48 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES. 



horse of the light cavalry he pays only 110 florins, for the dragoons 120, for the 

 cuirassiers 140, for the train 1GO, and for the artillery 180. It is a great element 

 of power to possess at home such an immense resource against a time of war, at 

 an expense so far below that which the powers of the west and south of Europe 

 are compelled to incur. 



So early as 1790, a very superior Arabian, named Turkmainath, was imported 

 into Germany, and his stock became celebrated, not only in Hungary, but 

 throughout most of the German provinces. In 1819, the Archduke Maximi- 

 lian, brother to the emperor, purchased some valuable racers and hunters in 

 England, and sent them to Austria. Some of them went to the Imperial esta- 

 blishment of which mention has just been made, and the others contributed 

 materially to the improvement of the horses wherever they were distributed. 

 Races have been established in various parts of the Austrian dominions, and 

 particularly at Buda and at Pest, in Hungary. Of the good effect which this 

 will have on the breed of horses, there can be no dispute, provided the race does 

 not degenerate into a mere contest of superiority of speed, and exhibited in an 

 animal that from his youth must inevitably be injured or ruined in the 

 struggle. 



The gipsies used to be the principal horse-dealers in Hungary, but they 

 have been getting into comparative disrepute since the establishment of the 

 noble studs scattered through this district. He who wants a horse, or to 

 speculate in horses, may now go to head- quarters and choose for himself. 



THE RUSSIAN HORSE. 



It may be well supposed that this animal will be of a very different character 

 in various parts of this immense empire. The heavy cavalry and the greater part 

 of the horses for pleasure are descended originally from Cossack blood, but 

 improved by stallions from Poland, Prussia, Holstein, and England ; and the 

 studs, which are now found on an immense scale in various parts of Russia. The 

 lighter cavalry, and the commoner horses, are, as these have ever been, Cossacks, 

 without any attempted improvement, and on that account more hardy and 

 better suited to the duties required from them. 



It has been supposed that no horse, except the Arab, could endure privation 

 like the Cossack, or had combined speed and endurance equal to him. The 

 Cossack, however, was beaten, and that not by horses of the first-rate English 

 blood, in a race which fairly put to the test both qualities. It was a cruel 

 affair ; yet nothing short of such a contest would have settled the question. 



On the 4th of August, 1825, a race of forty-seven miles was run between two 

 Cossack and two English horses. The English horses were Sharper and Mina, 

 well known, yet not ranking with the first of their class. The Cossacks 

 were selected from the best horses of the Don, the Black-sea, and the Ural. 



On starting, the Cossacks took the lead at a moderate pace ; but before they 

 had gone half a mile, the stirrup-leather of Sharper broke, and he ran away 

 with his rider, followed by Mina, and they went more than a mile, and up 

 a steep hill, before they could be held in. 



Half the distance was run in an hour and fourteen minutes. Both the 

 English horses were then fresh, and one of the Cossacks. On their return, 

 Mina fell lame, and was taken away, and Sharper began to show the effects 

 of the pace at which he had gone when running away, and was much dis- 

 tressed. The Calmuck was completely knocked up, his rider was dismounted, 

 a mere child was put on his back, and a Cossack on horseback on either side 

 dragged him on by ropes attached to his bridle, while others at the side sup- 

 ported him from falling. Ultimately Sharper performed the whole distance in 

 two hours aad forty-eight minutes sixteen miles an hour for three successive 



