THE HORSE (Continued)
“Now let us say a few words about the horse’s coat, the growth of hair
that covers its body. This may be of uniform color or of two or more
different colors. Coats of uniform color are the white, the black, and
the chestnut. The two first do not need any explanation. A horse is
chestnut when its coat is of a reddish or yellowish tint.
“Among the composite coats, the following are distinguished. The horse
is piebald if the coloring is in large splashes, some white, others
black or red. It is flee-bitten gray if the coat is a mixture of white,
black, and red, over the whole body, legs and all; but if the legs are
black while the body presents a combination of the three tints, the
horse is roan. Bay horses have a chestnut-colored coat, that is to say
reddish or yellowish, with the legs, the mane, and the tail brown or
black. The coat is dappled when it is thickly sprinkled with light
spots on a darker background of uniform color. Dappled gray is common.
It is dun when the color is yellowish with a brown stripe on the back,
a peculiarity rather common in the donkey and mule. A number of other
terms are used in describing a horse’s coat in detail. Thus the term
white-foot is applied to the white marking sometimes found just above
the hoof. A white spot in the middle of the forehead is called a blaze
if it is round, a star if angular.
“The horse’s mode of progress is called its gait, and may be either
natural or artificial, depending on whether the animal is untrained or
trained. The natural gaits are the walk, the trot, and the gallop. In
the walk the legs move in what may be termed a diagonal sequence, as
follows: the right fore leg, the left hind leg, the left fore leg, the
right hind leg. If the horse is well formed the hind foot steps exactly
into the track left by the fore foot on the same side.
“In the trot the feet are lifted and put down two by two in diagonal
pairs, the right fore foot with the left hind foot, and the left fore
foot with the right hind foot. This gait is more rapid than the
preceding, but is also harder for the rider as well as for the horse,
because of the shock sustained when two feet strike the ground at the
same time.
“The gallop is of several kinds, the simplest and swiftest consisting
of a succession of forward bounds. The two fore feet are lifted at the
same time, then the two hind feet, which push the animal with a sudden
spring. That is the racer’s gait.
“Among the artificial gaits I will mention the amble, in which the legs
move in pairs on the same side, the two left at the same time, then the
two right, alternately. The horse thus maintains a sort of oscillation,
furnishing a gentle and easy motion for the rider. The amble is,
however, rapid, for as there is no support on the side of the two
uplifted legs the animal keeps from falling only by the rapidity of its
motion.
“In galloping a horse covers ten meters a second, or at most fifteen
when going at top speed. In trotting it covers from three to four
meters, and in walking, from one to two.”
“Let me reckon up what that would be in an hour,” Emile interposed. “I
will take the highest figures.” With his pencil he wrote some figures
on a piece of paper, and then said: “That would make, by the hour,
thirteen leagues of four kilometers each for the horse at its fastest
gallop; only three leagues for the horse when trotting; and a league
and a half when walking.”
“I must inform you, my friend,” rejoined his uncle, “that though a
horse can keep up a trot for whole hours at a time, it is impossible
for it to gallop even one hour without stopping. The speed that would
give the enormous distance of thirteen leagues an hour lasts fifteen
minutes at the most in racing, after which the animal is exhausted.
Note in passing the superiority of the railway engine, the locomotive,
in regard to rapidity. This speed of thirteen leagues an hour, which
blows a horse in a quarter of an hour’s race, the locomotive keeps up
and even exceeds as long as may be desired. No comparison, you see, is
possible between the iron steed and the steed of flesh and blood.
“Let us turn to the subject of the horse’s strength. A riding horse
carries on an average from 100 to 175 kilograms at a slow gait. If the
load is a rider of 80 kilograms, the horse can travel seven hours and
cover ten leagues of four kilometers each. But its strength is much
better employed if instead of carrying the weight on its back the
animal draws it in a vehicle. Then an expenditure of energy represented
by the weight of five kilograms is sufficient to move a load of 1000
kilograms if the wheels of the vehicle run on a railway track. For the
same load on a smooth, level road an expenditure of energy represented
by 33 kilograms is needed; finally, if the road is paved with stone the
required energy will be 70 kilograms. On an excellent road, stagecoach
horses draw each a load of 800 kilograms and cover six leagues in two
hours, after which they are replaced by others.
