THE HORSE. 
XI 
HISTORY. 
more convex outline of the face. They more resemble the foal at the side of its dam than the more matured form of the Horse of 
Western Asia. They are very fleet, and patient of thirst and hunger. They have a high and graceful action, and present much 
of that peculiar motion which every one will understand who observes the movements of a foal, which, it is to be observed, is an 
exceedingly fleet animal in proportion to its strength and size. The race most characteristic of the African form is found in Nubia 
and the adjoining deserts. The district of Dongola, lying about 20° of north latitude, has been traversed by various travellers, 
and the horses have been described. They are mostly of a black colour, or black with white legs. They stand about sixteen 
hands high, and, contrary to the form of the Asiatic horse, their height is greater than their length from the neck backward. 
They are described by travellers as forming the most splendid cavalry in the world. Bruce, who was a skilful horseman, speaks 
of them with admiration, and states that they are docile and full of spirit. Bossman gives a similar testimony, extolling their 
beauty, their symmetry, and their docile and affectionate tempers. Some of them used to bring enormous prices at Cairo. They 
have now become common in that city, where they are to be seen ridden by persons who prefer their high and showy action to 
the more useful pace of the Arabian. There are several of them to be seen in the Pacha’s stables, where they are described by a 
recent traveller as having a soft look, and as not at all conveying the idea of endurance and useful action; and this perfectly ac¬ 
cords with the conclusion which we should draw from their external conformation. Yet it cannot but be regarded as remarkable, 
that a race of such tall and powerful horses should be produced in one of the most steril countries on the globe. The Arabian 
horse, in the same latitudes, scarce exceeds the size of a pony; which leads us to the conclusion that the African horse is distinct 
from the Asiatic, attaining his maximum of development, like the Negro race of mankind, under conditions of temperature and 
natural productions entirely different from those which favour the growth of the Asiatic species. How far this remarkable race 
of horses extends into the burning regions of the interior we are ignorant, on account of our imperfect knowledge of these countries. 
But we have reason to believe, from the notices of travellers, that the horses in the countries extending westward have the same 
character of lightness of body, and high and imposing action. Travellers who have visited Abyssinia, which, however, is a country 
of mountains, and therefore fitted to produce a smaller race of horses, speak of them as possessing the proud aspect and action of the 
horses of the Nubian deserts. Bruce describes a favourite black horse which he himself rode, and with whose action and demean¬ 
our he expresses himself charmed. It is probable that the horses of Africa, as we depart from this centre, deviate from the parent 
type. Passing through the boundless countries of the Ethiopians to the south, the Horse seems at length to disappear; and to¬ 
wards the countries of the coast of Guinea, which differ greatly in their character from the Nubian deserts, he appears to be dege¬ 
nerated. But we learn that horses exist in vast numbers throughout all the interior, from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Benin, 
and that they are everywhere used for the purposes of war, of pomp, and of racing. But the horses of Africa, with which we are 
most familiar in Europe, and which have been largely mixed in blood with the horses of Southern Europe, and even of England, 
are those which inhabit the countries of Africa, north of the desert of Zahara. They are termed Barbs, and they inhabit the 
kingdoms of Fez, Morocco, and all the countries eastward to the deserts of Lybia bordering on Egypt. 
The country of the Barbs approaching in its geographical situation to Europe, it may be supposed that the horses, like the 
human inhabitants, approach nearer in their characters to the European varieties. But this affinity has been increased by an ad¬ 
mixture of races from early times. First, by means of the Phoenician colonies ; second, by the long subjugation of the countries 
of the coast to the Republic and Empire of Rome; and thirdly, and far more extensively, by the conquests of the Arabs, who 
settled in great numbers in the country, and now form a large proportion of the inhabitants. Notwithstanding of this admixture, 
the character of the horses of Barbary indicates distinctly their African lineage. The are about fourteen and a half hands hioh 
O 
They are sufficiently deep at the girth, but tucked up in the belly, giving that peculiar greyhound aspect which is characteristic 
of this race. Their necks are long and well formed, their heads moderately fine, the chafron tending to the convex; their 
shoulders are oblique, and the withers thin and well raised. Their limbs, though long and delicate, are sinewy; their pasterns are 
oblique, and the feet well formed. They are gentle and full of spirit; they are somewhat careless in their paces, but distinguished 
by their graceful action. As compared with the Arabians, they are more swift, but less enduring, and their breeding and training- 
have not been attended to with the same care. The Moors, though admirable horsemen, are harsh to their horses, as compared 
with the Arabians and Western Asiatics. They use tremendous bits, and the sharp edges of their stirrups serve the purpose of 
spurs. These countries were of old inhabited by the Mauritanians, the Numidians, the Geetulians, and other nations of horsemen. 
The horses were known and valued for their fleetness before the Asiatic horse had found its way across the Syrian wastes, and a 
thousand years and more before the warlike soldiers of the Prophet had issued from their native deserts. In the ages of the 
Roman empire, they were carried to Italy to give swiftness to the horses employed in the sports of the circus. They were mixed 
largely in blood with the horses of Sicily and Spain ; and in a subsequent age they contributed to give its peculiar characters to 
the race-horse of England. The finest of the Barbary horses have been derived from the countries of the coast of Fez, Morocco, 
