The Little Book of British Quadrupeds
9781465685247
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
This noble animal is found in almost every part of the world. In Arabia and Africa are wild horses, which wander about in herds; and in South America many thousands are seen in one drove. The horse is used for riding, and is then guided by the rein. He is used for drawing carriages, carts, and waggons, for ploughing, and also for war. Hunting seems to be enjoyed as much by the horse as by his rider: and in the race he shows great eagerness to be the foremost. When kindly used, the horse is very fond both of his feeder and of his rider. He has a very good memory. A gentleman once rode a young horse thirty miles from his home to see his friend. The horse had never been in that part of the country before, and the road was hard to find: after asking the way of many persons whom he met, the gentleman at last got to his friend’s house. Two years afterwards he had again to go the same journey, and it became quite dark, long before he could get to the place. “Well,” said he, “here I am, far from any house, and I know not an inch of the road, and I can hardly see my horse’s head. I have heard much of the memory of the horse; it is my only hope now, go on;” so saying, he threw the reins on his horse’s neck, and in half an hour he was safe at his friend’s gate. The horse is found in high perfection in Arabia. To the people of that country they are as dear as their own children; and by constantly living in the same tent with their owner and his family, they become very familiar and gentle. They are not used to the spur, but the least touch with the foot sets them in motion. They form the principal riches of many of the Arab tribes, who use them both for plunder and for the chase. Of one of these people a touching story is told. The whole stock of a poor Arabian of the desert was a mare, and he consented to sell her to a French merchant for a very large sum of money. At length with only a miserable rag to cover his body he brought his noble courser to the house of the buyer. Having dismounted, he looked first at the gold and then at the mare, and heaving a deep sigh, he exclaimed, “To whom is it that I am going to give thee up? To Frenchmen, who will tie thee close, who will beat thee, who will render thee miserable! Return with me my beauty! my jewel! and rejoice the hearts of my children!” Having said this he sprang on her back, and was out of sight in a moment. Still, for a continuance of great exertion, the English Race Horse is said to be superior to the Arabian, and for fleetness, he will yield to none. A Race Horse will go at the rate of a mile in less than two minutes.
