The master backed me a little, so as to get a good view of them. They
are an uncommonly handsome pair, he said, and if they are as good as
they look I am sure you need not wish for anything better; but I see
you still hold that pet scheme of yours for worrying your horses and
lessening their power.
What do you mean, said the other, the check-reins? Oh, ah! I know
that's a hobby of yours; well, the fact is, I like to see my horses hold
their heads up.
So do I, said master, as well as any man, but I don't like to
see them held up; that takes all the shine out of it. Now, you are a
military man, Langley, and no doubt like to see your regiment look well
on parade, 'heads up', and all that; but you would not take much credit
for your drill if all your men had their heads tied to a backboard! It
might not be much harm on parade, except to worry and fatigue them; but
how would it be in a bayonet charge against the enemy, when they want
the free use of every muscle, and all their strength thrown forward? I
would not give much for their chance of victory. And it is just the same
with horses: you fret and worry their tempers, and decrease their power;
you will not let them throw their weight against their work, and so
they have to do too much with their joints and muscles, and of course
it wears them up faster. You may depend upon it, horses were intended
to have their heads free, as free as men's are; and if we could act a
little more according to common sense, and a good deal less according
to fashion, we should find many things work easier; besides, you know as
well as I that if a horse makes a false step, he has much less chance
of recovering himself if his head and neck are fastened back. And now,
said the master, laughing, I have given my hobby a good trot out, can't
you make up your mind to mount him, too, captain? Your example would go
a long way.
I believe you are right in theory, said the other, and that's rather
a hard hit about the soldiers; but--well--I'll think about it, and so
they parted.
12 A Stormy Day
33