There is in Nature a general prototype of every species, upon which each individual is mo- [344] delled, but which seems, in its actual production, to be depraved or improved by circumstances; so that, with regard to certain qualities, there appears to be an unaccountable variation in the succession of individuals, and, at the same time, an admirable uniformity in the entire species. The first animal, the first horse, for example, has been the external and internal model, upon which all the horses that have existed, or shall exist, have been formed. But this model, of which we know only copies, has had, in communicating and multiplying its form, the power of adulterating or of improving itself. The original impression is preserved in each individual. But, among millions of individuals, not one exactly resembles another, nor, of course, the model from which they sprung. This difference, which shows that Nature is not absolute, but knows how to vary her works by infinite shades, is equally conspicuous in the human species, in all animals, and in all vegetables. What is singular, this model of the beautiful and the excellent, seems to be dispersed over every region of the earth, a portion of which resides in all climates, and always degenerates, unless united with another portion brought from a distance. In order, therefore, to obtain good grain, beautiful flowers, &c. the seeds must be changed, and never sown in the same soil that produced them. In the same manner, to have fine horses, dogs, &c. the males and females of different [345] countries must have reciprocal intercourse. Without this precaution, all grain, flowers, and animals degenerate, or rather receive an impression from the climate so strong as to deform and adulterate the species. This impression remains; but it is disfigured by every feature that is not essential. By mixing races, on the contrary, or by crossing the breed of different climates, beauty of form, and every other useful quality, are brought to perfection; Nature recovers her spring, and exhibits her best productions.
I mean not to enter into a detail of the causes of these effects; but shall confine myself to such conjectures as most readily present themselves. We know by experience, that animals or vegetables, transported from distant climates, often degenerate, and sometimes come to perfection, in a few generations. This effect, it is obvious, is produced by the difference of climate and of food. The operation of these two causes must, in process of time, render such animals exempt from, or susceptible of certain affection, or certain diseases. Their temperament must suffer a gradual change. Of course, their form, which partly depends on food and the qualities of the humours, must also, in the course of generations, suffer an alteration. This change, it is true, is hardly perceptible in the first generation; because the male and female, which we supposed to be the origin of this race, being fully grown, had received their form and structure before they [346] were transported. The new climate and new food may change their temperament; but cannot have influence upon the solid and organic parts sufficient to alter their form. The first generation of these animals, therefore, will not suffer any change in their figure; nor, at the instant of birth, will the stock be vitiated or depraved. But the young and tender stranger will feel a much stronger impression from the climate than its father or mother experienced. The operation of food will likewise be so great as to influence the organic parts during the time of the animal’s growth: A change will, of course, be introduced into its form; the seeds of imperfection will be sown, and appear, in a sensible manner, in the second generation, which will not only labour under its own proper defects, or those proceeding from its growth and nourishment, but inherit all the vices of the second stock. Lastly, the imperfections and deformities transmitted to the third generation, being combined with the influence of the climate and food during the growth of the animal, will become so great as to obliterate entirely the characters of the original stock. Hence, in a few generations, animals transported into a climate different from their own, lose all their distinctive qualities, and acquire those peculiar to the country they are obliged to inhabit. In France, Spanish or Barbary horses, when the breed is not crossed, become French horses sometimes in the second ge- [347] neration, and always in the third. Instead of preserving the breed distinct, therefore, it is necessary to cross it every generation, by admitting Spanish or Barbary horses to the mares of the country. It is singular, that this renewing of the race, which is only partial, produces better effects than if it were complete. A Spanish horse and mare will not produce such fine horses in France, as those bred from a Spanish horse and a French mare. This may easily be conceived, if we attend to the compensation of defects which necessarily happens, when males and females of different countries are allowed to intermix. Every climate, by its influence, joined to that of the food, gives a certain conformation of parts, which errs either by excess or defect. When a warm climate produces redundancies in particular parts, a cold climate gives rise to deficiencies in the same parts: Hence, when animals of opposite climates intermix, an exact compensation is effected. As the most perfect work of nature is that in which there are fewest defects, and as the most perfect forms are those which have fewest deformities, the production of two animals, whose faults exactly compensate each other, will be the most perfect of the kind. Now, this compensation being always completest, when animals of remote, or rather of opposite climates are joined, the compound resulting from the mixture is more or less perfect, in proportion as the excess or defects in the constitution of [348] the father are opposed to those peculiar to the mother.
To have good horses, therefore, in the temperate climate of France, stallions should be brought from the warmest or the coldest countries. The Arabian or Barbary horses ought to have the preference; and, after them, those of Spain and of Naples. With regard to cold climates, the horses of Denmark should be preferred, and next to them, those of Holstein and Friesland. All these stallions, when admitted to French mares, will produce very fine horses; and they will always be better and more beautiful, in proportion as the climate is more remote from that of France; so that the Arabian horse is preferable to the Barb, and the Barb to the Spanish. In the same manner, stallions brought from Denmark will produce finer horses than those brought from Friesland. When stallions from very warm or very cold countries cannot be procured, they should be brought from England or Germany, or even from the southern provinces of France to the northern. Some advantage is always obtained by serving mares with strange horses; for, when those of the same race, and in the same stud, are allowed to intermix, they infallibly degenerate in a very short time.
