Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-11-12
NO Really WILp HORSES.
All Are Said 60 he Descendants of Those
That Onoe Were Domesticated.

All Are Said 60 ne Descendants Of Those
That Once Were Domesticated.
ls there such a thing as the wild
horse, an aboriginal or truly wild horse,
in the world nowS The answer is more
than doubtful The mustang Of Mex
leo, the wild horse Of the South Amori-
can pampas, the brumbi Of Australia, all
are descendants Of the domestioated ami
mails introduced from Europe. The FIRST
horse was landed in America at Buenos
Ayros IN 1887 In 15S0--that is, in less
than 90 years-horses had spread to re-
gions as remote as Patagonia. In Aus
tralia the diffusion Of horses that have
escaped from civilization has been quite
as rapid, and ia 1879 it was found nee
essary 70 shoot as many as 1000 wild
horses in the colony Of New South Wales
alone
In some parts Of Australia the horse
pest has received legislative notice. The
wild horses tempt domestic horses to
join them, and wild stations also in
wade the Australian horse runs and viii
ate choice herds in a most annoying
manner. They roour 70 the ancestral
manners in q way that Is always the
same. Each stallion has his following
Of mares, ranging from a fow up to 40
and even 90, and those parties may be
separate or banded together in herds Of
considerable size, even, IL is said, 400
strong. The young and the weak mares
remain with a scanty or even no follow
ing. The stallion has to maintain his
supremacy by frequent combats, which
especially occur at certain seasons Of the
year. The animals are suspicious in the
extreme, swift I'm flight, but bold in de-
fense with tooth and heel in emergency
They range extensively in search Of pas
ture and water, and when hard pressed
by danger and famine the herds break
mp. It is said that each troop has a
leader and implicitly obeys him. He is
the first to face danger and give the hint
to fly. When pressed, the horses form a
ring, with the mares and foals in the
center, and defend themselves vigorous
" with their heels, or they close in ON
their opponent In dense masses and
trample him to death.
1t is distinctly proved, then, that
there can be no aboriginal or wild horse
in either America or Australia, although
thoro are tens Of thousands Of unknown
horses. Tradition points to central Asia
as tho original abode Of the horse, and
there the original stock of wild horses
may still possibly exist. Darwin 8 state
ment that no aboriginal or truly wild
horse is known to exist must still be
held as explaining the exact position Of
this question. But we must supplement
it by stating that 1t is not certain that
truly wild horses do not exist, and, on
the whole, conclude that the evidence
is in favor Of the existence Of the wild
horse in central Asia, but that we have
no evidence as to his pedigree in rcla-
tion to domestication. Tho wild horse
Of the British islands is now practically
the Shetland pony, but he is not the
powerful animal described by Caesar.
The domosticated animal everywhere,
however, reverts very easily to the saw
age state. The PAGES Of wild horse are
walk and gallop The double aud the
canter are artificial, and it is still
mooted question as to whether tho wild
horse ever trots Paper Read Before
the Bombay Historical Society.