Skip to main content

Full text of "The Horse and Its Relatives"

See other formats 


Google 



This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project 

to make the world's books discoverable online. 

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject 

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books 

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. 

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the 

publisher to a library and finally to you. 

Usage guidelines 

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the 
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to 
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. 
We also ask that you: 

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for 
personal, non-commercial purposes. 

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine 
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the 
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. 

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find 
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. 

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just 
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other 
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of 
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner 
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe. 

About Google Book Search 

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers 
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web 

at |http: //books .google .com/I 



i>» Google 



f 




i>, Google 



?»>c 



/ 



i>» Google 



i>» Google 



THE HORSE 

and 

ITS RELATIVES 



R. LYDEKKER, F.R.S. 



UN;!V. Or' 



NEW YORK 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON : GEORGE ALLEN & CO. LTD. 

1912 



D,Q,t,7p-h» Google 



;\;F-: 



printed b; Ballanttnb, Hanson 6* Co. 
At tlie BkUuHjnie Press, Edinblirgh 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



PREFACE 

The following popular, and yet, I hope, scientifi- 
cally accurate, account of the natural history of the 
more important representatives of the horse family, 
inclusive of the older domesticated breeds and its 
extinct forerunners, will, I venture to think, appeal 
to a large circle of readers. For breeders, racing- 
men, antiquarians, naturalists, and big-game hunters 
ought all to find something of interest. 

It should be emphasised that only the natural 
aspect of the subject is dealt with, such side-issues 
as the legendary history of the horse, horse-sacrifice, 
the acquisition and development of the art of riding 
and driving, the training and management of horses, 
being left untouched. 

Several difficult and debatable points are pur- 
posely left undecided, as I have preferred to quote 
the various opinions expressed by different writers, 
rather than to assert my own views. 

For the illustrations I am especially indebted to 
the Trustees of the British Museum ; but 1 have 
also to express my acknowledgments to the 
Duchess of Bedford, Prof. R. S. Lull, Dr. E. L. 



251113 ,. , 

D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Cookie 



Trouessartr, Mr. Theodore A. Cook — both in his 
private capacity and as editor of The Field- — Prof. 
J. C. Ewart, and several other friends and corre- 
spondents. 

Since the text was in type, Mr. R. I. Focock 
has pointed out (The Field, Jan. 20, 1912, p. 143) 
that the aperture of a scent-gland situated on the 
posterior aspect of the hind-foot of the Indian rhino- 
ceros occupies a position very nearly similar to that 
of the ergot in the foot of the horse {infra, p. 41). 
" The lOrifice of [this gland," he writes, " is placed 
suggestively near the spot corresponding to that 
occupied by the ergot in horses, and despite the 
accepted view that the ergot is a sole of the. foot, 
the possibility of its representing an aborted gland 
may be wisely borne in mind. Its general resem- 
blance to the warts or chestnuts on the legs of 
horses, which most authorities regard as degener- 
ated glandular structures, is quite in keeping with 
this suggestion." 

R. LYDEKKER. 

Harpenden Lodge, Herts, 
January 1913. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



CONTENTS 

I. The Zoological Position and Structure of 

THE Horse i 

II.- The Wild Tarpan and its Relations . . 71 

in» Horses and Ponies of the British Islands . 117 

IV., Some Foreign Breeds ..... 136 

V. ,The Arab Stock 150 

VI. , Feral Horses 170 

VII., The Kiang and Onager Group . . .176 

VIII., Zebras and Quaggas 187 

IX., The Ass 215 

X. Mules and other Hybrids . . , .225 

XI. The Extinct Forerunners of the Horse . 339 

Index 283 



D,o,t,7=^- In Google 



.■i>» Google 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



PLATES 

J. Fig. I. Cannon and Splint Bones of Shire 

Horse 14 

{Bril. Mta. GuUt U> Horn Family 

ViG. 3. Bones of Fork and Hind Feet of 

"MlOHIPPUs" „ 

{AfUr Lull) 

II. Skeleton of Thoroughbred Stallion 

"Eclipse" 16 

{Cook, " MtKfst and aKtIly") 

III. Fig. I. Skeleton of Forb-limbs of " Eclipse " i8 

Fig. a. Skbleton of Hind-limbs of "Eclipse" „ 
s, scapula ; k, humenu ; >. ulna ; r. radiiu ; t, 
carpus {knee); can, csDnon-bone -.fk, phalanges; 
/, pelvis :/. femur ; (.tibia; ca, ealcanemn (bock) 

{Both from COOK) 

IV. Fig. I. Skull of Shire Stallion ... 33 

{Bril. Mus. Gtiidt to Horn Famify) 

Fig. 3. Skull of Quagga . . . . « ' 
V. Fig. I. Right Upper Cheek-teeth of Tarpan 34 
Fia 3. Right Upper Cheek-teeth of Arab „ 
f.a-f.^, pcemoltti; ■i.i-m.3, molara; f, anterior 
pillar ; hy, poslerior pillar 

VI. Fig. I. Hind-foot of Horse showing Ergot 44 
FiG. 3. Chestnuts on Legs op Horse . . „ 

(Both from •• Brit. Mus, Guidt to Hartc Family ") 



by Google 



X ILLUSTRATIONS 

VII. Fig. I. Frontlet of Horse with Horh-uke 
Prominences 

Fia 3. Prehistoric Tarpan or Wild Horse 

{Bril. Mas. Guidt It Hunt Fiamfy) 

VIII. Fig. I. A Mongolian Mare . 

Fig. 3. A Tarpan Mark .... 
{Brit. Mus. Guidt la Harse Faiaily) 

IX. Fig. I. Skull of Tarpan Mark 

Fig. 3. Skull of Arab Mare. 

[Bolh/rJm-Bril. Mvs. GvOe to Hirst Family") 
X. Fig. I. A Norwegian Dun Stallion 
Fig. 3. A Mongolian Polo Pony . 

(From" The Field") 

XI. Fig- I. New Forest Ponies , 
Fig. 3. Shetland Ponies 

{BaOt frem pkaios. fy C. REiD) 

XII. Fig. I. A Suffolk Stallion . 
Fig. 3. A Shire Stallion 

{Pkotps. fy C. Reid) 

XIII. Fig. I. A Percheron Stallion 

(From a Frtnch feumari 

Fig. 3. A Belgian Stallion . 

(^nmi a Bmssels Jmnal) 

XIV. Fio. 1. The Darley Arabian. 

{From the PicluTe at Aldfy Part) 

Fig. 2. The Thoroughbred Stallion "Pbi 

sihuon" 

(From " The Field") 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



XV. Fig. i. The Kiang . 



XX. 



Fig. 3. KoBDO Omagbr .... 

{Btth from "Brit. Mis. Guidt to Harjt Family") 

Fig. I. Gr£vv's Zebra . 

{Brit. Mm. Guidt ta Htrt* Family) 

Fig. 3. Head of Gravy's Zebra 

Fig. I. The Quagga 
{Pkata. Young) 

Fig. a. Matabili Bohtkquagga 
{Phota. Pbof. J. C. EwART) 

Fig. I. Kilimanjaro Bontequagga 
{Pkoto. Thb Duchbss of Bbdpokd) 

Fig. 2. "Masai Bontequagga . 

(Brit. Mus, Guidt It Mora Family) 

Fia. I. fiKiN OF Foa's Zebra . 

Fig. 3. Skin of Kilimanjaro Bontequagga 
(Pkatoi. Dk. E. L. Tkouessakt) 

Fig. r. The Zebra 



Fig. 3. Nubian Wild Ass 

{Bttkfrom " Brit. Mus. Gvidi to Hirst Family "] 

XXI. Fig. i. Hybrid Bontequagga and Poky Foal 

AND Dam 

(Pketo. Prof. Ewart) 



Fig. 



Hybrid Zebra and Onager 



Bones of Fore-feet of Extinct Fore- 
runner of the Horse 

(flnV. Mils. Guide to Horn Family) 



n 7- 1>, Google 



xii ILLUSTRATIONS 

'"'« FACiaO HOK 

XXin. Skeleton of "Hippidium" .... 252 

(Brit. Mas. Guidi to fftirsc Family) 

XXIV. Fig. i. Skull of " Onohippidium " . . 260 
Fic. 3. Molars of " Equus," *' Hippidium," 

AND "HiPPARION" „ 

{BotM/roat " Brit. Mus. Guidt ta Mora Famify ") 

TEXT-FIGURES 

Bones of Fore-leg op Horse and Rhinoceros . . 6 

{,Brit. Mas. GuitU to Grtal Game) 

Skull of Pig-like Animal, "Elotherium" . . 20 

Molars of Single-toed and Threx-toed Horses . 33 
The Ancestors of the Horse and its Relatives 

compared 340 

{A/ltr Lull) 
Milk-molars and Premolars of the Extinct " Meryc- 

Hippus" 355 

Bones of the Fore and Hind Feet of the Extinct 

"Hipparion" 357 

{A/ttr L«ll) 

Crown Surface of Upper Molar of the Extinct 

" HiPPARION " 258 

[After Lalf) 

Bones of the Fore and Hind Feet of the Extinct 

" Hypohippus " 261 

{A/ler Lull) 
Upper Molar Tooth of " Anchitheriuu " . . 267 

Bones of the Fore and Hind Feet of the Extinct 

"Eohippus" 274 

{AfUrLuli) 

Bones of the Fore and Hind Feet of the Eocene 

" Phenacodus " 376 

{After Lull) 



THE HORSE AND ITS 
RELATIVES 



CHAPTER I 

THE ZOOLOGICAL POSITION AND STRUCTURE 
OF THE HORSE 

The difficulty which occurs in the case of the 
ox^ as to what is the proper English designation 
of that animal does not arise in the present instance, 
for although we not infrequently speak of a horse, 
as distinct from a mare, there seems little doubt 
that the former term is really a species-name, and 
therefore applicable to both sexes of Eguus caballus, 
as the domesticated horse of Europe was called 
by Linnseus. 

As to the origin of the name horse — the equiva- 
lent of the Anglo-Saxon hors, the Frisian hars 
or hors, the German ross, the Italian rozza, the 
Old Saxon and Old German kros, and probably 
the Persian ghor and the Hindustani ghora — there 
has been some difference of opinion. It has been 
stated, for instance, to take origin from the Sanskrit 

' See Tke Ox audits Kindred, by R. Lydekker, London, 1913. 



.■i>, Google 



2 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

hr^h, signifying to neigh, so that the horse means 
the neighing animal.' This derivation is, however, 
not admitted in the Century Dictionary, where 
the name is stated to be the equivalent of the 
Anglo-Saxon kors, which signifies swiftness, and 
is connected with the Latin currere, to run ; the 
English term horse thus meaning the running 
animal. 

The Sanskrit name of the species is ofva, which 
appears to be the equivalent of the Hebrew sus, 
the Greek hippos (with its diminutives hipparion 
and hippidion\ and the Latin equtts. Another series 
of names for the horse is represented by the Greek 
kaballos, the Latin caballus, the Spanish cabeUlo, 
the Italian cavalio, and the French ckeval. In 
addition to these, we have the German pferd and 
the Y>\xXc^ paard. There is also the English name 
pony, for a small horse, which may possibly be 
connected with the undermentioned ^//kj. 

As is commonly the case with domesticated 
animals, there is also a large series of names to 
denote the two sexes and the young of the horse. 
Stallion, for instance, the English name of the 
male of the species, is equivalent to the modern 
French stolon, the old French estallon, arid the 
Italian stallone, or equus stallonis, the horse at stall. 
Mare, the designation of the female, is derived 

> See The Students English Dictionary^ by J. Ogilvie, London, 
1865. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 3 

from the Anglo-Saxon myre or mere^ a word which 
appears to have been originally connected with 
increase, but in a later sense indicated the female 
of the strong animal. As regards the young, the 
name foal — equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon fole, 
the Latin puUus, and the Greek p$los, all denoting 
originally a young animal — is applicable to both 
sexes. The word filly, on the other hand, which 
likewise apparently comes from the Anglo-Saxon 
foU, denotes a female foal ; whereas colt — an 
Anglo-Saxon derivative probably connected with 
cild, a child — is applied solely to a foal of the 
male sex. Finally, the term gelding signifies the 
castrated male. 

In this place it may be convenient to mention 
that although the name horse properly belongs only 
to the domesticated and wild representatives of 
Eguus caballus, it is frequently employed by natu- 
ralists in a more extensive sense. We speak, for 
instance, of the Arabian horse ; and even if that 
be, as some suppose, specifically distinct from the 
ordinary horse of Western Europe, there is no 
question that such usage is perfectly legitimate and 
permissible. On the other hand, all the other ex- 
isting members of the horse tribe, or Eguida, have 
distinctive names of their own, such as ass, zebra, 
and quagga. Nevertheless, all these are often 
called horses in works on natural history, although 
the practice has its inconveniences ; and the term 



: LiiK^'^le 



4 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

members of the horse tribe is preferable. Similarly, 
the name horse, as the denomination of the typical 
member of the genus Equus, is very generally 
applied to the extinct representatives of the same 
genus or even of closely allied genera ; and there is 
less objection to this practice than to the one last 
mentioned, as there are no vernacular names for the 
animals in question. The term three-toed horses 
is, for instance, a convenient one for the members 
of the extinct genus Hipparion, as it is not likely 
to lead to confusion. On the other hand, the 
word horse must have some limitation ; and the 
American practice of applying it to diminutive 
ancestral types of the Equida no larger than foxes 
is one that is not to be commended. Since the 
respective meanings of the terms species, genus, 
family, order, &c, are explained in most works on 
natural history, it will suffice in this place to state 
that Eqwas caballus, as represented by the ordinary 
domesticated horses of Western Europe, is the 
typical representative of both the genus Equus 
and the family Equidce. Both that family and the 
Bovida, or hollow-horned ruminants— of which the 
ox is the typical member — belong to the great 
order of hoofed mammals, or Ungulata, so called 
from the feet of its more typical representatives 
being encased in solid horny hoofs. 

These more typical groups are divided into two 
main sections or sub-orders, namely the even-toed 



: LHX^glC 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 5 

ungulates, or Artiodactyla, as typiBed by the ox, 
and an equivalent, albeit at the present day much 
smaller section, known as the odd-toed ungulates, or 
Perissodactyla, of which the horse and its relatives 
are the most specialised members. Although the 
leading points of distinction between these sub- 
orders have been indicated in my volume on the ox, 
it is advisable that the characteristics of the second 
should be repeated, as well as somewhat amplified, 
in this place. 

The odd-toed, or perissodactyle, ungulates take 
their name from the circumstance that the toe 
corresponding ta the middle finger of the human 
hand and its representative in the hind-limb, to- 
gether with the bone known as metacarpal in 
the fore, and metatarsal in the hind leg, respec- 
tively form the continuation of the main axis of 
the limb, and are symmetrical in themselves. In 
the horse and its immediate relatives this middle 
toe is alone functionally developed in both the front 
and hind legs ; but in the rhinoceroses, which 
belong to the same sub-order, although to a different 
family {^Rhinocerotidm), there is a pair of smaller 
lateral toes, each of which, together with its 
supporting metacarpal or metatarsal bone, is like- 
wise symmetrical. Just as the middle toe of the 
fore-leg corresponds to the middle or third finger of 
the human hand, so the lateral toes of the rhinoceros 
severally represent the second and fourth fingers 

D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



6 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

of man ; a similar correspondence to the toes of 
the human foot obtaining, of course, in the hind-leg. 
A practically identical correspondence obtains in 
the hind-foot of the tapirs, which belong to the third 



The bones of the lower put ot the left fore-leg of a Hone (A) 
and B. Rhinoceios (B). r, lower end of ruJiua or ioner leg-bone ; 
», do. of ulna or oulei 1^-bone ; c, carpus or wrist ; mc, meu- 
caipal bones ; pi, phalanges oi toe-bones : ll., ill., iv., second, 
third, and fourth toes, oi (in A) the remaants of the metacarpals. 
In the horse mc is known as the cannon-bone, the two upper 
phalanges are termed pastem-bones, and the lower one is the 
Coffin-biKie. 

and last family ( Tapirids) of living perissodactyles. 
The front-foot of the tapir has, however, four toes, of 
which the outermost represents the fifth, or little, 
finger of the human hand- The addition, or rather 



by Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 7 

the retention, of the outermost toe does not, how- 
ever, affect the symmetry of the other three front- 
toes of the tapir, which are arranged in just the 
same manner as in the three-toed fore-foot of a 
rhinoceros. 

As a whole, however, the skeleton of the fore- 
foot of a tapir is obviously unsymmetrical, this 
being due to the loss of the toe corresponding to 
the human thumb, or first finger, as it should pro- 
perly be called. And it may be noted here that this 
first toe has disappeared from both feet in all 
members of the odd-toed group, extinct as well 
as living, although it is developed in certain 
primitive members of the ungulate order, of which 
mention is made in the sequel. 

This symmetrical development of the third toe 
(inclusive of the supporting metacarpal in the fore 
and the metatarsal in the hind limb) and its 
superiority in size over either of the lateral ones, 
when these are present, is the one great feature of 
the skeleton by which the odd-toed ungulates, or 
Perissodactyla, are distinguished from the even- 
toed group, or Artiodactyla. In the latter group, 
as is fully described in the volume on the ox, the 
third and fourth toes are equal in size, and 
developed symmetrically to one another on either 
side of the vertical line between them. Conse- 
quently, in that group the continuation of the main 
axis of the limb is formed by the vertical line 



i>» Google 



8 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

dividing the third from the fourth toe, whereas 
in the odd-toed group it is constituted by a line 
running down the middle of the third toe. 

This, although by far the most important, is, 
however, by no means the sole character in which 
the skeleton of an odd-toed differs from that of an 
even-toed ungulate. One of the most easily recog- 
nised of these minor skeletal differences is the 
presence in the members of the odd-toed group 
of a more or less strongly marked projection or 
process on the outer side of the upper end of the 
shaft of the femur, or thigh-bone, which is totally 
absent in the even-toed group. Another, although 
less obvious, difference is to be found in the shape 
of the astragalus, or huckle-bone, of the tarsus, or 
ankle-joint — the so-called hock of the horse. In the 
Perissodactyla the lower surface of this bone is 
markedly Battened, whereas in the Artiodactyla the 
same surface is rounded and pulley-like : the vertical 
diameter of the whole bone being also relatively 
less in the former than in the latter group. Yet 
another difference is to be found in the number 
of joints, or vertebrae, in the backbone, or vertebral 
column, of the two groups. In perissodactyles the 
number of vertebrae between the skull and what 
is known as the sacrum (that is to say, the con- 
solidated mass of vertebrae to which the haunch- 
bone, or pelvis, is attached) is never less than 29 and 
is very generally 30, whereas in the artiodactyles 

\ 

D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 9 

it is invariably 26. If we exclude from this enu- 
meration the seven cervical vertebrae common 
to all ungulates, this may be expressed in another 
way by saying that whereas in the odd-toed group 
the number of trunk-vertebrae may be 22 or 23, in 
the even-toed group it is invariably 19. 

Other differences in the skeleton, as "well as 
certain peculiarities in the teeth of the two groups, 
need not be mentiwied here ; but it may be 
observed that no penssoaactyle has the complex 
type of stomach characteristic of the ruminating 
artiodactyles. 

Although, as already mentioned, the Perisso- 
dactyla are represented at the present day only by 
three families — the Equida, RhinocerotidcE, and 
Tapiridm — the living members of each of which 
may be included in a single genus, during the 
Tertiary period they comprised several extinct 
families and a large number of genera. Nor is 
this all, for whereas, with the exception of the 
tapirs, which are common to Malaya and Tropical 
America, the group is nowadays restricted to the 
Old World, in past times it was abundantly repre- 
sented in the New World, where the three existing 
families (together with certain extinct ones) occurred 
in North America, while the Equida succeeded in 
effecting an entrance during the latter part of the 
Tertiary period into South America. 

Even this, however, does not represent the real 



D,g,t,7P:hy Google 



10 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

poverty of the odd-toed group at the present day, 
for the three surviving famlHes are remarkable for 
the small number of their existing representatives. 
The horse tribe, for instance, includes at the present 
day only about eight or nine species, while the 
rhinoceroses comprise five, and the tapirs another five, 
or possibly six, specific types. The whole number 
of living perissodactyles is thus well under a score. 

In this poverty of families, genera, and species 
the Perissodactyla present a remarkable contrast to 
the Artiodactyla of the existing epoch, whose 
specific representatives are between one and two 
hundred in number, and are classed in no less than 
nine or ten separate families, with a collectively 
world-wide distribution — exclusive, of course, of 
Australia. Despite the fact of its having lost a 
large number of generic and family types, the 
Artiodactyla may be regarded as a dominant type 
at the present day, whereas the Perissodactyla are 
as distinctly a waning group, so far, at least, as the 
numerical abundance of genera and species is con- 
cerned. What may have been the cause of this 
difference in the two groups cannot yet be 
determined. 

As regards the characters by which the family 
Equidce is distinguished from other groups of odd- 
toed ungulates, there is no difficulty at all when 
the existing representatives of the sub-order are 
alone taken into consideration, since the horse and 



■ D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 



its immediate living relatives are broadly distin- 
guished from all other modem mammals by the 
reduction of the number of toes on each foot to 
one. During the later part of the Tertiary, or -^ 
latest, period of geological history there existed, 
however, a number of animals agreeing in all 
essential characters with the modern horse and its 
relatives, but with three toes to each foot, although 
the lateral ones were so small as to be of no 
functional importance. These three-toed horses, 
of which there is more than one generic type, had 
tall-crowned cheek-teeth differing from those of 
the modern horse only in certain comparatively un- 
important details of structure, and in the somewhat 
inferior height of their crowns. Somewhat earlier 
in the Tertiary are found remains of other three- 
toed horse-like animals, which differ much more 
markedly from the modern type. Among their 
more salient differences are the relatively larger size 
of the lateral toes, which, in some cases at any 
rate, were at least partially of functional use ; and, 
more important still, the quite short crowns of thetr 
cheek-teeth. 

Now in defining the Equida it is found con- 
venient to take tallness of crown in the cheek- 
teeth as the main distinctive character, and to 
include in that family only those species in which 
this feature is distinctly developed. The short- 
crowned species are accordingly referred to separate 



n,r,„.=.-in Google 



12 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

families, of which all the members are extinct : to 
these fuller reference is made in the chapter on 
the extinct relatives of the horse. It will of course 
be obvious that if we had before us the whole of 
the ancestral series of the horse, we should find 
an absolutely complete gradation from types with 
tall-crowned to those with short-crowned cheek- 
teeth ; and it would consequently be impossible 
to draw a hard-and-fast line between the two. In 
that case it would be necessary to make an arbi- 
trary line of division, as it is sufficiently obvious that 
it is quite impossible to include all the ancestors 
of a given mammal in a single family group ; as, if 
this were attempted, we should find reptiles included 
in the horse family, mammals being undoubtedly 
descended from certain extinct, and to some extent 
primitive, groups of reptiles^ 

The horse family, or Equidm, may, then, be 
briefly defined as including such odd-toed or perisso- 
dactyle ungulates as have tall-crowned cheek-teeth 
of a peculiar and characteristic pattern (described 
later on), and each foot terminating in a single 
large functional toe, which, in the case of some 
extinct species, may be flanked by a pair of much 
smaller functJonless toes. In the course of this 
chapter other characters are noticed which may 
likewise be used in the definition of the family, 
although the two mentioned above are amply 
sufficient for the purpose. 



D,Q,t,7P.i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 13 

All the members, whether living or extinct, 
of the family, as thus restricted, come under the 
denomination of what naturalists term highly special- 
ised animals ; the specialisation in this instance 
taking the form of adaptation for the attainment 
of great speed in running, and likewise for grazing 
on grass or other herbage. 

Their specialisation is best observed in the 
skeleton and teeth ; the former departing almost 
as widely as possible from that of a generalised 
animal, such, so far as the structure of the limbs 
is concerned, as a bear. 

In the latter animal each foot terminates 
in five complete and functional toes, usually 
armed with claws ; and in walking the entire 
sole of the foot, inclusive of the heel-bone, or 
calcaneum, in the hind-pair, is applied to the 
ground. 

In the horse and its existing relatives, together 
with certain extinct species, such as the one of 
which the skeleton is shown in plate xxiii., each 
foot terminates in a single toe (encased during 
life in a hoof), upon which alone the animal 
walks ; this single toe, as already mentioned, 
and as shown in the figure on page 6, corre- 
sponding to the middle or third one of the 
generalised five-toed type. Consequently the heel, 
or ankle, technically known as the tarsus, in place 
of resting on the ground, as in the bear, is raised 



by Google 



14 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

high above it — forming, in fact, in the horse the 
so-called hock. Similarly in the fore-limb the wrist- 
joint, or carpus, is raised to the same approximate 
level above the ground, and constitutes the so-called 
knee of the horse. 

The single metacarpal bone {mc in the figure, 
on page 6) in the fore-leg of the horse is known 
as the cannon-bone ; the same name being also 
applied to the corresponding element in the hind- 
leg, that is to say, the metatarsal bone. The i 
remnants of the lateral metacarpals (ii., iv. in the 
figure last cited) in the fore-leg, as well as those of 
the corresponding metatarsals in the hind-limb, are 
designated splint-bones. The degree of develop- 
ment, or rather of the degeneration, of these splint- 
bones varies considerably in different horses. In 
many instances, as in the figure on page 6, 
these bones represent merely the upper ends of 
the metacarpals and metatarsals. In other cases, 
as in the illustration of this part of the limb of a 
shire horse (pi. i. fig. i) the whole shafts of the 
splint-bones are retained, with remnants at the ' 
lower end of the first and second toe-bones, or 
phalanges (i, 2). This comparatively full develop- 
ment of the splint-bones appears to be not un- 
common in shire horses ; but remnants of the , 
toe-bones, which in all cases are firmly welded with 
the splint-bones, are retained in the skeleton of 
the famous racehorse " Stockwell," of which the 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 15 

limb-bones are exhibited in the Natural History 
branch of the British Museum. 

The figure of the bones of the feet of an extinct 
three-toed horse is placed alongside that of the 
cannon-bones of the shire horse in order to show 
how the splint-bones and rudimentary toe-bones 
of the latter correspond with the same bones in 
a more fully developed condition in the former. 

So far as can be ascertained, the splint-bones 
of the horse and its existing relatives are of no use 
to their owners, although there is just a possibility 
that they may be of some slight service in mitigat- 
ing shock. On the other hand, in domesticated 
horses they are frequently harmful, since, through 
inflammation and subsequent exostosis, they give 
rise to the disease known as splint. 

^ In this connection it is interesting to note that 

. a few years ago Professor La Van de Pas, of the 

Agricultural and Veterinary Institute of Buenos 

Aires, published an account^ of a prevalent type 

of degeneration in the splint-bones of Argentine 

, horses. In 1904 the author received the left hind 

, cannon-bone of a horse in which the outer splint- 

^ Jxine was only half the normal length, its lower 
portion being replaced by ligamentous tissue. The 
other cannon-bones of this horse were not forth- 

. -coming, but in the course of the next few years 
the author had the opportunity of examining a 

* Anaies de MifS. Nactonal de Buenos Aires, ser. 3, voL x. 



D,r,,t,7=^- In Google 



i6 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

considerable series of such bones. In a large 
proportion of these a similar degeneration was 
observed, sometimes in one and sometimes in both 
splint-bones ; and it may accordingly be considered 
that such atrophy is comparatively common in 
Argentine horses. It is further noticeable that the 
degeneration is more marked in the outer than in 
the inner splint-bone, alike in the fore and the hind 
limb. At the close of the descriptive portion of 
the communication the author arrives at the con- 
clusion that Argentine horses are endeavouring to 
discard these seemingly useless portions of the 
skeleton. 

It may be added that in veterinary anatomy 
the first and second phalanges, or toe-bones, of 
the horse's foot are respectively termed the upper 
and lower pastern-bones, while the enlarged 
terminal bone which, carries the hoof is known as 
the coffin-bone. The last-named bone, it may be 
noted, is much wider in the fore-foot than in the 
hind-foot ; having almost the shape of a cheese- 
cutter in the fore-leg. Another term employed in 
veterinary works is fetlock, which denotes the 
joint between the lower end of the cannon-bone 
and the upper pastern. 

The middle segment of the skeleton of the 
horse's fore-leg, that is to say the one immediately 
above the carpus, or so-called knee, is formed 
mainly by the radius, or inner leg-bone ; the ulna 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



i>» Google 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 17 

or outer leg-bone — which is as long as, and 
separate from the radius in less specialised animals, 
such as rhinoceroses — being represented only by its 
upper end, corresponding to the human elbow, or 
olecranon, and this being immovably soldered to the 
radius. In consequence of this welding of two 
origfinally separate bones into a single compound 
element, the fore-leg of a horse is capable of no 
other movement than a backwards and forwards 
one ; this being all that is needed by a running 
animal. A similar consolidation and simplification 
of elements likewise obtains in the middle segment 
of the hind-leg of the horse, in which the originally 
distinct smaller bone known as the fibula is re- 
duced to its upper extremity, this being firmly 
welded to the upper end of the larger bone, or 
tibia. 

The reduction in the number of toes to a single 
large one in each foot, and of the metacarpal and 
metatarsal bones to the aforesaid splints, coupled 
with the elongation of the bones of the whole lower 
segment of the limb, the simplification and con- 
solidation of those of the middle segment, and the 
raising of the carpus (" knee ") and tarsus (hock) far 
above the level of the ground, so as to cause the 
animal to walk on the tips of its single toes, are 
the chief features in which the skeleton of the horse 
shows (as compared with that of more generalised 
animals) special adaptation for the attainment of a 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



i8 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

high speed. Such a type of limb is the one evi- 
dently best suited to this end, since if the short, many- 
toed, and many-boned limb had been elongated 
without special modification to the extent of that of 
the horse, it is perfectly certain that it would have 
been unequal to the strain of carrying the body of 
such a heavy animal at a high rate of speed over 
hard ground. 

In their limb-specialisation the horse and its 
relatives have attained practically the same evolu- 
tionary platform as the ruminant ungulates, only by 
a diiferent line of development. In the horse group, 
as we have just seen, the development of a long 
cannon-bone in the lower segment of each limb has 
been brought about by the lengthening and strength- 
ening of the middle element of the primitive five-toed 
foot In the ruminants, on the other hand, the same 
end has been attained by the lengthening and fusion 
of two adjacent elements, so as to form a compound, 
in place of a simple, cannon-bone. At the present 
day the members of the horse family are absolutely 
unique in the matter of limb-structure, no other 
living mammal (or, for that matter, no other living 
animal) having a single-toed, or monodactyle, foot. 
It is, however, not a little remarkable that during 
the middle, or Miocene, portion of the Tertiary 
period South America was the home of a genus 
erf" hoofed mammals known as Thoatherium, 
in which a monodactyle type of foot had likewise 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



Skeleton of front (Fig. i) and hind (Kig. 2) limbs of " Eclipse." j, scapula ; 
k, bumeras; n, ulna ; r, radius; c, carpus or wrist ("knee") ; latt, 
cannon-bone ; /*, phalanges or toe-bones ; p, pelvis ; /, femur ; /, 
tibia ; ca, calcaneum or upper bone of tarsus or ankle (" boclt "). 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 19 

been developed by the reduction of the lateral toes 
of a nearly allied tridactyle relative. In this case 
the specialisation was even greater than in the 
horse group, as the splint-bones were reduced to 
mere nodules of bone on either side of each cannon- 
bone. 

If Thoatkerium had been a near relative of the 
horse, there would be no cause for surprise in its 
having attained the same remarkable and final stage 
of foot-development As a matter of fact, it 
belongs, however, to a totally different and much 
more primitive group of ungulates, which appears 
to have been always restricted to South America, 
and although presenting certain structural resem- 
blances to the Perissodactyla, is in other respects so 
distinct that it is ranked, under the name of Lito- 
pterna, as an equivalent subordinal group of the 
great order Ungulata. The most remarkable thing 
connected with ThocUherium is that, despite the 
specialised toes, its carpus and tarsus are of an 
exceedingly primitive type.^ 

Several noteworthy features occur in the skull 
of the horse and its existing relatives. In the first 
place, it differs from the skulls of all other living 
perissodactyles — namely, tapirs and rhinoceroses — 
in the complete closure of the rim of the socket of 
the eye by means of a bridge of bone extending 

' Sec W. B. Scott, "The Litopterna," Rep. Princeton Univ. 
Exped. to Patagonia, vol. vii. pt i. 191a 



i>» Google 



20 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

from the forehead downwards to the horizontal 
bar known as the temporal arch. Secondly, it is 
characterised by the inordinate length of the por- 
tion in front of the socket of the eye, or orbit, as 
compared with the part behind the same. *' In the 
horse," writes Professor H. F. Osborn,' " long- 
headedness is a very ancient character ; even the 
earliest known four-toed horses have quite elongate, 
or at least mesaticephaltc [moderately long] skulls. 



Skull of a giant extinct Pig-like animal {Elatherium), to show 
the horse-like elongation of (he &cial portion. 

The progressive elongation of the skull in horses 
is apparently for two purposes : first, to facilitate 
reaching the ground with the row of incisor or 
cropping teeth ; second, and no less important, to 
allow space in front of the eye-sockets for the great 
TOWS of elongate, or hypsodont, grinding teeth, the 
marvellous dental battery of the horse, ^^e might 
assume from these facts that long-headedness is 
correlated with long teeth, but the giant pigs 

* The Age of Mammals, New York, 1910, p. i8. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 21 

(elotheres) have still longer and narrower skulls 
than the horse, yet all the teeth are brachyodont, or 
short -crowned. Again, the elephant has extremely 
elongate, or hypsodont, molar teeth, yet it also 
possesses the shortest skull known among the 
Mammalia." 

Another feature in the skull of the existing 
members of the horse family is the comparative 
shortness of the slit separating the front end of the 
nasal bones, which form the roof of the nose- 
chamber, from those of the upper jaw, as is well 
shown in the figure of the skull of a shire horse 
(pi. iv. fig. i). The importance of this feature 
will be apparent when the extinct relatives of 
the horse are-taken into consideration in a later 
chapter. 

Much has been made of the degree to which the 
facial portion of the skull of the horse is inclined to 
the basal axis of its hind part.^ Although th^re is 
undoubtedly great variation in this respect between 
different horse-skulls, it is far from certain that they 
are really of any special importance. For it has 
been suggested that this bending down of the fore- 
part of the skull on the basal axis, which occurs in 
many grass-eating mammals, is primarily due to 
the "pull" or strain caused by the act of grazing; 
and if this be really the case, it is obvious that 

* S«e J. C, Ewart, Trans. R. Soc. EiUtiburgh, vol. xlv. pp. 555, 
587, 1907- 



i>» Google 



22 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

horses whose ancestors have for many generations 
been accustomed to feed on hard and tough grasses 
will show a greater degree of cranial deflection than 
those whose food has consisted either of softer and 
more easily yielding herbage or of grain. More- 
over, it seems highly probable that the degree of 
deflection may vary with age — the older the 
animal, the greater the degree of bending. This, 
indeed, is exemplified in the case of two skulls 
figured by Professor Ewart on plate ii. of the 
memoir cited in the footnote to illustrate this 
feature ; the one shown in the upper figure of that 
plate, in which the deflection is slight, being 
obviously that of a young animal, while the one in 
the lower figure, which displays the bending in a 
very marked degree, is as clearly that of an aged 
horse. 

Yet another cranial feature remains to be 
noticed. In the skulls of certain domesticated 
horses, especially Arabs, thoroughbreds, and shires, 
a more or less distinct oval or circular depression 
may be noticed a short distance in front of the 
socket of the eye, or orbit, and therefore con- 
veniently called the preorbital depression. It is 
shown faintly in the figure of the skull of a shire 
horse in plate iv. fig. i, and more clearly in the photo- 
graph of the skull of a quagga (plate iv. fig. 2) ; the 
latter instance shows that the feature is not confined 
to the horse itself Of itself, this feature may seem 



n ,-i,,Go()j^le 



Fig. I. Skull of a Shire Stallion ; //, preorbital depression. 
Fig. 2. Skull of a Quagga, to show preorbital depression, , lolc 



by Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 23 

a very trivial one, but it happens, as will be noticed 
more fully in the sequel, that the skulls of certain 
extinct horses show a much more marked de- 
pression in the same region — a hollow so deep 
that it deserves the name of pit rather than 
depression. 

Writing of this preorbital hollow in the extinct 
three-toed Hipparion, S\v W. H. Flower in his 
volume on The Horsed observed that "although 
such a pit is not found in any of the existing 
species of horse, it was not infrequent in many 
extinct forms, and varied in them in size and depth. 
It so closely resembles a similar depression found 
in the same situation in many species of deer and 
antelopes, which lodges a glandular infolding or 
pouch of the skin called the 'suborbital gland,' 
'crumen,' or in French 'larmier,' that there can be 
little doubt but that it had the same purpose in the 
hipparion. This' gland in the existing animals that 
possess it secretes a peculiar oily odorous substance, 
the scent of which enables the animals provided 
with it to recognise each other even at immense 
distances, the faculty of smell being also developed 
to a wonderful degree. . . . 

"The presence of this gland in the hipparion 
and its absence in the more modern Equida has 
been given as a reason for supposing that the 
latter are not the direct descendants of the former, 

^ London, 1891, p. 64. 



i>» Google 



24 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

but must have been derived from some other form 
in which such a specialisation had been developed. 
This, of course, is probable ; - but it must not be 
forgotten that very slight changes in habits, or the 
increased uses of other senses than that of smell, 
may have diminished the value of the information 
afforded by this gland, and ultimately led to the 
elimination of the organ itself. It may be that a 
change from a life habitually passed in forests or 
scrub to one in open plains would be sufficient to 
account for such a modification in structure." 

Sir William Flower appears never to have 
noticed the presence of the slight preorbital de- 
pression in the skull of certain existing represen- 
tatives of the horse family ; but when it first came 
under my own observation the suggestion naturally 
arose that it was the last vestige of the decadent 
fore-gland of the three-toed hipparion. 

Confirmation of this was afforded by a statement 
made by Professor T. H. Huxley,^ that traces of 
a preorbital pit remain in the skulls of some of the 
fossil horses from the Siwalik Hills of Northern 
India. But this was not all, for some years ago 
I received a communication from a correspondent 
to the effect that he had seen a living horse, 
believed to be of Argentine origin, in which there 
was a distinct depression, although without any 
external orifice, just in front of each orbit. More 

' Q/tart. Joum. GtoL Sec., London, vol. xxvj. p. 2, 1870. 



D,g,t,7P- by Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 25 

important still was a letter from Mr. Wilfred Scawen 
Blunt, the well-known possessor of a stud of Arabs, 
in which it was stated that he once owned a horse 
of this breed in which there was a well-developed 
and functional gland on one side of the face in the 
same position as the larmier of a deer. The 
identification of the preorbital depression in the 
skulls of certain existing members of the horse 
family has been accepted by Sir E. Ray Lankester,^ 
who remarked that although dissection had not 
revealed any existence of glandular tissue in the 
structures overlying this structure in horses of 
Arab descent (in which the feature is very constant), 
yet it is not improbable that occasional instances 
of such survival will some day come to light 

On the other hand, Mr. R. I. Pocock,' after 
dissecting a number of horses' heads, came to a 
precisely opposite conclusion ; remarking that he 
had failed to discover any trace of glandular tissue 
in the soft parts overlying the depression, and that 
the depression itself is very variable in its degree 
of development. He then adds that "from this 
hollow or from the corresponding area of the skull 
[when it is absent] arises a long muscle which 
passes forwards to supply the upper lip and nose ; 
and I believe its sole significance is to give an 
increase of surface for muscular fibres. If this 

' Science from an Easy-Chair, London, 1910, p. 87. 

* Ann. Mag. Nal. Hist., London, scr. 7, vol. xv., p. 517, 1905- 



iXHH^i^le 



26 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

be so, variation in the extent to which the depres- 
sion is developed is exactly what would be ex- 
pected." Mr. Pocock then goes on to observe 
that the deeper pit observable in the skull of the 
extinct three-toed hipparion may possibly, although 
not probably, be also an area for muscular attach- 
ment. He adds that in the skull of the extinct 
South American Onokippidium, where the preorbital 
pit (as is shown in the concluding chapter of this 
volume) is very large, there appears to be a division 
into two parts, of which one is shallower than 
the other, and may correspond to the depression 
found in some existing members of the horse 
family. 

Apparently, therefore, Mr. Pocock is of opinion 
that in the two extinct genera just mentioned 
lachrymal glands were probably developed. 

A later writer, Professor Studer,* when describ- 
ing a species of hipparion from the upper Tertiary 
strata of Samos, goes much further than this, and ex- 
presses the opinion that in no case is the preorbital 
pit for the reception of a lachrymal gland, but 
that it is always solely for the purpose of muscular 
attachment, and attains its maximum development 
in species like Onohippidium and the Samos species 
of Hipparion which were probably furnished with 
a proboscis. The position of the pit, it is stated, 
differs somewhat from that of a true larmier, and 

* Ver}t. Devtsch. Zool. Ges. 1910-11, p. 11. 



^HXigle 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 27 

the inframaxillary foramen is always some distance 
from the pit. 

-7 Leaving the skull, attention may be directed 
to the teeth of the horse, which form an exceedingly 
important feature in its anatomy. As is well shown 
in the iigure of the skull of a shire, stallion in 
plate iv. fig. I, there is a considerable gap between 
the front teeth, which are mainly adapted for nipping 
and biting, and the long series on each side of 
the face, which are conveniently called cheek-teeth, 
and whose function is to grind up the grass or 
other herbage gatttered by the front teeth. In the 
anterior half of the aforesaid gap there occurs, 
however, Jn stallions a tusk on each side of both 
upper an^lower jaws, which corresponds to the 
canine of carnivorous mammals, and is separated, 
in each jaw, from the three pairs of Incisor teeth, 
which occupy the front of the jaws. In mares the 
tusks are either very small or wanting, from which 
it may be inferred that in stallions these teeth are 
mainly, if not entirely, used in fighting, and not 
for gathering or masticating food, for which, indeed; 
they are obviously unsuited. 

>j The existence of this long gap between the front 
and the cheek teeth is a specialised feature ; mam- 
mals of a more primitive type having either the 
whole of the teeth in contact, or with relatively 
small intervals on each side of the canines when these 
are large. A similar long gap occurs in the lower 



iXHH^i^le 



28 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

dental series of the ox and its relatives, in which, 
however, the lower canines have become approxi- 
mated to the incisors, with which they form a regular 
series of spatulate-crowned teeth. In the upper 
'jaw of the ox tribe specialisation has been carried to 
a much greater extent than in the horse, the canines 
and incisors having completely disappeared, and 
being replaced by a hard pad which takes the bite 
of the lower front teeth. In consequence of the 
retention of upper as well as lower front teeth, 
a horse is apparently able to graze closer than 
an ox. 

' From the existence of the aforesaid long gap 
between the front and the cheek teeth in both the 
horse and the ox and their respective relatives, it 
would seem that such an arrangement is the one best 
suited for grazing or browsing animals ; and it is not 
improbably for the purpose of affording room for 
the play of the large tongue, which takes an impor- 
tant share in the action of grazing. 

The incisors of the horse, of which those of 
the lower jaw have somewhat less distinctly spatu- 
late crowns than their representatives in the ox, 
present a relatively complex type, met with among 
no other living mammals outside the Equida. 
In place of having simple conical crowns when they 
first emerge in an unworn condition from the gum, 
the incisor teeth of the horse have a kind of 
pit, or pocket, at the summit, which penetrates far 



:XH)08lC 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 29 

down into the he^ of the crown. The nature 
of this peculiar structure may be best understood 
by taking the hnger of a kid glove, and, after 
filling it with soft wax, pushing in the summit 
by means of a fine pencil to a depth of an inch or 
so. This will give an exact representation of a 
horse's incisor, more especially if we smear the 
lower part of the outer surface of the finger with 
sealing-wax, as we shall then have representatives 
of the three constituents of the tooth. Thus the 
sealing-wax will represent the outer coat, or cement, 
the glove the middle element, or enamel, and the 
soft wax the inner constituent, technically known as 
the ivgcy or cement. ... , , ■^" 

In this condition the wax-filled glove-finger 
with the pit, or '* mark," at the tip, will represent 
the unworn incisor of the horse ; but if we snip off 
with a pair of scissors half an inch from the summit, 
we shall have a model of the tooth after it has been 
in use for some time, and has had its tip ground 
away by wearing against its fellow in the opposite 
jaw. On looking at the section of the summit of 
the cut glove-finger, it will be seen that the original 
pit now forms an island in the middle of the soft 
wax ( = dentine) bounded by a ring of kid ( = enamel). 
By carrying the experiment one stage further, and 
cutting off another three-quarters of an inch from 
the summit, we shall have the model of an incisor 
of an old horse. In this state the pit, or "mark," 



i>» Google 



30 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

will have completely disappeared ; and the section 
will represent (i) a central core of soft wax, corre- 
sponding to the comparatively soft dentine, (2) a 
ring of kid, equivalent to the hard enamel, and (3) 
an irregular coat of sealing-wax, corresponding to 
the external layer of cement "^ A horse, like most 
mammals, grows two sets of incisor teeth in bijth 
jaws ; firstly, a baby, or milk set, and secondly, a 
permanent set. The three teeth of the first set are, 
however, not all shed at once, but one by one, when 
they are as gradually replaced by their permanent 
successors, which grow up beneath. And it is by 
knowing how this replacement occurs, and noting 
the extent to which the central mark is worn away, 
that the age of a horse can be approximately ascer- 
tained up to six or seven years old. The " mark," 
it should be added, is common to both the temporary 
and the permanent set of incisors ; but is deeper in 
those of the upper than in those of the lower jaw. 

The jaws of a quite young colt show only the 
first and second pairs of milk-incisors, both above and 
below ; but after a time the third pair appears on 
their outer sides. In a horse of about three years old 
the first pair of permanent incisors (recognisable 
by their larger size and unworn crowns) will have 
pushed out and replaced the corresponding baby- 
teeth. At an age of between three and a half and 
four years the second or middle pair of milk-incisors 
will have been similarly replaced by the permanent 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



» 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 31 

pair. About half a year later the permanent tusks, 
or canines, make their appearance in the case of 
stallions. By the end of the fifth year the third or 
outermost pair of permanent incisors will have re- 
placed the corresponding temporary pair ; and the 
dentition of the front of the mouth will consequently 
be complete. It will be obvious that of the three 
p^rs of upper permanent incisors, the crowns of 
the first pair will, after all are in place, be more 
worn than those of the second, and the second more 
than those of the third. As a rule, the mark dis- 
appears in the first pair of lower permanent incisors 
when the horse is six years old ; in the second pair 
it is worn out a year later ; and in the third pair at 
eight years. In the corresponding upper teeth it 
persists about two years longer in each instance. 
In the case of a six-years' -old horse the third lower 
incisors retain large and conspicuous marks. Up 
to five years the ^e of a horse can be determined 
with comparative accuracy, and it can also be 
approximately ascertained for some years later. 

