The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-02-01
F,uS, " The Hnsfrofsd Natural Hlfpry. Z"
THE HORSE,


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F,ps, The Illustrated Natural Haury.u
THE HORSE.
Although thG-RatrIe country of the horse
cannot with certainty be- traced IL seems
probable that he was first domcstcated ia T.
gypt, hut the precise period il is difficult to
settle. 1890 years before the birth Of Christ,
when Abraham, having lcft lIaran, in obodi-
cncc Ia the divine command, was driven into
Egypt by the famine, which ragged into Cana
an, Pharaoh offered him sheep aud oxen,
asses and camels. Horses would doubtless
bayc been added, had they then existed, or
had they been sublued in Egypt
When, fny years afterwards, Abraham
ipurneycd To Mount Moriah to offer up his
only son, he rode upon an ass; which with all
his wealth and power, he could scarcely have
done had the horse been known.
Thirty years later, when Jacob returned TO
Isaac with Rachel aud Leah, an account was
given, OF the number of oxen, sheep camcs,
goats and asses which he sent To appea.o the
anger Of ESau, bat not one horse is mention
ed.
IL was not until twcn,y.four years after
this, when the famine devastated Canaan. and
Jacob sent into Egypt 10 huy rorn, that hors-
cs arc first heard oc Wagons" probably
carriages drawn 10y horses, were sent 10y 10
scph into Canaan to bring his father to T.
gypL II would seem however, that horses
had boon but lately introduced, or not used
A. beasts Of burden, for the whole of the corn
which was to bc conveyed some hundred
miles, and was to afford snstcnancc for .Ja-
cob's large household, was carried on assSs.
About the year i7io before Christ, is the
period when horcs appear to have been used
first in Egypt They appear, however, To
nave rapdiy iurrvNsru anu spread abroad;
for when the Israclitcs returned into Canaan.
the Canaanitcs went out to fight against Isra-
cl, with chariots and horscmcn very mnnS.----
The horses Of Arabia. .nnil--r -rhc southern
PARTS Of EuropS-rrc;- clearly derived from F.
gypt; but whcthGS they were bred. or int
ported from the southwestern regions of A.
sia, or rs is more probable, brought from III
interior or northern coasts Of Africa, cannot
with certainty be determined.
PAUB
At the bead OF the African breeds, aud,
perhaps, at the head of all otarNr breeds, may
bc placed the Barb, from Barbary, and par
tcularly from Morocco and Fcz, an animal
remarkable for its fine and graceful action
1t is rather lower than the Arabian, seldom
exceeding fourteen hands and an inch The
shoulders are Hat, the chest round, the joints
inclined to bc long. and the head partc~lar-
ly beautiful The Barb is decidedly superb
or to the Arab in form, but has not the spirit,
or speed, or countcnance.
THE DoNGoLA HORSE.
The kingdom of Dongola aud tho neigh
t0Fing distFcTs OF TgyPt, and NbySS1in16, con-
tain horse not at all like any other oricn-
tai.
The Dongola horses stand full sixteen
hs,,,ls high, ,btt the t-ttrth of the body, from
the shoulders to the quarter, is considerably
less. Their form, is opposite to that of the
Arabian or English thoroughbred, which are
longer by some inches than they are high
Their neck is long and slender, the crest fine,
and the withers sharp and high, giving n
beautiful fore-hand; but the breast is too mar
row, the quarters and TANKS too flat, and the
back carped. They constitute excellent war
horses, from their speed, durability and size.
Several of them have been lately imported
into Europe, but they are little valued.
THE ARABIAN.
Going farther eastward, we arrive at Ara
hia, whose horses desorvediy occupy the very
highest rank.
There are said to be three breeds or vari-
cites of Arabian horses the Ahecii, or infe-
rior breed, on which they set little value, and
which are found wild on some parts of the
deserts; the kdddschi, literally horses of an
unknown race, answering to our half breed
horses--a mixed breed and hofc4ldni hors-
cs whose gencalogy, according to thu, Arab
account, is known for two thousand years.
The Arabian horse would not be acknowl-
edged by every judge to possess perfect
form his head, however, is inimtable. The
brOldness and squarcness of the forehead,the
shortness and frmness of the muzzle, the
prominefcy and bFillisaey of the eye.-the
smallness of the ears and the beautih course
of the veins, will always characterize the
head of the Arabian horse.
The Barb alone excels him in noble and
spirited action and if there be defects about
him, he is perfect for that for which he was
designed He presents the true combination
of speed and bottom-strength to carry more
than light weight and courage that would
causu him To die rather than give up.
Several interesting anecdotes are related
of the Arabian. A few of these may not be