The Nineteenth Century , No 182, Apr 1892 [‎88r] (180/244)

1892
AUSTRIAN ST
665
is never altered, before taking the horse away, and the balance in
three annual instalments. Also, if the horse turns out to be useless,
or suffering from any malady, it can be changed.
This privilege is said to be very much valued by the communes,
who invariably buy up all the horses, and never make any default in
the payment, which they have small reason to do if I may judge from
the quality of the horses I saw placed at their disposal at ridiculously
low prices, varying from 300 to 450 florins each. Several horses are
often purchased by the same commune; and as near Mezohegyes one
commune consists of 40,000 inhabitants, who own some 27,000 horses,
this is not to be wondered at. The mares are generally kept in
groups, or what is termed a haras of about 100 mares each, guarded
by mounted soldier chicos when turned out in the plains. I inspected
four of these groups—the first a lot of dark chestnut mares all very
much the same colour and height (15.3), called ' Gidrans,' from the
founder of their race, a pure-bred Arab, his progeny again being
crossed with English thoroughbreds, so that these mares are Anglo-
Arabs. They are a particularly well-matched, good-looking lot of
fine, well-bred, hunter-like mares, with, considering their breeding,
great bone and substance, and are said to produce excellent chargers
noted for their good temper.
The next lot I saw were Anglo-Norman mares descended from a
stallion named Nonius, imported from France in 1815, his progeny
being crossed with English stallions. These mares were from sixteen
to seventeen hands high, chiefly browns and bays, and were said to
produce very fine carriage-horses, selling up to 3,200 florins a pair;
but though they showed great bone and substance, I confess that
many of them appeared to me too long in the back and ungainly in
appearance, with coarse heads, and they were the lot I cared least
about.
Another lot, the small Nonius, descended from the same sire
originally, but the smallest mares being picked out and crossed with
small English thoroughbreds were much more pleasing to look at,
and were a very compact, even, well-matched, useful-looking lot,
standing about fifteen hands high. The last group were descended
from a Hungarian horse called Furioso, his progeny being crossed
with half-bred and thoroughbred English stallions, but notably with
an English thoroughbred. North Star.
I then inspected the young horses. All are most carefully kept
in their special class, and in lots of from 65 to 100 together, in long
loose houses with big straw yards attached 5 and fiom the three-year-
old stallions to the colts and fillies of this year, all are the same
gentle beasts; you can walk and push your way among them with
perfect impunity, handle and pick up their legs, and in fact, whether
in the plains or in the loose houses, you can do exactly what you like