When the mark has been worn out in all the 
incisors, age-determination is no longer possible by 
means of the teeth. It appears, however, that in 
very old horses a kind of spurious mark is formed 
by the tooth becoming so worn down that the 
summit of the pulp-cavity at its base is exposed in 
the centre of the crown. Such a mark lacks, how- 
ever, the ring of enamel charjicteristic of the true 



i>» Google 



32 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

mark. Moreover, when this false mark makes its 
appearance, the section of the crown of the incisor 
has become much more triangular than in the early 
stages of wear ; and in extreme old age, when 
the incisors are worn down to their very roots, 
these teeth become very narrow in the transverse 
direction, whereas in their earlier ages this 
diameter was considerably larger than the opposite 
one. 

From the foregoing description, it will be evi- 
dent that to the definition of the horse family given 
above may be added an additional characteristic, 
namely the presence in an early condition of wear, 
of a "mark," or pit, in the crowns of the incisor 
teeth. As regards the object of these pits, their 
function is probably to increase the grinding surface 
of the dentition as a whole during the period when 
the cheek-teeth have not attained their full develop- 
ment ; the number of functional teeth of the latter 
series in young colts being only three pairs in each 
jaw, while at a later stage, when some at least of 
the permanent incisors have come into use, the 
hinder teeth of the cheek-series are not fully 
developed. 
'. Before leaving this part of the subject, it may 
be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance that, 
in addition to the existing members of the horse 
family and some of their extinct forerunners, the 
only mammal which shows a pit in its incisors is 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 33 

the South American extinct Macrauchenia, a member 
of the same sub-order (Litopterna) as Thoatherium, 
a genus already referred to in connection with the 
skeleton of the horse's foot. This shows that the 
Equida are paralleled in two remarkable structural 
features — by Thoatherium in the monodactyle feet, 
and by Macrauchenia in the presence of pits in the 
crowns of the incisor teeth. 

Passing on to the cheek-teeth of the horse, it 



A left upper molar of a SinEl''t°^^(^f'")>A><"'^B Three-toed 
Horse {Hiffariim), B. f, aatecior [Hilar, hy, posleiior pillar. 

has to be noted in the hrst place that these are 
normally represented in the adult by six pairs in 
both the upper and lower jaw (pi. v.) ; of which the 
first three pairs, on account of being preceded bymilk- 
teeth, are known as premolars, while the other three 
pairs, which have no such temporary predecessors, are 
the molars, or true molars, as they are often called. 
In some horses, however, there is a small and 
practically functionless tooth on the inner side of 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



34 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the front end of the anterior premolar ; and, more 
rarely, there may be a still smaller tooth in a 
corresponding position in the lower jaw. These 
small functionless teeth, which have no temporary 
predecessors, and are known to horse-dealers as 
" wolf-teeth," may be developed on only one side of 
the jaw. They are the vanishing representatives of 
teeth which were relatively large and functional in 
some of the extinct ancestors of the horse, and are 
of importance as showing that the three large 
functional premolars of the latter correspond to the 
three last of the typical mammalian series of four. 
Hence it is frequently found convenient to speak 
of these teeth as the second, third, and fourth pre- 
molars, instead of calling them the 6rst, second, and 
third. On the other hand the three pairs of molars 
are respectively denominated the first, second, and 
third. 

In a young colt, if the " wolf-teeth " be not de- 
veloped, there are three pairs of milk-molars in each 
jaw ; those of the upper jaw having their crowns 
more elongated from front to back than is the case 
with the premolars by which they are subsequently 
replaced. As the colt grows older, the first molar 
cuts the gum before the last premolar has replaced 
the corresponding milk-molar ; and, as a conse- 
quence of this, it will always be found in an adult 
horse that the crown of the first molar is rather 
more worn than that of the tooth immediately in 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



.■i>,feoo^lc 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 35 

front of it, that is to say, the last premolar. With 
this exception, each cheek-tooth in an adult horse 
is always more worn than the tooth immediately 
behind iL 

^ With the exception of the first and last, which 
are more or less pointed at the free end, an upper 
cheek-tooth of a horse consists of a square prism 
rather more than an inch in diameter, and about 
three inches in height when unworn, with its lower 
extremity terminating in four roots. Both the 
outer and inner surfaces are marked by strong 
vertical flutings ; and when in use, only a small 
extent of the upper part of the crown is exposed 
above the gum. 

As these teeth are usually seen in a more or 
less worn condition, it is preferable to take such a 
partially worn tooth as the basis for a description of 
their leading characteristics. Such a tooth may be 
compared in structure to the incisors ; its apparent 
complexity of structure being due to the pushing-in, 
on the summit of the crown, of two pits compar- 
able to the single pit, or "mark," in the incisor. 
These two pits are the two irregularly-shaped 
islands seen in the middle of the crown in A of the 
illustration on page 33. The centres of these pits, 
which extend right down to the base of the crown 
of the tooth, are filled with cement ; and the walls 
of enamel with which they are lined are thrown 
into a number of more or less complex foldings. 

D,£,,t,7=^--i>» Google 



36 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

These are most developed in the extinct three- 
toed hipparion, as shown in B of the same illustra- 
tion, in which the cement filling the pits is white. 
Further complexity is produced by vertical flutings 
on the inner side of the crown, which result in the 
production of the two semi-isolated pillars marked 
p and ky in the aforesaid figures. Of these two 
inner pillars by far the more important from a 
systematic point of view is the front or anterior 
one {p in the illustrations), for it affords an import-- 
ant character in the definition of the genus Equus. 
In all the existing members of the horse family this 
pillar is connected by a narrow isthmus with the 
main body of the tooth ; and the fore-and-aft 
diameter of its worn surface is considerably longer 
than the transverse one. A pillar of this type is 
termed a broad one ; but there are certain extinct 
horses in which, while the pillar remainsconnected 
with the body of the tooth, its two diameters are 
nearly equal ; in teeth of this type the anterior 
pillar is said to be narrow. 

In the three-toed hipparions (B of the illus- 
tration on page 33) a totally different condition 
obtains, the anterior pillar, which is of the narrow 
type, being completely surrounded by a ring of 
enamel, so that its central core of dentine is cut off 
from the dentine of the main body of the tooth. 
To put the matter shortly, it may be said that while 
the upper molars of the horse and its immediate 



by Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 37 

relatives have the anterior pillar of a peninsular 
type, in the three-toed hipparions it assumes a com- 
pletely insular form. 

■ The lower cheek-teeth of the horse have much 
narrower crowns than the upper ones ; but the 
foldings on their crowns are of the same general 
type, although in a reversed way, the portion 
corresponding to the inner pillars being on the 
outer side of the tooth. It will not be necessary 
to describe these teeth in detail. 

In a general way the three upper molars of 
the horse correspond in structure with those of the 
ox. In each, as is best seen when the teeth are 
in an unworn condition, there is a pair of central 
pits or islands on the crown, around which are 
four sub-crescentic columns ; but whereas the pits 
are almost completely filled with cement in the 
horse, in the ox they remain more or less open. 
Such a tooth maybe described as consisting of two 
lateral lobes, each with a single central pit. 

In the horse, as shown in the figures in 
plate v., the upper premolars are of the same 
structure as the molars ; the last premolar being 
in some cases even larger than the first molar. 
In the ox, on the other hand, the upper premolars 
are smaller in size and simpler in structure than 
the molars ; each of the former consisting of only 
a single lobe, with one central pit, although this - 
lobe is somewhat larger than one of those of the 



i>» Google 



38 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

double-lobed ox-molars. In consequence of this 
greater complexity of its premolars (which is 
common to both upper and lower jaw), the dental 
mill of the horse, as Professor Osborn calls it, 
forms a more powerful and more efficient grinding 
instrument than that of the ox. 

And the reason for this greater masticating 
power in the dentition of the horse is, I think, 
not very difficult to discover. As is stated in 
my volume on that animal, the ox, in common 
with other ruminants, gathers its food quickly, 
swallows it, and subsequently, owing to the complex 
structure of its stomach, regurgitates and remasti- 
cates it at leisure when in repose in a position of 
more or less security. The horse, on the other 
hand, who has a stomach of ordinary structure, has 
to completely masticate his food and swallow it 
once for all as soon as it is gathered, and this, too, 
in places where he may be exposed to attack from 
enemies. Consequently, it is of vital importance 
that the process of mastication should be accom- 
plished not only in the most efficient manner, but 
likewise with the greatest possible rapidity. Hence 
the complexity and powerful grinding action of 
his cheek-teeth. 

There is, however, another point in connection 
with these same cheek-teeth to which attention 
may now be directed. As already mentioned, these 
teeth are characterised by the great vertical height 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 39 

of their crowns ; in which respect, as will be shown 
in the sequel, they differ from the corresponding 
teeth of the horse's early ancestors, which had 
quite short crowns. Now, if surrounding con- 
ditions be the same, tall-crowned teeth indicate 
the potentiality of much longer life on the part of 
their owner than is afforded by low-crowned ones ; 
as it is obvious that a tall tooth will take much 
longer to wear down than will a low one. In this 
particular instance it has, however, to be borne 
in mind that the early ancestors of the horse were 
swamp-dwelling animals living on soft, luscious 
vegetation which could be masticated without having 
much effect on their teeth. The horse and its 
relatives, on the other hand, when in a state of 
nature, live on open plains where the grass is often 
more or less hard and wiry, and thus calculated 
to wear away the teeth at a relatively rapid rate. 
In the case of domesticated horses the rate of wear 
is probably still further accelerated by the nature 
of the food. ^ 

Still, after making due allowance for all this, 
there can be little doubt that the existing members 
of the horse tribe are longer-lived animals than 
were their early forerunners. And, as animals 
go, the domesticated horse may be considered to 
have a , considerable pre-eminence in the matter 
of longevity, although in this respect it does not 
equal its distant cousins the rhinoceroses, some of 



i>» Google 



40 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

which have been known to live for considerably 
more than half a century. 

One of the oldest — if not actually the oldest — 
horses on record was an Australian, referred to in 
the Field newspaper of March 18, 1905. This 
horse is stated to have been foaled on November 16, 
1 860, and wjis still living at the date of the afore- 
said notice, when he would have been rising 45. I 
never saw a notice of his death. The celebrated 
Godolphin Arabian, or Barb, who died in 1753, 
was brought from Paris 25 years previously, where 
he is reputed to have been drawing a water-cart : from 
this it may be inferred that he was well over 30 at 
the time of his death. His grandson "Matchem" 
is believed to have reached 33 years, while 
" Diomed," the winner of the first Derby, is reputed 
to have attained the age of 30 or 31. "Pocahontas," 
again, died in 1870 at the age of 33 ; while " Touch- 
stone," who was foaled in 1831, died in 1861. 
Records of race-horses living to ages of between 
23 and 27 years are comparatively common. 
Finally, it may be mentioned that the Duke of 
Bedford possesses the skull of a horse which, owing 
to infirmity, was shot when close upon 38 years of 
age. " Prince," as this animal was called, was one of 
the old small and sturdy Galloway cart-horse breed, 
now nearly extinct. He was foaled in Wigtownshire, 
and taken over at a valuation with an estate pur- 
chased by the Duke. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 41 

Although it does not come within the scope of 
the present volume to give a complete account of 
the structure of the horse, such as is to be found in 
the numerous works on veterinary anatomy, there 
are certain structural features, in addition to those 
already mentioned, which demand special notice on 
the ground of their morphological interest The 
first of these is a wartlike structure buried in the 
tuft of long hair on the hind surface of each foot, 
which gives the name of fetlock {i.e. footlock or feet- 
lock) to this segment of the limb (pi. vi. fig. i). 
When the tuft of hair is cut away, there will be 
revealed on the summit of a fatty cushion a bare 
patch covered with a warty growth to which French 
veterinarians have given the name of ergot, a word 
properly signifying the spur of a cock. The ergot 
is relatively larger in the ass than in the horse. 

Sir William Flower' appears to have been the 
first to point out the true significance of the ergot, 
which really represents the large fatty pad or cushion 
en the sole of the foot of a dog situated above, and 
to a slight extent between, the four smaller toe- 
pads. Although now a rudimentary, or vestigial, 
structure, it was evidently functional in the early 
ancestors of the horse, which applied a considerable 
portion of the side of the foot to the ground, instead 
of resting only on the tip of the middle toe. 

Although the term hoof is generally applied 

' Tke Horse, Modem Science Series, London, 1891, p. 16S. 



i>» Google 



42 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

to the whole of the terminal segment of the limb, 
it properly denotes — at all events, in an anatomical 
sense — only the dense horny shell or wall investing 
the front and lateral surfaces, and corresponding 
to the nail of the human middle finger or toe and 
the claw of the same toe in a dog. To the trian- 
gular, less hard, homy structure projecting from the 
back into the centre of the lower surface of the 
foot the name " frog " is applied. 

In all members of the horse tribe the terminal 
segments of the fore and hind feet are remarkably 
alike ; more alike, in fact, than in any other animals. 
In the horse itself this similarity is, however, some- 
what less marked than in most of the other members 
of the group, the front hoofs being broader and 
rounder than the hind pair. In the kiang' of 
Tibet this difference is less marked, and in asses 
and zebras all the hoofs are relatively small and 
narrow, so that it is practically impossible to dis- 
tinguish the front from the hind ones when sepa- 
rated from the rest of the limb. 

In addition to the difference in the shape of 
the hoofs of the horse and ktang as compared with 
those of other members of the family, there are also 
specific differences in regard to the form of the 
frog. In the horse, for instance, the frog forms 
a long narrow ridge, deeply grooved posteriorly, 

' The characteristics of this and other species mentioned in this 
chapter are given in the sequel. 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 43 

which does not extend behind the extremities of 
the outer case of the hoof, and is not applied to the 
ground in walking. In the North African Gravy's 
zebra, on the other hand, the frog is broader, with 
scarcely any trace of the posterior groove, and its 
hind-part touches the ground when the animal is 
standing. In the kiang, and probably also in the 
Asiatic onagers, the posterior development of the hoof 
becomes much more marked, so that a considerable 
portion projects behind the case of the hoof and 
touches the ground, the cleft being deep and narrow. 
Still greater development of the hind part of the 
frog occurs in the ass, in which, as in some zebras, 
it also becomes much thickened and somewhat 
spongy in structure. In the extinct South Ameri- 
can Onok^pidium, the frog is somewhat inter- 
mediate between that ot the horse and that of the 
ass, being grooved, and not projecting behind the 
case of the hoof, but being of considerable breadth 
and thickness. Finally, in the bontequagga, and 
probably the quagga, the medium-sized and slightly- 
cleft frog is deeply sunk in the hoof, behind which 
it projects to a small degree, not touching the 
ground, except when the hoof is much worn down. 

These differences are probably correlated with 
differences in the nature of the habitat of the various 
species, and it is probable that species like the 
horse, in which the frog is narrow, are adapted for 
grassy or sandy plains ; while those in which it is 

D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



44 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

broad, deep, and spongy, like the ass and the 
kiang, are better adapted for rocky ground. This 
is confirmed by the fact that the kiang does inhabit 
extremely stony and rocky country. 

By far the most remarkable and interesting 
structures in the limbs of the horse are those com- 
monly known as "chestnuts," although sometimes 
called " castors," but in old French veterinary works 
termed "sallenders" (from salendre) or "mal- 
lenders," from an idea that they were due to dis- 
ease. In the fore-limb of the horse the chestnut 
(pi. vi. fig. 2) or callosity, takes the form of an 
elongated patch of bare warty skin situated some 
little distance above the knee, or cjirpus ; while 
in the hind-limb there is a smaller patch — which 
may be absent in some cases — a short distance below 
the hock or tarsus, and likewise on the inner surface. 
In all the other members of the family the chest- 
nuts are wanting in the hind-limbs ; and in the 
ass and the zebras the front chestnut is larger, 
smoother, and softer than in the horse. 

The question as to what structures in other 
mammals are represented by these chestnuts has 
been much discussed. Practically all naturalists 
are in accord in- regarding them as vestigial struc- 
tures ; Sir W. H. Flower,^ for instance, considering 
them to be decadent skin-glands. A qualified 
support to this theory is accorded by Mr. F. E. 

' The Horse, p. 165. 

n,r,i,7=-i>,Google 



i>» Google 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 45 

Beddard,' who in one passage states that the chest- 
nuts on the fore- limbs probably correspond to glands 
found in the neighbourhood of the wrist or carpus 
in certain other mammals, although on a subsequent 
page the glandular nature of these structures is 
questioned. In another and apparently later com- 
munication the same writer' suggested that the 
front chestnuts may represent a carpal sense- 
organ, of which remnants are believed to exist in 
the bristles on the wrists of the African hyraxes, 
the sole survivors of a formerly numerous group of 
ungulates. This degeneration of such a sense- 
organ might, it is suggested, result in the formation 
of a structure like a chestnut. 

On the other hand, there exists an idea that the 
chestnuts represent vanished toes or foot-pads. 
This theory has been supported by Professor J. C. 
Ewart' of Edinburgh, and more recently by a 
German writer, Mr. R. Hintze,* who compares the 
hind chestnuts to the pads on the foot of a 
kangaroo. 

If, however, the identification of the horse's 
ergot with the hind foot-pad of the tapir and the 
dog be admitted — and the evidence in its favour 
is very strong — it is practically certain that the 
chestnuts cannot represent foot-pads, much less 

' Cambridgt Natural History — Mammalia, pp. 12, 13, and 240. 
' Proc. Zool. Sac. London, 1902, vol. i. p. 135. 

* See Nature, London, vol. Ivii. p. 239, 1903. 

* ZooL Atueiger, Leipiig, vol. xxv. pp. 372-382, 1910, 



D,r,,t,7=^- In Google 



46 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

vanished toes. Pursuing this aspect of the subject 
still further, it should be borne in mind that, as I 
have pointed out in an article in the Proceedings 
of the Zoological Society of London for 1 903, the 
chestnuts of the horse are situated on the inner 
surface, whereas, if they represented vestigial foot- 
pads, their position should be, primd facie, on the 
hind aspect, as is the case with the ergot. It might, 
indeed, be argued that they have changed their 
original position, but of such a shifting there is 
no evidence in the adult horse. A second, and 
perhaps more important, objection to the foot- 
pad theory may be drawn from the fact that the 
chestnuts in the fore-limb are situated above the 
so-called knee-joint (carpus), and are therefore 
altogether higher up than any of the foot-pads of 
plantigrade mammals. Unless, therefore, another 
shift of position has taken place, the fore-chest- 
nuts do not represent foot-pads. This argument 
was used by Sir W. H. Flower to disprove the 
theory that the chestnuts are remnants of lateral 
toes. 

The hind-chestnuts, on the contrary, are situated 
a short distance below the joint of the hock (tarsus), 
and are therefore on a part of the limb, although on 
its inner side, which is included in the foot of a 
plantigrade mammal. If, however, the front-^;hest- 
nut be regarded as corresponding in a general way 
with the hind one, it will be evident that in the 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 47 

event of the former not being a foot-pad, the same 
will hold good for the latter. 

A third, and perhaps stronger objection may 
be urged against the foot-pad theory. On the 
assumption that the chestnuts of the existing 
members of the Equida are vestiges of foot-pads, 
it is clear that these structures must have existed 
in the ancestors of that family since the time when 
such ancestors walked on the entire sole of the 
foot, in the plantigrade fashion ; but, so far as I 
know, no ungulate was ever wholly plantigrade in 
both feet ; the nearest approach to this condition 
obtaining in the Lower Eocene Coryphodon, in 
which the hind-limb was wholly plantigrade, while 
the front one was partially digitigrade. It has thus 
to be assumed, on the foot-pad hypothesis, that the 
front-chestnuts of the horse have been functionless 
structures from a period antedating the evolution of 
the Ungulata. Such a persistence, on exposed parts 
of the body, of a functionless structure seems im- 
probable, especially when the modifications are 
borne in mind which, on this hypothesis, the horse- 
line must have undergone since the time when the 
chestnuts were functional structures. Perhaps the 
case of the ergot may be cited against this argu- 
ment ; but it should be remembered that this 
structure probably acted as a functional pad at a 
later stage of evolution than could have been the 
case with the chestnuts. 



i>» Google 



48 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Having now stated some of the objections 
against identifying the horse's chestnuts with the 
foot-pads of polydactyle mammals, it remains to 
consider whether they can be identified with any 
other structures. Now a certain numlfcr of repre- 
sentatives of the deer family — notably the reindeer, 
the white-tailed deer, the mule-deer, and, in a 
rudimentary condition, the elk — are furnished on 
the inner side of the hock with a glaMular tuft 
corresponding very closely in situation with the 
hind-chestnut of the horse. In fact, the only 
difference in the position of the two structures is 
that the tarsal tuft of the deer is placed rather 
lower on the hock. From the fact of its occurrence 
in deer so widely separated from one another as 
are the species mentioned, it seems evident that 
the tarsal gland (which is doubtless a scent-organ) 
is a very ancient structure, which was present in 
all the ancestors of the group, but has been lost, 
probably from disuse, in the great majority of Old 
World deer. 

Judging from their position, there would seem 
to be a certain probability that the hind-chestnuts 
of the horse and the tarsal glands of the deer are 
corresponding structures. 

With regard to the correspondence of the fore- 
chestnut of the horse, it may be mentioned that 
many gazelles have tufts of hair ("knee-brushes") 
at the knee (cEU'pus), which are certainly glandular 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 49 

in nature. And it is possible that these may 
represent the fore-chestnuts of the horse, for there 
seems no good reason why the position of a gland 
should not have somewhat shifted in two widely 
separated groups of mammals. Then, again, we 
have the carpal bristles of certain mammals, such 
as the South American coatis and the hyraxes, 
already referred to as the remnants of a "scent- 
organ " — a structure probably not far removed in 
its nature from a gland. The occurrence of these 
bristles in the hyraxes is very important. Mr. 
Beddard states that these are the only ungulates in 
which he has found these bristles. Carpal callosities 
are, however, described by Dr. W. Leche^ as 
occurring in wart-hogs {Pkacockaerus) ; although 
they are stated by their describer to be acquired, 
and not primitive structures. Of special importance 
is the occurrence of bristles in these structures, 
since, even if hairs be found to exist on the 
callosities of foetal Eguida, this would be no bar to 
the supposition of their glandular nature. 

More recently, in the Bttlletin de la SociHi 
Scientifique et Medicare de FOuest for July 1909, 
Veterinary Surgeon J. Roger directed attention to 
the presence on the inner and hind surface of the 
fore-legs of pigs, in proximity to the wrist or carpal 
joint, of a patch of large pores, which in certain 
circumstances exude a transparent and slightly 

^ Biol. Ceniralblatt, voL xxti. p. 79, 1903. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



50 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

glutinous fluid. After describing these sudoriparous 
glands in some detail, the writer suggested that 
they correspond to the chestnuts of the horse, or 
rather that the chestnuts represent the sudoriparous 
glands of the pigs in a decadent condition. The 
fact that those of the horse yield when cut a sticky, 
strong-smelling fluid favours this interpretation, 
which also accords fairly well with the theory that 
the chestnuts represent structures more or less 
similar to the foot-glands of deer. 

As regards the structure of the chestnuts them- 
selves, it may be noted that in the horse both pairs 
are of a distinctly warty nature, and that the hind 
pair is certainly in a more decadent condition than 
the other, being in fact on the verge of disappe2uing. 
In the zebras, on the other hand (in which the hind 
one has been lost), the fore-chestnut is larger and 
much less warty and also situated higher up. In 
dried skins it is, in fact, much more like the pale 
glandular patch of skin below the ear of a reedbuck. 
In this connection not only should Mr. Beddard's 
observations be borne in mind, but attention may 
be directed to others by Mr. Bland Sutton,^ in which 
it is pointed out that in certain lemurs decadent 
glands are actually converted into bunches of spines, 
which are practically almost the same as warts; 
that is to say, they are excessive growths of some- 
what abnormal dermal tissue. Hence there seems 

' Proc. Zool. Soe., 1887, p. 369. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 51 

no prtmA facie reason why the chestnuts of the 
Equidet should not be decadent glandular structures, 
the decadence being more marked in those of the 
horse than in the single pair of the asses and 
zebras. 

There is, however, another point which may 
have an important bearing on the subject. As 
already mentioned, the presence of a depression in 
the skulls of certain extinct three-toed horses renders 
it probable that primitive horses were furnished 
with face-glands comparable to those of deer ; such 
glands probably having a function somewhat ana- 
logous to that of the scent-glands on the limbs 
of the latter. If, then, the existing Eguidfs have 
got rid of their face-glands, as being (perhaps on 
account of change of habit) useless, it is conceivable 
that, for the same reason, they may have also 
discarded their limb-glands. 

And there is some reason to believe that such 
a change of habit has taken place during the 
evolution of the family. Mr. R. I. Pocock,* for 
instance, in a paper on the primitive colouring of 
the members of the horse tribe, to which fuller 
reference is made later, has suggested that the 
ancestral animals were inhabitants of forests, in- 
stead of open plains, remarking that this primitive 
type of colouring "would lend itself especially to 
concealment in horses accustomed to shelter in 

' Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., London, ser. 8, vol. iv. p. 409, 1909. 



n,r,„.=-i>, Google 



52 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

woods through the foliage of which the sun-rays 
passed, dappling the leaves and tree-trunks with 
spots of light" 

Now if such a change of habit has taken place, 
nothing would seem more likely than that it should 
have been accompanied by the loss of scent-glands, 
which would not be required among animals living 
in studs' on open plains in order to ascertain the 
whereabouts of their fellows. 

There is, however, yet one more point in favour 
of the view that the chestnuts represent decadent 
scent-glands. As already mentioned, these struc- 
tures exude, when cut, a strong-smelling fluid ; and 
I am informed that this fluid will not only attract 
other horses, but that it was formerly employed by 
burglars and poachers to keep dogs quiet. If this 
be true, the fluid must almost certainly represent 
the secretion of an ancestral scent-gland. 

Attention may now be directed to certain features 

connected with the colouring of the hair in the 

existing members of the horse family. It has long 

been noticed that dun-coloured domesticated horses 

frequently show a tendency to develop dark bars 

on the legs, and sometimes one or two transverse 

dark stripes across the shoulder and another along 

the middle line. And since similar markings occur 

* Although the word "stud" is now used to denote a stable of 
horses, it originally denoted (Anglo-Saxon stud, Slav. slSd) a drove of 
wild horses, for which it is the proper term. See Heyn and Stally- 
brass, Wanderinigs of Plants and Animals, London, 1885, p. 39. 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OP HORSE 53 

in the wild asses of Africa, while the zebras and 
quaggas of that country are marked by dark and 
light stripes over the whole or a considerable 
portion of the head, body, and limbs, it has been 
considered probable that all the ancestral members 
of the family were fully striped. Consequently 
species like the Mongolian wild horse, the Asiatic 
kiang, chigetai, and onager, and the North African 
wild ass, which are more or less nearly self-coloured, 
are presumed to have lost their stripes in accord- 
ance with the special conditions of their natural 
surroundings ; and also that the tendency in dun 
horses, and it may be added mules, to the develop- 
ment of stripes is an instance of atavistic reversion. 
In addition to this tendency to develop stripes 
on the limbs and shoulders in dun-coloured horses 
and mules, there is a still stronger tendency among 
domesticated horses of all colours except duns, but 
more especially greys, to show dappled markings. 
Attention was directed to this feature by Darwin,^ 
who stated that it occasionally occurs among asses, 
and who expressed the opinion that it was probably 
connected in some way with the ancestral striping. 
At a much later date Dr. E. Bonavia, a brigade- 
surgeon in the Indian Medical Department, in a very 
remarkable book entitled Studies in the Evolution 
of Animals? laid still greater stress on the frequent 

' Animali and Plants under Domesticalion, snd ed. voL i. p. 58, 
London, 1885. * l^ndon, 189;. 



i>» Google 



54 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

occurrence of dappling in horses of all colours, and 
suggested that it must be a very deep-seated and 
ancient character of the group. He even went so 
far as to suggest that the dappling of the horse 
represents the rosettes on the leopard's skin, and 
that the latter are derived from the pattern on the 
bony plates of the armour of the extinct giant arma- 
dillos, or glyptodonts, of South America. 

Now although this theory is certainly untenable 
it has the merit of recognising that dappling is a 
feature deeply implanted in the equine nature. 

Giving full credit to the discoverer of this fact, 
Mr. R. I. Pocock,^ who has done much to illustrate 
the meaning of animal coloration, has taken up the 
subject of the colours of domesticated horses, and 
concludes that their colouring may be classed under 
three main types. The first of these types com- 
prises bays, blacks, chestnuts, roans, piebalds, and 
skewbalds ; the second includes duns alone ; while 
the third is represented by greys and the majority 
of whites. From the fact that in all wild members 
of the horse family the mane and tail are darker in 
colour than the body, it is inferred that bay is the 
original phase of the first type. On this phase 
three modifications have been working, namely, 
blackness, or melanism, to give rise to browns and 
blacks ; redness, or erythrism, to produce chest- 
nuts ; and whiteness, or albinism, to develop (in 

* Antt. Mag. Nat. Hist., iJoaAon, ser. 8, vol. iv. p. 404, 1909. 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND SliiUCTURE OF HORSE 55 

conjunction with melanism and erythrism) piebalds 
and skewbalds, and in another direction greys, 
and finally whites. 

That this is not a mere fanciful suggestion is 
made evident by the fact that melanism, erythrism, 
and albinism are recognised features in the colour- 
development of wild animals. It is added that 
chestnuts, from the extension of the red to the mane 
and tail, may be regarded in the light of " sports." 

It'has been suggested by Professor W. Ridge- 
way, in his work On the Origin of the Thorough- 
bred Horse^ that the white forehead-star and 
white "stockings" so often observed in chestnut 
thoroughbreds are hereditary features derived from 
the ancestor of that breed ; but this idea is rejected 
by Mr. Pocock, who shows that such markings are 
to be regarded as first steps in the direction of 
albinism, and are consequendy in no sense ancestral. 

Dappling, as already mentioned, may occur in 
horses of all colours, but is most common in bays 
and greys and rarest of all in duns ; this prevalence 
being the main justification for Dr. Bonavia's view 
that it is an extremely ancient feature in the equine 
organisation. Mr. Pocock believes, indeed, that dap- 
pling is even older than striping, and he has also 
been led to conclude that the ancestral forms of the 
horse family were dark-coloured animals marked 
with white or yellowish flecks or spots arranged in 
* Cambridge, 190$- 



i>» Google 



56 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

much the same manner as are those on the coats of 
young tapirs. A certain amount of support to this 
theory is afforded by the circumstance that it tends 
to bring two families of the odd-toed section of 
the hoofed mammals into line with one another in 
the matter of colouring. 

These hypothetical white markings of the ances- 
tral members of the horse tribe are presumed to have 
taken in the first instance the form of simple round 
spots, which subsequently tended to arrange 'them- 
selves in lines and then to coalesce into longitudinal 
streaks, but finally underwent a rearrangement, so 
as to produce light transverse bars or stripes on the 
greater portion of the head and body. On this 
view, zebras should be regarded as black or brown 
animals with white or buff stripes, and not, after the 
ordinjiry fashion, as white ones with dark stripes; 
this idea having been suggested some years previous 
to the publication of Mr. Pocock's paper by Sir 
H. H. Johnston. Similarly, there appear to be 
good grounds for considering that giraffes were 
originally brown or red animals with vertical white 
stripes arranged like those of elands and their 
cousin the bongo antelope of the forests of 
Equatorial Africa. 

It may be added that dappling occurs only in 
domesticated horses and occasionally in asses and 
mules, and that it is very rare in duns. From its 
absence in the wild Mongolian horse, which may 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 57 

safely be regarded as the ancestor of many of the 
domesticated European breeds, it may be suggested 
that dappling is an attribute of the Arab stock, 
which, as will be shown later, there is considerable 
reason to regard as being derived from a species 
different to the one which gave rise to the original 
domesticated horses of Western Europe. It is quite 
true that there are difScuUies in regard to this 
suggestion ; one of them being that we have no 
information as to when Arab or Barb blood was 
first introduced among the horses of Western Europe, 
while we are equally in the dark as to whether 
dappling always occurred among the latter, or 
whether it is a foreign feature. 

It does, however, appear very strange that if 
dappling be a remnant of an ancient type of colour- 
ing at one period characteristic of the horse tribe 
in general, it should have completely died out in 
all wild species, to reappear in the domesticated 
breeds of Eqwus caballus. And the only way out 
of the difficulty seems to be the above suggestion, 
that the progenitor of the Arab and Barb was a 
dappled bay horse. 

As regards the inheritance of coat-colour among 
horses, it appears, according to Mr. R. Bunsow,* 
that in the case of thoroughbreds, bays (including 
browns) may be either pure as regards the power 
of transmitting their colour to their offspring, or 

' Th* Mendel Journal, London, No. %, p. 74, 191 1. 



i>» Google 



58 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

impure, when they may give rise to chestnuts. It 
thus follows that bays, as being capable of produc- 
ing offspring of a colour different to their own, are 
a dominant type (D), while chestnuts, which lack 
this capacity, are recessive (R). Chestnut horses, 
as having but one kind of sexual cells, may accord- 
ingly all be symbolised as RR, whereas bays may 
be classed either as DD or DR, according as to 
whether they are pure or whether they contain an 
admixture of chestnut cells. Now if a DD stallion 
be mated with an RR mare, all the foals will be 
DR bays. On the other hand, the foals of an RR 
mare by a DR stallion will, in the long run, consist 
of bays and chestnuts in nearly equal numbers. 
When chestnuts are bred together, their offspring 
should be all chestnuts (RR), but if chestnuts be 
crossed with bays, the foals may be either all bays 
or half chestnuts (RR) and half bays (DR), the 
former case, as mentioned above, being due to the 
fact that the parent bays were DD, and the latter 
to their being DR. Certain apparent exceptions 
to these conditions occurring in the Stud-book are 
shown to be due to incorrect registration of colour, 
and it is probable that the same is the case with all 
the rest. As regards greys, it is stated that in all 
cases one of the parents must be of this colour. 

At the meeting of the British Association held 
at Portsmouth in 191 1 Mr. C. C. Hurst discussed 
the question whether there is any connection 

D,g,t,7P- by Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 59 

between the coat-colour and the speed of thorough- 
breds. Although such a relationship appears to be 
generally lacking, evidence is gradually accumulat- 
ing to suggest that in certain strains there may be 
a partial coupling of coat-colour and racing power. 
For instance, the chestnut grand-children of the 
famous thoroughbred "St. Simon" have so far proved 
themselves to be much inferior in racing power to 
their bay and brown brothers and sisters. While 
these chestnuts have between them won only two 
first-class races, their bay and brown brothers and 
sisters have between them won fifteen classic races, 
and are only about twice as numerous. Another 
interesting point under investigation was the ap- 
parent partial conjunction of brown coats, high 
racing power, and female sex in St. Simon's own 
offspring. St. Simon's brown fillies proved them- 
selves to be strikingly superior in racing power to 
the bay fillies, the brown colts, and even the bay 
colts, a few individuals of which were extraordinarily 
good. This was the more remarkable when it is 
considered that in racing colts have many advant^es 
over fillies. It seems possible that the elucidation 
of such an apparently trivial thing as coat-colour 
may help to throw light on the more complicated 
question of the breeding of a first-class winner. 

Certain abnormalities in the structure of the 
skeleton of the horse occur from time to time, of 
which it will suffice to. refer to three. The first of 



i>» Google 



6o THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

these occurs in the bones of the foot, and takes the 
form of the more or less complete development of 
one or both of the lateral toes normally represented 
by the splint-bones. In certain instances, as has 
been pointed out by Sir William Flower, when only 
one of these lateral toes is developed, the abnor- 
mality does not apparently indicate reversion to an 
ancestral type, but seems due to a splitting of the 
bones of the main toe. In other cases, however, 
there seems little doubt that such supplemental toes 
are really a reversion to the condition obtaining in 
the extinct three-toed members of the family. An 
instance of this kind of reversion is exhibited in the 
foot of a shire colt formerly in the possession of 
Lord Wantage, by whom the specimen was pre- 
sented to the British Museum. The metacarpal 
bones of the fore-foot are complete, although vary- 
ing in size, and the terminal toe-bones carried 
complete hoofs. 

Apparently this reversion to the three-toed type 
occurs only among domesticated horses. 

A second abnormality among domesticated 
horses is displayed by the development of rudi- 
mentary horns, or rather horn-cores, on the fore- 
head (pi. vii, fig. i). In his Animals and Plants 
under Domestication^ Darwin wrote that " In 
various countries horn-like projections have been 
observed on the frontal bones of the horse : in 
> Vol. i. p. %z. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



PLATE VII 




Fig. I. Fronllet of Horse, showing horn-like processes. 

Fio. 2. Outline of the Prehistoric Tarpan oi Wild Horse, ^^1,. 
incised on a piece of horn, from Che Madelaine Ruck- O 

shelter in the Department of Dordt^ne, France. 



.■i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 6i 

one case described by Mr. PercivaP they arose 
about two inches above the orbital processes, and 
were very like those in a calf from five to six 
months old, being from half to three-quarters of an 
inch in length. Azara* has described two cases 
in South America in which the projections were 
between three and four inches in length : other 
instances have occurred in Spain." 

The same abnormality is displayed in four 
specimens exhibited in the British Museum (Natural 
History). The first of these is the skull of an 
English horse presented by Mr. Hanbury Carlile ; 
while of the three other specimens of the same 
type, one is the frontal region of the skull of an 
English horse showing the pair of rudimentary 
horns in precisely the same position as in the first 
specimen, but of somewhat larger size. The other 
two are models of the foreheads of thoroughbreds, 
each showing a pair of similar horns, situated as 
in the preceding specimens. These are important 
as showing that the skin extends uniformly over 
the horn-like processes, without any trace of a 
dermal horn ; the same condition being observable 
in the other two examples. Baron Francis Nopcsa 
informs me that he knows of a horse in Transylvania 
with rudimentary horns. The significance of these 
horn-like growths is at present inexplicable, seeing 

' Tht Veterinary, vol. i, p. 224. 

* Qpadrufiides du Paragttay, vol. ii. p. 313, i8ot. 



i>» Google 



62 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

that none of the ancestral horses, or even of the 
collateral branches of the horse-stock, were horned 
animals. Probably it is a kind of redundant deve- 
lopment, such as occurs in the later types of many 
groups of animals ; seeing that the members of 
the horse family have efficient fighting weapons 
in their hoofs, and that they are also largely pro- 
tected from foes by their speed. It would be 
of great interest if it were possible to Eiscertain 
whether all these "horned horses" were of Arab 
or Barb descent. 

One other abnormality, and this an individual 
one, may also be referred to. In the limb-bones 
of the celebrated thoroughbred " Stockwell *' (1849- 
1876), which are exhibited in the British Museum 
(Natural History) the projection on the hind border 
of the femur, or thigh-bone, known as the third 
trochanter ipide supra, p. 8) is almost obsolete ; 
and it would be interesting to ascertain if the same 
feature characterises the skeleton of his descendants, 
if any of these have been preserved. It seems 
natural to suppose that the practical absence of 
the trochanter would have had some effect on 
the action of Stockwell ; and it is very note- 
worthy that in describing the sale of the Burghley 
Stud, a writer signing himself " The Druid " states 
in Post and Paddock, 1857, p. 296, that " Stockwell 
came ambling out in his peculiar style, with his 
Roman head and massive muscular points much 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 63 

fined down since he all but broke Teddington's 
heart." This seems to suggest that the horse had 
a distinctive action of his own. 

In this place a few lines may be devoted to 
the action and position of the limbs of a horse 
at the gallop, and the conventional modes of repre- 
senting the same. In this action the movements 
of the limbs are so rapid that, like the spokes 
of a quickly revolving wheel, the relative positions 
of the limbs at any particular moment cannot be 
appreciated by the human eye. Instantaneous pho- 
tography shows, however, that all the conventional 
modes of representing the galloping horse are 
untrue to nature. 

Sir £. Ray Lankester in one of his articles 
published in the Daily Telegraph under the title 
of " Science from an Easy-Chair," has, for instance, 
pointed out "that what has been drawn by artists 
and called 'the flying gallop,' in which the legs 
are fully extended and all the feet are off the 
ground, with the hind-hoofs turned upwards, never 
occurs at all in the galloping horse, nor anything 
in the least like it There is a fraction of a second 
when all four legs of the galloping horse are off 
the ground, but they are not then extended, but, 
on the contrary, are drawn, the hind ones forward, 
and the front ones backward, under the horse's 
belly. A model showing this actual instantaneous 
attitude of the galloping horse has been placed 



i>» Google 



64 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

in the Natural History Museum. When the hoofs 
touch the ground again after this instantaneous 
lifting and bending of the legs under the horse, 
the first to touch it is one of the hind-legs, 
which is pushed very far forward, forming an acute 
angle with the body. The shock of the horse's 
impact on the ground is thus received by the hind- 
leg which reaches obliquely forward beneath the 
body like an elastic spring. Since the instantaneous 
photographs have become generally known, artists 
have ceased to represent the galloping horse in 
the curious stretched pose which used to be familiar 
to every one in Herring's racing plates, with both 
fore- and hind-legs nearly horizontal, and the flat 
surface of the hind-hoofs actually turned upwards I " 
Later on in the same article it is mentioned how 
M. Solomon Reinach has shown "that in Assyrian, 
Egyptian, Greek, Roman, mediaeval, and modern 
art up to the end of the eighteenth century 'the 
flying gallop' does not appear at all. The first 
example (so far as those schools are concerned) 
is an engraving by G. T. Stubbs in 1794 of a horse 
called Baronet. The essential points about * the 
flying gallop' are that the fore-limbs are fully 
stretched forward, the hind-limbs fully stretched back- 
ward, and that the flat surfaces of the hinder hoofs 
are facing upward. After this engraving of 1794 
the attitude became generally adopted in English 
art to represent a galloping horse. . . . Reinach 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 65 

has shown that in the pre- Homeric art of Greece — 
that which is called ' Mycenaean * (of which so 
much was made known by the discoveries of that 
wonderful man Schliemann when he dug up the 
citadel of Agamemnon) — the figures of animals, 
horses, deer, bulls (see the beautiful gold cups 
c^ Vaphio ! ), dogs, lions, and grifilins, in the exact 
conventional pose of 'the flying gallop,' are quite 
abundant! There was an absolute break in the 
tradition of art between the early gold-workers 
of Myken6 (1800 to 1000 B.C.) and the Greeks of 
Homer's time (800 b.c.). Europe never received it, 
nor did the Assyrians nor the Egyptians. Thirty 
centuries and more separate the reappearance in 
Europe of ' the flying gallop ' — through Stubbs — 
from the only other European example of it — the 
Mycenaean. What, then, had become of it, and 
how did it come to England ? M. Reinach shows 
by actual specimens of art-work that the Mycenaean 
art tradition, and with it ' the flying gallop,' passed 
slowly through Asia Minor into ancient Persia, 
thence by Southern Siberia to the Chinese Empire, 
as early as 150 B.C., and that 'the flying gallop,' 
so to speak, ' flourished ' there for centuries, and 
was transmitted by the Chinese to the Japanese, 
in whose drawings it is frequent. It was at last 
finally brought back to Europe, and to the extreme 
west of it, namely, England, by the importation 
in the eighteenth century into England of large 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



66 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

numbers of Japanese works of art. M. Reinach 
thinks that ' the flying gallop ' was devised as an 
intentional expression of energy in movement. I 
venture to hold the opinion that it was observed 
by the Mycenaeans in the dog, in which Muybridge's 
photographs (now before me) demonstrate that 
it occurs regularly as an attitude of that animal's 
quickest pace or gallop. It is easy to see 'the 
flying gallop* in the case of the dog, since the 
dog does not travel so fast as the galloping horse, 
and can be more readily brought under accurate 
vision on account of its smaller size. It is quite 
in accordance with probability that the early 
Mycenaean artists, having seen how the dog gallops, 
erroneously proceeded to put the galloping horse 
and all other animals which they wished ' to make 
gallop ' into the same position." 
^ This chapter may be brought to a close by 
a few remarks in regard to the past and present 
geographical distribution of the horse family and a 
brief reference to certain Hindu myths and customs 
relating to the horse. At the present day the 
group, in a wild state, is restricted to the Old World, 
where' it is widely distributed in Asia and Africa, 
while, as is shown in the next chapter, it existed 
at a comparatively recent date in Eastern Europe. 
In Asia it does not, however, extend farther east 
than Western India and Mongolia, or further north 
than the latter country and Tibet. The Asiatic 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google' 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 67 

representatives of the group include the wild horse 
and the animals known as chigetais, kiangs, and 
onagers, which serve in some degree to connect the 
former with the ass. The latter, in a wild state, is 
restricted to North-eastern Africa ; while the east 
and south of the African continent form the home 
of the striped members of the family, commonly 
known as zebras and qui^gas. 

During the Prehistoric Stone Ages, as is more 
fully indicated in later chapters, the range of some 
of the living Asiatic members of the group ex- 
tended to Western Europe. At an earlier date 
(Pliocene and Pleistocene) extinct species of horses 
roamed over Central and Northern India. And at 
some period horses doubtless ranged right across 
Asia to Bering Strait, as remains of a species closely 
allied to the existing horse occur on the' opposite 
side of the Strait in the frozen soil of Alaska. 

Moreover, throughout the later portion of the 
Tertiary period numerous extinct representatives of 
the family inhabited North America, where horses 
or asses were quite unknown when that continent 
was discovered by Columbus. Nor is this all, for 
quite late in the Tertiary period, when South 
America, which had previously been isolated for a 
long epoch, became connected by land with North 
America, members of the family traversed the 
Isthmus of Darien, and made their way into 
Argentina and Patagonia, where they developed 



i>» Google 



68 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

into several altogether peculiar types. It is 
generally believed that at the time South America 
was explored by the Spanish conquistadores the 
native wild horses had become exterminated, 
although it has been suggested that certain horses 
seen by John Cabot in Argentina in 1530 were 
remnants of the indigenous stock, as it is diffi- 
cult to see how introduced animals had reached 
that part of the country at such an early date. 

