HfDIAN nOESES.] 



THE HOKSE, AND 



[INDIAN HORSES. 



horses from Hindostan being adapted only for 

 the capering of a native Souwarree. They are 

 leggy, under-limbed, and, as far as vice goes, 

 regular man-eaters. 



"The horses from Guzerat and Cutch are 

 certainly endowed with greater amiability of 

 disposition, but are more calculated for pur- 

 poses of display and parade than for anything 

 else. The natives are very partial to this 

 breed, and give long prices for them — frequently 

 as much as two or three thousand rupees. 

 They blow them out to an enormous size, by 

 feeding them on a composition which must be 

 anything but agreeable to the palate of the 

 horse. This consists of a kind of paste, made 

 of pounded grain and sheep's head, wherewith 

 the poor animal is crammed like a turkey. 

 The end of the flowing tail, generally reaching 

 the ground, is dyed of a deep-red colour; a 

 cruelly sharp bit is put into his mouth ; he is 

 buried under a ton of bedding covered with 

 crimson cloth, doing duty for saddle ; and, thus 

 caparisoned, he is deemed fit to carry one of 

 the 'pillars of the state.' It is a pretty 

 sight to see a Souwarree, or procession, accom- 

 panied by a cavalcade thus mounted. On 

 such occasions, the individuals forming the 

 pageant, take every opportunity of displaying 

 their horsemanship — a cavalier occasionally 

 darting from the crowd at the top of his 

 speed, and as suddenly pulling his horse on his 

 haunches in the midst of his headlong career ; 

 then wheeling about, and still at full speed, 

 describing, in an incredibly small space, the 

 difficult figure of eight, with all the apparent 

 ease of a graceful skater." 



It is unnecessary to specify the excellences 

 of some of the individual horses which have 

 acquired celebrity in this country. It is enougli 

 to say that, generally, they have been found 

 possessed of sufficient stoutness to carry the 

 Mahratta warriors tlirough the turmoil of 

 many a hard-fought day, before their power 

 was broken by the fall of Seringapatam, or the 

 death of Tippoo Saib, in 1792. The Mahratta 

 army was principally composed of cavalry ; and 

 to see a troop of them, with their knees as hi»h 

 as the backs of their horses ; their heels firmly 

 adhering to the horses' sides, and their hands 

 clinging to the manes or the peaks of their 

 saddles, is anything but a graceful specimen 

 of horsemanship. His seat, however, is made 

 28 



perfectly secure by the Mahratta; for, like 

 practice in everything else, he becomes, as it 

 were, "to the manner born," and feels suffi- 

 ciently safe in his seat to impress those who 

 see him with the idea that he is both secure 

 and comfortable. 



Most of the horses in the East are picketed 

 during the day, as well as during the night ; 

 and a rope is carried from each side of the 

 head-stall, and fastened to a peg driven into 

 the ground. To the hinder fetlocks a rope is 

 also tied and fastened to a peg, twenty or 

 thirty yards behind the animal. Their eyes 

 are kept covered, and their bodies clothed in 

 such a way as to presei've the beautiful glossy 

 appearance of their coats. 



In the caparisons of his horse the Mahratta 

 displays the usual Oriental taste for show and 

 magnificence. The breast of the animal ia 

 adorned with especial splendour ; and numerous 

 coins of diftereut sizes and value are fashioned 

 into plates, which hang and glitter from his 

 breast, and very often form a rich booty to his 

 conqueror. The mane is usually plaited and 

 braided with silk, decorated with silver knobs, 

 and terminating in a beautiful top-knot rising 

 between the ears. Should the warrior happen 

 to have distinguished himself against his 

 enemies, a few curious tails, said to have been 

 taken from the wild cow, very likely will be 

 found hanging on each side. 



"With this Eastern region the imagination na- 

 turally associates everything that is vast, not 

 only in regard to the physical features of the 

 country, but in regard to the riches it possesses, 

 and the undertakings of its inhabitants. Its 

 rivers are amongst the largest in the world, 

 and its mountain-peaks are the loftiest ; its 

 plains the most extensive, its valleys the most 

 luxui'iant, and its forests realising all "the 

 pomp of groves" described by the poet. It is 

 called by Milton " the gorgeous East," which 

 showered on her kings barbaric pearl and gold ; 

 and is the country of the largest as well as the 

 fiercest of quadrupeds. It has given to the 

 world the most magnificent bird — the peacock 

 — of all the feathered tribes; and has, also, 

 in the institutions of its people, exhibited 

 more instances of gross superstition, revolting 

 cruelty, and deep degradation, than any land 

 on the face of the earth. Its horses, however, 

 are inferior to tue English breed. Even its 



