43 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



country of the horse really was matters little, except as an interesting 

 fact, whether in Asia, or on the soil of Africa, to which his near relations, 

 the Zebra and Quagga, are certainly indigenous. It is certain, howovorj 

 that in Media and Persia, and the fertile plains of Thessaly and Thrace, 

 on the great meadows of the Danube, in the Ukraine, on the banks of 

 the Dnieper and the Don , and other of the great grazing grounds of Europe 

 and Asia, the horse found congenial soil and early became semi-wild. 

 So, after the conquest of America, transplanted here, he became semi- 

 wild, and soon occupied vast tracts on both sides of the tropics, in count- 

 less herds. 



IL The Horse in Civilization. 

 In extending civilization the horse has always occupied a place next to 

 man, carrying him quickly and safely on long journeys, aiding him to 

 explore new regions, or bearing him beyond the reach of savage foes. 

 In the earlier stages of civilization, oxen tilled the fields, tvhile sheep 

 furnished clothing and food, until latterly the labors of tillage have been 

 almost entirely transferred to the quicker and more intelligent horse. 

 Among the nations which flourished between ancient and modem times, 

 the Arabs seem to have regarded the horse with the greatest esteem and 

 kindliness. Among no people were more care and attention bestowed in 

 his breeding, and nowhere else was the horse so made the companion of 

 man. Hence in no other country, from the seventh to the seventeenth 

 century after Christ were horses found combining such high intelligence, 

 with great speed and lasting endumnce in travel. The Arabs were thus 

 enabled to furnish the infusion of blood that has resulted in the English 

 and American thoroughbred, that has stamped its measure of value upon 

 nearly all the more highly prized of the modem sub-families if Jiorses. 

 Yet neither the English horse, nor the American horse, nor indeed the 

 so-called wild horses of America, retain any characteristic of an al)ori- 



pnal breed. They are, all of them, purely artificial \a their breeding, 



)r the descendants of horses artificially bred. 



m. Preserving Breeds in Purity. 



As among the Arabs, so among all the civilized nations of the earth, 

 the great care is to preserve breeds in their purity. Hence pedigrees 

 were established, first among the Arabs, and later for the English 

 thoroughbred, while within the last thirty years stud-books are becoming 

 common for the various valuable breeds of horses that have originated 

 from time to time. Breeders are also beginning to understand the value 

 of kind and careful treatment, as well as of careful training, in their influ- 

 ence upon hereditary traits. These things seem to be far better appre- 

 ciated in America than in England. To the early and careful handling 



