T RAV

14 TRAVELS IN AERICA.is never unsaddled, and. l'leVer sleeps; for the latter ptOcess bfn~ture ]SDot perceivable among them. Yet notlling dcadeps their highspirit :and such is often the treatment for Dine~onths in. the year ;indeed, inmany cases, for ycars together.But when'due opportunity ofi'ers, theyare turned out in the winter to graze.When the hor8es are fed onstraw, they, previously ta watering thorn, rub their mouths with tal',assigning as a reason for the praçtice that straw-food is badfor their,eyes, and that tar corrects this il1 quality.A rationale and a recipeworthy, for consistency'ssake, ofinsertion in thcQompilati6ns of·theirbrother-farriers of Europe. They do not curry; andwhenever tlleycan, swim their horses.to few complaints; very little to broken wind.These animaIs are here comparatively subjectIndeedit is obvious,from the regime observed, that the pressure of cOlrihined causes,· thedistension from food and violent action, the case which occurs,of aIlthe prone animaIs, to the horse alone, constantly.èo-operating, cannothave the bad effect it has with us in Europe. The ho/l'ses hère,wheninaction, are nearly empty: hence the stress u:pon the intercostal nervesis very trifling, being no Inore than the natura} ,action of thelungs; andthe, complaint so common in Europe i8 rare here.They are, however,generally tenderfooted, and sbaken in the shoulders, from the mode inwhich they are used. It cannot be othenvise with rough horsemanship,bad roads, il1 farriery, and absurd treat.ment.These people do not hold their reins in the European horseman's ivay,but as our coachmen hold theirs, with the middle finger hetween each,and the back of the hand llppermost.This mode is very convenient tothe pùrpose ofdrawing up the reins, which are long, hanging almost tothe ground, ,and usually slack; but when the horseman prepares him-, ~self to fire, he draws them up short, when he rests the musquet in~thelefthand. (See the plate.) It iscqua1Jyconvenient, too, for i:ecehting the