excellent foals bids fair for tl\e future of the horse-breeding in these 

 localities. ' ' 



The general use of the horse-wagons and the management of the 

 team of six or eight neat geldings or stallions is a theme on which he 

 waxes eloquent. "All European art of driving is put in the shade 

 by the dexterity of the average colonial driver. In full trot or gal- 

 lop he holds complete command over the ropes and even misses every 

 stone or hole on the uneven way and this is the more astounding 

 since he never makes use of the assistance of the driver at his side 

 who wields a long whip. 



In this manner the sharpest corners are rounded with ease. I 

 myself have been driven by a bastard Hottentot in a wagon drawn 

 by fourteen fiery steeds under the very eyes of the Governor and 

 through the narrow streets of the camp on the banks of the Liesbeeks 

 River without the slightest hitch and in great style. Tliis skillful- 

 ness is so common that the people are surprised if any mention is 

 made of it at all. ' ' 



Burchell who travelled South Africa extensively twenty years 

 later corroborates these remarks of Lichtenstein."' This method of 

 travelling was very common up to the close of the last century. 



Lichtenstein speaking of horse-breeding before 1800 remarks 

 that no horses were bred for racing but that spirited young horses 

 and wagon teams were very common. Breeding for these purposes 

 then have been the aim of the average horse-breeder of the 18th 

 century. They certainly attained a very high standard. The 

 wagon team and all its outfit has gained the approbation and praise 

 of every foreign explorer and writer. These ideals were later over- 

 shadowed by breeding for racing and were taken up by the new re- 

 publics in the north that practically repeated and adopted the col- 

 onizing methods of the older colony. 



There are no fixed methods in the use of stallions during the 

 breeding season; very valuable stallions are continually kept at 

 stable, they are well cared for and are given all the exercise and 

 attention they merit and are used to their utmost in the breeding 

 season, often covering as many mares as they want to. Generally 

 the troop is rounded up and the stallion is let loose in a paddock 

 with half a dozen mares for the day. This method is assorted to 

 because the mares are generally unbroken and owing to their free 

 (5) Burchell "Travels in the Interior of South Africa 18W-$S." 



61 