As regards the birthplace of the family, it was 
suggested by a famous American naturalist, Pro- 
fessor E. D. Cope, that the horse tribe had two 
independent centres of development from animals of 
a more primitive type, one in the Old World, and a 
second in North America. On the face of it, this 
is, however, a very improbable theory, and a more 
plausible suggestion has been subsequently made by 
another American naturalist. Dr. W. D. Matthew,^ 
who wrote as follows : " I assume that since the 
oreodonts [extinct American hog-like animals] and 
peccaries [the New World representatives of the 
swine] never' reached the Old World, and the 
camels did not reach it till the Pliocene, their 
centres of dispersal were well to the south of the 
[ancient] Bering Sea connection with the Old 
World. I assume that since the horses are repre- 
sented by a double evolutionary series, one in 

' "The Continuity of Development," Popular Science Monthly, 
New York, 1910, p. 473, 



i>» Google 



POSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HORSE 69 

Europe, a closer one in North America, their 
centre of dispersal lay far enough north to spread 
into Europe on the one hand, and North America 
on the other, but that the latter was nearer and 
more accessible ; i.e. that centre of dispersal was 
North-eastern Asia or Alaska." 

To deal adequately with the subject of the im- 
portant part played by the horse in the development 
of civilisation would require as much space as is 
contained in the whole of the present volume ; but it 
may be of interest to refer to certain Hindu myths 
relating to the origin of the horse, especially as 
these have a curious bearing on the classical fable 
of Pegasus, the flying horse. 

In the introduction to an Indian work on the 
horse Colonel D. C. Phillott ' writes on this subject 
as follows : — 

"According to Hindu legends, the horse was 
created a winged animal, one that could fly and 
run, and no man or god could snare it. Indra 
wanted horses for his chariots, and requested the 
sage Salihotra to deprive the horses of tlieir wings. 
Accordingly Salihotra, by yoga, a supernatural 
power, derived by his austerities, accomplished 
Indra's wish. The horses, now deprived of the 
ability to visit far-off jungles in search of medicinal 
herbs, approached Salihotra and entreated him to 

' The Faras-Nama-e Rangin, or the Book of the Horse, London, 



i>» Google 



70 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

write a book on the treatment of their diseases. 
Salihotra consented, and composed the greatest work 
on veterinary science known to the Hindus. This 
work was called Salihotra after him ; gradually this 
Sanskrit word came to mean veterinary science in 
general and also a horse. To-day every regiment 
of native cavalry has its saloiris." 

Later on the same author observes that " Besides 
its use in war, the horse was important in Hindu 
eyes as an animal of sacrifice. ... In the Vedic 
period the sacrificial horse was first slain sacrtficially 
{i.e. by severing the head at one blow), and then 
divided in portions, part being eaten by the 
attendant priests, and part being offered as a burnt- 
offering. In this age the object of the sacrifice 
was to obtain wealth, prosperity, and male offspring. 

" The Puranas, written several hundred years 
after the Vedas, describe the asvamedha as a sacri- 
fice of the highest order. Performed a hundred 
times, it elevated the sacrificer to the throne of 
Svarga, Indra's dominion, deposing even the king 
of the gods, . , . 

" In the succeeding epic period, i.^. after 1200 B.C., 
this sacrifice was made by kings to demonstrate 
their claim to supremacy over neighbouring chiefs." 

What, if any, connection there may be between 
these ancient Hindu sacrifices and the slaughter 
of horses at the obsequies of the old Scandinavian 
chieftains, must be left for others to determine. 



D,Q,t,7P- by Google 



CHAPTER II 

THE WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 

Since the time of Cuvier it has been known 
that teeth 'and bones of horses are of common 
occurrence in the Prehistoric and other superficial 
formations of the continent of Europe and the 
British Isles, and consequently that wild horses 
inhabited this area contemporaneously with the 
mammoth, the woolly rhinoceros, and the men of 
the Stone Age. There is, moreover, abundant 
evidence to show that during that long-past age 
primitive man hunted these wild horses for the 
sake of their flesh ; the long bones of the limbs being 
split for the purpose of extracting the marrow, 
while in some instances the brain-chamber of the 
skull has likewise been fractured and opened in order 
that the brain itself might be used for food. Nor 
is this all, for some of the men of the Stone Age 
have left in the caves which afforded them shelter 
from the weather crude but life-like outline sketches 
of the horses they hunted for food, and subsequently 
domesticated ; these sketches serving to show that, 
in certain instances, at any rate, these Stone Age 
horses were closely allied to the existing tarpan. 



by Google 



72 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

or wild horse, of the Zungarian district of Mongolia, 
having big heads, but relatively slender limbs. 

These Stone Age horses will be described later 
on in this chapter; and attention may now be 
directed to the evidence relating to the survival 
of wild horses in Western Europe during the 
historic period. In this connection it will be con- 
venient to quote the summary of the evidence given 
by Messrs. Heyn and Stallybrass in their work 
entitled The Pt^andering-s of Plants and Animals} 
After pointing out that wild horses exist in Mongolia, 
the authors proceed as follows : — 

"That the horse in its original wildness also 
roamed westward to Turkestan, over the steppes of 
the present South-eastern and Southern Russia, and 
to the foot of the Carpathians, seems likely enough ; 
not so likely that even the forest regions of Central 
Europe once abounded in troops of that animal. And 
yet much historical testimony seems to put the 
fact beyond a doubt Varro speaks of Spanish 
wild horses ; and Strabo writes, ' In Iberia there are 
many deer and wild horses.' Wild horses as well 
as wild bulls lived among the Alps, as we learn 
again from Strabo ; and Pliny tells us, not only in 
the Alps but in the north generally. Nor are the 
Middle Ages wanting in proofs of the existence of 
wild horses in Germany and the countries east of 
Germany. At the time of Venantius Fortunatus 

1 London, 1885, p. 37. 

D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 73 

the onager — under which name may be understood 
the wild horse — was haunted in the Ardennes, as 
well as bears, stags, and wild boars. In Italy wild 
horses were seen for the first time during the rule 
of the Longobards, under King Agilulf. 

" In 732 Pope Gregory III. writes to St. Boni- 
face: 'Thou hast pfermitt^ to some the flesh of 
the wild horse, and to most that of the tame. 
Henceforward, holy brother, thou shalt in no wise 
allow it.' So, up to that time the Apostle of the 
Germans had been very liberal, perhaps because in 
his native island he had been accustomed from his 
youth to the habit which appeared so horrible to 
the Italian at Rome. Among the benedictions of 
Monk Ekkehard of St. Gallen (about a.d. iooo] to 
be pronounced over the meats to be served in the 
refectory of that monastery, one refers to the flesh 
of wild horses, which must therefore have been 
eaten by the pious brethren. An old German 
proverb says : ' A foal taken from a herd of wild 
horses will sooner be tamed than a depraved man 
learn to be ashamed.' In the Salksen-spiegely 
where it treats of women's outfit and dowry, it is 
decreed that wild horses which have not always 
been guarded shall not be reckoned as part of such 
property. In a Westphalian document of 13 16, the 
fishing, game, and wild horses of a certain forest are 
apportioned to one Hermann. Not alone in the 
time of the Merovingians, but at the end of the 



D,Q,t,7P- by Google 



74 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

sixteenth century, wild horses would seem to have 
lived in the Vosges Mountains, the wild borderland 
between two nationalities ; for R6sslin, in his 
account of Alsace and the Vosges (Strasburg, 1593), 
thus circumstantially describes them : ' Horses that 
be of their kind much wilder and shyer than the 
stag; also much more difficult to take even in 
traps like the stag ; yet when they are tamed, which 
is accomplished with great toil and trouble, they 
make the very best horses, that equal those of 
Spain and Turkey, and surpass them in many 
things, and are hardier, for they are accustomed to 
cold and to coarse food, and are sure-footed, being 
as used to mountains and rocks as the chamois-' 

" If wild horses were thus found in the cultivated 
west and south of Germany, they must have existed 
still longer in the wild country on the Baltic, in 
Poland, and Russia. In fact, we find innumerable 
proofs of this down to modern times. At the time 
of Bishop Otto of Bamberg, in the first half of the 
twelfth century, Pomerania was rich in all kinds of 
game, including wild oxen and horses. At the 
same period wild horses are mentioned as extant in 
Silesia, whence Duke Sobeslaus in 1132 'carried 
away many captives, and herds of wild mares not a 
few.' It is known, and is confirmed by many literary 
allusions, that till the time of the Reformation, 
and even later, the woods of Prussia were inhabited 
by wild horses. Toppen's History of Masovia 



■ i>, Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 75 

{Geschkhte Masurens, Danzic, 1870) says : ' In the 
time of the Teutonic Knights, wild horses and 
other game were hunted for the sake of their skins. 
In 1543 Duke Albert sent an order to the com- 
mander at Lyck, bidding him take measures for the 
preservation of the wild horses.' Proofs of the 
horse being an object of chase in Poland and 
Lithuania are found far into the seventeenth century. 
As to Russia, it is sufficient to quote the remarkable 
words of Vladimar Monomach, Prince of Chemigoo, 
who lived from 1053 to 11 25. He says of himself, 
in his posthumous exhortation to his sons (pre- 
served in the Lawrenthian Chronicle) : ' But at 
Chernigoo I did this : I caught alive and bound 
with mine own hands from ten to twenty wild 
horses ; and as I rode along the river Ross (which 
formed a sort of boundary between the Russians 
and the wild Turkish Polovtsy), I caught similar 
horses with my own hands.* " 

Other writers, as quoted by Colonel Charles 
Hamilton Smith,* refer to the colour of these 
Central European wild horses. Erasmus Stella, 
for instance, writes of the wild horses of Prussia 
as being like the domesticated species, but with 
soft backs, unfit to be ridden, shy and difficult 
to capture, but very good venison. They were 
again referred to by Andrias Schneebergius, who 

' Jardine's Naturalisfs Libraty, vol. xx. Horses, and ed. p, 158 ; 
the first edition was published in 1841. 



i>» Google 



76 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

states that they were like the domesticated breeds, 
but mouse-coloured, with a dark streak along the 
spine, and dark mane and tail. They were not 
greatly alarmed at the sight of human beings ; but 
were extremely difficult to mount. Like other 
game, they were reserved for the table. The 
mention of dark manes and tails is very important, 
as it shows that these animals were not onagers, 
which appear to have ranged into Europe during 
the later part of the Tertiary period. 

Reverting to Messers Heyn and Stallybrass, 
it has to be mentioned that, after the account 
quoted above, they suggest that these horses were 
not really wild, but the descendants of horses 
escaped from captivity. 

"The fact," they write, "that in pre-civilised 
times Central Europe, as far as Spain, was covered 
with dense forests, makes the hypothesis that this 
region was one of the natural homes of the horse 
improbable, for this animal is a native of the steppes, 
needing wide grass-lands and space in which its 
speed could be of avail in escaping from the larger 
beasts of prey. The very way in which some of 
these facts are recorded seems to point to horses gone 
wild rather than to those originally wild. When the 
Vosges horses, though with difficulty, do get broken 
in ; when Duke Sobeslaus drives home herds of 
wild mares from Silesia; when the fishing, the 
game, and the vagi equi of a Westphalian district 



D,Q,t,7P-hy Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 77 

are assigned to Hermann, and the untended horses 
of aji estate are not to be included in a bride's 
outfit — in all these cases we may suppose that 
only fugitive horses are meant So the animals 
found in Pomerania by St. Otto, and in Prussia 
by the Teutonic Knights, may have been in a 
wild state, and yet the progeny of merely fugitive 
mares ; and this becomes the more probable the 
longer those regions had been the scene of war 
and rapine." 

On the other hand, it should be borne in mind 
that during the Stone Age Western Europe, as 
already mentioned, was undoubtedly the home of 
a small big-headed race of horse ; and nothing is 
more likely than that herds of this or an allied race 
should have survived in certain districts till a much 
later epoch. As regards the argfument that the 
whole of Central Europe was a forest-clad region 
during the Stone and Middle Ages, Dr. A. Nehring * 
has brought evidence to show that this is incorrect. 

After mentioning his belief that these small 
Prehistoric horses were the ancestors of the modern 
breeds of Western Europe, Dr. Nehring' proceeds 
as follows : — 

" The taming of the domesticated horse lasted, 
in my opinion, into the later Stone Age, and during 
that epoch there existed in Central and Western 

* Ueber Tundren und SUpptn, dtrjeitt- und Vorseit, Berlin, 1 890. 
■ Ibid., p. 189. 



i>» Google 



78 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Europe vast steppe-like tracts, which supplied 
suitable nutriment to the wild horses, and afforded 
abundant space for their wanderings. . . . 

" Even during the Middle Ages wild horses 
may well have existed in Germany ; it is true that 
the objection has been made that the wild horse 
is a steppe-dwelling animal, and that in the Middle 
Ages there were no steppes in Germany. But 
this objection, in my opinion, is invalid. For 
admitting that the wild horse was originally a 
steppe-dwelling animal, it is by no means im- 
probable that during the post-glacial epoch, when 
the steppes were becoming constricted and the 
country overgrown with dense forest, small, or 
even large, herds of wild horses survived in 
many districts." 

These, it is added, may perfectly well have 
lived in the open tracts between the forest to a 
much later date without ever becoming forest 
animals ; although, as mentioned later, some may 
have become adapted to a forest life. Much the 
same view as to the nature of these horses was 
taken at an earlier date by Colonel Hamilton 
Smith,* who regarded them as the ancestors of the 
modern eel-backed duns — that is to say, duns with 
a dark spinal stripe. In the Middle Ages they had, 
however, probably become more or less crossed 
with escaped domestic horses, as will be shown to 

' Naturalisft Library, vol. xx. Horses, p. ■ 59. 



n,3t,7=-i>, Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 79 

have been the case with the wild horses of Russia ; 
additional evidence in this direction being the 
above-mentioned statement as to their coats being 
mouse-colour, which appears to be an indication of 
cross-breeding. 

As regards the wild horses of the Volga-Ural 
steppes, commonly called tarpan, the best account 
is that given by the German traveller, Peter Simon 
Pallas,^ in the early part of the nineteenth century, 
who wrote as follows : — 

" The wild horses inhabit the steppes of Great 
Tatary and Mongolia, from the Dnieper to the 
Altai, and through the whole of Central Asia, in 
small herds, seldom fifty in number. Most of them 
are reddish grey or pale grey in colour, but the 
mane, the spinal stripe, and the tail are reddish 
brown, the muzzle is whitish, and the region of the 
mouth blackish. (There are, however, herds of 
different colours among them, which are due to 
wild horses having interbred with domesticated 
animals escaped from captivity.) They are inferior 
in stature to domesticated horses, and have larger 
heads, more slender limbs, and somewhat bigger 
ears, which are bent backwards at the tips in sickle- 
fashion. The forehead is swollen above the eyes, 
with a whorl of hair between the latter. The hoofs 
are small and almost cylindrical. The mane extends 

' Zoogeographia Roiso-Asiatica, St Petersburg, voL i. p. a6o, 
i8it. 



i>» Google 



8o THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

from the space between the eyes [apparently 
a misprint for ears] to the shoulder-blades ; it is 
moderately long, and half upright. In winter the 
coat is rough, long, and waved on the back ; the tail 
is of moderate length. Young foals can be very 
easily tamed, but the adults are untamable. They 
gallop with wonderful speed, and scent human 
beings from a great distance, especially when they 
get their wind. . . . They frequent open undulating 
steppes, and avoid forests and mountainous locali- 
ties." 

If, as is almost certainly the case, the word 
eyes {augen) is a misprint for ears {okren) — 
for the author mentions the presence of a whorl 
of hair between the eyes — and if we except the 
absence of mention of the scanty hairing of the 
tail, the foregoing description might serve very 
well for that of the modem Mongolian tarpan. 

Other evidence was collected at an earlier date 
(1766) by S. G. Gmelin,* who states that the 
Russian tarpan was a small, clumsy-headed, mouse- 
coloured horse, with a short wavy mane, and the 
fronts of the legs black from the knees and hocks 
downwards. In some examples the ears were 
short and horse-like, but in others longer and more 
ass-like. The tail was in some cases bushy, and in 
others scantily haired, but always shorter than 
in domesticated horses. This account appears to 

* Seise durch Ruisland, St Petersburg (1770-84). 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 8i 

refer largely, if not entirely, to hybrid tarpans. 
The Russian tarpan is now extinct, but one skeleton 
is preserved in the Zoological Museum at Moscow, 
and a second at St. Petersburg. One of the last 
survivors would appear to have been a gelding 
received in August 1884 at the Moscow Zoological 
Gardens, which had been taken as a foal in the 
government of Cherson in 1866. According to 
Dr. W. Salensky ^ this animal agreed in the matter 
of colour with Gmelin's description : but. it had a 
forelock, and the mane fell over to the left side. 
There were no chestnuts «b the hind legs. That i 
this animal was a hybrid is practically certain. ! 

The great majority of naturalists have refused to 
admit the claims of the Russian tarpan in their 
earlier days to be regarded as truly wild animals. 
This view, however, Dr. Nehring,' as already 
mentioned, considers to be erroneous ; and it 
seems most probable that even in Pallas's time there 
were some Russian studs of more or less nearly 
pure-bred tarpan, but that as time went on these 
became more and more mixed with escaped domes- 
ticated horses, so that to find pure-bred tarpan it 
became necessary to go further and further east- 
ward. 

A very important contribution to the history of 

1 Wissenscka/tlicke Resultate dtr von N, M. Ptnewaiski nach 
Cmtral-Asien untergtnnomenen Reisen, Mammalia, pt. i., St Peters- 
burg, 1902. 

' Ueber Tundren und Siepptn, pp. 92, 93. 



: l^lDOt^lC 



82 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the tarpan, although treated by naturalists with 
neglect, was furnished by Colonel Hamilton Smith.* 
After referring to the doubts which had been enter- 
tained by naturalists with regard to the existence 
of truly wild horses, this author proceeds as 
follows : — 

' ' Whatever may be the lucubrations of naturalists 
in their cabinets, it does not appear that the Tatar 
or even the Cossack nations have any doubt upon 
the subject, for they assert that they can distin- 
guish a feral * breed from the wild by many tokens ; 
and naming the former takja and muzin, denomi- 
nate the real wild horse tarpan and tatpani. We 
had some opportunity of making personal inquiries 
on wild horses among a considerable number of 
Cossacks of different parts of Russia, and among 
Bashkirs, Kirghis, and Kalmuks, and with a sufhcient 
recollection of the statements of Pallas, and Buffon's 
information obtained from M. Sanchez, to direct 
the questions to most of the points at issue. From 
the answers of Russian officers of this irregular 
cavalry, who spoke French and German, we drew 
the general conclusion of their decided belief in a 
true wild and untameable species of horse, and in 
herds that were of mixed origin. Those most ac- 
quainted with a nomad life, and in particular an 

• Naturalists Library, Horses, p. 160, 1841. 

* "Feral" denotes animals originally escaped from captivity, as 
opposed to truly wild ones. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



WIJ.D TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 83 

orderly Cossack attached to a Tatar chief as Russian 
interpreter, furnished us with the substance of the 
following notice : — 

"The tarpani form herds of several hundred, 
divided into smaller troops, each headed by a stal- 
lion ; they are not found unmixed, excepting 
towards the borders of China; they prefer wide, 
open, elevated steppes, and always proceed in lines 
or files, usually with the head to windward, moving 
slowly forward while grazing — the stallions leading 
and occasionally going round their own troop : 
young stallions are often at some distance, and 
single, because they are expelled by the older until 
they can form a troop of young mares of their own ; 
their heads are seldom observed to be down for any 
length of time ; they utter now and then a kind of 
snort, with a low neigh. . . . 

"These animals are found in the greatest purity 
on the Karakoum (south of the lake of Aral) and 
the Syr Daria, near Kusnek, and on the banks of 
the river Tom, in the territory of the Kalkas, the 
Mongolian deserts, and the solitudes of the Gobi ; 
within the Russian frontier there are, however, some 
adulterated herds in the vicinity of the fixed settle- 
ments, distinguishable by the variety of their colour 
and a selection of residence less remote from human 
habitations. 

" Real tarpans are not larger than ordinary mules, 
their colour invariably tan, Isabella, or mouse, 



n,r,i,7=-i>, Google 



84 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

being all shades of the same livery, and only 
varying in depth by the growth or decrease of a 
whitish surcoat, longer than the hair, increasing 
in midsummer and shedding in May : during the 
cold season it is long, heavy, and soft, lying so close 
as to feel like a bear's fur, and then is entirely 
grizzled ; in summer much falls away, leaving only 
a certain quantity on the back and loins; the head 
is small, the forehead greatly arched, the ears far 
back, either long or short, the eyes small and 
malignant, the chin and muzzle beset with bristles, 
the neck rather thin, crested with a thick rugged 
mane, which, like the tail, is black, as also the 
pasterns, which are long : the hoofs are narrow, 
high, and rather pointed ; the tail, descending only 
to the hocks, is furnished with coarse and rather 
curly or wavy hairs right up to the crupper ; the 
croup as high as the withers : the voice of the 
tarpan is loud, and shriller than that of a domestic 
horse; and their action, standing, and general 
appearance resemble somewhat those of vicious 
mules." 

It is added that the genuine wild tarpans are 
migratory, wandering northward in summer, and 
returning south in autumn ; in this respect they 
differ markedly from the hybrid muzin. 

The above description, it is important to repeat, 

was drawn up after the Peace of Paris in 18^4 

' by Colonel Smith from Cossack reports, and it is 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 85 

therefore only to be expected that in certain parti- 
culars, such as the alleged smallness of the head, the 
statement that the tail does not reach below the 
hocks, and the absence of definite mention of the 
white muzzle and the scanty hairing of the upper part 
of the tail, it should not accord precisely with the 
tarpan as now known to us. On the other hand, 
the reference to individual variation in colour and 
in the length of the ears is very noteworthy, and in 
accordance with the facts. 

Before proceeding further, reference may be 
made to the description and figure in Colonel 
Smith's book (p. 304, pi. xvii.) of an animal for 
which the author proposed the name of Asinus 
equuleus. This animal was kept some time 
previous to 1 841 in a livery stable in Park Lane, 
and was brought to the notice of Colonel Smith 
by Sir Joseph Banks, who had been informed 
by Lord Rivers of its existence, and that it indi- 
cated a new species brought from the Chinese 
frontier north-east of Calcutta. According to 
further information supplied at the stable, the 
animal was said to have come from some part of 
Chinese Tatary, that is to say, Mongolia. 

After mentioning that at first he had some doubt 
whether the animal might not be a variety of the 
chigetai or the kiang, its describer proceeds to state 
that, on examination, he was convinced it was 
much nearer to the horse, adding that he believed 

D,g,t,7P- by Google 



86 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

it to be identical with the breed or species known 
to the Chinese as "yo-to-tze." 

The animal, which was a male, was described 
as being not quite five years old, and standing 
,4 ft. (i2 hands) at the withers. In form it was 
distinctly "ewe-necked"; the mane, although 
longer than that of an ass, was upright ; the tail 
(which, from the picture, appears to have been cut) 
was scantily supplied with long hairs nearly to 
its root, resembling that of a rat-tailed horse ; and 
callosities wgre wanting on the hind-limbs. 

AsT regards colour, Colonel Smith writes that it 
was entirely of a yellowish red clay tint, " except- 
ing the black tips of the ears, the mane, and long 
hair on the tail, a well-defined line along the back 
extending down the middle of the tail, crossed by a 
broad bar of the same colour over the shoulders, 
three or four streaks very distinctly marked over the 
knees and hocks, the cannon-joints brown, and the 
fetlocks and pasterns down to the hoofs black, the 
hoofs and hide dark, the eyes brown." 

With the exception of certain remarks on an 
Arab-like appearance of the muzzle and nose, this 
description would apply fairly well to some of the 
impure tarpans characterised by having fawn- 
coloured instead of white muzzles. It is true that 
the absence of chestnuts on the hind-limbs appears 
to be a difference, but these are always small in the 
Mongolian tarpan, and were sometimes absent in 



D,Q,t,7=^- In Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 87 

the half-bred Russian animals. Bars frequently 
occur on the limbs of both types, and traces of 
a shoulder-stripe may be detected in some in- 
dividuals. 

If this animal was really a half-bred tarpan, it is 
important to notice that the name Asinus equuleus 
antedates the under-mentioned Equus przevalskii. 

In spite of Colonel Hamilton Smith's clear 
assertion that the true wild tarpan was a native of 
the borders of the Gobi Desert and the adjacent dis- 
tricts, naturalists persisted in applying that name to 
the Russian half-breeds, and most of them more or 
less completely ignored the evidence of the exist- 
ence of truly wild horses at the present day. There 
matters remained till the year 1881, when Mr. J. S. 
Poliakow ^ described the skin and skull of a reputed 
wild horse obtained a short time previously by the 
well-known Russian explorer Colonel N. M. Prze- 
walski, to whom it had been presented by an 
official at Zaisan, and in whose honour it was 
named Equm przevalskii. Only a single specimen 
was obtained, and this was described as being 
intermediate in characters between the horse on 
the one hand and the kiang and onager on the 
other, having chestnuts on all four limbs as in the 
former, but only the lower half of the tail clothed 

' Proe. ItHp, Russian Geographical Society, 1881, pp. i-3o; the 
paper is translated into English in the Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser, 5, 
vol. viii. pp. i^ 26, i88i. 



i>» Google 



88 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

with long hair, as in the two latter. The general 
colour was described as dun, with a yellowish tinge 
on the back, becoming lighter towards the flanks 
and almost white on the belly, with no dark dorsal 
stripe. The short and upright mane, which was 
not continued forward as a forelock, was dark 
brown ; and the long coat was wavy on the head. 
The skull and hoofs were stated to be horse-like. 

In referring to this skin, Sir William Flower* 
made no mention of Hamilton Smith's account of 
the Mongolian tarpan, but suggested that the speci- 
men might possibly prove to be an accidental 
hybrid between the horse and the kiang. 

Twenty years after the description of the type 
specimen of Equus przevalskii — that is to say, in 
1907 — the Duke of Bedford received a number of 
tarpan colts from the Kobdo district of Western 
Mongolia, two of which were sent in the following 
year to the London Zoological Gardens, when one 
of them was figured by Dr. P. L. Sclater.' About 
the same time living specimens and a large number 
of skins were received at St. Petersburg, which 
formed the basis of the monograph by Dr. Salensky 
published in 1902, of which the full title has been 
already quoted.* 

Adult tarpan cannot apparently be captured, but, 
by taking certain precautions, the Kirghiz are able 

^ The fforse, p- 79. * Proe. Zool. Soc.. 1902, pi. xiii. 

• Supra, p. 81. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



PLATE VIII 
Fig. I 



Fig. I. A Mongolian I'uny Mare, probably a hali-l^ed Tarpan, used 
as a foster-mother to the Tarpan Colts brought to England lor the 
DukeofBedfora, 



i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 89 

to ride down and take the foals, which are snared 
in nooses. Those received in 1907 by the Duke of 
Bedford were brought from the Kobdo district of 
Western Mongolia by the agents of Mr. Carl 
Hagenbeck of Hamburg, who enlisted an army of 
Kirghiz for their capture. These foals were taken 
in three different areas in the neighbourhood of 
Kobdo ; those from each area showing certain colour- 
differences, into the consideration of which it will 
be unnecessary to enter in this place ; and it will 
suffice to state that these differences suggest that 
there has been sonie admixture with domesticated 
breeds. 

The genuine wild tarpan may, however, be 
described as a big-headed pony, with a convex 
forehead, a short erect mane, and a tail covered 
with comparatively short hair on its basal portion, 
but terminating in a long tuft. Chestnuts and ergots 
are developed on all four limbs, as in most domesti- 
cated horses ; the limbs are moderately slender, and 
the front hoofs are not unduly broad. The general 
colour of the upper-parts is dun, but on the nose 
and under-parts it becomes more or less markedly 
whitish ; the mane (which does not extend on to 
the forehead to form a forelock), the tips of the 
ears, and the lower portions of the legs are black 
in front, and there is a distinct, although narrow 
dorsal stripe, while more or less defined shoulder- 
stripes and traces of barring on the upper parts of 



i>» Google 



90 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the limbs are frequently developed. Although short 
in summer, the coat becomes long and shaggy in 
winter, when the mane displays a slight tendency to 
fall to one side ; the hair on the fetlocks and lower 
jaw likewise showing a decided increase in length 
at the latter season. 

The dentition is characterised by the relative 
shortness of the interval between the outermost, or 
third, incisor and the first tooth of the cheek-series, 
and the absolutely and relatively large size of the 
cheek-teeth themselves, as shown in plate v. fig. i. 
This large size of the cheek-teeth is indicated by 
the circumstance that in a skull with a basal 
length of I S^ the length of the row of six cheek- 
teeth is 7^ inches, or only one-quarter of an inch 
less than that of the corresponding teeth in the 
skull of a shire mare, of which the basal length 
is 23 inches. Structurally the upper cheek-teeth 
are characterised by the absence of complex 
folding in the rings of enamel surrounding the 
central pits, and the relatively great length of the 
worn grinding surface of the anterior inner pillar, 
which is produced considerably in advance of the 
connection with the main body of the tooth, and is 
much flattened on the inner side ; this feature being 
more pronounced in the premolars than in the 
molars. In a Dartmoor pony, with a skull of about 
the same size as that of a tarpan, the length of the 
row of cheek-teeth was only 5I inches ; but this 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 91 

is not quite a fair comparison, as the pony was 
an older animal than the tarpan, and the length of 
the tooth-row shortens with age. It is noteworthy 
that there appears to be no greater tendency to 
develop the small first upper premolar, or wolf- 
tooth, in the tarpan than in ordinary domesti- 
cated horses. 

Relying on the local colour-differences referred 
to above, Dr. P. Matschie,* of the Berlin Museum, 
has expressed the opinion that there are two kinds 
of tarpan, namely Equus przevalskU, with a dun- 
yellow colour, very dark mane, and black legs, which 
he considers to be restricted to the neighbourhood of 
Zagan-nor, a lake lying to the south-east of Kobdo. 
On the other hand, the tarpan of the Urungu district 
to the west of Kobdo, and the valley of the Ebi, 
which are lighter in colour, with no black on the 
front of the legs, and a lighter mane, have been 
named by him E. hagenbecki. There can, however, 
be little doubt that the difTerence between the two 
types is due to an admixture of blood ; and it is 
highly significant that the one which departs from 
the typical form occupies the western area or, in 
other words, is nearer to districts where there were 
formerly herds of half-bred tarpan. At the con- 
clusion of his memoir on the tarpan, Dr. Salensky 

' "Gibt es in Mittelasien mchrere Artcn von Echten Wildpferden ?*' 
Naturarissemehajtlicht WoeHmsckrift^ Berlin, vol. xviii, pp. 581-583, 
1903. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



92 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

expressed the opinion that Eguus przevalskii is 
certainly a distinct species, or race, although he 
declined to commit himself to any definite view as 
to its relationship to domesticated horses. In an 
appendix, dealing with a paper by Professor T. 
Noack, he admitted, however, that there is much 
to be said in favour of the view that a connecting 
link between the tarpan and some of the domesti- 
cated breeds may have once existed, and that this 
link may have been formed by one of the small 
horses of the Stone Age. 

Before discussing the question as to whether the 
tarpan ought to be regarded as a species by Itself 
or a race of the species typified by domesticated 
horses, it will be well to devote a few paragraphs 
to the Prehistoric horses of the Stone Age. 

Structurally the molar teeth of these Prehistoric 
horses are of the same type as those of domesti- 
cated horses ; but, nevertheless, in the early days of 
palceontological science a number of scientific names 
were given to these fossil horses on the evidence 
of isolated molar teeth and other specimens which 
are no longer available for comparison, and, if they 
were, would be quite insufficient for determining 
the particular type of horse to which they pertained. 
In 1832, for instance, a German palaeontologist, 
Hermann von Meyer,^ proposed the name Eguus 
fossilis for a horse represented by remains from the 

' PalaoU>gUa,^.7fi Frv>)(furt-iitn-M»me, 1832. 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 93 

superficial (diluvial) formations of his own country ; 
and the title E. adamiHcus had been given a dozen 
years earlier by Schlotheim ^ to the remains of the 
same or a closely allied type of horse. 

At a later date the English naturalist Sir 
Richard (then Professor) Owen,' referred an upper 
molar of a horse from Kent's Hole Cavern, near 
Torquay, to von Meyer's E.fossilis; stating that 
it differed from molars of domesticated horses by its 
narrower crown — a feature that may perhaps be 
due to its belonging to the deciduous, or milk, 
series. Other upper molars from the cavernous 
fissures in the Devonian limestone of Oreston, 
between Plymouth and Tavistock, were assigned 
by Sir Richard Qjven' to a second species, under 
the name of E. plicidens, in reference to the sup- 
posed more complex foldings, or pleatings, of the 
enamel in the central islands, or pits, of the grind- 
ing surface of the crown. 

Twenty-five years later the same naturalist* 
described a number of equine remains from the 
cavern of Bruniquel, in the department of Tarn-et- 
Garonne, France. These, in place of being isolated 
molars, comprised specimens of the complete denti- 
tion, as well as limb-bones ; and, from the relatively 
large size of the former as compared with the latter, 

' Petrefaktenkunde, p. 1 1 ; 1820. 

* British Fossil Mammals and Birds, p. 3S3, London, 1 846. 

* Of. cit., p. 39a, and Rep. Brit. Assoc, for 1843, p. 281, 1844. 

* Owen, Pkil. Trans. Roy. Sac. London, 1869, p. 544. 



n,r,„.=-i>, Google 



94 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Sir R. Owen estimated the shoulder-height of the 
Bruniquel horse — for which, ignoring the earlier 
names quoted above, he proposed the designation 
Eguus speleeus — at about 13^ hands, or 4^ feet. 

Now it can scarcely be doubted that this small 
Bruniquel Prehistoric horse was identical with the 
small big-headed horse drawn on horn by the Stone 
Age men of La Madelaine, in the department of 
Dordogne (pi. vii, fig. 2), and the name E. spelaus 
will therefore be applicable to both. 

The bones and teeth of horses from the super- 
ficial formations of the Continent and Great Britain 
indicate, however, great differences in the bodily 
size of the animEils to which they belonged ; and 
it has, therefore, been inferred that there were 
several distinct types of wild horses during the 
Stone Age. The evolution and differentiation of 
these types, it has been suggested, may have been 
due to the disappearance of the open tundras and 
steppes of Central Europe, and their replacement by 
forest, in consequence of which some of the wild 
horses took to a partially forest-life, which would lead 
to the development of a heavy and massive type of 
limb, while others, again, frequented the borders of 
deserts, where, it may be, they could exist only by 
the aid of man's cultivation of the soil in the oases. 

From the study of remains obtained from Anau, 
in Turkestan, Dr. J. U. Duerst^ considers that 

> In R. Pnmpelly's Explorations in Turkestan, voL ii. p. 309 ; 
Washington, Carnegie Institute, 1908. 

D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



. Skull of a Young Tarpan Mare. 

!. Skull of an Arab Mate, showing the sinuous profile ; //, preorbital 

n ,1 "iXHK^'^le 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 95 

from the Prehistoric horse of the diluvial period, 
which he regards as a local race of the species typi- 
fied by domesticated horses, and therefore calls 
Equus caballus fossilis, three other races were 
developed in the late Stone Age. These he desig- 
nates respectively as the desert-type {E. caballus 
pumpellit), the steppe-type [E. c. germanicus 
or robustus), and the forest-type (£■. c. ttehringi). 

In a greater or less degree each of these, together 
widi the rather earlier type identified by Dr. Duerst 
with E. c. fossilis, exhibits evidence of relationship 
with the Mongolian tarpan, which is regarded by 
the same writer as the direct descendant of the last- 
named. 

The desert-type, as represented by the Anau 
horse of the Prehistoric deposits of Turkestan, is 
regarded by Dr. Duerst* as the direct descendant 
of E. c. fossilis. It was the smallest of all the 
Prehistoric . domesticated horses, and may never 
have existed in a wild state. Having limbs of 
much more slender form than those of the tarpan, 
and very narrow hoofs, it was characterised by the 
medium width of the forehead as compared with 
the length of the base of the skull ; * some of these 
features afifiliating it to the Arab type, of which it 

' op. cit.,^ 431. 

* Eastern and western horses are distinguished by a difTerence 
in the proportion of the width of the forehead to the basal length of 
the skull. As the proportion is low in the former, they are called 
"broad-fronted"; whereas the western horses, in which it is high, 
are styled " narrow-fronted." 

D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



96 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

is considered by Dr. Duerst' to have been the 
ancestor, although he also mentions near relation- 
ship to the tarpan. Bred, like the Arab, for speed 
and a desert-life, it is believed by the same writer 
to have been imported during the Bronze and Iron 
Ages into Europe, where it is well represented by 
the small horse of La T6ne.' Dr. Duerst thus 
regards all existing domesticated horses as derived 
from a single ancestral wild type, namely, the 
extinct forerunner of the tarpan ; such differences 
as characterise the various breeds being due to 
adaptive development. The subject is again referred 
b3 in the fifth chapter ; but it may be mentioned 
here that the evidence for the derivation of the Arab 
from the Anau horse does not appear conclusive, 
as no account is taken of the possibility of that 
animal having a mixture of Arab and tarpan blood. 
Very different from the last is the forest-type 
(B. c. nehringt), which was a small, stout horse, 
or pony, believed by Dr. Duerst ' to have originated 
in the primeval forests of Germany, where it 
gradually became more and more stunted in size 
and thicker in the limbs, and where it was eventually 
domesticated. According, however, to Professor 
P. Matschie,* this small forest horse, or pony, is 
identical with a race from WUrtemberg described 

' Loc. cit. * Ibid., p. 431. - * Lee. cit. 

* " Allerlei aus der Gescbichte der Einhufct," MonaUhefU fur 
Naturwiss, Unttrrickt, voL ii. p. 303, Leipsic, 1909. 



n,r,i,7=-i>, Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 97 

at an earlier date by Dr. Woldrich as E. c. fossilis 
lati/rons, which, in the opinion of the former writer, 
may have been the ancestor of the European 
Bronze Age pony, identified by Dr. Duerst with his 
E. c. pumpelHi. The so-called Celtic pony, to 
which fuller reference is made in the sequel, is 
considered by Dr. Duerst to be a derivative from 
his forest type. 

The steppe-type of the same writer, as primarily 
represented by E. c. germanicm of Nehring, from 
Westeregeln, Thiede, and Quedlinburg, was a 
bigger animal than either of the preceding, with 
the proportionately narrow forehead characteristic 
of the heavy horses of Western Europe. How 
nearly this type was connected with the horse of 
Solutr^, in the Dordogne, north of Lyons, which 
was probably identical with the one depicted on 
the walls of the Madelaine Cave, in the same 
department (plate vii. fig. 2), and thus with 
the Bruniquel horse, is not clear, although it is 
probable that all these were of the same general 
character, and intimately allied to the Mongolian 
tarpan. Indeed Dr. Duerst states that some of the 
Solutr^ bones are absolutely indisting^uishable from 
those of the latter. If this steppe-type be insepar- 
able from the Bruniquel, Madelaine, and Solutr6 
horses, it will be obvious that the name E. c. spel^us^ 
as the earlier,^ should replace E. c. germamcus. 

Supra, p. 94. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



98 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Although the cave, or rock-shelter, of Solutr^ 
could scarcely accommodate more than half-a-dozen 
families, however tightly packed, the entrance was 
protected by two walls of horse-bones, one a 
hundred and fifty feet long, ten high, and twelve 
thick, and the other forty feet long and five high. 
M. Toussaint, who explored this shelter of Prehis- 
toric man, roughly computed the number of animals 
whose bones were thus stacked as forty thousand. 
So many in one spot could hardly have been tame ; 
and, if they were, a large proportion would be old, 
but every one was quite young, many of them 
being foals, so that it is evident they had been 
killed in the chase, cut up, and brought home for 
eating. 

It would be natural to conclude, writes Mr. 
F. Boyle in the ComhUl Magazine for May 191 1, 
"that the hunters were horsemen. Boys would 
jump upon the back of a quarry wounded and 
overtaken ; the sport would teach them to ride, 
and presently they would take to catching foals. 
All the steps of the process follow logically. But 
perhaps the first did not occur to our remote fore- 
fathers. Asiatics never thought of riding till they 
were infinitely more advanced ; Gauls and Britons 
still clung to the chariot in Caesar's time. The 
lake-dwellers were horsemen certainly — we find 
their bits and accoutrements. And they used the 
same breed of horse which the men of Solutr^ ate. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 99 

as the bones show. But that was a thousand years 
later, perhaps two or three or more." 

In this place it may be mentioned that much 
has been made of certain differences in shape and 
in the degree of the hairiness of the head in the 
Prehistoric sketches of horses ; such differences 
being regarded as indicative of racial distinction. 
But Professor H. F. Osborn ^ has well remarked 
that it is quite probable these differences may be 
due to some of the animals having been depicted 
in the winter and others in the summer coat. 

A considerable amount of uncertainty and con- 
fusion exists, it will be noticed, in the foregoing 
determinations, especially in regard to the matter 
of scientific nomenclature ; but the confusion be- 
comes intensified when the views expressed above 
are contrasted with those held by Professor J. C, 
Ewart. According to one of the latest publications 
of that writer,* at least three species or races of 
wild horses inhabited Western Europe in Pre- 
historic times. The first of these constitutes his 
steppe-type, which seems to be typified by the 
Mongolian tarpan, but is provisionally taken to in- 
clude the La Madelaine horse, for both of which 
the name E. przevalskii appears to be employed. 
This type, which is quite different from the one 

' Ctntury Magazine, November 1904, p. 15. 

* "The Animal Remains at Newslead," in J. Curie's A Roman 
Frontier Post and its People, at Nev/sleaji, Melrose, p. 362, Glasgow 
1911. 



D,g,t,7P:hy Google 



100 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Dr. Duerst describes under the same name, is 
characterised by the large and heavy head and the 
relatively slender limbs, the face being long and 
narrow. 

The second of Mr. Ewart's groups is the so- 
called plateau-type, which appears to be typified 
by bones and teeth from French and English 
Pleistocene deposits, and is said to be a fine-headed, 
slender-limbed pony, standing from 1 2 to 13 hands 
at the shoulder, with short grinding surfaces to the 
anterior pillars of the upper cheek-teeth, and a 
forehead of medium proportionate breadth. For 
this plateau-type Professor Ewart, on page 363 of 
the work just cited, adopts the name Eguus agiiis ; 
remarking in a foot-note that it includes a northern 
or "Celtic," and a southern or " Libyan," variety. 
The name E. agiiis was proposed by him in 1910' 
to replace E. gracilis, which he published in 1909,* 
but subsequently found to be inadmissible on 
account of having been previously used in another 
sense. In the original publication of the last- 
mentioned name, it was stated that it was meant 
to replace the inadmissible Asinus fossilis of Owen, 
and it was likewise mentioned that it was intended 
to include, as varieties, the author's E. celticus and 
the E. libycus of Professor Ridgeway. Such nomen- 
clature is, however, totally inadmissible, the name 

• Ewart, Proe. Royal Soc. Edinburgh, vol. xxx. p. 299, 191a 
' Ewart, Ptve. R^al Soc London, vol. xxxi. p. 392, 1909. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS ioi 

Equus caballus celticus having been proposed by 
Professor Ewart* in 1903 for the so-called Celtic 
pony of the North of Ireland, the Hebrides, Farfies, 
and Iceland, and therefore antedating the name 
agilis. 

The third modification recognised by the same 
author ' is the forest-type, which is said to be repre- 
sented by remains from the so-called "elephant- 
bed" at Kemp Town, near Brighton, and by the 
aforesaid horse from the Palaeolithic station at 
Solutr6, northward of Lyons. This forest-type, 
which, it will be noticed, is different from the one 
so called by Dr. Duerst, is stated to have been a 
long low horse, probably characterised by a rela- 
tively broad and concave forehead, short, thick 
cannon-bones, wide hoofs, and long grinding surfaces 
to the anterior pillars of the upper cheek-teeth. 
The name Equus robustus (which Dr. Duerst regards 
as a synonym of germanicus) is adopted by Pro- 
fessor Ewart for his forest-type, as typified by the 
Solutr^ horses. 

The recognition by the writer last named of a 
so<:alIed Siwalik type — that is to say, one related 
to the Pliocene ^f««i sivaUnsis of India — Jimong 
the remains at Newstead scarcely demands serious 
notice. On the other hand, it is important to 
mention that Dr. Marcellin Boule* has described 

' Nature, London, vol. Ixvii. p. 337, 1903. 

' "Animal Remains at Newstead," loc. cit,, p. 363. 

' Annales ^ PaUonlotogie, Paris, voL v., 1910. 



n 7- 1>, Google 



102 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

from the Grottes de Grimaldi, in Monjico, the 
remains of a large form of horse, which he identifies 
with the existing Equus caballus, but to which, 
very judiciously, he does not assign a separate 
racial name. This Prehistoric horse approaches 
the modern Percheron breed, to which it may have 
been ancestral. Bones and teeth indicating horses 
of equally large size have been obtained from the 
Brighton "elephant-bed." 

From this long and somewhat wearisome survey 
of recent views in r^ard to the Prehistoric horses 
of Western Europe, which is essential in order to 
arrive at a satisfactory conclusion as to the syste- 
matic place of the Mongolian tarpan, it will be 
evident that during the period in question there 
were several more or less distinct types of wild 
European horses, differing from one another in 
bodily size, in the relative breadth of the skull, the 
degree of slenderness or stoutness of the cannon- 
bones, in the width of the hoofs, and to some degree 
perhaps in the conformation of the cheek-teeth. 
Some naturalists regard these different forms — or at 
all events a few of them — as distinct species ; but 
by Messrs. Duerst and Boule they appear to be all 
considered as races, or phases, of the species typified 
by the domesticated Equus caballus — a view in 
which I myself fully concur. These races are not, 
however, precisely comparable to the geographical 
races of existing mammals recognised by modern 

D,r,,t,7=^-i>, Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 103 

naturalists, no two of which ever occur in one and 
the same district. The races of Prehistoric horses, 
on the other hand, appear to have been dependent 
on environment, or "station," one being developed 
for a life on the open steppe, another in the forest, 
and another on grassy plateaus ; and their remains 
may accordingly be met with in one and the same 
deposit, or, at all events, in closely approximated 
localities. 