The influence of climate and of food upon the human species, is not so great as upon other animals. The reason is obvious. Man defends himself better than any other animal from the [349] intemperance of the climate. He accommodates his lodging and his cloaths to the nature of the season. His food is more various, and, consequently, does not operate in the same manner upon every individual. The defects or redundancies which proceed from these two causes, and which are so constant and so perceptible in the animals, are by no means equally conspicuous in man. As migrations have often happened, as whole nations have intermixed, and as many men travel and disperse themselves through every quarter of the globe, it is not surprising that the human race are less subject to the influence of climate, and that strong, handsome, and even ingenious men, are to be found in every country. It is probable, however, that, from an experience, of which all remembrance is now lost, men had discovered the evils that result from alliances of the same blood; for, even among the most unpolished nations, a brother has rarely been permitted to marry his sister. This custom, which, among Christians, is a divine law, and which is observed by other people from political motives, may have originally been founded on observation. Policy, unless when derived from physical consideration, never extends in a manner so general and so absolute. But, if men once discovered by experience that their race degenerated, when intercourse was permitted among children of the same family, they would soon regard the alliances of different [350] families, as a law established by Nature. In a word, we may presume from analogy, that, in most climates, men, like other animals, would degenerate after a certain number of generations.
The variety in the colour of animals is another effect to be ascribed to the influence of climate and food. Wild animals which live in the same climate, are of the same colour, varying only in brightness or deepness, according to the seasons of the year. Those, on the contrary, which live under different climates, differ likewise in colour; and domestic animals are so prodigiously varied, that we have horses, dogs, cats, &c. of every kind of colour. But the stag, the hare, &c. are uniformly of the same colour. The injuries received from the climate, which are always the same, and the constant eating of the same food, produce this uniformity in the wild animals. The care of man, the luxury of shelter, and the variety of nourishment, efface and variegate the original colours in domestic animals. The mixture of foreign races, especially when the males and females are not of the same colour, produce the same effect, and sometimes give rise to beautiful varieties, as the pied horses, in which the white and black are often disposed in a manner so fanciful, as to seem to be rather the operation of art than of nature.
In coupling horses, regard should be had to the stature and the colour: The figures should [351] be contrasted, and the breed crossed by stallions from the most opposite climates. Horses and mares brought up in the same stud should never be allowed to intermix. These are essential requisites. But there are other circumstances which ought not to be neglected. For example, in a stud, no mares, with short tails, should be kept; because, being unable to defend themselves from the flies, they are perpetually tormented. The continual agitation occasioned by the stinging of these insects, diminishes the quantity of milk, which has so great an influence on the constitution and stature of the foal, that its vigour is always proportioned to the goodness of its nurse. Brood-mares should be chosen from those which have been always pastured, and never fatigued with labour. Mares which have been long nourished in a stable with dry food, and afterwards turned out to grass, conceive not at first. Time is necessary to accustom them to this new kind of nourishment.
The common season of mares is from the beginning of April to the end of June; but the ardour of some not unfrequently appears at a more early period. An ardour so premature should be repressed; because the foal would be brought forth in cold weather, and, consequently, suffer both from the intemperance of the season, and from bad milk. If this ardour appears not till after the month of June, it should likewise be repressed; because the foal would be [352] produced in summer, and would not acquire strength enough to resist the rigours of winter.
Instead of conducting the stallion to the mare, it is not uncommon to allow him to go loose in the parks, where the mares are feeding, and to single out such as are in season. By this method the mares conceive more readily. But it injures the stallion more in six weeks, than he would be by six years exercise, moderated and conducted in the manner above directed.
When the impregnated mares begin to grow heavy, they should be separated from those which are not in that condition, to prevent them from receiving any injury. Their period of gestation is generally eleven months and some days. They bring in a standing posture, while almost all other quadrupeds lie down. When the delivery is difficult, they require the assistance of man; and, when the foal is dead, it is extracted with cords. As in most animals, the colt first presents its head. In escaping from the uterus, it breaks the membranes, and the waters flow abundantly. The waters are accompanied with several solid masses, formed by the sediment of the liquor of the allantoides [sic]. Those masses, called hippomanes by the antients, are not, as they supposed, pieces of flesh attached to the head of the foal. They are, on the contrary, separated from the foal by the amnios. Immediately after birth, the mare licks the foal: But she never touches [353] the hippomanes, though the antients assert that she instantly devours it.
It is useful to cover a mare nine days after she has foaled, that no time may be lost, and that every possible profit may be derived from the stud. It is certain, however, that her strength being divided, she is unable to nourish both a foal and a foetus so successfully as if she had but one at a time. To procure excellent horses, therefore, the mares should be covered but once in two years, which would make them live longer, and hold more surely; for, in ordinary studs, it is well if a half or two thirds bring forth in a year.
Mares though impregnated, can suffer to be covered; and yet there are no instances of superfoetation. In general, they are capable of producing to the age of 14 or 15 years, and the most vigorous produce not after 18. Stallions, when properly managed, retain their prolific powers to the age of 20 years, and sometimes longer: And, as in man, those which began too early are soonest extinguished; for the large horses, which come sooner to maturity than fine ones, and are employed as stallions at the age of four years, are commonly useless at 15.
The life of horses, as in every other species of animals, is proportioned to the time of their growth. Man, who grows 14 years, can live six or seven times as long, i.e. 90 or 100. The horse, whose growth is accomplished in four [354] years, can live six or seven times as much, i.e. 25 or 30. The exceptions to this rule are so few, that no conclusions can be drawn from them: And, as the large horses come sooner to maturity than the delicate ones, their lives are likewise shorter, and they are superannuated in 15 years.
In horses, and most other quadrupeds, the growth of the posterior parts seems at first to be greater than that of the anterior. But, in man, the growth of the inferior parts is at first less than that of the superior: For the thighs and legs of infants are, in proportion to their bodies, much less than those of adults. The hinder legs of the foal, on the contrary, are so long that they can reach his head, which is by no means the case after he acquires his full growth. But this difference proceeds not so much from the inequality in the total growth of the anterior and posterior parts, as from the unequal lengths of the fore and hind feet, which uniformly holds through all nature, and is most remarkable in quadrupeds. Man’s feet are larger, and likewise sooner formed, than his hands. The greatest part of the horse’s hind leg is only a foot, being composed of bones corresponding to the tarsus, metatarsus, &c. It is not, therefore, surprising, that this foot should be sooner expanded than the fore-leg, the inferior part of which represents the hand, being composed of the bones of the carpus, metacarpus, &c. This difference [355] is easily perceived immediately after a foal is brought forth. The fore-legs, when compared with the hind ones, are proportionably [sic] much shorter than they are to be afterwards. Besides, the thickness which the body acquires, though independent of the proportional growth in length, increases the distance between the hind-feet and the head, and, consequently, prevents the animal, when full grown, from reaching it.
