in zoology. See the article Equus.

Horses were very rare in Judaea till Solomon's time. Before him we find no horsemen mentioned in the armies of Israel. David having won a great battle against Hadadezer king of Shobah (2 Sam. viii. 4, 5.), took 1700 horses, and lamed all belonging to the chariots of war, reserving only 100 chariots. The judges and princes of Israel used generally to ride on mules or asses. After David's time, horses were more common in the country of Judah, &c. Solomon is the first king of Judah who had a great number of horses, and he kept them rather for pomp than for war; for we do not read that he made any military expeditions. He had, says the scripture (1 Kings iv. 26.) 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen distributed in his fortified places (1 Kings x. 26.) He had his horses from Egypt (ibid. ver. 28, 29.) and there was not a fet which did not cost him more than 600 shekels, which make up our money about 90l. Moses had forbidden the king of the Hebrews to keep a great number of horses (Deut. xvii. 16.), lest at any time he should be inclined to carry the people back into Egypt.

We read in the second book of Kings (xxiii. 17.), that Josiah took away the horses which the kings of Judah his predecessors had consecrated to the sun. We know know the sun was worshipped over all the east, and that the horse, the swiftest of tame beasts, was consecrated to this deity, who was represented as riding in a chariot drawn by the most beautiful and swiftest horses in the world, and performing every day his journey from east to west, in order to communicate his light to mankind. Xenophon describes a solemn sacrifice of horses, which was made with ceremony to the sun: they were all the finest steeds, and were led with a white chariot, crowned, and consecrated to the same god. We may believe that the horses which Josiah removed out of the court of the temple, were appointed for the like sacrifices. The rabbins inform us, that these horses were every morning put to the chariots dedicated to the sun, whereof there is mention made in the same book; and that the king, or some of his officers, got up and rode to meet the sun in its rising, as far as from the eastern gate of the temple to the suburbs of Jerusalem. Others are of opinion, that the horses mentioned in the book of kings were of wood, stone, or metal, erected in the temple in honour of the sun: Others, that they were horses which none were permitted to ride or fasten to the yoke, but were free, and left to themselves, like those which Julius Cæsar let loose and set at liberty after his passage of the Rubicon.

Horses were used both amongst the Greeks and Romans in war, but were not originally very numerous; for as each horseman provided his own horse, few would be able to bear the expense. Horses for a considerable time were managed by the voice alone, or by a switch, without bridle, saddle, or stirrups. Their harness was skins of beasts, or sometimes cloth. Both horses and men amongst the Greeks underwent a severe probation before their admission into the cavalry.—Horse-races were common amongst the Greeks and Romans, and the place where they ran or breathed their coursers was called hippodromus.

Management of a Horse upon and after a Journey. See that his shoes be not too tight, or press his feet, but be exactly shaped; and let him be thod some days before you begin a journey, that they may be settled to his feet.

Observe that he is furnished with a bit proper for him, and by no means too heavy, which may incline him to carry low, or to rest upon the hand when he grows weary, which horsemen call making use of his fifth leg.

The mouth of the bit should rest upon his bars about half a finger's breadth from his tusks, so as not to make him flumble his lips; the curb should rest in the hollow of his beard a little above the chin; and if it gall him, you must defend the place with a piece of buff or other soft leather.

Take notice that the saddle do not rest upon his withers, reins, or back-bone, and that one part of it do not press his back more than another.

Some riders gall a horse's sides below the saddle with their stirrup-leathers, especially if he be lean; to hinder it, you should fix a leather strap between the points of the fore and hind-bows of the saddle, and make the stirrup-leather pass over them.

Begin your journey with short marches, especially if your horse has not been exercised for a long time: suffer him to stale as often as you find him inclined; and not only so, but invite him to it: but do not excite your mares to stale, because their vigour will be thereby diminished.

It is advisable to ride very softly, for a quarter or half an hour before you arrive at the inn, that the horse not being too warm, nor out of breath, when put into the stable, you may unbridle him: but if your business obliges you to put on sharply, you must then (the weather being warm) let him be walked in a man's hand, that he may cool by degrees; otherwise, if it be very cold, let him be covered with cloths, and walked up and down in some place free from wind; but in case you have not the conveniency of a sheltered walk, stable him forthwith, and let his whole body be rubbed and dried with straw.

Although some people will have their horses legs rubbed down with straw as soon as they are brought into the stable, thinking to supple them by that means; yet it is one of the greatest errors that can be committed, and produces no other effects than to draw down into the legs those humours that are always stirred up by the fatigue of the journey: not that the rubbing of horses legs is to be disallowed; on the contrary, we highly approve of it, only would not have it done at their first arrival, but when they are perfectly cooled.

Being come to your inn, as soon as your horse is partly dried, and ceases to beat in the flanks, let him be unbridled, his bit washed, cleansed, and wiped, and let him eat his hay at pleasure.

If your horse be very dry, and you have not given him water on the road, give him oats washed in good mild ale.

The dust and sand will sometimes so dry the tongues and mouths of horses, that they lose their appetites; in such case, give them bran well moistened with water to cool and refresh their mouths; or wash their mouths and tongues with a wet sponge, to oblige them to eat.