Furthermore, most, or all, of these Prehistoric 
types show more or less evident signs of near 
relationship to the Mongolian tarpan, while some of 
the existing Connemara ponies have been stated to 
bear the impress of descent from that animal,^ or 
rather, it should be said, from its Prehistoric 
representatives of the Madclaine and Bruniquel 
caverns. 

Before proceeding further it will, however, be 
advisable to refer to certain considerations in regard 
to domesticated horses. In the first place, attention 
should be directed to the fact that the name Eguus 
caballm was given by the Swedish naturalist 
Linnaeus to domesticated horses in general, without 
mention of any particular breed to represent what 
naturalists call the type, that is to say, the typical 
form of that species. 

The same uncertainty obtains, however, with 
regard to certain species of European wild animals, 

' See R. I. Pocock, Harms-worth Natural Hittery, vol. ii. p. 796. 



001,7=^- In Google 



104 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

such as the red deer, the blue hare, and the fox, of 
which several local races are now known to exist ; 
but naturalists have agreed to solve the difficulty by 
taking the Scandinavian, or rather the Swedish, 
representatives of such species as the respective 
types. 

This being so, it is not only permissible, but 
likewise imperative, if consistency is to be main- 
tained, to follow the same course in the case of the 
domesticated horse. Scandinavian horses may 
therefore be regarded as the typical representatives 
of the £quus cabaUus of Linnaeus; and since 
among these the "eel-backed dun" is a very 
common and characteristic breed in Norway, it may 
perhaps be permissible to take this as the actual 
type of the species. This course was, indeed, pro- 
posed some years ago by Professor Ewart, but 
subsequently abandoned on account of the circum- 
stance that dun horses may be produced by cross- 
ing two distinct Scottish breeds. This fact, in the 
professor's opinion, indicates that the dun is not a 
true breed ; but it may be pointed out that if this 
view is admitted the typical blue rock-pigeon is not 
a true breed, let alone a species, because, as was 
pointed out by Darwin in his Animals and Plants 
under Domestication^ several distinct breeds of 
pigeons will, when crossed, revert to that type. 
And as what holds good for pigeons will like- 
' VoL i. p. 64- 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



. A Norwegian Dun SliUion, showing dapple. 
I. A Mongolian Polo Pony. 



.■i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 105 

wise obtain in the case of horses, it follows that 
the production of duns hy crossing affords decisive 
evidence of the antiquity of that type, being, in fact, 
a case of reversion to the ancestral form. 

In colour the Norwegian so-called eel-dun is 
very like the tarpan, showing a narrow but distinct 
black dorsal stripe, and having the front surfaces 
of the limbs and the whole of the fetlocks black, 
while occasionally there may be traces of a shoulder- 
stripe and of barring on the upper part of the legs. 
In general form the breed is low in stature, but 
strongly built, with short, stout limbs. It should be 
added that, as mentioned later, two types of Nor- 
wegian duns are recognised ; one of these being 
shown in plate x. fig. i. 

On the other hand, the head and cheek-teeth 
are relatively smaller than in the tarpan, the front 
hoofs are broader in comparison to the hind pair, 
while the mane is comparatively long and pendent, 
with a forelock, and the tail is well haired up to the 
root. Such differences may, however, perfectly 
well be regarded as the results of domestication, due 
in part, it may be, to selection, or in part, perhaps, to 
crossing with a second wild type, or its descendants. 

This view in regard to the antiquity of the 

Norwegian dun type and its -affinity to the wild 

tarpan accords exactly with the opinion of Darwin, 

who in the work already cited ^ wrote as follows : — 

• Page 63. 



i>» Google 



io6 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

"With respect to the primitive colour of the 
horse having been dun, Colonel Hamilton Smith 
has collected a large body of evidence showing 
that this tint was common in the East as far 
back as the time of Alexander, and that the wild 
horses of Western Asia and Eastern Europe now 
are, or recently were, of various shades of dun. 
It seems that not very long ago a wild breed of 
dun-K:oIoured horses with a spinal stripe was pre- 
served in the royal parks in Prussia. I hear from 
Hungary that the inhabitants oi that country look 
at the duns with a spinal stripe as the aboriginal 
stock, and so it is in Norway." 

To this it may be added that dun horses, 
although not necessarily of pure blood, were formerly 
common in Spain, where, as in some other parts 
of Europe, they were considered to be the worst 
type of all ; the eel-backed being, however, a little 
better than the self-coloured dun.^ Perhaps this 
is the reason why in the sixth chapter of Revela- 
tion the " pale horse," nnrof x^^mpos, that is to say, 
the horse of the colour of withered grass, or dun, 
is assigned to Death. 

Be this as it may, the general tendency of the 
foregoing evidence is to show that the eel-dun 
horses of Norway and other parts of Europe not 
only represent a very ancient type, but that they 

' See Ridgeway, Origin and Infitunct of the Thoroughbred Horsi, 
pp. a6o, 348. 



D,Q,t,7P- by Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 107 

inherit their colour, either directly or by reversion, 
from the wild tarpan. This led Darwin ^ to conclude 
that all the existing breeds of horses are probably 
descended " from a single dun-coloured, more or 
less primitive stock, to which our horses occasion- 
ally revert." And although in the light of the 
foregoing evidence as to the existence of more 
than one type of Prehistoric wild horse in Europe, 
this conclusion requires some litde modification, it is 
probably not far from the truth, though the Arab 
may perhaps form an exception to the Generalisation. 
It being admitted, then, that the wild Mongolian 
tarpan is related not only to some of the existing 
. horses and ponies of Western Europe, but likewise 
to their Prehistoric ancestors, it seems only logical 
that it should not be separated from the species 
typified by domesticated horses, and its name will 
therefore be Equus caballus przevalskii, or, at all 
events, until it is definitely proved to be entitled to 
a designation of earlier date. 

Adult stallions of the Mongolian tarpan stand 
about 13. 1 hands (53 inches) at the shoulder; and, 
as might naturally be expected, its nearest domesti- 
cated representatives are the ponies of the same 
district, which measure from about 12.2 to 13.3 
hands, and in their rough, untrimmed coats are 
very like their wild relatives, although they have 
developed long, flowing manes, with forelocks, and 
> op. at., p. 65. 



i>» Google 



io8 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

tails which sweep the ground and are thickly haired 
to the root. These ponies are kept by the Buriats 
and other Mongol tribes in millions, and are 
extremely hardy and enduring. Mr. C. W. Camp- 
bell * states that " a_ good specimen of the Mongol 
pony is perhaps the best of his size in the world 
for general use. The head and shoulders will be 
too heavy for elegance, the eyes none too full, 
the muzzle and crest coarse, and the manners too 
often objectionable, but the quarters, loins, and 
legs are good, the barrel is deep and long, and 
there is no deficiency in bone. . . . The size and 
character vary with the locality. The commonest 
colour is grey, chestnut follows, and then come 
bay and sorreL Stallions are selected animals, 
especially in North Mongolia, but the mares are 
not, and no special pains are taken anywhere to 
improve a breed. Along the China border the 
ponies are undersized, 12 to 13 hands, the result 
of the excessive demands of the China markets 
for all the larger beasts. As one travels northward, 
and the China market becomes more remote, the 
horse-iiesh improves (12 to 14 hands), and the 
best specimens of the Mongol pony are found 
in the valley of the Kerulon." 

Mongolian ponies (pi. x. fig. 2) are brought down 
to China in large droves for racing and polo purposes ; 

* Report to Pta-liatnent on a Journey lo Mongolia, London, 
1904. p. 35- 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



\ 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 109 

the majority going direct to Shanghai, although some 
are sold en route at Pekin. and Tientsin. Accord- 
ing to a writer in the Field newspaper of April 8th, 
1911, "they are sold principally to the large race- 
owners for comparatively big prices, and are kept 
and trained for the races. As these ponies have 
to be bought without any trial entirely on their 
looks, with shaggy coats and totally unacquainted 
with the proper use of a brush, many are soon 
found to be hardly fast enough for racing purposes. 
Sometimes, however, the weirdest-looking proves 
himself to be very fast, while some of the good- 
looking ones turn out badly." 

The aforesaid variability in the colour of Mon- 
golian ponies, and the comparative rarity of dun, 
seem to indicate that they are not pure derivatives 
from the tarpan ; the same thing being, perhaps, 
indicated by the luxuriant hair of the mane and 
tail. According to Professor Ridgeway^ such colour- 
differences are known to have been in existence 
so early as the second century B.C. The mare 
represented in plate viii- fig. i is one of the 
dark types of Mongolian ponies. Although 
most of the so-called Chinese ponies are really 
Mongolian, the southern provinces of China do 
produce a native breed of pony, which appears to 
be nearly allied to those of Anam, Siam, and 
Burma (mentioned below), but is very small, 

> The Thoroughbred Horst, p. 132. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



no THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

scarcely reaching an average height of 12. i. These 
ponies are, however, very strong and hardy. 

It may be added that the nomad Mongols 
devote great attention to breeding ponies, of which 
they possess an immense number, although many 
of them are spoilt by having their hoofs and teeth 
abnormally worn down by the stony nature of 
the ground and the hard herbage on which they 
feed. 

Ponies more or less nearly related to the Mon- 
golian are to be found throughout the vast tracts 
of Central Asia lying between Siberia and the 
Himalaya, since, in the opinion of Captain Hayes.^ 
the ponies of Bhutan, Nepal, Spitl, and Yarkand 
are of the same general type ; Yarkandis being 
not infrequently dun. The ponies of Corea, as 
already mentioned, are closely allied to those of 
Mongolia, and come equally close in general 
characters to the wild tarpan. 

Here it may be well to mention that there 
is no near resemblance between Mongolian ponies 
and the eel-backed dun horses of Norway, such 
as might be supposed to occur in breeds derived 
from the same ancestral stock. A moment's reflec- 
tion will, however, show that in this particular case 
no such resemblance is to be expected ; for if the 
wild horse was domesticated in regions so (ax apart 
from one another as Mongolia and Norway, it 

• TAt Points of the Horse, London, 3rd ed., p. 599. 



i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS iii 

is only reasonable to presume that differences in 
climatic conditions and in the mode of treatment 
and selection, coupled in all probability by an ' 
admixture of different kinds of alien blood, would 
produce a marked diflference between the eastern 
and western domesticated stock. 

Reverting to the Far East, it is important to 
observe that, as was long ago pointed out by Darwin, 
in most of the countries tying to the eastward of 
the Bay of Bengal, including Burma, Anam, Siam, 
the Malay Peninsula and Islands, the Liu Kiu 
Islands, and a large portion of China, the horse 
is represented only by small breeds which come 
under the designation of ponies. Among these, 
the Burmese or Shan ponies, which are mainly, 
if not exclusively, bred by the hill-tribes of the 
Shan States, in the interior of the country, are 
believed to be nearly related to the Mongolian 
breed, although probably modified by the infusion 
of foreign blood. In stature they are about the 
equals of the Mongolian, and are strong and active, 
although somewhat slow in their movements. On 
the other hand, the still smaller but closely allied 
Manipur ponies are much faster, and are used 
by their owners for polo, of which game Manipur 
is one of the original homes. 

Near akin to the Manipuris are the Batak or 
Deli ponies of Sumatra, which arc bred in the 
Batak hills of that island, and are exported to 



i>» Google 



112 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Singapore from the port of Deli in large numbers. 
With their handsome, high-bred-looking heads, and 
high-crested necks, they differ, however, markedly 
from the Mongolian and Yarkandi types, which 
are often more or less decidedly ewe-necked ; this 
difference being due to a strong infusion of 
Arab blood. In stature they average only about 
11.3 hands, although some reach 12.1 or 12.2. 
Although most are brown, skewbalds are by no 
means uncommon. Sumatra also possesses a second 
breed of ponies, wWch take their name from the 
Gayoe hills, at the northern end of the island. 
According to Captain Hayes,^ they are stouter 
in build than the Batak ponies, with shorter and 
thicker legs and heavier hind-quarters. They lack, 
however, the speed and fiery nature of the latter ; 
this being probably due to their having a smaller 
strain of Arab blood in their veins. 

On the other hand, the ponies of Java and 
some of the neighbouring islands, which, like those 
of Sumatra, not infrequently show distinct striping, 
appear to be, not only of very modem origin, but 
mainly of Arab descent, although it is quite probable 
that they may have some Mongolian blood. I am 
credited* with the statement that some Javanese 
and Sulu ponies show a large first upper premcJar, 
or wolf-tooth, and as the same feature characterises 
the extinct Indian Equus sivalensis, the suggestion 
^ Op. cit., p. 633. ' Ridgeway, op. cit, p. 142. 



D,Q,t,7P- by Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 113 

was thrown out that the former might be the 
direct descendants of the latter. Although I no 
longer maintain such a view, it may contain a 
certain element of truth, since Arabs, as mentioned 
later, may perhaps trace their origin to the aforesaid 
Equus sivalensis. 

Before leaving this part of the subject it is impor- 
tant to observe that the Burmese and Malay countries 
have derived their ponies from Mongolian or Arab 
stocks, and had no indigenous breeds of their own. 

The tarpan has also had a share in the production 
of the Turkoman horses of Turkestan, which un- 
doubtedly have been produced by crossing Mongolian 
ponies with Arabs. In fact, the Turkoman horse 
passes insensibly through the Persian into the 
Arab. A very similar pedigree may be assigned 
to the well-known dun-coloured ponies of the 
Kathiawar district of North-western India, which 
frequently show transverse dark barrings on the 
legs, accompanied in some cases by traces of 
shoulder-stripes, and always by a narrow dark spinal 
stripe. The limbs are long and slender, and the 
ears large, with a decided tendency to turn inwards 
at the tips. In the opinion of Professor Ridgeway/ 
" There can be no doubt that the Kathiawar horse 
, is a cross between the dun-coloured horse of Upper 
Asia and the Arab ; " there being historical evi- 
dence to show that so early as the commencement 
' Of, df., p. 159. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



114 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

of the Christian era large numbers of the dun 
horses of Northern Asia and Europe had been 
imported into the districts on the east side of the 
lower part of the Indus valley. The striping in the 
Kathiawar ponies, which is most marked in the best 
examples of the breed, appears to be a reversion 
to the ancestral type, as the result of crossing. 

The foregoing does not, however, by any means 
exhaust the extent of the influence of the tarpan on 
the domesticated horses of Eastern Central Asia, 
for Tibet is the home of a breed of ponies many of 
which are cream-fawn, or yellow dun, in colour. 
Many of these dun ponies, according to Mr. L. A. 
Waddell,^ are brindled, and in one particular indi- 
vidual a dorsal stripe, the tips of the ears, and 
stripes on the shoulders, flanks, and limbs were 
black, while there were dapplings on the haunches, 
as in many of the Mongolian ponies. More remark- 
able still are the so-called tanghans of Tibet, which 
are of larger size, and stated to derive their name 
from the Tanghastan district of Bhutan. They may 
be either piebald, or skewbald, with or without 
stripes, and, according to Colonel Hamilton Smith, 
the chestnuts on the hind-legs are extremely small. 
Some of the older travellers state that droves of 
tanghans were to be found in a wild condition on 
the Tibetan side of the Himalaya ; but, in one 
instance, at any rate, there appears to be a confusion 

> Among the Himalayas, p. 348. 



i>» Google 



WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 115 

between horses and kiangs, and in any case, if 
tanghans were found wild, they must have escaped 
from captivity. As regards their origin, Professor 
Ridgeway ^ states that " on the whole the balance 
of probability is in favour of the piebald colour of 
the tanghans ' of Tibet being due to the crossing of 
the Mongolian and Arab stocks, as seems certainly 
the case with the piebalds of Sumatra." 

The ponies of the Mongolian type which formed 
the ancestral stock of the modern Kathiawaris were 
probably brought into Western India by the ancient 
Scythians from the neighbourhood of the Caspian ; 
and as these warriors also invaded Baluchistan and 
Afghanistan — the ancient Bactria — there is little 
doubt that the horses of these countries have a 
strong Mongolian element in their blood, although 
some of this may have been derived from the dis- 
tricts lying immediately to the north. On this point 
Captain Hayes ' remarks that the Cabuli, Baluchi, 
and other trans-Indus horses so largely used in India, 
which, although stouter and shorter in the legs, are 
less smart in appearance and less suited to a hot 
climate than the so-called " country-breds," may 
be considered as intermediate between the latter 
and Mongolian ponies ; this being, in fact, equi- 
valent to saying that they are of mixed Arab and 

' Origin of ike Thoroughbred Horse, p. 1 56. 
' I have ventured to alter Prolessor Ri^eway's spelling, 
" tangums," to accord with that adopted here. 
' Points of the Horse, 3rd ed. p. 603. 



i>» Google 



Ii6 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Mongolian blood. Stripes, it is said, are not infre- 
quent on the legs of horses in theWaziri districts of 
Afghanistan, as they certainly are on those of many 
of the ponies in the Punjab. 

When the origin of Punjabi and other Indian 
ponies is considered, we are, however, at once con- 
fronted by great difficulties. For during the Pleis- 
tocene period the Narbada district of Central India, 
and doubtless other parts of the country, were the 
home of a wild horse {Egvus namadicus) with long 
grinding surfaces to the anterior pillars of the upper 
cheek-teeth. And this horse — if indeed it is entitled 
to that name in the more restricted sense — may 
quite probably have had a share in the origin of 
the Indian country-bred and pony stock previous to 
the introduction of Arab and Mongolian blood. 
On the other hand, there is no proof that the 
extinct Narbada horse was not nearer to the onager 
than to the typical horse. 

In concluding this chapter reference may be 
made to the diet of Astatic horses. In the work 
quoted on page 6g Colonel Phillott observes that : — 
" Indian country-breds will eat and thrive on food 
that would probably kill English horses. In the 
Persian Gulf and elsewhere locusts, fish, and dates 
are regarded as legitimate food for horses and 
cattle ; in Tibet the tanghans are given pig's blood 
and raw liver ; and in the cold regions of Central 
Asia meat is regarded as a necessity for horses." 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



CHAPTER III 

HORSES AND PONIES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 

When Julius Csesar invaded Britain in the year 
55 B.C. he found the natives in possession of swift 
and hardy horses, which they drove in their war- 
chariots with remarkable skill and adroitness. 
Although it has been stated that the horse is not 
indigenous to the British Islands,^ and the sugges- 
tion made that the original stock was introduced 
by the Phcenicians when they visited Cornwall for 
the purpose of obtaining tin, there seems no reason 
why the horses of the early Britains should not 
have been derived from the native Prehistoric 
breeds. The available evidence points to the con- 
clusion that these early British horses were of 
small size, so that at the present day they would 
come under the denomination of ponies ; this being 
another fact in favour of their descent from the 
small Prehistoric horse allied to the tarpan. In 
the opinion of Sir Walter Gilbey,' it is doubtful 
whether the horses of Britain gained materially 
in size till the Saxons and Danes imported stallions 
belonging to larger breeds from the Continent. 

' Sir Walter Gilbey, Therougkbred and other Pomes, London, 
1903, p. 11. * Op. eit., p. 33, 



i>» Google 



ii8 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

At the time when Domesday Book was written 
large droves of mares wandered at will through 
the forests of the great land-owners of England, 
and were only driven into enclosures occasionally 
when some of their number were selected for work- 
ing purposes, and doubtless also for breeding. 
And it is probable that from these forest mares 
(the Eqtus silvestres or Equa tndomita of Domesday 
Book) were produced the first improved types of 
British horses. From the unimproved forest breeds 
are doubtless descended the modern forest and 
moorland breeds of ponies; which, it has been 
suggested, have somewhat degenerated in size and 
quality owing to the poor fodder of the comparatively 
restricted areas on which they now survive. 

The first of these ponies for notice are those of 
the New Forest, in Hampshire (pi. xi. fig. i), which it 
has been suggested are descended from a stock found 
before the time of Knut (1017-1035) in the district 
formerly known as Ytene and afforested in the 
year 1072 by William the Conqueror/ They are 
described by Low as ugly, large-headed, and short- 
necked, but hardy, sure-footed, and capable of 
bearing rough usage. In 1765, the breed was 
much improved by " Marske," the sire of " Eclipse," 
having been allowed to run with the herds for about 
four years. In 1889 the Forest ponies were again 
improved by thoroughbred blood ; and about the 

' Gilb«y, op, at., p. 33. 



n,„i,7=-i>, Google 



■ i>,Go()gic 



i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 119 

same time stallions from the island of Rum, off 
the west coast of Scotland, were introduced. These 
black Galloways, as they are called, greatly improved 
the stock, which is now in demand as polo-ponies. 
Near akin to the New Forest breed are the ponies 
of Exmoor and Dartmoor, the former of which 
should averse 12 and not exceed 13 hands in 
height, while stallions of the latter may run to 
14 hands. In winter these ponies, which are left 
nearly wild until caught for use, are thickly covered 
with long hair. Exmoors are generally dark bay 
or brown in colour, with black points ; they have 
broad foreheads, sharp ears, well-formed shoulders, 
and short, sturdy legs. 

From the larger types of these ponies were bred 
the old pack-horses of the west of England, which 
were indispensable in former days to the farmers 
of the district, and were also largely used for riding. 
Of late years Exmoor ponies have been crossed 
with Dongola Arabs, and this, and perhaps earlier 
crossings, may account for the Arab-like character 
they now frequently possess. 

Welsh ponies, which are not confined to the 
principality, but range over the wilder parts of the 
adjacent counties of Salop, Hereford, and Mon- 
mouth, are more numerous than any other breed, 
and are a very ancient type. Early in the eighteenth 
century a famous thoroughbred stallion was turned 
out among the Welsh droves, so that in this case 



i>» Google 



120 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

also the modern breed has a tinge of Arab blood. 
According to the modem standard, North Welsh 
ponies should not exceed 12^ hands, but those of 
South Wales are allowed to measure 1 3 hands. 

The ponies of the Lake District (Cumberland 
and Westmorland) run larger, so that many of them 
are entitled to be called Galloways. According 
to Sir Walter Gilbey they possess no features en- 
titling them to be regarded as a distinct breed, and 
they do not therefore demand further notice in this 
volume. 

Of much greater interest are the Connemara 
ponies of the west of Ireland, which inhabit the 
mountains of the Connemara district of Galway. 
It has been very generally asserted that these ponies 
were derived from horses saved from the wreck of 
the Spanish Armada in 1588. This, however, Sir 
Walter Gilbey ^ considers to be probably erroneous, 
and, in his opinion, the characteristics of the Conne- 
mara pony of the present day are due to the impor- 
tation of Spanish, i.e. Barb, horses from England 
during the period extending from the fourteenth to 
the seventeenth century. Low, in his Domesti- 
caied Animals of the British Islands, states that 
Connemzu-a ponies "are from 12 to 14 hands high, 
generally of the prevailing colour of the Andalucian 
horses, delicate in their limbs, and possessed of 
the form of head characteristic of the Spanish 
• Op.eit^^.^. 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 121 

race. . . . They are hardy, active, surefooted in a 
remarkable deg^e, and retain the peculiar amble 
of the Spanish jenet." 

The existence of a large amount of Barb blood 
in Connemara ponies is admitted by Professor 
Ridgeway,* who gives reasons for believing that 
the ponies of Iceland, the Hebrides, and the FarSes 
were derived from Ireland, subsequently to the 
infusion of Barb blood into the latter country. 

Now, as mentioned in the last chapter, the ponies 
of Iceland, Finland, the FarOes, Shetland, Hebrides, 
Connemara, Wales, and parts of England are 
regarded by Professor Ewart as indicating a special 
type for which the name Equus caiallus celticus 
was proposed in 1903.* These ponies, of which the 
Iceland breed appears to be regarded as the typical 
representative, are collectively characterised, when 
pure bred, by the following features :— The height 
is about 12 hands, and the general colour very 
similar to that of the Mongolian tarpan. The head 
is small and delicately formed, the legs and hoofs 
are fine, and the hind chestnuts are lacking, as are 
also the ergots on all four fetlocks. The coat in 
winter is long and thick, the mane and forelock 
are properly developed, and the tail is luxuriant, 
with short hairs at the side of the base, which form 
a pad to protect the inside of the buttocks, and are 

' The Tkorougkdred Horse, pp. 419, 420. 
* Vide supra, p. loi. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



122 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

shed annually. The mane is darker externally 
than internally, and the tail is not wholly black. 
Some Shedand ponies conform to this type, but 
others are more sturdily built, with litde or no 
tail-pad, and the ergots and hind chestnuts de- 
veloped ; and much the same may be said of the 
Connemara ponies. 

As mentioned in the preceding chapter, Pro- 
fessor Ewart now regards the Celtic pony and the 
Barb (inclusive of the Arab) as divergent branches 
of a single primitive European stock. 

To the Celtic type Dr. L. Stejneger* refers 
the ijord-hest of Western Norway, which he regards 
as distinct from the doele-hest, or "valley-horse," of 
the interior,* and as having been probably intro- 
duced into the country from Scotland. In his 
opinion the Celtic pony of Connemara and the 
Scottish Islands, the West Norwegian ijord-hest, 
and the now extinct Russian tarpan, all belong to 
the same stock. And he cites the evidence of a 
Russian naturalist. Professor Tscherski, who states 
that the hind chestnuts were frequendy absent in 
the Russian tarpan ; he himself adding that the 
latter resembled the Celtic pony in size and colour, 
and what is equally to the point, that its skull 



* Naiuren, Bergen, 1904, p. 161, and Smitktonian Miscill. Collec- 
tions, vol. xlviii. p. 467, 1907. 

* It is uncenain to which type belongs the horse shown in pi. x. 
fig. I. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 123 

agrees essentially in relative proportions with that 
of the Iceland pony. 

Assuming Dr. Stejneger's opinions to be trust- 
worthy, it follows, in view of the near affinity of 
the Russian tarpan to its truly wild Mongolian 
namesake to which reference has been made in 
the preceding chapter, that if the Celtic pony and 
the Barb are divergent branches of a common 
ancestral stock, the Arab is first cousin to the 
Mongolian tarpan — a relationship which few will 
be disposed to admit. 

But there is another way of looking at the 
matter, namely, that if we accept the evidence as 
to the infusion of Barb blood into the Connemara 
ponies, and also that the latter formed the source 
of the ponies of Iceland, the Hebrides, &c., the 
Celtic pony may apparently have derived its Arab 
characteristics from the same original infusion into 
an ancestral stock akin to the Prehistoric horses 
of La Madelaine and to the modern Mongolian 
tarpan. 

The case has been put very concisely by Dr. 
R. F. Sharffi in a paper on horse-skulls from 
Ireland, in which it is remarked that "the principal 
point of difference seems to me whether the Arab 
or Libyan features, as Professor Ridgeway would 
call them, in the Irish [t.e. Celtic] horse are the 
result of introductions by mankind of Eastern 

' Pro£. R. Irish Academy, Dublin, voL xxvii. ser, B, p. 85, 1909. 



by Google 



124 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

or Spanish blood, or whether these features were 
inherited from a wild ancestor. I believe that 
the latter was the case." 

Others may, however, be permitted to hold 
the opposite opinion ; and it , is significant that 
Professor Ridgeway ^ has experienced the difficulty 
of accepting Professor Ewart's view, and attempted 
to get over it by suggesting a dual origin for 
the Cehic pony. That the latter is a recognisable 
type may be accepted independently of the views 
taken as to its ancestry and relationship. In 
connection with the latter point, the reader may 
be reminded that Dr. Duerst, as stated on p^e 97, 
derives the Celtic pony from his "forest-type" 
(^Equus cabalitts nehringt), in which there appear 
to be no indications of Arab affinity. Reference 
may also be again made to the assertion (p. 103) 
that some Connemara ponies are very like the 
Mongolian tarpan ; and it may be added that the 
short hairs on the sides of the base of the tail 
in the Celtic type may be another indication of 
relationship to the true tarpan, in which the whole 
of this region is short-haired. 

Leaving theoretical matters, and resuming the 
consideration of the leading breeds of the British 
Isles, other than thoroughbreds, attention may be 
directed to the special features of the Shetland 
pony (pi. xi. fig. 2), which is the smallest of all. 

• TMe Tkarougkbred Horu,^ tfl\. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 125 

How and when these ponies, or rather the ancestral 
stock from which they are derived, reached the 
Shetlands is unknown, although some writers have 
suggested a Scandinavian and others a Scottish 
origin. From the circumstance that the " Bressay 
Stone," discovered at Bressay in 1864, includes 
among other designs the figure of a man on horse- 
back, it has been inferred that ponies were found 
in Shetland previous to the extermination of Celtic 
Christianity by the Norwegian invasion of 872,' 
but the value of this evidence seems doubtful. 

The general characteristics of " Shelties " have 
been already indicated when discussing the so-called 
Celtic pony. The average height is about 10 hands, 
lol hands being the maximum show-standard ; but 
many do not exceed 9 hands. As regards colour, 
bay, brown, and dull black are the most prevalent 
shades, but these may be mingled with white, 
and in rare instances the whole coat may be white. 
Although in winter the coat is long, close, and 
shaggy, in summer the hair is quite short and 
sleek. It is stated that Shetland mares frequently 
have tusks as long as those of the stallions. As 
already mentioned, some Shelties are cart-horse-like 
in make, while others are of a more slender and 
Arab-like type. The frequent presence of black 
in the colouring is considered to be indicative of 
Norwegian, and thus of Barb blood. 

' Gilbey, ^. cii., p. 103. 



i>» Google 



ia6 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

The ponies of Orkney are stated to be of a 
more mixed type, as well as larger in size and 
coarser in shape than those of Shetland. The 
Hebrides iare also the home of numerous ponies ; 
those of the Outer Hebrides being small, round- 
shouldered, and muscular, with thick and rough 
winter coats, while those of the Inner Hebrides 
are usually larger ; Mull, Barra, .Islay, Tiree, Skye, 
and Uist being the islands most noted for the good 
qualities of their ponies. Mr. Munro Mackenzie^ 
states that the small ponies of Barra and the outer 
islands stand from 12} to 13} hands, and, although 
having rather large and heavy heads and straight 
shoulders, are hardy, serviceable animals. The 
ponies of Mull, Tiree, Skye, and Uist, as well as 
some parts of the west coast of the Scottish main- 
land, are a larger type, running from 13} to 14} 
hands in height ; but are now very scarce. They 
are mostly blackish brown in colour, but some are 
brown, bay, or dun, others cream-colour, and a few 
grey. In this case tradition tells of infusion of Barb 
blood from horses saved from the wreck of the 
Spanish Armada ; while other reports refer to the 
introduction of discarded Arab chargers by military 
officers. Certain it is that Arab characters are 
prevalent among them ; and curiously enough, in 
the duns as well as in those of other colours. 
Whatever may have been the source of this Arab 

' Pole Pony SocU^s Stud Book, vol vii. 



i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 127 

or Barb strain, all breeders and experts agree in 
attributing it to an introduced stock, and not to a 
primitive " Celtic " type. 

A larger type met with in the Highlands of 
Scotland is known as the garron, and is specially 
characteristic of Perthshire and the central 
Highlands. Horses of this breed may stand as 
much as 1 5 hands at the shoulder ; in colour they 
range from black and brown to dun and grey, bay 
being rare. In the opinion of Mr. Mackenzie they 
are probably the offspring of ponies crossed with 
larger horses brought from the south during military 
expeditions. 

Intermediate between ponies and horses are the 
Galloways, so called from the district of Galloway, 
in the south of Scotland. Up to the end of the 
eighteenth century Galloways were generally under 
14 hands, and were used alike for the transport of 
agricultural produce and for riding ; but after that 
date they were crossed with larger horses till they 
practically disappeared from the mainland, to survive 
only in remote islands like those of Mull and Rum. 
The general colour was bright bay or brown with 
black points ; but the Galloways of Rum, all of which 
were purchased in 1888 by Lord Arthur Cecil for 
the improvement of the New Forest breed, were 
black with hazel eyes. In all Galloways the head 
is small. 

The Welsh cob appears, to be an allied breed. 



i>» Google 



128 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Since the present work purports to be an 
account of the natural history of the horse and not 
a treatise on horse-breeding, such groups as polo- 
ponies, hackneys (from the French haquenie\ and 
hunters may be passed over without notice, since 
they constitute groups formed by selection from other 
breeds, rather than distinct breeds by themselves. 
Attention may accordingly be directed to the leading 
British types of horse employed for carriage and 
heavy draught. Among these, the first place may 
be assigned to the Cleveland bay, a magnificent 
stamp of powerful carriage-horses taking their 
name from the fertile district of Cleveland in the 
North Riding of Yorkshire, on the Tees, but now 
also largely bred in the East Riding, as well as in 
Durham and Northumberland. The name is, how- 
ever, a modem one, the original local breed having 
been known as the chapman or pack-horse. How 
it originated is not definitely ascertained, although 
it was not improbably produced by the infusion of 
foreign blood into the native stock of the district. 
The colour of the Cleveland is bay with black 
points ; and the height ranges from i6i to 16} 
hands. Heaviness of "bone" is one of the char- 
acteristics of the breed. 

Near akin to the Cleveland bay is the York- 
shire coach-horse, which tends to be smaller in size, 
with what breeders term more quality ; the latter 
being due to thoroughbred blood. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



PLATE XII 
Fig. I 



■ i>, Google 



i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS rsg 

Of late years the tendency has been to render 
the Cleveland bay and the Yorkshire coach-horse 
lighter in make than formerly ; and in consequence 
of this it is difficult to find a sufficient number of 
horses of the type required for use in the royal 
stables of this country, so that the stud of carri^e- 
horses has to be recruited from foreign sources. 

In this place it may be mentioned that the 
famous cream-coloured horses kept in the royal 
stables for use in processions of full state are a 
Hanoverian breed. Although frequently referred 
to as the "cream ponies," they are in reality horses 
of large size and great muscular power, the biggest 
standing fully i6 hands, and the smaller ones an 
inch or two less. The black Drenthe horses em- 
ployed at royal funerals are another Hanoverian 
breed, mainly reared near Osnabruck. 

Of the heavy draught horses of Great Britain 
one of the most famous is the Suffolk (pi. xii. fig. i), 
frequently known, in allusion to its compact and 
"punchy" build, as the Suffolk punch, whose range 
extends from its native county into Norfolk and 
Essex. The original breed was noted for its hardi- 
ness and the capacity for exerting its utmost strength 
at a dead pull. A true Suffolk punch, it is written, 
would draw almost till he dropped ; and a team at 
a given signal would, without a whip, bend in a 
moment to their knees, and drag everything along. 
When Low wrote his Domesticated Animals of 



D,g,t,7P:hy Google 



130 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the British Islands the colour of the Suffolk was 
light dun or sorrel, sometimes deepening into chest- 
nut, with a lighter mane and tail. The general 
shape was plain, with the head large, the neck short 
and arched, the shoulders low and heavy, the back 
straight, the haunches well developed, the loins 
wide, and the limbs short. 

Low observed that "the colour distinctive of 
this variety connects it with the race widely diffused 
throughout the North of Europe and Asia, from the 
Scandinavian Alps to the plains of Tatary, in which 
the dun colour prevails. It is Ijelieved to have been 
carried to the eastern counties of England from 
Normandy, which yet possesses many fine horses of 
this breed, introduced, it may be believed, by the 
Scandinavian invaders." 

Although there is no definite proof of such a 
Scandinavian origin, it is quite probable that it may 
contain an element of truth. 

In the latter part of the eighteenth and during the 
nineteenth century the Suffolk horse was modified 
by crossing — notably with the Lincolnshire trot- 
ting horse ; and nowadays the colour is generally 
either light or dark chestnut. From i6 to i6J 
hands is the more general height, although some 
horses reach 17 hands. As the Suffolk is essenti- 
ally a farm breed, and not intended for heavy work 
in cities, the weight should be less than in Clydes- 
dales and shires. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 131 

North of the Tweed the most famous breed of 
heavy cart-horse is the Clydesdale, so called from 
the district watered by the Clyde in its course 
through the county of Lanark. The breed appears 
to be of somewhat mixed origin, Scotch drovers 
who took cattle to England in the early part of the 
eighteenth century returning with horses which 
were used for the improvement of the native stock. 
What these horses were is, of course, unknown ; 
but it is certain that about the year 1715 a farmer 
introduced into Clydesdale a black Flemish stallion 
from England which formed the foundation of the 
modern breed. The mares descended from this 
stallion were generally brown or black, with the 
face white, some white on the legs, and a white 
patch on the belly ; grey occurring abundantly in 
the tail, and occasionadly on the body. Clydesdales 
are reared in Renfrew, Ayr, and Dumfries, although 
to the largest extent in their native Lanarkshire. 

The average height of the Clydesdale is about 
16^ hands for stallions and an inch or so less 
for mares. Breeders lay stress on the form of the 
feet, which should be large, round, and open, with 
abundance of "bone," and a free action. White 
feet, although common, are regarded as objection- 
able. A "dished" face, small ears, and a "pony" 
head are regarded as indicative of a strain of 
Galloway or garron blood ; while, on the other 
hand, a narrow face and Roman nose point as 



by Google 



132 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

clearly to a shire cross. The feet should have 
long hair behind. As regards colour, bay or brown, 
with a blaze on the forehead, and the whole or 
part of the legs below the knees and hocks white, 
is the most prized ; but black, grey, or chestnut 
occasionally occurs, the last of these being regarded 
as indicative of a shire cross. 

The history of one of the most famous of the 
English heavy breeds, namely, the shire, or great, 
horse, has been fully worked out by Sir Walter 
Gilbey,' This breed (pi, xii. fig. 2) was probably 
derived from the chariot-horses of the Britons 
of Caesar's time, and by the time of King John 
(1199-1216) had become the recognised English 
war-horse. With the increasing weight of armour, 
a heavier and larger type of horse became essential ; 
and accordingly breeders directed their attention 
to the production of such a type. During the 
Wars of the Roses (1450-1471) large numbers 
of great horses were exported, in order to escape 
being seized for military purposes ; but in the 
reign of Henry VII. (1485-1509) an Act was 
passed prohibiting the exportation of these and 
all other horses. In the succeeding reign — Henry 
VHI. — -not only was this prohibition continued, but 
statutes were made for encouraging and improving 
the breed of shire horses. At this date the weight 
a charger had to carry (inclusive of his own armour) 

* TJU Great Horse, or Shire Horse, 2nd ed. London, 1899- 



i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 133 

was about 425 lbs., so that it is manifest a horse 
of great size and power was necessary. By Queen 
Elizabeth's time (1558-1603) the exclusive re- 
striction of the great horse to military purposes was 
broken down, and these animals were in general 
use for farm and draught work. At this period 
it would seem that the colour of the great horse 
might range from black and bay to white. Accord- 
ing to Sir Walter Hungerford, who lived during 
the reign of Queen Mary, the British breed was 
at that time improved by the introduction of High 
Almaine (German), Flemish or Friesland, and, 
more rarely, Neapolitan, stallions. In the reign 
of James !■ the great horse was still in use as 
a war-horse, as is proved by Vandyke's picture of 
the Duke of Arenburg, in the Earl of Leicester's 
collection at Holkam Hall ; and in spite of the 
introduction of lighter horses in succeeding reigns 
and during the Commonwealth, this usage continued 
till 1658, when a book was written by the Duke 
of Newcastle on the training and grooming of great 
horses for war purposes. By the latter half of 
the seventeenth century armour fell, however, into 
disuse, and the great horse, no longer required 
for war, or indeed for the saddle at all, took its 
place as an animal of draught, and eventually 
acquired the name of shire horse. It may be 
from the strain of North German and Flemish blood 
in the English great horse of best quality, that 



i>» Google 



134 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

in the time of Paul Potter, who painted a portrait 
of a grey dappled stallion of the breed in 1652, 
the British and Continental representatives of 
the breed were practically identical. The frequent 
presence of black and grey at this period is 
indicative of Arab or Barb blood. 

The name shire horse seems to have been in 
use by about the end of the eighteenth century, for 
we find Arthur Young, in the description of a tour 
through England and Scotland, referring to two 
breeds of cart-horse as deserving of attention, 
namely the large old English black horse, " the 
produce principally of the shire counties in the 
heart of England, and the sorrel-coloured Suffolk 
punch, for which the sandy tract of country near 
Woodbridge is famous." 

During the last century, writes Sir Walter 
Gilbey, " the shire horse has played no mean part 
in building up size and massiveness in all the other 
draught-breeds in the kingdom. That he has 
undergone great changes is certain ; but the 
characteristics of the breed — size, strength, substance, 
courage, and docility — have been perpetuated and 
developed by careful selection till we have now in 
our shire horse the ideal beast of draughL" 

All the best characteristics of the breed were 
displayed by " Blythwood Conqueror," a famous 
stallion foaled in 1893, whose colour was bay, with 
a blaze on the forehead and all four feet white. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



HORSES OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 135 

These white markings are, indeed, very distinctive 
of the breed, which is further characterised by the 
relatively small size of the head, the short and 
heavy neck, thick Jind powerful shoulders, rounded 
and deep body, short and broad loins, massive 
hind-quarters, and enormously strong limbs, of 
which the lower portions are short and compressed, 
with an abundance of long hair on the fetlocks, the 
hoofs large and rounded, the frog well developed, 
and the lower surface of the hoof moderately arched. 
Nowadays grey is much less common in this breed 
than formerly ; the same being the case among 
thoroughbreds. 

With such a build and size, shire horses are of 
course cajikble of performing extraordinary feats of 
power ; and they have the further advantage of 
possessing a very docile and tractable disposition, 
which, under careful training, renders them ex- 
tremely intelligent. Examples of this docility and 
intelligence are displayed by shires employed for 
hauling and shunting trucks on British railways. 

The skull of a shire stallion is shown in plate iv. 
fig. I, and a cannon-bone in plate 1. fig. i. 



i>» Google 



CHAPTER IV 

SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 

One of the most ancient and therefore one of the 
most interesting breeds on the Continent is the 
Schlettstadt horse, or pony, which has been 
described by Dr. Max Hilzheimer in an article 
entitled " Das Vosgesenrind und das Schlettstadter 
Pferd," published in the Mitieilungen der Pkilomat- 
ischen Gesellschaft in ElsasS'Lothringen for 1906, 
vol. iii. pp. 368-380. This horse is to be met with 
in the neighbourhood of Schlettstadt, in upper 
Alsace, where it is locally known as Riedpferd 
(reed-horse) or Pickerle. Small in stature, and 
of all colours except gfrey, it frequently shows a 
dark dorsal stripe, while in one foal the last remnant 
of a transverse shoulder-stripe was observed, such 
a vestige being sometimes noticeable in the wild 
Mongolian tarpan. In its large and clumsy head, 
with a broad forehead, and a tendency to a con- 
cavity in the profile near the base of the nasal bones, 
the Schlettstadt horse likewise approaches the wild 
race, as it also does in its short ears and low 
withers. On the other hand, in its profuse mane 
and tail it makes an equally wide departure from 



D,g,t,7P- by Google 



SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 137 

the latter, although there is every probability that 
these features are the result of domestication. 

Dr. Hilzheimer is of optnion that this breed is 
the descendant of the wild horses — whether abo- 
riginally so or reverted to a wild condition from 
domestication, is more or less immaterial — described 
by Elisseus R3ss1in as having inhabited the Vosges 
at the end of the sixteenth century, and to which 
reference is made in an earlier chapter.* Moreover, 
he considers the Schlettstadt breed as nearly related 
to the horse of the Prehistoric Swiss lake-dwellings, 
or Ffahlbauten ; and that the latter, to which some 
writers have attributed an Eastern origin, was 
itself the offspring of the still earlier wild horses of 
the cave-epoch, such as the one represented in 
plate vii. fig. 2. 

On the other hand, it is suggested that the 
heavy so-called Eastern horse was not originally 
tamed to the west of the Alps or in the north of 
Europe, but that its ancestral home may have been 
in the neighbourhood of the Black Sea, whence it 
was carried by the Romans to Central and Western 
Europe. 

According to Dr. Conrad Keller,* another 

ancient breed is to be found in the island of 

Majorca, in the Balearic group. These horses, 

which are most abundant in the Palma district, differ 

' Sufira, p. 74. 

' " Studien iiber die Haustlere der Mittelmeer-Inseln," Neae 
Denkschr, Sckviei*. Natur/or. Gestllschaji, vol. xlvi. pp. 107-187, 191 1. 



n,3t,7=-i>, Google 



138 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

markedly from all other breeds. Specially char- 
acterised by their slender limbs and free, graceful 
carriage, they vary in colour from dark to light 
brown, and have short, thick, and arched necks, 
with thick, upright manes, which are often clipped. 

The delicate head, with backwardly directed 
ears, is distinctly Roman-nosed, and wh^n the 
animal is galloping, is carried sharply bent against 
the short neck. In this respect the Majorca breed 
differs markedly from Algerian and Andalucian 
horses, which carry their heads stretched out 
straight, nearly in the line of the neck. Dr. Keller 
compares the Majorca horses to those depicted on 
ancient vEises and Greek coins, and believes the 
former to be the survivor of the ancient type. 

This identification, if trustworthy, is of great 
interest, as it serves to indicate that the hog-manes 
of the early Grecian horses, like those sculptured 
on the frieze of the Parthenon,^ were natural, 
although, as in the case of the Majorca breed, im- 
proved by trimming. This seems to be indicative 
of the affinity of both breeds to the wild tarpan ; 
and affords further evidence that the falling manes 
of modern horses {other than the Arab) are due to 
domestication. 

