SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



285 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Domestic Animals. — Horses, Mules, &c. 



Mexico possesses a fine breed of light, active, 

 spirited small horses, which are used for the 

 saddle only ; some are of great beauty and 

 well broken in, being extremely elegant in 

 their paces, and very sure-footed. The men 

 excel those of most countries in the art of 

 riding and managing these noble animals; 

 but the usage they receive is very different 

 from that in Europe — for they are scantily 

 fed, poorly lodged, and hardly treated. Their 

 principal food is chopped straw; the leaves 

 and stalks of the maize, or Indian corn ; and, 

 whilst working, the grain of the maize, and 