The foregoing directions are to be observed after moderate riding; but if you have rode excessively hard, unfaddle your horse, and scrape off the sweat with a sweating-knife, or scraper, holding it with both hands, and going always with the hair; then rub his head and ears with a large hair-cloth, wipe him also between the fore-legs and hind-legs; in the mean while, his body should be rubbed all over with straw, especially under his belly and beneath the saddle, till he is thoroughly dry.

That done, fet on the saddle again, cover him; and if you have a warm place, let him be gently led up and down in it, for a quarter of an hour; but if not, let him dry where he stands.

Or you may unfaddle him immediately; scrape off the sweat; let the oftler take a little vinegar in his mouth, and squirt it into the horse's; then rub his head, between the fore and hind-legs, and his whole body, till he is pretty dry: let him not drink till thoroughly cool and has eaten a few oats; for many, by drinking too soon, have been spoiled. Set the saddle in the sun or by a fire, in order to dry the panels.

When horses are arrived in an inn, a man should, before they are unbridled, lift up their feet, to see whether they want any of their shoes, or if those they have have do not rest upon their sides; afterwards he should pick and clear them of the earth and gravel, which may be got betwixt their shoes and soles.

If you water them abroad, upon their return from the river cause their feet to be stopped with cow-dung, which will ease the pain therein; and if it be in the evening, let the dung continue in their feet all night, to keep them soft and in good condition: but if your horse have brittle feet, it will be requisite to anoint the fore-feet, at the on-setting of the hoofs, with butter, oil, or hog's-grease, before you water him in the morning, and in dry weather they should be also greased at noon.

Many horses, as soon as unbridled, instead of eating, lay themselves down to rest, by reason of the great pain they have in their feet, so that a man is apt to think them sick: but if he looks to their eyes, he will see they are lively and good; and if he offers them meat as they are lying, they will eat it very willingly; yet if he handles their feet, he will find them extremely hot, which discovers their suffering in that part. You must therefore see if their shoes do not rest upon their soles, which is somewhat difficult to be certainly known without unshoeing them; but if you take off their shoes, then look to the inside of them, and you may perceive that those parts which rest upon the soles are more smooth and shining than the others: in this case you are to pare their feet in those parts, and fix on their shoes again, anointing the hoofs, and stopping the soles with scalding hot black pitch or tar.

After a long day's journey, at night feel your horse's back, if he be pinched, galled, or swelled (if you do not immediately discover it, perhaps you may after supper), there is nothing better than to rub it with good brandy and the white of an egg. If the galls are between the legs, use the same remedy; but if the other rubs him well between the legs, he will seldom be galled in that part.

In order to preserve horses after travel, take these few useful instructions. When you are arrived from a journey, immediately draw the two heel-nails of the fore-feet; and, if it be a large shoe, then four: two or three days after, you may blood him in the neck, and feed him for ten or twelve days only with wet bran, without giving him any oats; but keep him well littered.

The reason why you are to draw the heel-nails, is because the heels are apt to swell, and if they are not thus eased, the shoes would press and straiten them too much: it is also advisable to stop them with cow-dung for a while; but do not take the shoes off, nor pare the feet, because the humours are drawn down by that means.

The following bath will be very serviceable for preserving your horse's legs. Take the dung of a cow or ox and make it thin with vinegar, so as to be of the consistence of thick broth; and having added a handful of small salt, rub his fore-legs from the knees, and the hind-legs from the gambrels, chafing them well with and against the hair, that the remedy may sink in and stick to those parts, that they may be all covered over with it. Thus leave the horse till morning, not wetting his legs, but giving him his water that evening in a pail: next morning lead him to the river, or wash his legs in well-water, which is very good, and will keep them from swelling.

Those persons, who, to recover their horses feet, make a hole in them, which they fill with moistened cow dung, and keep it in their fore-feet during the space of a month, do very ill; because, though the continual moisture that issues from the dung occasions the growing of the hoof, yet it dries and shrinks it so excessively when out of that place, that it splits and breaks like glass, and the foot immediately stiffens. For it is certain, that cow-dung (contrary to the opinion of many people) spoils a horse's hoof: it does indeed moisten the sole; but it dries up the hoof, which is of a different nature from it. In order, therefore, to recover a horse's feet, instead of cow-dung, fill a hole with blue wet clay, and make him keep his fore-feet in it for a month.

Most horses that are fatigued, or over-ridden, and made lean by long journeys, have their flanks altered without being purify, especially vigorous horses that have worked too violently.

There is no better method to recover them, than to give each of them in the morning half a pound of honey very well mingled with scalded bran; and when they readily eat the half pound, give them the next time a whole one, and afterwards two pounds, every day continuing this course till your horses are empty, and purge kindly with it; but as soon as you perceive that their purging ceases, forbear to give them any more honey.

You may administer powder of liquorice in the scalded bran for a considerable time; and to cool their blood, it will not be improper to let them have three or four glitters.

In case the horse be very lean, it is expedient to give him some wet bran, over and above his proportion of oats; and grats is also extraordinary beneficial, if he be not purify.

