48 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



shall quote in my next chapter, and who scoff at the 

 idea that racing improves the breed of horses ? 



Mr. Robert Black, in his ' Horse-racing in 

 England,' writes that the object both at home and 

 abroad appears to be, not the general improvement 

 of horses, but rather the production of a phenomenon 

 and the performance of some wonderful deed. The 

 wonderful deed referred to is, of course, not weight- 

 carrying, or exhibition of docility, or staying power, 

 or usefulness as a hack, or ability to go through a 

 campaign like Abder Rahman's Arab did, but the 

 ability to sprint. Sprinting is very wonderful, and 

 it gratifies the trainer, the jockey-boy, and the 

 gambler. 



Is it a wonder that in March, 1904, at the meeting 

 of the National Council of the Evangelical Council, 

 ' Ian Maclaren ' denounced the craze for sport, and 

 asked, ' Was there ever any such cant as to defend 

 horse-racing because it secured a good breed of 

 horses ?' 



Lord Durham complains of 'weediness ' of English 

 horses [Afaz/, December 5, 1898). 



Sir Walter Gilbey, in the Nineteenth Century, 

 June, 1904, states that the most important depart- 

 ments of the industry of horse-breeding have never 

 been in a condition so grave as they are to-day, and 

 that the decline in the number of horses of the useful 

 class suitable for military purposes has been manifest 

 for years past. The racehorse as a racehorse is hardly 

 worth considering as an asset in the national defence. 



