THE HEAVT-HAENE8S BEEEDS OF HORSES 51 



fast as well as high. There was little inclination among 

 exhibitors at that time to stop and consider that fast 

 going was not a much sought after characteristic for a 

 high-stepping or a heavy-harness horse. A lessening of 

 the interest in the mere high goer, and more attention to 

 the trueness and serviceability of the action, has done 

 good in recent years; and the outcome has been to 

 strengthen the position of the Hackney and make it more 

 decidedly a heavy-harness horse. 



48. Description. The Hackney of true type is a 

 horse of substance, extremely smooth and with gracefully 

 curved outlines (Fig. 9). Being full made, owing to 

 splendid muscular de- 

 velopment, and being 

 on short legs, the rep- 

 resentative of this 

 breed suffers in stat- 

 ure in comparison 

 with most of the other 

 coach breeds. The 

 type most sought, and 

 the one that may be 

 said to be the old- 

 fashioned type, repre- 

 sents a powerfully 



J FIG. 9. Hackney stallion. 



built horse, round- 

 ribbed, muscular loin, and plump quarters, with short legs. 

 The desire for more quality on the part of some of the 

 breeders, and the use of Thoroughbred blood to secure it, 

 had the effect of making some of them more bloodlike and 

 rangier in appearance. The question of height in the 

 Hackney has been liberally discussed, and the general 

 belief is that a height of 15.2 to 16 hands is most com- 