Of the heavy horses of France, perhaps the 
most famous is the Percheron breed (pi. xiii. fig. i), 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



Fig. I. A Petcheron Stallion. I i -inGoogle 
Fig. 2. A ]ielgian Stallion= 



i>» Google 



SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 139 

which takes its name from the district of Le Perche, 
in the south-east of Normandy. Although its origin 
is unknown, the Percheron is an ancient type; and 
it appears to have been largely crossed with Arab 
and Barb blood during the Saracen invasion in the 
early decades of the eighth century. In 1755 the 
breed was crossed with Danish horses, and sub- 
sequently English and Belgian stock was introduced, 
while in 1820 other foreign blood was infused by 
means of two grey Arab stallions, which no doubt 
had a considerable share in inducing the grey colour 
now prevalent in the Percheron. This modern 
breed forms an ideal type of draught-horse, the 
height being relatively low (from 15 J- to 17 hands 
in stallions, and the maximum half a hand less in 
mares), and the body compact and rounded, with a 
full chest and broad back. The rump is, however, 
short, and the tail set low — a feature showing little 
indication in this respect of the Arab cross — and 
there is also a lack of depth and fulness in the 
barrel. The shapely legs and feet, devoid of large 
hair on the pasterns, are very characteristic, and 
the cause of the free action in walking and trotting. 
In fact, next to the Clydesdale, the Percheron 
has the best action of all draught-horses. The 
colour is usujJIy grey or black, although browns 
and bays are not unknown. The breed has been 
introduced into America, where it has become 
very popular. 



i>» Google 



I40 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

The Boutonnais breed, from the Boulogne 
district and the adjacent parts of Belgium, is a 
rather larger and coarser type than the Percheron, 
the neck being especially heavy, the rump steeper 
and more squared, and the colour frequently grey 
or white. The action is less free than in the 
Percheron. In Brittany the size of the draught- 
horses runs smaller, the normal height of the Breton 
breed being only from 14 to 15J hands. Like the 
Percheron, to which they are allied, these horses 
are often grey, although bay is more common than 
among the former. They have been largely crossed 
with other breeds. 

Of less importance is the Nivernais, of the 
department of Ni^vre, in Central France, which 
is now mainly a black breed produced by crossing 
the native stock with Percheron stallions. 

Visitors on landing at Antwerp or other Belgian 
ports can scarcely fail to be struck with the intelli- 
gence, docility, and enormous power of the draught- 
horses employed on the quays. These horses 
(pi. xiii. fig. 2) belong to the Belgian breed, which is 
also used in the country for agricultural work, and 
appears to be of great antiquity ; Belgium having 
been noted as a horse-breeding country since the 
time of Diodorus Siculus, in the first century b.c. 
There is a certain amount of local variation in 
the height of this breed, the largest being the 
Flemish strain, in which it reaches from 16^ to 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 141 

17 hands, whereas in the Brabant type it falls to 
between 15I and i6j, while in the Ardennais stock, 
of the Ardennes, it is only from 15 to 15^ hands. 
The Picardy horses of France form a fourth modifica- 
tion of the present breed. Perhaps the most striking 
feature of the Belgian is to be found in the great 
fulness of the chest and the depth and breadth 
of the back; the girth of the body being relatively 
greater than in any other breed. The shortness 
and sharp inclination of the rump are more con- 
spicuous than in the Percheron, and constitute a 
distinct blemish. Another frequent fault is the lack 
of sufficient stoutness of bone in the legs, and the 
small and narrow feet, which, as in the Percheron, 
are devoid of long hair. The neat head is carried 
on a short neck, which is frequently of great depth, 
and thereby shows another indication of affinity 
with the French breeds. On the other hand, 
chestnut is the prevailing colour, bays, bay-browns, 
and roans being, however, by no means uncommon, 
although greys are rare. Despite its somewhat 
slow action, the Belgian, on account of its weight, 
enjoys an unusual capacity for moving heavy 
loads with the least possible amount of exertion 
and strain. 

As regards draught-horses of a lighter type, 
the rich lowlands drained by the Elbe, Weser, and 
Ems in North-western Germany have long been 
noted for the excellence of their breeds, among 



i>» Google 



142 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

which special mention may be made of those 
of Hanover, Oldenburg, Schleswig<Holstein, and 
East Friesland. The original black Hanoverian 
appears, however, to have died out some time 
subsequent to 1746. Near Osnabruck is kept the 
celebrated stud of black Drenthe horses, originally 
from Drenthe, in Holland, to which reference is 
made on page 129, in the preceding chapter, where 
there is also mention of the royal cream-coloured 
horses, whose origin is Hanoverian. The name 
of German coach-horse is applied to horses of the 
above stamp, whose height ranges from 16 to i6| 
hands, and whose colour, (exclusive of the creams) 
is almost invariably bay, brown, or black. The 
body is relatively large, with a high rump and well- 
set tail, the neck long and arched, the withers high, 
the legs relatively long, and the feet of excellent 
shape. The horses of Holland and Flanders are 
a heavier type of the same strain ; and, as already 
mentioned, it is from the big black horses of this 
part of the Continent that the English shire draws 
many of its present features. Germany possesses 
many other breeds ; but as these have been 
modified by crossing, they do not come within the 
scope of the present survey. Much the same may 
be said with regard to Danish horses ; the principal 
breeding-ground for these is on the Oldenburg 
border. Reference has been previously made 
(p. 122) to the dun and other horses of Norway, 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 143 

which are the most characteristic type of that 
country. 

Hungary has long enjoyed a well-deserved 
reputation for its horses ; and it appears that the 
old Hungarian horse was usually bay, although 
grey, dun, and chestnut were also known. Early 
in the nineteenth century this type was, however, 
completely changed by the introduction of English 
thoroughbreds. On the other hand, it is important 
to mention that there is an indigenous Austrian 
breed of horses, standing about 1 4 hands in height, 
and in their angular make closely resembling 
the ponies of the Russian peasantry. " It seems 
certain," writes Professor Ridgeway,' "that in 
these animals we have the descendants of the 
ancient ponies of the Danubian region, such as 
those driven by the Sigynnje, and their resem- 
blance to the country ponies of Russia confirms the 
conclusion that we have in them the old European- 
Asiatic horses more or less modified by crossing 
with superior blood." 

Switzerland possesses several breeds of heavy 
horses apparently derived from the mediaeval black 
war-horses, among which the Laumont breed of 
the Bernese Oberland forms an excellent draught- 
horse, whereas the black Erlenbuch is of lighter 
make. 

It would, however, be useless to devote more 

' Th€ Thoroughirtd Hone, p. 345. 



i>» Google 



144 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

space to the horses of Europe (other than thorough- 
breds, which are discussed later), since nearly all 
of them have been more or less crossed with 
foreign blood. Professor Ridgeway, for instance, 
points out in one passage * that " the black horses 
of Western Asia, Spain, and Italy all result from 
a mixture of the African bay [Barb] with the 
indigenous horses of Asia and Europe " ; while in a 
second ' he mentions that " WUrtemberg possessed 
a notable breed of horses, the best of which result 
from imported Arabs with an admixture in a small 
degree of the English thoroughbred and the 
Trakehaen " ; and in a third,' after referring to the 
modem origin of the Russian Orlov trotter, he 
observes that " there is only one heavy Russian 
breed of draught-horses — the Beetewk, called after 
the river of that name. ... In 1712 Peter the 
Great was so struck by the good qualities of the 
horses of that locality that he imported Dutch 
stallions to improve the. breed, and later on it was 
crossed with the Orlov trotter." 

In connection with Russia, it may be mentioned 
that the Kalmuks and Kirghiz own half-wild troops 
of coarse-bred horses, doubtless derived in great 
part from the original tarpan of the steppes, and 
much less altered by crossing with alien blood 
than the horses of Western Russia. Kalmuk 
horses, which aie leu'gely used in the Russian 

' Ofi, cit., p. 330. ■ Ibid., p. 344. ' Ibid., p. 3Stx 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 145 

cavalry, are bred in the country lying between the 
Volga and the Ural, and stand about 15 hands in 
height. Kirghiz horses, on the other hand, are 
smaller, seldom exceeding 14} hands, and are 
reared in the steppes to the north-east of the 
Caspian. 

The horses of Turkey can scarcely be said to 
form a distinct breed at the present day, being 
derived proximately from the ancient brown stock 
of Armenia, which itself originally came from 
Northern Asia, by crossing with Arab blood, which 
soon gained the predominance. Colonel Hamilton 
Smith ^ writes that "they have, from the ancient 
Turkoman blood, a tendency to Roman-nosed 
chafirons and ewe-necks, but the head is finely 
set on ; they are delicate, have very tender and 
irritable skins ; but also they are docile, and grace- 
ful like gazelles." 

Before proceeding to notice some of the modem 
Asiatic breeds, other than Arabs, a few lines may 
be devoted to the early history of domesticated 
horses in the countries at the eastern end of the 
Mediterranean. With the exception of a solitary 
reference in Isaiah to their employment in threshing 
corn, horses are mentioned in the Bible only in 
connection with military operations. In Syria and 
Palestine they appear to have been unknown before 
the time of David ; but at that date they were used 

' NaUtraiisfs Library, Hortti^ and cd. p. 333. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



146 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

both in war-chariots and for riding, the chariot-horse 
being termed s^s, and the riding-horse /(£r<foA. On 
the Egyptian monuments horses appear for the Brst 
time about i6cx3 b.c. harnessed to the chariot of 
tbe sun ; and it was not dll a much later date 
that they were used for riding. Indeed in several 
Eastern countries the horse was employed for 
driving long previous to its use for riding. We 
find, for instance, in Assyria that the bas-reliefs 
portraying the conquests of Shalmanesir in Elam 
always show the Assyrians fighting in chariots 
while their enemies were mounted ; and it is stated 
that Sennacherib was the first to put cavalry in 
the field. These were mounted archers, each of 
whom required to be attended by a running foot- 
man, who had his hand on the bridle while the 
mounted man discharged his arrows. Later on the 
bowman learnt to manage his steed without assist- 
ance ; but there is stated to be no instance in the 
Assyrian sculptures of the use of the lance or sword 
by the cavalry of the period. It may be added 
that the heroes of the //md are always referred to 
as fighting from chariots, no mention being made 
of their mounting their horses before going into 
action. 

As regards the origin of these Eastern horses 
of the .early historic period. Professor Ridgeway ' is 
of opinion that those first introduced into Egypt 

' TAe T/iorougk6red Horse, p. 32a 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 147 

came from the countries lying to the westward 
of the upper part of the Nile Valley, and were 
therefore of the Barb type. On the other hand, 
the horses of Syria and Palestine in Biblical 
times, which were of various colours, are considered 
to have probably come from Persia or the adjacent 
countries ; * the dun-coloured kadishes now found 
in the peninsula of Syria and Irak being a later 
introduction from Central or Northern Asia, and 
akin to the tarpan. The latter origin is likewise 
claimed by Professor Ridgeway' for the horses of 
ancient Babylonia (where they appear to have been 
introduced about 1500B.C.) and Assyria; the first 
horses known in the Euphrates Valley thus being 
of the tarpan type. 

For centuries Persia has been noted for the ex- 
cellence of its horses, the typical breed being near 
akin to the Arab but rather taller and more slender 
in make. There are, however, other breeds in the 
country, such as the Turkoman and the half-bred 
Persian and Turkoman in the north-east; the 
Karadagh, a Cossack breed, in the north-west, near 
the Russian frontier; the Kurdish breed tn the 
province of Kurdistan ; and Arabs in the western 
and south-western districts. These Kurdistan 
ponies, which are usually grey or bay, came doubt- 
less in the first instance from Northern Asia, and 
therefore have the same origin as the Turkoman ; 

' The Thoroughbred Horse, ^.211. * IMd.,f.i^. 



D,Q,t,7=^- In Google 



148 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

when crossed with Arabs, they are largely exported 
into Turkey. They stand from 14 to 14J hands. 
The true Persian may be r^^arded as a derivative 
from the Turkoman stock, specially modified by a 
greater infusion of Arab blood. 

The Turkoman, or Turki, horse takes its name 
from Turkestan, its original home, although it has 
spread into Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor. 
There are several strains, of which the finest in- 
habit the country to the south of Lake Aral and the 
Sir Daria, or Oxus. Standing from 15 to 16 hands 
in height, and capable of great endurance, these 
horses have large, Roman-nosed heads, ewe-necks, 
slender bodies, and long limbs. Although gener- 
ally bay or grey in colour, some of them are 
black with white feet. The speed of these horses 
and such beauty as they possess are due to Arab 
parentage, grafted on an original stock doubtless 
more or less nearly akin to the Mongolian tarpan ; 
and it is noteworthy that the Turkoman horses to 
the north of the aforesaid line are much smaller 
and show much less evidence of Arab blood than 
those to the south of the same. 

Farther east the Turkoman gives place to the 
Mongolian pony, and the nearly related breeds of 
Bhutan, Nepal, Spiti, Ladak and Yarkand, to which 
allusion has been already made in the chapter on 
the tarpan, where mention is likewise made of the 
striped dun Kathiawar horses and the piebald 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



SOME FOREIGN BREEDS 149 

tanghans of Tibet, both of which appear to be de- 
rivatives from the tarpan stock crossed with Arab 
blood. 

Reference may, however, be made in this place 
to the horses of Northern Spain, which are quite 
distinct from those of the south. Many of them are 
grey and roan-grey, but in the sierras occurs a dun- 
coloured . breed, in which the legs are frequently 
striped. That these are typical representatives of 
the old European dun stock may, as Professor 
Ridgeway* remarks, be doubtful, as their striping 
may be the result of cross-breeding; but even if 
this be so, their colouring is probably due to rever- 
sion to the original type. This is indeed practi- 
cally admitted by Professor Ridgeway, who on 
the page just cited remarks that " the horses of 
the A^turias and other mountainous areas of Spain 
are probably descended from the European large- 
headed horse, which may have continued in a wild 
state in Spain down to the Christian era, since 
Posidonius mentions horses among the wild animals 
of Spain. Of course these horses may have been 
simply feral horses, but on the other hand there is 
no reason why genuine wild Equtdee should not have 
still survived in wild and mountainous districts." 

' The Thoroughbred Horse, p. 260. 



i>» Google 



CHAPTER V 

THE ARAB STOCK 

By common consent the beautiful and hardy horses 
reared by the natives of the Nejd district of Central 
Arabia are acknowledged to display the finest de- 
velopment of which the equine type, as modified for 
speed alone, is capable. It is true, indeed, that 
they are outclassed both in the matter of stature 
and speed by the modern thoroughbred; but that 
animal is but a derivative from the Arab crossed 
with the blood of the horses of Western Europe 
and Northern Africa, and its superiority is solely 
a matter of careful selection and breeding. The 
type was fully present in the Arab, and has 
merely been improved and developed. That the 
Arab type, with which may be grouped the Barb 
of Northern Africa, is markedly distinct from the 
original tarpan-Uke horses of Western Europe — the 
so-called cold-blooded horses of the Germans — is ad- 
mitted on all hands ; and the only question is as to 
the extent and degree of this difference. In other 
words, are the Arab and the Barb referable to 
Equus eabalhts, as typified by the original horses 
of Scandinavia, or do they represent a species by 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 151 

themselves? Are they, in fact, the product and 
result of special selection and breeding, like the 
modern thoroughbred, or have they existed in 
practically their present form since the natural 
evolution of the horse tribe was completed ? 

To this question, which is by far the most impor- 
tant and far-reaching one connected with the history 
of the horse tribe, there is, unfortunately, no possi- 
bility of giving a decisive and indisputable answer. 
Consequently, extreme divergence of opinion, both 
on this point and in regard to the original place 
of origin of the Arab-Barb type, prevails among 
those who have studied and written on the subject. 

Colonel Hamilton Smith ^ seems to have 
adopted the view that the Arab is the product of 
breeding and selection, since he refers to it as the 
most artiBcial and the first of high-bred horses ; 
and he is followed in this view by General W. 
Tweedie,' who remarks that " if special and exclusive 
breeding directed to a certain object explains our 
English race-horse, there is no need to go further 
for the secret of the Arab's foray-mare." No explana- 
tion is, however, given as to the stock from which the 
Arab horse was developed by selection, although 
it is pointed out that there is no evidence that 
Persia was the original home. Moreover, there is 
the difficulty that, in the first place Arabs are 

' NaiuraUsfs Library, Hones, and ed. p. 310. 
■ Tht Arabian Horse, London, 1894, pp. 74, 341. 



i>» Google 



152 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

unacquainted with the most elementary principles of 
horse-breeding, and secondly, that they did not 
begin to own and breed horses (at all events in the 
coast districts) dll about the fifth or sixth century 
of our era. The latter fact would lead to the in- 
ference, on the assumption that Arabs were the 
originators of the breed to which they have given 
their name, that there were then no horses of this 
stamp in Palestine and Syria, which was not the 
case. 

Moreover, if some Eastern nation, Arab or 
otherwise, was able to produce high-bred horses 
from a stock akin to the Mongolian tarpan, there 
is not the slightest reason why some of the national- 
ities of Western Europe should not have accom- 
plished the same feat, which they certainly never 
did. And if the Arab was not thus evolved, it 
is clearly entitled to rank as a species apart from 
the original horses of Western Europe, which, 
as has been shown above, there is every reason 
^to regard as descended from a tarpan-like stock. 
A somewhat different view is taken by Mr. 
Wilfred Scawen Blunt,^ the well-known breeder 
of Arabs, who, after alluding to the fact that 
these horses have been maintained by the Bedouin 
for at least 1300 years, that is to say, from the 
sixth century of our era, goes on to observe that 

' Article " Horse," Etteyelo^adia of Sport, >ad ed. vol. ii. p. 426, 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



Fig. I. The Dailey Arabian. ■'Jjl'-' 

Fig. 2. "Persimmon," the famous Thoroughbred Slalljon owned by 
H.M. King Edward VII. 



.■i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 153 

according to local tradition the Arab " is a separate 
wild breed kept pure in the desert from the time 
of his first capture and domesticadon ; that his 
habitat was Nejd and the high plateaux of Yemen, 
and that he owes his distinguishing qualities to 
the fact that his original blood has never been 
mixed with that of breeds of inferior type. In 
physical science there is as yet nothing positively 
ascertained which would show this to be improbable. 
The high plateaux of Arabia, though all of them 
desert land, . . . are neither without pasture nor 
without water. It is unquestionable that the wild 
ass existed, if he does not still exist, in Yemen, 
and the wild horse, too, may have there existed." 
Later on it is added that " it is quite conceivable 
that in the gradual drying of the peninsula, of 
which we have geolc^ical proof, a section of the 
wild species may have found itself cut off in the 
south from the rest of its kind, and have developed 
there in isolation the special qualities we find in 
the Kehailan [Arab]." 

From the concluding passage it may be inferred 
that the writer considers the Arab to be descended 
from the same species as that which gave rise to the 
ordinary horses of Western Europe ; the argument 
will, however, stand just as well, and be even ' 
stronger, if the ancestral stock were regarded as 
. a species by itself. In either case, some of the 
objections raised against the views previously 



i>» Google 



154 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

referred to will be applicable ; and if the Arabs had 
these wild horses in their midst from Prehistoric time 
it is difficult to see why they did not domesticate 
them till the fifth or sixth century, previous to 
which they appear to have used camels. 

As to the argument that we have no evidence 
of the former existence of wild horses in Central 
Arabia, the same negative testimony might once 
have been cited to prove that there were never 
elephants in Mesopotamia, whereas there is geologi- 
cal and historical evidence to show that a species 
closely allied to, if not identical with, the Indian 
elephant inhabited that country during the early 
part of the human era. 

Professor Ridgeway,» on the other hand, be- 
lieves Northern Africa to have been the birthplace 
of the Arab stock. " It is now clear," he writes, 
"that for many centuries before the Arabs ever 
owned a horse, all the Libyan tribes possessed 
a most notable breed, which in size, shape, speed, 
colour, and docility, very closely resembled the 
kohl breed of Arabia. As it has been shown that 
Egypt was exporting horses into Asia Minor in 
the time of Solomon, and that Arab tradition points 
to Egypt as the region from whence the best 
horses were obtained in the time of Muhammad, 
and as Egypt derived her horses in great part 
from Libya, we are justified in concluding that 

' Tht Thoreughh'ed Horn, p. 246. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 155 

the ancestors of the kohl breed of Arabia came 
from North Africa." 

While admitting that the statement with regard 
to the early date at which the Libyans were in 
possession of horses may be perfecdy true, it by 
no means follows that these horses were derived 
from an aboriginally wild African stock. In the 
first place, all the existing wild African representa- 
tives of the horse family are either asses (quite 
distinct from the so-called wild asses of Asia), 
zebras, or quaggas. It is true, indeed, that remains 
of extinct Equida have been obtained from the 
superficial deposits of Algeria, and that these may 
be referable to true horses, more especially since 
many of the animals of North Africa are of a 
European type, and therefore quite distinct from 
those characteristic of the rest of the African conti- 
nent. There is, however, no evidence that this 
was the case ; and the point is apparently considered 
of no importance by Professor Ridgeway, who has 
devoted a whole chapter of his oft-cited work 
to a discussion of the origin of the Libyan horse. 
For he labours to show that the latter is related 
to the zebra-quagga group. Indeed he once went 
the length of suggesting that the North African 
horse is derived from Gr^v/s zebra. As indica- 
tions of zebra-affinities he affirms that African 
horses show a more marked tendency to be striped 
than breeds which have not the same blood in 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



156 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

their veins ; and he also suggests that the white 
frontal star and stockings so commonly seen in 
African and Arab horses are remnants of the mark- 
ings of zebras and quag^^. Whatever value 
may attach to the first argument, the second, as 
already mentioned in the first chapter, has been 
shown by Mr. Pocock* to be utterly untrust- 
worthy, such white markings being merely one 
of the first stages in the development of albinism. 
Moreover, the absence of the hind chestnuts and the 
nature of the front ones in zebras and asses show 
wide divergence from the horse. 

As a matter of fact, the theory of the origin 
of the Arab type from the zebra-quagga group 
has not a leg to stand upon ; and this being so, 
there remains little to be said in favour of an 
African birthplace for the former. That horses 
of the Arab type have existed in Libya from a 
very early date may be freely admitted. But the 
same is the case with humped cattle and their 
derivatives, which, as has been shown in the present 
writer's volume on the ox, originally came from 
South-western Asia, and are probably derived from 
the wild bantin of the Malay countries. Moreover, 
there is good reason to believe that the other 
domesticated ungulates of Africa, such as sheep, 
goats, and swine, are of Asiatic origin ; and there 

' Annals and Mageurine of Nat. Histdry, ser. \8, vol. iv. fp. 
406, 1909. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 157 

is accordingly a primd facie probability that a 
similar origin may be attributed to the domesticated 
horses of Africa. 

This view is adopted by Mr. T. A. Cook,^ who, 
after referring to Professor Ridgeway's Libyan 
theory, and stating that the Barb is as different 
from the true Arab as is the Turk from either, 
proceeds to observe that "as a matter of much 
greater probability, the kehailan, or Arabian, was 
the original type from which both Barb and 
Turk were early derivatives, and it was from the 
East, and not from the West, that ancient Egypt 
took her best breed, as eighteenth-century England 
took it later on." 

As mentioned in an earlier chapter,* Dr. Duerst 
holds that the Arab had an Asiatic origin, and 
that, like the horses of Western Europe, it was a 
derivative from the tarpan stock ; the intermediate 
form in the case of the Arab being his so-called 
desert type. " The wild ancestral form," he writes, 
" was the same for both [that is, the Arab and 
the horse of Western Europe] ; it was the diluvial 
horse of the ancient world, which roamed as far as 
the loess-steppes and tundra-plains extended ; and 
which, surviving in separate groups the disappear- 
ance of the tundras, was transformed, according to 

• Eclipse and O'Kellyi'LonA.an, 1907, p. 13. 
' Supra, p. 96 ; the passage here quoted is from page 399 of 
Dr. Duerst's worlc 



i>» Google 



158 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the newly-developing regional physiographic in- 
fluences, into the desert type, the steppe type, and 
the forest type." 

It is now time to devote attention to the physical 
attributes of the Arab, of which, so far as general 
external features are concerned, an excellent 
summary is given by Prof. David Law,* who adopts 
the view that these are due to adaptation to sur- 
roundings. 

" Arabs," he writes, "are more compact than the 
horses of Barbary, having a rounder body, shorter 
limbs, with more of sinew, or what is termed bone. 
Yet they are of the smaller class of horses, very 
little exceeding, on a medium, fourteen hands, or 
fifty-six inches, in height. As compared with the 
horses of countries abounding in the grasses, their 
aspect is lean, their form slender, and their chest 
narrow. But the sUmness of figure of these horses 
is not inconsistent with muscular force ; and their 
movements are agile, their natural paces swift, and 
their spirit is unmatched. The power of their 
delicate limbs is indicated by the well-marked 
muscles of the fore-arm, and the starting sinews 
of the leg. The shoulder is sufficiently oblique ; 
the withers are elevated : the back is moderately 
short ; and the quarters are good. The head is 
well formed ; the forehead is broad ; the ears are 

> DomesiicaUd Animals oftht British Islands, snd ed. p. 476. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 159 

somewhat long, but alert ; the eyes full and clear ; 
the veins prominent . . . 

" These desert horses subsist on the scantiest 
food, and are patient of hunger and thirst in a 
degree unknown in any other races except the 
African. They feed on the scanty plants which 
the borders of the desert supply, and when these 
are wanting, on a little barley, with chopped straw, 
withered herbs, roots, dates, and, in cases of need, 
the milk of the camel. They drink at long intervals 
and in moderate quantities. They bear continued 
exposure to the fiercest heat, and day after day 
perform marches of incredible toil through the 
burning sands of the wilderness." 

In the foregoing account sufficient emphasis is 
not laid on the absence of slope in the rump, and 
the consequent high setting of the tail ; features 
differing markedly from those obtaining in the 
wild tarpan and its relatives. The average height 
is also under-estimated, many Arabs standing 14J 
or i4i hands. 

The colour of Arabs is commonly bay or chest- 
nut, frequently with a star on the forehead and one 
or more of the fetlocks white ; but it may be black 
or grey, although never dun. For the various 
strains of Arabs, the reader may be referred to 
other works; and it will suffice to mention that 
the highest or pure-bred is the one known as h)hl 
or kekailan; both names referring apparently to 



i>» Google 



i6o THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the blackness of the skin, which is compared to 
antimony {kohl). Five strains of the kohl breed 
are generally recognised by the Bedouin, of which 
the kehailan is the first and best Here it may be 
mentioned that the low-caste horses of the towns 
are termed khadishes by the Bedouin. 

Taking both external and anatomical characters 
into consideration. Professor H. F. Osborn^ has 
formulated the following features as distinctive of 
the Arab ; — The skull is relatively short, very wide 
between the eye-sockets, which are high and pro- 
minent, giving the eyes a wide range of vision, 
while the profile of the face is concave (pi. ix. fig. 2) 
and the lower jaw slender in front and deep and 
wide-set behind. The chest is rounded, and the 
back and the loins are well " ribbed up," due to the 
fact that there are only five (in place of the normal 
six) lumbar or ribless vertebrae. The pelvis has a 
nearly horizontal position — a character connected 
with speed ; the croup, or tail-region, is relatively 
high, and the number of caudal, or tail, vertebrje 
few. In the limbs the shaft of the ulna, or small 
bone of the lower part of the fore-leg, is complete ; 
the cannon-bones are elongated and slender, and 
the pasterns long add sloping. Allusion is also 
made to the occurrence of a slight depression in 
front of the eye-socket, and to the statement that 

• Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. vol. xxiii. p. 259, 1907. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK i6i 

the bones are denser than in ordinary horses. The 
latter feature was not, however, observable in an 
American skeleton, although it may occur in desert- 
bred Arabs. The features to which the greatest 
importance are attributed comprise the sinuous 
facial profile (due to a relatively large brain), the 
absence of a sixth lumbar vertebra, the complete 
shaft of the ulna, and the shortness of the tail, 
which has sixteen in place of eighteen vertebrse. 
As regards the completeness of the ulna, it is notice- 
able that the same feature was observed in a 
skeleton of Grdvy's zebra. Taken together, the 
foregoing distinctive features, in the opinion of 
Professor Osbom, are sufficient to justify the specific 
separation of the Arab, which appears to be de- 
scended from ancestors distinct from those which 
gave rise to the ordinary northern and western 
horses. 

Fuller allusion has been made in a previous 
chapter 1 to the preorbital depression in the skull 
which appears to be characteristic of horses of the 
Arab and Barb stock. It should be added that in 
Arabs the cheek-teeth (pi. v. fig. 2) are relatively 
small in comparison with the skull, and that the 
upper premolars have their transverse diameter as 
large as or larger than the longitudinal one, which 
is not the case with the horses of Western Europe,' 

* Supra, p. 23. 

* See Duerst, Animal Reataitu Jrom Anau, p. 386. 



D,g,t,7P:hy Google 



i62 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

while the foldings of the enamel in all the cheek- 
teeth are rather more complex than in the latter, 
and the longitudinal diameter of the anterior pillar 
is proportionately small. The first upper premolar, 
or "wolf-tooth," is not infrequently developed in 
the upper jaw. 

Professor Osborn adds that if the Arab is to 
be considered specifically distinct from the horse 
of Western Europe, it should bear the name Equus 
a/ricanus, which was applied by Sanson^ in the 
year 1869 to the Dongola breed. Professor Ridge- 
way* has taken objection to that name, and pro- 
posed to replace it by E, Ubycus or E. caballus lidycus, 
on the ground that the Dongola horse is a half- 
breed, but such an objection is invalid. On the 
other hand, there is an insurmountable bar to the 
use of the name africanm owing to the fact that it 
was employed by Fitzinger in 1857 as the designa- 
tion of the African wild ass, for one of the races 
of which, as will be seen in the sequel, it is still 
used. There is, however, the name E. asieUicus, 
proposed for the Arab by Sanson in the passage 
cited, which is free from objection ; and that animal 
may therefore be known either as E. asiaticus or 
E. caballus asiaticus, according as to whether it is 
regarded as a species or a race. 

In discussing the origin of the Arab, Professor 

' Comptes Rgndus Acad. So. Paris, vol. clxix. p. 1205. 
■ TAe Tki>rimgU>red Horse, p. 477, 1905. 



i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 163 

Ridgeway claims that India cannot have been the 
home of the ancestral stock, owing to the fact that 
during the historical period that country has been 
unsuitable for horse-breeding. The Narbada valley 
of Central India was, however, inhabited during 
the Pleistocene, or latest geological epoch, and pro- 
bably within the human period, by an extinct horse 
{Equus namadicus), while a second species {E. 
sivalensis) has left its remains in the some- 
what older (Pliocene) deposits at the foot of the 
Himalaya- Obviously, then, the argument that 
India (which at the present day nurtures the 
onager in Sind and Cutch) is unsuited to horses 
applies only to part of the existing epoch. 
Now the Siwalik horse agrees with the Arab 
in the degree to which the Jaeiat~part of the skull 
is bent down on the basal axis, in the presence of 
a preorbital depression, in the great relative width 
of the upper premolars, and in the complexity of 
the enamel-foldings in the centres of all the upper 
cheek-teeth, and the shortness of the grinding- 
surfaces of their anterior inner pillars ; the two 
latter features being, indeed, more developed in the 
extinct species than in the Arab, and thereby 
approximating to the condition obtaining in the 
extinct three-toed hipparion, as described in a later 
chapter. The extinct species has also a large upper 
wolf-tooth. 

I have therefore suggested the possibility of 



by Google 



i64 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the Arab being the descendant of the Siwalik horse 
or some nearly allied species from Southern Asia, 
not necessarily India. It has been suggested that 
as the extinct Equus stettonis has likewise a pre- 
orbital depression and short grinding surfaces to 
the anterior inner pillars of the upper cheek-teeth, 
it may claim to be regarded as the ancestor of the 
Arab or the Siwalik species. It was not, however, 
a native of the countries where, in my own opinion, 
the Arab probably originated. 

Turning to the Barb type, this breed has its 
native home in Morocco and Algeria, and in its 
original form stands from fourteen to fifteen hands 
at the withers. It is characterised by the flat 
shoulders, rounded chest, relatively long head, and, 
as compared with the Arab, the lower setting of 
the tail, the hair of which, like that of the mane, Js 
profusely developed. The prevailing colours are 
dark bay, brown, chestnut, black, and grey. The 
skull has the same sinuous profile as that of the 
Arab; but the teeth have not been described. 
Formerly the Barb was extensively crossed with 
Syrian Arabs, while in Algeria it has of late years 
been much mingled with European horses, so that 
pure-bred animals are not easy to obtain. The Barb 
will thrive on as poor fare as the Arab, and is 
equally hardy in constitution and docile in temper, 
although somewhat less spirited. Several strains 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 165 

of the Barb type are recognised by Col. Hamilton 
Smith, the first of which is reared by the Mograbins 
on the western side of the plains south of the Atlas, 
to whom it is known as skru6at-ur-rtch (drinker 
of the wind). These horses, which may be either 
grey or brown in colour, are low and greyhound- 
like in shape, and carry very little flesh. More 
remarkable is the Bornu breed, from the district 
south of Lake Chad, which is stated to be greyish- 
white with black legs. The tail is set rather low, 
the legs and feet are beautifully made, and the body 
is relatively short. 

A third breed occurs typically in the Dongola 
district of Nubia, but is also found in Alfaia and 
Gerri. Typical horses of this breed are stated to 
be very similar in make to the Bornu type, but 
those of Alfaia and Gerri are smaller. The normal 
colours are bay, black, and white, with white legs 
in the two former. Professor Ridgeway regards 
the black and grey Dongola horses as half-breds, 
but the evidence for this does not appear very con- 
clusive. 

The near relationship of the Turkish horse to 
the Arab has been already mentioned ; and in Spain 
the jennet presents an equally close affinity to the 
Barb, from which it has undoubtedly been derived. 
Jennets, as might be expected, occur in their purest 
form in the southern provinces of Spain, especially 



i>» Google 



i66 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Andalucia, Granada, and Estremadura. Bay 
appears to be the predominating colour, next to 
which come black and grey. It has been very 
generally considered that Barb blood was hrst 
introduced into Spain during the Saracen Conquest, 
but Professor Ridgeway adduces evidence to show 
that the introduction occurred about a thousand 
years earlier, although a fresh infusion of the same 
blood was brought in by the Moors at the time they 
overran the country. Jennets are characterised by 
their easy pacing amble. 

The horses of Northern Spain, which are 
smaller than jennets, but may have a certain infusion 
of Barb blood, are referred to at the end of the 
fourth chapter. 

The influence which Arab and Barb blood has 
had on the indigenous breed of European and 
Asiatic horses has been incidentally mentioned in 
the course of the preceding chapters. 

The triumph of the Arab-Barb stock, when 
mated with the best indigenous breed, has been the 
development of the English thoroughbred, although, 
as the latter is essentially a modem type, it can 
receive but brief notice in the present volume. It 
will accordingly suffice to state that although the 
English breed of fast horses had been undergoing 
a slow but steady improvement for centuries, and 
that an Arab stallion {the " Markham Arabian ") was 
purchased for King James I. in 1616, it was to three 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 167 

horses, the " Byerly Turk," the '* Darley Arabian" 
(pi. xiv. fig. i), and the "Godolphin Barb," that the 
evolution of the modern thoroughbred is mainly due. 
The " Byerly Turk," taking his name from Captain 
Byerly, his owner, was imported in 1689; and 
from him was descended " Herod," who gave his 
name to one of the three great lines of English 
racing stock. The " Darley Arabian " was pur- 
chased in' Aleppo during the reign of Queen Anne 
by the brother of his owner, Mr. Darley, of Aldby 
Park, Yorkshire in 1702.* Hegave rise to " Flying 
Childers," and " Bartlett's Childers," from the latter 
of whom the famous " Eclipse," the great-great- 
grandson of the " Darley Arabian," and the founder 
of the Eclipse line, was descended. "Persimmon" 
(pi. xiv. fig. 2), owned by King Edward VII., 
was a direct descendant of " Eclipse, " and afl"ords 
an example of the great increase which has taken 
place in the stature of racehorses ; his shoulder- 
height being 16J hands, whereas that of " Eclipse," 
who was considered an unusually big horse for his 
time, was only about 15^ hands. 

"Persimmon" was foaled in 1893; his sire 
being "St. Simon," and his dam "Perdita II." 
He was winner of the Derby and the St. Leger 
in 1 8g6, and of the Ascot Gold Cup and 

* The date is usually given as 1710, but the picture at Aldby 
Park from which pi. xiv. fig. i is copied, is inscribed 1702. 



i>» Google 



i68 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 



Eclipse Stakes in 1897, 
follows : — 



His pedigree is as 



Galopin, fVedette, 1854 
187a \Flying Duchess, 1853 
St. Angela, JKingTom, 1851 
PERSIMMON,! I 1865 {Adeline, 1851 

iggj Hampton, ("Lord Oifden, 1S60 

1871 \Lady Langden, 1868 
Hermione, /VoungMelboume,i8ss 
1875 ^La Belle H^lgne, 1866 

Lastly, we have the "Godolphin Barb," a dark 
bay horse with some white on the off hind-fetlock, 
who was purchased in Paris about 1784, and pre- 
sented to Lord Godolphin (by whom he was regarded 
as an Arab). From his grandson, " Matchem," the 
third great line of English thoroughbreds derives 
its title. " Herod," " Eclipse," and " Matchem," 
it should be mentioned, were closely related ; and 
it is to their descendants that the term thorough- 
bred should be restricted. 

As the thoroughbred has been developed solely 
from the point of view of speed combined with 
staying power, it is only natural that he should not 
conform to the idea] type of equine beauty ; and, as 
a matter of fact, the frequent presence of ewe-neck 
detracts from perfect symmetry. Neither are 
these horses safe to ride. They have the broad 
forehead, brilliant eyes, delicate muzzle, expanded 
nostrils, and wide throat of the Arab and the Barb, 
with the body long and light, and the last rib 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ARAB STOCK 169 

rather widely separated from the pelvis. The chest 
is deep but narrow, thus affording due space for the 
lungs without making the fore-limbs too wide apart. 
The obliquity of the shoulder gives full play to the 
upper part of the leg; while the extreme length 
of the haunch, and the elongated hind-limbs, with 
their long, sloping pasterns, are essentially adapted 
for the maximum development of speed. The 
most common colour is bright bay or brown, with 
black legs, mane, and tail, although chestnut is not 
infrequent; but black and grey (especially at the 
present time) are less common. 

Although, as stated above, the development of 
the English thoroughbred did not take place till the 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it is important 
to mention that Irish hunters, which have long been 
celebrated, were derived from Barb horses imported 
into Ireland from Spain several centuries earlier. 

Remarks on the inheritance of coat-colour 
in thoroughbreds and on a possible connection be- 
tween colour and speed will be found in the first 
chapter. 



by Google 



CHAPTER VI 

FERAL HORSES 

Although the comparatively modem domesticated 
breeds produced in America, Australia, and other 
countries to which the horse is not indigenous do 
not come within the purview of this volume, 
reference must be made to horses which have run 
wild in various parts of the world, since some of 
these display features of considerable interest in 
connection with the history and evolution of the 
family. For domesticated animals that have 
escaped from captivity and reverted to a more 
or less completely wild condition, it is frequently 
convenient to employ the term "feral"; for, al- 
though this term, which is derived from the I-atin 
ferus, is etymologically equivalent to the English 
"wild," it has acquired a special restricted meaning, 
which can be expressed by no other word in our 
language. 

To North America horses were introduced 
during the Spanish Conquest, and their feral 
descendants, like those of South America, are 
consequently of Spanish origin, and therefore of 
the Barb type, just as the feral cattle were originally 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



FERAL HORSES 171 

of the zebu stock. Writing in 1829, Sir John 
Richardson stated that at that time herds of feral 
horses were to be met with on the plains to the 
west of the Mississippi ; and that at an earlier date 
they were common in the Kutannie country near 
the northern sources of the Columbia River, to 
the east of the Rocky Mountains. The young 
stallions, which were expelled from the main herds 
by their seniors, formed troops by themselves. 

Early in the eighteenth century feral horses 
abounded in Virginia ; and as these enticed away 
the domesticated horses of the English settlers, 
the Spanish type became gradually modified. 
There are also herds in Texas, where they are 
known as mustangs, and likewise in Mexico ; many 
of the former being piebald or skewbald. 

The feral horses which formerly abounded on the 
pampas of Argentina appear to have been descended 
from five stallions and seven mares of Andalucian 
origin which escaped when the city of Buenos Aires 
was suddenly abandoned by its inhabitants about 
the year 1535. These rapidly multiplied, and gave 
origin to the herds on the pampas to the south and 
west of the Rio de la Plata ; but the troops to the 
north of that river, in Paraguay, were derived from 
another stock. Although these horses frequently 
went about in small troops, each led by a stallion, 
these troops sometimes combined into herds com- 
prising thousands of individuals. When the herds 



i>» Google 



172 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

sought fresh pastures, they were led by a few of the 
older stallions, who gave warning of impending 
danger. Like kiang ^ in Ladak, the herds come up 
to gaze at novel objects, and run in circles 
round bands of mounted travellers, who on 
such occasions find it difficult to prevent their 
own animals from escaping. When once caught, 
the wild horses of the pampas, like those of the 
North American prairies, soon re-acquire domesti- 
cated habits. It is stated that these pampas horses, 
or baguals, as they are called, have acquired larger 
heads, longer ears, and more muscular limbs than 
their domesticated ancestors ; although, on account 
of the mildness of the climate, there has been no 
marked increase in the length of their coats. Very 
noteworthy is the statement ' that " their colour is 
always of a chestnut-brown, and never dun, as in 
the Tatar races ; and whenever a bay, a black, or 
other colour appears, it is inferred that the indi- 
vidual is of the domesticated race, and has made its 
escape and joined the wild herds." This affords 
further evidence in favour of the view that the Barb, 
or Andalucian stock, is descended from a species 
distinct from the wild dun tarpan of Mongolia. 

Horses from La Plata, and therefore probably 
of the Andalucian type, were introduced by the 
French in 1764 to the Falkland Islands, where 

' See chapter vii. 

' See Low, DomesHcatid Animals of British Islands, p. 499. 



D,£,,t,7=^- In Google 



FERAL HORSES 173 

they subsequently ran wild. According to Darwin, 
their predominating colours are roan and grey : like 
the domesticated cattle of the same inclement 
islands, they have become stunted in size, their 
average height being only about 14^- hands. It is 
stated that the Falkland horses, like the tarpan, have 
the habit of scraping away snow with their hoofs 
in order to get at the herbage beneath ; and it is 
generally considered that this is an instance of re- 
version, although this can scarcely be the case if 
they are all of Andalucian, i.e. Barb, stock. The 
Puno ponies of the high Cordillera of Chile 
afford another instance of a dwarf feral race 
apparently derived from the same stock. 

In A Naturalist on the " Challenger" Professor 
H. F. Moseley states that in the peninsula of 
Lafonia, where the Falkland horses run larger than 
elsewhere, the stallions guard their own herds of 
mares. " They keep the closest watch over them, 
and if one strays at all, drive her back into the 
herd by kicking her. The younger horses liv6 in 
herds apart, but the more vigorous ones are always 
on the look-out to pick up a mare from the herds 
of the older ones, and drive her off with them, and 
they sometimes gather a few mares for a short time 
and hold them till they are recaptured. When 
they think they are strong enough, they try the 
strength of the old horses in battle, and even- 
tually each old horse is beaten by some rival and 



i>» Google 



174 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

displaced. The fighting is done mainly with the 
tusks, and front to front, not with the heels. Thus 
the most active and strongest males are constantly 
selected naturally for the continuation of the herds.'' 

In most parts of America the feral horses 
appear to have no special difficulty in defending 
themselves from the attacks of predatory carnivora, 
such as jaguars, pumas, lynxes, wolves, coyotes, 
and bears. The case is, however, different in 
certain parts of Patagonia, where pumas are so 
numerous that wild horses seem unable to exist. 
It has accordingly been suggested by Mr. W. H. 
Hudson that these carnivores were the cause of the 
extermination of the indigenous American repre- 
sentatives of the equine family. The suggestion, 
however, was made at a time when the possibility 
of extermination being frequently due to bacterial 
agencies was not generally recognised. 

The following extracts from a letter published 
by Professor Ridgeway' afford valuable informa- 
tion with regard to feral horses in Australia:— 
" Wild horses have been running in the mountain- 
ous country of East Gippsland, in which are the 
sources of the Buchan River, and through which 
flow the Snowy River and its tributary the Deddik. 
To this I must add the dividing range from Omeo 
to Mount Kosciusko. These wild horses probably 
date back in places to a time antecedent to the 

* The Thoreughbrtd Horse,^. ^%\. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



FERAL HORSES 175 

discovery of Gippsland in 1842. On the Manero 
table-land, which lies on the New South Wales 
side of the border, and extends up to Kosciusko and 
Kiandra, and Sunit, as also from the country to the 
heel of the dividing range, I have no doubt that 
horses escaped and became wild. Of course these 
have been of all kinds. On the high mountain 
plateau which lies between the upper Tambo River 
and the sources of the Buchan River I have seen 
horses which can best be described as dwarfed 
cart-horses, and probably were the descendants of 
light draught stock used by prospectors and miners 
in the early times of gold-discovery — after 1850. 
The country they lived in is very high and cold, 
being covered in winter with snow, and altogether ill 
adapted to feral horses. In the warmer but very 
hilly country which lies to the east of the Snowy 
River in Victoria . . . the horses were of a' much 
better stamp, in many cases showing good breeding, 
partly owing to the excellent stamp of the New 
South Wales horses of about fifty years ago, but 
also to the fact that a Persian horse . . . escaped 
and lived for many years in the Tubbut country." 

In some of the above districts these brumbies, as 
they are locally called, became a nuisance to the 
settlers, by whom they were eventually exterminated, 
and a similar extirpation of feral horses has taken 
place, for the same reason, in other parts of the 
world. 



i>» Google 



CHAPTER VII 

THE KIANG AND ONAGER GROUP 

The wild Asiatic representatives of the Equida, 
other than the tarpan, are commonly known as wild 
asses, but they have really no right to that name, 
any more than they have to be called horses, in the 
literal sense of that term. Indeed, this does not 
really express the truth of the matter, for some of 
them are more nearly related to the horse than they 
are to the ass. Consequently it is far preferable' 
to employ their native or classical names, such as 
chigetai, kulan, kiang, onager, and ghor-khar. The 
near relationship of these animals to the horse, 
and more especially the wild tarpan, may be made 
apparent by the following table : — 

I. — All the hoofs broad, the front much broader thao the 
hind pair. 
L — Front hoofs very broad, chestnuts usually on all the 
legs, ears small, tail more or less completely haired 
to root, front of fore-legs usually black in bay or dun- 
coloured individuals. The horse, Equus caballus. 
a. — Mane long and pendent, with a forelock, tail long 
and fully haired, normally no dorsal or shoulder 
stripe. E. e. typiats. Domesticated breeds, typified 
by those of Sweden and Norway (exclusive of the 
Arab and Barb stock). 



