CHAPTER III. 



THE HORSE AS A RIDING MACHINE. 



Horses having been fashioned during countless ages by 

 their surroundings, are admirably fitted for a life in the 

 open, but they possess little natural aptitude for civilised 

 requirements. In fact, wild horses which have been un- 

 influenced by domesticity, are practically of no use to ride 

 or drive ; because their legs will not stand work, their tempers 

 are " unkind," they are poor weight carriers, they have bad 

 paces for saddle or harness, and they are wanting in vigour. 

 These remarks apply to even the semi-wild horses in the 

 Australian bush, and may be extended to Burchell's zebras, 

 which have been unsuccessfully tried for draught in South 

 Africa. I can say from personal experience, that both the 

 mountain and the Burchell zebra are unfit for saddle work. 

 The descendants of wild horses do not become capable of 

 serving our purposes until they have been subjected to careful 

 selection for many generations. Even then, the period during 

 which artificial influences have been at work, is far too short 

 for the production of any great change in conformation. 

 Although wild horses in a natural state of life, often roam 

 many miles during a day, they generally move at a slow pace 

 and with frequent halts, or at least, with several intervals 

 during which they walk. Horses on grass, whether they are 

 wild or tame, have but little inclination to " scour the distant 

 plains," and need corn to stimulate them to take voluntary 

 exercise, as we find with hunters and polo ponies that are 



