THE HORSES— HORSES PROPER. 



407 



herds, some of which arc occasionally composed of 

 thousands of individuals. They arc a nuisance be- 

 cause they not only consume good pasturage, but 

 also lead away domestic Horses. Fortunately they 

 Aq not come by night. The natives of the pampas 

 cat the flesh of the Cimarrones, especially that of 

 colts and mares. They also capture some with a 

 view to taming them; the Spaniards, on the other 

 hand, make no attempt to use them. Very rarely 

 does a European capture a wild specimen and tame it. 

 In Paraguay no wild Horses are found, but the con- 

 dition of the domestic Horses of this country does 

 not differ materially from that of the wild ones. The 

 animals called Mustangs are so neglected that they 

 really degenerate. They are of medium height, have 



with their mothers until they 'are three or four 

 years old, and as long as they are not weaned the 

 mothers are greatly attached to them and some- 

 times defend them even against the Jaguar. When 

 the animals are" a little over two or three years old, 

 one of the young male colts is selected and given 

 some fillies, with which he has been accustomed to 

 graze in one particular spot. The Horses belonging 

 to one herd never associate with those belonging to 

 others, and they keep so faithfully together that it 

 is difficult to separate a grazing Horse from the 

 main body of his clan or group. If two or more 

 herds are put together, as for instance when collect- 

 ing all the Horses belonging to one farm, they 

 immediately seek their customary companions and 



IHE ARABIAN STEED.— The Horse has been the most prized of animals with the Arabs from an early period. The Arabian Horse, though 

 rery tall in stature, is of beautiful form. It is fleet, docile and of great endurance and is treated with great consideration by the Arabs. 



a large head, long ears and large heavy joints; only 

 the neck and body are of tolerably regular build. 

 The hair is short in summer, long in winter, and the 

 mane and tail are always thin and short. 



The Domestic The Horses of South America live 

 Horse in South out of doors all the year round. 

 - America. Every week they are collected, to 

 prevent their going altogether astray; their wounds 

 are looked after and cleansed, and the manes and 

 tails of stallions are cut about every three years. 

 Nobody thinks of improving the breed. "Usually," 

 says Rengger, " the Horses live in small herds or 

 groups in some locality, to which they have been 

 accustomed from birth. Each stallion is given from 

 twelve to eighteen mares, which he keeps together 

 and defends against strange Horses. The colts live 



divide themselves into their original groups. The 

 animals not only show great attachment to each 

 other, however, but also to their pasturage. I have 

 seen some that returned to their old haunts from 

 a distance of eighty hours' travel. Yet more strange 

 is the fact, that sometimes the Horses of a whole 

 region set out upon a migration, either singly or 

 in troops. This happens most frequently when a 

 violent rain falls after a season of dry weather, and 

 they are probably actuated by the fear of hail, which 

 often accompanies the first thunderstorm." 



Senses of Wild The senses of these nearly wild 

 Horses Highly animals seem to be more acute than 

 Developed. those of European Horses. Their 

 hearing is extremely delicate. At night the move- 

 ments of their ears show that they hear the slight- 



