Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 05.djvu/82

LEFT HORSE 58 HOASE scheme or plan of the 12 houses or 12 signs of the zodiac, in which is marked the disposition of the heavens at a par- ticular moment, and by which astrolo- gers pretended to be able to foretell the fortunes of persons according to the position of the stars at their birth. HORSE (Equus), an ungulate or hoofed mammal of the order Perissodac- tyla, characterized by having an odd number of toes; the family Equidse formed the group SoUdungula of old writers, owing to the presence of only a single hoof, which marks them off quite sharply from all allied animals. The existing species of the genus Eqims are about half a dozen in number. (1) The horse (E. cabalhts) is charac- terized by the tail being furnished with long hairs quite from its base; by the long and flowing mane; by the posses- sion of a bare callosity on the inner surface of the hind as well as of the fore legs; and by the head and ears being smaller and the limbs longer than in A. BELGIAN HORSE B. ARAB HORSE the other species. (2) The ass (E. asinus) is almost as widely distributed as the horse; it is probably of African origin. (3) The Asiatic ass (E. herni- onus) differs from the common ass in be- ing of a more reddish color, in the ab- sence of the shoulder stripe, and in hav- ing smaller ears. (4) The quagga {E. quag g a) has dark stripes upon the head and shoulders on a brown ground; it is said to be now extinct. (5) Burchell's zebra {E. Burchelli) is white, with stripes on the body and the upper parts of the limbs; it extends from the Orange river to Abyssinia. (6) The mountain zebra {E. zebra) is white, with long A. HACKNEY B. CHAMPION CLYDESDALE "BARON's PRIDE'* black stripes reaching down to the feet. It is limited to the Cape Colony and is rapidly disappearing. These last three are sometimes united into a special genus, Hippotigris. (7) The explora- tions of the Russian traveler Prejevalsky in 1881 added another species to the list of Asiatic forms, which has been called after him. The long hairs of the tail begin only half-way down it; the mane is short and erect, and there is no fore- lock; the head is large and heavy; the ears smaller than those of the ass. It inhabits the dry sultry regions of the Dzungarian desert, living in companies of 15 to 20, each led by a stallion. Only two herds were observed, and only one specimen was secured. The native country of the horse seems to have been Central Asia. It became early domesti- cated in Egypt. The Creeks and Ro- mans had some covering to secure their horses' hoofs from injury. In the 9th century horses were only shod in time