J 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



KIANG AND ONAGER GROUP 177 

6. — Mane short and erect, basal portion of tail short- 
haired, a dorsal and a shoulder stripe in the summer 
coat, muzzle usually white or yellowish. The 
Mongolian tarpan, E. c. prsevahkii. 
ii- — Front hoofs less broad, chestnuts on fore-legs only, 
ears lai^e, tail short-haired for a considerable distance 
from the root, front of fore-legs yellowish or white. The 
kiang and onager group, E. hemionus, &c., of Asia, 
!!■ — All the hoofs narrow and nearly alike in form. This 
group includes domesticated and wild asses, zebras, and 
quaggas, all of which are African. 

In addition to their broader front hoofs, the 
members of the kiang group are characterised by 
the absence of striping on the head, body, and 
limbs, the general rufous or sandy colour of the 
upper-parts, and the Hghter tint of the under surface 
of the body, part of the buttocks, and the Hmbs, 
all of which may indeed be white. In all cases 
the spinal region is traversed by a dark dorsal 
stripe, varying in width in the different species ; 
and occasionally faint bands are noticeable on the 
shoulders, knees, and hocks. As a rule, the mane, 
which is upright, and the terminal tuft of the tail, 
are black. To a considerable extent the cry, which 
in the case of the kiang has been described as a 
shrieking bray, is intermediate between the neigh 
of the horse and the bray of the ass, although 
apparently nearer to the former than to the latter. 
Kiangs and onagers are, however, distinctly less 
noisy animals than the ass ; and in this respect 
present, perhaps, another point of resemblance to 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



178 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the horse. The ears, although larger than in the 
horse, lack the excessive length and breadth dis- 
tinguishing those of the ass. On the other hand, 
the members of the kiang group display affinity 
to zebras and asses, not only in the absence 
of hind-chestnuts, and the large size and smooth 
surface of the front ones, but likewise iq the length 
of the period of gestation, which is about a twelve- 
month, whereas the mare only goes with young 
for eleven months. 

Of all the members of the group the largest, 
and in some respects the finest, is the kiang 
{Equus kiang) of the elevated plateaux of Ladak 
and Tibet, where it goes about in small troops, 
which gallop in circles round the mounted traveller 
or his camp in such a manner as to completely 
prevent in many instances the successful pursuit 
of nobler game, or, I might say, game of any 
kind, as kiang are scarcely entitled to that designa- 
tion. Curiosity is a marked trait of the kiang ; 
so strongly developed in some instances that young 
individuals, as has happened to myself, will walk 
almost into the camp. These animals are free 
movers, going at a fine, springy trot, and the 
manner in which they traverse the most rocky 
ground, and this, too, at an elevation of between 
i3,oc» and 16,000 feet, is marvellous; their hoofs 
must be like flint, and their lungs as strong as 
bellows. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



PLATE XV 

Fig. 1 



Fig. 1. The KintiE in sun 
FlO. X. Kobdo Onager. 



■ i>,Go()j^ie 



.■i>» Google 



KIANG AND ONAGER GROUP 179 

The kiang (pi. xv. fig. i), which has a shoulder- 
height of about 13 hands, has been regarded as a 
local race of the thigetai, but it differs from that 
animal by the redder colour of the upper-parts, and 
the sharply-defined demarcation between this red 
area and the white of the muzzle, under-parts, 
buttocks, and limbs, thus giving a kind of skewbald 
appearance, which is most marked when the animal 
is in its short summer coat; the long and shaggy 
winter dress tending to obscure the difference 
between the dark and the light areas. The ears 
are characterised by the presence of a dark patch 
at the base, and another at the tip. 

The kiang was first brought to scientific notice 
by Moorcroft, one of the early explorers of Kashmir 
and Ladak, whose travels, which contain an excellent 
account of the habits of the animal, were published 
in London in 1841. In Ladak the kiang is to be 
met with a few marches to the eastward of the city 
of Leh, and abounds in the great Chang-Chenmo 
plain and the arid country around the wonderful 
Pangong lake, the home of the chiru or Tibetan 
antelope, and formerly, the yak. Thence it extends 
northwards to the Kuen-Lun and eastwards into 
Tibet, where the limits of its range are still un- 
known. Scant as appears to be the nutriment 
in these barren countries, which in summer are 
scorched at midday by a burning sun, but become 
bitterly cold at night, it suffices to keep these 



i>» Google 



i8o THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

animals, as well as hares and marmots, in prime 
conditiony' 

' Unlike the African wild ass, which displays 
a holy horror of water, the kiang is very partial 
to that element, and never lives far away from 
some lake, river, or stream, into which, when 
occasion requires, it plunges without hesitation 
to take a longer or shorter swim, despite the icy 
coldness of Tibetan rivers. 

In Mongolia the kiang is replaced by its cousin 
the chigetai (or dziggetai, as the name is spelt in 
German fashion), E. hemianus, which is a rather 
smaller and more uniformly coloured animal, of 
lighter make, and more rounded hoofs. The dif- 
ference in general appearance is due in the first 
place to the less rufous tint of the darker areas 
in the summer coat, and secondly to the fact that 
this shades off almost imperceptibly into the 
dirty white of the under surface of the body and 
the paler fawn of the throat and limbs. Having 
the same narrow dorsal stripe and dark tips to 
the ears as the ktang, the chigetai lacks the dark 
patch at the base of the ears distinctive of the 
latter. Information is still required with regard 
to the extent of the range of the chigetai ; but 
the animal is generally believed to be identical with 
th.e kulan of the Kirghiz Tatars. 

Nearly allied to the chigetai is the species 
known in Persia as the ghor-khar, i.e, horse-ass. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



KIANG AND ONAGER GROUP i8i 

and to the ancients as onager, i.e. wild ass (Greek 
onos, ass, and agrios, wild), which inhabits the 
deserts of Asia from Syria and Persia in the west 
to North-western India and Mongolia in the east. 
The onager [Eqwus onager), which is the wild ass 
of the Bible, is a rather smaller and paler-coloured 
animal than the chigetai, with nearly as well marked 
a contrast between the dark and light areas as 
in the kiang. Standing from ii to iij- hands 
at the shoulder, it has ears of much the same 
relative length as in the chigetai, but the hoofs 
narrower and more ass-like, this being especially 
the case with the front pair, which are scarcely 
wider than the hind ones. The profile of the face 
may be either nearly straight or markedly sinuous ; 
the tail-tuft is of moderate size ; and the dark 
dorsal stripe, which is always much wider than 
in either the kiang or the chigetai, stops in some 
cases short of the tail-tuft, and is flanked on either 
side, at least in the posterior half of its length, 
by a white or whitish band, joining the white 
on the buttocks and the backs of the thighs. In 
the summer coat the general colour of the upper- 
parts is usually some shade of pale reddish fawn 
or sandy, while the light areas, which vary from 
pure white to whitey brown, are much the same 
in extent as those of the kiang, but embrace more 
of the buttocks, from which they spread along 
the margins of the dorsal stripe, and in some cases 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



1 82 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

occupy more of the body and head. In winter, 
when it grows much longer and rougher, the coat 
becomes more or less decidedly grey, and in one 
race is distinctly mouse-grey, with sharply-defined 
white areas. 

With such a wide geographical distribution, 
it is not surprising to find that the species is divis- 
ible into a number of more or less well-defined 
local races. One of the best-known of these is 
the Indian ghor-khar (£". onager indicus) of the 
desert districts of Sind, Cutch, Baluchistan, Eastern 
Persia, Afghanistan, and thence as far north as 
Bokhara, which is stated to attain a height of ii^ 
hands, and comes nearest to the chtgetai. In 
Baluchistan the ghor-khar is most abundant near 
Mithankot, on the Punjab frontier. These dis- 
tricts lie to the west of the Indus ; to the east 
of that river the chief districts frequented by this 
animal are Bikanir, Jeysulmere, and the saline 
tract known as the Rann of Cutch. With a straight 
facial profile, this ghor-khar has the general colour 
of the upper-parts sandy in summer, with the 
light band on each side of the dorsal stripe narrow, 
ill-defined, and whitey brown, and the white on 
the rump and thighs not pure. The broad dorsal 
stripe does not reach as far as the tail-tuft in the 
Indian representatives of this race, although it is 
stated to do so in Persian examples. 

The second race.^". o. cas^aneus{p\. xv. fig. 2),is at 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



KIANG AND ONAGER GROUP 183 

present known only by a single example, reported 
to have come from the Kirghis-Nor, in the Kobdo 
district of Western Mongolia.* It is characterised 
by the straight profile of the face, the rufous isabella- 
colour of the summer and the full greyish brown 
of the long winter coat, as well as by the large 
amount of white on the buttocks, and the distinct- 
ness of the pure white band on each side of the 
broad chocolate-coloured dorsal stripe, which reaches 
to the tail-tuft ; the lateral white bands uniting 
with a broad white blaze on the buttocks, which 
is larger than in the other races. The short ears 
have more black at the tips than in the Indian 
race. In the typical or Persian ghor-khar {E. 0. 
typicus), from Western Persia, to the southward of 
the Caspian, the white areas, as compared with 
those of the Indian race, have become so enlarged 
as to give the appearance of a white animal with 
three large fawn-coloured patches on each side. 
The general colour is silvery white; the dorsal 
stripe does not reach the tail-tuft ; and the head, 
the sides of the neck, a small ill-defined band on 
the front of the shoulder, a larger quadrangular 
patch on the side of the body, and the middle of 
the hip, are isabella-colour, or pale sandy fawn. 
The facial profile is distinctly convex, and the ears 
are relatively small. 

Owing to our imperfect acquaintance with the 

' The locality is doubtful. 



i>» Google 



i84 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

animals of Syria and Palestine, the fourth race 
{£. o. hem^pus), the wild ass of Scripture, cannot 
yet be properly described. It inhabits the deserts 
between Bagdad and Palmyra, Mesopotamia, and 
Northern Arabia. Nearly related to the last, it 
appears to be reddish isabetllne above, with the 
throat, under-parts, and a band on each side of the 
dorsal stripe silvery white, the dorsal stripe not 
reaching the root of the tail, which is moderately 
haired, and the profile of the skull sinuous. 

The extremely light colour of the Persian race 
appears to be an adaptation to a purely desert 
existence, being paralleled in Africa by the mohr 
gazelle and the white oryx of the Sahara. Other 
adaptations to surroundings are shown by the thick- 
ness and length of the winter coat of the reputed 
Kobdo race, which is evidently an inhabitant of a 
country with a cold winter, as compared with that 
of the Indian race, which is quite short. 

Like all large desert herbivorous animals, the 
ghor-khar is famed for its speed ; this being so 
great that adults in good condition can neither be 
ridden down (unless, perchance by relays of horse- 
men) nor taken with greyhounds. Baluchis are 
indeed stated to have accomplished the former feat, 
but this was probably only when mares heavy in 
foal were the objects of pursuit. On the other 
hand, ghor-khar foals are commonly captured in 
summer in the Bikanir desert by parties of .mounted 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



KIANG AND ONAGER GROUP 185 

Baluchis, who relieve one another, and are thus 
enabled to continue the pursuit till the victims are 
completely exhausted. 

Ghor-khars are mostly found on the fringe of 
desert plaiqs, where they usually associate in small 
troops, although in Afghanistan herds containing 
sometimes a thousand head have been observed ; 
such large herds being apparently composed of 
mares and foals, the old stallions collecting in 
smaller troops by themselves. In Baluchistan, as 
probably also in Persia, the foals are born in June, 
July, and August. On the plains the food of the 
onager consists of desert grasses, which are often 
in a parched and withered condition. In Baluchistan 
ghor-khars migrate to the hills in early summer 
when the plains are practically devoid of grass and 
water. Unlike the kiang, they are exceedingly 
shy and suspicious, and consequendy difficult to 
approach within rifle-range. 

In former days kulan and onagers appear to 
have ranged much further westward than is the 
case at the present day. It is stated, for instance, 
by the Russian naturalist Rytschkov ^ that in the 
eighteenth century kulan abounded on the eastern 
side of the Volga, and from time to time troops 
swam that river and made their appearance in the 
Waldinsel Steppe. Then, again, in spite of the 
difficulty of specifically distinguishing many of the 

' Sec Nehring, Ober Tundren und Steven, p. 187. 



D,Q,t,7=^- In Google 



i86 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

fossil remains of the genus Equus, it is generally 
considered that during the Pleistocene period either 
the kulan or the onager (for it is impossible to 
distinguish between them in the fossil state) ranged 
into Central and Western Europe. Dr. Nehring/ 
indeed, believed that all the remains of small equines 
from France and Germany were referable to these 
animals ; but Prof. M. Boule,' while admitting the 
occurrence of the onager in Western Europe, refers, 
as will be more fully noticed in the sequel, the 
majority of such remains to the ass. 

' Op. nt.,p.iS7. 

' Annales tU PaUentologU^ vol. v. p. 133, 1910. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



CHAPTER VlII 

ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 

Africa south of the northern tropic, that is to say, 
the Ethiopian Africa of naturalists, is the home of 
a group of more or less fully striped members of 
the horse-family, commonly known as zebras and 
quaggas. As to the derivation of the latter name 
there is no sort of doubt, quagga being the Dutch 
corruption of the Hottentot title — qua-cha — of one 
of the southern species, which is taken from the 
animal's cry. With regard to the origin of . the 
name zebra, there is a difference of opinion. In 
one dictionary * it is stated, for instance, that the 
name comes from the Hebrew izibi, meaning 
splendour or beauty, and connected with the verb 
tzdbd, to shine, and the equivalent of the Arabic 
zib, beauty. An old writer. Job Ludolphus, in his 
Historia ^thu^ica, published at Frankfort-on- 
Maine in 1681, states' that these animals are called 
zecora tn Abyssinia and zebra on the Congo ; 
while Colonel Hamilton Smith' shows that zebra 
*' seems to be the Negro mutation of the Abyssinian 

' Ogilvie's Studenfs English Dietionary, London, 1865. 

* Book i. chap. x. 

' NaturaUsfs IMraiy, Horses, zod ed. p. 321. 



i>» Google 



i88 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

zeuru of Lobo and the Galla zeora or zecora, 
according to Ludolphus." 

To the Greeks and Romans zebras were known 
as kippoiigris, a word meaning horse-tiger, although 
in Liddell and Scott's lexicon it is translated "large- 
tiger," from a mistaken idea that it is analogous 
in meaning to such words as horse-chestnut and 
horse-radish. 

There is evidence that one at least of these 
hippotigres was exhibited in the Roman amphi- 
theatre, by Caracalla ; ^ and there is little doubt 
that this belonged to the species now known as 
Gravy's zebra, which is therefore not only the true 
hippotigris, but likewise the true zebra, although 
the latter designation is now applied to the South 
African species. In early days these zebras were 
considered royal gifts by the Abyssinian emperors, 
and it is stated by Mr. H. Scherren * that some were 
sent by King Assaghedus to the Governor of the 
Dutch East India Company at Batavia, by whom 
they were presented to the Emperor of Japan. 
" News of these facts was sent to Ludolphus by 
Emanuel Nawendorff, a native of Altenburg resident 
in Batavia, In return the Emperor sent 10,000 silver 
tjiels and thirty Japanese dresses, so that, as this 
correspondent of Ludolphus says, they were amply 
paid for. And the latter notes that these animals 
might be sent by sea if they would only bear the 

' Hamilton Smith, op. df., pp. 330-21. 
' The Field, vol. cv. p. 375, 1904, 



■ i>, Google 



■ i>, Google 



\' 



i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 189 

cold. Not only were these animals royal gifts at 
the time Ludolphus wrote, but before then at least 
one specimen had reached Europe alive. This 
statement rests on the authority of a French author, 
who saw the animal at Constantinople. He says 
that among other gifts brought by the Abyssinian 
envoy to the Grand Seigneur was an ass with a 
very beautiful skin, if indeed tt were natural. This, 
however, he declined to vouch for, not having 
examined the animal. But he noted the more than 
ass-like size, the lat^e head, long ears, and the 
regularity of the stripes ' of the breadth of a finger,' 
though he called the dark stripes chestnut-brown 
instead of black. . . . The Abyssinian envoy started 
with three zebras as gifts for the Turkish ruler ; two, 
however, died by the way. These were flayed, and 
he brought the skins with him and presented them 
to the Grand Seigneur with the living specimen." 

All the zebras and quaggas were separated from 
the genus Equus by Colonel Hamilton Smith to 
form a genus by themselves, for which he revived 
the classic name Hippoiigris. There is no sufficient 
justification for this, as all the members of the group 
are closely allied to the other living Egutd^ ; and, 
what is of even more importance, exhibit consider- 
able differences among themselves. 

As already mentioned, all the members of the 
group are confined at the present day to Ethiopian 
Africa; and there is no sufficient evidence that 



i>» Google 



igo THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

they ever ranged beyond it, although it may be 
quite possible that some of the earlier extinct repre- 
sentatives of the family were striped. It is true, 
indeed, that certain prehistoric sketches from various 
districts in France have been supposed to represent 
zebras, for which one writer has even gone so far 
as to propose the name Equus maculatus. Pro- 
fessor Boule ^ (in whose memoir fuller details on 
this point will be found) hjis, however, pointed out 
that the evidence is by no means conclusive, and 
the representations of these so-called zebras may 
be explained in three different ways. On one 
hypothesis the zebra-like markings are merely 
strokes employed by the artist to accentuate and 
beautify his sketches. A second theory supposes 
that all fossil horses, whether of the cabalhis, the 
zebra, or the extinct stenonis type, were striped. 
According Co a third supposition it may be sur- 
mised that true zebras existed in Europe during 
the Pleistocene period, but that it has not been 
found possible to distinguish their teeth and bones 
from those of horses, onagers, and asses. 

Professor Boule,' who is in favour of the first 
hypothesis, believes zebras to have taken origin 
from the extinct Steno's horse {E. stenonis) of the 
European Pliocene. 

The aforesaid Gravy's zebra {Equus grevyi, 

' Attftales de PaUontologie, vol. v. p. 133, 1910. 

* Bull. Soc. CM. dt France, ser. 3, vol. avii. p. 537, 1899. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 191 

pi. xvi.), of Abyssinia and Somaliland, is the largest 
and in some respects the most horse-like of the 
entire group, from the other members of which it 
differs markedly in the width and arrangement of 
the stripes, as it also does in the circumstance that 
the chestnuts on the inner sides of the fore-legs 
are as small as in the horse ; while, as in that 
species, the mane extends on to the withers and 
the tail-tuft is large and full. The large, broad, 
and thickly-haired ears are quite different from 
those of all other members of the family, which 
are narrow and pointed. As regards the dark 
brown or black markings and the intervening light 
stripes on the body, head, and limbs, these are for the 
most part very narrow, widening out only on the 
lower jaw, neck, and the lower part of the thighs. 
On the flanks none of the stripes bend backwards 
and upwards to extend on to the hind-quarters, 
the upper portion of which is marked with vertical 
stripes arranged concentrically round the root of 
the tail. The dorsal stripe is very broad, especially 
near the middle of the back ; and there are no 
transverse stripes on the under-parts. The stripes 
on the nose practically stop short of the dark 
nostril-patches, and the nose itself is greyish. It 
is thus evident that the stripes on the rump have 
their concavity directed upwards, whereas in the 
bontequagga the convexity is upwards. 

A remarkable feature of this species is the 



i>» Google 



192 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

presence in the newly-born foal of a thick crest of 
long hairs, mostly rusty brown in colour, extending 
backwards from the withers along the back and 
tail to the terminal tuft of the latter, so as to form 
a continuation of the mane. If, as has been sug- 
gested, the colour-pattern of Gravy's zebra is the 
most primitive in the whole group, it may be that 
the spinal crest of the foal is likewise a remnant 
of an ancestral feature. 

The large size of the ears and the narrowness 
of the stripes in this species are not improbably 
connected with a life spent partially in thick scrub ; 
large ears being very commonly present in forest- 
dwelling animals, while narrow, vertically disposed 
stripes appear to be an adaptation for conceal- 
ment in jungle. 

Gravy's zebra, which stands about 13 hands in 
height, is divisible into two races. In the typical 
race, from the highlands of the Shoa district of 
Abyssinia, the dark stripes are black and the light 
ones white ; but in the Somali race (£". grevyt ber- 
berensis), which is restricted to the western districts 
of Somaliland, the dark stripes are chocolate-brown, 
and the intervening bands ochery, so that the con- 
trast between the two is much less strongly marked 
than in the Abyssinian animal. Indeed Mr. Drake- 
Brockraan,' who incorrectly refers to it as a small 
zebra with broad stripes, states that the Somali 

' The Mammals 0/ SomalUand, Loadoa, 1910, p. 105. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 193 

race, when seen at a. distance, looks like a black 
pony. He adds that " Gravy's zebra seems to 
prefer undulating, rocky, bush-country to any other. 
It is invariably seen in small troops of ten or twelve 
individuals. The older males are generally covered 
with scars, showing them to be very pugnacious. 
While hunting through the dense bush in localities 
where they are known to be, they are soon found, 
as they are very noisy." They are commoner in 
the Ogaden district of Western Somaliland, but of 
late years have been greatly reduced in numbers. 

Colonel Swayne,^ after mentioning that these 
zebras are found in Somaliland on stony country, 
covered with scattered bush, and intersected with 
ravines, at an elevation of about 2500 feet, states 
that those which he saw "were met with in small 
droves of about half-a-dozen, on low plateaux covered 
with scattered thorn-bush and durr grass, the soil 
being powdery, and red in colour, with an occasional 
outcrop of rocks. In such country they are easy 
to stalk, and I should never have fired at them for 
sport alone. I saw none in the open flats of the 
Webbe valley, and they never come nearly so far 
north as the open grass-plains of the Haud ; Durhi, 
south of Fafan, being, I think, their northern limit. 
The young have longer coats, and the stripes are 
rather lighter brown, turning later on to a deep 
chocolate, which is nearly black in adult animals." 

' Seventeen Trips through Somaliland^ London, 1900, p. 321. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



194 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

A very different animal to the last is the 
qua^ga (^y«»w ^wagfvi, pL xvii. fig. i), which formerly 
swarmed on the pljuns of Cape Colony, from which 
it has long since been swept away by the Boers, 
by whom it was shot at first as food for their 
Hottentot servants, and later on for the sake 
of its hide. Together with the remaining mem- 
bers of the striped group, the quagga has the 
chestnuts on the fore-legs larger than in Gravy's 
zebra, and the stripes broader. In this sub-group, 
whenever the hind-quarters are striped, the 
stripes are obliquely longitudinal, with the upper- 
most ones arising from the posterior region of 
the body, where their upper extremities are bent 
backwards towards the root of the tail in such a 
manner that there is no concentric arrangement 
round the latter. The muzzle is dark, and usually 
black, and the stripes on the nose are continuous 
with the dark patches round the nostrils. The ears 
are narrow, and always tipped with white. 

In the quagga itself, which was confined to the 
plains south of the Orange River, the ears are com- 
paratively smalt, the front hoofs are rather large, 
and a complete system of striping is retained only 
on the head, neck, and front half of the body, 
although some examples appear to have had spots 
farther back, indicating the remnants of stripes. 
Such stripes as remain on the body do not extend 
across the under surface to meet their fellows of the 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



PI^TE XVII 



Fig. I, The Qua^^. 

Flo. 2. The Malabili Bontequagga (Chapman's Zebra). 



Go()gle 



.■i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 195 

opposite side ; the general ground-colour appears to 
have been yellowish red or chestnut, but the legs 
are much lighter, as is also the belly. The older 
African hunters, like Sir Cornwallis Harris, appear 
to have been convinced of the existence of more 
than one local form of quagga in Cape Colony and 
the adjacent districts ; and the last survivor in cap- 
tivity of these animals, which lived in the London 
Zoological Gardens from 1858 till 1864, whose 
portrait is given here, has been made the type of a 
separate race, under the name of E. qttagga grtyi. 
Names have also been proposed for other supposed 
races, but these it will be unnecessary to quote.' 

When the Boers first trekked north of the 
Orange River they met, on the plains of what 
is now the British Bechuanaland Protectorate, an 
animal which they recognised as near akin to their 
familiar quagga, but distinguished by its brighter 
colouring and the extension of the striping on to 
the hind half of the body, including the buttocks. 
To this they gave riie name bontequagga, signify- 
ing painted or striped quagga. When the true 
quagga disappeared from the country south of 
the Orange River and became more or less com- 
pletely forgotten, the pre6x botUe was dropped, 
and the northern animal took the name of its 
southern cousin. In the year 1825 a skin of the 
bontequagga brought to England by the traveller 

* See Pocock, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, vol. nv. p. 313, 1904. 



i>» Google 



196 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Burchell was described under the name of Equtts 
burckelli; the English name of the animal then 
becoming Burchell's zebra, a title which it is now 
convenient to replace by the Boer name. 

As Central and Eastern Africa was gradually 
opened up to European civilisation various other 
animals akin to the bontequagga were discovered, 
and in several instances received distinct names. 
The range of these extended in one direction as 
far north £is Abyssinia, and in sinother as far west 
as Damaraland. As we proceed north from Bechu- 
analand, the home of the typical bontequagga, 
it will be found that the representatives of that 
animal gradually show the extension of dark stripes 
on to the legs, till in the most northern forms 
these are striped down to the hoof, and likewise 
the disappearance of what are known as shadow- 
stripes, that is to say, faint tawny streaks running 
down the middle lines of the light stripes. In spite 
of the great difference in these respects between 
the extreme northern and southern forms, it is 
quite evident that all of them are nothing more 
than local races of the bontequagga. Indeed, they 
have been regarded as nothing more than local 
races of the quagga, from which, however, it is 
convenient to separate all its relatives north of 
the Orange River, in which the hind half of the 
body is striped, as a distinct species. 

In regard to the presence or absence of striping 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 197 

on the legs, it is curious to note that the bontequagga 
presents a. condition precisely the reverse of that 
which occurs in the case of the giraffe ; the southern 
races of the former having white, unstriped legs, 
whereas it is the northern forms of the latter in 
which the lower portion of the limbs is white and 
unspotted. 

The typical bontequagga,^ now nearly or entirely 
extinct in the wild state, stands about 12 hands 
at the shoulder, and has the ground-colour orange, 
and the shadow-stripes on the hind-quarters strongly 
marked, and narrower than the main stripes, which 
are themselves broader than the light interspaces 
containing the shadow-stripes. The hind-quarters 
have only a few short stripes below the long 
stripe running to the root of the tail ; the body- 
stripes stop short on the sides of the under-parts, 
so as to be widely separated from the longitudinal 
ventral stripe ; and, with the occasional exception 
of a few on the knees and hocks, the legs are 
devoid of stripes, as are usually the sides of the 
tail. Nearly allied is the Damara £. b. aniiqtiorum, 
in which stripes occur on the legs above the 
knees and hocks, but none, or at most a few, 
below them. Zululand is the home of a race, 
E. b. waklbergi, in which, like all those which 
follow, the body-stripes meet the ventral stripe 
inferiorly, while the legs are more or less fully 

* See Focock, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1909, p. 415, fig. 48. 



i>» Google 



198 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

striped. In this particular race^ the shadow-stripes 
on the hind-quarters are strongly developed, and 
not much narrower than the main stripes, which 
are narrower than the intervening spaces ; and the 
fetlocks and pasterns are devoid of stripes or spots. 
In the Matabili E. b. cAafimani (pi. xvii. hg. 2) the 
shadow-stripes have become faint and narrow, the 
legs are barred to the hoofs, but the stripes on their 
lower portions tend to break up into spots, and the 
inferior part of the pasterns is not wholly black. 
This race inhabits the country between Damaraland 
and Matabitiland. The last representative of the 
species in which shadow-stripes are distinctly de- 
veloped is the Mashona £. b. selousi, which differs 
from the last in that the barring of the legs is 
complete down to the hoofs; the pasterns being 
striped on both sides, and their lower part, owing 
to the fusion of several stripes, wholly black. 
The sides of the tail are also striped. 

On the north side of the Zambesi the species 
is first represented by E. c. boekmii^X. xviii. fig. i), 
typically from the plains around Kilimanjaro, which 
appears to connect E. b. selousi^ with the more 
northern races, retaining slight traces of shadow- 
stripes, which in many cases are visible only on 
the hind-quarters, and having the bars on the 
pasterns distinct from one another. 

' See Pocock, Proc. Zcol. Sac. London, 1909, p. 416, fig. 49- 
' Mr. J. Roux, RA/ue Suisse dt Zoologie, vol. xviiL p. 924, 1910, 
considers selousi inseparable from boehmi. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 199 

Closely allied to the Kilimanjaro race, and 
perhaps really intergrading with it, is the bonte- 
quagga of British East Africa, which has been 
named E. b. granti (pi. xviii. fig. 2), and may be 
known in English as the Masai race. 

In this race, as well as in the nearly allied 
E. b. crawskayi of Southern Nyasaland (British 
Central Africa) and in E. b. jalla of Southern 
Abyssinia, the shadow-stripes have completely 
vanished, and the principal stripes on the hind- 
quarters are at least equal in width to the inter- 
vening spaces, which are white. In crawskayi the 
dark stripes are relatively narrow and of a full 
black, the nostril-patches are yellowish brown, 
or tan-colour, and the pasterns are marked like 
those of seiousi. On the other hand, in the British 
East African granti, the stripes are broader and 
in some cases less completely black, and the bars 
on the pasterns are fused into a continuous black 
band. In the South Abyssinian E. b. jalla there 
is said to be a difference in the number of the 
stripes, as compared with granti, but the difference 
is considered by Mr. Roux ' to be merely individual. 

Apparently related toi^r'dzfj'^zyt isa bontequ£^ga 
from North-eastern Rhodesia {E. b. annectans), 
characterised by the great excess in width of the 
dark over the light stripes. In this place it may 
be mentioned that some bontequagg£is from British 

^,0p. CTi^, p.914. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



200 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

East Africa, which appear to represent a variety 
of doehmi, show a kind of "gridiron-pattern" on 
the upper surface of the hind-quarters, which at 
first sight seems to recall the more distinct gridiron 
of the typical zebra. In these East African 
bontequaggas the middle spinal stripe is, however, 
completely isolated throughout its length, and the 
semblance of a gridiron-pattern is due to the partial 
breaking up and fusion of the uppermost pair of 
long oblique stripes traversing the quarters. 

In certain bontequaggas from the Gwasengishu 
plateau of British East Africa, the forelock is 
entirely wanting, and the mane, except for a small 
tuft in advance of the withers, is reduced to the 
same condition as in a hog-maned polo-pony, thereby 
presenting a peculiar appearance, quite different 
from that of an ordinary bontequagga or zebra. 
The backs of the ears are almost wholly white. 
A similar peculiarity is observable in a bontequagga 
skin from the Lake Mweru district in the British 
Museum, and, according to Mr. Selous, the same 
feature characterises all the bontequaggas of the 
Gwasengishu district, at any rate during the season 
of the year when they came under his observation. 
These belong to the Masai race {granti), which 
was originally described from the Athi plains of 
East Africa. Some at least of the Athi zebras 
appear to have very little mane, but their ears have 
dark markings. On the other hand, a specimen 



i>» Google 



I I -byGooQle 

Fig. I. Kilimanjaro Bontequagga '-* 

FlQ. 2- Masai Bnntequagga, 



i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 201 

figured by Dr. Sclater in the Zoological Society's 
Proceedings for 191 1 (reproduced in pi. xviil. fig. 2) 
is represented with a full and bushy mane and 
forelock. In this respect it resembles the closely- 
allied Kilimanjaro race. Whether the absence of 
the mane and forelock in the Gwasengishu indi- 
viduals is a seasonal or a permanent feature can, 
of course, be definitely determined only by observa- 
tions made at different times or year. The fact 
that no complete seasonal shedding and loss of 
the mane has been recorded in the case of specimens 
of the more southern races of bontequagga kept 
in menageries renders it almost certain that the 
feature is permanent. Assuming this to be the 
case, it is noteworthy that the Masai bontequagga is 
one of the most northern representatives of its 
kind, and that within the limits of the range of that 
race the tendency to the loss of mane and the 
acquisition of almost completely white backs to 
the ears attains its full development only in the 
more northern districts. In the domesticated horse 
it is ascertained that no seasonal shedding of 
the hairs of the mane and tail takes place, and 
that for the most part these continue to grow 
throughout life. 

In 191 1 a curious "sport" was recorded among 
a few of the Masai bontequaggas inhabiting the 
Nakura district of British East Africa. These 
bontequaggas, which have unfortunately received 



i>» Google 



202 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

a distinct name [goldfiruht^), are characterised by 
the presence of a fawn-coloured unstriped area 
immediately in front of the large oblique stripes on 
the quarters. As only two or three individuals 
showing this peculiarity are seen among the herds 
of ordinary granti, it is quite clear that the feature, 
as I have pointed out in Nature,^ is merely a sport. 
A nearly white example of Grant's or one of the 
allied races is exhibited in the Tring Museum, and 
there is an albino Gravy's zebra in the Natural 
History Museum. 

Much confusion has arisen from the description 
of a so-called Ward's zebra, which Mr. R. I. Pocock ' 
has shown to be almost certainly based on a 
hybrid between the typical zebra and one of the 
bontequaggas, probably chapmani. 

Quaggas and bontequaggas are essentially 
animals of the plains, on which they congregated 
in large herds, frequently associating with ostriches 
and gnus ; the species of the latter group herding 
with the true quagga being the white-tailed gnu, 
while to the north of the Orange River its place 
was taken by the brindled gnu. In 1837 Sir 
Cornwallis Harris encountered enormous herds 
of quaggas on the plains south of the Vaal River, 
but even at that date they seem to have become 
scarce in Cape Colony. As to the exact date of their 

' Rit^eway, Nature, vol. bcxxvi. p. 345, 191 r. 

* Ibid., p. 281. * J'he Field, vol. cxiv. p. 389, 1909. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 203 

extermination, there is some uncertainty, but Mr. 
H. A. Bryden believes that they lingered in the 
more remote districts of Cape Colony till some time 
between 1865 and 1870, and a little later in the 
Orange River Colony. Their range originally 
included Cape Colony, the Orange River Colony, 
and part of Griqualand West. 

Of the beauty of the southern bontequ^ga, 
or Burchell's zebra, on the veldt to the north of the 
Orange River, Mr. Bryden ^ writes in the following 
enthusiastic terras : — 

" With its clean, sleek coat, shining in the sun- 
light like a well-groomed horse's, its flowing tail, 
rich colouring, graceful mane, perfectly hogged by 
nature, and beautiful head, it forms a noble picture, 
framed in its usual setting of grassy plain, or park- 
like, open bush-veldt. Often when in pursuit, at 
a signal from the big stallion bringing up the rear, 
I have seen the flying troop suddenly wheel round 
in line, and stand with heads up, ears pricked, and 
distended nostrils, to stare for a full half-minute 
at their disturbers. Then, with curvets, prancings, 
and whirling tails, away again they scour, perfect 
types of feral beauty. Not seldom you may see 
them with their constant allies the brindled gnus ; 
with perhaps a troop of ostriches to fill up the 
company." 

This association of three totally different kinds 

' Nature and Spprt in South Africa, London, 1897, p, 177. 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



204 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

of animals may, it has been suggested, be of mutual 
advantage to each ; for ostriches, by reason of their 
tall stature and elevated heads, would be enabled to 
detect the advance of an enemy by sight long 
before it was visible to the other members of the 
trio, while the latter would be warned by scent 
much sooner than the ostriches. When the 
members of one of the species started to run, the 
others would be pretty sure to follow suit. The 
quagga was reputed to be possessed of great 
courage, and at the time of its abundance is stated 
to have been kept on the Boer farms in Cape 
Colony for the purpose of driving off hyaenas and 
wild dogs. 

Both quaggas and bontequaggas have been 
broken to harness and driven ; but the latter, at 
any rate, have been said to be deficient in staying 
power. On the other hand, in the issue of the 
Agricultural Journal oi the Union of South Africa 
for August 191 1 it is stated that in Zululand the 
evidence afforded by a team of eight bontequaggas, or 
zebras, as they are called in the report, leads to the 
conclusion that these animals are of great value 
for transport purposes on account of their immunity 
to disease. "They respond quickly to the whip 
when pulling, they are not given to plunging, but 
crouch down and pull steadily ; they keep their 
condition without corn-feeding, and they appear 
more intelligent than mules or donkeys. Against 



i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 205 

those qualities may be quoted the lack of stamina, 
which was disclosed when working in the sandy 
veldt ; but this, I think, was mainly due to a want of 
corn-feeding, for it seems barely possible for it to 
be a characteristic failing of the species, as they are 
of muscular build, although light-boned." 

In this place it will be convenient to refer to 
modern views with regard to the object of the 
peculiar type of colouring presented by quaggas, 
bontequaggas, and zebras. In all the fully-striped 
members of the group it is commonly believed by 
naturalists that the general effect of this type of 
colouring is to render the animal in which it occurs 
inconspicuous at a distance on open places, at close 
quarters in moonlight or at dusk, and amid bush- 
jungle. Such effects are due in part to the alter- 
nate dark and light stripes harmonising with the 
shafts and streaks of sunlit falling on foliage, and 
in part to the stripes on the body and limbs break- 
ing up the general hard outline of the animal into 
a more or less indistinct, soft greyish blur. This, 
however, is not all, for it has been shown by Mr. 
R. I. Pocock^ that the arrangement of the striping 
in these animals is specially designed to give the 
utmost intensity to this breaking-up effect. ' As 
is well shown in some of the accompanying illus- 
trations, the arrangement of the striping in the 
more northerly races of the bontequagga divides 

' Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1909, p. 418. 



i>» Google 



2o6 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the body into two distinct areas ; the stripes on the 
front half taking a more or less nearly vertical 
direction, while those on the quarters display a 
general longitudinal trend. The optical effect of 
this is to divide the animal into two distinct objects 
when viewed from a certain distance, so that the 
complete borse-outline becomes more or less com- 
pletely obscured and obliterated. This effect is 
enhanced by the stripes at the base of the neck 
being wider than those on the shoulder, to which 
they are inclined at an angle when the head is 
carried in the usual pose. A further effect in 
breaking up the outline of the animal is produced 
by the circumstance that the stripes on the face 
are narrower than those on the neck and likewise 
somewhat different in direction, and also by the 
transverse direction of the bars on the legs. The 
head and body of a bontequagga are thus broken 
up by the nature and direction of the stripes into 
four more or less distinct and separate areas, 
namely the head, the neck, and the fore and the 
hind parts of the trunk. At a distance less than 
that at which the whole of the stripes melt into a 
confused grey blur, the general effect is to render 
the animal much less conspicuous than would be 
the case if the stripes were of the same width 
throughout, and took the same direction on all 
parts of the skin. 

There is yet another point in connection with 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 207 

the colour-pattern of the animals under considera- 
tion. In the zebra, Gravy's zebra, and the more 
northern races of the bontequagga the legs are 
striped right down to the hoofs, while in the last- 
mentioned animals the stripes extend downwards 
to meet the longitudinal belly-stripes. Now all 
these animals inhabit more or less broken or bush- 
covered country. On the othfer hand, the quagga 
ajid the typical southern race of the bontequagga 
inhabited the open South African plains, and in 
these the legs are lighter coloured than the body, 
while in some forms of the quagga and in the 
southern bontequaggas the whole of the under-parts 
and much of the buttocks are likewise white. 
Moreover, in the latter the black stripes of the 
northern bontequaggas are toned down to brown 
and faint orange shadow-stripes intercalated. 
Here, in fact, a totally different kind of colour-pro- 
tection comes into play ; namely, one common to a 
lai^e number of herbivorous animals living on open 
plains, and already referred to in connection with 
the kiang and onager. In this type of colouring 
the under surface of the body and the limbs are 
conspicuously lighter (often white) than the upper 
parts, so that when the animal is standing in bright 
sunlight the light colouring of the lower surface 
completely counteracts the effect of the dark shade 
cast by the body, and thus produces more or less 
complete invisibility. Much the same effect is 



i>» Google 



2o8 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

produced when the animal is lying down, by the 
white legs being tucked away along the sides of the 
white belly. The absence of striping on the hind 
half of the body and limbs of the quagga and 
southern bontequagga thus appears to be an ac- 
quired character developed for the special purpose 
of rendering these animals inconspicuous on the 
sun-scorched and trackless veldt and karru which 
form their home. 

On the other hand, many naturalist-sportsmen 
like Mr. Selous, Captain Stigand, and Mr. 
Roosevelt, who have seen zebras and bontequaggas 
in their native haunts, emphatically refuse to be- 
lieve in the theory of the protective nature of their 
colouring. Mr. Roosevelt,' for instance, expresses 
himself as follows on this subject : — 

" The zebra has also, very absurdly, been taken 
as an example of 'concealing coloration.' ... As 
a matter of fact, it is not concealing, it is highly 
advertising, when close at hand ; but when over 
three or four hundred yards off the black and white 
stripes merge together, and the coat becomes mono- 
coloured, but catches the sunlight in such shape 
as still to render the bearer conspicuous. The 
narrow stripes of the big Gravy's zebra fade 
together at a shorter distance than is the case with 
the broader stripes of the smaller zebra ; the broad 

'"Revealing a.nd Concealing Coloration of Birds and Mammals," 
Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xxx. p. 191, 191 1. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 209 

bands on the rump of the latter can be seen at a 
great distance. The zebra [t.£. bontequagga] is 
purely a beast of the open plains ; it never seeks to 
conceal itself, but trusts always to seeing its foes. 
When under or among thin-leaved, scattered 
thorn-trees it is still usually conspicuous ; although 
now and then a peculiar light and shadow effect 
may conceal it." 

After quoting evidence from Captain Stigand* 
to much the same effect, Mr. Roosevelt proceeds 
to express his disbelief in the protective value of 
the white bellies of kiangs, onagers, and wild asses ; 
attributing this to some general cause, like that 
which has led to the under surface of the leaves of 
so many plants being lighter coloured than the 
upper ones. 

The "persona! equation" has, of course, some- 
thing to do with the difference of opinion on these 
facts ; but whatever may be the real truth with 
regard to some of the disputed points, it is certain 
that when a zebra enters covert, it becomes, owing 
to its colouring, indistinguishable. 

In 1899 a zebra or bontequagga inhabiting the 
mountainous country opposite Teli, on the north 
bank of the lower part of the Zambesi, was de- 
scribed as a distinct species by Messrs. Prazdk and 
Trouessart in the Bulletin du MusAtm £Histoire 
NaturelU, Paris, vol. v. p. 350, as Equusfoai. From 
' The Game of BriHsh East Africa, London, 1909. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



210 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the races of the bontequagga this zebra (pi. xix. 
fig. i) is distinguished by the larger number of main 
stripes on the body and hind-quarters, and also by 
the absence of any backward bending (except in the 
last of the series) of the stripes on the middle of 
the body (about ten in number) as they approach the 
dorsal stripe, to which- they run approximately at 
right angles. In this respect Foa's zebra approxi- 
mates to the zebra and Gravy's zebra, from both 
' of which it differs by the stripes on the hind- 
quarters adjacent to the dorsal stripe running 
parallel with the latter in the direction of the tail, 
as in the bontequagga, instead of at right angles. 
Consequently, the gridiron-pattern of the true 
zebra, and the concentric stripe arrangement of 
Gravy's zebra in this region are wanting. In the 
general build, as well as in the shape of the head and 
ears, Foa's zebra is nearer to the bontequagga than 
to either of the other two species ; this being borne 
out by the fact that the body-stripes meet the stripe 
traversing the middle line of the under surface. 
The legs are barred to the fetlocks, and the pasterns 
black. By Mr. Pocock ^ Foa's zebra is regarded as 
related to the Nyasa bontequagga, E. b. crawshayi. 
The marked difference between the markings of 
Foa's zebra and the Masai bontequagga is well 
exhibited in plate xix. 

Although, as mentioned above, the title of typical 

' Harmsivortk Natural History, p. 789. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 211 

or true zebra properly belongs to Gravy's zebra of 
Abyssinia and Somaliland, it is applied by natura- 
lists to the species inhabiting the mountains of Cape 
Colony, the Equus zebra of Linnaeus and the wilde- 
paard ( = wi!d horse) of the Boers. From the other 
members of the striped group this species (pi. xx. 
fig. i) is distinguishable at a glance by its more ass- 
like appearance — especially the relatively great 
length of the narrow ears — and the full development 
of a gridiron-like pattern of transverse stripes on 
the hind-quarters above the tail. The stripes are 
white on a black ground. In addition to these 
features, the species is characterised by the hairs 
on the middle of the back, from the withers to 
the rump, being directed forwards instead of 
backwards. The tail-tuft Is less developed than 
in other species, and the hoofs are narrower. 
With the exception of those of the hind-quarters, 
which on the sides are very broad and separated 
by light intervals of approximately similar width, 
the transverse stripes on the body are narrow and 
closely set, and all of them stop short of the 
middle line of the belly, so as to leave a white space 
on each side of the longitudinal ventral stripe. 
The corresponding dorsal stripe is very . narrow, 
and connected with the transverse stripes, most of 
which run nearly at right angles to this line, 
although the last two, which are much broader 
than the rest, are bent sharply backwards, so as 



i>» Google 



212 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

to cause the uppermost one on each side to 
form the lateral border of the aforesaid gridiron. 
Although some of the northern races of the bonte- 
<iuagga show traces of this gridiron, it is never 
so strongly developed as in the present species. 
All the limbs are barred down to the hoofs, and the 
chestnuts on the front pair are larger than in any 
other existing member of the horse family. The 
throat is also peculiar in having a small dewlap, 
and there is a considerable amount of tan-colour on 
the muzzle. In height the zebra apparentiy stands 
about II J hands; although many of the old writers 
put the stature considerably higher, as they do in 
the case of the bontequagga. 

Although the zebra is essentially a mountain 
animal, inhabiting the very summits of the ranges 
.of Cape Colony, while the quagga was a denizen 
of the surrounding plains, this difference in habits 
was unknown to Linnseus, who regarded the latter 
as the female of the former, and therefore did not 
give it a distinct scientific name. Formerly the 
zebra, or mountain zebra, as it is sometimes called, 
seems to have inhabited all the mountain ranges pf 
Cape Colony, where its former presence is indicated 
by such names as Paarde Berg, Paarde Kraal, and 
Paarde Fontein ; and about the year 1892 a few 
herds survived, under Government protection, on 
the Zwartberg, Sneeuberg, and Winterhoeck ranges, 
and some still renuiin in a wild state in the Cradock 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



ZEBRAS AND QUAGGAS 213 

district. Others, in a half-domesticated state, run 
on some of the Boer farms, where, as mentioned 
later, they occasionally breed with the asses. 