In all animals, each species varies according to the climates; and the general results of these varieties constitute different races. Of these we can only distinguish the most remarkable, or those that sensibly differ from each other, passing over the intermediate shades, which here, as in all the operations of nature, are infinite. We have even augmented their mumber [sic] and confusion by cherishing the mixture of races. If the expression may be used, we have dealt roughly with nature by bringing into our climates the horses of Asia and of Africa. By introducing into France the horses of every country, the primitive race cannot now be recognised; so that, to distinguish horses, there remains only a few slight characters produced by the actual influence of the climate. These characters would be still better marked, and the differences more sensible, if the races of each climate were preserved without mixture. These small varieties would be more apparent, and less numerous. [356] But there would be a certain number of great varieties, which every man could distinguish with ease. Instead of which, habit, and even long experience, are necessary to enable us to know the horses of different countries. On this subject we have no light but what is derived from the books of travellers, the works of Newcastle, Garsault, Guerineire, &c. and some remarks communicated to us by M. de Pignerolles, master of horse to the King of France, and president of the academy of Angers.
The Arabian horses are the most beautiful. They are larger, more fleshy, and handsomer than the Barbs. But, as they are seldom brought into France, few observations have been made with regard to their perfection or defects.
Barbary horses are more common. They have a long, fine neck, not overcharged with hair, and well divided from the withers. The head is small and beautiful. The ears are handsome and properly placed. The shoulders are light and flat. The withers are thin and well raised. The back is straight and short. The flank and sides are round, and the belly not too large. The haunch-bones are properly concealed; the crupper is somewhat long, and the tail placed rather high. The thigh is well formed, and rarely flat. The limbs are fine, handsome, and not hairy. The tendon is prominent, and the foot well made; but the pastern is often long. They are of all colours, but generally grayish. In their movements, they [357] are apt to be careless, and require to be checked. They are swift, nervous, light, and make extremely fine hunters. These horses appear to be the most proper for improving the breed. Their stature, however, is not so large as could be wished. They are seldom above four feet eight inches,* and never exceed four feet nine. It is confirmed by repeated experience, that, in France, England, &c. they produce foals which grow larger than their parents. Of the Barbary horses, those of the kingdom of Morocco are said to be the best, and next to these are the Barbs from the mountains. The horses of Mauritania are of an inferior quality, as well as those of Turkey, Persia, and Armenia. All the horses of warm climates have smoother and shorter hair than those of other countries. The Turkish horses are not so well proportioned as the Barbs. Their necks are generally slender, their bodies long, and their legs too thin. They are, however, excellent travellers, and have a long wind. It will not be thought surprising, that the bones of animals are harder in warm than in cold climates. It is for this reason, that, though they have thinner shank bones than the horses of this country, their limbs are stronger.
The Spanish horses, which hold the second rank after the Barbs, have a long, thick, hairy neck. The head is rather gross and fleshy. The ears are [358] long, but well situated. The eyes are full of fire, and their air is bold and noble. The shoulders are thick and the chest broad. The reins are often a little low, the sides round, and the belly frequently too big. The crupper is generally round and large, though is some it is somewhat long. The limbs are fine and not hairy; the tendons in the legs are prominent; the pastern is sometimes too long, like that of the Barb; the foot is rather long, like that of the mule; and the heel is often too high. The Spanish horses of the best race are thick, plump, and of a low stature. Their movements are likewise quick and supple; and they are remarkable for spirit and boldness. Their colour is commonly black, or a dark chesnut [sic], though they are to be found of all colours. Their noses and limbs are seldom white. These marks are disliked by the Spaniards, who never breed from those which have them. Their favourite mark is a star in the fore-head; and they esteem a horse without a single spot, as much as we despise him. Both of these prejudices, though opposite to each other, are perhaps equally ill founded; for we find excellent horses with all kinds of marks, or with no marks whatever. These little differences in the coats of horses, seem to have no dependence on their dispositions or internal constitution; but take their rise from external circumstances;* for a slight [359] wound on the skin produces a white spot. Besides, Spanish horses, of whatever kind, are all marked in the thigh, with the mark of the stud from which they were taken. They are generally of a small stature, though some of them are four feet nine or ten inches.* Those of Upper Andalusia are said to be the best, though their heads be often too long. But their other rare and excellent qualities make this fault be overlooked. They are obedient, couragious [sic] graceful, spirited, and more docile than the Barbs. For those talents they are preferred to all the horses of the world, for the purposes of war, of pomp, or of the manage [sic].
The finest English horses, in their conformation, resemble those of Arabia and Barbary, from which they originally sprung. Their heads, however, are too large, though handsome; and their ears are too long, but well situated. By the ears alone, an English horse may be distinguished from a Barb. But the great difference lies in their stature; for the English horses are much larger and plumper, being commonly four feet ten, and even five feet high.+ They are of all colours, and distinguished by every sort of [360] mark. They are generally strong, vigorous, hardy, capable of enduring much fatigue, and excellent either for hunting or the course. But they want grace and docility; they are stiff, and have little play in their shoulders.
