The Hyderabad territory in the Dekhan can breed about 2000 horses a-year, and 500 good colts could be purchased at lower rates there than are paid for Arabs or Cape or Australian horses.
Tho low-statured horses of the Bhima and Man rivers, the Bhima Terai and Man Terai, are good. The Bhima horse has all the best points of the high-bred Arab, without his very fine skin, irritable temper, and rather long pasterns, and has generally better feet. The marches of the Mahmtta and Pindari horsemen during the early part of the present century are well known, and the Mahratta pony to this day, when of the proper breed, commands a high price in the Indian markets. The little ponies used in Madras in the Jatka carriages, are brought from Poona, Sholapur, Hubli, and Dharwar. A few are brought from Kangayam in the south of the Peninsula. A good pony costs 150 rupees.
The Mita, or pony of the Dekhan,is a wonderful animal, often with great speed, or great strength and much endurance. Their colours are generally bay, or brown, tie chesuut ; grey seldom, and dun still ihore so. They are generally taught to amble four or fivo miles an hour.
The Kathi or Kattymear horse is a large and powerful blood animal. They have fine lean heads, and make admirable cavalry chargers; com monly of a dun colour, with black points and black manes and tails. All have the shoulder stripe. It has been said, but not seemingly with correctness, that few of the Kattyawar horses of the present day are of the real Kattyawar breed, being much crossed with Arabs and half-bred horses of sorts. The pure bred Kathi are fine powerful horses, with one great deficiency in shape,—a want of bone below the knee, and a fiery screaming temperament. This breed is specially preferred by native chiefs, who give very large sums for handsome Kattyawars.
The Ghoont or Khund is a breed of the Himalaya mountains, generally small, strongly made, hard mouthed, and sometimes almost unmanageable. In ascending hill faces, or passing along the declivities of mountains, it is best to let them have their own way, for in an intricate passage they often show more sagacity than the rider. Their common pace is a kind of amble, and they stop every now and then to breathe, when no applica tion of the whip will move them. They are sure footed, and sometimes halt at the edge of a pre cipice, to the terror of the rider ; they are not so quick in ascending hills as the low-country horses, but they descend with double the speed, and endure great fatigue. The ghoont, though a useful animal, seldom carries any burden but a man. In Spiti
they are bred chiefly for sale. They have two breeds, one a small ghoont, never above 12 hands high, peculiar to the country ; and the other, a large breed from 13 to 13i hands high, is bought from the Chinese, and usually comes from Choo moortee ; for a Chinese ghoont two years old they give a Spiti ghoont four years old. All are equally hardy, and are kept out the whole winter, except the yearlings, which are housed. During winter the ghoont live on the roots of the stunted bushes, and are very expert at scraping the snow from off them with their fore feet. The breed of ghoont might be improved with a little care. Many are killed during winter by wolves and leopards.
The Yarkand pony is a hardy little animal, and fetches a high price, being in request for the hill stations in the North-Western Provinces of India. The variety called the Tangun piebald is common. They are shy and timid at first, and evince it strange dislike to Europeans, but soon get accus tomed to their new masters; and for their strength, endurance, and sure-footedness, are well adapted for alpine travelling. While crossing the k.ani koriun mountains, whole caravans are sometimes overwhelmed by snowstorms ; and Billah Shah, a chief merchant of Leh, mentioned that in many places the route to Yarkand was only traceable by the bones of horses.
The Tangun of Tibet are wonderfully strong and enduring. They are never shod, and the hoof often cracks, and they become pigeon-toed. They are frequently blind of one eye, when they are called Zemik (blind ones), but this is thought no great defect. They average £5 to £10 for a good animal in Tibet, and the best fetch £40 to £50 in the plains of India, where they become acclimated and thrive well. Giantcbi (Jhansi jeung of Turner) is the best mart for them in tit eastern part of Tibet, where some breeds fete] very high prices. The Tibetans give the foals o value messes of pigs' blood and raw liver, whit] they devour greedily, and it is said to strengthen them wonderfully ; the 'Custom, Dr. Hooke believes, is general in Central Asia. Humbold (Per. Nar. iv. p. 320) described the horses o Caraccas as occasionally eating salt meat. Ii India, sheep's bead is often given in mesalih The Tibetan pony, though born and bred 10,00( to 14,000 feet above the sea, is one of the mos active and useful animals in the plains of Bengal powerful and hardy, and when well trained early docile, although by nature vicious and obstinate.