EARLY HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE HORSE.

HE EARLY HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF THE HORSE is wrapped in obscurity and fable, and we really know little or nothing of it, except that we have reason to believe that he first came from Asia, like man, and, according to the Mosaic account, all other animals now existing; and that he was used in Egypt more than 1600 years before Christ. But with the history of the horse we shall not encumber

this book, which might be enlarged to an enormous extent if this department were entered into at length. Suffice it, then, to discuss the present condition of the horse, and its more recent origin, in addition to his general habits.

THE HABITS OF THE HORSE, in all countries, and of all varieties, are pretty much alike. Wherever he is at large, he is bold, but wary, and easily taking note of the approach of man, to give him as wide a berth as he possibly can, or rather show him a clean pair of heels. Wild horses exist to the present day

in the interior of Asia and in South America. But both the horses of the Tartars and those of La Plata are descended from the domesticated animals, and can scarcely be called wild in the ordinary acceptation of the term. From their constant state of liberty, and their roving habits, in order to obtain food and water, they are inured to fatigue, and can bear an enormous amount of long-continued fast work, without failing under it, and without that training which the domesticated animal must have. The walk and the gallop are the horse's natural paces, and all others are acquired; but nothing can exceed the fiery animation and elegance of movement of the free horse; and in these two paces art has done nothing to improve his form, except, perhaps, in slightly increasing the speed of the latter. In all countries, and in every age, the horse feeds upon grain or grass, though it is said that in Arabia he is occasionally supported upon camel's milk, when food such as he usually lives upon is not to be had.

It may be useful to specify the terms employed to describe the principal parts of the horse. These details will not prove altogether superfluous, as some of the words we are about to explain not unfrequently occur in conversation.

The two parts of the head of the horse which correspond to the temples in a man are above the eyes. The eyes themselves have a loose crescentiform fold of the conjunctiva at the inner angle, often errone

ously called membrana nictitans, but it neither performs its office or possesses its muscular apparatus. The orbit, which is formed of seven bones, four cranial and three facial, contains the globe of the eye, on the inner angle of which is situated the haw. The eye-pits are deep indentations which lie between the eye and the ear, above the eyebrows on each side.

The face is the front of the head from the eyes to the nostrils; this part corresponds to the upper part of a man's nose. This name is, however, generally applied to that portion that surrounds the curl or centre on the forehead from whence the hair radiates.

The neck of the horse is designated by the word crest; it is comprised from one end to the other between the mane on the upper side and the gullet on the lower. The fore-lock is the portion of the mane which is on the top of the head and falls over on the forehead between the eyes.

The withers is the spot where the shoulders meet up above, between the back and the neck, at the point where the neck and the mane come to an end. The chest is that part which is in front between the shoulders and below the throat.

The back commences at the withers and extend all along the spine as far as the crupper. When the horse is fat, the whole length of the spine forms a kind of hollow which is said to be channeled.

The space which is included within the ribs is called the barrel; the name of stomach is also given to the lower part of the body which joins the os sternum and the bottom of the ribs.

The flanks lie at the extremity of the stomach and extend as far as the hip-bones. The tail is divided into two parts: the stump or dock, and the hair.

The upper part of the front leg of the horse is called the shoulder although it corresponds with the fore-arm in a man; the fore-arm follows it lower down.

The joint which is below the fore-arm is called the knee; it corresponds to the place of the wrist in man, forms an angle turning inwards when the leg is bent.

The shank forms the second portion of the foreleg; it commences at the knee-joint, and corresponds to the metacarpus in man.

Behind the shank is a tendon, which extends from one end to the other, and is called the back-sinew. The fetlock-joint is the articulation immediately below the shank.

The fetlock itself is a tuft of hair covering a sort of soft horny excrescence, which is called the ergot. The pastern is the portion of the leg between the fetlock-joint and the foot.

The coronet is an elevation lying below the pastern, and is furnished with long hair falling over the hoof, all round the foot.

The hoofs form, so to speak, the nails of the horse, and consist of a horny substance.

In order to describe the parts which make up the hind legs of the horse, we must go back to the haunches. Each of these contains the femur, and corresponds to the thigh of a man. It is, therefore, the thigh of the horse, which is joined on to the body, and bears the name of buttocks. It is terminated below and in front by the stifle which is the joint of the knee containing the knee-pan. It is situated below the haunch, on a level with the flank, and shifts its place when the horse walks.

The highest part of the hind leg, which is detached from the body, is called the thigh, or gaskins, and corresponds to the leg of a man. It extends from the stifle and lower part of the buttocks down to the hock.

The hock is the joint which is below the thigh, and bends forward. This joint represents the instep in a man; the hinder part of the hock, which is called the point of the hock, is the heel.