The zebra is an adept in getting over rough 
and rocky ground ; the course of the herds being 
stopped only by absolutely unclimbable precipices. 
In other respects its habits seem to be very similar 
to those of its kindred, although there seems to be 
no evidence of its habitually consorting with animals 
of totally distinct kinds. The following picturesque 
description of an encounter with a troop of zebras 
is given by Mr. H. Bryden:' — 

" In company with a Kafir hunter I came 
suddenly upon a small troop guarded by a sentinel 
— 'an old stallion. They were a magnificent 
spectacle, far up in a precipitous piece of savage 
mountain scenery. We had a long look at them, 
at two hundred and fifty yards' distance, and then 
suddenly the stallion got our wind or espied us, a 
wild neigh of alarm was given, and the troop, with 
tails whisking, tore headlong over the mountain 
and quickly disappeared." 

Whither the dcmv or daum of the Hottentots 
was the zebra or the quagga seems doubtful, and 
the name may have been applied to both animals. 
By some writers it is given as the designation of 
the southern race of the bontequagga. 

The range of the zebra is, however, by no 

' Nature and Sport in South Africa, p. 164. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



214 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

means restricted to the mountains of Cape Colony, 
for in 1898 Professor P. Matschie* described, undeir 
the name of Hi^otigris kartmantue, a zebra from 
the Kaokofeld, between the Hoanib and Unilab 
rivers, in Damaraland, which is certainly nothing 
more than a local race of the present species. It 
is true that in the original description the Damara 
zebra was stated to have fewer stripes on the fore- 
head than the Cape animal, but this feature has 
been subsequently found to be inconstant, as has 
likewise the presence of a pale band on the thigh.* 
On the other hand, the Damara zebra seems to be 
characterised by the chocolate-colour of the dark 
stripes, and by the light intervals being tawny in- 
stead of white. The Damara zebra may, therefore, 
be known as E. zebra kartmanms. 

Two years after the publication of the descrip- 
tion of the Damara race Mr. O. Thomas ' proposed 
the name of Equus penricei for a zebra typified by 
an animal shot by Mr. Penrice at Providencia, 
about seventy kilometres to the north-east of 
Mossamedes, in Southern Angola. That this animal 
is nothing more than a local race of E. zebra seems 
certain, and at present there is no sufficient evidence 
of its right to distinction from the race described by 
Professor Matschie. 

> Sit*. Ber. Ges. Naturfor. Freunde, Berlin, 1898, p. 175, 
' See W. L. Sclater, Fetuna of S. Afriea — Mammals, vol. i. p. 
386. 

* Aim. Mag. Nat, History, ler. 7, vol. vi. p. 465, 1900. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



FiO. I. The Zebra. 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



i>» Google 



CHAPTER IX 



Although at first sight there does not seem to be 
much connection between ones, the Greek, and 
asinus, the Latin name of the ass, yet both are 
believed to be derived from a Semitic word akin to 
athSn, the Hebrew term for she-ass. The mode of 
derivation of the Greek word, which may have been 
originally asnos or osnos, is supposed to have taken 
place by the elimination of the s, the equivalent of 
the Hebrew dental tk, before the n} The Anglo- 
Saxon assa and the German esel are, of course, 
modifications of the same word. On the other hand, 
the Persian kkar would seem to be from a totally 
different root ; this word, as already mentioned, 
occurs in gkor-kkar, the Persian name of the onager, 
and, like the latter, signifying wild ass, and also in 
khargush (literally asses' ears), the Persian and 
Hindustani term for the hare. " Donkey," it may 
be added, is a late nickname for the ass, said to be 
derived from its colour, and supposed to be the 
equivalent of dun^ with the addition of the diminutive 
kin. If this be so, the names donkey and dunlin 

^ See Heyn and Stallybrass, Wanda'ings of PUmts and Ammais, 
London, 1835, p. 46a 



i>» Google 



2i6 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

(the well-known shore-bird) are identical in origin, 
but it may be pointed out that the colour of the ass 
is grey, and not dun. 

From the reputed Eastern origin of the West 
European names of the ass, it has been very gener- 
ally considered that the animal itself, in its domesti- 
cated condition, is likewise of Eastern origin, and 
that it reached Europe by way of Asia Minor and 
Syria, although its original home may have been 
North-western Africa, where true wild asses are 
alone found at the present day.* Without denying 
that such a view may be true, it has to be borne in 
mind that Professor Marcellin Boule ' is convinced 
that certain remains of small and slenderly built 
equines from the cavern and other superficial de- 
posits of France and Italy pertain to the ass, as 
distinct from the onager, whose remains are also 
found in the same formations. How he distinguishes 
the ass from the onager on the evidence of fossil 
bones and teeth alone is not clearly stated ; but if 
his conclusions be trustworthy, there would seem to 
be a possibility of the first domestication of the ass 
having taken place in Southern Europe. On the 
other hand, it appears that in Homeric times the ass 
had not become a common domesticated animal, 
as it is mentioned but once in the Iliad, and then 
in a simile believed to have been inserted by a later 

^ See Heyn and Stallybrass, op. at, p. lo. 

■ Anttales ^ Pai/ontologie, vol, v. p. \ 16, 1910. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ASS 217 

j poet. In the Odyssey the ass is not referred to at all, 
; neither does its name occur in the works of Hesiod. 
i Nevertheless, even if domesticated asses were 
< introduced into Europe from the East, it is probable 
■ that the wild animal was first tamed in the Mediter- 
, ranean countries, as we have no evidence that it 
ever existed to the eastward of the Red Sea. If 
, this view be correct, asses must have reached India 
from the westward ; this being the opinion of 
Darwin,^ who unhesitatingly regards all the domes- 
ticated breeds as the descendants of the North 
African wild animal. 

Although Linnaeus based his Equus asinus on 
the domesticated ass of Europe, we cannot take any 
particular breed or strain as the actual type of the 
species, since Sweden has none of its own. As a 
matter of fact, the ass is essentially a southern 
animal, partial to hot and dry countries, and exceed- 
ingly averse to enter water. Indeed, it has been 
stated that " the ass, and with it its name, accom- 
panied the progress of the culture of the vine and 
olive to the north, not crossing the limits of that 
culture. In proportion as the ure-ox, the bison, and 
the elk died out, the long-eared foreign beast became 
domesticated in Gaul, receiving various names, and 
living in the customs, jokes, proverbs, and fables 
of the people. Germany, however, proved too cold 
for the animal." ' 

* Animals and Plants under Domestication, vol- i. p. 65. 

* Heyn and Stallybrass, ofi. at., p. iii. 



i>» Google 



2i8 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

As already mentioned, the ass is nearly related 
to the true zebra of Southern and South-western 
Africa, with which it £^;rees in general form, in the 
shape of the head, in the length of the ears, 
and in the narrowness of the hoofs. With the ex- 
ception that one (or occasionally a pair) is very 
generally retained on the shoulders, and that 
barring frequently persists on the legs, the ass has, 
however, lost the stripes of its southern cousin, 
evidently in adaptation to a life on desert pl^ns. 
In the frequent retention of barring on the legs 
the species presents a remarkable contrast to the 
quagga and the southern races of the bontequagga, 
whose colouring has also been modified in accord- 
ance with the requirements of a very similar mode 
of life, but in which the leg-barring has been the 
first of the dark markings to disappear. 

In contrast to the chestnut or sandy tint 
characteristic of the Asiatic kiang and on^er, the 
general colour of the wild ass is grey ; but this is 
most marked in summer, when the coat is clear 
French grey, whereas in winter, when it is also 
slightly longer, it becomes sandy grey. The muzzle 
is white, with the lips ashy, and a ring round each 
eye, the under-parts, and generally the limbs, are 
likewise white. The mane and tail-tuft are blackish, 
as are also the dorsal stripe, the shoulder- stripe, and 
the barrings on the legs, when these are retained. 
In domesticated breeds the colour ranges from 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



black through grey to white ; but in all cases the 
belly, like the muzzle, remains white, showing how 
deeply-rooted a feature is this element in the desert 
type of colouring. 

Such European domesticated asses as retain 
some approximation to the colouring of their wild 
relatives have the legs, which are often barred with 
black, in most cases scarcely, if at all, lighter than 
the body. They are also characterised by the 
presence in nearly every case of a large brown or 
blackish patch at the base of the outer surface of 
the ear ; these patches being also present in the 
domesticated asses of Socotra, which have reverted 
to a wild state, and otherwise closely resemble their 
truly wild relatives. 

In the ordinary wild asses of Africa this basal 
dark patch is represented merely by a faint shading, 
the outer surface of the ear being distinctly brown 
or black only at the tip ; moreover, the legs are 
white, with or without dark bars. This leads Mr. 
R. I. Pocock'to conclude that domesticated asses 
are descended from another race of the species in 
which the aforesaid features were developed. 
Whether such an animal survives at the present 
day is doubtful ; but it is suggested that in former 
days, at any rate, it may have inhabited parts of 
Nubia, extending considerably to the northward of 

' Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, vol. iv. p. 523, 1909. 



i>» Google 



220 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

the fifth cataract of the Nile, where wild asses are 
now unknown. 

The African wild asses of the present day, which 
stand about twelve hands at the shoulder, are 
divided into races according to their markings. The 
Nubian race {E. asinus africanus, pi. xx. fig. 2), 
which inhabits the country on both sides of the 
Atbara river, in the Eastern Sudan, to the south of 
Nubia proper, has a distinct shoulder-stripe, but no 
dark markings on the limbs, with the exception of 
a patch on the fetlocks. On the other hand, the 
Somali race (£. a> sonuUiensis) has more or less 
completely lost the dorsal and shoulder stripes, but 
has the legs fully barred. There appears to be 
also a third type, E. a. taniopus, in which dorsal 
and shoulder stripes are combined with full bar- 
ring of the legs, but whether it has a habitat of its 
own, and is thus entitled to rank as a definite local 
race, has not yet been ascertained. 

In general character wild asses resemble the 
less altered domesticated breeds, although differing 
by their more slender limbs and greatly superior 
speed. Both have the same loud, unmelodious bray, 
which is uttered by both sexes, and is said to be 
nearly paralleled by the cry of Grdvy's zebra. Both 
display the same aversion to enter water ; and the 
domesticated breeds have doubtless inherited their 
capacity for existing on the poorest and driest fodder 
from their wild ancestor, whose subsistence consists 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ASS 221 

of the hard, dry grasses growing in semi-desert 
districts of North-eastern Africa. 

In the domesticated condition asses are now 
spread over a very large part of the warmer regions 
of the Old World, including Southern and Central 
Europe, the whole of Eastern and Southern Asia, 
and Northern and Eastern Africa ; while they are 
also common in many parts of South America, 
where some of them have run wild. Asses that 
have reverted to the wild state are also found in the 
island of Socotra ; and they are also stated to have 
formerly existed in that condition in Sardinia and 
some of the islands of the Grecian Archipelago. 

The feral asses of Socotra, which are of the 
Nubian type, although with the above-mentioned 
blackish patch at the base of the backs of the ears, 
closely resemble their wild progenitors, being all 
coloured alike. The same is the case with many of 
the less altered domesticated breeds, notably the 
"gadas" of India. On the other hand, there are 
many breeds which depart markedly from the wild 
ancestral type in the matter of colour, and in some 
cases also in their superiority of stature, or in the 
length and thickness of the winter coat. The colour 
variation is, however, much less marked than in the 
case of the horse ; bay, chestnut, and true dun being 
almost unknown. 

Throughout the East the ass is much more exten- 
: stvely used for riding and in agricultural operations 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



^ 



222 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

than is the case in Europe ; and many countries 
have special breeds adapted for particular kinds of 
work. It is stated, for instance,' that Syria alone 
possesses four distinct breeds — namely, a light and 
graceful type with a pleasant, easy gait, used by 
ladies of rank ; a so-called Arab breed, reserved 
entirely for the saddle, and carefully groomed and 
tended ; a stouter and more clumsily made strain 
employed for ploughing and other agricultural 
operations; and, lastly, the large Damascus breed, 
characterised by its length of body and inordinately 
long ears. Many of these Damascus asses are 
white,and are apparently identical with a breed reared 
at Bagdad, where they have been highly esteemed 
for centuries, both on account of their colour and 
their speed. Writing of the Syrian riding ass, Canon 
Tristram' states that it "will accomplish quite as 
long a day's journey as the horse or the camel ; 
though its speed is not so great, it will maintain an 
easy trot and canter for hours without Bagging, and 
always gains on the horse up the hills or on the 
broken ground." 

In addition to Syria and Palestine, asses of a 
dirty white colour are spread over Egypt, Persia, 
. and some of the neighbouring countries. Formerly, 
at any rate, asses were largely kept in the East for 
the sake of their milk, which, as is well known in 

' Sec Darwin, op. cit., p. 65. 

■ Natural History of t)u Bible, London, 1S67, p. 39. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE ASS 223 

Europe, is highly nutritive; droves of she-asses 
,' forming a. special feature among the possessions of 
the Biblical patriarchs. 

Large and long-eared as is the white ass of 
Damascus and Bagdad, it is exceeded in both these 
respects by the famous Poitou breed of France, 
which stands from about 13^ to as much as 16 
hands at the shoulder, and varies in colour from 
grey to black ; the black ones being the most 
highly valued. These Poitou asses, which rival 
cart-horses in size and make, are ugly-lookipg -, 
beasts, having huge, ungainly heads, enormoii^ 
ears, in most cases long, heavy coats, pendent '> 
manes, stout limbs, and relatively broad hoofs. 
They are kept almost entirely for breeding mules 
of a heavy and powerful type. Spain is also 
celebrated for its asses, which are likewise mainly 
reared for mule-breeding; Andalucia and Catalonia 
being two of the provinces where they are reared 
in the greatest numbers. Although coloured like 
the Poitou breed, of which they are believed to be 
the ancestral stock, they are somewhat inferior in 
stature and lighter in build ; the same characters 
reappearing in the mules. 

As the Poitou donkey marks the maximum 
development of the species in point of size* so the 
little grey Mahratta donkeys of Western India and 
Ceylon represent the extreme in the opposite 
direction, some of them standing no more than 8, 



i>» Google 



224 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

or even 7J, hands at the withers. Despite their 
diminutive size, they stagger gamely along under 
huge loads. Some Indian asses are, however, 
considerably larger, and it is not uncommon to see 
one of these ploughing with a humped ox or buffalo 
for its yoke-fellow, while on rare occasions a camel 
and an ass may be seen ploughing the same furrow. 

To refer to the domesticated asses of all pju^s 
of the world would be of little use or interest, even 
if it were possible. Brief mention may, however, 
be made of those of Majorca, in the Balearic group, 
where there are two distinct breeds, of which the 
larger is extensively exported to the United States 
for mule-breeding. The smaller breed is a dwarf 
grey animal, imported from Northern Africa, and 
employed for carrying small loads or children. 
The second and more abundant breed is a larger 
animal, apparently allied to the asses of Spain, 
and described as being black or dull chestnut in 
colour, with the usual white muzzle and under-parts. 
According to a figure given by Dr. C. Keller,* from 
whose work the foregoing details are taken, the 
tail appears to be somewhat more fully haired than 
is usually the case. 

A special characteristic of the domesticated ass 
is its surefootedness, a feature in which it differs 
markedly from the horse. 

• "Studien iiber die Haustiere der Mittelmeer-Inseln," Neues 
Denkschr. Sckwei*. Naiurfor. Ges., voL xlvi. p. 113, 1911. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



CHAPTER X 

MULES AND OTHER HYBRIDS 

The fact that mares and male asses will readily 
interbreed, although their product is sterile, has 
been known from very early times ; Homer men- 
tioning in the Iliad that the hemionus, or mule, 
originally came from Henetia, in Pontic Asia 
Minor, which was inhabited by a Paphlagonian 
people. In a second passage it is stated that 
mules were brought to Priam at Troy from Mysia ; 
this according well with the first statement, as the 
Mysians and Paphlagonians were neighbours, and 
the route to the country of the former lay through 
, that of the latter.' To the Greeks, the mule was 
, known either as hemiotms (half-ass) — a name now 
employed as the scientific designation of the onager 
— or oreos or oureos (the mountain animal) ; the 
latter title being given from the fact that mules 
were used to carry loads of wood from the 
mountains to the plains. 

The word mule is derived from the Latin 
multts, which is itself believed to take its origin 
from the Greek mttcklos, a breeding ass, the 

• Heyn and Stallybrass, Wanderings of Plants and Animals, 
p. ni. 



i>, Google 



226 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

omission of the ck being compensated by the 
lengthening of the preceding vowel. Miuklos 
appears to have been taken from the Phocjeans, who 
were the mariners and colonisers of the West.' As 
already mentioned incidentally, the mule is properly 
the product of the male ass and the mare, the 
converse hybrid — that is to say, the product of 
crossing a stallion with a she-ass — being termed 
hinny, a word derived, through the Latin hinnus, 
from the Greek kinnos, or ginos. 

Mule has, however, come to be used for any 
hybrid, e.g. a mule-canary. 

With the possible exception of a few instances 
in which the female is stated to have produced 
offspring, the mule is sterile ; as, indeed, might be 
expected to be the case when the difference 
between its parents is borne in mind. 

On this subject Sir E. Ray Lankester has 
written as follows in one of his articles, " Science 
from an Easy-Chair," published in the Daily 



" A good case by which to exemplify our concep- 
tion of a species is that afforded by the species 
which are united in the genus Bquus — the horse- 
genus. There are living at the present day several 
wild kinds of Equus — namely, the wild horse, or 
tarpan, of the Gobi desert of Mongolia, called after 
Przewalski ; two kinds of Asiatic wild ass, called 

* Heyn and Stallybrass, op. cit., pp. 461, 462. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



MULE^AND OTHER HYBRIDS 227 

the kiang and the onager ; the African wild ass ; 
and two or three kinds of zebra. There are, 
besides, many kinds of domesticated horses, ranging 
from the Shetland pony to the Flemish dray-horse, 
and from the shire horse to the Arab. Then there 
are many kinds of fossil extinct horses known, 
some of which clearly must be placed in the genus 
Equus with the living kinds, others which have 
to be separated into special genera {Hippidtum, 
Onokippidium, &c.). Now, as to the living forms 
or form-kinds of the genus Equus, which are we 
to regard as true species, and which are only 
varieties and races of lower significance than 
species ? The answer is clear enough in regard to 
several of them. The wild Mongolian horse and 
all the domesticated horses are varieties, races, or 
breeds of one species, judged not only by such 
marks as the possession of callosities on both the 
hind and the fore legs, but also by the test of 
breeding. They breed together and produce per- 
sisting races. But the asses and the zebras, though 
they will form mules with the horse, do not freely 
breed with it, nor establish a hybrid race. They 
are distinct from the horse, not only in m^arkings 
and certain details of shape and hair, but in the 
fact that they cannot be fused into one race with 
him. There are no sufficient experiments on the 
aloofness of zebras and asses from one another in 
regard to breeding, although it seems that they 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



228 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

cannot establish a mixed race, and are therefore 
distinct species judged by that test as well as by 
their form and marking. It is not known whether 
the so-called species of wild ass — the Asiatic and 
the African — ^would prove to produce fertile or in- 
fertile mules if inter-crossed, nor has the test been 
applied to the very differently marked local races 
of the African zebras — Gravy's zebra, Burchell's 
zebra, and the mountain zebra. It is likely enough 
that the three or more species distinguished among 
zebras on account of their being differendy striped, 
and existing in different localities, would be found 
to breed freely together, and prove themselves thus 
to be entitled to be regarded as local 'varieties' 
or ' races,' but not as fully-separated, true spedes-" 

In this passage the writer definitely commits 
himself to the opinion that the fertility or sterility 
of the hybrids produced by crossing two distinct 
members of the horse family (or, for that matter, of 
any other family) affords a definite and decisive 
test whether such members should be regarded as 
races or breeds of one and the same species, or as 
distinct species. Such information as we possess 
on the subject,' comparatively meagre as it is, does 
not, however, justify a sweeping generalisation like 
the above, for there is really no hard-and-fast line 

> Much interesting infonnation on horse and zebra hybrids will 
be found in Professor J, C. Ewaifs The Penicuik Experiments, 
London, 1899. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



MULES AND OTHER HYBRIDS 229 

of distinction between races and species ; the 
former being practically species in the making. 
On the contrary, fertility or sterility in the hybrid 
depends on whether the two species (or even races) 
severally represented by the parents are near or 
distant relations of one another. For instance, the 
Arab horse, whether it be regarded as a distinct 
species or merely as a race of Equus caballus, as 
exemplified by the wild tarpan, is clearly not far 
removed from the latter, and the two therefore 
interbreed freely. Again, as already mentioned, 
the horse and the ass are two of the most widely 
sundered members of the equine family, and their 
hybrids are therefore sterile. 

On the other hand if hybrids between the 
African wild ass and the true zebra, which as we 
have seen are nearly related, were to prove fertile, 
as they well might, this would be no argument 
for regarding those animals as races of a single 
species, and the same would be the case if fertile 
hybrids — which is improbable — were the result of 
a union between the bontequagga and Gravy's 
zebra or between the latter and the true zebra. 

Practically all that can be inferred from the 
interbreeding of the various members of the horse 
family, so far as systematic zoology is concerned, is 
that the whole of them are rightly included in the 
single genus Equus. 

Although no complete list of all the hybrids . 



i>» Google 



230 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

that have been produced between difFerent members 
of the horse family is available, it appears that 
crossing has taken place between nearly all of them. 
Unfortunately, there is very little information with 
regard to the fertility or sterility of the hybrids, 
except in the case of the mule and the kiang. 
There are, however, some undoubted instances of 
partial fertility in the hybrids ; one of the best 
known being a hybrid between the zebra and the 
wild ass bom many years £^o at Knowsley Park, 
the seat of the Earls of Derby, which gave rise to 
offspring when crossed with a bay pony mare. 

On some of the farms of Cape Colony individuals 
of the true zebra are occasionally allowed to run 
with domesticated donkeys, with which they may 
interbreed. In 1896 I received a photograph of 
a foetus apparently belonging to a hybrid of this 
nature, sent by Mr. F. W. FitzSimons, director 
of the Port Elizabeth Museum. The specimen 
which is mounted in that museum was prematurely 
born, but is fully developed, even to the harden- 
ing of the hoofs. Whereas, however, the limbs 
are transversely banded with black in the same 
fashion as in the zebra, the colouring of the 
body is of a totally different type. The ground- 
colour is a warm buff, lightest on the limbs. The 
whole of the neck is marked with a great number — 
many scores— of very narrow, vertical black lines, 
totally different from the broad black stripes of 



i>» Google 



MULES AND OTHER HYBRIDS 231 

the zebra. The mane is also black; and a black 
line is continued from its termination to the root of 
the tail, where it spreads out into an ill-defined in- 
distinct black patch. Nothing was stated in the 
original description with regard to the presence of 
any dark markings on the rest of the body, but 
from the photograph this area, like the head, appears 
to be whole-coloured. 

A somewhat similar type of colouring is pre- 
sented by an adult hybrid in the British Museum 
(vol. xxi. fig. 2), which was born about the year 
1844 in the menagerie kept at that time by the 
Earl of Derby at Knowsley Park. It is reputed to 
be the offspring of a male zebra {Equus zebra) and 
a female onager {E. onager).^ In the length of the 
ears and the black barring, on a white ground, of the 
legs, this hybrid approximates to its male parent, 
although lacking the white tip to the ears character- 
istic of all the members of the zebra group. The 
general colour of the head, neck, and body is, 
however, mouse-brown, with narrow, darker stripes 
on the face and neck, and one broad and complete 
and two narrower and imperfect shoulder-stripes. 
The rest of the body is marked with chocolate 
flecks, incompletely aggregated into inconspicuous 
narrow stripes. 

In a paper on hybrid foals published in the 

' See Gray, Handlist EdeniaU, Thick-skinned, and Ruminant 
Mammals in BriU Mus., p. 38, London, 1873. 



i>» Google 



232 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

Proceedings of the Zoolog[ical Society for 191 1 ' Mr. 
R. I. Pocock remarks on the similarity between 
this or another hybrid of the same nature born at 
Knowsley* and the undermentioned offspring of a 
male Somali wild ass and a female zebra. 

In the summer of 19-1 1 hybrids between a male 
Somali wild ass and a Matabili bontequagga {E. 
burckelli chapmani) on the one hand and a zebra 
{E. zebra) on the other were bom in the London 
Zoological Gardens, of which Mr. Pocock has 
given the following description : — 

" In both hybrid foals the head, neck, and 
body are practically self-coloured, with the exception 
of the spinal, ventral, and shoulder stripes, a few 
narrow brown stripes above the muzzle on the nose, 
and a shading of ashy grey on the tower part of the 
neck. The mane is unstriped, but the legs are well 
banded up to the level of the belly or thereabouts. 
The ears have a dark basal stripe and a terminal 
black patch, but the white ear-tip seen in zebras and 
quaggas is absent. On the other hand, the white 
area present just above the muzzle in asses is 
absent. In the absence of the shoulder and spinal 
stripes and of the patch on the base of the ear, the 
Somali donkey differs from the domesticated 
animal. . . . Two features characteristic of the 



' Page 991. 

» In the specimen referred to by Mr. Pocock the onagfer is stated 
o be the sire. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



MULES AND OTHER HYBRIDS 233 

zebra, namely, the dewlap and the reversal of the 
spinal hair, have been eliminated in the hybrid ; and 
it is noticeable that the hair along the spine, especi- 
ally on the croup, is as long as in the foal of Gravy's 
zebra. The two foals are not exactly alike, differ- 
ences in detail being detectable everywhere. The 
ears, for example, are smaller, their basal stripe is 
narrower and blacker, the shoulder-stripe is shorter, 
the spinal crest less pronounced, and the legs are 
less strongly banded in the quagga than in the 
zebra foal. The resemblance, nevertheless, between 
the two is striking." 

; Although the aforesaid hybrid between the 

I Somali wild ass and the zebra is the only known 

i example of such a cross, mules between the domes- 

', ticated ass and zebra have been known from the 

', time of Cuvier. A hybrid of this nature, whose 

male parent was a black Spanish ass, described by 

Cuvier himself, is stated by Mr. Pocock to have 

been like the product of the Somali wild ass and 

zebra, except that, when adult, the ground-colour 

was dark grey, even on the legs, and there were 

spots at the base of the tail. Both these hybrids 

lacked the white ear-tip of the zebra and the white 

muzzle of the ass. 

All these hybrids agree in the absence of the 
white zebra ear-tip and the white asinine muzzle, as 
well as in the more or less complete suppression of 
the stripes on the head and body ; and it is very 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



234 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

noteworthy that when such striping does occur it is 
of the narrow type characteristic of Gravy's zebra 
and the undermentioned bontequagga-pony hybrid. 
All the races of the bontequagga will interbreed ; 
and it is probable that in some instances the hybrids 
may be fertile, although they are generally as sterile 
as mules. Recently a hybrid f<^ between a female 
of the Matabili E. b. burchelli and a male of the 
East African E. b. granii was born in the Royal 
Dublin Zoological Gardens. The noticeable feature 
in this foal is that while the legs have the com- 
plete barring of those of granti, the body shows 
the shadow-stripes of ckapmani; this illustrating 
the potency of leg-barring. 

The Matabili bontequagga has been crossed by 
Professor Ewart with a black pony mare from the 
Isle of Man and also with bay ponies. The resulting 
progeny (pi. xxi. fig. i) were bay in ground-colour, 
but more or less fully marked, with narrow and 
closely approximated dark stripes, quite unlike those 
of the male parent in width and number, and to a 
considerable extent also, in direction. Probably, 
as in the instances noted above, they indicate 
reversion towards an earlier ancestral type. 
' Hybrids of this type have been used for draught 
■ and riding in countries unsuited to horses, and they 
are believed to be immune to the attacks of tsetse- 
fly. Whatever may be their value under such cir- 
cumstances, it is unlikely that these zebra-hybrids. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



PLATE XXr 



Fig. I. Hybrid Bontequagga and Pony Colt (" Romulus ") and Dam. 
Fig. 2. Hybrid Zebra and Onager. 



.■i>» Google 



MULES AND OTHER HYBRIDS 235 

) as they are commonly called, will ever come into 
j general use, since they have the disadvantage that 
'one of their parents is always a wild animal, 
whereas a mule is the product of species which have 
been domesticated for centuries. 

In the case of both mules and hinnies the 
general build and appearance of the animal accord 
with the type of the sire, although in the matter of 
bodily size the dam is followed. Mules are there- 
fore asinine in appearance, although with a more 
horse-like tail, and relatively large ears ; whereas the 
more horse-like hinny is small. If, however, females 
of the great Poitou ass were to be utilised for 
hinny-breeding, the progeny would probably be 
of larger stature. One exception to the ass-like 
character of the mule is that it lacks the white belly 
of its male parent. Hinnies, on account of their 
inferior size and strength, are but seldom bred, 
although they are used to a certain extent in some 
parts of Ireland. 

Mules are comparatively uncommon in England, 
but are extensively employed in many parts of the 
Continent, such as Spain, and on account of their 
surefooted character, which they inherit from the 
ass, are especially suited to mountain work. They 
are largely employed in the Punjab, more particularly 
in the frontier districts, for military purposes, where 
there are mule -batteries for hill-work. These 
batteries are armed with light field-guns, which are 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



236 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

so constructed as to be readily taken to pieces, when 
the constituent parts are easily carried on mule- 
back, through country which would be impracticable 
for ordinary field-artillery. In addition to their 
surefootedness, mules, in proportion to their size, 
are stronger and more enduring than horses ; like 
the ass, they will also thrive on poorer fodder, 
while they are likewise less liable to disease than 
horses, and are said to be longer-lived. In America 
mules are very largely employed ; and in Brazil, 
when the lines of railway are left, travelling in the 
drier districts is to a great extent accomplished in 
light carriages drawn by four or six mules, which 
are driven by the coachman. 

"Obstinate as a mule" has become a proverb; 
but the supposed obstinacy and vice are largely 
the result of ill-usage ; and, although some in- 
dividuals are incurably vicious, mules when properly 
treated and handled are quite amenable animals. 
Many years ago I rode a mule for several months 
in the Punjab, and found it in every respect an 
admirable mount. 

A large number of light-coloured mules, parti- 
cularly in the Punjab, exhibit dark barrings on the 
legs, and occasionally a shoulder-stripe. Writing on 
this subject, Darwin ' observes that " such mules 
are genersilly light-coloured, and might be called 
fallow-duns. The shoulder-stripe in one instance 

' Animals and Plants under Donuslication, vol. ii. p. 16. 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



MULES AND OTHER HYBRIDS 237 

was deeply forked at the extremity, and in another 
instance was double, although united in the middle. 
Mr. Martin gives a figure of a Spanish mule with 
strong zebra-like marks on its legs, and remarks 
that mules are particularly liable to be thus striped 
on their legs. In South America, according to 
Roulin, such stripes are more frequent and con- 
spicuous in the mule than in the ass. In the 
United States, Mr. Gosse, speaking of these 
animals, says that in a great number, perhaps in 
nine out of every ten, the legs are banded with 
dark transverse stripes." In a later paragraph 
Darwin continues as follows ; " From these facts 
we see that the crossing of the several equine 
species tends in a marked manner to cause stripes 
to appear on the legs. As we do not know whether 
the parent-form of the genus was striped, the 
appearance of the stripes can only hypothetically 
be attributed to reversion. But most persons, after 
considering the many undoubted cases of variously- 
coloured marks reappearing by reversion in my 
experiments on crossed pigeons and fowls, will 
come to the same conclusion with regard to the 
horse-genus ; and if so, we must admit that the 
progenitor of the group was striped on the legs, 
shoulders, face, and probably over the whole body, 
like a zebra." 

While fully admitting the cogency of this argu- 
ment, it may be suggested that the striping may 



i>» Google 



238 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

have existed only in the proximate ancestors of the 
modern members of the horse group, and that the 
earlier progenitors were not thus marked. Indeed, 
it has been mentioned on page 52 that there are 
reasons for believing that the earlier members of 
the horse- stock had a totally different type of 
colouring. 



i>» Google 



PLATE XXII 



Bones of fore-feet of exlincl toterunnets of (he Horse. A. Hyi-oiolAiHui. 
Eokippus: B, Mtwhippas; C, Mtrychippus or Prolshi^pas : D, Hipparu 



i>» Google 



CHAPTER XI 

THE EXTINCT FORERXJNNERS OF THE HORSE 

Of few mammals has the record of their past 
history been so well preserved as is the case with 
the horse and its existing relatives ; for as we 
descend through the five stages — Pleistocene, 
Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene, and Eocene — of the 
uppermost, or Tertiary, epoch of geological history 
we can trace a more or less complete gradation 
from the horses of the present day to primitive, 
many-toed animals, scarcely larger than foxes, and 
presenting few of the features which render the 
horse and its relatives such a remarkable group. 
In other words, from tall, single-toed quadrupeds, 
adapted for grazing on open plains, and endowed 
with the maximum speed of which mammalian 
organisation is capable, we can trace the passage 
through smaller, three-toed forest-niwelling and 
browsing animals, to small and'' almost fox-like 
creatures which in all probability frequented the 
swampy shores of lakes and marshes, and were 
little if any faster than badgers. 

How long a period was the evolution from the 
little foiy^toed Hyracotherium of the Lower Eocene 



i>» Google 



1^ "iF^ r^ 

«•• i. c. 




a, HyratotharUat of the Lower Eocene ; b, Plagiolephtu, or Orahifiput, 
of the Middle Eocene ; t, Staehiffui, of lite Oligocene ; d, Mtrychippus, of 
the Miocene ; i, Plkihippta, of the Pliocene ; f, the Horse, Bquut cabalbu. 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 241 

period to the horse of the present day — in other 
words, what was the length of the Tertiary 
period, or age of mammals — is a question which 
must occur to all. To answer that question with 
any approach to correctness in terms of years or 
centuries is a practical impossibility, although it 
has been frequently attempted ; and all that can be 
done is to endeavour to convey by means of the 
stupendous events which have taken place during 
the Tertiary period some faint idea of the enormous 
length of time represented by that latest stage in^ 
the geological history of our globe. 

This mode of gaining some idea of the immense 
lapse of time which has taken place during the slow 
evolution of the Eocene Hyracotherium into the 
modern Eguits, or, in other words the birth of 
mountain-chains during the Age of Mammals, has 
been well expressed by Professor H. F. Osborn,* 
who writes as follows : — 

" The Rocky Mountains, it is true, began their 
elevation during the close of the Age of Reptiles 
[that is to say, during the Secondary period, which 
immediately preceded the Tertiary, and includes 
the Chalk and Oolites] ; they had only attained a 
height of four or five thousand feet when the Age 
of Mammals commenced ; they continued to rise 
during the entire period. But consider the map of 
Europe and Asia at the beginning of Eocene time 

' The Age of Mammals, New York, 1910, p, 58. 
Q 



by Google 



24* THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

and realise that the great mountain systems of 
the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Himalayas were 
still unborn, level surfaces in fact, partly washed by 
the sea. The birth of the Pyrenees was at the 
beginning of the Oligocene. At this time Switzer- 
land was still a comparatively level plain, and not 
until the close of the Oligocene did the mighty 
, system of the Swiss Alps begin to rise. Central 
\ Asia was even yet a plain and upland, and only 
/ during the Miocene did the Himalayas, the noblest 
existing mountain chain, begin to rise to their present 
fellowship with the sky. In North America, again, 
since the close of the Eocene the region of the 
\ present Grand Cafion of the Colorado has been 
J elevated 11,000 feet, and the river has carved its 
mighty cafton through the rock to its present maxi- 
mum depth of 6500 feet. 

" Those who have been impressed with a sense 
of the antiquity of these wonders of the world, and 
will imagine the vast changes in the history of 
continental geography and continental life which 
were involved, will be ready to concede that the 
.^ge of Mammals alone represents an almost incon- 
cei vaElS"periqd of time.""" " 

Admirably asTsThis aspect of the subject ex- 
pressed by Professor Osborn, the force of the com- 
parison would have been intensified if it had been 
mentioned that at the time when the fox-like 
Hyracotkerium^zs wandering in the marshes of 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 243 

Kent not only was the Himalaya non-existent, 
but that along the line of its very heart — where the 
kiang now lives at an elevation of from thirteen 
thousand to sixteen thousand feet— ewended an 
arm of the sea of no inconsiderable depth. -• 

Although one of the earliest forerunners of the 
horse-tribe, the above-mentioned Hyracotheriu m, 
lived in England during the deposition of the 
Lower Eocene London Clay, the evolution of the 
EfmScB IS much more clearly displayed in the 
Tertiary strata of North America than it is in those 
of Europe, where the chain is completely broken 
during the Oligocene epoch. From this It has 
been inferred that the . entrre evolution took place 
on the American continent ; although as mentioned 
in an earlier chapter, the real birthplace was pro- 
bably in East Central Asia, whence the group 
spread in one direction into Europe, and finally 
Africa, and in the other into North America, and 
thence, during the late Pliocene epoch, when the 
two continents became united, into the southern 
half of the New World. 

In both North. and South America members 
of the horse-family survived into the Pleistocene 
epoch ; those of the northern continent belonging 
to the existing Equus, whereas those of the southern 
continent represented extinct generic types. In 
North America the whole group died completely 
out at the close of the Pleistocene ; and it is 



i>»Got~)gle 



244 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

generally believed that the same thing took place in 
South America. 

Why this sudden disappearance of a dominant '^ 
and thriving group occurred was long a puzzle. It 
was not that the country had become unsuited to 
these animals, for when domesticated horses were 
introduced and escaped from captivity, they ran < 
wild and increased amazingly in both halves of the 
New World. This suggests that the extinction 
was probably brought about either by bacterial 
linfection or by^ a disease analogous to that pro- . 
duced by the agency of tsetse flies in certain parts 
of Africa at the present day. In connection with 
the latter part of this suggestion, it is especially 
noteworthy that remains of extinct tsetses have 
been discovered in the Miocene formation of Floris- 
sant, Colorado, 

V The existing genus Equus, which, as shown in 
the preceding chapters of this volume, includes all 
the living members of the iamily, extends down- 
wards through the Pleistocene into the upper 
portion of the Pliocene period alike in North 
America, Asia, and Europe. Possibly it may go 
as low down as the Lower Pliocene in the Siwalik 
Hills of India, although this is uncertain, as the 
higher beds of the Siwaliks, which contain remains 
of true horses, may prove to belong to the upper 
part of the Pliocene epoch. 

Here it may be well to recapitulate a few of 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 245 

the leading featfires of the genus Eguus, which 
includes the largest, and doubtless the swiftest, 
members of the entire group, all of which are fitted 
for a life on the open plains, where they subsist 
entirely by grazing. In correlation with this kind 
of life is the great length and columnar structure 
of the cheek-teeth, which show an intricate enamel- 
pattern on the grinding surface, and are characterised 
by the union of the antero-internal pillar of those 
of the upper jaw with the main body of the crown 
by means of a narrow neck, as shown at A of 
the figure on page 33 ; the hollows between the 
enamel-foldings being completely filled with cement. 
In the skull the socket of the eye is surrounded by 
a complete ring of bone, there is no deep depression 
or pit immediately in front of the same, and the slit 
between the fore part of the upper jaw and the 
nasal bones is short. A long gap, or diastema, in 
the front half of which are implanted the tusks, or 
canines (when these are present), separates the 
incisor from the cheek-teeth ; and the crowns of 
the iji^ors themselves are penetrated, in early 
life, by the pit, or "mark," which has already been 
sufficiently described. ' ^Each limb terminates in a 
single hoof, upon which alone the animal walks ; 
but the lateral toes — second and fourth — of the 
extinct three -toed members of the fjunily are 
represented by splints, which may either remain 
free or be welded to the adjacent cannon-bone. 

D,Q,t,7P- by Google 



246 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

As mentioned in earlier chapters, the Prehistoric 
and Pleistocene deposits of Europe and Turkestan 
have yielded remains inseparable for the most part 
at any rate from the modern horse {Eguus caballus), 
of which they probably represent several phases 
or races, while others have been assigned to the 
ass {E. asinus), and yet others to the onager 
(£■. onager). From the Pleistocene gravels of the 
Narbada Valley, in Central India, have been 
obtained skulls and other remains of a horse {E. 
namadicus) characterised by the elongation of the 
grinding surface of the anterior pillars on the inner 
side of the upper cheek-teeth ; the same species 
also occurring in the topmost beds of the Siwaliks 
of Northern India. 

In North America the Pleistocene and Upper 
Pliocene formations have yielded remains of at 
least nine extinct members of the modern genus ; 
one of these, E. fratemus, closely resembling E. 
caballus, while a second, E. giganteus, from South- 
western Texas, appears to have been the largest of 
the whole group ; the cheek-teeth exceeding those 
of the biggest cart-horses by more than one-third 
the diameter of the latter. 

In the Upper Pliocene deposits of the Val 
d'Arno and other parts of Europe, including the 
so-called Forest Bed of the coast of Norfolk, occurs 
a horse {E^ sienonis) with molars of a somewhat 
more primitive . type than those of the existing 



D,Q,t,7P- by Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 247 

members of the genus ; the primitive feature being 
the shortness of the antero-internal pillar of those 
of the upper jaw. There is also a slight depression 
in the wall of the skull immediately in advance 
of the socket of the eye. Nearly allied to Steno's 
horse is Equus sivalensis, of the Pliocene deposits 
of the Indian Siwaliks, which, as already mentioned, 
exhibits both the aforesaid features. So far as can 
be determined, this Siwalik horse seems to have 
stood about 15 hands at the shoulder, and to have 
had a relatively big head, and slender cannon-bones, 
with proportionately large splints. 

After mentioning that in respect of their upper 
molars Equus stenonis and E. sivalensis occupy an 
intermediate position between the modern members 
of the genus and the extinct Pliocene Protokippus, 
Prof. Marcellin Boule' proceeds to observe that 
when a large series of the remains of the first-named 
species is studied, " it will be found that in respect 
of stature, of the plications of the enamel of the 
upper molars, and of the shape of their inner pillars, 
Equus stenonis presents individual variations com- 
parable to those which occur in the different 
varieties or races of the horse, both of the Pleisto- 
cene and modern epochs. Certain teeth, of relatively 
small size, display remarkable resemblances to those 
of the ass; and I have shown that milk-teeth of 

' " Les Chevaux fossiles des Grottes de Grimaldi," Attn, dt Faltan- 
tologie, voL V. p. 130, 1910. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



448 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

E. stenonis from certain Pliocene formations in the 
Auvergne and Velay present certain features now 
found only among zebras. I have also shown that 
other teeth, from a higher horizon in the Pliocene, 
differ from the former by their larger size, the more 
complicated folding of the enamel, the greater 
length of the anterior pillar, and certain other 
features connecting them with the Pleistocene 
representatives of E. cabailus, more especially those 
molars with very complicated enamel-foldings, 
like those from England described by Owen 
as E. plicidens, and those from certain French 
caverns, such as Cindr^ and Bruniquel. 

" It appears, then, that the stenonis type was 
extremely variable during the Pliocene, being 
represented by forms already showing tendencies 
towards various modern groups of Eguidee. Among 
these forms, all of which are remarkable on account 
of the shortness of the anterior pillar of the upper 
cheek-teeth, some were of small size, and apparently 
related to the asses, having the enamel-folds of the 
cheek-teeth relativrfy simple, and their external 
lobes dilated ; these seem to have developed directly 
into the zebras of modern ^Africa. Others, of larger 
size, with the enamel of the molars more plicated, 
and the external lobes forming more pronounced 
crescents, appear to have passed insensibly into 
some of the larger forms of Eguus cabailus found 
in certain Pleistocene formations." 



.■i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 249 

After remarking that the modern horse dates 
back to the Pleistocene, or Quaternary, epoch, but 
is unknown in the Pliocene, Prof. Boule observes 
that "it is found at Chelles and in most of the 
deposits of the great interglacial period. It persists 
right through the Quaternary, everywhere in 
abundance. It is represented in the Middle Pleisto- 
cene by races or varieties, to which It is possible 
to affiliate certain modern races or varieties. 
Finally, it seems that the evolution of this useful 
and interesting animal continues to the present day, 
and that under human influence it will still continue 
to progress." 

That the extinct Indian E. sivalensis and E. 
namadicus, which, as already mentioned, differ 
from one another in the length of the grinding 
surface of the anterior pillar of the upper cheek- 
teeth (this being short in the former and long in 
the latter), gave rise to successors seems almost 
certain. At one time I suggested ' that the kiang 
might be derived from E. sivalensis ; but the cheek- 
teeth of the former are so much smaller than those 
of the latter, that this seems unlikely. A latter 
suggestion is that if the Arab be specificially dis- 
tinct from E. caballus it may have originated from 
the Siwalik species, probably through the later 
Narbada horse. 

* Palitantologia Indies {Ment. Geol. Surv. India), ser. 10, vol. ii, 
p. 89, 1883. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



250 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

In North America the immediate precursor of 
the modem Eguus is the genus POohippus, whose 
remains occur in deposits belonging to the Lower 
Pliocene and to the antecedent Miocene epoch. 
Whether this was a completely single-toed animal, 
or whether there were small remnants of the lateral 
toes, appears uncertain. If these were present 
they must, however, have been extremely small 
and quite functionless, as the splint-bones are 
scarcely larger than in the modern horse.' The 
cheek-teeth are larger than those of the under- 
mentioned Protokippus, but owing to the relative 
shallowness of the jaws, as compared with those of 
Eguus, their crowns were still more sharply curved. 
Pliokippus, as typified by P. pernix of the Loup 
Fork beds of Nebraska, was the largest of the con- 
temporary horses, standing about 12 hands at 
the withers, and thus equalling a good-sized pony. 
The range of the genus included the Western 
United States, especially Nebraska and Oregon. 
Not improbably this or a closely allied form was 
the direct ancestor of Eguus. 

It has likewise been suggested that Pliok^pus 
gave rise to the remarkable Hipptd^^t {Hippidion^ 
and Onokippidtum of the Pleistocene deposits of 
South America : this is considered, problematical 
by Prof. Lull, although more favourably received 

» SeeR.S. Lull, "The Evolution of the Horse Family," v4»»Mr./. 
Sdente, ser. 4, vol. iii. p. 478, 1907. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 251 

by Prof. Osborn." That the ancestors of the two 
South American genera came from the north is 
practically certain ; and it is therefore probable 
that such ancestors were identical with or closely 
allied to eithfer Pliohifipm or Proiohippus. 

