FARMERS' REGISTER— BREEDS OF HORSES. 



595 



consists of his dung. Aller being exjiosed to the 

 drying influence of the sun duiiiig the day, it be- 

 comes j;ulvcn/,ed, and, in that siate, is nightly 

 spread under hini.* Little of ii loaches his bod\ , 

 that being covered by his clothing, a VdYge immviud 

 j'rom the ears to the tail, and bound firmly round his 

 body by a very long surcingle. JJut tiiis api;arel 

 is only ibr cold vveadier: in the warm season the 

 night-clothes are of a lighter substance, and during 

 the heat of the da}', the animal is kej)t entirely un- 

 der shade. 



"At night he is tied in the court yard. The 

 horses' heads are attached to tlie place of security 

 by double ro[)es li'oni their halters, and the heels 

 of their hinder legs are confined by cords of twist- 

 ed hair, fastened to iron rings, and pegs driven 

 into the earth. 1'he same custom prevailed in the 

 time of Xenophon, and lor the same reason, to se- 

 cure thein from being able to attack and maim 

 each other, the whole stud generally consisting ot 

 stallions. Their keepers, however, always sleep 

 on their rugs amongst them to prevent accident; 

 and sometimes, notwithstanding all this care, they 

 manage to break loose, and then the combat en- 

 sues. A general neighing, screaming, kicking, 

 and snorting, soon rouses the grooms, and tlie 

 scene lor awhile is terrible. Indeed no one can 

 conceive the sudden uproar of such a moment who 

 has not been in Eastern countries to hear it, and 

 tiien all who have, nmst bear me witness that the 

 noise is tremendous. They seize, bite, and kick 

 each other with the most determined lury, and 

 li"equently cannot be separated before their heads 

 and haunches stream with blood. Even in skir- 

 mishes with the natives, their horses tidie part in 

 the fray, tearing each other with their teeth, while 

 their masters are in similar close (quarters on their 

 backs." 



His descri])tion of a Persian race does not alto- 

 gether remind us of NcAvinarket or Doncaster. 



"My curiosity was fully on the spur to see the 

 racers, which I could not doubt must have been 

 chosen from the best in the nation to exhibit the 

 perfection of its breed betbre the sovereign. The 

 rival horses were divided into three sets, in order 

 to lengthen the amusement. They had been in 

 training for several weeks, going over the ground 

 very ofien during that time; and when I did see 

 them, I found so much pains had been taken to 

 sweat and reduce their weight, that their bones 

 were nearly cutting the skin. The distance mark- 

 ed for the race was a stretch of four-and-twenty 

 miles, and, that his majesty might not have to 

 wait when he had reached the field, the horses 

 had set forward lono; lietbre, by three divisions, 

 ll"omthestartini>:poinf,(ashort interval of time pass- 

 ing between each set,) so tbat ihey might begin 

 to come in, a {"ew minutes after the king had taken 

 his seat. The different divisions arrived in regular 

 order at the goal, but all so latigued and exhausted, 

 that their former boasted fleetness hardly exceeded 

 a moderate canter when they passed before the 

 royal eyes." 



In Circassia almost every family of distinction, 

 whether of princes or nobles, boasts of possessing 



*It is the usual flooring of the staple and the tent. 

 The united influence of the sun and air deprive it of 

 all unpleasant odor, and when from use it becomes a 

 second time ofl'ensive, it is again exposed to the sun, 

 and all unpleasant smell once more taken away. 



a peculiar race of horses, which, when j'oung, are 

 burned on the buttock with a particular mark. Oil 

 this occasion, ihey act with ihe most scrupulous 

 adherence to custom, so tiiat a jjerson who should 

 attempt to burn a character exiressing nobie de- 

 scent, on a filly of a common race, would, for such 

 lorgery, Ibrii-it his lile. The most celebrated race 

 of Circassian horses has received the name of 

 Shalokh, and is in the exclusive possession of the 

 Tau Sultan family. This race is valuable ibr its 

 strength and swiitness, more than its peculiar 

 beauty. Its distinguishing maik is a lull horse- 

 shoe, without an arrow. 



The Toorkoman Horse. 



Turkistan is that part of South Tartary, north- 

 east of the Caspian sea, and has been celebrated 

 from very early times, lor proilucing a pure and 

 valuable breed of horses. They are called Toor- 

 komans. They are said to be j)re!erable even to 

 the pure Persians, for service. They are large, 

 standing from fifteen to sixteen hands high;swifi:, 

 and inexhaustible under fatigue. Some of them 

 have travelled idne hundred miles in eleven suc- 

 cessive da3's. They, however, are soinev/hat too 

 small in the barrel — too long on the legs — occa- 

 sionally ewe-necked, and always have a head out 

 of proj}ortion large: yet, such are the good quali- 

 ties of Wie horse, that one oi" the pure blood is 

 worth two or three hundred pounds, even in that 

 country. 



Captain Eraser, who is evidently a good judge 

 of the horse, (hi his Journey to Khurasan) thus 

 relates the impression which they made on him: 

 "They are deficient in compactness. Their bodies 

 are long in proportion to their bulk. They are 

 not well-ribbed uj). They are long on the legs — 

 deficient in muscle — falling off below the knee, — 

 narrow chested — long necked— head large, un- 

 couth, and seldom well put on. Such was the im- 

 pression I received from the first sight of them, 

 and it was not for some time that their superior 

 valuable qualities were apparent to me". 



The Tartar and Calmuck Horse. 



The horses of the other parts of Tartary, com- 

 prehending the immense plains of Central Asia, 

 and a considerable part of European Russia, are 

 little removed li'om a wild state; they are small and 

 badly made; but capable of supporting the longest 

 and most rapid journey, on the scantiest fare. The 

 foals, from the earliest period, are exposed to the 

 inclemency of the weather, have little to eat, and 

 follow their dams in the longest excursions, and, 

 therefore, soon acquire a very great power oi' sus- 

 taining fatigue. They must be hardy for another 

 reason. The Tartars live much on the flesh of 

 horses, and, consequently, those animals that are 

 unable to support the labor of their frequent rapid 

 emigrations are soon destroyed, and only the more 

 vigorous preserved. 



The horses, wliich range at large over the ])lains, 

 are divided into herds, at the head of which are 

 placed two stallions, who carefully prevent them 

 from intermingling with each other, audit is rare- 

 ly that a ibal is lost. On the ajiproach of a strange 

 herd, the stallions drive their own into a close body, 

 j place themselves in front, and, if necessary, attack 

 and drive off' the others. As the stallion-foals 

 grow up, they are driven away from the herd, and 

 I are seen straggling about at a distance, until they 



