MODERN HORSES AND THEIR ANCESTORS 8 1 



though not certain, that a " bit " was inserted. Con- 

 nected to this main encircling thong are four twisted 

 cords (on each side of the head), which run horizontally 

 backwards, and the two lower of these are joined by a 

 flat, plate-like piece, which is ornamented. The whole 

 apparatus is further connected to a twisted cord on each 

 side, which runs towards the back of the head, but it is 

 not shown in the carving what becomes of it. Thus it 

 seems clear not only that 

 the cave-men of these re- 

 mote ages were wonderful 

 artists, but that they 

 mastered and muzzled the 

 horse. 



Some of the engrav- 

 ings of horses' heads seem 

 to indicate the existence 



- , . . , . FIG. 9. Drawmg(of the actual size of the 



of a horse alongside the original) of a ff at carving in shoulder . 



bone, of a horse's head, showing 

 twisted rope-bridle and trappings, a 

 appears to represent a flat ornamented 

 band of wood or skin connecting the 

 muzzling rope b with other pieces c and 

 d. This specimen is from the cave of 

 St. Michel d'Arudy, and is of the rein- 

 deer period. This, and others like it, 

 are in the museum of St. Germain. 



commoner form with a 

 narrower, more tapering 

 face, and may possibly 

 be due to the introduc- 

 tion, even at that remote 

 period, of another race dis- 

 tinct from the Northern 

 or Mongolian wild horse. 



That this admixture of a distinct and more slender horse 

 with the Northern horse has taken place over and over 

 again in historical times is a matter of knowledge. The 

 question is, when did it first take place, and where did 

 the more slender horse come from ? In later days we 

 know this more shapely breed as the Arab and the Barb, 

 and the introduction of its blood at various times into 

 the more Northern stock is well ascertained. The latest 

 great historical case of such admixture is the production 

 6 



