Buffon's Natural History. Volume 05 (of 10) / Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c

by comte de Georges Louis Leclerc Buffon

It may be easily seen, that in horses, and most other quadrupeds, the growth of the hinder parts is at first greater than those of the anterior, whilst in man the inferior parts grow less at first than the superior; for in a child the thighs and legs are in proportion to the body, much less than those of an adult; on the contrary, the hind legs of a foal are so long that they can touch its head, which they cannot do when full grown. This difference proceeds less from the inequality of the whole growth of the anterior and posterior parts, than from the inequality of the fore and hind feet, which is constantly the case through all Nature, and is most sensible in quadrupeds. In man the feet are larger than the hands, and are also sooner formed; and in the horse the foot forms the greatest part of the hind leg, being composed of bones, corresponding to the tarsus, metatarsus, &c. It is not, therefore, astonishing that this foot should be sooner extended than the fore legs, the inferior part of which resembles the hands, being composed of the bones of the carpus, metacarpus, &c. When a colt is just foaled this difference is readily remarked; the fore legs compared with the hind ones being much shorter in proportion than they are in the sequel; besides, the thickness which the body acquires, though independent of the proportions of the growth in length, occasions more distance between the hind legs and the head, and consequently contributes to hinder the horse from reaching it when arrived at his full growth.

In all animals each species differs according to the difference of climate, and the general result of this variety forms and constitutes the different races. Of these we can only particularize the most remarkable, which differ greatly from each other, passing the intermediate shades, which here, as in every thing else, are infinite. We have even augmented the number and confusion, by favouring the mixture of these breeds; and we may be said to have almost inverted Nature by bringing into these climates the horses of Africa or Asia, and have so much raised the primitive race of France, by introducing horses of all countries, that they are not now to be known, there only remaining some slight traces, produced by the actual influence of the climate. These traces would be much stronger, and the differences would be much greater, if the race of each climate were preserved without mixture; the small differences would be less shaded, and fewer in number; but there would be a certain number of great varieties, that all mankind might easily distinguish; instead of which, custom, and even a long experience, are at present necessary to know the horses of different countries. On this subject we have only the knowledge drawn from the accounts of different travellers, and the ablest riding-masters, such as Newcastle, Garsault, Guerinere, &c. and from some remarks that Pignerolles, Master of Horse to the King of France, and President of the Academy of Angers, has communicated.

The Arabian horses are the handsomest known in Europe, they are larger and more plump than those of Barbary, and equally well shaped, but as they are not often brought into France, few observations have been made on their perfections or defects.

The horses of Barbary are more common, they have a long fine neck, not too much covered with hair, and well divided from the withers; the head is small and beautiful; the ears handsome and well-placed; the back short and straight; the flanks and sides round without too much belly; the haunches thin, the crupper generally long, and the tail placed rather high; the thighs well formed, and seldom flat; the legs handsome, well made, and almost without hair; the tendon large, the foot well made, but frequently the pastern long; they are of all colours, but most commonly grey. In their paces, they are always very negligent, and must be often reminded: they are swift and strong, very light, and well adapted for hunting. These horses seem the most proper to breed from; and leave it only to be wished they were of larger stature, seldom exceeding four feet eight inches high. It is confirmed by experience, that in France, England, &c. they beget foals larger than themselves. Among the Barbary horses, those of the Kingdom of Morocco are the best; next, those of the mountains. The horses of Mauritania, are of an inferior quality, as well as those of Turkey, Persia, and Armenia. All the horses of warm countries have the hair shorter and smoother than others. The Turkish horses are not so well proportioned as those of Barbary; they have commonly the neck slender, the body long, and the legs too thin. They will, however, travel a great way, and are long winded; this will not appear surprising if we consider, that in warm countries the bones of animals are harder than in cold climates and it is for this reason that, though they have smaller shank bones, their legs are stronger.

