220 



A HISTORY OF 



ral of a middle size; and although some are 

 found even of the smallest stature, yet that does 

 not impair their beauty or their strength ; yet, 

 in some places, they are found of a very good 

 size, and as large as the English saddle-horses 

 are generally found to be : they have all a thin 

 head, a fine crest, a narrow breast, small ears 

 well placed, the legs fine, the hoof hard, and 

 the croup beautiful ; they are docile, spirited, 

 nimble, hardy, courageous, and capable of sup- 

 porting very great fatigue ; they run very swiftly, 

 without being easily fatigued ; they are strong, 

 and easily nourished, being only supplied with 

 barley and chopped straw ; they are put to 

 grass only for six weeks in the spring ; they 

 have always the tail at full length, and there is 

 no such thing as geldings among the number ; 

 they are defended from the air, as in England, 

 by body-cloths ; they attend them with the 

 most punctual exactness; and they are rid 

 generally in a snaffle, without spurs. Great 

 numbers of these are every year transported 

 into Turkey, but chiefly into the East Indies : 

 however, after all, travellers agree that they 

 are not to be compared to the Arabian horses, 

 either for courage, force, or beauty ; and that 

 the latter are eagerly sought, even in Persia. 



The horses of India are of a very indifferent 

 kind, being weak and washy. Those which 

 are used by the grandees of the country come 

 from Persia and Arabia ; they are fed with a 

 small quantity of hay during the day ; and at 

 night they have boiled peas, mixed with sugar 

 and butter, instead of oats or barley : this 

 nourishment supports them, and gives them 

 strength ; otherwise they would soon sink and 

 degenerate. Those naturally belonging to the 

 country, are very small and vicious. Some 

 are so very little, that Taverner reports, that 

 the young Mogul prince, at the age of seven or 

 eight, rode one of those little horses, that was 

 not much larger than a greyhound : and it is 

 not long since one of these was brought over 

 into this country as a present to our Queen, 

 that measures no more than nine hands high : 

 and is not much larger than a common mastiff. 

 It would seem, that climates excessively hot 

 are unfavourable to this animal. In this man- 

 ner, the horses of the Gold-coast, and of 

 Guinea, are extremely little, but very manage- 

 able. It is a common exercise with the gran- 

 dees of that country, who are excellent horse- 

 men, to dart out their lances before them upon 



full gallop, and to catch them again before 

 they come to the ground. They have a sport 

 also on horseback, that requires great dexterity 

 in the rider, and a great share of activity in 

 the horse : they strike off a ball, with a battle- 

 dore, while they are upon a full gallop, and 

 pursuing it, strike it again before it comes to 

 the ground ; and this they continue for a mile 

 together, striking sometimes to the right, and 

 sometimes to the left, with amazing speed and 

 agility. 



The horses of China are as indifferent as 

 those of India: they are weak, little, ill-shaped, 

 and cowardly. Those of Corea are not above 

 three feet high ; almost all the breed there are 

 made geldings, and are so timorous, that they 

 can be rendered no way serviceable in war ; 

 so that it may be said, that the Tartar horses 

 were properly the conquerors of China. These, 

 indeed, are very serviceable in war, and al- 

 though but of a middle size, yet they are sur- 

 prisingly patient, vigorous, swift, and bold ; 

 their hoofs are extremely hard, though rather 

 too narrow ; their heads are fine, but rather 

 too little ; the neck is long and stiff; the legs 

 of the longest; and yet, with all these faults, 

 they are found to be an excellent breed. The 

 Tartars live with their horses pretty much in 

 the same manner as the Arabians do ; they 

 begin to back them at the age of seven or eight 

 months, placing their children upon them, who 

 manage them even at that early age. By these 

 means they break them by little and little, till 

 at last, about the age of six or seven years, they 

 are capable of enduring amazing hardships. 

 Thus they have been known to march two or 

 three days without once stopping ; to continue 

 five or six, without eating any thing except a 

 handful of grass at every eight hours ; and, 

 besides, to remain without drinking for four 

 and twenty hours. These horses, which are 

 so vigorous in their own country, lose all their 

 strength when they are brought into China or 

 the Indies ; but they thrive pretty well in Per- 

 sia and Turkey. The race of little Tartars 

 towards the north have also a breed of little 

 horses, which th^y set such a value upon, that 

 it is forbidden to sell them to strangers : these 

 horses have the very same qualities w irh those 

 of the larger kind ; which they probably derive 

 from a similar treatment. There are also 

 very fine horses in Circassia and MingrtTia. 

 There are some greatly esteemed in the 



