472 THE JIUKWK. 



The country of the Barbs approaching in its geographical 

 situation to Europe, it may be supposed that the horses, like 

 the human inhabitants, approach nearer in their characters 

 to the European varieties. But this affinity has been in- 

 creased by an admixture of races from early times. First, 

 by means of the Phoenician colonies ; secondly, by the long 

 subjugation of the countries of the coast to the Republic and 

 Empire of Rome ; and thirdly, and far more extensively, by 

 the conquests of the Arabs, who settled in great numbers in 

 the country, and now form a large proportion of the inhabi- 

 tants. Notwithstanding of this admixture, the character of 

 the horses of Barbary indicates distinctly their African lin- 

 eage. They are about fourteen and a half hands high. They 

 are sufficiently deep at the girth, but tucked up in the belly, 

 giving that peculiar greyhound aspect which is characteris- 

 tic 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, and their breeding and training have not been at- 

 tended to with the same care. The Moors, though admirable 

 horsemen, are harsh to their horses, as compared with the 

 Arabians and Western Asiatics. They use tremendous bits, 

 and the sharp edges of their stirrups serve the purpose of 

 spurs. These countries were of old inhabited by the Mauri- 

 tanians, the Numidians, the Gsetulians, and other nations of 

 horsemen. The horses were known and valued for their fleet- 

 ness before the Asiatic horse had found its way across the 

 Syrian wastes, and a thousand years and more before the 

 warlike soldiers of the Prophet had issued from their native 

 deserts. In the ages of the Roman empire, they were car- 

 ried to Italy to give swiftness to the horses employed in the 



