The history of the Horse is lost in antiquity. Remains of this animal in a
domesticated condition have been found in the Swiss lake-dwellings,
belonging to the Neolithic period. (2/1. Rutimeyer 'Fauna der Pfahlbauten'
1861 s. 122.) At the present time the number of breeds is great, as may be
seen by consulting any treatise on the Horse. (2/2. See 'Youatt on the
Horse': J. Lawrence on the Horse 1829; W.C.L. Martin 'History of the Horse'
1845: Col. H. Smith in 'Nat. Library, Horses' 1841 volume 12: Prof. Veith
'Die naturgesch. Haussaugethiere' 1856.) Looking only to the native ponies
of Great Britain, those of the Shetland Isles, Wales, the New Forest, and
Devonshire are distinguishable; and so it is, amongst other instances, with
each separate island in the great Malay archipelago. (2/3. Crawfurd
'Descript. Dict. of Indian Islands' 1856 page 153. "There are many
different breeds, every island having at least one peculiar to it." Thus in
Sumatra there are at least two breeds; in Achin and Batubara one; in Java
several breeds; one in Bali, Lomboc, Sumbawa (one of the best breeds),
Tambora, Bima, Gunung-api, Celebes, Sumba, and Philippines. Other breeds
are specified by Zollinger in the 'Journal of the Indian Archipelago'
volume 5 page 343 etc.) Some of the breeds present great differences in
size, shape of ears, length of mane, proportions of the body, form of the
withers and hind quarters, and especially in the head. Compare the race-
horse, dray-horse, and a Shetland pony in size, configuration, and
disposition; and see how much greater the difference is than between the
seven or eight other living species of the genus Equus.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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