“Let us compare these figures once more with those relating to the
steam engine. A passenger locomotive draws with a speed of a dozen
leagues an hour a train having a total weight of as much as 150,000
kilograms. A freight locomotive draws at the rate of seven leagues an
hour a total weight of 650,000 kilograms. More than 1300 horses would
be needed to take the place of the first locomotive, and more than 2000
for the second, if they were used to transport similar loads the same
distance at the same rate of speed, using cars running on rails. How
many more would be needed with wagons on ordinary roads, where the
surface inequalities cause such waste of energy!
“The domestication of the horse goes back to the first communities of
the East. After the herd they must soon have had, first, the ass to
carry the baggage of the nomadic tribe, then the horse, man’s valiant
comrade in the chase and in war. What is still to be observed to-day
shows us how easily this valuable animal submitted to man’s domination.
The grassy plains of Tartary abound in wild horses, and probably the
species originated in these Asiatic regions. The pampas of South
America feed innumerable herds of them, mingled with the wild cattle
that I have told you about. Both descend from domestic animals brought
to the New World by Europeans. Each herd follows a leader of tried
strength and courage. If danger arises, if there is menace from some
ferocious wild beast, such as a wolf, panther, or jaguar, the horses
crowd together and press against one another for their common defense.
Their haughty look and their kicking are generally sufficient to put
the aggressor to flight. But if the enemy charges them, counting on an
easy prey, the leader of the herd rears and falls on the beast with all
its weight, crushing the assailant with its fore hoofs; then with its
powerful jaws seizes the shattered body and throws it to the colts,
which finish it and caracole on its body.”
“An animal that defends itself like that,” remarked Jules, “must be
rather hard to tame into a docile servant.”
“No, the difficulty is not, after all, very great. What happens to-day
on the pampas when it is desired to master a wild horse is of a nature
to show us how the ancient horse-tamers accomplished the same object. A
herd of horses, skilfully turned aside from its feeding ground and
surrounded little by little on all sides, is driven without suspecting
the ruse into a large enclosure called a corral. There those of finest
appearance are selected. Immediately a dexterous hand throws the lasso,
the long leather thong weighted with balls of lead, which catches them
round the neck and legs and prevents their moving. A halter is quickly
put on the captive. A practised horseman wearing sharp spurs mounts the
animal, the fettering lasso is removed by helpers, and there stands the
animal, free, but trembling after its misadventure.”
“Now the horseman had better look out,” said Jules.
“Certainly, the first moment is not without danger. The indignant
animal rears, kicks, bounds, and tries to roll on the ground to get rid
of its burden; but the horseman masters this rage with the bleeding
prick of the spur; he keeps his seat as if he were one with his mount.
Then the gate of the enclosure is opened, and the horse darts out and
gallops away at breakneck speed until utterly winded. This unbridled
run suffices to tame the animal, after which the horseman rides it
back, unresisting and already obedient to bit and spur, to the corral.
Henceforth it can be left with the domesticated horses without fear of
its trying to escape.
“Horses are classed, according to the rearing and training they have
received, in two chief groups—saddle horses and draft horses. The first
serve as mounts for riders, the second draw loads in vehicles. Among
saddle horses the most celebrated are the Arabian, remarkable for their
mettle, intelligence, docility, fleetness of foot, and ability to
endure long abstinence from food and drink. The Arab steed is
medium-sized and has a delicate skin, small head, slender frame, a
spirited bearing, finely modeled legs, stomach little developed, and
small, polished, very hard hoofs.
“Draft horses, whose function it is to draw heavy loads in wheeled
vehicles at a walking pace, have quite opposite characteristics. They
lack lightness and mettle, but patiently exert their strength, which is
considerable, as might be inferred from their more massive build and
from the great quantity of feed that their maintenance demands. They
have a stout body, heavy walk, thick skin, large head, wide chest,
broad rump, capacious stomach, strong legs, and hoofs of no delicate
proportions. France possesses in the Boulogne breed the most highly
prized of draft horses. This vigorous animal, usually dapple-gray,
plays the laborious part of shaft-horse. Having its position next to
the cart or wagon, it is placed between the two shafts. It is the one
to pull the hardest on up-grades, the one that eases with its enormous
weight the jolts on street pavements and checks the dangerous momentum
of the vehicle on down-grades. Compare these two pictures that I show
you here, and you can easily see in the first the horse made for speed;
in the second, the horse intended for hard work.”