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. Th