The English race-horses are extremely fleet, and are managed with great dexterity by their riders. I cannot give a better example than by relating the substance of a letter I received from a respectable nobleman,* dated London, 18 Feb. 1748. Mr Thornhill, post-master of Stilton, laid a bet, that he would ride three times the road from Stilton to London, or 215 English miles, in 15 hours. He set out from Stilton on the 29th day of April 1745, and, after mounting eight different horses on the road, arrived at London in three hours fifty-one minutes. He instantly set off from London, and, having mounted only six horses, he reached Stilton in three hours fifty-two minutes. For the third course, he used seven of the same horses, and finished it in three hours forty-nine minutes. So that he not only gained his bet, but, instead of fifteen hours, he had performed what he had undertaken in eleven hours thirty-two minutes. I suspect that no example of such fleetness was ever exhibited at the Olympic games.
The Italian horses were formerly much handsomer than they are now; because, for some time past, the breed has been neglected. However, the Neapolitan horses are still excellent for [361] carriages. But, in general, they have large heads and thick necks; they are also untractable, and, of course, not easily managed. These defects are compensated by the stateliness of their form, by their high spirit, and by the gracefulness of the motions.
The Danish horses, both on account of size and beauty, are preferred to all others for carriages. Some of them are perfect models; but their number is small: For most of them are not very regularly formed, having thick necks, gross shoulders, backs too long and too low, and cruppers too narrow in proportion to the thickness of their fore-parts. But they are all graceful in their movements; and, in general, they are excellent for war and for pomp. They are of all colours; and the tiger-spotted horses are peculiar to Denmark.
Germany produces very fine horses: But, though generally bred from Barbary, Turkish, Spanish, and Italian horses, most of them are heavy and short-winded; and therefore ill qualified for hunting or coursing. The horses of Hungary and Transylvania, on the contrary, are light and nimble. To prevent their neighing in time of war, and also, it is said, to improve their wind, the Hungarians slit the nostrils of their horses. I have never had an opportunity of ascertaining the fact, that horses, whose nostrils are slit, lose the power of neighing. But I should rather imagine, that this operation only [362] renders their neighing more feeble. It is remarked of the Hungarian, Croatian, and Polish horses, that they are noted for retaining what is called the mark in their teeth till they be very old.
The Dutch horses answer very well for drawing coaches, and are commonly used in France for that purpose. The best kind are brought from the province of Friesland: Those of Bergue and Juliers are also very good. The Flemish horses are much inferior to the Dutch. Almost the whole of them have large heads, and broad feet; and their legs are subject to humours. These two last faults render them very unfit for carriages.
In France there are horses of all kinds; but few of them are handsome. The best saddle-horses are brought from the Limosin. They resemble the Barbs, and are excellent for the chace. But they grow very slowly, require much care when young, and must not be used till they arrive at the age of eight years. There are likewise good poinies in Auvergne, Poitou, and Burgundy. But, next to the Limosin, Normandy furnishes the finest horses. They are not so good for the chace; but they make better war-horses. They are plump, and soon acquire their full growth. Good coach-horses, lighter and more alert than those of Holland, are bred in Lower Normandy and Cotentin. Franche-Comté and the Boulonnois furnish us [363] with very good draught-horses. In general, the French horses have their shoulders too wide, while those of the Barb are too narrow.
Having described those horses with which we are best acquainted, we shall now give the relations of travellers concerning foreign horses, of which we have little knowledge. There are good horses in all the islands of the Archipelago. Among the antients, the horses of Crete were in high estimation for agility and swiftness.* However, horses are now little used in that island, on account of the ruggedness of the country, which is every where mountainous, and full of inequalities. The best horses in these islands, and even in Barbary, are of the Arabian race. The native horses of the kingdom of Morocco are much smaller than those of Arabia, but very nimble and vigorous.+ Mr Shaw alledges,3 that the breed of Egypt and of Tingitania is superior to those of the neighbouring countries; and yet, more than a century ago, excellent horses were found throughout all Barbary: These Barbary horses, he says, never stumble; and they stand still when the rider dismounts, or drops the bridle. They walk very fast, and gallop with great rapidity; but they are never allowed to trot or amble, these movements being considered by the natives as rude [364] and vulgar. He adds, that the Egyptian horses are superior to all others both in stature and in beauty. But these Egyptian, as well as most of the horses of Barbary, sprung originally from the Arabians, which are unquestionably the handsomest horses in the world.
According to Marmol,* or rather Leo Africanus,+ whom Marmol has copied almost verbatim, the Arabian horses are descended from the wild horses in the deserts of Arabia, of which studs were formed very antiently, and which multiplied so greatly, as to spread overall all Asia and Africa. They are so swift as to out-run the ostrich. The Arabs of the desert and the people of Lybia [sic] rear numbers of these horses for the chace. They never use them either in war, or for travelling. They pasture them as long as the grass remains, and, when it fails, they feed them with dates and camel’s milk, which make them nervous, light, and meagre. They catch the wild horses in snares, and, when young, they eat their flesh, which they esteem to be very delicate. These wild horses are small, and commonly of an ash-colour, though some of them are white; and the hair of the mane and tail is short and crisped. Curious relations, concerning the Arabian horses, are given by other travellers,3 of which I shall only mention some of the principal facts. [365]
