HORSES. 



497 



the part of the reins next to the hand against that side of the neck from which 

 the horse is required to turn is sufficient, without making him feel the bit at all. 

 Austraii Feral horses are as abundant in Australia, where they are known 



as brumbies, as in Southern America. Indeed, so numerous are they 

 in certain districts as to become a positive nuisance to the settlers, by whom they 

 are sometimes shot down in large numbers. 

 Barbs and AT bs Proceeding to the consideration of some of the leading breeds of 



domesticated horses, we may commence with those known as Barbs 

 and Arabs, which have had such an important share in the production of the 

 modern race-horse. With regard to the Barbs, which take their name from their 

 native region, Barbary, it may be premised that the generality of African horses 

 are distinguished from those of Asia by their long limbs and small girth at the 

 loins, thus resembling the foals of other breeds. They display great powers of 

 enduring hunger and thirst ; and are fleet, with a high and graceful action. The 

 Barb comes nearest to this general African type, but displays some variation 

 owing to a crossing with other breeds. Low says that these horses " are about 

 14 J hands high. They are sufficiently deep at the girth, but tucked up in the 

 belly, giving that peculiar greyhound-aspect which is characteristic of this race. 

 Their necks are long and well-formed, their heads moderately fine, the chafron 

 tending to the convex; their shoulders are oblique, and the withers thin and 

 well raised. Their limbs, though thin and delicate, are sinewy; their pasterns 

 are oblique, and the feet well formed. They are gentle and full of spirit ; they are 

 somewhat careless in their paces, but distinguished by their graceful action. As 

 compared with the Arabians, they are more swift, but less enduring." 



The Arab horse is strictly a product of the country from which 



it takes its name ; and the breed appears to have been derived from 

 horses introduced into Arabia from the Caucasus or Asia Minor somewhere about 

 the Christian era. They resemble in many respects the horses of these regions, 

 "but," writes Low, "inhabiting a very dry and arid region, their characters 

 have become adapted to these conditions of climate and food. They are more 

 compact than the horses of Barbary, having a rounder body, shorter limbs, with 

 more of sinew, or what is termed bone. Yet they are of the smaller class of horses, 

 very little exceeding, on a medium, 14 hands, or 56 inches in height. As compared 

 with the horses of countries abounding in the grasses, their aspect is lean, their 

 form slender, and their chest narrow. But the slimness of figure of these horses 

 is not inconsistent with muscular force; and their movements are agile, their 

 natural paces swift, and their spirit is unmatched. The power of their delicate 

 limbs is indicated by the well-marked muscles of the fore-arm, and the starting 

 sinews of the leg. The shoulder is sufficiently oblique ; the withers are elevated ; 

 the back is moderately short ; and the quarters are good. The head is well formed ; 

 the forehead is broad ; the ears are somewhat long, but alert ; the eyes full and 

 clear ; the veins prominent the whole rather indicating a happy union of gentle- 

 ness and spirit, than the fiery temper which is commonly associated with the desert 

 horse." Although not remarkable for great speed, the Arab is pre-eminent for its 

 endurance, hardy constitution, and the scanty fare on which it can exist. On a 

 cold morning in Northern India, when the horses have been picketed round the 

 VOL. n. 32 



