SOUTH AFRICAN HORSES. 491 



the highest stage of perfection which it has ever attained. 

 It was during the latter part of this period that large 

 consignments of horses were shipped to India, which 

 earned for the Cape horse such a high reputation with the 

 Indian authorities." 



The decay of horse-breeding at the Cape, which began 

 about forty years ago, was considerably hastened by the 



Photo by] [M. H. H. 



Fig. 499. — Thick-set Transvaal gelding (15. i). 



importation of weedy and worthless English thorough- 

 breds, few of which I venture to think cost more than 

 £50. At the same time, some of the Cape breeders, like 

 Mr. Hilton Barber and Mr. Alec Robertson of Storm- 

 fontein, employed good thorough-bred sires, and bred 

 animals that were able to hold their own on the Turf 

 against imported English race-horses. Like other dry 

 countries (Arabia and India for instance), South Africa 