There is not an Arabian, however poor, who has not his horses. They generally ride upon mares, having learned from experience, that mares endure fatigue, hunger, and thirst, better than horses. These mares are so gentle, that, though numbers of them are often left together for whole days, they never strike or do each other the smallest injury. The Turks, on the contrary, are not fond of mares; but they purchase from the Arabs those horses which they intend not to use as stallions. The Arabs preserve with great care, and for an amazing length of time, the races of their horses. They know all their alliances and genealogies;* and they di- [366] stinguish their races into three different classes. The first, which are of a pure and antient race on both sides, they call Nobles; the second are likewise of an antient race, but have been degraded by vulgar alliances; and the third class consists of their common horses. The latter sell at a low price. But those of the first class, and even of the second, among which some individuals are not inferior to the nobles, are excessively dear. Mares of the noble class are never permitted to be covered but by horses of the same quality. The Arabs, by long experience, know all the races of their horses, as well as those of their neighbours. They know their [367] names, surnames, colours, peculiar marks, &c. When a family have no noble stallions, they borrow one of a neighbour to cover their mares, which is performed in presence of witnesses, who give an attestation of it, signed and sealed, before the secretary of the Emir, or some other public person. This attestation contains the names of the horse and mare, and a complete history of their pedigrees. When the mare has foaled, witnesses are again called, and another attestation is made, including a description of the foal, and the day of its birth. These attestations enhance the value of their horses, and they are always delivered to the purchasers. The smallest mares of this first class are worth 500 crowns; and many of them sell at a 1000 crowns; and even higher prices are sometimes given. As the Arabs live in tents, these tents serve them likewise for stables. The mare and her foal, the husband and his wife and children, sleep together promiscuously. The infants often lie on the body, or on the neck of the mare or foal, without receiving any injury from these animals, which seem afraid to move, for fear of hurting them. These mares are so accustomed to society, that they submit to every kind of familiarity. The Arabs never beat their mares; but treat them gently, and talk and reason with them. They are so careful of them as to allow them always to walk, and never spur them, unless the occasion be very urgent. Hence, when- [368] ever the creatures perceive the rider’s heel make an approach to their sides, they instantly set off with incredible swiftness, and leap hedges and ditches as nimbly as stags. If their riders chances to fall, they are so well trained, that they stop short, even in the most rapid gallop. All the Arabian horses are of a middle stature, very easy in their carriage, and rather meagre than fat. They are dressed every morning and evening with so much care, that not a spot of dirt is left on their skin, and their legs, mane, and tail, are washed. Their tails are allowed to grow long; and the comb is seldom used, to prevent the hair from being broken. During the day, they are not permitted to eat; but are watered twice or thrice. At sun-set, a bag, containing about half a bushel of barley, is passed over their heads, and fastened to the neck. This bag is not removed till next morning, when the barley is entirely consumed. In the month of March, when the grass is good, they are turned out to pasture. This is also the season in which the mares are covered; and, on these occasions, water is employed in the same manner as in other countries. After the spring is past, the horses are taken from the pasture; and, during the rest of the year, they are allowed neither grass nor hay, and rarely straw, barely being their only food. At the age of a year or ten months, the Arabians cut the manes of their foals, with a view to make them grow long and [369] bushy. When two years, or two years and a half old, they are mounted, having never, before that period, been either saddled or bridled. Every day, from morning to night, all the Arabian horses stand saddled at the tent-doors.
This race of horses is spread over all Barbary; and the great men among the Moors, and even among the Negroes along the Gambia and Senegal, have Arabian horses of great beauty. Instead of barley or oats, they are fed with maize, reduced to a powder, which is mixed with milk, when they require to be fattened. In this warm climate, they are allowed little water.* On the other hand, the Arabian horses are dispersed over Egypt, Turkey, and, perhaps, Persia, where very considerable studs were formerly kept. Marc Paul+ mentioned one of these studs which contained ten thousand white mares; and he says, that, in the Province of Balascia, there is a vast number of large nimble horses, with hoofs so hard as to require no shoes.
The Levant horses, like those of Persia and Arabia, have very hard hoofs: They are shoed, however; but with shoes extremely light and thin. In Turkey, Persia, and Arabia, the same manner of feeding and dressing horses is observed. Their litter is made of their own dung, which is first dried in the sun, to remove [370] the disagreeable smell, and then reduced into a powder. Of this a bed is laid in the stable or tent, about four or five inches thick. This litter lasts very long; for, after being soiled, it is dried a second time in the sun, which clears it entirely from its offensive odour.
In Turkey there are Arabian, Tartarian, and Hungarian horses, beside the native horses of that country, which last are exceedingly handsome,* swift, and spirited. But they are delicate, and soon fatigued. They eat little, are easily heated, and their skin is so sensible, that they are unable to bear the friction of a comb; in place of which, they are brushed, and washed with water. These horses, though beautiful, are inferior to the Arabians, and even to those of Persia; the latter, next to the Arabians,+ being the handsomest and best horses of the East. The pasture in the plains of Media, of Persepolis, of Ardebil, and of Derbent, is extremely fine; and a prodigious quantity of horses, most of which are beautiful and excellent, are raised there by order of government. Pietro della Valle3 prefers the common horses of Persia to the finest Neapolitan horses. They are generally of a middle stature;4 and some of them are very small, but [371] strong and active;* while others exceed the size of the English saddle-horses.+ They have light heads, and fine necks. Their ears are handsome and well situated. They have slender legs, fine cruppers, and hard hoofs. They are docile, spirited, bold, and capable of during great fatigue. They are extremely swift, and never stumble. They are robust, and so easily nourished, that their only food is barley mixed with cut straw; and they are grazed during six weeks of the spring only. Their tails are allowed to grow long; and they are never gelded. Coverings are used to defend them from the injuries of the weather. Peculiar care and attention are bestowed upon them; and they are managed by a simple bridle, without employing the spur. Great numbers of them are transported to Turkey and the Indies. Those travellers, who bestow so much praise upon the Persian horses, allow, however, that the Arabians are superior in agility, courage, strength, and beauty; and that they are more valued, even in Persia, than the horses of that country.
