Black Beauty’s lasting knee injuries

Black Beauty’s lasting knee injuries begin with a nighttime ride under Reuben Smith, who is too drunk to notice that one of his horse’s shoes has come off. Forced to gallop over newly laid stones, Black Beauty falls heavily on both knees, and Smith is fatally thrown. The injuries heal only after a long course of care, but the marks remain visible and later become a reason the Earl of W—— decides Black Beauty cannot stay in his stables.

The ride and fall

Smith was usually attentive to loose nails in Black Beauty’s shoes, but on this occasion he dismissed the need to check one. He did not return until nearly nine o’clock, in a rough temper, and set off at speed on a dark road. As they neared the turnpike, the shoe came off. Beyond it, fresh, sharp stones covered a long stretch of road; Smith, unable to recognize that something was wrong with Black Beauty’s gait, continued to drive him at full speed.

The shoe was not the only circumstance that made the ride dangerous. Smith kept whipping Black Beauty and urging him on, even as the exposed foot suffered on the stones. Black Beauty eventually stumbled and fell on both knees. Smith was thrown and did not get up. Black Beauty regained his feet and moved to the side of the road, where he waited, in pain and unable to help his rider. The fall thus left him with injuries of his own while the man responsible for the ride lay dead nearby.

Care and recovery

When help arrived, Ginger stood still while the men arranged to carry Smith away and Robert, the groom, took charge of Black Beauty. Robert examined the injured foot, bound it with a handkerchief, and led him home. The journey was more than three miles, made slowly as Black Beauty limped along. At the stable Robert wrapped both knees in wet cloths and applied a bran poultice to the foot while they waited for the horse-doctor.

The next day, the farrier examined the wounds. He hoped the joint had not been injured and thought Black Beauty might still be fit for work, but warned that he would retain a blemish. The treatment was prolonged. Proud flesh formed on the knees and was removed with caustic; after the wounds healed, a blistering fluid was applied to the fronts of both knees, removing the hair there. Black Beauty reports that those caring for him tried to cure him, but the process was long and painful. The outcome was therefore mixed: he recovered from the immediate injuries, yet his knees did not return to their former appearance.

Blame and the lasting mark

Because Smith’s death was sudden and no one had witnessed the fall, an inquest gathered evidence about the ride. The landlord and hostler at the White Lion, along with others, testified that Smith had been intoxicated when he left the inn. The toll-gate keeper confirmed that he rode through at a hard gallop, and Black Beauty’s lost shoe was found among the stones. These details established the circumstances of the accident, and Black Beauty was cleared of blame.

That finding distinguishes the horse’s condition from any supposed fault of his own. He had been made to continue at speed after losing a shoe, on a road that could not safely be galloped over, and then bore the consequences of the fall. The inquest could establish responsibility for the ride, but it could not undo the wounds or remove the blemish. Black Beauty’s body remains a record of what happened even after the formal inquiry is complete.

Consequences at the Earl’s estate

Later, Black Beauty and Ginger spend time together beneath a lime-tree, both described as ruined in the prime of their strength, though for different reasons. When the Earl of W—— comes into the meadow with York, he examines them and notes the damage to Black Beauty’s knees. He says the black horse must be sold because he could not keep knees like those in his stables. His decision makes the lasting mark consequential beyond appearance: it affects Black Beauty’s place in the household and his prospects there.

The Earl says that the horses had been expected to find a good home with him and expresses regret that they have been ruined. He plans to give Ginger a year’s rest, but directs York to find a buyer for Black Beauty, placing greater importance on suitable treatment than on the price. York proposes a livery-stable owner in Bath who looks after his horses, and the Earl asks him to write. The cited account establishes the decision to seek another home, not the eventual sale. It shows how an injury caused during a reckless ride persists as both a physical blemish and a condition shaping Black Beauty’s future.