59 



plate. There is a Horse now covering in the north, called General Sir 

 George Pigot, got by an Arabian, out of an Hungarian mare called 

 Darling. This mare was presented by the Archduke Charles to Col. 

 Craufurd. 



In these countries, the custom did, and may yet prevail, of slitting 

 the narrow nostrils of their Horses, under the idea of giving their 

 wind an easier passage, and of preventing their neighing in secret expe- 

 ditions. The Horses just described, and also the Poles, have ahvays 

 been reported to carry the mark in their mouths, as long as they live, a 

 quality peculiar perhaps to individuals of every country: it is termed 

 by the French begut. 



Of the numerous varieties of the Horse in France, all are smaller 

 than those of the neighbouring countries, northward. The French 

 have bred all kinds, excepting the large cart Horse ; but the business of 

 the stud, is one of those in which they have never excelled. France 

 yet possesses one superior native breed, the Norman, these are generally 

 chesnut in colour, with white legs and a blaze in the face, and are 

 good sized saddle Horses, active trotters, and have made a great figure 

 in the late and present war. The Limomii breed shews the most blood; 

 'they are in the form of hunters, and not improbably, by their appearance, 

 have originated in a Barb cross. They are said, like the Baibs, to be 

 slow of growth, and not to be fit for much. work until eight years old. 

 I once rode a grey Limoisin gelding, which had by chance strayed over 

 to this country, and if they generally resemble him, I can say very 

 little in their favour. He was a good figure, and formed pretty well 

 according to our English notion of a well bred Horse, }'et without the 

 ability to make haste, in any one of his paces; but his ability to 

 descend, according to the rule of specific gravity, was unquestionable ; 

 and as a proof of it, he came down with me plump, neck and crop, 

 whilst on a canter, in a narrow and flinty road, and laid open both 

 his knees to the bare joints, beside cutting his mouth and face. Could 

 I have afforded it, I should have been tempted instantly to have dis- 

 patched, to his place of rest, this animal, one of those unfortunates, 

 which nature, in her wayward mood, condemns to unavoidable useless- 



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