134 VARIETIES OF THE HORSE 



nized that the Thoroughbred cross, if persisted in, might soon become 

 prejudicial to the interests of the breed. 



The diliiculty iu attempting to trace the pedigrees of Yorkshire Coach- 

 liorses may be appreciated when it is stated that at least one animal appears 

 in the Stud-ljooks of both the Cleveland Bay and Yorkshire Coach-horse 

 Societies. Still, the efforts of the society which bears the name of the 

 breed will doubtless be rewarded by an improvement in the horse, and 

 will eventually lead to the encouragement of breeders to abjure the in- 

 troduction of extraneous blood, with the result that the stylish blood-like 

 Yorkshire Coach-horse will be universally recognized as a defined breed, 

 as he deserves, and without the further assistance of either a Thoroughbred 

 or a Cleveland Bay. 



As may be supposed from the greater amount of quality he shows, the 

 Yorkshire Coach-horse is a more active-looking and stylish animal than 

 the Cleveland Bay, and his action and liberty are preferred by many. 

 On the other hand, he does not possess the bone and substance of the 

 Bay, as may readily be imagined when it is remembered that the blood of 

 the Thoroughbred circulates so freely in his veins. His close relationship, 

 however, with the aristocracy of the equine world assures the Yorkshire 

 Coach-horse the possession of a great deal of quality, and beyond all 

 doubt the acquisition of this great virtue endears him to many people 

 who vote the Cleveland Bay a commoner. At the same time it must be 

 confessed that at present there is a good deal of dissimilarity amongst 

 even the best-known Yorkshire Coach -horses, some of which are much 

 more blood-like and therefore narrower than others, this being no doubt 

 due to their relationship to either the Thoroughbred or the Cleveland 

 Bay, as the case may lie. 



In appearance, however, the Yorkshire Coach -horse very closely 

 resembles the Cleveland Bay, but he shows a good deal more style 

 and finish, and is not so pronounced in substance, owing to his possession 

 of so much Thoroughbred blood. Indeed, he displays far more quality 

 than would be acceptable to the ordinary judge of the big Bays, whilst 

 his head is more refined and his crest more arched. Perhaps, too, his 

 action is freer upon the whole, but this is more a matter for consideration 

 when the points of individual animals come to be reckoned up, than a 

 general characteristic of the breed. The Coach-horse likewise fails in 

 bone when brought into comparison with the Cleveland Bay, and is, 

 generally speaking, the lighter, corkier animal of the two. He is usually 

 a taller horse, as good specimens often reach 17 hands, and in colour 

 may be either bay or brown. Any other shade of coat is strongly objected 

 to, and white markings are disliked, though a spot on the forehead or 



