24 THE HOESE AND ITS DISEASES. 



some valuable stallions are kept, for the pui^^ose of 

 improving the various Indian breeds, 



Tlie Australian Horse. 



The eastern coast of A^ustralian horses were derived 

 from Cape of Good Hope, and from India ; very little 

 judgment was employed in the selection, and very few 

 horses of good quality could have been procured fi'om 

 either place. They have an incurable habit of shying, 

 and they are not very sure-footed. 



The Cape of Good Hope Horse. 



Nothing is certainly known of the western coast of 

 Africa, descending towards the south ; but arriving 

 at the Cape of Good Hope, we find that a horse, if a 

 native of that country, is only occasionally seen in its 

 wild state. The horses that were introduced by the 

 first colonists, the Dutch, were mostly procured from 

 Batavia, Java, and South America. At the very com- 

 mencement of the colony, many horses were imported 

 from Persia ; these were mingled together, and crossed 

 in every possible way, except that not one notion of 

 scientific improvement seems to have entered the head 

 of the Dutch boor. They are a small hardy race, 

 capable of enduring a great deal of fatigue, but in every 

 way sadly neglected, never groomed, and badly fed. 



The Circassian Horse. 



The Circassian horse, although inferior to the Persian, 

 does not often find his equal among the predatory hordes 

 with which this part of Asia abounds. Almost every 

 family of distinction aims at possessing a peculiar breed 

 of horses, excelling in their estimation that of any other 

 tribe — each breed is distinguished by its peculiar mark. 

 The most valuable breed of all is in the possession of 

 the reigning family, and its distinguishing mark is a full 

 horse shoe. These horses possess great strength and speed. 



