An Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet - Prajna Quest

BOOTAN. 23Indeed, some of those that come into our hands aged, have acquiredhabits of resistance, which it is rather difficult to modify or reform.These are chiefly to be attributed to the strong hand with which theyare governed : I have seen a Tangun horse tremble in every joint, whenthe groom has seized both reins of a severe bit, and compressed his jaws,as it were, in a vice. Under the strongest impression of fear, they executetheir labour with an energy unsubdued even by fatigue ;and theirwillingness to work, added to their comparatively small value, hasdrawn upon them a heavy share of the hardest services in Bengal,equal with that of the tallest and most powerful horses in India,bothfor the road and draught ;yet, in the heaviest carriages, they are neverseen to flinch,but often betray an impatience, and start forward witha spring, that sometimes surprises their driver.If they happen to havebeen unskilfully treated, they will not unfrequently bear against the bitwith a force which seems to increase with every effort to restrain them.Sometimes, with less apparent cause on their side, they lean againsteach other, as though it were a struggle, which of them should pushhis companion down ;at other times, they lean with so great an inclinationfrom the pole, that a person unacquainted with them, wouldapprehend every instant, that they must either fall, or the tracesbreak. These are habits, indeed, which it requires the greatest patienceto endure, and a long course of mild and good usage to subdue.By such means it is practicable to govern them ; but to a personnot endued with a very even temper, I would by no means recommendthe contest ; for, after all, strong and hardy as Tanguns are, they areless able to bear the heat of an Indian sun than any other breed, andthey often fall victims to it, when hard driven in very hot weather.