The horses which are bred in the Indies are very indifferent.3 Those used by the great men of the country are brought from Persia and A- [372] rabia. They are fed with hay during the day; and, at night, in place of barley and oats, they get pease [sic] boiled with sugar and butter. This nourishing diet supports them, and gives them some degree of strength; without it, they would soon perish, the climate not being adapted to their constitution. The native horses of India are very small. Some of them are so exceedingly diminutive, that, Tavernier informs us, the young Prince of Mogul, aged about seven or eight years, generally rode on a handsome little creature, whose stature exceeded not that of a large grayhound [sic].* Very warm climates, it would appear, are destructive to horses. Those of the Gold Coast, of Juida, of Guiney, &c. are likewise extremely bad. They carry their head and neck very low. Their movements are so feeble and tottering, that one is apt to imagine they are always ready to fall. If not continually beat, they would not stir a limb; and the greatest part of them are so short, that the feet of the rider almost touch the ground.+ They are, besides, very unattractable, and fit only to be eaten by the Negroes, who are equally fond of horses flesh as that of dogs.3 This appetite for horses flesh is common to the Negroes and Arabians, and discovers itself in Tartary, and even [373] in China.* The Chinese horses are as bad as those of India, being feeble, sluggish, ill made, and very small:+ Those of Corea exceed not three feet in height.3 Almost all the horses of China are gelded; and they are so timid, that they cannot be used in war. It may, indeed, be affirmed, that the Tartarian horses made the conquest of China. The horses of Tartary are very proper for the purposes of war. Though not of the largest size, they are strong, vigorous, bold, fiery, and extremely swift. Their hoofs are hard, but too narrow; their heads are light, but too small; their necks are long and stiff; and their limbs are too long. Notwithstanding these faults, they may be regarded as good horses; for they are indefatigable, and run with amazing rapidity. The Tartars, like the Arabians, live with their horses. At the age of seven or eight months, they are mounted by children, who walk and gallop them by turns. In this manner they are gradually trained; and they are accustomed to suffer long abstinence. But they are not mounted for hunting or travelling, till they arrive at six or seven years of age, when they are [374] obliged to undergo the most incredible fatigues;* as walking two or three days without stopping; receiving, for four or five days on end, only a handful of herbage every eight hours; and, at the same time, kept from drinking for 24 hours, &c. These horses, which are so robust in their own country, become feeble and useless when transported to China or the Indies: But they thrive very well in Persia and Turkey. In Little Tartary, there is a race of small horses, or which the natives are so fond, that they never permit them to be sold to strangers. They possess all the good and bad qualities peculiar to the horses of Great Tartary; which demonstrates, that the influence of the same manners and education create, in these animals, the same dispositions and temperament. In Circassia and Mingrelia, there are many horses still handsomer than those of Tartary. Fine horses are also to be found in the Ukraine, in Walachia, in Poland, and in Sweden. But we have no particular information concerning their excellencies or defects.
If we consult the antients as to the qualities of horses in different countries, we shall find,+ that the Greek horses, and especially those of Thessaly and Epirus, were in high estimation, and were excellent for the purposes of war; [375] that those of Achaia were the largest then known; that the handsomest came from Egypt, where they were very numerous, and where Solomon sent to purchase them at a very high price; that, in Ethiopia, on account of the great heat of the climate, the horses did not thrive; that Arabia and Africa furnished the handsomest, lightest, and best horses, either for travelling or for the course; that those of Italy, and particulary [sic], of Apulia, were likewise very good; that Sicily, Cappadocia, Syria, Armenia, Media, and Persia, produced excellent horses, which were remarkable for lightness and fleetness; that those of Sardinia and Corsica were small, but bold and vivacious; that the horses of Spain resembled those of Parthia, and excelled in war; that, in Transylvania and Walachia, there were swift horses, with light heads, long manes which hang down to the ground, and bushy tails; that the Danish horses were handsome, and fine leapers; that those of Scandinavia were small, but well-formed, and very agile; that the horses of Flanders were remarkable for strength; that the Gauls furnished the Romans with good horses for the purposes of riding and carrying burdens; that the German horses were ill-formed, and so vicious, that no use was made of them; that the horses of Switzerland were numerous, and good for war; that those of Hungary were also very good; and, lastly, that the Indian horses were small and very feeble. [376]
From all these facts, it is apparent, that the Arabian horses have always been, and still are, the best horses of the world, both for beauty and goodness; that from them, either directly, or by the mediation of the Barbs, are derived the finest horses in Europe, in Africa, and in Asia; that Arabia is, perhaps, not only the original climate of horses, but the best suited to their constitution; since, instead of crossing the breed by foreign horses, the natives anxiously preserve the purity of their own race; that, at least, if Arabia be not the best climate for horses, the Arabs have produced the same effect, by the scrupulous and perpetual attention they have paid towards ennobling the race, and never permitting individuals to mix which were not the most handsome, and of the finest quality; and that, by the same attention, continued for ages, they have improved the species far beyond what Nature would have performed in the most favourable climate. It may still farther be concluded, that climates rather warm than cold, and above all, dry countries, are best adapted to the nature of horses; that, in general, the small are better than the large horses; that care is equally necessary to them as food; that, by familiarity and caresses, we procure more advantage from them, than by force and chastisement; that the horses of warm countries have their bones, hoofs, and muscles, more firm and compact than those of our climates; that, though heat is more con- [377] formable to the nature of these animals than cold, yet excessive heat is exceedingly hurtful to them; that excessive cold is not less injurious; and, in fine, that their constitution and dispositions depend almost entirely upon climate, food, care, and education.
The practice of gelding horses, so generally diffused over Europe and China, is unknown in Persia, Arabia, and many other parts of the east. This operation greatly diminishes their strength, courage, sprightliness, &c., but it endows them with gentleness, tranquility, and docility. In performing it, the animal is thrown on his back, by means of ropes fixed to his legs; the scrotum is opened with a sharp knife; and the testes, with their vessels, and the ligaments which support them, are removed. The wound is then closed up; and the patient bathed twice a day with cold water. His food, during this period, consists of bran drenched in water, with a view to cool him. The operation should be performed in spring or autumn, much heat, or much cold, being equally dangerous. With regard to the age at which it should be executed, the practice differs in different places. In certain provinces of France, horses are gelded at the age of a year or eighteen months, or as soon as the testes are very apparent without the body. But the most general and most rational custom is to delay the operation till the age of two or three years; because, when protracted this long, the [378] animal retains more of the qualities peculiar to the male sex. Pliny says, that, if a horse be gelded before he loses his milk-teeth, they never shed. But I know, from repeated observation, that this remark is false. The antients, it is probable, were led into this error, by an analogy drawn from the stag, roe-buck, &c.; for the horns of these animals never fall off after castration. Geldings lose the power of impregnating; but there are many examples of their being still able to copulate.
