Ginger and I were fast horses. We had racing blood in our bodies. We were about fifteen and a half hands (a way to measure how tall a horse is) high. We were good for riding and for pulling carriages.
Squire Gordon liked horses that could do many things. He preferred active and useful horses. Our greatest pleasure was a riding party. The master rode Ginger and the mistress rode me.
The young ladies rode Sir Oliver and Merrylegs. It was very cheerful to trot and gallop together. I liked carrying the mistress. She was not heavy and her voice was sweet.
Her hand was very light on the reins (the leather straps used to guide a horse). I could feel exactly what she wanted. A light hand is a great comfort to a horse. It helps a horse stay in a good mood.
Our mouths are very sensitive. We feel every small movement of the driver’s hand. My mouth was never ruined by bad treatment. This is why the mistress liked me more than Ginger.
Ginger was often jealous of my sensitive mouth. She said it was because of her bad treatment in London. She had to wear a very painful bit there. This bit made her mouth hard and sore.
Old Sir Oliver told Ginger not to be sad. He said she had a great honor. She was strong enough to carry the master. He told us to be content as long as people are kind.
I often wondered why Sir Oliver had a very short tail. It was only a few inches long. One day, I asked him how he lost it. Sir Oliver was very angry. He said it was not an accident.
He said it was a cruel and shameful act. When he was young, men tied him up. They cut off his beautiful long tail. They cut through the flesh and the bone.
It was a terrible pain that lasted a long time. But it was also bad because he could not brush away the flies. We use our tails to hit the flies that sting us. Sir Oliver cannot do this.
He said it was a lifelong loss. Ginger asked why men did such a thing. Sir Oliver said they did it for fashion (a popular style). In his time, many young horses had their tails cut.
Ginger said fashion was also the reason for her painful bits in London. Sir Oliver agreed. He said fashion is a wicked thing. He said men also cut the tails and ears of dogs.
Sir Oliver had a friend named Skye. She was a dog who lived in his stable. She had five pretty puppies. One day, a man took the puppies away.
That evening, Skye brought the puppies back in her mouth. They were bleeding and crying. The man had cut their tails and their ears. Their mother licked them and was very sad.
Sir Oliver never forgot that sight. He asked why men do not cut the ears of their own children. He said men have no right to hurt animals this way.
I felt a bitter feeling toward men after hearing this. Ginger was also very excited and angry. She said men were not wise. But Merrylegs told us to stop talking.
Merrylegs said our master and our grooms are always good. He said it was not fair to talk against men at Birtwick Park. We all agreed because we love our home.
Then I asked about blinkers (leather pieces that stop a horse from seeing to the side). Sir Oliver said they were not useful. Justice said they stop horses from being afraid of things behind them.
Justice said blinkers are just for fashion. Riding horses do not wear them. If horses can see everything, they are less afraid. He said he was never afraid of a carriage behind him.
Sir Oliver said blinkers are dangerous at night. Horses see better in the dark than men. He told a story about a carriage that fell into a pond. The horses were drowned because they could not see the edge.
Ginger said men think they can improve nature. She said men always want to change what God made. Then Merrylegs told us a secret. He heard John Manly talking to the master.
John Manly does not like blinkers. He thinks all young horses should learn to work without them. We felt better after this news. We ran to the other end of the orchard to eat some sweet apples.