Squire Gordon Character Analysis

Squire Gordon is Black Beauty’s second owner. He’s a wealthy country gentleman and local magistrate who lives at Birtwick Park with his wife, Mrs. Gordon, and his two daughters, Miss Jessie and Miss Flora. He doesn’t ride much after his son, George Gordon, died during a foxhunting accident. Black Beauty quickly discovers that Squire Gordon is kind, generous, and a skilled and sensible rider. He’s extremely concerned with animal welfare, so he doesn’t use the bearing rein on his own horses and tries to convince his peers and others in the community to not use bearing reins on their horses, either. Squire Gordon also stands up whenever he catches someone abusing a horse or a person—and occasionally, he’s the magistrate who tries animal abusers. He also cares deeply about the people who work for him. Though he thinks highly of James Howard and doesn’t want to lose such a good employee, he recommends James to his brother-in-law as a coachman. He also offers to help John Manly in any way possible after the Gordons leave the country. Ultimately, when Mrs. Gordon becomes seriously ill, Squire Gordon moves his family to continental Europe. He tries to ensure that his horses will go to people who will care for them—but except in Merrylegs’s case, he’s unsuccessful.