SECRETx\.RY'S REPORT. 177 



Cljclcsdalc is by far the most needed, at present. The improved 

 Norman horse of France would doubtless prove an admirable 

 substitute for the Clydesdale in the production of stout horses 

 for the carriage or for draught. 



The Arabian Horse. — This horse is particularly worthy of men- 

 tion because it is the original stock from which our finest breeds 

 have been derived. There are, of course, many varieties among 

 the different tribes and nations of the Levant, but the most perfect 

 and highly prized arc called the Kochlani, and are found chiefly 

 among the Bedouins. The pedigrees of these horses are said 

 to be preserved with much exactness, though not in writing, 

 and with real oriental exaggeration often extend back two thou- 

 sand years. Great care is exercised to perpetuate the breed in 

 the utmost purity, and mares of the best blood and form are 

 rarely, or never, sold. Stallions, however, are not ridden nor 

 castrated, but, with the exception of the finest which are re- 

 served for the stud, are disposed of wherever they will com- 

 mand the most money. The mare is particularly valued be- 

 cause her produce constitutes the principal income of her 

 owner; because she is less quarrelsome than the stallion, an 

 important consideration where there are no stables ; because 

 she does not neigh when approaching strange horses, thus an- 

 nouncing the coming of her robber owner ; and because she is 

 thought to be more capable than the horse of enduring hunger, 

 thirst, heat and labor. In most other eastern countries stallions 

 are much preferred to mares as being more noble, spirited and 

 hardy. In the Barbary States a man is ashamed to be seen 

 mounted upon a mare, and geldings are unknown, as the Koran 

 forbids castration. 



In England and elsewhere, racers are never gelded, and in 

 France and Italy stallions are extensively employed in post-ser- 

 vice by government, and are also worked by private individuals 

 very generally, both upon the road and the farm. 



The custom so prevalent in Great Britain and this country of 

 castrating stallions designed for ordinary service was introduced 

 about the year 1500, in consequence of laws intended to pre- 

 vent the deterioration of the breeds of horses which prohibited 

 stallions running at large. Mares, also, were then first brought 

 into common use because found to be tougher, more spirited, 

 and less liable to disease than geldinji's. 



