tans were the ancestors of the modern 

 domesticated breeds, but the facihty with 

 which the Horse will resume its wild 

 state makes opinions of little value. 



The South American wild Horses, 

 called ''the wild Horse of the Pampas," 

 were all descended from a few domesti- 

 cated Horses left in the town oi Buenos 

 Ayres, which was abandoned some time 

 after the year 1535. These Horses are 

 called cimarrones. They roam in im- 

 mense herds and are considered a nuis- 

 ance, as they consume good pasturage 

 and also lead away the domestic Horses. 

 The mustangs of Paraguay, although 

 domestic Horses, vary little from the 

 conditions of the wild Horses of the 

 pampas, as they are much neglected, live 

 out of doors all the year around and 

 really degenerate for want of care. 



A. von Humboldt gives an interesting 

 description of the life of the Horse in the 

 Llanos, the great grassy plains lying fur- 

 ther to the north. When the never- 

 clouded sun turns the grass to dust, the 

 Horses and cattle roam about, pressed by 

 hunger and thirst, and by inflating their 

 nostrils endeavor to discover by the 

 damper air currents localities where the 

 water has not yet evaporated. 



The Mules, using more intelligence, 

 beat with their fore-feet the prickly ex- 

 terior of the melon cactus and quench 

 their thirst with the watery pulp. 



When finally the rainy season begins, 

 the Horses still meet with danger and 

 trouble, as the swelling rivers surround 

 their grazing places and the colts are 

 frequently drowned. Jaguars often lurk 

 in the tall grass and crocodiles are a con- 

 stant menace. Even among the fish there 

 are dangerous enemies. The electric eels 

 "can kill the largest animals by means of 

 their powerful discharges if their efforts 

 are concentrated upon certain portions of 

 the body." 



The Horses are often their own ene- 

 mies. Becoming frantic with terror, in 

 a frenzy of fright, they destroy them- 

 selves by dashing against rocks or rusli- 

 ing over precipices. 



There is much that is interesting in re- 

 gard to the half-wild Horses of North 

 America. These are all descendants of 

 imported varieties, and while owned by 

 tlic various ranchmen, they have the free- 



dom of the range or prairie. Ofter they 

 are seen by their owners only at the an- 

 nual ''round-up," when they are driven 

 into the "corrals" in order that the colts 

 may be marked with the brand of the 

 owner. 



One can spend much time studying the 

 instructive facts in regard to the interest- 

 ing wild and half-wild Horses of the 

 globe, and still feel that much remains 

 unlearned. Yet all will admit that the 

 most beautiful and perfect types of 

 Horses are those bred under the direct 

 supervision of man. 



Of those which attain the greatest 

 speed, most prominent are the English 

 thoroughbred, the American race horse,, 

 and the Trakehnen Horse, the finest 

 Horse of German breed. 



These are all the result of many years 

 of careful selection, each finding among 

 its ancestors the noted Arab steeds, 

 "praised as the noblest animal of crea- 

 tion by the naturalist, the expert and the 

 poet." The Horses of the Levant and 

 the Barbary have also aided to render the 

 English thoroughbred the greatest race 

 horse of the old world. The American 

 trotters have not been behind, for as far 

 back as 1889 the maximum recorded 

 pace was one mile in two minutes and 

 three and three-fourths seconds. 



For the practical uses of life there 

 seem to be as many breeds of Horses as 

 are necessary to meet the varying re- 

 quirements of an industrial civilization. 

 We find all kinds and sizes, from the 

 heavy and powerful Percheron or 

 Qydesdale cart Horse, standing some- 

 times over six feet in height, to the 

 smallest Shetland pony which may be 

 even less than three feet at the withers, 

 and we find Horses of various colors, of 

 various lengths of mane and tail, and 

 of varying degrees of intelligence. 



While all Horses are not well treated, 

 yet no animal is so respected and loved by 

 man and no other animal has become so 

 close a companion. While many nations 

 as a whole have loved and cherished their 

 Horses, the Arab steeds have been most 

 appreciated and have entered closest into 

 the daily life and thought of their mas- 

 ters. Only when it has attained its sev- 

 enth year do they consider the education 

 of the Horse complete and meanwhile it 



226 