Horses of all colours, like most animals covered with hair, moult [sic] or cast their hair every year, commonly in the spring, and sometimes in autumn. As they are then weaker than at any other period, they require more care, and should be plentifully fed. Some horses likewise cast their hoofs, especially in moist and marshy countries, as in Holland.*
Mares and geldings neigh less frequently than perfect horses. Their voices are also neither so full nor so deep. In horses of every kind, five different species of neighing, expressive of different passions, may be distinguished. In the neigh proceeding from joy, the voice is long and protracted, and begins and terminates with sharp sounds: The horse, at the same time, flings, but without any inclination to strike. In the [379] neigh of desire, whether from love or friendship. The horse does not fling, the voice is long continued, and finishes with graver sounds. The neigh of anger, during which the animal flings and strikes with fury, is very short and sharp. The neigh of fear, during which he also flings, is not longer than that of anger; but voice is grave and hoarse, and seems as if it proceeded entirely from the nostrils. This neigh resembles the roaring of a lion. The noise expressive of pain is not so much a neigh, as a groan or snorting uttered with a grave voice, and following the alternate motions of respiration. It has likewise been remarked, that horses which neigh most frequently from motives of joy or desire, are the best and most generous. The voice of unmutilated horses is stronger than that of geldings or mares. The female voice, even from the moment of birth, is weaker than that of the male. At two years, or two and a half, which is the age of puberty, the voice both of males and females, as in man and other animals, becomes stronger and more grave.
When the horse is fired with love, he shows his teeth and has the appearance of laughing. He likewise shows them when angry and inclined to bite. He sometimes thrusts out his tongue to lick, but less frequently than the ox, though the latter is less sensible of caresses. The horse remembers injuries much longer than the ox, and is also more easily dispirited. His na- [380] tural disposition, which is bold and impetuous, makes him exert his whole force at once; and, when he perceives that still more is requisite, he grows indignant, and obstinately refuses to act. But the ox, who is naturally slow and slothful, seldom employs his whole strength, and is not so easily disheartened.
The horse sleeps much less than man. When in good health, he never lies above two or three hours at a time. He then rises to eat. After being much fatigued, and after filling his belly, he lies down a second time. But, upon the whole, he sleeps not above three or four hours in the twenty-four. There are also some horses which never lie down, but sleep standing; and even those which are accustomed to lie down, sometimes sleep on their feet. It has been remarked, that geldings sleep oftener and longer than perfect horses.
All quadrupeds drink not in the same manner, though all are under an equal necessity of exploring with the head that liquor which they have no other method of apprehending, excepting the monkey, and some other animals that have hands, and can drink like man, when a proper vessel is presented to them; for they carry it in their mouth, pour out the liquor, and swallow it by the simple movement of deglutition. This is the ordinary way in which man drinks, because it is the most commodious. But he can vary his method of drinking, by contracting [381] the lips, and sucking the fluid, or rather by sinking both mouth and nose into it, and then performing the motions necessary to swallowing. He can even seize a fluid by the simple motion of his lips; or, lastly, he can stretch out and expand his tongue, make a kind of little cup of it, and, in this manner, though with some difficulty, satisfy his thirst. Most quadrupeds might also drink in different ways: But, like man, they follow that which is most convenient. The dog, whose mouth opens wide, and whose tongue is long and slender, drinks by lapping, or licking, with his tongue, which he forms into a kind of cup or scoop, fills at each time, and thus carries a sufficient quantity of fluid into his mouth. This method he prefers to that of dipping his nose into the water. The horse, on the contrary, whose mouth is too small, and whose tongue is too thick and too short, for forming a scoop, and who, besides, drinks with more avidity than he eats, briskly sinks his mouth and nose deep into the water, when he swallows plentifully by the simple motion of deglutition.* But this obliges him to drink without drawing his breath; while the dog respires at his nose during the time he is drinking. After running, when the respiration is short and laborious, horses should be [382] allowed to drink at leisure, and to breathe as often as they incline. Neither should they be permitted to drink water that is too cold; for, independent of the colics frequently occasioned by very cold water, it often cools their nose to such a degree, as brings on rheums, and perhaps lays the foundation of the diseases called glanders, the most obstinate of all maladies to which this noble animal is subject. It has lately been discovered, that this disease is seated in the pituitary membrane;* and that it is a genuine rheum, which in time produces an inflammation in that membrane. Besides, those travellers who give a detail of the diseases of horses in warm countries, alledge not that the glanders is equally frequent in Arabia, Persia, and Barbary, as in cold climates. Hence I am led to conjecture, that this malady is owing to the superior coldness of the water; because these animals are obliged to keep their noses in the water a considerable time, which might be prevented by never allowing them to drink very cold water, and by always drying their nostrils after drinking. Asses, which dread cold more than horses, and resemble them so greatly in their internal structure, are not equally subject to the glanders, which is owning, perhaps, to their drinking in a different manner from the horse; for, instead of sinking the nose into the water, they barely touch it with their lips. [383]
I shall mention no more of the diseases of horses. It would extend Natural History beyond all bounds, if, to the history of each animal, we were to join that of its diseases. However, I cannot finish the history of the horse, without regretting that the health of this useful and valuable animal should be still abandoned to the blind care, and often absurd and cruel practice, of a set of men who have neither understanding nor letters. Of the art, called by the antients Medicina Veterinaria, we now hardly know mre than the name. if any physician would turn his views to this subject, and make it a principal object of his inquiry, I am convinced that he would be amply rewarded for his trouble; and that he would not only acquire a fortune, but obtain the highest reputation. This species of the medical art would by no means be conjectural, or so difficult as the other. The manners, the food, the influence of sentiment, and all the other causes of disorders, being less complicated in these animals than in man, their diseases must also be more simple, and, of course, more easily investigated and treated with success. To these advantages may be added the perfect liberty of making experiments, of trying new remedies, and of arriving, without fear or reproach, to a most extensive knowledge of this kind, from which, by analogy, deductions might be drawn of the greatest utility to the art of curing men. [384]
Notes
* Fourteen hands and a half [back to page 358].
