2o6 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



men on the subject of horse-breeding, and almost 

 invariably found that they were of opinion that the 

 best way to improve our light horses was to freely 

 use the Arab. In No. 2 of T/ie Live Stock Hand- 

 books on Light Horses it is affirmed of Arab horses 

 in the hunting-field that no day appears too long for 

 them, no country too big, and they make light of the 

 proverbial three days a fortnight. On October 26, 

 1 90 1, Bruni wrote that the change that had taken 

 place during the last two years in the opinion of 

 horsemen as to the best tpye of horse to stand hard 

 usage on scanty and indifferent food had had the 

 effect of again directing attention to the Arab horse 

 as a sire of hardy useful horses ; that some years 

 ago there was a pretty lively discussion among 

 horse-breeders as to the value of the Arab horse as 

 a sire, when, unfortunately, the question was viewed 

 from the point of view of a racing man : the hardi- 

 hood, endurance, and general useful qualities of the 

 Arab grade were ignored. Then he said that, after 

 being neglected for many years, there was evidence 

 that the Arab horse is again coming into favour, and 

 he mentions that at the present sale of American 

 Arabs in New York, bred by Mr. Huntingdon, an 

 average of 1,840 dollars (^358) per head was ob- 

 tained. Mr. Huntingdon is referred to in Mr. 

 Speed's article in the Century, as having fought 

 single-handed for almost a quarter of a century 

 against the prevailing opinion adverse to the value 

 of the Arabian blood. Are our Yankee cousins 



