Title: A Horse Book
Author: Tourtel, Mary
Language: English
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Transcriber's Note

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of the changes
is found at the end of this text.



The Dumpy Books for Children

No. 10. A HORSE BOOK.



THE DUMPY BOOKS FOR CHILDREN.

_Cloth, Royal 32 mo, 1/6 each._

1. THE FLAMP, THE AMELIORATOR, AND THE SCHOOLBOY'S APPRENTICE. By E. V.
LUCAS. (_Seventh Thousand._)

2. MRS. TURNER'S CAUTIONARY STORIES. (_Fifth Thousand._)

3. THE BAD FAMILY. By MRS. FENWICK. (_Third Thousand._)

4. THE STORY OF LITTLE BLACK SAMBO. Illustrated in Colours by HELEN
BANNERMAN. (_Twenty-seventh Thousand._)

5. THE BOUNTIFUL LADY. By THOMAS COBB. (_Fourth Thousand._)

6. A CAT BOOK. Portraits by H. OFFICER SMITH. Characteristics by E. V.
LUCAS. (_Eighth Thousand._)

7. A FLOWER BOOK. Illustrated in Colours by NELLIE BENSON. Story by EDEN
COYBEE. (_Eighth Thousand._)

8. THE PINK KNIGHT. By J. R. MONSELL. Illustrated in Colours.

9. THE LITTLE CLOWN. By THOMAS COBB.

10. A HORSE BOOK. By MARY TOURTEL. Illustrated in Colours.

11. THE DUMPY BABE. By HENRY MAYER. Illustrated in Colours.

  London: GRANT RICHARDS,
  9 Henrietta Street, W.C.



       A Horse Book


           BY
       MARY TOURTEL


         LONDON:
      GRANT RICHARDS
          1901



          London
   Engraved & Printed
          at the
  _RACQUET COURT PRESS_
           by
      _EDMUND EVANS_



CONTENTS.


                             PAGE

   1. AT PLAY                   2
   2. SCHOOLING                 6
   3. CLEVERNESS               10
   4. WILLINGNESS              14
   5. WILFULNESS               18
   6. INTELLIGENCE             22
   7. KICKING                  26
   8. GENTLENESS               30
   9. BITING                   34
  10. TOILING                  38
  11. HUNTING                  42
  12. DUTY                     46
  13. REARING                  50
  14. SAGACITY                 54
  15. BOLTING                  58
  16. PATIENCE                 62
  17. BUCKING                  66
  18. PERSEVERANCE             70
  19. JIBBING                  74
  20. SERVICE                  78
  21. SHYING                   82
  22. CURIOSITY                86
  23. FRIENDSHIP               90
  24. OLD AGE                  94



[Illustration]


AT PLAY.


    Three little foals you see at play.
    They romp and sport all through the day,
    But sometimes they are most sedate
    And try to ape their mothers' gait.

    They wheel and race and leap and prance,
    And sometimes they are said to dance:
    But always they will stand and stare
    At anyone who passes there.



SCHOOLING.


    The horse, like us, must go to school
    To learn by precept and by rule.
    Like us, he does not love the work,
    Like us, he's not allowed to shirk.

    This little instrument you see
    Strapped on his back, shaped like a V,
    Is a "Dumb Jockey" meant to train
    The horse to bear the bit and rein.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


CLEVERNESS.


    Billy, the circus pony, can
    Distinguish letters like a man:
    He'll hold up for you in the ring
    His D for Dunce and K for King.

    With P for Pony he will show
    That he his family name doth know;
    And he will find the C for clown
    And at his feet will put it down.



WILLINGNESS.


Although this horse is doing all he can to drag his heavy load up the
hill, the lazy boy who is walking beside him, with one hand in his
pocket, beats him cruelly with the stick which he carries. The boy is
too silly or too careless to see how willingly the horse is working.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


WILFULNESS.


    A horse's great red-letter days
    Are days of hunting, when his ways
    Are often very wilful. Here
    See this John Gilpin in great fear.

    He came out just to see the Meet,
    But the horse thought he would compete
    With horses, hounds and fox for place,
    And led the man this madcap race.



INTELLIGENCE.


On the prairies in the Far West of America a man lost his way. He had no
water to drink, although both he and his horse were parched with thirst.
Not knowing where to find water, he cast the reins on the neck of his
horse. By means of that wonderful intelligence which some people wrongly
call instinct, the horse found his way to a spring, although it was many
miles distant. Thus both man and horse were able to quench their thirst,
and in this way their lives were saved.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


KICKING.


    These two are very much dismayed
    To see the fuss their horse has made
    Because this dog in playful mood
    Barked in a manner rather rude.

    It is a thing some horses do
    Until the driver makes them rue
    Their fits of temper. Then they say
    That kicking doesn't seem to pay.



GENTLENESS.


These big carthorses and these little children are great friends.
Although the horses are so big, they are very gentle, and allow the
carter's children to lead them home in the evening, or to ride on their
backs.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


BITING.


