188 HISTORY OF 



duced to powder. When this, which is spread un- 

 der the horse about five inches thick, is moisten- 

 ed, they dry it again, and spread it as before. 

 The horses of these countries a good deal resemble 

 each other. They are usually of a slender make ; 

 their legs fine, bony, and far apart ; a thin mane ; 

 a fine crest ; a beautiful head ; the ear small and 

 well pointed ; the shoulder thin ; the side rounded, 

 without any unsightly prominence ; the croup is 

 a little of the longest, and the tail is generally set 

 high. The race of horses, however, is much de- 

 generated in Numidia ; the natives having been 

 discouraged from keeping the breed up by the 

 Turks, who seize upon all the good horses, with- 

 out paying the owners the smallest gratuity for 

 their care in bringing them up. The Tingitanians 

 and Egyptians have now, therefore, the fame of 

 rearing the finest horses, both for size and beauty. 

 The smallest of these last are usually sixteen hands 

 high ; and all of them shaped, as they express it, 

 with the elegance of an antelope. 



Next to the Barb, travellers generally rank the 

 Spanish genette. These horses, like the former, 

 are little, but extremely swift and beautiful. The 

 head is something of the largest ; the mane thick ; 

 the ears long, but well pointed ; the eyes filled 

 with fire ; the shoulder thickish, and the breast 

 full and large. The croup round and large ; the 

 legs beautiful, and without hair ; the pastern a 

 little of the longest, as in the Barb, and the hoof 

 rather too high. Nevertheless, they move with 

 great ease, and carry themselves extremely well. 

 Their most usual colour is black, or a dark bay. 