If it be a mare, put her to a horse; and if she never had a foal before, it will enlarge her belly.

Sometimes excessive feeding may do horses more harm than good, by rendering them subject to the farcy. You should therefore be cautious in giving them too great a quantity at a time, and take a little blood from them now and then.

When a horse begins to drink water heartily, it is a certain sign that he will recover in a short time. As to the method of giving him water during a journey, observe the following rules:

All the while you are upon a journey, let your horse drink of the first good water you come to, after seven o'clock in the morning if it be in summer-time, and after nine or ten in winter.

That is accounted good water which is neither too quick and piercing, nor too muddy and stinking.

This is to be done, unless you would have him gallop a long time after drinking; for if so, you must forbear.

Though it is the custom of England to run and gallop horses after drinking, which we call watering-courses, to bring them (as they say) into wind; yet, says M. de Solleyel, it is the most pernicious practice that can be imagined for horses, by which many are rendered purify.

While a horse is drinking, draw up his head five or six times, making him move a little between every draught; draught; and notwithstanding he be warm, and sweat very much, yet if he is not quite out of breath, and you have still four or five miles to ride, he will be better after drinking a little, than if he had drunk none at all: it is true, indeed, that if the horse is very warm, you should, at coming out of the water, redouble your pace, to make him go at a gentle trot, to warm the water in his belly.

You ought to let him drink after this manner during the whole time of your journey; because, if when you happen to bait he be hot or sweaty, you must not let him drink for a long time, as it would endanger his life; and when his bridle is taken off, his excessive thirst will hinder him from eating, so that he will not offer to touch his meat for an hour or two, which perhaps your occasions will not allow you for a baiting time, and not to have any food will render him unfit for travel.

If you meet with any ford before you come to your inn, ride the horse through it two or three times, but not up to his belly: this will only cleanse his legs; but the coldness of the water will bind up the humours, and prevent them from descending.

If your horse has been very warm, and you have not had the conveniency of watering him upon the road, he will, when unbridled, eat but very little; therefore he should have his oats given him washed in ale or beer, or only some of them, if you intend to feed him again after he has drank.

Some are of opinion, that horses are often spoiled by giving them oats before their water; because they say the water makes the oats pass too soon, and out of the stomach undigested. But M. de Solleystel affirms, that though it be the common custom not to do it till after, yet it is proper to feed with oats both before and after, especially if the horse be warm, and has been hard rode; for they will be a great deal the better for it, and in no danger of becoming sick.

Breeding of Horses. When the stallion is chosen, and all the mares intended for him are collected together, there must be another stonc-horse, to discover which of the mares are in heat; and, at the same time, contribute to inflame them. All the mares are to be brought successively to this stone-horse; which should also be inflamed, and suffered frequently to neigh. As he is for leaping every one, such as are not in heat keep him off, whilst those which are so suffer him to approach them. But instead of being allowed to satisfy his impulse, he must be led away, and the real stallion substituted in his stead. This trial is necessary for ascertaining the true time of the mare's heat, especially of those which have not yet had a colt; for with regard to such as have recently foaled, the heat usually begins nine days after their delivery; and on that very day they may be led to the stallion to be covered; and nine days after, by the experiment above mentioned, it may be known whether they are still in heat. If they are, they must be covered a second time; and thus successively every ninth day while their heat continues; for when they are impregnated, their heat abates, and in a few days ceases entirely.

