8 



MODERN HORSE MANAGEMENT 



[chap. 



wild yell would join the troop — free for ever. In 

 some instances the horses of Tartary were not so 

 friendly to domesticated horses ; they would 

 even attack them with their teeth and kill them. 

 These Tartary horses, when captured by man, 

 were found to be most docile. 



At the beginning of the last century troops of 

 wild horses were found in the central parts of 

 Africa, in the Island of San Domingo, in the 

 deserts of Arabia and in other parts of the 

 world, but these horses did not equal domesti- 

 cated horses in form, strength or even speed. 



25. When we consider that Egypt is a country 

 that is not favourable to horse-breeding, we 

 cannot help wonderng whether the horses 

 which the Bible and ancient history tell us came 

 from Egypt were actually bred there. It is only 

 reasonable to suppose, as stated above, that they 

 originally came from the interior or northern 

 coasts of Africa. At any rate, there is no doubt 

 that Africa was the first continent to produce 

 the horse. 



The head of all the African horses is the 

 Barb, from Barbary, Morocco, Fez and Tripoli ; 

 remarkable for his fine and graceful action, his 

 height seldom exceeding 14.1 hands. The most 

 celebrated racehorses trace their descent from 

 African Barb mares. The Arab is inferior in 

 form to the Barb, but has better spirit, speed 

 and countenance. The Spanish horse is mostly 

 descended from the Barb. 



The kingdom of Dongola and the neighbour- 

 ing districts between Egypt and Abyssinia pro- 

 duce another breed known as the Dongola ; he 

 is a much larger horse, 16 hands or more in 

 height, with a much shorter body than either 

 the Arabian or our modern thoroughbred. They 

 were imported into Europe early in the nine- 

 teenth century, but were of little value. 



26. Going farther East, we come to the 

 Arabian. About seventy years ago wild horses 

 were still seen in the deserts of Arabia. These 

 horses were extremely swift, and some of them 

 were hunted by the Bedouins for food. Although 

 in the seventh century Arabia had no horses of 

 value, the horses which it had — as the Cappa- 

 docian and others — were so carefully cared for 

 and bred that in 600 years (i.e. the thirteenth 

 century) they had produced one of the finest 

 horses in the world — the true Arab. This horse 

 is divided into three breeds : the Attechi, an 

 inferior breed ; the Kadischi, a half-breed ; and 

 the Kochlani, whose genealogy in some cases, it 

 is claimed, could be traced back for 2,000 years. 

 In fact, people kept the tables of these wonder- 

 ful steeds with greater care than they kept the 

 tables of their own relations. The Bedouin 

 Arabs had been chiefly responsible for the breed- 

 ing of the Kochlani Arab horse. It has always 

 been with great difficulty that an Arab mare 

 has been purchased, but exported Arab stallions 

 have been quite common. The female was 



always the better animal, and genealogies were 

 always reckoned on the female side. 



27. The finest part of the Arab horse, without 

 doubt, is his head, and he is always well-balanced 

 in appearance, because he has a magnificent tail, 

 which he carries extremely well. The broad, 

 square forehead, short, fine muzzle, small ears 

 and prominent, bright eyes are the characteris- 

 tics of an Arab's head. His shoulders are ideal, 

 although he is a little narrow in the chest, but 

 there is ample lung space behind the shoulders. 

 The Arab seldom exceeds 14.2 hands. The leg 

 is small, flat and wiry, and he is capable of per- 

 forming marvellous feats. His temper and 

 docility are his characteristics, no less than his 

 speed and his courage. Bishop Heber, in his 

 "Journeys Through the Upper Provinces of 

 India," states that " he is not the fiery, dashing 

 animal I had supposed, but has almost as much 

 attachment and coaxing ways as a dog." This 

 is due to the manner in which these horses were 

 brought up from their birth — as one of the 

 children — so different from the harsh way the 

 majority of so-called horsemen of to-day bring 

 up their young horses. 



28. Still pursuing our way Eastward, we 

 come to the Indian horses. There are several 

 Indian breeds, the most important being the 

 Toorky, originally from Persia, a beautiful and 

 docile animal, with splendid spirit and action. 

 The other breeds are : the Iranee, the patient 

 and strong Cozahee, the speedy and beautiful 

 Mojinniss, and, lastly, the Tazsee, a breed not 

 beautiful in form, but extremely comfortable to 

 ride. Going still farther East, we come to the 

 Chinese horse ; this animal is small and weedy, 

 ill-formed, and without much spirit. 



Returning Westward, we come back to the 

 Persian horse, which is said to be very like the 

 Arab, but has less power of endurance. This 

 breed is much older than that of the Arab. 

 Alexander the Great is said to have considered 

 no gift finer than that of a Persian horse. Their 

 height is about equal to that of an Arab. 



29. The Turkoman breed that comes from 

 South Tartary (north-east of the Caspian Sea) 

 constitutes a pure and valuable breed. For 

 service they excel the Persian. They stand from 

 15 to 16 hands, and are swift and inexhaustible. 

 However, their head is usually too large, legs 

 inclined to be long, and barrel small. The 

 horses from the other parts of Tartary (i.e. the 

 plains of Central Asia and European Russia) are 

 small and badly made, but have the extra- 

 ordinary power of travelling tremendous and 

 rapid journeys on comparatively little food. 



The Turkish horses are descended chiefly 

 from the Arab. They have assisted in improv- 

 ing, in the past, English breeds. Their body is 

 inclined to be long. 



30. The Italian horse lias sadly degenerated 

 from what it was several centuries ago. The 



