Black Beauty

One day, the Earl’s wife demands that York pull the heads of Ginger and Black Beauty as high as possible. York and the groom attempt to do so, but Ginger rebels, and begins violently kicking and rearing. To prevent Beauty from being injured by her, York turns Beauty loose from the carriage and hurries him back to the stable. Beauty is left confused and angry by what happened, “feel[ing] much inclined to kick the first person who came near me” (82).

York eventually brings in Ginger, and tends to Beauty, while complaining about how the Earl’s wife pressures him to use the bearing-rein, which he does not like doing. Beauty now pulls the carriage accompanied by a horse named Max, who has always worn a bearing-rein. Max explains that he has heard people talking about how bearing-reins are bad for the health of horses, but that fashionable people in London like the appearance of horses with their heads high, and don’t care what it means for the horses. For the next four months, Beauty suffers pain and discomfort from the use of the bearing-rein, and also feels lonely.

After a few months, the Earl and some of his family go into London; some of his children, including his daughters Lady Harriet and Lady Anne, stay at Earlshall, and Beauty and Ginger also remain there. Lady Anne begins to ride Black Beauty frequently, and whoever accompanies them often rides a mare named Lizzie. One day, Lady Anne is going out riding with her cousin Blantyre and decides to ride Lizzie, while he rides Beauty. Blantyre is hesitant, and thinks that Lizzie is too spirited for a woman. Lady Anne reassures him, stating that, “I have been a horsewoman ever since I was a baby, and I have followed the hounds a great many times” (85).

While completing an errand, Lady Anne waits mounted on Lizzie, next to Beauty. Lizzie is spooked and gallops off with Lady Anne; Beauty neighs for help, and when Blantyre comes back, they rush in pursuit of Lizzie and Lady Anne. They catch up to Lizzie, running wild through a field; in a panic, Lizzie jumps over a large dyke, and falls on the other side. Lady Anne is badly injured; some passers by offer to help, and Blantyre sends one of them to ride Beauty, to go and get the doctor. Beauty gallops quickly to the doctor, and then back to Earlshall, ensuring that help arrives quickly for Lady Anne.

Black Beauty later learns that Lady Anne is going to recover, and that Blantyre has praised him for his speed and fortitude. Lady Anne’s brother, Lord George, begins to regularly ride Ginger while hunting.

York has also gone to London with the Earl, and the man left in charge of the stable at Earlshall is named Reuben Smith. Reuben is very talented with horses, but he tends to drink heavily. He has already been dismissed by the Earl once, but York interceded on his behalf, and Reuben was hired back.

Shortly before the Earl is due to return, Blantyre is leaving the region; Reuben drives him to the train station with Beauty, and then plans to ride Beauty home. Before starting the ride home, Reuben drinks heavily, and ignores advice to have one of Beauty’s shoes fixed. During the ride, Beauty’s shoe comes off, and his foot becomes very painful, but Reuben is too drunk to notice, and forces Beauty to go at a fast pace. Eventually, the pain becomes too much, and Beauty stumbles and falls. Reuben is thrown and injured, and both he and Beauty lay on the road in pain, waiting for someone to pass by. Beauty “was suffering intense pain both from my foot and knees; but horses are used to bear their pain in silence” (92).

Later that night, some men from Earlshall come driving by, in a cart drawn by Ginger. They come upon the scene of the accident, and confirm that Reuben is dead; at first, they think Beauty must have thrown him, but when they see Beauty’s own injuries, and that he is missing a shoe, they figure out what must have happened. The two men, Robert and Ned, load Reuben’s body into the cart, and Ned drives it home with Ginger, while Robert slowly walks Beauty home.

Back at Earlshall, Beauty’s injuries are treated. An inquest confirms that Reuben was very drunk, and that Beauty is not at fault; Reuben’s wife and six young children are left in poverty upon his death. His wife laments that, “it was all the cursed drink; why will they sell that cursed drink?” (96).

