TUEKISH HOESE.] 



THE HOESE, AIN'D 



[etjssiaw hohsb. 



pursuit, and blessing the noble beast, cried 

 out to the fugitive, ' Go and wash the feet of 

 your mare, and drink off the water.' This 

 expression is often used by the Bedouins to 

 show the regard they have for their mares." 



Some of the Turkish, as well as Toorkoman 

 horses, incline to have white legs, against 

 which there is a prejudice held by a great 

 many English grooms — on what account we are 

 not aware, as the celebrated horse Bucephalus, 

 of Alexander the Great, we believe was a 

 skewbald. A writer in the Sporting Magazine 

 thus combats this prejudice: — "Turn to the 

 banks of the Euphrates — to the decayed, but 

 once splendid seats of the caliphs of the 

 Black Banner — to the cradle of the Arabian 

 Tales — to the Queen of the East, Bagdad, 

 the beloved capital of the great Haroun al 

 Easched^and there we have a breed of horses 

 uniting the fire of the Persian, with the sym- 

 metry and enduring qualities of the desert 

 breed. Go further to the southward ; cross 

 the great river ; roam among the settled tribes 

 who have pitched their tents on the very verge 

 of civilisation, near unto the great cities, the 

 dwellings of slaves, as they are not inaptly 

 termed by the Bedouins; and you may lay 

 your hands on the flowing manes of a race 

 of horses — all chesnut, with the starting pro- 

 minent eye like an ember glowing, * full of fire 

 and full of bone,' and all singularly and in- 

 variably stamped with the peculiar distinctive 

 marks of their caste — the white blazed face 

 and white legs (generally three) ; white up to 

 the knee — perhaps the ancestors of the great 

 Eclipse; a chesnut also, with these remarkable 

 marks, and which sometimes break forth in 

 his most distinguished descendants — to wit 

 Sultan, his son Beiram, Harkaway, and a 

 number of winners of our great stakes." 



The Turkish horse is sometimes harnessed 

 to carriages, in the Ottoman empire, where the 

 art of coach-building is still in its infancy— a 

 circumstance which is accounted for by the 

 sedentary character of Turkish habits. The 

 secluded manner of life to which the women 

 of this country are subjected, applies also to 

 the habit of the head of the family himself As 

 for journeys or promenades, they are in accord- 

 ance with the jealous manners of the people, 

 who restrict their rambles to parks or secluded 

 retreats in the environs of mansions. In cop 

 34 



sequence, carriages are so rarely used that they 

 are comparatively useless ; nevertheless, they 

 are to be found as accessories to the best estab- 

 lishments, where they are employed to convey 

 the ladies from the harems to the mosques, to 

 the public baths, and the resorts of pleasure, 

 possessed by the richest Turks in the environs 

 of their residences, or to their country seats in 

 the neighbourhood. For such purposes it is 

 not necessary that the carriages should be of 

 substantial build, similar to those subjected 

 to the wear and tear of London streets. It; 

 is, in general, one of these slim vehicles, with 

 its dais covered with drapery, and with decora- 

 tions, reminding us of the French carriage of 

 the seventeenth century. 



The Turks prefer horses for riding ; whilst 

 the Arabs prefer mares. According to Burc- 

 hardt, the price of an Arab horse, in 1810 — 

 1816 was from £10 to £120. Some, however, 

 have brought £500 ; and Burchardt mentions 

 a sheik who paid £400 for a mare, and agreed 

 to give to the seller the first female colt she 

 produced, or to keep the colt and return the 

 mare. 



THE CIRCASSIAN HORSE. 



On the plains of Circassia, large herds of 

 horses, and flocks of sheep, are reared for pur- 

 poses of commerce by the Tcherkesses. The 

 most valuable breed of the former has a con- 

 siderable amount of both strength and speed ; 

 and is distinguished by having a mark upon it, 

 of a full horse-shoe. Each breed has some 

 peculiar mark ; to forge which, or place it on 

 an inferior animal, is punishable with death. 

 Most of the wealthiest families make it their 

 aim to have a peculiar breed of horses for them- 

 selves, and, in their own estimation, consider 

 it as excelling that of any other tribe. 



THE RUSSIAN HORSE. 



The Eussian empire comprises all the north 

 part of Asia, and a large portion of Europe, 

 In point of physical extent, it is the largest 

 empire in the world, embracing an area ex- 

 tending from the 18th to the 170th degree of 

 east longitude, and from about the 44th degree 

 of north latitude to the Frozen Ocean. In a 

 country so extensive, it is not to be expected 

 that the horse presents, to our observation, the 

 same features in one place, that it does in 



