THE HORSE ^ 1087 



bered that " Herod," " Eclipse," and " Matchem " were closely related to one an- 

 other; and it is only the descendants of the breed thus produced to which the term 

 " thoroughbred " applies. The form of the race horse is designed solely for speed, 

 and cannot be taken as a model of equine beauty; the frequent presence of a " ewe 

 neck" detracting from perfect symmetry. Neither are such horses safe to ride. 

 They have the broad forehead, brilliant eyes, delicate muzzle, expanded nostrils, 

 and wide throat of the Arab and the Barb; while the body is long and light, with the 

 last rib widely separated from the pelvis. The chest is deep but narrow, thus af- 

 fording due space for the lungs without making the fore-limbs too wide apart. The 

 obliquity of the shoulder gives full play to the upper part of the leg; while the extreme 

 length of the haunches, and the elongated hind-limbs, with their long, sloping pasterns, 

 are essentially adapted for the maximum development of speed. The most common 

 color is bright bay or brown, with black legs, mane, and tail; but chestnut is not un- 

 frequent. Black and gray are rarer; while dun, roan, or a piebald but seldom occur. 



The English hunter has been produced by infusing the blood of the 

 Hunters, etc. , ... ^1^-1 , 



race horse with the native races to a larger or smaller degree; but it 



does not form an exclusive breed like the racer. Indeed, any good riding horse may 

 be a hunter. The requisite qualities of the hunter are strength, good action, and 

 the power of enduring fatigue, coupled with a speed second only to that of the race 

 horse. The neck must be muscular, and the chest of sufficient breadth to indicate 

 strength without being heavy. The long stride of the racer not being needed, the 

 body should be comparatively short and well " ribbed home," that is to say, the last 

 rib should be close to the pelvis. The legs should also be relatively shorter and 

 stouter. In fact, the English hunter may be described as the perfect development 

 of the horse. In Germany the half-bred or three-quarter-bred horse in use as a 

 hunter is commonly known as the Trakehner, and is represented in our illustration. 

 From half-bred horses of the hunter type there is a complete transition to the ordi- 

 nary saddle and carriage horses, which, although formerly with but little or no for- 

 eign blood in them, now generally exhibit more or less breeding. The Cleveland 

 bay is the most highly-esteemed English carriage breed, and has been produced by 

 mingling thoroughbred blood with a native horse of stouter build than the one se- 

 lected as the stock for the hunter. 



With regard to the length a horse can leap, " Chandler's " big jump 



at Warwick in 1847 is still the subject of occasional discussion. The 

 Powers 



distance was variously measured, and for a number of years was 



thought to have been thirty-nine feet, but the editor of the sporting paper in which 

 the record was first published afterward explained that this was a printer's error, 

 and that the distance was in reality thirty-seven feet. This in itself is big enough; 

 so big, in fact, that there are many horsemen who will regard it as exaggerated. 

 The portion of the race in which the jump occurred, is reported as follows in a 

 description of the race in Bell's Life of March 28, 1847: 



"This left the lead with ' King of the Valley,' but he refused at the top of the 

 hill, and soon after 'Regalia' caught up with him. They raced together to the 

 brook, with 'Chandler' following them. 'Chandler's' rider pulled back as they 



