30 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



Mr. William Day, in his book on the horse (1900), 

 commenting on the Hunter and Stallion Classes at the 

 Show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England at 

 Newcastle, quotes a reviewer as saying that of one 

 of the best collections of thoroughbred stallions ever 

 seen, to judge them by appearances, out of thirty-six 

 stallions exhibited, twenty-four were disliked — ten 

 for having bad feet or legs or defective hocks, two 

 for unsoundness, two more as hopelessly suffering 

 from the same affliction. On which Mr. Day ob- 

 serves that out of thirty-six picked stallions, supposed 

 to be the best of the sort in England, no less than 

 fourteen (perhaps more if all had been examined) 

 were considered by the judges not fit for the purpose. 

 So bad, indeed, had things got to be that Mr. Day 

 states that a well-known dealer had discontinued 

 his visits to the West, where formerly he used to 

 procure most of his horses, as there were none then 

 to be had. 



An article in the Rapid Review, September, 1904, 

 says that it is calculated that 1,400 two-year-olds 

 make their debut on a racecourse every season, but 

 only a dozen or so remain good enough to go to the 

 post for the Derby — perhaps i per cent. Out of 

 how many thousands the 1,400 are picked I have 

 no means in Australia of discovering. 



Mr. Day also says that unsoundness does exist 

 inherent in all horses to a great extent, and though 

 the cause may be obscure the fact is patent. Upon 

 which I observe that the cause is not obscure. It is 