As he continues to recover, Black Beauty is turned loose in a field to rest and graze. He is joined there by Ginger; due to being ridden hard by Lord George during hunting, her health has been damaged, and she also needs to rest and recover. When he returns to the estate, the Earl comes to look at them, accompanied by York. The Earl is annoyed that two good horses have been harmed; he plans to keep Ginger and see if she will eventually recover. However, Beauty’s scars from his injuries are considered unsightly, and the Earl plans to sell him: “’Tis a great pity, but I could not have knees like these in my stables” (98).

York suggests that they sell Beauty to a man in Bath who owns a livery stable (where horses and carriages can be rented); this man is known to treat horses well. In a short time, Beauty is sold, and travels to Bath by train; conditions in his new home are more modest, but he is well-treated.

Black Beauty now has a new experience; he is often rented out to people who are not professional drivers, and in fact, because he is so docile and patient, he is often given to the more inexperienced drivers. The poorly skilled drivers make driving more challenging, and sometimes painful for Beauty. They also encourage bad habits in the horses, and Beauty contrasts this experience with Squire Gordon’s belief that “spoiling a horse, and letting him get into bad habits, was just as cruel as spoiling a child” (101).

One day, while being driven by an inexperienced and careless man, Beauty gets a stone in one of his shoes. The man fails to notice, which creates a dangerous situation where Beauty could easily stumble or fall. The man also becomes annoyed when he notices that Beauty is limping. Fortunately, a farmer comes by and notices what is happening; he gets the stone out of Beauty’s shoe. Rather than being thankful, the man driving Beauty is rude, and continues to push the horse to go on.

Beauty complains about a type of driver that he terms “Cockneys”: they treat horses like machinery, and expect them to go as fast and far as they want, without making any effort to make conditions easier for the horse. Beauty comments that these people “seemed to think that a horse was something like a steam-engine, only smaller” (104). One day, Beauty is pulling a carriage along with a horse named Rory; they are being driven by a skilled driver, but they encounter another cart being driven recklessly. That cart crashes into them, and Rory is seriously injured, left “with his flesh torn open and bleeding, and the blood streaming down” (105-106).

After the accident, Rory is sold to do the difficult work of pulling coal-carts. Black Beauty is often partnered with a mare named Peggy, who has unusually short legs. As a result, she naturally has a slower pace, and many drivers have abused her in order to push her to go faster, and she has developed an awkward pace as a result. Peggy is fortunate, however, in that some ladies take a liking to her, and see her slower pace as safer; they buy her, and she goes on to have a happy life. The next horse paired with Beauty is young and nervous, and explains that he was badly trained, and no one helped him to feel comfortable about encountering new and different things.

Eventually, Black Beauty is rented to a man who drives him well, and treats him kindly. The man is named Mr. Barry, who is so impressed that he purchases Beauty. 

Mr. Barry is not very knowledgeable about horses; he hires a groom named Filcher, and arranges for Beauty to have lots of good food. However, Beauty notices that he is not being fed any of the corn and oats that he should be, which begins to impact his health and energy. One day, Mr. Barry encounters a farmer, who notices Beauty’s listlessness, and shares his suspicions that Beauty is not being fed properly. As the farmer explains, “there are mean scoundrels, wicked enough to rob a dumb beast of his food” (111). Beauty confirms that Filcher, with the help of his young son, has been stealing the oats rather than feeding them to Beauty. A few days later, Filcher is arrested and sent to prison.

Filcher is replaced by a groom named Alfred Smirk. Smirk makes a show of taking care of Black Beauty whenever Mr. Barry is around, but often neglects him: Beauty complains that Smirk “thought no more of that than if I had been a cow” (113). Smirk only focuses on superficial appearances, especially his own, and his neglect of important duties negatively impacts Beauty’s health. Mr. Barry can tell that something is wrong, but he is too ignorant to know that Smirk is being neglectful. Eventually, Mr. Barry takes Beauty to a farrier (a craftsman who specializes in making horseshoes and caring for the feet of horses), who explains that Beauty is suffering because his stall is not being cleaned properly.

Beauty receives the necessary treatment, and his stall is cleaned, but Mr. Barry is frustrated with his negative experiences with grooms. He decides that he will not keep a horse, and sells Black Beauty.