Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found: A Book of Zoology for Boys

by Mayne Reid

The Horse—par excellence the noblest of animals—is represented by only a limited number of species; but, like other creatures domesticated by man, he is found of many different breeds and varieties: too many to be minutely described in these pages. Suffice it to say, that almost every civilised nation possesses several kinds of horses—differing from one another in size, shape, colour, and qualities: in size especially—since this fine animal may be observed not much bigger than a mastiff; while other members of his family attain almost to the dimensions of an elephant! Even savage tribes, both in Asia and America, are in possession of peculiar breeds of horses; and it may be assumed as a fact, that more than a hundred varieties exist upon the earth. These have all been regarded as springing from one original stock; but here again there is only vague conjecture; and it is far more probable, that the domesticated horses are the descendants of several kinds originally distinct in their wild state.

There are wild horses at the present day in Asia, Africa, and America; but it is questionable whether any of these are the descendants of an originally wild stock. More likely they are the progeny of horses escaped from the domesticated breeds. Of course we

refer to the true horses of the genus equus; and not to the dziggetais, quaggas, and zebras—to which we shall presently refer. These last-mentioned kinds are still found wild, as they have ever been; and, with one or two exceptions, none of their species have been tamed to the use of man.

In America—both in the northern and southern divisions of the continent—herds of wild horses are numerous. These have all sprung from individuals that escaped from their owners, and in process of time have multiplied to a great extent. Of course they could have no other origin: since it is well-known that, previous to the time of Columbus, no animal of the horse kind existed in America. The wild horses now found there are descended then from a domestic breed; and this breed has been easily ascertained to be that used by the Spaniards in their conquests of Mexico and Peru. It is a race known as the Andalusian horse—nearly allied to the Arabian—and no doubt at an earlier period imported into the peninsula of Spain by the Moors. These horses are much smaller than the English hunter; but possess all the properties of a true horse—the shape, action, etcetera—and cannot, therefore, be considered as mere ponies. They are, in reality, well-blooded horses, of small stature; and no breed could be better suited to the climate of most parts of Spanish America, where they now run wild.

On the pampas of South America these horses exist in vast droves. The Gauchos, a half-civilised race of men, live amidst their herds, and hunt them chiefly for the hides. They early learn to capture and ride them; and a Gaucho is seldom seen off the back of his horse. He can capture and break one in in the course of an hour. The flesh also serves him as an article of food. Down as far as the Straits of Magellan the droves of wild horses are found. There the native Indians have tamed many of them—even the women and children going most of their time on horseback. On the llanos, or great plains, that extend northward from the Amazon and Orinoco—that is, in the provinces of Venezuela—other droves of wild horses exist; and these, along with half-wild oxen, form the sole property and pursuit of a class of men called Llaneros, who in many respects resemble the Gauchos. Again, proceeding to North America, we find the same species of horse running wild on the great plains to the north of Mexico; in California, and upon the prairies east of the Rocky Mountains. In Mexico Proper, as also in California, they are owned by great landed proprietors; and are annually caught, branded, and sold. Many of these proprietors can count from 10,000 to 20,000 head roaming within the boundaries of their estates, besides large droves of horned cattle and mules. In the vast regions between the settled parts of Mexico and the frontier settlements of the United States, the wild horses are the property of no one, but range freely over the prairies without mark or brand. These are hunted and captured by different tribes of Indians—Comanches, Pawnees, Sioux, Blackfeet, etcetera, who also possess large numbers of them tamed and trained to various uses. Like the Gauchos and Llaneros of the south, these Indians use the flesh of the horse for food, and esteem it the greatest delicacy! Among some tribes, where the buffalo is not found, the horse takes the place of the latter as an article of diet; and forms the principal article of subsistence of thousands of these people. Among most of the prairie tribes the chase of this animal, or the buffalo, is the sole pursuit of their lives.

Still further north ranges the wild horse, even as far as the prairies extend; and among the tribes of the Saskatchewan he is also found—used by them for the saddle, and also as a beast of burden. In these regions, however, the buffalo still exists in great numbers; and the horse, besides being eaten himself, is also employed to advantage in the chase of this animal.

The wild horses of America are not all exactly of one breed. Those of the Mexico-American prairies, called by the Spaniards musteños (mustangs), differ slightly from those found upon the llanos of South America; and these again from the horses of the pampas, and the parameros of Peru. These differences, however, are but slight, and owing solely to climatic and other little causes. But the mustangs of the northern prairies have among them an admixture of breeds, derived from American runaways along the borders of the Mississippi, and others escaped from travellers on the prairies; and there have latterly been discovered mustangs of large size—evidently sprung from the English-Arabian horse.

In the Falkland Islands the horse is also found in an untamed state. These were introduced by the French in 1764; but have since become perfectly wild. Strange to say, they are only found in the eastern part of the island—although the pasture there is not more rich than in the west, and there is no natural boundary between the two!

In Asia the horse runs wild in large herds—just as in America. The range in which they are found in this state is chiefly on the great plains, or steppes—stretching from the Himalaya Mountains to Siberia. The Calmuck Tartars tame them; and possess vast droves, like the Gauchos and Indians. They also eat their flesh; and among many tribes of Tartars mare’s milk is esteemed the most delicious of beverages.