The Tail of a Horse.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 10 February 1891, Page 3

The Tail of a Horse.

A horso is provided with a tail for many purposes, the chiefest, to annoy his driver. A stolid, good enough tempered animal was the animal our friend has been driving for many months. He permitted him a growth of tale which exhibited only his ignorance of tha value of horsehair. Matters went well until the past two weeks, when the flies have had nothing else to do but to annoy the horses. Just the same old, old story of Satan finding mischief still for idle hands to do, only the flies used their legs and proboscis as well. Driving a horse, with a long tale, under these circumstances became distressing, delaying, and irritating, as every few minutes the animal switched his tail so as to collect the reins carefully together, and made an absurd attempt to drive himself. As the animal had apparently never been permitted, previously, to practise this art, it was dangerous to sit behind him during his early trials, and therefore a lialt was- . demanded and a passenger had to be discharged to sort out the tail and reins. This state of affairs could not long be endured, v the patience of a saint, which by-the-bye, the driver did not possess, would have been exhausted. The owner therefore determined upon shortening the range of this appendage. The artist employed carried out his instructions in the most perfect fashion, and left tlie tail very closely shorn indeed. The first drive taken after this hair-cutting operation, nearly killed the driver, as the horse put that amount of vigour, that previously was required to move the old tail, into that which was left, and therefore there was some forty horse power wasted. Sitting behind, watching the tail raised to reach a fly on his ribs, was very mirth provoking, as the remnant of tail left would not reach a quarter of the distance, but the miscalculated force raised it high on end, which so startled the steed that further power was used to bring it down, causing it to*make another fair circle. Getting exqcedingly puzzled, for five minutes .time, the poor horse had his f taffl. making evolutions like the screw of a steamer, with an alternate straight on end rise, with a final slap when brought back to its body. We do not like to laugh at anybody, but the sight of a horse, with a tail not much longer than that possessed by a hippopotamus, working round and ronnd, and suddenly startling all on board by violent contact with the hind legs of the horse, was a sight worth seeing, and pardonable to smile at. Horses should not have tails, or flies should not bite them.