Below the hock are the shank, the fetlock-joint, the pastern, and the foot, just the same as in the fore-legs.

We will now say a few words as to the diversity of color in the coat of the horse, in order to fix the meaning of the terms which are generally employed to designate the various hues which the coat pre

sents.

Bay is a reddish nut-brown color, with various shades. Dark bay horses are of a very dark brown, almost black, except on the flanks and tip of the nose, where they are of a reddish color. The golden, or light bay, is a yellow sun-light hue. Dappled bay horses have on their rumps spots of a darker bay than on the rest of their bodies. In bay horses the extremities, the mane, and the tail are always black.

There are three kinds of black horses: the rusty black, which is of a brownish tinge, more or less conspicuous in various lights; the black, and the coalblack, which is the darkest of all.

Dun-colored horses, of which there are several

shades, are of a yellowish-sandy hue; the mane and tail of these are either white or black. Some of the latter have a black line along the vertebræ, which is called a mule's, or eel-stripe.

Chestnut is a kind of reddish or cinnamon-colored bay. There are several shades of it, among which are the bright chestnut, which is the color of a red cow's coat; the common chestnut, which is neither dark nor bright; the bay chestnut, which verges upon the red; the burnt chestnut, which is dark, and nearly approaches black. Some chestnut horses have white manes and tails, others black. The roan is a mixture of red and white.

Gray horses have white hair mixed with black or bay. There are several modifications of this color; the dappled-gray, the silver-gray, the iron-gray, etc. Dapple-gray horses have on the back and other parts of the body a number of round spots, in some cases black in others of a lighter hue; these spots are somewhat irregularly distributed. Gray horses as they increase in age become lighter in color, ultimately becoming white.

Piebald and skewbald horses are white, with large irregular spots and stripes of some other color irregularly arranged. The different kinds are distinguished by the color that is combined with the white, as the piebald proper, which are white and black; the skewbald, which are white and bay; the chestnut piebald, which are white and chestnut.

The horses which have small black spots on a white or gray coat are called flea-bitten, particularly prevalent in India among Arabs.

We have hitherto considered the wild and domestic horse in common, both as regards their structure and their color, in short, their outward appearance generally, without noticing the different breeds, which must soon occupy our attention. But before we enter upon the study of the various equine races, it is necessary to give a short explanation as to the way in which the bit regulates the paces of the horse. By this we are led to speak of the construction of the mouth, a knowledge of which is most useful.

The horse either walks, trots, gallops, or ambles. The paces of the horse are essentially modified by means both of the bit and spur. The spur excites a quickness of movement; the bit communicates to this movement a due amount of precision. The mouth of the horse is so sensitive that the least movement or the slightest impression which it receives warns

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and regulates the motion of the animal. serve the full delicacy of this organ, it is highly necessary to treat tenderly its extreme sensibility.

The position of the teeth in the jaw of the horse affords to man the facility which exists in placing a bit in its mouth, by which instrument this highspirited and vigorous animal is broken in and guided. Let us, therefore, in the first place, study the arrange ment of its mouth.

There are in each jaw six incisors, or fore-teeth, followed on either side by a tush, which is generally deficient in mares, especially in the lower jaw. Next comes a series of six grinders on each side in both jaws; these teeth have a square crown, marked with four crescents, formed by the lamina of enamel which are embedded on them. Between the tushes and the grinders there is a considerable space called the bar, which corresponds to the angle of the lips; and it is in this interval that the bit is placed.

It is also by means of the teeth that we are enabled to know a horse's age-a knowledge which is of the highest utility; for a horse increases in value in proportion as he approaches maturity, again decreasing in worth as he becomes older. Up to nine years the age can be determined pretty accurately by means of the changes which take place in the teeth.

The foal, at his birth, is usually devoid of teeth in the front of the mouth, and has only two grinders on each side in each jaw. At the end of a few days, the two middle fore-teeth, or pincers, make their appearance. In the course of the first month a third grinder shows itself, and in four months more the two next fore-teeth also emerge; within six and a half or eight months the side incisives, or corner teeth, show, and also a fourth grinder. At this period the first dentition is complete. The changes which take place up to the age of three years depend only on the fore-teeth being worn away more or less, and the black hollows being obliterated gradually by contact with food. In thirteen to sixteen months the cavities on the surface of the pincers are effaced; they are then said to be razed. In sixteen to twenty months the intermediate fore-teeth are likewise razed, and in twenty to twenty-four months the same thing takes place with the corner teeth.

The second dentition commences at the age of two and a half or three years. The milk-teeth may be recognized by their shortness, their whiteness, and the construction round their base called the neck of