Ginger was never put into the carriage again, but when she was well of
her bruises one of Lord W----'s younger sons said he should like to have
her; he was sure she would make a good hunter. As for me, I was obliged
still to go in the carriage, and had a fresh partner called Max; he had
always been used to the tight rein. I asked him how it was he bore it.

"Well," he said, "I bear it because I must; but it is shortening my
life, and it will shorten yours too, if you have to stick to it."

"Do you think," I said, "that our masters know how bad it is for us?"

"I can't say," he replied, "but the dealers and the horse-doctors know
it very well. I was at a dealer's once, who was training me and another
horse to go as a pair; he was getting our heads up, and he said, a
little higher and a little higher every day. A gentleman who was there
asked him why he did so. 'Because,' said he, 'people won't buy them
unless we do. The fashionable people want their horses to carry their
heads high and to step high. Of course, it is very bad for the horses,
but then it is good for trade. The horses soon wear up, and they come
for another pair.' That," said Max, "is what he said in my hearing, and
you can judge for yourself."

What I suffered with that rein for four months in my lady's carriage
would be hard to describe; but I am quite sure that, had it lasted much
longer, either my health or my temper would have given way. Before
that, I never knew what it was to foam at the mouth, but now the action
of the sharp bit on my tongue and jaw, and the constrained position of
my head and throat, always caused me to froth at the mouth more or less.
Some people think it very fine to see this, and say, "What fine,
spirited creatures!" But it is just as unnatural for horses as for men