481 HISTOBT OF 



impair their beauty or their strength ; yet, in some places, they 

 are found of a very good size, and as large as the English saddle- 

 horses are generally found to be : they have all a thin head, a 

 fine crest, a narrow breast, small ears well placed, the legs fine, 

 the hoof hard, and the croup beautiful ; they are docile, spirited, 

 nimble, hardy, courageous, and capable of supporting very great 

 fatigue ; they run very swiftly, without being easily fatigued ; 

 they are strong, and easily nourished, being only supplied with 

 jarley and chopped straw ; they are put to grass only for six 

 weeks in the spring; they have always the tail at full length, 

 and there is no such thing as geldings among the number ; they 

 are defended from the air, as in England, by body-cloths ; they 

 attend them with the most punctual exactness ; and they are rid 

 generally in a snaffle, without spurs. Great numbers of these 

 are every year transported into Turkey, but chiefly into the 

 East Indies : however, after all, travellers agree that they are 

 not to be compared to the Arabian horses, either for courage, 

 force, or beauty ; and that the latter are eagerly sought, even in 

 Persia. 



The horses of India are of a very indifferent kind, being weak 

 and washy.* Those which are used by the grandees of the 

 country come from Persia and Arabia; they are fed with a 

 small quantity of hay during the day ; and at night they have 

 boiled peas, mixed with sugar and butter, instead of oats or bar- 

 ley : this nourishment supports them, and gives them strength ; 

 otherwise they would soon sink and degenerate. Those natu- 

 rally belonging to the country, are very small and vicious. Some 

 are so very little, that Taverner reports, that the young Mogul 

 prince, at the age of seven or eight, rode one of those little 

 horses, that was not much larger than a greyhound : and it is 

 not long since one of these was brought over into this country 

 as a present to our Queen, that measures no more than nine 



• The climate of India does not seem favourable to the horse. The breeds 

 which may be termed native, or such as have been in use from time iramemori- 

 bI, are weak and deg^enerate. It is found necessary, in order to keep up a good 

 !>l()ck, to have horses introduced from foreign countries. The breed called 

 the Tazee is, perhaps, of the older kind ; they are of a slight make, with long 

 liollow backa, tlieir limbs placed ill below them, and are weak, spiritless ani. 

 iiials, while they are extremely irritable and stubborn. The only redeeming 

 quality is the easiness of their paces, wliich, in a country where the heat is 

 oppressive, 15 matter of uo small consideration. 