But that everything may be done easily and conveniently, and at the same time with success and advantage, great attention, expense, and precaution are requisite. The stud must be fixed in a good soil, and in a suitable place, proportioned to the number of mares and stallions intended to be used. This spot must be divided into several parts, inclosed with rails or ditches well fenced; in the part where the pasture is the richest, the mares in fold, and those with colts by their sides, are to be kept. Those which are not impregnated, or have not yet been covered, are to be separated, and kept with the fillies in another clove, where the pasture is less rich, that they may not grow too fat, which would obstruct the progress of generation. Lastly, the young stone colts or geldings, are to be kept in the driest part of the fields, and where the ground is most uneven; so that by running over the uneven surface, they may acquire a freedom in the motion of their legs and shoulders. This clove, where the stone colts are kept, must be very carefully separated from the others, lest the young horses break their bounds, and enervate themselves with the mares. If the tract be so large as to allow of dividing each of these closes into two parts, for putting oxen and horses into them alternately, the pasture will last much longer than if continually eaten by horses; the ox improving the fertility, whereas the horse lessens it. In each of these closes should be a pond; standing water being better than running, which often gripes them: and if there are any trees in the ground, they should be left standing, their shade being very agreeable to the horses in great heats; but all stems or stumps should be grubbed up, and all holes levelled, to prevent accidents. In these pastures your horses should feed during the summer; but in the winter the mares should be kept in the stable and fed with hay. The colts also must be housed, and never suffered to feed abroad in winter, except in very fine weather. Stallions that stand in the stable should be fed more with straw than hay; and moderately exercised till covering time, which generally lasts from the beginning of April to the end of June. But during this season they should have no other exercise, and be plentifully fed, but with the same food as usual. Before the stallion is brought to the mare, he should be dressed, as that will greatly increase his ardour. The mare must also be curried, and have no shoes on her hind feet, some of them being ticklish, and will kick the stallion. A person holds the mare by the halter, and two others lead the stallion by long reins; when he is in a proper situation, another attendant carefully directs the yard, pulling aside the mare's tail, as a single hair might hurt him dangerously. It sometimes happens that the stallion does not complete the work of generation, coming from the mare without making any injection: it should therefore be attentively observed, whether, in the last moments of the copulation, the dock of the stallion's tail has a vibrating motion; for such a motion always accompanies the emission of the seminal lymph. If he has performed the act, he must on no consideration be suffered to repeat it; but be lead away directly to the stable, and there kept two days. For, however able a good stallion may be of covering every day during the three months, it is much better to let him be led to a mare only every other day: his produce will be greater, and he himself less exhausted. During the first seven days, let four different mares be successively brought to him; and the ninth day let the first be again brought, and so successively while they continue in heat: but as soon soon as the heat of any one is over, a fresh mare is to be put in her place, and covered in her turn every nine days; and as several retain even at the first, second, or third time, it is computed that a stallion, by such management, may, during the three months, cover 15 or 18 mares, and beget 10 or 12 colts. These animals have a very large quantity of the seminal lymph; so that a considerable portion of it is shed during the emission. In the mares likewise is an emission, or rather distillation of the seminal lymph, during the whole time they are horsing; ejecting a viscid whitish lymph, called the heats, which cease on conception. This ichor the Greeks called hippomanes; and pretended that philtres might be made of it, one remarkable effect of which was, to render a horse frantic with lust. This hippomanes is very different from that found in the secundines of the foal, which M. Daubenton first discovered, and has so accurately described its nature, origin, and situation. The ejection of this liquor is the most certain sign of the mare's heat; but it is also known by the inflation of the lower part of the vulva, by her frequent neighings, and attempts to get to the horses. After being covered, nothing more is requisite than to lead her away to the field. The first foal of a mare is never so strongly formed as the succeeding; so that care should be taken to procure for her, the first time, a larger stallion, that the defect of the growth may be compensated by the largeness of the size. Particular regard should also be had to the difference or congruity of the fashion of the stallion and the mare, in order to correct the faults of the one by the perfections of the other; especially never to make any disproportionate copulations, as of a small horse with a large mare, or a large horse with a small mare; as the produce of such copulation would be small, or badly proportioned. It is by gradations that we must endeavour to arrive at natural beauty: for instance, to give to a mare a little too clumsy, a well-made horse and finely shaped; to a small mare, a horse a little higher; to a mare which is faulty in her forehand, a horse with an elegant head and noble chest, &c.

It has been observed, that horses fed in dry and light grounds, produce temperate, swift, and vigorous foals, with muscular legs and a hard hoof; while the same bred in marshes and moist pastures have produced foals with a large heavy head, a thick carcass, clumsy legs, bad hoofs, and broad feet. These differences proceed from the air and food, which is easily underfed; but what is more difficult to be accounted for, and still more essential than what we have hitherto observed, is, to be continually crossing the breed to prevent a degeneracy.

In coupling of horses, the colour and size should be suited to each other, the shape contrasted, and the breed crossed by an opposition of climates: but horses and mares foaled in the same stud should never be joined. These are essential articles; but there are others which should by no means be neglected, as that no short-docked mares be suffered in a stud, because from their being unable to keep off the flies, they are much more tormented by them than others which have a long sweeping tail; and their continual agitations from the stings of these insects, occasions a diminution in the quantity of their milk, and has a great influence on the constitution and size of the colt, which will be vigorous in proportion as its dam is a good nurse. Care must also be taken, that the stud mares be such as have been always brought up in pastures, and never over-worked. Mares which have always been brought up in the stable on dry food, and afterwards turned to grass, do not breed at first; some time is required for accustoming them to this new aliment.

Though the usual season for the heat of mares be from the beginning of April to the end of June, yet it is not uncommon to find some among a large number that are in heat before that time: but it is advisable to let this heat pass over without giving them to the stallion, because they would foal in winter; and the colts, besides the inclemency of the season, would have bad milk for their nourishment. Again, if the mares are not in heat till after the end of June, they should not be covered that season; because the colts being foaled in summer, have not time for acquiring strength sufficient to repel the injuries of the following winter.

Many, instead of bringing the stallion to the mare, turn him loose into the cloe, where all the mares are brought together; and there leave him to choose such as will stand to him. This is a very advantageous method for the mares: they will always take horse more certainly than in the other; but the stallion, in six weeks, will do himself more damage than in several years by moderate exercise, conducted in the manner we have already mentioned.

When the mares are pregnant, and their belly begins to swell, they must be separated from those that are not, lest they hurt them. They usually go 11 months and some days; and foal standing, whereas most other quadrupeds lie down. Those that cannot foal without great difficulty, must be assisted; the foal must be placed in a proper situation; and sometimes, if dead, drawn out with cords. The head of the colt usually presents itself first, as in all other animals: at its coming out of the matrix, it breaks the secundines or integuments that inclose it, which is accompanied with a great flux of the lymph contained in them; and at the same time one or more solid lumps are discharged, formed by the sediment of the inspissated liquor of the allantoides. This lump, which the ancients called the hippomanes of the colt, is so far from being, as they imagined, a mass of flesh adhering to the head of the colt, that it is separated from it by a membrane called amnio. As soon as the colt is fallen, the mare licks it, but without touching the hippomanes; which points out another error of the ancients, who affirmed that she instantly devours it.

