190 VARIETIES OF THE HORSE 



which horse is there stated to have been foaled about the year 1810. The 

 correctness of this, however, has been impugned, as a writer in Heavy 

 Horse* , an authoritative work on these breeds, which is edited by Mr. 

 James Sinclair, who occupies a similar position on the Live Stock Journal, 

 draws attention to the fact that if Glancer was foaled in 1810, he must 

 have sired one of his most successful foals — Paton's Horse, which took 

 second prize at the Highland and Agricultural Society's show in 1842 — 

 when he was five-and-twenty years of age. This, of course, was not an 

 impossible feat to accomplish, though it is an improbable one. Be the 

 date of his birth, however, what it may, there is no doubt whatsoever 

 that Glancer, who was also known by the designation of Thompson's 

 Black Horse, is the corner-stone of many a modern Clydesdale strain. 

 Whether the contention put forth by many breeders — namely, that 

 Glancer was a direct descendant of the Lochlyoch mares referred to 

 above — is a correct one or not, it is impossible to ascertain; but it is 

 generally believed that the dam of the famous black, known as the 

 Lampits mare, inherited the blood in cpuestion. 



It was of course impossible that a breed like the Clydesdale, the merits 

 and value of which became generally recognized almost as soon as the 

 horse was known, would long remain without supporters in other districts 

 than that from which he derives his name. The middle of the nineteenth 

 century, therefore, saw the Clydesdale being bred in other parts of 

 Scotland, so that in course of time the Galloway Clydesdales became 

 recognized as a leading branch of the old tree. These animals were 

 possibly the result of crossing the Clydesdale stallions with the old 

 Galloway mares of the heavier type, which are referred to by the Rev. 

 S. Smith, who wrote in 1810, as being "inferior in size to the dray- 

 horses of many other districts, though they are capable of performing as 

 much labour and enduring still more fatigue, whilst they are more easily 

 kept and less liable to disease". The reverend author describes these 

 animals as being " round in the body, short in the back, broad and deep 

 in the chest, level along the back to the shoulders, not long in the legs 

 nor very fine in the head and neck: their whole appearance indicating 

 vigour and durability, and their eye commonly a sufficient degree of 

 spirit". There is also information, dating from about the middle of the 

 century, which refers to Ayrshire Clydesdales, and Kintyre, Aberdeen- 

 shire, and Cumberland strains, all three of which could trace back to the 

 Lanarkshire root, and cast no discredit on the good horses whose blood 

 they inherited. 



At the same time, there are strong grounds for believing that, many 

 years ago, there were Shire stallions standing in Aberdeenshire, and con- 



