P K E F A C E 



According to Iiuth's valuable " Bibliographical 

 Record of Hippology" (Works on Horses and 

 Equitation), published in the year 1887, there had 

 been up to that date at least 3,800 separate works 

 published in the various languages of the civilised 

 world on subjects appertaining to the horse. This 

 enumeration is, of course, far from perfect, and 

 very many additions are being made yearly to the 

 list. 



I confess that I should have felt some hesitation 

 at adding another to this formidable array if I did 

 not believe that the subject has never been ap- 

 proached from the standpoint of this little work, 

 and that therefore something will be found in it 

 which is not to be met with in, any of those hitherto 

 written. In fact, it is only the knowledge which 

 has in very recent times accumulated from various 

 sources which could have made such a work pos- 

 sible. 