The general custom is to have a mare covered nine days after her foaling, that no time may be lost; but it is certain, that the mare having, by this means, both her present and future foal to nourish, her ability is divided, and she cannot supply both so largely as she might one only. It would therefore be better, in order to have excellent horses, to let the mares be covered only every other year; they would last the longer, and bring foals more certainly: for, in common studs, it is so far from being true that all mares which have been covered bring colts every year, that it is considered as a fortunate circumstance if half or at most two thirds of them foal.

Mares, when pregnant, will admit of copulation; but it is never attended with any hyperfetation. They usually breed till they are 14 or 15 years of age; and the most vigorous till they are above 18. Stallions, when well managed, will engender till the age of 20, and even beyond; but it must be observed, that such horses as are soonest made stallions, are also the soonest incapable of generation; thus the large horses, which acquire strength sooner than the slender, and are therefore often used as stallions as soon as they are four years old, are incapable of generation before they are sixteen.

Gelding of Horses. See Gelding.

Rearing of Horses. See Colt.

Draught-Horses, in farming, a sort of coarse-made horse destined for the service of the cart or plough. In the choice of these horses for what is called the slow draught, they are to be chosen of an ordinary height; for otherwise, when put into the cart, one draws unequally with the other. The draught-horse should be large bodied and strong loined, and of such a disposition, as rather to be too dull than too brisk, and rather to crave the whip than to draw more than is needful. Mares are the fittest for this use for the farmer, as they will be kept cheap, and not only do the work, but be kept breeding, and give a yearly increase of a foal. They should have a good head, neck, breast, and shoulders; for the rest of the shape, it is not of much consequence. Only, for breeding, the mare should have a large belly; for the more room a foal has in the dam, the better proportioned it will be. Draught-horses should be always kept to that employ. Some put them to the saddle on occasion, but it does them great harm, alters their pace, and spoils them for labour. The draught horse ought to have a large broad head, because horses of this shaped head are less subject than others to diseases of the eyes. The ears should be small, straight and upright; the nostrils large and open, that he may breathe with the more freedom. A horse with a full and bold eye always promises well. On the other hand, a sunk eye and an elevated brow are bad signs. The horse is esteemed fittest for this purpose also, that has a large and round buttock, which neither sinks down nor cuts. He must have a firm and strong tail, and the dock must be thick and well furnished with hair, and placed neither very high nor very low. The legs should be rather flat and broad than round; the roundness of the leg being a fault in a horse destined to labour that will soon ruin him. As to the hinder legs, the thighs should be fleshy and long, and the whole muscle which shows itself on the outside of the thigh should be large and very thick. No country can bring a parallel to the size and strength of our horses destined for the draught. In London there are instances of single horses that are able to draw on a plain, for a small space, the weight of three tons, and which can with ease, and for continuance, draw half that weight. The pack horses of Yorkshire usually carry a burden of 420 lb. over the highest hills of the north, as well as the most level roads; but the most remarkable proof of the strength of our British horses is derived from that of our mill horses; some of which will at one load carry 13 measures, which at a moderate computation of 70 lb. each, will amount to 910 lb. Nothing is so essential to the health of these serviceable creatures as cleanliness; if they are fed ever so well, and not kept clean, they will be subject to numerous distempers.

The servant who has the care of them ought to be up very early, and to clean the racks and mangers from all filth. The currying of them ought to be carefully performed every morning, but not in the stable, for the dust to fall upon the other horses, as it is too often done. After the horses are dusted, they should daily twist a whisp of straw hard up, and wetting it in water, rub the legs, shoulders and body with it. Many of the diseases of draught-horses, which are not owing to naughtiness, are owing to bad water; such as are too raw, too muddy, or too cold, being all improper. If there be any running stream in the neighbourhood, they should always be led to that to water every day in summer, but in winter, well-water is warmish, and is better for them. If there be a necessity of giving them well-water in summer, it must be drawn up some hours before the time, and exposed to the sun-beams in tubs or troughs; marsh-water or that of lowland ditches is worst of all. When the labouring horse has drank his water, he should have his oats given him, and these should be carefully sifted, and the manger dulled first. It is a common practice, as soon as a horse is come in from his work, to rub down his legs with a hard whip of hay; but the best judges of horses absolutely condemn this, and observe, that this rubbing of the legs after hard labour brings down humours into them, and makes them stiff.

The rubbing itself is wholesome, but the doing it when the creature is hot is the mischief; while a horse is in a sweat it is a great relief and refreshment to him to have his body rubbed down, but when he is cold is the proper time to rub his legs. The racks are to be well supplied with hay, and the horses should be left to rest and eat, about two hours, and then led to water; after this their oats should be given them, and they should then go to work again.

