16 THE HORSE AND ITS DISEASES. 



The horses of this country are strong, nimble, metUe- 

 some, and mostly black ; they are used only for war, 

 and in the chase ; they travel no long or fatiguing 

 journeys, and all the drudgery of every kind is performed 

 by the mule. 



The Toorkoman Horse. 



Turkistan is that part of South Tartary, north-east of 

 the Caspian sea, and has been celebrated from very early 

 times for producing a pure and valuable breed of horses — 

 thoy are called Toorkomans — they are said to be prefer- 

 able to the pure Persians for actual service — they are 

 large, from 1 .5 to 1 6 hands high, swift and inexhaustible 

 under fatigue ; I knew some of them to travel nine 

 hundi'ed miles in eleven successive days ; they are, 

 however, too small in the barrel, too long in the legs, 

 occasionally ewe-necked, and always having a head out 

 of proportion large, yet they are so good that one of the 

 pure blood is worth two or three hundred pounds iu 

 that country. 



Spanish Horse. 



The Spanish horses, for many centuries, ranked next 

 to those of Barbary and Arabia ; they descended from 

 the Barbs, or rather they were the Barbs transplanted 

 to a European soil, and somewhat altered, but not 

 materially injured by the change. The common breed 

 of Spanish horses have nothing particular about them. 

 The legs and feet are good, but the head is rather large, 

 the forehand heavy, and yet the posterior part of the 

 chest deficient, the crupper also having too much the 

 appearance of the mule. Berenger thus ennumerates 

 their excellencies and their defects — ^' the neck is long and 

 arched, perhaps somewhat thick, but clothed with a full 

 and flowing mane — the head may be a little too coarse — 

 the ears long, but well placed — the eyes large and full 

 of fire — their carriage lofty, proud and noble — the 

 breast large — the shoulders sometimes thick — the belly 

 frequently too full and swelling, and the loins a little 



