6 PURCHASING FROM THE STABLES, ETC. 



many that are taken to be of good caste that ne- 

 ver saw Arabia, nor sprang from Arab stock ; and 

 though the speed which some few of these have 

 occasionally shown, is proof that they must, by 

 either sire or dam, have inherited good blood of 

 some country, still, they are not to be trusted 

 like the genuine Arab, whose pure descent and 

 unsullied pedigree is generally graced with a 

 shape that rarely or never deceives. There is a 

 beautiful symmetry and harmony of proportion 

 running through all the frame ; a superb quarter, 

 with a high set on, well-carried tail ; a softness 

 and thinness of skin f a brilliancy of eye, and an 

 elegant contour of head ; qualities that mark the 

 true blood, and which never exist in the numerous 

 spurious brutes that so abound in the stables. 



While these handsome points may be relied 

 on as a sure criterion of caste, there are many 

 that have good caste without showing it ex- 

 ternally : these can only be proved on the day 

 of running. Good build of itself in a great mea- 

 sure insures good caste,f nevertheless, many good 



* Yet there are many that in the cold weather will wear 

 a rather long coat, and be very sleek in the hot months. 



t The three following extracts serve to coiToborate this. I 

 think they are also quite sufficient to refute the absurd saying, 

 " No consequence what a horse's build is ; if he has only blood 

 he '11 run." That thorough breeding in a bad formed horse, will 



