OF SCOTLAND.
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Isles, where they are found in the greatest purity. Differ-ent varieties of the same race are spread over all the High-land district, and the Northern Isles. This ancient breed issupposed to have been introduced into Scotland from Scan-dinavia , when the Norwegians and Danes first obtained afooting in these parts. t£ It is precisely the same breed thatsubsists at present in Norway, the Feroe Isles, and Iceland ,and is totally distinct from every thing of horse kind, on thecontinent of Europe , south of the Baltic *. In confirmationof this, there is one peculiar variety of the horse in theHighlands that deserves to be noticed. It is there calledthe eel-backed horse. He is of different colours, light bay,dun, and sometimes cream-coloured; but has always a black-ish list that runs along the ridge of the back, from theshoulder to the rump, which has a resemblance to an eelstretched out. This very singular character subsists also inmany of the horses of Norway , and is nowhere elseknown f
The Highland horse is sometimes only nine, and seldomtwelve hands high, excepting in some of the southern of theHebrides , where the size has been raised to 13 or 14 handsby selection and better feeding. The best of this breed arehandsomely shaped, have small legs, large manes, little neatheads, and are extremely active and hardy. The commoncolours are grey, bay, and black, the last is the favouriteone.
With regard to the breeding and rearing of the Highlandhorse, the following remarks are extracted from the recentreport of the Hebrides , and will apply, without any materialvariation, to other Highland counties.
“ In general, the tenants pay no manner of attention totheir stallions or breeding mares, but leave them almost en-
* The horses of Wales, and generally of all the hilly districts of Europe , havea near resemblance to the Highland Garrons.
M