464 HORSES IRISH DRAUGHT-HORSES 



conjunction with the necessities of the time in other words, 

 by artificial selection. The Hobbie began to lose ground 

 about the beginning of the seventeenth century, and about 

 the end of the eighteenth a number of stallions of Eastern 

 blood were introduced from England. These, crossed with 

 the native mares, formed the parent stock of the Irish 

 Thoroughbred, which may be said to date from that time, 

 and to be based, like the English Thoroughbred, mainly upon 

 the three great sires " Herod," " Eclipse," and " Matchem." 

 About the middle of the eighteenth century, upwards of a 

 hundred imported stallions were standing in Ireland. From 

 this time the history of the Thoroughbred horse in England 

 and Ireland is practically the same. 



The Irish Draught-Horse is not authentically recorded 

 before the close of the eighteenth century, when the require- 

 ments resulting from a great increase of the tilled area 

 produced a demand for a bigger and stronger horse for 

 tillage. Imported English draught-horses having failed, the 

 breed was built up by selections from the heavier of the native 

 horses suitable for farm work. The animals were too coarse 

 for hunting, although they jumped well ; but the mares were 

 admirable for mating with the Thoroughbred stallions, and 

 to this cross we owe the Irish Hunter which has established 

 for Ireland a world-wide reputation. The low price of 

 agricultural produce has led during the last 50 years of the 

 nineteenth century, but particularly since 1879, to the 

 " steady decrease in numbers and quality " of the draught- 

 horse, which passed first from the large farmers into the 

 hands of small men who were compelled to meet urgent calls 

 by parting with their good colts and fillies. u Consequently, 

 after a drain of 25 years, we have left only some very old 

 and degenerate specimens of a very valuable breed, which 

 must be regarded as a national loss." The loss of this breed 

 has reflected injuriously upon what formerly was the 

 comparatively safe industry of breeding Hunters, increasing 

 its uncertainty in proportion to the additional amount of 

 Thoroughbred blood it is now necessary to employ. In the 

 interests alike of the agriculturist and the breeder of Irish 

 Hunters, the restoration of the Irish Draught-Horse is a 

 necessity. He was formed by selections from the remains 



