446 BRITISH AND IRISH HORSES. 



which, to my thinking, looks a pre-eminenth^ serviceable 

 roadster for country requirements in England. I leave 

 my readers to examine his good points ; and to aid them 

 in this respect, I give, by way of contrast, Fig. 456, in 

 which the horse is very nmch of the same class ; but 

 differs greatly in slope of shoulder, length of neck, and 

 shape of head. Subsequentl}^, the Hackney was largely 

 crossed with the thorough-bred, with the result that the 

 vShow Hackney of the present day in some cases (Fig. 457) 

 resembles the old-timer ; and in others (Fig. 458), the race- 

 horse. 



Danegelt (Fig. 459) was a handsome and typical 

 Hackney that possessed the valuable quality of being 

 able to transmit, to a remarkable extent, his best points 

 to his offspring. In Ganymede (Fig. 338), he left behind 

 him a worthy son of the highest character. In Figs. 460 

 and 461 are shown high-class Hackney mares. The two 

 distinct breeds which were formerly known as the Norfolk 

 trotter and Yorkshire Hackney are now merged into the 

 one class of " Hackney." 



The fashionable height of the Hackney is about 15. 2^ ; 

 and the useful height, from about 14.2 to 15. i. A greater 

 height than 15.2 can rarely be obtained without sacrificing 

 type. The usual colour is chestnut, and next come bay 

 and brown. Black is rarely seen in this breed. It is 

 an interesting fact that chestnut Hackneys are generalh-^ 

 better shaped and have more brilliant action than Hack- 

 neys of other colours ; and consequently they form the 

 large majority of winners at shows. This success of the 

 chestnut colour is not always continued in the Sale Rmg, 

 because purchasers of harness horses usually prefer bay 

 or brown, and as a rule they like the animal to be at 

 least 16 hands high. Therefore, colour and height are often 

 serious market objections against Hackneys, especially in 

 competition with German harness horses. 



As the present Hackney has been artificially evolved 

 into a showy, high-stepping light-carriage horse ; his con- 



