A father who has a young son with one leg and no other household members must go to India for some weeks. He hires another boy for a dollar a day to carry the son around on his back, to the school or to whatever whims may occur to the son. Actually the son is so skilled in jumping at really great speed, that he does not need any help or any "horse". The son's whims include not only verbal and physical abuse, but also repeated "horse fights" where "the horse" will continually be knocked down. Even "the horse's" tender feelings for a child girl beggar are exploited and mocked. Because of the brutal and degrading treatment "the horse" will become more and more similar to a real horse.