluded/and I am strongly of opinion that thoy constitute traditions of tho lion carried by the horse,from his African and Asiatic homes, i Tho bag and the browned gorse ' closoly'resemble tho lion in'colour, and tho bleached,' whitish grey 'of ;bhe dried manuka scrub is y as nearly as possible .tho colour of ' tho jackal. A resident of Turakina told mo that somo years ago a s ' littlo travelling ' menagerie halted at the village, and thoso •in charge wero .desirous oKdbtaining an old horse that "nothing could frighten", to haul tho lion's van up to tho 'racecourse, whore th«y wished to exhibit the royal beast. A horso that was supposed to "fill tho bill" was procured, but, although tho lion's van was 1 covered and no part of him visible, tho horse could not bo brought anywhere near,/as ho appeared to fly into a paroxysm of violont .terror. -~*This was no doubt- attributable' to v the sraoll "of tho' lion, But, if so, for what a ' period must this instinct have,lain dormant. , Horses and Oilskin Coats. • ' ' Some horses aro terrified by the fluttering of an'oilskin overcoat, and I tor many years rodo a well-bred 'littlo maro, which hardly ever got over this feeling. I might hero interpolate, for, it has a bearing , upon . the question, that , she inherited a littlo Arab blood from both her parents. Some time ago ' . I read a most interesting statement by an American scientist - relative to this Characteristic to which I_ havo just alluded. Ho regards it as tho instinct of tho 'horso in reference to tho shaking of the reecls by his enemies who lay amongst .them (ioncealed until their prej camo donn to obtain water. . My assumptions aro certainly no more farfetched than'/those, of-1-.this, distinguished scientist.' Amongst the grass upon tho* side of the road 'n'c'af Huhtervillo there lay, for 6overal months, a piece j?f black yelvet ribbon about fifteen inches itfj'lnhgt'bi J,t always rode' close past it,' ! 'and"at s srst' my ,'litllo mare shield at" it, J but when more, accustomed to ' it'(although • ceasing to.shy) sho still regarded; it'with *a certain amount of jsus- ' picion and mistrust.' This was, I have no doubt, attributable to tho instinctive fear of the snake, which is shunned and dreaded by All animals.' Is it not possible' that oureolves un- . consciously possess this instinct, this 'dread of the snake? Suppose that an avorage.mau,' Who had never even hoard of a snako,' weic euddenljr to Come upon one in a 'defiant attitude, (with oscillating head, glittering.eyes,' and militant hiss/ In such a hypothetical case I cannot help thinking that tho. "average man" would bolt. ,'"*._ ' '■ " Faculty,for Perceiving the Unseen. , '' , < ' I have frequently thought that horses poi--6ess some qualities of which we aro ignorant. Sofflo time ago, I had three mares down at Palmorston, and 'I brought them up to Marton, riding one and driving tho other two.' I left two at the'Marton stables, and rodo the other to a friend's house a few miles distant, -whoro I spent tho night. Neit morning I rodo up,toT;ho town, and, before I had entered tho stable,,yard—indeed I was then half a chain distant—the maree in the stalls neighed most frantically, and tho one ■ upon which' I was seated as vigorously responded. The mares had ncvor Defore bfen separated, and were much I attached-to each other, but how thoso in the stalls became aware of tho proximity of that upon which \ I rode seamed to mo an, insoluble problem. Staying Power of Chestnuts. ' ' Many people erroneously believe .that Arab horses aro nearly all white, and this belief is probably attributable to the fact "that horses -oi tbatrcolonr, not being valued by i the Arj(bs,,'fr6rb moro easily procurable than thoso of better esteemed colours. I read in a very inte'reating work upon tho Arab horse, written by a, French general who had served for many, years in Algeria, tho following incident, hypothetical or othorwise, which illustrates" tho~fclative values of colours nmongst thoso steeds of the deserts. An Arab chief and his son, with their attendants, were once pursued Mm&i,of a hostilo tribe,-and the 1 father tells' his' , son to look , round, and see v.'hat horses wer'o ■in tho 1 van of thoso'in pursuit. Tho reply was "piebalds." , "Ah I" father, "they will soon dis-1 appear."' The next time tho boy was asked ! to look round he reported "tho' whites as, being? in tho' van. ' "Ah!" said tho chief,; , "they will melt away with tho midday', sun." At the ' next survey tho blacks were in tho lead, but tho chief wid: "They will not long retain that pc-si-ti6n.' Finally, when the son was '•ngam called upon to .report the colours of .those in the pursuit, ho said that, 'he chestnuts and baj's were now in the front. "Ah, well," said the chief, "we'have'now to trust our own good horses good corn to got U3 clear of pursuit.", 'As tho Arabs, who know so much practically about horses, appear to attach much value to colour, there, must probably bo'somo basis for the beliet. Galloways. \ ' > , ■ Both in Australia and New Zealand I havo found amongst old stockmen and others well acquainted with the horse' a belief in the hardihood and staying power of roans, an opinion also held by so eminent an authority ' as Bruni," of tho."Australasian." I cannot boliovo that our thoroughbred horses will ever be improved as they might bo, so long ns there are so many short-distance races, but if it wero possible to raiso a breed of cobs, not ovcT fifteen hands, with short, clean legs, well sprung ribs, and clean high withers, such horses would bo of incalculable valuo in tho hilly pastoral districts of Now Zealand. Tho gallon-aye Tn tho south of Scotland were such a breed, and it is believed lhat they sprung from Arab stallions that swum ashore from the wrecked ships of the Spanish Armada, and wero crossed upon tho rough marcs of this mountainous region. Their speed and endurance, thoir sure/ootedness amongst the hills, and their capa- ' city for long journeys havo never, so far as rny reading- has gono, been equalled in Britain. When mounted upon their galloways, tho Covenanters could generally escape from the persecuting dragoons. But;' unfortunately, this valuable breed has become extinct, in consequence'of roads having boon driven through tho hilly country, which resulted' in the employment of a heavier breed, for draught purposes. Tho hte Mr. Johnson, of Bonnie Qlen, told me

