ENGLISH BREEDS 133 



his strength. It is true, however, that his reputation for pluck and 

 stamina has been impugned by some persons who have crossed him with 

 the view of producing a hunter, and who have j^ronounced him soft. 

 This, however, is scarcely a fair charge to bring, as, in spite of the pro- 

 testations of the thick-and-thin admirers of the Cleveland Bay, the horse 

 is more adapted for harness than for saddle, and it therefore is surely 

 running him out of his course to expect an animal to discharge duties 

 for which he was never intended. 



The Yorkshire Coach-horse. — The subject of this article so closely 



resembles the Cleveland Bay in appearance that there is considerable diffi- 

 culty in distinguishing between the representatives of either breed on the 

 part of those who are not experts on the suliject of horse-fiesh. It is there- 

 fore perhaps permissible, heretical though it may appear to some minds, to 

 regard the Yorkshire Coach-horse as an offshoot of the Cleveland Bay, 

 which he is very like, though he shows more quality and breeding. 



The Yorkshire Coach-horse has been recognized by horse-breeders as a 

 distinct variety for a hundred years. It is only, however, within a com- 

 paratively recent period that he has been taken seriously in hand by 

 those who, in the best interests of the horse, have placed restrictions on 

 the operations of breeders, with the result that the Yorkshire Coach-horse 

 is now the recipient of a fair share of public attention. At the same 

 time, the existence of a remote Thoroughbred cross has been fully recog- 

 nized by the members of the Yorkshire Coach-horse Society, who, whilst 

 endeavouring to promote the interests as a breed of the animal they are 

 pledged to support, are sufficiently liberal in their views to admit the 

 benefits which the Coach-horse has derived from both the Thoroughbred 

 and the Cleveland Bay. 



Beyond all doubt the Yorkshire Coach -horse owes his origin to the 

 Cleveland Bay-Thoroughbred cross, the object of the founders of the breed 

 being the production of a horse which stood very high at the shoulder, and 

 combined a great amount of quality with a sufficiency of substance. As 

 time progressed, more Thoroughbred blood was introduced, the result being 

 that a certain amount of weediness ensued, and this weediness it has Ijeen 

 the chief desire of later breeders to counteract. A coaching stallion of 

 c[uality to a Cleveland Bay mare was a very popular cross, and the 

 result was, as might be expected, a valuable harness horse — as the plain- 

 ness of the Cleveland Bay was neutralized by the breeding of the sire, 

 whilst there was plenty of power about the youngster. On the other 

 hand, the introduction of a superfluity of Thoroughbred blood resulted 

 in loss of size and lightness of bone; and as the Yorkshire Coach-horse 

 should be a tall animal and yet possess substance, it was speedily recog- 