* This is, perhaps, not altogether true; for, it is generally [359] remarked, that white or light coloured animals are not so strong and hardy as those of darker colours. It is found by experience, that those legs of horses which have much white upon them, are aptest to swell and turn greasy; and the white spots occasioned by wounds seem to indicate a particular weakness in the parts [Smellie’s note. Back to page 359].
* Fourteen hands and a half.
+ 15 hands high [back to page 360].
* The Earl of Morton [back to page 361].
* Descrip. Des isles de l’Archipel, par Dapper, p. 402
+ L’Afrique de Marmol, tom. 2. p. 124.
3. See Shaw’s travels [back to page 364].
* L’Afrique de Marmol, tom. 1. p. 50.
+ Leo. Afric. De Africae descript. tom. 2. p. 750.
3 Voyage de M. de la Roque, p. 194, et l’hist. generale des voyages, tom. 2. p[. 626 [back to page 365].
* The reader is here presented with an original attestation, some of which, M. D’Arvieux says, have been preserved for above 500 years in the public records.
Taken before ABDORRAMAN, KADI of ACCA.
The occasion of this present writing or instrument is, that, at Acca, in the house of Badi, legal established judge, appeared in Court Thomas Usgate the English consul, and with him Sheikh Morad Ebn al Hajj Abdollah, Sheikh of the county of Safad; and the said consul desired, from the aforesaid Sheikh, pproof of the race of the gray horse which he bough of him, and he affirmed oto be Monaki Shaduhi;* but he was not satisfied with this, but desired the testimony of the Arabs, who bred the horse, and knew how he came to Sheikh Morad; whereupon there appeared certain Arabs of repute, whose names are undermentioned, who testified and declared, that the gray horse which the consul formerly bought of Sheikh Morad, is Monaki Shaduhi, [366] of the pure race of horses, purer than milk;+ and that the beginning of the affair was, that Sheikh Saleh, Sheikh of Alsabal, bough him of the Arabs, of the tribe of al Mohammadat, and Sheikh Saleh sold him to Sheikh Morad Ebn al Hajj Abdollah, Sheikh of Safad, and Sheikh Moral sold him to the consul aforesaid; when these matters appeared to us, and the contents were known, the said gentleman desired a certificate thereof, and testimony of the witnesses, whereupon he wrote him this certificate, for him to keep as a proof thereof. Dated Friday 28 of the latter Rabi in the year 1135.
Witnesses,
Sheikh Jumat al Falibau of the Arabs
Of al Mohammadat.
Ali Ebn Taleb al Kaabi.
Ibrahim his Brother.
Mohammad al Adhra Sheikh Alsarifat.
Khamis al Kaabi.
* These are the names of the two breeds of Arab horses, which are reckoned pure and true, and those which are of both these breeds by father and mother, are the most noble and free from bastardy [this is a note within the note above and appears in a smaller font on the bottom of page 366].
+ A proverbial expression [this is a note within the note above and appears on page 367].
PENNANT’S ZOOLOGY.
This lengthy note straddles two pages, with the break occurring where indicated above. Back to page 366].
* L’Hist. generale des voyages, tom. 3. p. 297.
+ La descript. geog. de l’Inde, par Marc Paul, tom. 1. p. 41. et liv. 1. p. 21 [back to page 370].
* Le Voyage de M. Dumont, tom.3. p. 253.
+ Les Voyages de Thevenot, tom. 2. p. 220. de Chardin, tom. 2. p. 25.; d’Adam Olearius, tom. 1. p. 560.
3. Les Voyages de Pietro della Valle, tom. 5. p. 284.
4. Voyages de Tavernier, tom. 2. p. 19 [back to page 371].
* Les Voyages de Thevenot, tom. 2. p. 220.
+ Les Voyages de Chardin, tom. 2. p. 25.
3. Le Voyage de la Boullaye-le-Gouz, p. 256. et Recueil des voyages qui ont servi à l’établissement de la compagnie des Indes, tom. 4. p. 424 [back to page 372].
* Les Voyages de Tavernier, tom. 3. p. 334.
+ Hist. generale des voyages, tom. 3. p. 228.
3. Idem, tom. 4. 353 [back to page 373].
* Le Voyage de M. le Gentil, tom. 2. p. 24.
+ Les anciennes relations des Indes, & de la Chine, traduites de l’Arabe, p. 204. L’Hist. gen. des voyages, tom. 6. p. 492. 535. L’Histoire de la conquête de la Chine, par Palafox, p. 426.
3. Nine hands [back to page 374].
* Palafox, p. 427. Le recueil des voyages du Nord. tom. 3. p. 156. Tavernier, tom. 1. p. 472. L’Hist. gen. des voyag. tom. 6. p. 603. et tom 7. p. 214.
+ Aldrovend. hist. nat. de soliped. P. 48. &c. [back to page 375].
* If this assertion be true, the casting of the hoofs must proceed from some morbid cause; for no horses cast their hoofs, unless when diseased [Smellie’s note. Back to page 379].
* This is not always the case; for many horses touch only the surface of the water with their lips, and suck it gently in; and even those which dip their noses deeper, never sink the nostrils under the water, but breathe through them when drinking [Smellie’s note. Back to page 382].
* M. de la Fosse, ferrier to the King, first demonstrated this fact; and he has attempted to cure horses by the trepan [back to page 383].