In the evening, when the labour of the day is over, the first thing to be done is to examine the feet, and see if any thing is amiss about the shoes, and what earth or gravel is lodged in the foot, between the shoe and the sole, is to be picked out and some fresh cow-dung put in its place, which will cool and refresh the part.

A very material thing for the preservation of all sorts of cattle, but of none so much as draught-horses, is fresh and clean litter.

Horse-Chesnut. See Esculus, and Hippocastanum.

Horse Guards. See Guards.

Horse-Hunting. See Hunter.

Horse Measure is a rod of box to slide out of a cane, with a square at the end, being divided into hands and inches to measure the height of horses.

Horse-Muscle. See Myotus.

Race Horse. See Racing.

Horse-Radish. See Cochlearia.

Horse-Shoe, a cover or defence for the sole of a horse's foot. See Farriery, p. 167.

Horse-shoe head, a disease in infants, wherein the sutures of the skull are too open, or too great a vacancy is left between them; so that the aperture shall not be totally closed up, or the cranium in that part not be so hard as the rest for some years after. This openness is found to be increased upon the child's catching cold. When the disease continues long, it is reputed a sign of weakness and short life. In this case, it is usual to rub the head now and then with warm rum or brandy, mixed with the white of an egg and palm-oil. Sometimes the disorder arises from a collection of waters in the head called an hydrocephalus.

Stone-Horse. See Stallion.

Horse Tail. See Equisetum and Ephedra.

Horse-Vetch. See Hippocrepis.

War-Horse. The proper rules for choosing a horse for service in war, are these: he should be tall in stature, with a comely head, and out-swelling forehead. His eye should be bright and sparkling, and the white part of it covered by the eye brow. The ears should be small, thin, short, and pricking; or if long, they should be moveable with ease, and well carried. The neck should be deep, and the breast large and swelling. The ribs bending, the chine broad and straight, and the buttocks round and full. The tail should be high and broad, neither too thick nor too thin; the thigh swelling; the leg broad and flat, and the pastern short. When such a horse is chosen, he must be kept high during the time of his teaching, that he may be full of vigour. His food must be sweet hay, and good clean oats, or two parts of oats and one part of beans or peas, well dried and hardened. The quantity should be half a peck in the morning, and the same quantity at noon and in the evening. Upon his resting days he is to be dressed between five and six in the morning, and watered at seven or eight. In the evening he is to be dressed at four, and watered about five, and he must always have provender given him after watering; he must be littered about eight, and then must have food given him for all night. The night before he is ridden all his hay is to be taken away about nine o'clock, and he must have a handful or two of oats about four in the morning; when he has eaten these, he is to be turned upon the snaffle, and rubbed very well with dry cloths; then saddled, and made fit for his exercise. When he has performed this, he is to be brought sweating into the stable, and rubbed down with dry wips. When this has been done, the saddle is to be taken off, and he is to be rubbed down with dry cloths; the housing cloth is then to be laid on; and the saddle being again laid on, he is to be walked gently about till thoroughly cool. After this, he must stand without meat two or three hours, then he must be fed; and in the afternoon he is to be rubbed and dressed as before, and watered in the usual manner.

Horse Worm, in natural history, a species of fly-worm called also bot, produced of eggs deposited by a two-winged fly of the shape and size of the humble bee in the intestines of horses. See Botts.

River-Horse, in zoology. See Hippopotamus.

Horse is also used in the military language, to express the cavalry; or the body of soldiers who serve on horseback.

The horse includes horse guards, horse grenadiers, and troopers. Dragoons are also frequently comprehended under this name, though they fight on foot: of these there are now 18 regiments; besides three re-

N° 157.

See Grana-

NADIER, DRAGOONS, and GUARDS.

Master of the Horse. See MASTER.

Light-Horse, are regiments of cavalry, mounted on light swift horses, whose men are small and lightly accoutred. They were first raised in 1757. The denomination arose hence, that anciently they were lightly armed, in comparison of the royal guards, which were armed at all points.

Hungarian Horse. See Hussars.

Horse is also a term used in various arts and manufactures, for something that helps to sustain their work from the ground, for the more commodious working at it.

The horse used by tanners and skinners, also called the leg, is a piece of wood cut hollow and roundish, four or five feet long, and placed afloat; upon which they pare their skins to get off the dirt, hair, flesh, &c.

Horse is also used in carpentry, for a piece of wood jointed across two other perpendicular ones, to sustain the boards, planks, &c., which make bridges over small rivers; and on divers other occasions.

sea language, is the name of a rope reaching from the middle of a yard, to its extremity, or what is called the yard-arm, and depending about two or three feet under the yard, for the sailors to tread upon whilst they are loosing, reefing, or furling the sails, rigging out the fludding-fall booms, &c. In order, therefore, to keep the horse more parallel to the yard, it is usually suspended to it at proper distances, by certain ropes called stirrups, which hang about two feet under the yard, having an eye in their lower ends through which the horse passes.

