5o6 



CONTINENTAL HORSES. 



chestnut. They are essentially omnibus and mail cart 

 horses. They trot in good, easy style, and sometimes 

 with high action, even when drawing a heavy load. 

 With the idea of improving them, they were formerly 

 crossed with Anglo-Normans, the result being that they 

 became more elegantly '' topped," but with loss of bone 

 below the knees and hocks, and they consequently became 



Photo by] 



[J. Delton, Taris. 



Fig. 510. — A Tarbes mare. 



less useful. Of late years, they have been crossed with 

 the Boulonnais, so as to give them more substance, in 

 order to meet the demands of the American market. 



Common bred cart-horses are produced near Argentan 

 and Domfont. They stand from 14.2 to 16 hands, and 

 are heavy, coarse looking animals. They are good tem- 

 pered and are useful for agricultural work. Formerly, 

 they were used for field artillery, but are not now em- 

 ployed in the army. 