    Peggy is the children's pride,
    And she allows them all to ride.
    She comes to them whene'er they call,
    And loves to have them in her stall.

    With others she has wilful ways.
    She will be cross with John for days,
    Will kick and squeal, will show much spite,
    And very often try to bite.



TOILING.


These three horses are ploughing an upland field. They are thoroughly
enjoying themselves, for they are so strong that their work is a
pleasure to them. The ploughman is guiding the plough, so as to keep the
furrows straight. The rooks are soaring round in search of grubs found
in the earth which is turned up by the plough.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


HUNTING.


    What sweeter sound on winter morn
    Than music of the hounds and horn?
    What prettier sight could e'er be seen
    Than hounds and horses on the green?

    See winding down this country way
    An eager throng one winter day.
    Keen are the men for sport of course,
    But just as keen each hound and horse.



DUTY.


The troop-horse, like all soldiers, has to learn his drill till he
becomes as efficient as his rider. In war he will take his place in his
squadron should his rider have been killed or wounded. In one instance,
several guns of the Royal Horse Artillery were saved by the teams
galloping back to their lines after all the gunners and drivers had been
shot down.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


REARING.


    Rearing is an awkward vice,
    No rider ever thinks it nice.
    When the horse prances on two feet
    It's difficult to keep one's seat.

    This lady riding in the Row
    Is a good rider, you must know.
    When on two legs her horse would soar
    She quickly brings him down to four.



SAGACITY.


There is danger at this place which the horse can see, but which the
rider fails to detect. They are in the midst of a swamp where one false
step would mean a horrible death in the quagmire on the verge of which
the horse has pulled up. The man uses whip and spur, but the horse
refuses to move. Finally the rider leaves the horse to himself to find a
way round which brings them both to safety.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


BOLTING.


    See this runaway flecked with foam
    Galloping fast as he can for home,
    Caring nought for the shouting man
    Running also as fast as he can.

    Flung by the bolter on the roadside
    Small is his chance of a pleasant ride.
    Two legs matched in a race with four--
    Perhaps they'll meet at the stable door.



PATIENCE.


    The cab horse is a useful steed,
    Ever handy, good at need--
    A patient uncomplaining jade,
    What should we do without his aid?

    By day, by night he may be had,
    Be the weather good or be it bad.
    Many a knock and many a fall
    He gets, and yet survives them all.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


BUCKING.


    When horses buck they take a bound
    With all their four feet off the ground.
    Unless they know just what to do
    And how to keep their seats all through.

    The riders come off fast and thick
    When horses start this Yankee trick.
    But with the cowboys of the West
    The horses come off second best.



PERSEVERANCE.


The horse affords the best example amongst animals of perseverance: he
will go on until he falls exhausted or dead. On the Yorkshire moors,
after a heavy fall of snow, the roads are quite lost, and it often
happens that the mailman has to unharness his horse (the cart being
blocked by the snow), and trust to the horse's courage and endurance to
carry the mails from village to village. It has been known that the
driver has been overcome by the intense cold, when the horse has found
his way unaided to the nearest accustomed stopping place.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


JIBBING.


    Of all the tiresome steeds that are
    The jibber is the worst by far.
    He stands and contemplates the scene--
    An act embarrassing and mean.

    And nine times out of ten he chooses
    An awkward spot when he refuses
    To move. To cure him, take him out
    And turn the jibber round about.



SERVICE.


    The Bus horse does not work all day,
    For if he did he'd waste away.
    He does his work and then is able
    To take a long rest in the stable.

    When summer suns beat down upon it
    His head is sheltered by a bonnet;
    And though it makes him look a duffer,
    He hasn't half the heat to suffer.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


SHYING.


    "A wicked horse," perhaps you say,
    "To shy in such a sudden way,
    And almost make his rider fall.
    It is not nice of him at all."

    It was not wickedness, but fear.
    That dreadful white thing rushing near
    Appeared to his affrighted eyes
    Full seven times its proper size.



CURIOSITY.


    All horses very curious are
    And things which they espy afar
    Arouse their curiosity:
    They wonder what on earth they see.

    With ears pricked up and cautious mien
    They come to see. When they have seen,
    They snort and turn and off they scurry
    In a contemptuous desperate hurry.


[Illustration]



[Illustration]


FRIENDSHIP.


A beautiful racehorse became very much attached to a cat. So much so
that he was never happy unless the cat was near him, either sleeping
curled up on his back or somewhere in his stall. They became such close
companions that when the horse was taken abroad to run in some races for
which he had been entered, he became so dejected at being separated from
his companion that it was found necessary that the cat should always
accompany him in his horse-box wherever he went.



OLD AGE.


    This horse's working days are o'er.
    The shafts and saddle nevermore
    Shall hold him. Here he waits his end
    Cared for by those who love to tend

    An old companion. He may rest
    In his loose box or take the best
    Of grazing which the meadows give--
    A pensioner while he shall live.


[Illustration]



Transcriber's Note


The following correction was made:

Page  Correction
67    seats all through changed to seats all through.





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