Horse is also a thick rope, extended in a perpendicular direction near the fore or after-side of a mast, for the purpose of hoisting or extending some sail upon it. When it is fixed before a mast, it is calculated for the use of a sail called the square-sail, whose yard being attached to the horse, by means of a traveller or bull's eye, which slides up and down occasionally, is retained in a steady position; either when the sail is set, or whilst it is hoisting or lowering. When the horse is placed abaft or behind a mast, it is intended for the try-fall of a snow, and is accordingly very rarely fixed in this position, except in those sloops of war which occasionally assume the form of snows, in order to deceive the enemy.

Horse is also a cant name introduced into the management of lotteries, for the chance or benefit of a ticket or number for one or more days, upon condition, if it be drawn a prize within the time covenanted for, of returning to the seller an undrawn ticket.—To determine the value of a horse; multiply the amount of the prizes in the lottery by the time the horse is hired for; and from the product subtract the amount of the number of prizes by the value of an undrawn ticket into the time of the horse; the remainder being divided by the number of tickets into the whole time of drawing, the quotient is the value of the horse. See Lottery.

Horse-Bread. See Bread.

Horse-Dung, in gardening, is of great use in making hot-beds, for the raising all sorts of early crops; as fallading, cucumbers, melons, asparagus, &c., for which which purposes no other kinds of dung will do so well. Horse dung ferments the strongest; and if mixed with litter and sea-coal ashes in a due proportion, will continue its heat much longer than any other sort of dung whatsoever: and afterward, when rotted, becomes an excellent manure for most sorts of land; more especially for such as are of a cold nature. For stiff clayey land, horse dung mixed with sea-coal ashes, and the cleansing of streets, will cause the parts to separate much sooner than any other compost: so that where it can be obtained in plenty, it is always to be recommended for such lands. See Dung.

HORSEMANSHIP;

Or, The Art of Riding, and of Training and Managing, Horses.

Sect. I. The Method of preparing Horses to be mounted.

THOUGH all horses are generally bought at an age when they have already been backed, they should be begun and prepared for the rider with the same care, gentleness, and caution, as if they had never been handled or backed, in order to prevent accidents, which might else arise from skittishness or other causes: and as it is proper that they should be taught the figure of the ground they are to go upon when they are at first mounted, they should be previously trotted in a longe on circles, without any one upon them.

The manner of doing this is as follows: Put an easy cavesson upon the horse's nose, and make him go forwards round you, standing quiet and holding the longe; and let another man, if you find it necessary, follow him with a whip. All this must be done very gently, and but a little at a time: for more horses are spoiled by overmuch work, than by any other treatment whatever; and that by very contrary effects; for sometimes it drives them into vice, madness, and despair, and often stupifies and totally dispirits them.

The first obedience required in a horse is going forwards; till he perform this duty freely, never even think of making him rein back, which would inevitably make him refuse: as soon as he goes forwards readily, stop and caress him. You must remember in this, and likewise in every other exercise, to use him to go equally well to the right and left; and when he obeys, caress him and dismiss him immediately. If a horse that is very young takes fright and stands still, lead on another horse before him, which probably will induce him instantly to follow. Put a snaffle in his mouth; and when he goes freely, saddle him, girding him at first very loose. Let the cord, which you hold, be long and loose; but not so much so as to endanger the horse's entangling his legs in it. It must be observed, that small circles, in the beginning, would constrain the horse too much, and put him upon defending himself. No bend must be required at first; never suffer him to gallop fast; but whenever he attempts it, stop him without delay, and then set him off afresh. If he gallops of his own accord, and true, permit him to continue it; but if he does it not voluntarily, do not demand it of him at first. Should he fly and jump, shake the cord gently upon his nose without jerking it, and he will fall into his trot again. If he stands still, plunges, or rears, let the man who holds the whip make a noise with it; but never touch him till it be absolutely necessary to make him go on. When you change hands, stop and caress him, and entice him by fair means to come up to you: for by presenting yourself, as some do, on a sudden before horses, and frightening them to the other side, you run a great risk of giving them a shyness. If he keeps his head too low, shake the cavesson to make him raise it; and in whatever the horse does, whether he walks, trots, or gallops, let it be a constant rule, that the motion be determined, and really such as is intended, without the least shuffling, pacing, or any other irregular gait.

Sect. II. The Method of placing the Rider and rendering him firm on Horseback, with some occasional Instructions for Riders and the Horses.

It is necessary that the greatest attention, and the same gentleness that is used in teaching the horses, be observed likewise in teaching the rider, especially at the beginning. Every method and art must be practised to create and preserve, both in man and horse, all possible feeling and sensibility; contrary to the usage of most riding-masters, who seem industriously to labour at abolishing these principles both in the one and the other. As so many essential points depend upon the manner in which a man is at first placed on horseback, it ought to be considered and attended to with the strictest care and exactness.

The absurdity of putting a man, who perhaps has never before been upon a horse, on a rough trotting horse, on which he is obliged to stick with all the force of his arms and legs, is too obvious to need mentioning. This rough work, all at once, is plainly as detrimental at first, as it is excellent afterwards in proper time. No man can be either well or firmly seated on horseback, unless he be master of the balance of his body, quite unconstrained, with a full possession of himself, and at his ease; none of which requisites can he enjoy, if his attention be otherwise engaged; as it must wholly be in a raw, unsupplied, and unpre- Of placing the Rider.

prepared lad, who is put at once upon a rough horse; in such a distressful state, he is forced to keep himself on at any rate, by holding to the bridle (at the expense of the sensibility both of his own hand and the horse's mouth), and by clinging with his legs, in danger of his life, and to the certain depravation of a right feeling in the horse.

