ORDER UNGULATA (HOOFED QUADRUPEDS).
CHAPTER I.
PERISSODACTYLA—THE EQUIDÆ, OR HORSE FAMILY.
Order UNGULATA—Divisions—[PERISSODACTYLA]—Characteristics—[EQUIDÆ]—Species—Descent—First Domestic Horses in Europe—Used for Food—Mention of the Horse in the Bible—War-Chariots—The Horse among the Greeks and Romans—In Britain—Attempts to Improve the Breed—Colour—Teeth—“The Mark”—The Foot—Skull—Disease from the Gad-fly—[RACE-HORSE]—[TROTTING HORSE OF AMERICA]—[DRAY HORSE]—[SHETLAND PONY]—[ARAB AND BARB]—[PERSIAN HORSE]—[WILD HORSES IN AMERICA]—Habits—Byron’s “Mazeppa”—Capture and Breaking in—[WILD HORSES IN AUSTRALIA]—[THE ASS]—Species—Stripes—Characteristics—[MULE AND HINNY]—[WILD ASS OF TIBET]—[ONAGER]—[WILD ASS OF ABYSSINIA]—[ZEBRAS]—[BURCHELL’S ZEBRA]—[QUAGGA]—[FOSSIL EQUIDÆ]—Distribution—[HIPPARION].
THE hoofed quadrupeds are so called because they possess hoofs, from which fact the order Ungulata takes its name,[260] and they include animals of widely different appearance, such as the Horse, Rhinoceros, Giraffe, Camel, and the like. They are classified into two sub-orders, according to the odd or even number of toes, those having an odd number on the hind foot being termed the Perissodactyla,[261] such as the Horse, Tapir, and Rhinoceros; and the Artiodactyla,[262] or animals with an even number of toes on their hind feet, such as the Pig, Hippopotamus, Sheep, Ox, Deer, and the like. All the animals belonging to the order feed upon vegetables, with the exception of the Pig and Peccary, which are omnivorous; and none of them are provided with sharp-edged cutting back teeth, adapted for dividing flesh, such as are found in the Carnivora—Lions, Tigers, Wolves, and Hyænas. The odd-toed Ungulates come first.