At the Battle of Kirk between Scotland and England in 1745, Major MacDonald having in a hand-to-hand fight unhorsed an English officer, took possession of his beautiful horse, and mounted it. When the English cavalry fled, the horse ran away with its new master, notwithstanding all his efforts to refrain it, nor did it stop until it was at the head of the regiment of which apparently its original master was commander.
MacDonald's ambition to possess a fine horse ultimately cost him his life upon the scaffold. He had not the presence of mind of another officer, of another period, who, when he saw himself being carried into the enemy's lines by a captured horse, at once killed it, and so saved himself.
一七四五年柯克之役，蘇格蘭和英格蘭交鋒。麥克唐納少校和一英格蘭軍官短兵相接，把他砍下馬，見那匹馬神駿，就奪過來騎上。英格蘭騎兵敗走時，那匹馬跟着走，馬背上的新主人，怎樣都不能令牠停下來，一直走到一個騎兵團最前的位置。那匹馬的舊主人，顯然是那騎兵團的指揮官。
麥克唐納想要駿馬，卻因此被送上絞刑臺喪命。他沒有另一個時代某軍官那樣鎮定。那軍官發覺奪得的坐騎，正把他帶向敵陣之中，當機立斷，殺馬自救。
*《世說新語．德行》劉孝標注引伯樂《相馬經》：「的盧，奴乘客死，主乘棄市，凶馬也。」