South African Horses. 231 



but did not care to take the trouble of catching those they 

 required and breaking them in. 



Amoncr the South African farmers' sources of income 

 I have not mentioned horses, which, though they abound 

 throughout the country, do not bring in much money 

 to their breeders. The Cape horse of thirty years ago, 

 was a strong serviceable animal that was well up to re- 

 mount form, and was prized in cavalry regiments in India. 

 At present he is as extinct as the quagga. His place is 

 now taken by a weedy slave, who, though sound and hard- 

 working, is singularly deficient in spirit and strength. 

 Colonel Swaine who commanded the nth Hussars when 

 I met that regiment in Natal, told me that is was impos- 

 sible to get horses which had speed enough for purposes 

 of manoeuvre. The South African troopers of his regiment 

 were a very 'scratch' lot, and cost about £^0 apiece. 

 The average unbroken Cape horse fetches about £j. The 

 farmers have not alone to contend against scarcity of grass 

 from want of water ; but are menaced every season by 

 that awful equine scourge, 'horse sickness,' which slays an 

 average of, probably, 20,000 horses a year. With the fear 

 of this terrible plague over them, it is no wonder that the 

 breeding of horses is neglected. The well-watered parts of 

 South Africa are admirably suited to this purpose ; not 

 alone as regards ordinary requirements, but even for racing, 

 if we may judge by the capable way such horses as Prose- 

 cutor, Goschen, Stockwell and others, have held their own 

 against imported thoroughbreds. 



' Horse sickness ' is a specific fever, the symptoms of 

 which more or less resemble those of anthrax, from which 

 it is entirely distinct in its nature. It runs a rapid course 

 and is always fatal. It is, I believe, peculiar to South Africa. 



Having to struggle against the want of water and the fre- 

 quent occurrence of horse sickness, it is greatly to the credit 

 of the farmers that they endeavour to improve the breed of 

 their horses as much as they do, by the importation of fresh 



