THE MULTIPLE OETGIN OF HORSES AXD PONIES. 443 



In all three varieties the mane is short and npright in the autumn, 

 l)ut louL*" enouuh in s'pring to arch lo one side of the neck; in sunnner 

 the uppei- two-thirds of the dock of the tail carries short hair, the 

 distal third lon<i- hair, which continues to ^tow until it reaches the 

 ground; in winter the upper two-thirds of the tail carries hair from 

 2 to 4 inches in leno-th. The hair of the body and limbs is short in 

 summer, but under the jaw and over the g-reater part of the b(jdy 

 and limbs it is from 3 to 4 inches in length in winttH'. 



The hoofs are narrower and have longer '" heels '' than in the com- 

 mon horse, but, as in the common horse, (»ach linil) is provided with 

 a chestnut and with an ergot, the hind chestnut (hock callosity) 

 being verv long and narrow. 



In the variety (fig. 1, pi. i) occurring in the Altai south of Kobdo, 

 probably the most i)rimitive of the three, the head is large and coarse, 

 and, compared with the length of the body, longer than in any do- 

 mestic breed. In a side view it is noticed that the forehead is promi- 

 nent (bumpy), the lower part of the face straight or slightly con- 

 vex, the under lip long, and that the head forms nearly a right angle 

 with the short neck. The eyes are lateral in position, and appear 

 unusually close to the ears owing to the great length of tlie space 

 between the eye and the nostril. The ears are long and generally 

 project obliquely outward (fig. 1, pi. i), as in many cart horses. The 

 croup is nearly level, but the hocks are usually bent and turned in. 

 Judging by the behavior during the last two years of the wild horse 

 in my possession, I am inclined to think his less remote ancestors, 

 though in all probability members of the steppe fauna, lived for a 

 time (perhaps during the Ice age) in the vicinity of forests. As is 

 the case with other gregarious animals, he strongly objects to be 

 separated from his companions, and he also objects to have his 

 movements circumscribed l)y fences. It has often Ihhmi said " nothing 

 jumps better than a cart colt.'' The cart colt jumps because he 

 has sprung from big-jointed, broad-hoofed, forest-haunting ances- 

 tors whose existence often depended on their being able at a bound 

 to clear fallen trees and other obstacles. The wild horse when shut 

 up in a loose box by himself is very restless, and keeps rearing up 

 against the door until set at liberty; if placed in a, paddock away 

 from his special conu'ades he generally succeeds in either scrambling 

 over or breaking down the fence. 



The wild horse never encounters fences in the (Jobi Desert, but, 

 probably because he had forest-bred ancestors which had often to 

 cross fallen trees, he endea vol's without a moment's hesitation to 

 clear all obstacles that vxnno in his way. while true desei't foi-ms 

 endeavor to break through them. 



It has l)e(Mi suggeste(l that (lie wild horse of the (Jobi Desert is 

 not a true wihl animal, but onl\' a domesticateil breed that has re- 