The Spanish horses which hold the second rank after those of Barbary, have a long, thick, and hairy neck; the head rather large, the ears long, but well placed; the eyes full of fire, and have a noble stately air; the shoulders are thick, and the breast large; the loins frequently rather low, the sides round, and often too much belly; the crupper is usually round and large, though some have it rather long; the legs thin, free from air; the pastern is sometimes long like those of Barbary; the foot rather lengthened like that of a mule, and frequently the heels too high. Spanish horses of the best breed are plump, well-coated, and low of stature. They use much motion in their carriage, and have great suppleness, spirit, and pride. Their hair is usually black, or of a dark chesnut colour, though there are some of all colours, and it is but seldom that they have white legs or noses. The Spaniards have an aversion to these marks, and never breed from horses that have them, chusing only a star in the forehead; they however prefer those which have not a single spot, as much as the French do those with particular marks. But these prejudices are perhaps equally ill-founded, since there are exceeding good horses with all kinds of marks, or entirely of one colour. These small differences in the coats of horses do not, in any manner, depend on their qualities, or their interior constitution, but originate from external causes, and even those so superficial, that by a slight scratch on the skin a white spot is produced. Spanish horses are all marked in the thigh with the mark of the stud where they were bred. They are commonly of a small stature, though there are some four feet nine or ten inches in height. Those of Upper Andalusia are reckoned to be the best, though they are apt to have the head too long; but this defect is excused in favour of their excellent qualities: they are courageous, obedient, graceful, spirited, and more supple than those of Barbary, for which talents they are preferred to all other horses in the world, for war, for shew, and for the menage.

The handsomest English horses have in their conformation great resemblance to those of Arabia and Barbary, from which in fact they originated: they have, notwithstanding, the head larger, but well made, the ears longer, but well placed. By the ears alone an English horse may be known from a Barbary; but the great difference is in their stature, for English horses are much larger and plumper; they are frequently five feet high; are of all colours, and have all kinds of marks; they are generally strong, vigorous, bold, capable of great fatigue, excellent for hunting and coursing; but they want grace and suppleness in their shoulders. The race horses of this country are exceedingly swift, as indeed are the saddle horses in general; of which I cannot give a stronger proof than by giving an extract of a letter I received from a British nobleman, (Earl of Morton) dated London, February 18, 1748, which runs in these words: “Mr. Thornhill, a post-master of Stilton, wagered that he would ride three times the distance from Stilton to London, that is 215 English miles, within 15 hours. In undertaking the performance of which, he set out from Stilton in the morning of the 29th of April, 1745, and arrived in London in three hours and fifty-one minutes, having taken a relay of eight different horses on the road; he immediately set out again from London, and got back to Stilton in three hours and fifty-two minutes, having changed horses but six times; for the third space he set off again, and with seven of the same horses he completed it in three hours and forty-nine minutes, going over the whole space of 215 miles in eleven hours and thirty-two minutes; an example of swiftness that possibly is not to be paralleled in ancient history.”

The horses of Italy were formerly much handsomer than they are at present, because the breed for some time has been neglected; notwithstanding the Neapolitan horses are still handsome, especially for carriages and draught horses; but in general they have large heads end thick necks; they are untractable, and consequently not easily managed; these defects are compensated by their noble form, their stateliness, and the gracefulness of their motion.

The Danish horses are so superior in make and beauty, that they are preferred to all others for carriages; some of them are perfectly moulded, but their number is small; for the conformation of these horses is seldom regular, most of them have thick necks, large shoulders, their loins long and low, and the buttocks too narrow for the thickness of the fore parts; but they are all graceful in their motions, and in general very good for war, and for state: they are of all colours, and some are spotted like tygers which are found no where but in Denmark.

Germany produces very handsome horses, but they are generally heavy, and short-breathed, though chiefly bred from Turkish and Barbary, Spanish and Italian horses; for this reason they are not swift enough for coursing or hunting, whilst the Hungarian and Transilvanian horses are, on the contrary, light and good coursers. The Hungarians split their nostrils, with a view, they say, of giving them more breath, and also to hinder their neighing in battle. I have never had it in my power to be convinced of this fact, that horses who have their nostrils slit cannot neigh, but it appears to me that their neighing must be weaker. It is remarked, that the Hungarian, Croatian, and Polish horses have the mark in their mouths during life.