d the
whip on me, unless it was gently drawing the end of it over my back,
when I was to go on; but generally I knew this quite well by the way in
which he took up the reins; and I believe his whip was more frequently
stuck up by his side than in his hand.

In a short time I and my master understood each other, as well as horse
and man can do. In the stable, too, he did all that he could for our
comfort. The stalls were the old-fashioned style, too much on the slope;
but he had two movable bars fixed across the back of our stalls, so that
at night, when we were resting, he just took off our halters and put up
the bars, and thus we could turn about and stand whichever way we
pleased, which is a great comfort.

Jerry kept us very clean, and gave us as much change of food as he
could, and always plenty of it; and not only that, but he always gave us
plenty of clean fresh water, which he allowed to stand by us both night
and day, except of course when we came in warm. Some people say that a
horse ought not to drink all he likes; but I know if we are allowed to
drink when we want it we drink only a little at a time, and it does us a
great deal more good than swallowing down half a bucketful at a time
because we have been left without till we are thirsty and miserable.
Some grooms will go home to their beer and leave us for hours with our
dry hay and oats and nothing to moisten them; then of course we gulp
down too much at once, which helps to spoil our breathing and sometimes
chills our stomachs. But the best thing that we had here was our Sundays
for rest! we worked so hard in the week, that I do not think we could
have kept up to it, but for that day; besides, we had then time to enjoy
each other's company.

CHAPTER XIII

DOLLY AND A REAL GENTLEMAN

The winter came in early, with a great deal of cold and wet. There was
snow, or sleet, or rain, almost every day for weeks, changing only for
keen driving winds or sharp frosts. The horses all felt it very much.
When it is a dry cold, a couple of good thick rugs will keep the warmth
in us; but when it is soaking rain, they soon get wet through and are no
good. Some of the drivers had a waterproof cover to throw over, which
was a fine thing; but some of the men were so poor that they could not
protect either themselves or their horses, and many of them suffered
very much that winter. When we horses had worked half the day we went to
our dry stables, and could rest;