INTRODUCTION 



THERE have been so many books written about 

 horses that in offering a new one I feel that an ex- 

 planation, if not an apology, is due. And I am 

 embarrassed as to how to frame the explanation 

 without seeming to reflect on the books previous- 

 ly given to the public. Nothing could be further 

 from my desire. Most of these previous books 

 have been devoted to special kinds or types of 

 horses without any effort to cover a very broad 

 field. Some others have been frankly partizan with 

 the avowed purpose of proving that this type or 

 that was the only one that was worth serious con- 

 sideration. All these are interesting, but valuable 

 chiefly to the careful student bent on going into 

 the subject of horse breeding and horse training 

 in all of its branches. To do this an ordinary reader 

 would have to study half a hundred books with 



