Chap. II. HORSES 1 THEIR VARIATION. 51 



CHAPTER II. 



HORSES AND ASSES. 



HORSE. — DIFFERENCES TS THE BREEDS — INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY OF — ■ 

 DIRECT EFFECTS OF THE CONDITIONS OF LIFE — CAN WITHSTAND MUCH COLD 

 — BREEDS MUCH MODIFIED BY SELECTION — COLOURS OF THE HORSE — ■ 



DAPPLING DARK STRIPES ON THE SPINE, LEGS, SHOULDERS, AND FOREHEAD 



— DUN-COLOURED HORSES MOST FREQUENTLY STRIPED — STRIPES PROBABLY 

 DUE TO REVERSION TO THE PRIMITIVE STATE OF THE HORSE. 



ASSES. — BREEDS OF — COLOUR OF — LEG- AND SHOULDER- STRIFES — SHOULDER- 

 STRIPES SOMETIMES ABSENT, SOMETIMES FORKED. 



The history of tlie Horse is lost in antiquity. Remains of 

 this animal in a domesticated condition have been found in 

 the Swiss lake-dwellings, belonging to the Neolithic period. 1 

 At the present time the number of breeds is great, as may be 

 seen by consulting any treatise on the Horse. 2 Looking 

 only to the native ponies of Great Britain, those of the 

 Shetland Isles, Wales, the New Forest, and Devonshire are 

 distinguishable ; and so it is, amongst other instances, with 

 each separate island in the great Malay archipelago. 3 Some 

 of the breeds present great differences in size, shape of ears, 

 length of mane, proportions of the body, form of the withers 

 and hind quarters, and especially in the head. Compare the 

 race-horse, dray-horse, and a Shetland pony in size, con- 

 figuration, and disposition ; and see how much greater the 

 difference is than between the seven or eight other living 

 species of the genus Equus. 



1 Riitimeyer, ' Fauna der Pfahl- island having at least one peculiar to 

 bauten,' 1861, s. 122. it." Thus in Sumatra there are at 



2 See Youatt on the Horse: J. least two breeds; in Achin and Batu- 

 Lawrence on the Horse, 1829 ; W. C. bara one ; in Java several breeds ; 

 L. Martin, ' History of the Horse/ one in Bali, Lomboc, Sumbawa (one 

 1845: Col. H. Smith, in 'Nat. of the best breeds), Tambora, Birna, 

 Library, Horses,' 184-1, vol. xii. : Gunung-api, Celebes, Sumba, and 

 Prof. Veith, ' Die naturgesch. Haus- Philippines. Other breeds are speci- 

 saugethiere,' 1856. fied by Zollinger in the 'Journal of 



3 Crawfurd, ' Deseript. Diet, of the Indian Archipelago,' vol. v. p. 343, 

 Indian Islands,' 1856, p. 153. "There &c. 



are many different breeds, every 



