1,38
SYCES. OR GROOMS, LEADING OUT HORSES.
llicir ivliolc fom. i s vci-ycoiiipacl ami sulislniillal, Tlie merchant s of ll]al country
l „ a J llicm >vitli Ihcir mam.facliircs, ami sell tlicn, for about seven or eight
liimmls sicrling cacli. Taniuiis rarely exceed thirteen hands ; perhaps Hvelve
may he a fair medium. Tlu-V arc incredihiy strong, am! carry great weights
wil'h less fatigue than any other kind of horses. Tliey are easily taught lo
amble ; which is a very favourite pace among the natives. It is singular that
t h e s e boi-aes. ofvvhaleTOr colour they nn,y he, scarcely ever have a had hoof;
t b e y are very surc-fooleel, and ibrive with little corn. 'I'hey are, however, very
slui>boru and given lo fighting; but when once broken in, are very valuable,
t h o u g h not sighUy eattlc. Vwim, mares arc scarcely ever seen in Bengal, there
b e i n g a hiw in ibe connlry where ihey are brcil against exporting them.
T h e most extraordinary circumslanee thai attends ihese animals is, ihaL they
a r c often found 10 have leeches in iheir nostrils, which keep them poor in spile
of tlio best feed. They are never seen hut when the la.iumis arc drinking,
when they occasionally stretch iheLusclvcs down to lip in the water. This very
curious fact lias been ascertained in several instances ; and the existence of the
lecclies may generally be smpected when there is a runniug, or defluxion,
n e a r l y pure and limpid issuing from the nostrils.
T h e province of Bengal Proper is unfavourable lo breeding of horses;
ihoiigh ihe liorneJ caltle produced in some parts are not lo be surpassed in
the Kasl. The soil is too moist, and in the rains produces a violent eruption
about the feet, extremely dillieult lo heal, and often running into deep foul
ulcers whicii, if nol treated wilh great atteution, prove destructive. This
disease is called the iursmill;/, litterally signifying " the rains." Il often disa
p p e a r s wilh lhat season, bill in such case is apt lo return ihc following year
w i t h additional force. T'he blotches become more extensive, and tlie discbarge
more f.]etid ; proml llesh springs up, and lumps are formed, which becoming
schirrous, never siibsklc. A large jjorLioii of llie horses kepL by genllemcn liave
more or less of the bitrsaitnif, owin^ to iusiifficieney of exercise, clamp sLables,
and tlie waul of «Kiliiig me«]icines or of bleeding al cerlain seasoHS. I know
nol how belter to dcsci-ibo it ihaii as an eruptive species of ihe grease. A liorse
Uiat has once had lliis complaiiil cannot strictly be considered as sound. Some
Ireul il us a local farcy ; and many assert lhat il is hereditary. Tiie ualives,
who arc in the hahil of giving ihoir horses a great quantity of medicine, and
especially the /.-haln/i minak, or bit-noben, lately introduced into England,
scarcely ever have one affected wilh this terrible disease.
T h o u g h Bengjil is so nniit for breeding horses, Bahar is f[uite the reverse.
' H i e water there is pai-er and lighter: the soil is drier; the air more elastic,
and the pastures rich. A breed eid'led seriisaa, of the tazzec kiiiij, is common
all over North Bahar; but not being deemed fit for our cavalry service, the
H o n o u r a b l e Company have estiiblished a stud for the purpose of improving the
breed, by moans of very fuie stallions kept for the purpose. The reader may
c o n j e e t u r o how fit the place is for such a project, %\hen he is informed thai
u p w a r d s of twent y thousand horses of the serissah breed are sold at the iumual
faii-s in lhat quarter: most of them are of no great value, but 1 have knoAvn
persons, who speculated tliere, make a handsome profit by purchasing good
l o o k i n g colts for perhaps an hundred rupees, which after being broke to the
saddle, or to a carriage, have sold for five or six hundred, The Company's
s l u d being supported with great liberality, promises to answer the end prop
o s e d ; and we may fairly hope, that time will supplant the obIo<[uy attached
lo the name of serissah, and cause it lo he respecled as implying superiority.
T h i s establishment bccame indispensably necessary; foi- the Company, on an
• average, expended from ¿"50. to 70,000. sterling annually in purchasing horses
f r om the Mahratla and other counlries. They allowed four hundred rupees,
o r fifty pounds for a common troop horse : and many gentlemen give from one
to two thousand rupees for horses of a quiet disposilion, though generally
possessing little figure, and al all events not less than eight or ten years old !
T o w a r d s the cold season the niorchants come from the north-west countries
witli strings of horses, from which gcnllemen suit iheniselves at a most
enormous price. Some are brought from the Mahruftu country, and being
g e n e r a l l y large, well made, and bold, make excellent chargers or hiintcrs. They
have uot such blood, however, as the Arab, the Persian, the Toorlc;;, i\\e Jungle
luzzet and the mojenms. The first are too well known lo reijuire any description
: they are all brought by sea, and commonly sell for high prices.
T i i e Persian is certainly a fine breed j but is rather too bony and heavy; as
is also the Toorhf, which is of a broad, shotl make, remarkably phlegmatic,
a n d in common with the Persian, lob-eared and coai-se about the shoulder.
T h e y possess great strength, and arc far the mosl quiet horses in India. The
jungle iazzee, appears to be a n.ixed breed. They are generally of an excellent
s t a t u r e , have a very bold, commanding appearance, and prove excellent racers.
As ihey possess great spirit, none but good riders should mount them. The
m a i e m m appears to be a mixed breed, and is in greatest perfection when gol
b y «.jungk taznee horse, or a Persian or Toorlnj mare. They are in general
v e r y ' h a n d s o m e and showy ; though, like Aiejmigh tazxee. their spirit is apl to
b e rather loo powerful for the ordinary run of horsemen. On the whole, they
may bo considered as the best cast; being (]Uali(icd for almost every purpose,
ami yielding to none for such ijiialifieations as prove recommendations in the
several capacities incident eltlier to the carriage or the saddle. Tlicy |nay be
laken at an average at fifteen hands.
T h e Culch horse is ext remel y curious in the forn. of ils hack. The withers
fall off snddenlv, and in a perpendicular direction, nearly for perhaps three or
f o u r inche s ; se'cming as though a large piece had been by accident taken out of
l l i a t par t of the back bone; which, ihough so much depressed there, rises to
t h e ordinary level as it comes lo the loins. These boi-ses arc luueh valued,
b u t 1 cannot think they are so strong as others ; it is evident that the saddle
must be made for the horse. The people of Cutch, up ihc Gulph o( Persia,