Sheikh Jumat al Faliban of the Arabs of al Mahommadat. Ali Ebn Taleb al
Kaabi. Ibrahim, his brother. Mohammed al Adhra Sheikh Alfarifat. Kaamis
al Kaabi.
[1] _The term for their Noble race._
The breed of these horses is dispersed throughout Barbary; the chiefs
among the Moors, and even among the Negroes along the rivers Gambia
and Senegal, have them of uncommon beauty. Instead of barley, or oats,
they give them maize reduced to flour, which they mix with milk, when
they are inclined to fatten them; and in this hot climate they seldom
let them drink. The Arabian horses are also spread over Egypt, Turkey,
and perhaps Persia, where there were formerly considerable studs. Mark
Paul mentions one in which were 10,000 white mares; and he says, that
in the province of Balascia there was a great number of large nimble
horses, with their hoofs so hard that it was unnecessary to shoe them.
The horses of the Levant, as well as those of Persia and Arabia, have
the frog of the foot very hard; they shoe them notwithstanding, but
with shoes so light and thin that nails may be driven through any part
of them. In Turkey, Persia and Arabia, the custom of taking care and
feeding them is the same. Their litter is made of their own dung, which
is first dried in the sun, to take off the ill smell, then reduced into
powder, and a bed made with it in the stable or tent, four or five
inches thick. This litter lasts a long time, for when soiled, it is
dried in the sun a second time, and again loses its disagreeable odour.
In Turkey there are horses of Arabia, Tartary, and Hungary, beside the
native horses of the country, which are very handsome and elegant, have
a great deal of fire, swiftness and symmetry, but are soon fatigued.
Their skins are so tender that they cannot bear the curry-comb, so
that they are obliged to use a brush, and to wash them with water.
These horses, although handsome, are much inferior to those of Arabia,
and even those of Persia, which are, next to the Arabians, the most
beautiful and the best horses of the east. The pasture of the plains
of Media, Persepolis, Ardebil, and Derbent, is excellent, and by the
order of government, a prodigious number of horses are raised there,
most of which are very handsome, and almost all excellent. Pietro
della Valle prefers the common horses of Persia to the most excellent
of the kingdom of Naples. They are commonly of a middling size; some
are very small, but equal in goodness and strength, while there are
others bigger than the saddle-horses of England. They have small heads
and thin necks; their ears are handsome and well placed; slim legs,
handsome cruppers, and hard hoofs; they are docile, lively, light,
bold, courageous, and capable of bearing great hardships. They run
very swift, without ever stumbling. They are robust, and easily fed,
being kept on barley mixed with straw chopped fine, and are only put
to grass for about six weeks in the spring. Their tails are long, and
the Persians never make geldings. They use coverings to defend their
horses from the injuries of the air, and are particularly attentive in
their care of them: they manage them with a bridle only, and without
employing spurs. Numbers of them are transported into Turkey, but more
to the Indies. Those travellers who are so lavish in their praises of
the Persian horses agree in allowing that the Arabians are superior for
their agility, courage, strength, and beauty; and that they are more
valued, even in Persia, than the horses of that country.
The horses bred in the country are not good. Those used by the grandees
of the country are imported from Persia and Arabia. They give them a
little hay in the day, and in the evening pease boiled with butter and
sugar, instead of oats or barley; this nourishment strengthens and
gives them spirits; without it they would soon decay, the climate being
contrary to their nature. The native horses of India are very small;
some of them are so little that, Tavernier says, the young Prince of
the Moguls, who was about eight years of age, rode on a handsome little
horse, whose height did not exceed that of a large greyhound. It should
seem that extreme hot climates are contrary to the nature of horses.
Those of the Gold Coast, Juida, Guinea, &c. are also very bad. They
carry their heads and necks very low; their walk is so tottering, that
one would imagine they were always ready to fall; they would never stir
if they were not to be continually beat, and the greatest part of
them are so low that the feet of the riders almost touch the ground;
they are most untractable creatures, and only fit to be eaten by the
Negroes, who are as fond of their flesh as they are of that of dogs.
This taste for horse-flesh is common to the Negroes, Arabians, Tartars,
and Chinese. The Chinese horses are no better than those of India, they
are weak, spiritless, ill-made, and very small; those of Corea are not
more than three feet in height. In China almost all the horses are made
geldings; and they are so timid that they cannot be made use of in
war; so that it may with propriety be said that the Tartarian horses
conquered China. Those horses are very fit for war, though commonly but
of a moderate size, they are strong, vigorous, spirited, agile, and
very swift. Their hoofs are hard, but the bottom is too narrow; their
heads are small, their necks long and confined, and their legs are too
long; with all these defects they may be considered as good horses, for
they are not easily tired, and gallop extremely fast. The Tartars live
with their horses in the same manner as the Arabians. When about seven
or eight months old they are mounted by children, who make them walk
or gallop a little way by turns. They thus break them by degrees, and
oblige them to undergo long fastings; but they never mount them for
travelling or hunting till they are six or seven years old, and then
they make them support incredible fatigue, such as travelling two or
three days together without stopping; passing four or five days without
any other food than a handful of grass every eight hours, and also to
go twenty-four without drinking, &c. These horses which are so robust
in their own country become enfeebled and useless, when transported to
China or the Indies; but they succeed better in Persia and Turkey. The
little Tartars have a breed of small horses which they value so much,
that they are not allowed to be sold to foreigners. These horses have
all the good and bad qualities of those of Great Tartary, which shews
how much the same manners and education give the same disposition to
these animals. There are also in Circassia, and in Mingrelia, many
horses which are even handsomer than those of Tartary. There are also
some fine horses in the Ukraine, Wallachia, Poland, and Sweden; but we
have no particular account of their qualities or defects.
