OEDEE OF PACHTDEEMATA. \So 



generally selected for this mode of breaking, as they give less 

 trouble than those that are aged, and, from their making a less 

 determined resistance, are not so subject to injuries tljat mature 

 into blemishes, or frequently cause unsoundness. 



The Horses running free in the plains of Asia may also be broken 

 in. Those which frequent the neighbourhood of the Caucasus are, 

 it is said, the descendants of some troopers which were abandoned 

 by Peter the Great during the siege of Azov, in consequence of a 

 deficiency of forage to maintain them. 



In addition to these races which have regained their primitive 

 liberty, there are some which form, so to speak, a link between the 

 wild Horse and those which are comi^letely tamed. Among these 

 are the Iceland Horses, which are allowed by their masters to feed 

 on the momitains in fuU liberty, and are caught only when they 

 are wanted. We may likewise mention the droves of Horses which 

 the Cossacks of the Don possess, and which graze in deserts of the 

 Ukraine ; also the Finland Horses, which pass the summer in 

 absolute independence, and in the winter return to their owners' 

 homes ; lastly, those of the Camargue, which live in full liberty, 

 among the fens and salt-marshes lying round the mouths of the 

 Rhone, from Aries to the sea. 



After this digi'ession as to the various races of wild or semi- wild 

 Horses, we must now give a portrait of the animal, although it is 

 doubtless perfectly well known to our readers, so as to bring more 

 clearly to view the beauty of its structure. In a passage which 

 is somewhat less knoAvn than the one we before quoted, BufFon 

 thus expresses himself : — 



" Among an the animals the Horse is the one which combines 

 with a considerable bidk the highest degree of perfection, of pro- 

 portion, and elegance in every part of his body ; for if we com- 

 pare the animals which come immediately above and below him, 

 we find that the Ass is iU made, the head of the Lion is too large, 

 the legs of the Ox are too clumsy and short for the size of its body, 

 the Camel is certainly deformed, and that the larger animals — such 

 as the Rhinoceros and the Elephant — are, so to speak, nothing but 

 shapeless masses. The regularity in his proportions give the Horse 

 an air of graceful lightness which is well maintained by the beauty 

 of his head and shoulders. In the carriage of his head he appears 

 to desire to rise above his condition of quadruped, and in this 



