THE HORSE. 



written on the subject, consider that they are 

 inferior in point of strength, on account of their 

 bulk ; for by the feeding which is required to 

 increase their dimensions, little of muscular fibre 

 is produced, the growth being principally in the 

 cellular tissue and fat ; and the additional quantity 

 of food required to keep up their system, must 

 more than counterbalance any advantage to be 

 reaped from their size. 



Latterly, considerable pains have been taken to 

 improve the qualities of ordinary cart-horses, 

 among which we include those required in agricul- 

 ture. A breed called the Clydesdale is highly 

 valued for either cart or plough. Animals of the 

 Clydesdale breed reach to a large size, and are not 

 unfrequently to be met with sixteen and a half 

 hands high. These animals are strong and hardy, 



Clydesdale Horse Suffolk Punch. 



but their heads are somewhat coarse, and they are 

 rather flat on the hinder quarters. The usual 

 colour of these horses is gray or brown. This 

 breed is supposed to have originated about one 

 hundred and forty years ago, between the common 

 Scotch mare and the Flanders horse. As a breed, 

 the Clydesdale is rapidly rising in estimation, and 

 is now extensively used. 



Ponies. 



A horse beneath thirteen hands is called a pony, 

 but this definition is not very strictly attended to, 

 and the same thing may be said of the galloway. 

 The old Scottish galloways, which took their name 

 from the district of Galloway, in the south-western 

 extremity of the country, are now nearly extinct 

 They were stout, compact animals, sure-footed, 

 and of great endurance, and on these accounts 

 invaluable in travelling over rugged and mountain- 

 ous districts. The beauty and speed of the 

 galloway were supposed to be owing to its being 

 the result of a cross between Scotch horses and 

 some Spanish jennets, which escaped from the 

 wreck of the Spanish Armada. But we believe 

 the breed was famous long before that event, 

 as this district is known to have supplied 

 Edward I. with great numbers of horses. They 

 seldom exceeded fourteen hands in height : their 

 colour was generally bright bay or brown, with 

 black legs, small head and neck, and their legs 

 peculiarly deep and clean. A compact, stout- 

 built pony, of from thirteen to fourteen hands 

 high, and possessing some of the qualifications 



of the galloway, is called a cob, which is valu- 

 able as a steady pacer, at an easy rate. 



The small ponies of the Highlands of Scotland 

 and Shetland (usually called shelties) may almost be 

 termed wild animals ; for they go at large in herds 

 on the hills and wastes, and are not shod till 

 caught and put into training. They are docile and 

 tractable, and being very sure-footed, are the best 

 adapted for boys' riding. The Welsh pony is more 

 handsomely formed than that of Shetland ; has a 

 small head, high withers, deep round body, and 

 excellent feet. The Exmoor and Dartmoor ponies 

 are also a hardy, sure-footed race, well adapted for 

 riding in wild districts. The ponies of Norway 

 and Sweden, which are of a dingy cream colour, 

 and of which there are now occasional importa- 

 tions to Britain, are considerably larger than the 

 Shetland or Welsh breeds, and are hardy, sure- 

 footed, and docile. 



REARING OF HORSES. 



The breeding and rearing of horses are carried 

 on professionally in England, chiefly in York- 

 shire ; but many private gentlemen and farmers 

 also engage in it as a means of pecuniary 

 profit and the improvement of their animal stock. 

 We do not pretend here to offer any specific direc- 

 tions on this branch of our subject, it being one 

 in which the public at large are not particularly 

 interested ; and a few observations seem all that 

 is necessary. 



The circumstance which the breeder of horses 

 requires to keep most in mind is, that the qualities, 

 good or bad, of the animal are hereditary. Finely 

 made horses produce finely made descendants, and 

 vice versa : heavy cart-horses never produce ani- 

 mals possessing the qualities of racers. Thus the 

 bone, blood, and general make are directly trans- 

 missible ; and, in the case of crossing, the pro- 

 duce is found to possess a proportional share of 

 both sire and dam. Cross-breeding between 

 extremely different horses is not found advantage- 

 ous : it is a generally recognised principle, that 

 the nearer the resemblance between the parents, 

 the more satisfactory will be the produce. Mr 

 Smith, in his Observations on Breeding for tlie 

 Turf, remarks, that ' the stock of some mares will 

 frequently partake most of the dam, and that of 

 others, most of the sire ; and sometimes one foal 

 will partake most of the mare, and the next per- 

 haps, most of the horse, &c. It also occasionally 

 happens that the produce bears some resemblance 

 to its grandsire, grandam, or other distant kindred ; 

 and although this does not perhaps often occur, so 

 as to be very perceptible, yet as their qualities 

 must, in a lesser or greater degree, descend to their 

 progeny, it has always had its due weight ; hence 

 :he value and partiality to blood, or ancestral 

 excellences, transmitted through many gener- 

 ations.' He further observes, however, ' that he is 

 disposed to attribute more in general to the dam 

 than to the sire, inasmuch as he is decidedly of 

 opinion that a good mare put to the worst thorough- 

 ared horse would be much |nore likely to produce 

 a runner, than a bad mare put to the most fashion- 

 able stallion in England ; and therefore a person 

 possessing good mares may bring any stallion 

 nto repute.' The grand aim of the breeder must 

 je the propagating of excellences, and avoiding 

 defects ; but this is not to be accomplished, as 



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