If we consult the ancients on the nature and qualities of the horses
of different countries, we shall find, that the horses of Greece,
especially those of Thessaly and Epirus, were held in great esteem, and
were very useful in war; that those of Achaia were the largest then
known; that the handsomest came from Egypt, where there was a great
number, and where Solomon sent to buy them at a great price; that in
Ethiopia the horses did not thrive, on account of the great heat of the
climate; that Arabia and Africa produced the finest horses, but above
all the lightest and best calculated for the chace; that those of Italy
were extremely good; that in Sicily, Cappadocia, Syria, Armenia, Medea,
and Persia, there were excellent horses, remarkable for their swiftness
and agility; that those of Sardinia and Corsica were small, but lively
and courageous; that those of Spain resembled those of Parthia, and
were excellent for war; that there were in Transylvania and in Walachia
swift horses with small heads, large manes hanging down to the ground,
and bushy tails; that the Danish horses were well made and good
leapers; that those of Scandinavia were small, but well made and very
agile; that the Flanders horses were strong; that the Gauls furnished
the Romans with good horses for the saddle, and to carry burthens: that
the German horses were ill-made, and so vicious, that no use was made
of them; that the Swiss had great numbers fit for war; that the horses
of Hungary were also very good; and lastly, that the Indian horses were
small and weak.
From the above facts it results, that the Arabian horses have ever
been, and are still, the first horses in the world, both for beauty
and goodness; that it is from them, immediately, or by the means of
Barbs, that the finest horses in Europe, Africa, and Asia are bred,
that Arabia is perhaps not only the original climate for horses, but
the best suited to their natures, because, instead of mixing the breed
by foreign horses, the Arabs take care to preserve their own purity;
that if the climate is not of itself the best for horses, the natives
have produced the same effects, by the care they have taken, from time
immemorial, to ennoble their breed by putting together only the most
beautiful individuals, and of the first quality; and that by this
attention, pursued forages, they have improved the species beyond what
nature alone would have done in the most favourable climate. We may
also conclude that warm climates rather than cold, but above all, dry
countries agree best with the nature of horses; that in general, small
are better than large horses; that care is as necessary for them as
food; that familiarity and caresses will do more with them than force
and chastisement; that the horses of warm countries have their bones,
hoofs, and muscles, more firm than those of our climates; that although
heat agrees better than cold with these animals, yet excessive heat
does not agree with them; and lastly, that their habit and disposition
depend almost entirely on the climate, food, care, and education.
In Persia, Arabia, and many other parts of the east, it is not
customary to geld horses, although so general a practice in Europe and
China. This operation deprives them of much of their strength, courage,
and fire, but renders them gentle, quiet, and docile. The only seasons
for performing this operation are spring or autumn, great heat and
cold being equally hurtful. With respect to age, they have different
customs in different countries; in some parts of France they geld
horses at twelve or fifteen months old; but the general and best custom
is, not to geld them till two or three years, because, in not doing it
till that age, they preserve more of their masculine qualities. Pliny
says, that they never lose the milk-teeth if they are made geldings
before they have shed them. But this is not a fact; and it is probable
that the ancients grounded this supposition merely on the analogy it
bears to the falling of the horns of the stag, goat, &c. which, in
reality, never fall off after castration. The gelding it is true, can
never engender, but we have sometimes examples of their being able to
copulate.
Horses of all colours shed their coats, like most animals covered with
hair, once a year, usually in the spring, though sometimes in autumn;
as they are then weaker than at other times, they should have more
care, and be more plentifully fed. There are also horses which shed
their hoofs; this usually happens in humid marshy countries, such as
Holland.
Geldings and mares neigh less frequently than horses. Their voices are
not so strong, but much more shrill. In all horses we may distinguish
five kinds of neighing, relative to different passions; in the neigh
of joy the voice begins and ends with sharp tones; the horse kicks up
at the same time, but without attempting to strike. In the neigh of
desire, whether of love or attachment, the horse does not kick, and
the voice is dragged to a great length, and ends with a deep sound.
