Horse Survives Motor But Loses His Shy
In 1925, after about a quarter-century of cars, the behavior of horses had changed. AsĀ New York Times Magazine reported, the animals no longer acted scared of the vehicles anymore.
A horse "shying" means that the animal suddenly or violently jumps out of the way from something it fears, whether an object or another animal. The NYT article, with no byline, quoted a California horse raiser with three decades experience:
"The horse once had a serious automotive complex and shied at anything that looked or smelled like a machine. But if you could see how gladly and gratefully he now takes to the motor truck in which I transport him to market, you would understand how completely that complex has gone."
The author explains that this had become a widespread phenomenon:
The promised horseless age never came to pass. In its stead came the shyless horse. Instead of annihilating the horse, automobile makers brought about a moral or social revolution in the equine kingdom. Only the horse's behavior has changed.
In 2020, and only in 2020, the animal kingdom's behavior reverted back somewhat. With the world (mostly) locked down, the natural world reclaimed a good deal of the territory it had ceded to mankind over the millennia. To see it with your own eyes, I'd highly recommend the Apple TV+ documentary The Year Earth Changed, narrated by David Attenborough.
Horse Survives Motor But Loses His Shy: Silver Jubilee of the Automobile Marks a Change in Equine Manners, Among Other Things
Published: Sunday, January 18, 1925