The first time a man is put on horseback, it ought to be upon a very gentle one. He never should be made to trot, till he is quite easy in the walk; nor gallop, till he is able to trot properly. The same must be observed in regard to horses; they should never be made to trot till they are obedient, and their mouths are well formed on a walk, nor be made to gallop, till the same be effected on a trot. When he is arrived at such a degree of firmness in his seat, the more he trots, and the more he rides rough horses, the better. This is not only the best method, but also the easiest and the shortest; by it a man is soon made sufficiently an horseman for a soldier: but by the other detestable methods that are commonly used, a man, instead of improving, contracts all sorts of bad habits, and rides worse and worse every day; the horse too becomes daily more and more unfit for use. In proceeding according to the manner proposed, a man is rendered firm and easy upon the horse, both his own and the horse's sensibility is preserved, and each in a situation fit to receive and practice all lessons effectually.

Among the various methods that are used of placing people on horseback, few are directed by reason. Before you let the man mount, teach him to know, and always to examine, if the curb be well placed, (that is, when the horse has a bit in his mouth, which at first he should not; but only a snaffle, till the rider is firm in his seat, and the horse also somewhat taught): likewise to know if the nose-band be properly tight; the throat-band looish; and the mouth-piece neither too high nor too low in the horse's mouth, but rightly put so as not to wrinkle the skin nor to hang lax; the girts drawn moderately, but not too tight; and the crupper and the breast-plate properly adjusted. A very good and careful hand may venture on a bit at first, and succeed with it full as well as by beginning with a snaffle alone; only colts, indeed, it is better, in all schools whatsoever, to avoid any pressure on the bars just at first, which a curb, though ever so delicately used, must in some degree occasion. When the bridle, &c. have been well looked to, let the man approach the horse gently near the shoulder; then taking the reins and an handful of the mane in his left hand, let him put his foot softly in the left stirrup, by pulling it towards him, lest he touch the horse with his toe; then raising himself up, let him rest a moment on it with his body upright, but not stiff; and after that, passing his right leg clear over the saddle without rubbing against anything, let him seat himself gently down. He must be cautious not to take the reins too short, for fear of making the horse rear, run, or fall back, or throw up his head; but let him hold them of an equal length, neither tight nor slack, and with the little finger betwixt them. It is fit that horses should be accustomed to stand still to be mounted, and not to stir till the rider pleases. All soldiers should be instructed to mount and dismount equally well on both sides, which may be of great use in times of hurry and confusion. Then place the man in his saddle, with his body rather back, and his head held up with ease, without stiffness; seated neither forwards, nor very backwards; with the breast pushed out a little, and the lower part of the body likewise a little forwards; the thighs and legs turned in without constraint, and the feet in a straight line, neither turned in nor out. By this position, the natural weight of the thighs has a proper and sufficient pressure of itself, and the legs are in readiness to act when called upon: they must hang down easy and naturally; and be so placed, as not to be wriggling about, touching, and tickling, the horse's sides, but always near them in case they should be wanted, as well as the heels.

The body must be carefully kept easy and firm, and without any rocking when in motion; which is a bad habit very easily contracted, especially in galloping. The left elbow must be gently leant against the body, a little forwards: unless it be so refted, the hand cannot be steady, but will always be checking, and consequently have pernicious effects on the horse's mouth. And the hand ought to be of equal height with the elbow; if it were lower, it would constrain and confine the motion of the horse's shoulders: but, as the mouths of horses are different, the place of the hand also must occasionally differ: a leaning, low, heavy, fore-hand, requires a high hand; and a horse that pokes out his nose, a low one. The right-hand arm must be placed in symmetry with the left; only let the right hand be a little forwarder or backwarde, higher or lower, as occasions may require, in order that both hands may be free; both arms must be a little bent at the elbow, to prevent stiffness.

A soldier's right hand should be kept unemployed in riding; it carries the sword, which is a sufficient business for it.

There remains one farther observation, that ought not to be omitted, about the hand, that it must be kept clear of the body; i.e. about two inches and a half forwards from it, with the nails turned opposite to the belly, and the wrist a little rounded with ease; a position not less graceful than ready for slackening, tightening, and moving the reins from one side to the other, as may be found necessary.

When the men are well placed, the more rough trotting they have without stirrups the better; but with a strict care always, that their position be preserved very exactly. In all cases, great care must be taken to hinder their clinging with their legs: in short, no sticking by hands or legs is ever to be allowed of at any time. If the motion of the horse be too rough, slacken it, till the rider grows by degrees more firm; and when he is quite firm and easy on his horse in every kind of motion, stirrups may be given him; but he must never leave off trotting often without any.

The stirrups must be neither short nor long; but of such a length, that when the rider, being well placed, puts his feet into them (about one third of the length of each foot from the point of it), the points may be between two and three inches higher than the heels. The rider must not bear upon his stirrups, but only