The horse : with a treatise on draught / by William Youatt.

  • William Youatt
Date:
1859
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The horse : with a treatise on draught / by William Youatt. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    50/624 page 34
    are prevalent, and, tlie author of the present work learns from another In Van Diemens Land, the breed of horses, originally derived from India, is very good. A valuable breed of cart-horses is beginning to formed. The riding-horses are small, but they are hardy. Horses of every kind are sixty per cent, dearer in Van Diemen s Land than in New South Wales; because the colony is smaller, and the number ot horses that are bred is comparatively small. Their treatment is not so good as in the larger colony. Many of them know not the taste of corn, and, when it is given to them, it is usually in the stiaw. THE TARTARIAN HORSE. Tartary comprehends a vast extent of country, reaching from the Eastern Ocean, to the European dominions of Russia, through the central part of Asia and Europe. Eastern Tartary belongs chiefly to China—- the Western has been subjected by Russia, but a small portion of it about the Caspian Sea claims to be independent. The tribes which inhabit this immense space are dissimilar in their appearance, and manners and cus- toms ; but, with a few exceptions, the character of the horse is nearly the The wild horse is found in various parts of Tartary; but nowhere can it be considered as the remnant of an original race that has never been domesticated. The horses of the Ukraine, and those ot South Ame- rica, are equally the descendants of those that had escaped from tie slavery of man. The origin of the horses of Tartary has been clearly traced to those that were employed in the siege of Azof in 1657. Being suffered, from want of forage, to penetrate into the desert in order to find subsistence, they strayed to too great a distance to be pursued or recalled and became wild and created a new breed. They are generally ot a red colour, with a black stripe along the back. They are divided into nume- rous herds, at the head of each of which is an old stallion, who has fought his way to the crown, and whose pre-eminence is acknowledged by the rest. On the approach of apparent danger, the mares and their foals are driven into a close body, in front of which the males are ranged. There are frequent contests between the different herds. The domesticated horse, if he hills in their way unprotected by his master, is instantly attacked and speedily destroyed ; but at the sight of a human being, and especially mounted, they all take to flight, and gallop into the recesses of the desert. The young stallions as they grow up are driven from the herd, and are seen straggling about at a distance, until they are strong enough to form herds of wild mares for themselves. The Cossacks are accustomed to hunt the wild horses, partly to keep up their own stock, and partly for food. A species of vulture is sometimes made use of in this affair. The bird pounces upon the poor animal, and fastens itself on his head or neck, fluttering his wings, and perplexing, and half-blinding him, so that he becomes an easy prey to the Tartar, lhe young horses are generally tamed without much difficulty; they aie, a ter a little while, coupled with a tame horse, and grow gentle and obedient. The wild horses thus reclaimed are usually found to be stronger and moie serviceable than any which can be bred at home. In the great deserts of Tartary, the herds ol wild horses are muchlargei . Many thousands, as on the Pampas of South America, are often collected together. The Kirghise Tartars either capture them for use, or spear them for food. The flesh of the horse is a frequent article of food among the lartars; and although they do not, like the Indians ol the Pampas, eat it law, their
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