120 TEXT-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



Africa. From numerous bone deposits, it appears that this animal was 

 hunted and eaten as food. Naturalists have shown that in this animal 

 we have the primitive parent of the horse of to-day. It is probable that 

 the wild horse was first tamed on the vast steppes of Central Asia. 

 There we still meet with nomadic tribes (Tartars, Kalmucks) who almost 

 pass their lives on horseback (like the Huns of earlier times), and who 

 subsist almost entirely on the flesh and milk of this animal. By its 

 strength and speed, its indomitable courage, ready obedience, and affec- 

 tionate nature, this noble animal has indeed become man's friend and 

 indispensable helpmate in peace and war (furnish proofs of this state- 

 ment), and even after death he turns to use all the parts of its body 

 (flesh, skin, fat, hair, bones, and their applications). According to the 

 special uses it was intended to serve, man has bred several varieties or 

 races of the horse. Each country has its own special breeds. Thus, we 

 have the "heavy" Danish, Belgian, English, and French (Percheron) 

 breeds, which supply us with the best cart-horses. On the other hand, 

 the Arab, Trakehner, and English thoroughbred carry their rider with 

 the speed of the wind. 



The size and colour (point out the different colours), too, of the horse 

 have been largely determined by man's " taste " or " fancy." Take the 

 difference, for instance, between a cart-horse and a pony, which often 

 is not much more than 3 feet high at the shoulders. In fact, among 

 horses, as among men, there are giants as well as dwarfs. 



B. Body Structure. 



To understand the structure and anatomy of the domestic horse, it is 

 necessary (as in the case of the ox, which see) to consider horses which 

 have reverted to the wild state. Large herds of these are found on the 

 steppes of South-Eastern Eussia (Tarpan), and on the immeasurable 

 plains of South America (the mustangs of the pampas). When we 

 consider that both the horse and the ox are true inhabitants of the 

 steppes, many points of resemblance in their anatomy will become 

 comprehensible.* 



i. The Horse and its Enemies. 



I. The so-called " wild " horse, like all other animals living in a state 

 of nature, is accredited with the possession of very sharp senses. This 

 specially applies to the sense of hearing. " Wild " horses which have been 

 tamed, by movements of their conical ears, betray the perception of noises 

 inaudible to their rider. By means of their smell (wide nostrils) as we 



* The following sections correspond with the similarly numbered or lettered sections 

 under "Ox." 