Hippidium as typified by H, neogaum and its 
near relative Onohippidiunt munisi were small, heavy- 
headed horses, differing in many important details 
from all other members of the family. In both 
-genera the cheek-teeth have shorter crowns and 
differ in several details of structure from those of 
modern horses. A cast of the skeleton (pi. xxiii.) 
in the British Museum stands 12J hands at the 
withers, while the skull measures 23^ in. ,in total 
length. In a European horse-skeleton standing 14^ 
hands the skull-length is about 2^\ in., or practi- 
cally the same as in the much smaller Hifpidium. 
Comparison of the skull of the latter with that 
of an ordinary horse shows a remarkable differ- 
ence in the structure of the nasal region. In 
the horse the nasal bones are separated from the 
maxillae, or upper jawbones, of each side by a slit 
of only some three or four inches in length. 
In Hippidium and the allied Onohippidium (pi. xxiv. 
fig. i), on the other hand, these slits are about 
loj in. long, while the nasal bones themselves are 
proportionately long and slender. This indicates 
that these extinct American genera had extremely 
■ Ofi. eil., p. 356. 



D,Q,t,7=^- In Google 



252 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

elongated noses, not improbably forming a kind 
of short trunk comparable to- that of the saiga 
antelope. 

In that animal, as well as in its relative the 
chiru of Tibet, the increased size of the nasal 
chamber has been brought about by a shortening, 
instead of an elongation, of the nasal bones, but it 
is probable that in these two antelopes and in the 
hippidium the purpose of the modification is the 
same. It has been supposed that in the case of 
the chiru the large size of the nasal chamber is an 
adaptation to the respiratory needs of an animal 
living at a very high elevation ; but in the case of 
the saiga such an explanation cannot hold good ; 
and the real explanation in all three cases may 
perhaps be found in a special adaptation to a desert 
life, the long nose serving as a filter to prevent 
particles of sand reaching the organ of smell. 

As regards the rest of its skeleton, Hippidium 
is remarkable for its short and stout limbs ; this 
being chiefly due to the excessive shortness of the 
cannon-bones, which are also unusually wide, and 
the great stoutness of the splint-bones. Each limb 
terminates in a single toe. These short limbs, 
coupled with the huge, unwieldy head, indicate that 
the hippidium had less speed than ordinary ponies. 
There are only five ribless trunk, or lumbar, verte- 
brae, as in the Arab horse. 

The skull of H^>pndmm shows no marked 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



:,Crt)Ol(lc 



.■i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 253 

depression in front of the eye-socket, but that of 
Onohi0>idmm has a long and deep oval pit in this 
position divided into two distinct portions. Remains 
of this group of extinct horses have been found in 
the superficial deposits of the pampas of Argentina, 
and also in caverns in Patagonia, Brazil, Bolivia, 
Peru, and Ecuador. The Peruvian species was de- 
scribed in 1908 by Mr. Nordcnskifild ' as Onohippi- 
dium peruanum, but in 1910 was made the type of a 
distinct genus, under the name of Hyperhippidium 
peruanum.} 

/ In all three genera the crowns of the cheek- 
teeth are shorter than in Equus ; and those of the 
upper jaw are characterised by the equality in the 
size of the grinding surfaces of the anterior and 
posterior pillars on the inner side. 

Hoofs of Onohippidium have been found in a 
remarkably fresh state of preservation in a cavern 
at Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) Inlet, Patagonia, 
in association with the skin and hair and other 
remains of an extinct giant ground-sloth (GrypO' 
thervuni). Since it is practically certain that the 
latter lived during the human period, it is most 
likely that the same was the case with Onohippidium. 
Now it has been suggested that certain wild horses 
seen in Argentina by John Cabot in the year 1530 

' Arkiv fiir Zoologi, Stockholm, vol. iv. No. 11, p. 17. 
' I. Sefoc, " Hyperhippidium, eine neue Siidamerilcanische Pferde- 
gaCEung," Stockholm, Vet. Ak.-Handl. vol. xlvi. pt. z, p. i. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



254 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

were really indigenous, and not the descendants of 
European horses escaped from captivity {the date 
appearing too early for European horses to have 
established themselves in the country). If this 
suggestion be well founded, it is quite certain that 
Cabot's horses were survivors of the Onokippidtum. 

Reverting to the North American members of 
the group, the next genus for notice is Protokippus, 
of the Loup Fork Miocene, which is closely related 
to the undermentioned contemporary Merychippus, 
but differs by the full development of cement in the 
cheek-teeth of the milk or deciduous series, as well 
as in those of the permanent set. Owing to the 
shallowness of the jaws, the crowns of these teeth are 
highly curved ; they are also relatively shorter than 
in Equus, and have much the same pattern on the 
grinding surface as those of Hippidtum. The splint- 
bones of the feet are complete, and terminate in 
small, although perfect toes, so that Proiohippus 
was a three-toed animal. The typical species of 
the genus stood only 9 hands at the shoulder. 

Certain equine remains from the Miocene of 
Russia have been referred to Proiohippus by Madam 
Pavlow,^ but, as the author herself admits, they are 
too imperfect for definite generic determination. 

The aforesaid North American Miocene genus 
Merychippus is the last of the genera in the direct 
line of Equtts which have the socket of the eye 

' BulUtin de SocUU des Naturalistes de Moscou, 1903, p. 173. 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 255 

surrounded by a complete ring of bone. It is of 
special interest on account of the circumstance that 
while its permanent cheek-teeth resemble those of 
all the preceding genera in having their hollows 
completely filled up with cement and the whole 
crown relatively tall, those of the deciduous or milk 
series are short-crowned, with their hollows open and 
devoid of cement The genus thus-forms a gi^da- 
tion in this respect from Protohippus to the lower 




Right UppcT Milk-Molars (a) and Premolars (£) of the Extinct American 
Mnychipptat \ natuial uie 

and more generalised members of the horse-line. 
The degree of complexity of the enamel-foldings 
in the crowns of the upper cheek-teeth varies in the 
dififerent species. The feet are three-toed, with in 
some instances a rudiment of a fourth, or outermost, 
toe in the front pair ; that is to say, of a toe corre- 
sponding with the human little finger. The two 
lateral toes vary in size in the different species, but 
in none did they touch the ground, so that the feet, 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



256 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

like those of Protohippus, are functionally one-toed. 
The genus, which ranges in space from Texas to 
Oregon and Montana, is typically represented by 
P. insixnis. 

In this place it will be convenient to notice 
certain horse-like animals which, although attaining 
very considerable specialisation, evidently form a 
side-branch, and are off the ancestral line of the 
modern representatives of the horse family. The 
group is typified by Hipparwn gracilis of the Lower 
Pliocene strata of Germany, Greece, Spain, and 
other parts of Europe ; but is represented in the 
corresponding formation of India by H. theobaldit 
and by other species in Persia and China ; all of 
these being animals of the approximate size of a 
Galloway, but with a shorter head and a deep 
depression in the skull in front of the socket of the 
eye, probably for the reception of a lachrymal 
gland. The lateral toes are rather larger than in 
Protohippus, but as they scarcely reach below the 
lower end of the first phalangeal of the main digit, 
they could have been of little or no functional 
importance. The most characteristic feature of 
Hipparion is, however, as shown in B of the illus- 
tration on page 33, that the anterior inner pillar 
(or protocone, as it is often called) is completely 
surrounded by a ring of enamel, and is thus entirely 
cut off from the rest of the crown. In some 
specimens there are, however, little projections 



D,g,t,7P- by Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 



257 



from the adjacent column of the main body of the 
crown, which are evidently remnants of the neck 
of enamel connecting the latter with the anterior 




Front View of the Bones of the Right Foce (a) and Hind («) Feet of the 
Extinct American HifparUnt, \ natuial liie 

pillar in the more typical members of the family. 
The grinding surface of the anterior pillar forms 
a regular ellipse. Anoth«;-feature of the hipparion 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



258 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

molar is the great complexity of the foldings of 
the enamel in the central islands of the crown. 

The North American hipparions, which occur 
in the Miocene, have been separated generically 
from their Old World relatives by Mr. J. W. Gidley' 
as NeokipparioH. From the typical hipparions 
the American species are distinguished by the 
larger size and more elliptical form of the grinding 
surface of the anterior pillar of the upper cheek- 
teeth ; the simpler folding of the enamel of their 
central islands; and the concave external walls of 



Crown Snrbce of Left Upper MoUr of the Extinct American Biffarien, 
I utural size, fr, anterior pillar, or (wotocone 

their outer columns. The limbs, more especially 
the cannon-bones, are also of a longer and more 
slender type, and the lateral toes appear to be 
relatively small. Finally, they antedate the Old 
World species in time, and may thus be near akin to 
the ancestral form of the latter, if indeed they be not 
the actual ancestors. At most, however, they are 
only worthy of subgeneric distinction. 

In regard to the anterior pillar, or protocone, 
of the American genus, Prof. Lull' remarks that 

' Bull. Amtr. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xi». p. 465, 1903. 
*0f.dt.,^.\1<i. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 259 

whereas " in Merychippus insignis the protocone, 
while attached [by a neck of enamel to the adjacent 
crescent], tends to become free, yet in Neohi^arion 
isonemm the reverse is true in that the protocone, 
although free, shows a strong reluctance to leave 
its old association with the anterior crest [crescent]. 
In other species of Neoki/parion this is not apparent, 
the protocone being oval in section, and entirely 
free in all stages of wear." 

In appearance the American hipparions were 
deer-like, and therefore probably adapted to a high 
rate of speed. They stood about 10 hands at the 
shoulder, and were therefore smaller tharv-their 
relatives of the Old World. 

The skull of an hipparion from' the Upper 
Tertiary strata of Samos has been described by 
Dr. H. Studer^ as a distinct species, under the 
name of If. firoboscideus ; the conformation of the 
extremity of the upper jawbone leading him to 
conclude that it was provided with a short proboscis 
in life. As stated in the first chapter, he also 
believes that in this and other cases where it occurs 
the preorbital pit is for the attachment of muscles 
required for the support and working of the pro- 
boscis. From the fact that a preorbital pit occurs 
in Merych^pus, as well as in Onokippidium and 
other genera, Dr. Studer is inclined to think that a 

* Zeiti. Dmtsch. Zool. Cts., 1910-11, p. 11. 



i>» Google 



26o THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

proboscis may have been developed in most or all 
of the forerunners of the horse-group. 

Against this view it may be urged ^^tHippidium, 
which probably had a proboscis like Onohippidium 
— as the skull-structure in the two genera is almost 
identical — lacks a prewbital pit As the various 
opinions in regard to the function of that pit have 
been fully discussed in the first chapter, no further 
reference to the subject is necessary in this place. 

It remains, however, to add that a small species 
of hipparion of slender build from the Pliocene 
strata of the Siwalik Hills of Northern India, 
described in the first hdf of the nineteenth century 
by Messrs. Cautley and Falconer as Hippotkermm 
antUopinum {Hippotherium being an alternative 
name for H^arion) is now believed to have lost 
the lateral toes, and has accordingly been referred 
to a genus by itself, under the name oX Hippodaciylus. 
In addition to the typical Hippodactylus antilapinus, 
there is a second Siwalik species, which has been 
named H. chiskolmi^ 

It may be added that in Hipparion, as well 
as in Meryckipfms, the terminal bone of the main 
toe has a cleft in the middle of its lower front 
border ; this cleft occurring in many of the earlier 
forerunners of the horse. 

All the foregoing genera may undoubtedly be 
included in the same family — Eguida — as the 

' G. Pilgrim, Rec. Geol. Surv. India, vol- xl. p. 67, 1910- 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



PLATE XXIV 
Fig. I 



Fig. I. Skull ai Onohipptdium ; ff, preotbital depression. 

Fig. 3. Crown surfacts of right upper molar teeth al Equtis lolc 
(A and D), Hippidium (C), and HippaHon (E). A and '" 
B are almost unwoin. a, anterior ; b, posterior pillar. 



i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 261 

modern horse ; but when we come to the more 
primitive types, of which the American Hypokippus 
is the first for notice, such remarkable differences 
from the existing forms are found that the question 




Front View of Ihe Bones of the Right Fore (a) and Hind (i) Feet of the 
Extinct Ameiican Hypokippus tquinus, \ natural size 

of the limitations of the family forces itself to 
the front. And here it may be noted that it is 
the very completeness of our knowledge of the 



i>» Google 



a62 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

horse-line that constitutes the main difficulty ; for 
if the gaps were wider than they are, the division 
into family groups would be easier. Professor 
Osborn,^ like several other American naturalists, 
cuts the knot by including all the forerunners of 
the modern horse in the same family as the latter. 
According to this arrangement, the Eguidee is 
divided into the following four subfamily groups : — 

I. Equina, including the single-toed Eqwis, Hippidium, 
and Onohippidium. ^ 

3. pROTOHippiN^ represented by the mostly three-toed 
PSoA^us, Protohippus, MerycMppus, Hipparion, and 
Hippodattylus. "^ 

3. ANCHiTHERiiNAi with the fully three-toed Hypoktppus, 

AacAJiXirium, Mesohippus, Anehilophus, &c. 

4. Hyracotheriina, including the four-toed Lophiotherium, 

Orohipipus, Hyrdcotherium, &c. 

All these very different types are included by 
the American naturalists under the general name of 
" horses," which is, of course, distinctly straining 
the use of that term to an unjustifiable extent. 
Moreover, the attempt to include all the members 
of one line of ancestry — or phylum, as it is called 
by American naturalists — must break down some- 
where, or otherwise we should have to include in 
the Equida those members of the mammal-like 
reptiles from which that group is ultimately 
derived. 

Admitting, then, that arbitrary breaks must be 

' Tlu Age of Mammals, pp. 555, 556- 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 263 

made at certain points of the chain, it seems 
advisable to raise Professor Osbom's Ancki- 
theriinee and Hyracotheriirus to the rank of families, 
so that the horse-line will be represented by the 
three families Equida, Anchiikeriida^ and Hyraco- 
tkeriid<E. 

Of these the AnchitkeriidcB will be character- 
ised by the retention of functional lateral toes, by 
the shortness of the crowns of the cheek-teeth and 
their open valleys, unencumbered by cement, and 
by incompleteness of the bony ring round the eye- 
socket. The members of this family are of special 
interest as indicating the passage from small marsh- 
dwelling animals to types fitted for browsing in 
forests ; these last passing in their turn into the 
grazing and plain-dwelling Equidte. Writing from 
this point of view of the Miocene epoch in North 
America, Professor Lull ' remarks that — 

" This was a time of continental elevation and 
great expansion of our western prairies and a con- 
sequent diminution of the forest-clad areas. Many 
mammals otherwise fitted for survival, such as the 
titanotheres whose remains are very numerous in 
the Oligocene beds, were unable to meet the new 
conditions because of their very perfect adaptation 
to softer herbage, and thus became extinct. This 
was also true of certain horses, such as Kypokippus, 
but the great majority were more plastic and in 
' op. cit.,^. 177 ■ 



by Google 



264 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

consequence underwent a remarkable development, 
during this period reaching the culmination in 
num)>ers and kinds." * 
^^^The aforesaid KypokippuSj typified by K, 
osbomt of the North American Miocene, is the 
culminating development of the anchitherine group, 
and is believed to have died out without giving 
rise to descendants. Neither can its precise fore- 
runner be determined, for its fore-foot, in which 
the lateral toes were evidently functional and 
touched the ground, retains minute rudiments of 
the toes corresponding to the human thumb and 
little finger (first and fifth of the full typical series 
of five), which are lacking in the earlier Oligocene 
genera. From the structure of the feet, which 
indicate an animal suited to soft ground rather than 
hard, grassy plains, and its broad, low-crowned 
cheek-teeth fitted only for browsing on succulent 
herbage, Hypokippus has been called the browsing 
or forest horse. This animal was of relatively 
large size for its time, standing 10 hands at the 
withers. 

Its remains occur in the Loup Fork beds of 
Southern Dakota and Montana ; but Professor 
Osbom' is of opinion that certain remains from 
the Tertifiry strata di. Central China indicate animals 
closely allied to, if not identical with Hypokippus. 
This is very important in connection with the view 
' Op. di.y'pp. 297.332- 



.■i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 265 

that Eastern Asia was the original home of the 
horse-group ; and it derives additional importance 
from Professor Osborn's further suggestion that 
Pltohtppus may likewise be represented in the 
Chinese Tertiary fauna. 

The American genus Parahipptts, which ac- 
cording to Professor Osborn ranges in time from 
the Lower PUocene to the Upper Oligocene, 
although Dr. Lull records it only from the Miocene 
Loup Fork beds, has short-crowned cheek-teeth 
resembling these of Hypokippus in general char- 
acters, but differing in several structural details. 
Among these differences may be noticed the strong 
ribbing of the external wall of the outer columns 
of the upper milk-molars. For other details the 
reader may refer to an article by Mr. J. W. 
Gidley.^ Anckippodus and Desmaikippus appear 
to be synonyms of this genus. A peculiarity of 
the short-crowned upper molars of Parakippus 
which cannot be passed over without mention is 
the presence in their open valleys of an exceed- 
ingly thin layer of cement; this being the first 
appearance of a substance which, as shown above, 
takes a large and important share in the structure 
of the molars of the modern horse. This layer 
is absent in Archaokippus, of the Miocene of 
Oregon, a small animal with cheek-teeth resem- 
bling those of the undermentioned Mesohippus, but 

' Bull. Amer, i^us, Nat. Hist., vgl. xx. p. 192, 1904. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



266 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

distinguished by the presence of a large preorbital 
pit in the skull. 

Akin to HypohtppHS, which was at one time 
regarded as inseparable from the Old World genus, 
is the European AnckUherium^ typically repre- 
sented by A. aurelianense from the Middle Miocene 
freshwater beds of Sansan, in Gers, Frahcfe, and 
other equivalent continental formations, which was 
known to science long before the discovery of 
the allied American forms. Anchitherium- was 
an animal of the approximate size of a sheep, 
and, in addition to its broad, short-crowned cheek- 
teeth, is specially characterised by the rudiment 
of the pit, or " mark," in the centre of the 
summits of the crowns of the incisor teeth, which, 
as we have seen, attains such a large development 
in the modern horse and its relatives. In Anchi- 
therium the pits were, however, developed only 
in the permanent incisors. The lateral toes in 
each foot are considerably smaller than the central 
one, but probably touched the ground in walking. 
Another feature is that the ulna in the fore-Umb 
and the fibula in the hind one form complete 
although slender bones, which are, however, seve- 
rally united with the radius and ttbta. t In the 
horse they are represented only by their upper 
extremities. In many respects Anchitherium and 
its relatives approximate to the well-known Paleso- 
therium, of the European OHgogene, and the two 



by Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 267 

groups have been included in the same family 
PaleBotkeriidcB. Since, however, the palseotheres 
seem to form a non-progressive line of their own 
while the anchitheres are evidently ancestral to 
the horses, it seems preferable to keep them apart ; 
in fact, to take a middle course between those 
who class Anchithermm in the Palaotkeriid^ and 
those who include it in the Equida. The range 
of the genus extends from France to Bavaria and 
Austria. 

In the John Day beds which connect the 



Left Upper Molar Tooth of AacMlherium 
pa, paracone ; me, metacone ; pi, piotoconule ; f>p, paraconule j f, anterior 
pillar, ot protocone ; hy, posterior pillar, or hypocone 

Miocene with the OUgocene of North America, 
Anchitherium is represented by the nearly re- 
lated Miokippus. This genus comes very close 
to the undermentioned Mesokippus of the White 
River Oligocene, but is represented by species of 
larger size (and therefore nearer AnckUherium), 
the typical one standing about 6 hands (24 inches) 
at the shoulder. The main differences, other than 
size, between the two genera are to be found in the 



i>» Google 



268 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

circumstances that the splint representing the fifth 
toe on the outer side of the fore-foot is smaller 
in Miohippus (pi. i. fig. 2) than in Mesohippus, 
and also that the cheek-teeth are somewhat mc»*e 
complex. The figure on p. 267 of an upper molar 
of Anchitkerium illustrates the elements which 
go to form the constituents of the horse's molar. 

As will be inferred from the preceding para- 
graph, Mesohippiis differs from Anchitkerium by 
the presence of a rudiment of the outermost or fifth 
digit of the fore-foot, while it is further distin- 
guished by the absence, or at all events very 
slight trace, of the pits in the crowns of the 
incisors. Yet another feature is the presence on 
the heel-bone, or calcaneum, of a small facet for 
the articulation of the fibula, which is thus proved 
to be complete. It should be added that in 
Anckttherium, Miokippus, and Mesokippus the 
" wolf-tooth," that is, the first premolar, of the 
horse is fully developed in both jaws, although 
considerably smaller than the second premolar. 
As canines were developed in both jaws, the full 
typical series of 44 teeth was present, viz. : i. %, 
c. -J-, /. ^, m. %. The typical Mesokippus bairdi, 
from the Oligocene of Dakota, was a slenderly 
built animal, apparently well adapted for speed, 
but standing only about 4^ hands (18 inches) at 
the withers. M, intermedins was a larger but 
apparently unprogressive type. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 269 

The last genus referable to the Anchitheriida 
appears to be Anchil<^kus, of the Upper Eocene 
of Europe, which seems to connect in some 
degree the preceding genera with the undermen- 
tioned Pachynolopkus, so far at least as the cheek- 
teeth are concerned ; the limbs being imperfectly 
known. All the species were small. 

When Sir Richard Owen,* in the year 1839, 
described the imperfect skull of a small ungulate 
mammal, of the approximate size of a fox, from the 
Lower Eocene London Clay of the cliffs at Studd 
Hill, near Herne Bay, Kent, under the name of 
Hyracotkerium l^orinum, he had no conception 
of the epoch-making importance of the discovery. 
Indeed, the serial position of the genus, which 
is now known to be the most primitive member 
of the horse line, could not be even approximately 
determined, its describer believing it to be most 
nearly related to a small Eocene pig-like animal 
known as Cha^opotamus. Subsequently, when 
its affinities became better known, the genus was 
placed in the extinct family LophiodontieLs, typified by 
the genus Lopkiodon of the Middle Eocene of Europe. 
The lophiodons are, however, now known to be 
related to the tapirs, which form a line quite dis- 
tinct from the horse-group. By Professor Osborn 
the hyracotheres are included in the same family 

' Tram. Geol. Soc. London, scr. 7, vol. vi. p. 203 j see also 
British Fossil if ammals and Birds, LoT^Aon, 1846, p. 419. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



270 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

as the Eguidcs, bu£, as already mentioned, this is 
not a satisfactory arrangement ; and the genus is 
accordingly regarded here as the type of a distinct 
family — the Kyracotkeriida. 
" The members of this family are small and primi- 
tive perissodactyle ungulates characterised by the 
presence of four front and three hind toes, low- 
crowned cheek-teeth, of which the upper molars 
are usually much more complicated than the pre- 
molars, and carry two oblique transverse crests, 
each partially divided into two cusps, and connected 
together by a longitudinal outer wall, a complete 
ulna and fibula in the limbs, and the socket of 
the eye entirely open behind. In place of the 
cannon-bone of the horse, the basal portion of the 
hind-foot is formed by three metatarsal bones, of 
which the lateral pair are not smaller or shorter 
than the middle one ; a similar structure ob- 
taining in the case of the three main digits of 
the fore-foot, where the basal bones are known 
as metacarpals. In both limbs the lateral toes 
touched the ground, the whole foot being thus 
adapted for walking on the borders of swamps or 
marshes or the muddy or sandy shores of lakes. 

From the simple upper molar of Hyracotkerium, 
with practically six columns on the crown, which 
coalesce into a pair of cross-crests and an outer 
wall, is derived by imperceptible gradations the tall 
and complex molar of the horse ; the evolution 



D,£,,t,7=^-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 271 

of the individual teeth being accompanied by a 
progressive increase of the premolars, till these, 
with the exception of the first of the series (which 
undei^oes degeneration), in place of being small 
and simple, become as large and complex as the 
molars. 

It is noteworthy that in Europe the Hyraco- 
theriidiB appear to have died out at the close of 
the Eocene epoch without leaving descendants ; 
if, however, the palseontology of Eastern Central 
Asia were known, we might find a transition to 
the Equidm as complete as in North America. 

The latest and most specialised member of 
the Hyracotkeriida appears to be the imperfectly 
known Epihippus of the Upper or Uinta Eocene 
of Utah, where it is represented by the two species 
E._ gracilis and E. mutensis. From the other 
American genera of the family Epihippus is dis- 
tinguished by all the upper premolars, with the 
exception of the first, being as complex as the 
molars ; the cross-crests being nearly complete. 
The lateral toes of both fore and hind feet are 
relatively smaller than in the undermentioned earlier 
genera, and would thus seem to have taken a 
smaller share in supporting the weight of the body. 
It is somewhat remarkable that in the matter of 
size the two species mentioned above are a little 
inferior to the representatives of the earlier genera. 
L(^hiotkerium, of the Upper Eocene of Europe, 



i>» Google 



272 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

seems to be closely allied to Epihippus, having 
upper premolars of the same complex type. 

The Middle, or Bridger, Eocene of North 
America has yielded remains of animals referred to 
two distinct genera, namely Orohippus and Helio- 
hippus, of which the latter is known only by the 
teeth. Whether these are truly distinct, or whether 
they are really separable from the contemporary 
European Pachynolophus, which wjis named at a 
much earlier date, may, however, be a matter of 
opinion. In justification of this assertion it may 
be well to mention that the limitations of genera 
and larger groups of animals are purely arbitrary, 
and therefore dependent in great measure on in- 
dividual opinion.' 

Orohippus includes several species, such as 
O. agilis and O. major. In structure these show a 
slight advance. on the undermentioned Protorokip>pus, 
and are likewise slightly superior in size. The 
foot-structure is much the same in the two, but 
the cheek-teeth are rather more complex, the third 
and fourth upper premolars being molar-like, and 
the second approximating to the same type. The 
gap between the front and the cheek-teeth is also 
somewhat longer. 

The last group of the family is represented by 

' See an article by Mr. L. Clark, " On the Purpose and some 
Principles of Systematic Zoology," in the Pillar Sdenee Monthly, 
September 1911. 

i 

D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 273 

certain Lower Eocene species which have been 
referred to the three genera Protorohippus, Eohippus, 
and Hyracotherium, of which the last (also known 
as Piioiophtts) is European, while the other two 
are American. Whether they may not all be 
included in Hyracotherium is a matter of individual 
opinion. The species described as Protorohippus 
ventricolus, from the Wind River Eocene, was 
somewhat larger than Eok^us pemix, standing 
about 3^ hands (14 inches) at the shoulder, and 
having rather longer limbs, in the front pair of which 
the vestige of the thumb, or first toe, seems to have 
disappeared, while the shortening of the fifth, or 
outermost, toe is another step in the direction of a 
three-toed foot. In the upper cheek-teeth there is 
fuller development of the cross-crests, and while 
the fourth premolar is molar-like, the third is 
partially so. Hitherto remains of the genus have 
been found only in Colorado and Wyoming. 

Eohippus, as represented by JS. pemix, of the 
Wasatch Eocene of North America, has been so 
well described by Dr. Lull,^ that hi| words may be 
quoted in exienso. After observing that the upper 
cheek-teeth are very similar to thfse of the allied 
European genus, he goes on t^ say that they 
display a sign of advance " in that the cross-crests 
are somewhat more distinct than in Hyracother- 
ium, and, unlike the latter, the fourth premolar is 
' Op.cit.,^. 171. 



D,Q,t,7=^-i>, Google 



274 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

beginning to assume the form of a true molar. The 
hand [fore-foot] bore four digits, with a vestige of 
the first (thumb) in the form of a splint-bone 
probably entirely concealed within the skin.'^The 
more progressive hind-foot had but three toes, with 
a remnant of the fifth. 



Front View of the Bones of the LeA Fore (a) and Hind (i) Feet of the 
Ameiican Echifpm fcmix, \ natural die 

" Eohippus was a small animal about eleven 
inches in height at the shoulder, and in general 
suggestive of the carnivores rather than of the 
ungulates of to-day. The back was arched, the 
head and neck were short, and the limbs of 
moderate length, showing no especial adapta- 
tion for speed. This genus has a remarkable 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 275 

geographical range, having apparently originated in 
Western Europe (England) and migrated by way 
of Asia and what is now Bering Strait as far south- 
east as New Mexico. This migration of Eohippus 
shifted the scene of the evolutionary drama to our 
own country [America], for, while the remains of 
succeeding genera are increasingly numerous in 
North American rocks from the Wasatch on, it is 
only from time to time that European representa- 
tives appear, in each case evidently derived from 
migratory North American types." 

Lastly we have the European Hyracoiherium, 
which, as mentioned above, apparently differs from 
the allied American genus solely by the somewhat 
simpler character of the upper cheek-teeth, in which 
the cross-crests still retain their two constituent 
tubercles. Remains of the typical H. Uporinum 
have been obtained from the London Clay near 
Heme Bay, Sheppey, and Harwich {Plioic^hus), 
and also from the Red Crag of Suffolk, which, as 
in this case, often contains fossils washed out of the 
London Clay. The remains include several more 
or less imperfect skulls and lower jaws and one 
example of the femur. 

Here our knowledge of the evolutionary history 
of the horse comes abruptly to an end. It is true, 
indeed, that the late Professor E. D. Cope hailed 
a still earlier animal, Phenacodus prinuevus, of the 
basement, or Puerco, Eocene of America, as the 



i>» Google 



276 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

ultimate ancestor of the horse. But, as pointed 
out by Dr. Lull,^ this animal is far too large, and 
in some respects too specialised, to have occupied 
such a position. Nevertheless, its five-toed feet 




Front View of the Bones of the Right For« (d) and Hind (6) Feet of the 
American Eocene PhtmuBdus priinavus, \ naturai sie 

afford a fair idea of what those of the ultimate 
ancestor may be expected to have been like. 

Pkenacodtts belongs to a group of early and 
generalised ungulates forming a suborder — the 
' op. cit,, p. 163. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 277 

Condylarthra — of lower grade than either Perisso- 
dactyla or Artiodactyla. All the members of this 
group had five-toed fore and hind feet, and like- 
wise rested a considerable portion of the sole 
upon the ground in the original plantigrade 
fashion — a feature in which they differ markedly 
from the horse and its relatives, which walk only 
on the very tips of their toes in the extreme of 
the modern digitigrade style. The two series of 
small bones of the wrist (carpus) and ankle (tarsus) 
joints are also arranged in distinct vertical rows, 
without that interlocking which characterises these 
portions of the skeleton in the Perissodactyla. . 
\ In concluding this chapter brief reference may 
be made to a few of the more striking features 
which characterise the long chain of progressive 
evolution from the Eocene Hyracotkerium. to the 
/ modem Equus. Two factors have evidently been 
/ predominant in guiding this evolution, namely, the 
\ necessity of collecting and assimilating food and 
of attaining a high degree of speed, "To the 
one," as Dr. Lull remarks, "the horse owes the 
marvellous perfection of the grazing mechanism, 
as seen in the lengthened jaws and in the teeth; 
to the other, the fleet limbs and graceful contour 
of the body and the increase in stature. These 
adaptations are entirely mechanical, and, while . 
tending toward greater and greater perfection 
on the whole, are not always of a progressive 

n,r,„.=-i>, Google 



278 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

character ; as the loss of side-toes is distinctly retro- 
gressive." 

The adaptation for speed is most noticeable 
in the progressive lengthening of the limbs, and 
the gradual discarding of the lateral toes. The 
limb-elongation is most marked in ■ the lower 
segments, more especially the foot ; the thigh- 
bone, or femur, and the humerus, or upper bone 
of the fore-leg, displaying much less proportionate 
lengthening. This causes the powerful muscles 
necessary to work the limbs to be situated close 
to, or even within, the body ; while they act upon 
the extremities by means of the long, slender 
tendons, which are as tough and elastic as steel, 
and whose development in the modern racehorse 
is expressed in horse-dealing langu^e as "plenty 
of bone." Concurrently with these changes in 
the bones of the limbs, the sole of the foot is 
gradually raised from the ground, till eventually 
Wie whole weight of the body rests on the tips 
of the toes, whose terminal armament becomes 
modified from a narrow claw or nail into a broad 
hoof. Apparently, in herbivorous animals adapted 
for running on hard ground, this elevation of the 
sole of the foot is always accompanied by a re- 
duction in the number of the toes, for we find 
the same thing occurring in antelopes, deer, and 
giraffes, although in a somewhat different fashion 
and to a rather less marked degree. 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 279 

All these changes culminate in producing not 
only a strong and yet graceful type of limb, moving 
rapidly in the same fashion as a short pendulum, 
and thus combining rapid movement with a long 
stride, but they also cause the centre of gravity of 
the body to be raised high above the ground, which 
is likewise a mechanical advantage in galloping. 

"The pendulum-like motion of the limbs," 
writes Dr. Lull, " being all in one plane, the joints 
become pulley-like through the formation of inter- 
locking tongues and grooves, which effectually 
limit any lateral motion. There is also a reduction 
of the ulna in the fore-arm and of the fibula in the 
lower leg, as these bones, especially the former, are 
associated with more varied movement. 

" In this evolution the hind-foot is the more pro- 
gressive, as the fore-limb retains its general utility 
for a longer time. Finally, however, after vast 
ages, the fore-foot overtakes the hind, and thence- 
forth the degree of evolution in eacli is the same. 
Still, it is curious to note that, among living horses, 
in instances of reversion'to ancestral conditions the 
fore-foot is more apt to exhibit well-developed 
atavistic toes, showing that in it the reminiscent 
tendencies are stronger." 

As regards the evolution of the teeth. Dr. Lull 
has summarised the case so graphically that his 
own wcffds may once more be quoted in full : — 

"In the evolution of the teeth," he writes, "we 



n,r,„.=-i>, Google 



28o THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 

again find both progression and retrogression, 
as in the modem horse the canine and the first 
premolar are alike reduced to vestiges and are 
often entirely absent. The early horses had grinding 
teeth of a very generalised pattern ; indeed, it is 
often a matter of great difficulty to distinguish the 
teeth of these horses from those of the ancestors of 
what are now widely removed orders of mammals. 
On their crowns these teeth bore little cusps or 
prominences, which in the quadrangular molars just 
begin to grow together into the crests that later 
form the greater portion of the grinding surface. 
The premolars are at first simple in character, but 
as time goes on they become successively molar- 
like, beginning with the hindermost. This is not 
true of the anterior one, which, as we have seen, is 
finally reduced to an often disappearing remnant. 

'* During the forest-dwelling period in the 
history of the horses, and while they lived upon 
succulent meadow-grasses, the teeth, though in- 
creasing in size with the entire organism, remain 
short-crowned. Upon the expansion of the 
prairies, however, and the adoption of the harsh 
grasses as a main staple of food, the tooth of the 
horse changes in character, becoming elongate, 
prismatic in shape, and the depression lying 
between the crests filling with a substance known 
as sement^ which strengthens the entire tooth. 
The result is a long columnar structure made up of 



i^t^-^ 



THE FORERUNNERS OF THE HORSE 281 

three soxts of material of different degrees of hard- . 
ness — enamel, dentine, and cement, which through 
differential wear always present a roughened grind- I 
ing surface. 

" During the early life of the horse the tooth is 
continuously growing, and, in spite of the fact that 
it must constantly move outward to compensate for 
wear, the root penetrates deeper and deeper within 
the jaw until fully formed. The outward move- > 
ment still continuing, the tooth now gradually 
shortens until in extreme old age it is practically 
consumed. The total length of the tooth is nicely'' 
calculated to meet the needs of a full measure of 
life." 

That all these marvellous changes and adapta- 
tions are not due to any mere "blind struggle for 
existence " or " survival of the fittest," but that 
they were directly designed and controlled by an 
Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator, is the settled ^ 
and final opinion of the author of this volume. 



t 



i>» Google' 



i>» Google 



INDEX 



Abnormalities in horse, 59 

African wild ass, zzo 

Age-detcimiuatiou by teeth, 31 

Albinism, 54 

Anau horse, 95 

Anckili^kus, 369 

Anckippodui, 365 

Attchitkeriida, 263 

Amkitherium, z66 

Arab horse, 1 50 

Archaohi^us, 265 

Artiodactyla, 3 

Asinui eguuuus, 8; 

Asinus jossilis, 100 

Ass, 215 ; wild, 118 ; Nubian, 
220 ; Somali, 230 ; Socotran, 
321 ; Indian, 223 ; Poitou, 233 

Balearic horse, 137 
Barb, 164 

Bartletfs Childers, 167 
Batak pony, 1 1 1 
Belgian horse, 140 
Bible horses, 145 
Birthplace ai Eqtdd/E, 68 
Bontequagga, 195; white, 202 
British horses, 117 
Burchell's lebra, 196 
Burmese pony, iii 
Byeriey Turk, 167 

Callosities, 44 

Cannon-bone, 14 

Carpal callosities of wart-hogs, 49 

Carpal pores of pigs, 49 

Carpus, 17 

Celtic pony, 100, 122 

Cheek-teeth of horse, 33 

Chestnuts, 44 

Chigetai, 180 



Cleveland Bay, 12S 
Clydesdale horse, 131 
Coat-colour, inheritance of, S7 
Coat-colour and speed, 59 
Coffin-bone, 16 
Coloration of horse, 54 
Colouring ai Equida, 52 
Colouring, protective, in zebra 

group, 205 
Connemara ponies, 120 



Dahara zebra, 214 
Daow, 213 

Dappling in horses, 53 
Darley Arabian, 167 
Dartmoor ponies, 119 
Dauw, 2t3 
Desert type, 95 
Desmatki^pus, 265 
Distribution of horse tribe, 66 
Dongola horse, 162, 165 
Donkey, 215 
Drcnthe horses, 129, 142 
Dun horse, 105 
Dvele-hest, 123 
Dziggetiu, 180 

Eclipse, 167 

Eel-dun horse, lOJ 

Eohippus, 273 

^ihi^ui, 271 

Equa indomiia, iiS 

Equa silvestrei, 118 

Equiiia, 12 ; distribution of, 66; 
birthplace of; 68 

Equus, 4, 244 

Equus adamitieus, 93 ; afiieanus, 
163, 220 ; agilis, 100; awueiaiu, 
199 ; antiguerum, 197 ; cuiaticus, 



■i„Googli; 



284 IN] 

162 ; asintis, 215 ; berbertnHt, 
192 ! boektm, 198 ; burckfUi, 196; 
cabalbii, 103 ; caslOMtus, 182 ; 
celticus, 100, 121 ; ckapmam, 
198 ; crawshayi, 199 ; foai, log j 
foisilis, 92, 95 J fratemus, 246 ; 
germanieus, 9S, 97 ; giganttui, 
346 ; goldfincki, 202 ; gracilis, 
100; graitti, 199; grevyi, 190; 
jpr^', 195 ; hagmbedti, 91 ; Aar^ 
manna, 219; hetitioHui, 1 80 ; 
kemippus, 184; indtcus, 182 ; 
jalla, 199 ; kiang, 178 ; lalifrons, 
97 1 libycus, 100, 162 i maculalus, 
190 1 namadicus, 1 16 ; nekringi, 
95, 9'S, 124 ; onager, 181 \penricei, 
aii ; plicidtm, 93 ; przevahkii, 
Znl 9S, 107 ; pumpellii, 95, 97 ; 
gitagga, 192 ; robusttis, 95, loi ; 
selouii, 198 ; livaUnsis, 247 ; 
somaliensis, 220 ; spelaus, 94, 97 ; 
itenonis, 246 ; tamopus, 220 ; 
wahlbergi, 197; zebra, 211 

Ergot, 41 

Erythrism, .54 

Even-toed ungulates, 3— 

Exmoor ponies, 119 

Feet of horse, 13— 
Feet of ungulates, ^ 
Feral horses, 170 
Fetlock, 16 
Fiord-hest, 122 
Flying Childers, 167 
Foa's zebra, 210 
Forehead-star of horse, 55 
Forerunners of horse, 239 
Forest type, 9S, 96, 101 
Frog, 41 

Gallop of horse, 63 
Galloway, 127 
Garron, 137 
Ghor-khar, 180, 182 
Godolphin Barb, 167 
Great horse, 131 
Gravy's zebra, 190 

Hanoverian horse, 142 
Hartmann's zebra, 214 
HtSoMippm, 272 



Hindu myths of horse, 69 

Kinney, 321 

Hipparion, 256 

Hippidium, 251 

Hippadactylus, 260 

Hippoti^i, 185 

Hippottgris hartmanna, 214 

Hock, 17 

Hoo^ 41 

Horns in horses, 60 

Horse, origin of name, I ; family, 
13 ; structmc_flLia2L '3 ! speci- 
alisation, 18 i skull, 191 preor- 
bital depression, 22 ; teeth, 37 ; 
succession of teeth, 31; 'age- 
determination by teeth, 31 ; 
cheek-teeth, 33; succession of 
teeth, 34 ; masticating power, 
38; longevity 0^39; hoof of, 41 ; 
frog of, 41 ; e^ot of, 41 ; chest- 
nuts or callosities of, 44 ; tribe, 
colouring of, 52 ; dappling of, 
33 ; coloration of, 54 ; forehead- 
star, 55 ; inheritance of coat- 
colour, 57 ; abnormalities in, 59 ; 
horns in, 60 ; gallop, 63 j Hindu 
myths of, 69; wild, 71 ; Stone 
Age, 77. 92 ; Prehistoric, 77, 92 ; 
Pnewalski's, 87 ; Anau, 95 ; 
desert type, 95 ; Solutr^, 97 ; 
Madeline, 97, 99 ; forest type, 
95. 96, loi ; steppe type, 95, 97, 
99 ; plateau-type, 100 ; dun, 105 ; 
Norwegian, loj, 122; Kathiawar, 
113; Turkoman, 113; Tibetan, 
114; Narbada, 116; British, 117; 
pack, 119; Cleveland, 128; Suf- 
folk, 129; Clydesdale, 131; Great, 
131; shire, 131 i Schlettsladt, 136; 
Balearic, 137 ; Percheron, 138 ; 
Belgian, 140; Hanoverian, 142; 
Hungarian, 143; Kalmuk, 144; 
in the Bible, 14; ; Turkish, 145 ; 
Turkoman, 148; Spanish, 149, 
i6j 1 Kurdish, 147 ; Persian, 147 ; 
Arab, 150^ Barb, 164; Dongola, 
162, 16s ; thoroughbred, l66 j 
fecal, 170 

Hybrids, 225 

Hyperhi^dium, 3S3 

H^hippus, 264 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



285 



HyracotktHida, 369 
Hyraeotherium, 170 


Pack-horse, 119 


Parahippus, 265 




Pastern, 16 


Indian ass, 323 


Penrice's zebra, 214 


Indian ghor-khar, 183 


Percheron horse, 138 




Perissodactyla, 3 




Persian ghor-khar, 183 


Java pony, 113 
Jennet, 165 


Persian horses, 147 


Persimnton, 167 






Kalhuk horse, 144 


Pkmacodus, 275 


Kathiawar horse, 113 


Pigs, carpal pores, 49 
Pillars of teeth, 36 


Kiangr, 178 


Knee, 17 


Plateau type, 100 


Kobdo onager, 183 


Pliohippus, 250 


Kulan, 180 


PlMopkus, 275 


Kurdish borse, 147 


Poitou ass, 333 




Pony, Celtic, 100, 133 ; Mongolian 


Lachrymal gland, 23 


108 ; Yarkand, 1 10 ; Batak, 1 1 1 


Lannier, 23 


Burmese, ill; Manipuri, 111 


Longevity of horse, 39 


lavan, 112; New Forest, 118 
Exmoor, 119; Dartmoor/ 119 




Macrauchema, 33 


Connemara, 12a; Welsh, 120 


Midelaine horse, 97, 99 


Shetland, 124; Orkney, 136 


Mallenders, 44 


Prehistoric horse, 77, 92 


Manipuri pony, iii 


Premolars, 33 


"Mark" in teeth, 29 


Preorbital depression, 32 
Protective colouring, 305 


Markham Arabian, 166 


Mastication, 38 




Melanism, 54 


Protorohippus, 373 
Praewalski's horse, 87, 107 


Metychippus, 354 


Mesohippus, 268 




Milk-teeth, 30 


QUACGA, 184, 194 


Miohtppus, 267 




Molars, 33 


Rhinoceros, 5 


Mongolian tarpan, 83, 107 ; pony. 
Mule, 335 




Sallenders, 44 




Schlettsudt horse, 136 


Narbada horse, 116 


Shetland ponies, 134 


Ntokipparion, 258 


Shire horse, 131 


New Forest pomes, 118 


Skull of horse, 19 


Norwegian horse, 105, 132 


Socotran ass, 331 


Nubian vrild ass, 220 


Solutr^ horse, 97 




Somali wild ass, 320 


Odd-toed ungulates, 3 


Spanish horses, 149, 165 


Onokippidium, 251 




Orkney ponies, 136 


Speed and coat-colour, 59 


Orohipfits, 272 


Splint-bones, 14 


Packynotophus, 373 


i;xsii."^^j6? 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



286 IN] 

Stone Ag^e hone, 77, 91 

Stud, S3 

Succession of teeth in hor5e,.3i, 34 

Suffolk hone, 139 

Syrian onager or wild ais, 184 

Tanghah, 114 

Tapir, 6 

Tapirida, 6 

Tarpan, 71, 79, 83, 95, 107 

Tarpani, 83 

Tarsus, 17 

Teeth oT horse, 37, 33 ; wearing o^ 

39 
Third trochanter, abnormal, 63 
Thoaihtrium^ 18 
Thoroughbred horse, 166 
Tibetan horse, 1 14 
Turkish horse, 145 
Turkoman horse, 113, 148 



Ward's zebra, aos 
Wart-hogs, carpal callosities, 49 
Wearing of teeth, 39 
Welsh ponies, i3o 
White bontecuagga, 203 
Wild ass, Z18 ; Syrian, 184 
Wild horses, 71, 79 
Wolf-tooth, 34 



Zebra, 187, 210 ; Grfevy's, 190 ; 
Burchell's, 196 ; Foa's, 210 ; 
Hartmann's, 314 ; Damara, 214 ; 
Pentice's, 314 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



D,Q,t,7P-i>» Google 



i>» Google 



LIBRARY USE 

RETUKN TO DESK Flfrai \mKll aQRRO\PED 

LOAN DEPfl 



LIBRARY USE 



■IIH 20'65 



■ UE' - .-P'-^ 



im^ 



-ay» 




i>» Google