No. 12. 



Observations, <S'C. on the Horse. 



367 



Obiter vat ions JLc. on the Ilorsc. 



To the Editor of the Farmors' Ciihiiict. 



Sir, — Altlioairh I am not so ungallantas the 

 old pliilosoplier, who said, "A man is hand- 

 somer than a woman, but a horse is handsoiiior 

 than cither," f must confess tiiat I am a dear 

 lover of Aorsc;/?r.<(/t, and an animal of that de- 

 scription cannot |)a.ss mc, but [ scan iiim from 

 head to foot in an instant, and with half an eye. 

 There are many excellent horses mthis city, 

 but the practice of tyinuf them down with tlio 

 martingale, and pulling them up with a dou- 

 ble rein with both hands, spoils all freedom of 

 action, and is the chief cause of tliat awk- 

 wardness of gait, so universally complained 

 of by foreigners, and which is attributed to the 

 breed of the animal, instead of to his educa- 

 tion. This rage for screwhur up pervades all 

 ranks, but no where is it carried to .so cruel a 

 pitch as in the carriages of the wealthy ; there 

 the wretched animals are confined for hours 

 in an ab.solute state of torture, and it appears 

 as though it was the wish of their owners, to 

 see how much it is possible for the poor crea- 

 tures to endure without going mad I Would 

 but the humane and enlightened proprietor of 

 a pair of those beautiful animals, wiiich I of- 

 ten pass in Arch street, only determine to try 

 the experiment of letting their heads free, 

 that they might have the opportunity of using 

 their limbs with ease, I am satisfied that more 

 elegant creatures could no where be found ; 

 they would then have a chance of showing 

 themselves in their native elegance and 

 beauty. 



When I was in England some time since, 

 1 observed, that the owners of the stage horses 

 on many of the roids, had dispensed with the 

 bearing rein altogether; and a coachman as- 

 sured me, tlut the advantage gained was very 

 great to all parties: the horses are now able 

 to mount a hill in much less time, and with 

 incomparably more ease than formerly, when 

 they were tied up ; as they naturally drop the 

 head, and make a fulcrum of the rounded 

 back, by which he calculated they have about 

 double the strength and activity, than when 

 they were reversed by the bearing rein : nor 

 is there any danger of their falling on descend- 

 ing a hill, as they are then held up by the reins; 

 and if a false step is made, the horse imme- 

 diately recovers himself by stooping, to ease 

 the foot so faltering, which it was impossible 

 for him to do, while drawn up by the bearing 

 rein. The experiment was first made on the 

 Brighton road, with the view of quickening 

 the pace of one of the opposition stages, and 

 the eflfect was so manifest, that in a few days 

 not a bearing rein was seen on the road. The 

 hor.ses travel faster, work easier, and are not 

 so liable to lameness as formerly, while the 



stage proprietor saves about 50 per cent, in 

 horseflesh by the arrangement. 



There never was a greater mistake, than to 

 suppose a horse is safer to ride or drive when 

 he is thus tied up and down. If those who are 

 advocates tor this levelling sy.stem, could see 

 the horses in Wales (a country which is prover- 

 bial for bad roads) descending the sides of the 

 mountains and along the roads, which are often 

 nothing but tlie b^jd of some mountain torrent, 

 with round stones about the size of one's hat, 

 amongst which these creatures will proceed 

 at a gallop, without making a single false step, 

 as they have llie j)erfect freedom of their 

 heads ; they would soon find that if a horse 

 has the power to see the road, and to ease 

 himself by stopping, when there is a danger 

 of tripping, there is no fear of his falling. It 

 is there the custom, as soon as you come into 

 bad roads, or after dark, to give the reins to 

 the horse, and to feel no fear of the conse- 

 quences. It is supposed that the horses in 

 Wales are peculiarly sure footed, and so they 

 are, but this arises from education more than 

 from breed, for let but one of those two hand- 

 ed riders, wlioin we so often meet in the 

 streets, practise his art even upon one of those 

 he would not be able to stand an hour ! A 

 well bred horse would as soon lose his life as 

 fall with his rider — when therefore I see a 

 rider pulling with all his might and with both 

 his hands at the head of his horse, I suspect 

 j him or his horse of ill breedhiff! is it not 

 refreshing to see a man give the reins to his 

 horse as well as to himself, and ride at perfect 

 ease ? This is geiUlcmanly. 



The origin of the Welsh mountain Horse, 

 as well as that of the mountain cattle and 

 sheep of that country, dates from the time of 

 Queen Elizabeth. History informs us, that 

 the destruction of thefieet, called the Spanish 

 Armada, was caused by a succession of storms, 

 by which the ships were driven furiously on 

 the coasts of Wales, and all the northern 

 shores, even up to the Shetland and Orkney 

 Islands, strewing the shores with wrecks in- 

 numerable. Now, these ships had large num- 

 bers of cattle and sheep on board, as food for 

 the crews and troops, as well as horses for 

 mounting the cavalry, and many of these es- 

 caping on shore, were reserved by the inhab- 

 itants as stock for breedinir ; and as very large 

 and mountainous tracts of country abounded 

 in that part of the kingdom, they were con- 

 signed to those parts for that purpose — and 

 there we still find them, almo.st in their native 

 purity; smaller than the original breeds, but 

 still nearly as pure in blood as their progeni- 

 tors ; the mountain poney of certain districts, 

 where the breed has been kept distinct, show- 

 ing as much blood as the original Spanish 

 jennet, with the foot, black, round, and beau- 

 tifully formed, is characteristic of the Andalu- 



