STUD BOOK. 31 



HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 



CHAPTEE I 



THE CHARACTER OP THE HORSE. 



THE horse is now one of the most universally distributed 

 animals, and everywhere he is recognized as the most useful 

 amongst the -quadruped servants of man; for in those coun- 

 tries some portions of Arabia, for instance in which he is 

 admitted to the full and unrestricted companionship of man, 

 sharing his food with the family of his master, and, like 

 them, a dweller in the tent, his sagacity far surpasses that of 

 our stable-reared horses, however affectionately they may be 

 treated. In the early ages of the world the horse seems to 

 have been devoted to the purposes of war or pleasure, 

 whilst the ox was the agricultural drudge. But the beauty, 

 strength and tractability of the horse have now connected 

 him, directly or indirectly, with almost all the purposes of 

 life. If he differ in different countries in form and size, it is 

 from the influence of climate, food, and cultivation; but 

 otherwise, from the war-horse, as he is depicted in the 

 sculptures of ancient temples, to the stately charger of Hoi- 

 stein and of Spain, or from the fleet and beautiful Arabian 

 to the diminutive Shetlander, there is an evident similarity 

 of form and character, which clearly stamps his common 

 origin. 



As the thorough-bred horse is the source from which all 

 the most valuable kinds are produced, not only for racing, 

 but likewise for the pleasurable engagements of hunting, 

 riding, driving, and services of utility, the true position in 

 which we stand as regards the production, the supply and 

 demand of these useful and valuable animals, cannot, it is 

 presumed, fail to attract attention and curiosity. 