that ho saw a pure-bred stallion of this breed in 1826, and ho said, with much warmth, that ho was a "perfect horso." •When, last I visited the Mother Country, in 1884. I was desirous of obtaining a stallion of tin's breed, and I was told to interview Sir. .Hethorington, of Dumfries, who had been'the greatest dealer in Great Britain. In him, a man of seventy-nvo, but young in everything except years, I discovered quite an enthusiast in reference to tho old breed, vhich ho thought tho best breed of riding horses for hilly country in tho world. "But," ho said, "they aro gono; I myself possessed tho last pure-bred stallion, a horso known over tho whole of Britain, and ho was perfect, so much so that ho went by tho name of tho 'Phenomenon,' and when ho died I made a fiddle of his head." Sic transit. Would it not bo possible to raise such a breed of horses, they have of late been experimenting in this direction in Scotland? Our Crude Horseshoes. Invcntivo genius appears at present to be almost running riot m some parts of this Dominion, and I most sincerely desiro that some .inventor-could . discover somo sensible and useful method of shoeing horses' feet. Our present system—perhaps tho best known always constitutes. an qilenco to tho eye when I seo tho blacksmith at work. The frog of a horse's foot constitutes tho natural cushion upon which tho weight descends when the animal is in motion, and tho jar of tho concussion of tho foot with the ground over which ho is travelling is -mainly received, and largely discounted, by impact with tho frog. But, in our system of shoeing, the whole weight is thrown* upon tho rim ot tho horse's foot, thus constituting a most unnatural and destructive practice which has been severely condemned by such famous men as Finiay Dunn, of Edinburgh, and Atoatu, of New York, who go so far as to allege that our methods shorten the lives of our horses "by years, and also .that a horse is never in as good health with shoes on as without. I liavo lieaid that the natives, tho Arabs of the Sudan, shoo their lorsos with camels' hair, and I have thought it possible that, jn this manner, they may sivo tho cushion of tho hoof. But in tho macadamised roads, we encounter irtincial conditions, and aro thus driven from ignorance of'any better system, to adopt unnatural and destructive methods of protection of tho horse's foot. Hore, then is. an opportunity presented to men o! genius, and, ehould any ono of them succeed m dieovering such an improvement as that which I have indicated, I venture (o predict inat ho will merit and obtain a passport to fame greater than that of Macadam himOur late great and noble Queen is alleged ■ ?7° L atei . t,lat sho could never thoroughly boliovo in tho progress of humanand until she saw greater kindness exhibited to tno dnmb, defenceless animals. ' This country is fairly honeycombed with societies and unions of all kinds, imaginable and unimaginable, and many of their proceedings aro calculated—quoting from Oarlyle— to make angels and oven jaekassos weep, but there is ono which at onco commands, my admiration and respect, and that is the SoC i y ti ° Provention of Cruolty to Animals. I bcliovo that publio opinion requires enlightenmont in reference to this question, 'c •11 i - t ' ieso defenceless animals, our ■aithful and valuable servants, might have ilung over them tho mantlo of tho protection of a hotter state of human sentiment and feeling. Somo Cruelties. , 'in conclusion, I wish briofly to allude to one phase of this Question, in reference to which,l know that many lovers of the lorse, who otherwise treat thoir animals nndly and well, would appear by thoir actions to hold contrary opinions to thoso which I and many others entertain regarding this subject. The barbarous system of "docking" horses' tails now oxists, fortunately, almost, if not entirely, merely as an evil .tradition of tho past. But tho practice of cutting horses' tails as short as possiblo, .thus depriving them of tho protection given by. IJaturo •Mγ , *enabling 'them to -pre-* vent the'torments'inflicted .by/insects; who' at certain seasons'render their lives miserable, is,still adhered to by many owners of horses otherwise most kind and humane. I some time sinco said to a young "horsey" Spark, who treated his horse well, "why do you cut your horse's tail so short?" "Oh," was his reply, "because I want to make my horso look smart." 1 then said, "A wholeis composed of its parts. You aro guilty of cruolty to your horse, so Oβ that it will lend an element of smartness to yourself through tho agency of your horse." I really believe that most of. tho culprits are amongst the kindest of men to their horses,'with tho exception of this one'cruel .practice, and I do lopo.thatiin. this matter at least thero may bo a change of fashion in tho'years that aro to come. The question of "smartness" is ( entirely a matter of individual taste or opinion, and to me a long flowing tail constitutes a natural boauty, but the short hunter cut to faomo constitutes an offenco to tho eye, , appearing to leave something wanting,' presenting a case in which it would bo more difficult to associate the words of Job whon ho says: "Hast thou given the horse strength, hast thou clothed his neck with thunder.",