SWEDISH HORSE.] 



THE HOESE, AND 



[SWEDISH HOSBE, 



months old, the Tartars make their children 

 ride upon them ; exercise them in small excur- 

 sions ; dress, and, by degrees, reduce them to 

 gentle habits of domestication. After awhile 

 they are made to undergo hunger, thirst, and 

 other privations ; but men do not begin to ride 

 them until they have reached their fifth or 

 sixth year. Then they are mounted by their 

 masters, who exact from them the severest 

 duties, and who gradually inure them to sup- 

 port an almost incredible degree of fatigue. 

 They are made to travel two or three days at a 

 time, almost without resting, and pass four or 

 five days without better nourishment than a 

 handful of grass, and without water. 



Such are the principal portions of the mode 

 in which the Tartars train their horses, is given 

 by Berenger. The discipline is certainly severe. 

 In the Ilazeppa of Lord Byron, we have a 

 beautiful description of a idndred animal to 

 that of the Tartars in the Ukraine : — 



" The steeds rush on in plunging pride, 

 But where are they the reins to guide ? 

 A thousand horse, and none to ride ! 

 With flowing tail, and flying mane, 

 Wide nostrils — never stretch'd by pain — 

 Mouths bloodless to the bit or rein, 

 And feet that iron never shod, 

 And flanks unscarr'd by spur or rod — 

 A thousand horse, the wild, the free, 

 Like waves that follow o'er the sea. 

 On came the troop. * * * 

 They stop, they start, they snuff the air, 

 Gallop a moment here and there, 

 Approach, retire, wheel round and round, 

 Then plunging back with sudden bound, 

 They snort, they foam, neigh, swerve aside, 

 And backward to the forest fly." 



This description is applicable to the wild 

 horse, as he is witnessed in his native state, 

 and when we can hardly imagine a scene more 

 sublime than a thousand of his kind, bounding 

 over the vast steppe, with their manes streaming 

 in the wind, until the whole troop is lost in the 

 distance. 



THE SWEDISH HORSE. 



Mr. Lloyd, in his Field Sports of the North 

 of Europe, says, that "the Swedish horses are 

 small, though hardy, and capable of considerable 

 exertion ; their manes and tails are usually left 

 in a state of nature ; they are seldom cleaned ; 

 and, when in the stable, even in the most severe 

 weather, are rarely littered down. This treat- 

 36 



ment of their horses arises as much from igno- 

 rance as neglect on the part of the peasants. 

 In saying this, however, I am willing to admit 

 that many of them are almost as fond of these 

 animals as if they were their own children. 

 The average price of a good horse, of the de- 

 scription I am now speaking of, may be taken 

 at from five to eight pounds." "■> 



The horse of this country ia fed almost en- 

 tirely on bread, composed of equal parts of 

 oatmeal and rye. To this a considerable quan- 

 tity of salt is added : if setting out on a long 

 journey, a little brandy is given him. Sir A. 

 Brooke, in his Travels in Sweden, says — " We 

 were not a little entertained at the curious 

 group formed by the peasants and their steeds 

 breakfasting together; both cordially partaking 

 of a hard rye cake. The horses sometimes 

 belong to three, or even more propriLiors; it is 

 then higlily amusing to observe tho frequent 

 altercations between them, each endeavouring 

 to spare his own horse. Their affection for 

 their horses is so great, that I have seen them 

 shed tears when they have been driven beyond 

 their strength. The expedition, however, with 

 which these little animals proceed, is surprising, 

 when we consider the smallness of their size, 

 which hardly exceeds that of a pony. The 

 roads being universally good through Sweden, 

 they frequently do not relax from a gallop from 

 one post-house to another." 



In the Scandinavian forest, it often hap- 

 pens that the wild bear attacks the horse, and, 

 fastening upon him, is borne along by the 

 animal whilst writhing under the wounds in- 

 flicted by the claws of the ursine monster. 

 When this is the case, the bear tries to retard 

 the progress of the horse by grasping with one 

 of his paws at the surrounding bushes, which 

 he often, under such circumstances, tears up 

 by the roots. Should he succeed, however, in 

 catching hold of a tree that is firmly embedded 

 in the soil, it is then all over with his victim ; 

 for, owing to his immense muscular power, the 

 career of the horse is at once stopped, and he 

 is almost immediately brought to the ground. 



It seems rather extraordinary that so clumsy 

 and ill-shaped a looking brute as a bear, should 

 be able to run down a horse ; but such, whether 

 owing to the fears of the animal, or to the ad- 

 vantages of ground, is, beyond doubt, of every- 

 day occurrence. Until he has brought bis 