The neigh of anger, during which the horse kicks violently with his
foot, is short and sharp; that of fear, during which he kicks also, is
scarcely longer than that of anger, the voice is hoarse and grave, and
seems as if it came from the nostrils only. This neigh is something
like the roaring of a lion. That of pain is more like groaning, or
breathing with oppression, than of neighing; it is in a grave tone of
voice, and follows the alternatives of respiration. It has also been
remarked, that horses which neigh frequently from joy or desire, are
the best and most generous. Horses, in general, have the voice stronger
than mares and geldings; from the birth the male has the voice stronger
than the female. At two years, or two years and a half, which is the
age of puberty, the voice of males and females, as in mankind, and
other animals, becomes much more strong and deep.
When the horse is impassioned with love he shews his teeth, and seems
to laugh; he shews them also when he is angry, and would bite. He
sometimes puts out his tongue to lick, but less frequently than the ox,
who, notwithstanding, is less sensible to caresses. The horse remembers
ill treatment much longer, and is sooner dispirited, than the ox. His
natural spirit and courage induce him to make every effort, but when he
finds more is expected from him than he is able to perform, he grows
angry, and will not endeavour at all; instead of which, the ox, who is
slow and idle, seldom exerts his utmost, and is not therefore easily
dejected.
The horse sleeps much less than man, for when he is in health he does
not rest more than two or three hours together; he then gets up to eat.
When he has been much fatigued he lies down a second time, after having
eat; but in the whole he does not sleep more than three or four hours
in the twenty-four. There are even some horses who never lie down, but
sleep standing, which is sometimes the case even with those who do lie
down. It has also been remarked, that geldings sleep oftener and longer
than horses.
Quadrupeds do not all drink in the same manner, though they are all
equally obliged to seek with the head for the liquor, which they cannot
get any other way, except the monkey, macaw, and some others, that have
hands, and consequently drink like men, when a vessel is given to them
which they can hold; for they carry it to their mouths, inclining the
head, throwing down the liquor, and swallowing it by the simple motion
of deglutition. Man usually drinks in the same manner, because it is
most convenient; but he can drink many other ways by contracting the
lips to draw in the liquor, or dipping the nose and mouth deep enough
into it for the tongue to be environed therewith, and then perform
the motions necessary for swallowing; he can also take in a fluid
by the lips alone; and lastly though with more difficulty, stretch
out the tongue, and, forming a kind of little cup, carry a small
quantity of water into the mouth. Most quadrupeds could also drink in
several different ways, but, like men, they chuse that which is most
convenient. The dog, whose mouth is very large, and the tongue long and
thin, drinks by lapping, or licking, forming with the tongue a kind
of cup or scoop, which fills each time with a tolerable quantity of
liquor, and so satisfies his thirst; and this mode he prefers to that
of wetting the nose. The horse, on the contrary, whose mouth is small,
and whose tongue is too short and thick to form a scoop, and who always
drinks with more avidity than he eats, dips the mouth and nose quickly
and deeply into the water, which he swallows largely by the simple
motion of deglutition; but this forces him to drink without fetching
his breath, whereas the dog breathes at his ease while he is drinking.
Horses, therefore, should be suffered to take several draughts,
especially after running; when respiration is short and quick, they
should not be suffered to drink the water too cold, because that,
independent of the cholic, which cold water frequently occasions, it
sometimes brings on rheums, and often lays the foundation of a disorder
called the glanders, the most formidable of all diseases to which this
species of animals are subject; for it is known, that the seat of the
glanders is in the pituitary membrane, and that it is consequently a
real cold, which causes an inflammation in this membrane. Travellers,
who give us a detail of the maladies of horses in warm climates, as
in Arabia, Persia, and Barbary, do not say that the glanders are so
frequent there as in cold climates, and it is for this reason the
conjecture arises, that this malady is occasioned by the coldness
of the water, because the animals are obliged to keep the nose and
nostrils a considerable time under water, which would be prevented by
never giving it to them cold, and by always wiping the nostrils after
they have drank. Asses, who fear the cold more than horses, and who
resemble them so strongly in the interior structure, are not so subject
to the glanders, which may possibly be owing to their drinking in a
different manner from horses; for instead of dipping in the mouth and
nose deeply into the water, they scarcely touch it with their lips.
I shall not speak of the other diseases of horses, it would spin out
Natural History too much to join to the history of an animal that
of its disorders; nevertheless, I cannot leave the history of the
horse without regretting that the health of this useful animal should
have been hitherto abandoned to the care, and too frequently absurd
practice, of ignorant people. The branch of physic, which the ancients
called Veterinaria Medicina, is at present scarcely known but by name.
I am persuaded, that if some physician would turn his views this way,
and make this study his principal object, he would soon find it answer
his purpose, both with respect to reputation and profit: instead of
degrading himself he would render his name illustrious, and this branch
of physic would not be so conjectural and difficult as the other. The
diet, manners, and influence of sentiment, and all other causes of
disorders, being more simple in animals than in man, the diseases must
be less complicated, and consequently more easily investigated, and
treated with success, without mentioning the advantages that would
be derived from the entire liberty of making experiments, trying
new remedies, and to be able to arrive, without fear or reproach, to
a great extent of knowledge of this kind, from which, by analogy,
inferences might be drawn useful to the art of curing mankind.