26 



The method of" the Parthians, of a very remote antiquity, to form 

 the |)aces of their Horses, deserves a place, even in modern manage- 

 ment. Fortunately, perhaps, ignorant of the later barbarism of apj^ly- 

 ing rollers, chains or ^veights, to the pasterns of Horses, in order to 

 make them lift their feet up, and to give them a lofty action, the Par- 

 thians adopted a far more rational plan. When breaking their colts, 

 thev took them to a spot of level ground, fifty paces long and five 

 broad, which had been previously laid out in regular rows of chalk 

 and clay. Over these artificial rough roads, the colts w^ere exercised 

 daily, and being warned by the blunders they at first made, and admo- 

 nished by some gentle correction, they, in a short time, acquired the habit 

 of bending their knees, of lifting up their feet, and of extending their steps, 

 longer or shorter, according to the nature of the ground, that rare and 

 excellent qualification in a road Horse, on which such stress is laid by 

 the truly practical Bracken : and here ought not to be forgotten, a neat 

 axiom of Berenger, extremely creditable to his professional knowledge — 

 the perfection of all the paces depends upon the united qualities of exten- 

 sion and action. 



According to the general verdict of the ancient Roman writers, espe- 

 cially Varro and Virgil, the following modifications of form are requisite 

 in the composition of a good Horse. — " His head should be small, his 

 eyes clear and sparkling, his nostrils open and large, his ears placed 

 near each other, his mane strong and full, his breast ample and broad, 

 his shoulders flat and sloping backward, his barrel round, compact, 

 and rather small, his loins broad and strong, his tail full and bushy, his 

 limbs clean and compact, legs straight and even, knees round and 

 well knit, hoofs hard and tough, and his veins large, and swelling 

 throughout his body," In addition to these particulars, the ancients 

 judged it a good prognostic of a colt, if) when running at large in 

 the pasture, he was ambitious to outstrip his companions in the race ; 

 and if a river interposed, that he were the first to take it; also if in 

 drinking, he plunged his nose deep into the water. Of these notions, the 

 latter has survived to the present time, and it certainly appears rational, 

 that the ability to retain the wind, as must be the case wliilst the nostrils 

 are submerged, is a proof of the strength and soundness of the lungs. 



The 



