BRITISH TURF. 113 



through the Stud Book to any Eastern stallion, or 

 to the two Barb Mares, commonly called the Royal 

 Mares, imported by Charles II. The assertion so 

 often made, that, for a horse to claim the title of 

 " thorough," it is necessary he should be of pure 

 Eastern descent, cannot for a moment be supported; 

 as investigation proves, that the first British race- 

 horses were those of British origin, already much 

 improved by the attention and management of 

 breeding which followed the introduction of horse 

 racing. The admixture of Eastern blood and judi- 

 cious crossing, afterwards combined to form the 

 thorough bred horse. 



SIZE, COLOUR AND FORMATION OF THE THOROUGH-BRED 



HORSE. 



The thorough-bred horse varies in point of size, 

 the preference being given to a low over a large 

 horse. Experience teaches the justness of this 

 preference, for we find that w^hile the largest horses 

 that have ever appeared on the British Turf, have 

 with a very few exceptions proved very inferior 

 in running to those of a medium height, many 

 instances are to be found on the other hand, of 

 the best horse of his year being almost the lowest. 

 As speed does not arise from superior height, — being 

 more frequently destroyed by it, as we find the 

 long beam breaks from its own length,— we may 



VOL. I. I 



