202 THE HORSE BOOK. 



use when the intention is to breed carriage 

 horses. There is money enough in breeding 

 such horses to make it well worth the while of 

 any man to give the problem careful study. 



THE FEENCH OOACHEE. 



French Coacher is a name which we have 

 bestowed of our own motion on a breed of 

 horses which goes by an entirely different title 

 in France. In the Gallic Eepublic this breed 

 is called demi-sang, which means * i half -bred. ' ' 

 In the seventeenth century the French set 

 about the nationalization of their horse breed- 

 ing interests and to that end .the government 

 stud or haras was established. Through all 

 the tremendous vicissitudes encountered by 

 the French nation, through the change from 

 monarchy to democracy, through the terrors of 

 the Commune and the enforced national lassi- 

 tude following the defeats at Waterloo and 

 Sedan, the policy of horse improvement has 

 been maintained with a central guiding hand 

 and one fixed purpose in view. That purpose 

 was to supply remounts for the army. To this 

 end Thoroughbred stallions were mated with 

 native French mares in a far back day and the 

 progeny of course was half-bred or demi-sang. 

 So these horses were called then and so they 

 are called now. A more euphonious title, mean- 

 ing something to our people, was required when 

 these horses were first imported and the name 

 French Coacher was chosen. 



