COLONIAL HORSE HISTORY VIRGINIA. 115- 



" In the southern part of the colony and in North Carolina, they are much 

 attached to Quarter Racing, which is always a match between two horses to 

 run one quarter of a mile, straight out, being merely an exertion of speed; and 

 they have a breed that perform it with astonishing velocity, beating every other 

 for that distance with great ease, but they have no bottom. However, I am 

 confident that there is not a horse in England, nor perhaps in the whole world, 

 that can excel them in rapid speed; and these likewise make excellent saddle 

 horses for the road." 



It will be observed that Mr. Smith speaks of these heavily 

 muscled horses as a breed, which expression, I suppose, is intended 

 to be used in a restricted sense. In the many generations of 

 horses that would necessarily succeed each other in a century, in 

 the hands of a people so devotedly fond of racing, it is merely an 

 exercise of common sense, among barbarous as well as civilized 

 people all over the world, to "breed to the winner." In this 

 way, and without any infusion of outside blood, there would be 

 improvement in the strength and fleetness of all animals bred for 

 the quarter path. He remarks further that ' 'these likewise 

 make excellent saddle horses for the road." In that day nothing 

 was accepted as a "saddle horse" that could not take the pacing 

 gait and its various modifications. This was true of Virginians 

 of that day, and it is still true of their descendants who have 

 built up new States further west. 



In the early days, as already intimated, it was the habit of Vir- 

 ginians to brand their horses and then turn out all not in daily 

 use to "hustle" for their own living. As a matter of course these 

 animals would often stray long distances away, and not a few 

 never were found. In due time, legislation provided for the re- 

 covery of estrays, embracing all kinds of domestic animals as well 

 as negro slaves. Fortunately this enables me to reach what may 

 be considered "original data," in determining the size and habits 

 of action of the early Virginian horses. As the field of my ex- 

 amination, I have taken the Virginia Gazette, for the years 1751 

 and 1752. published at Williamsburgh, and in these volumes I 

 find a great many advertisements of "Strayed or Stolen" animals 

 scattered through the pages; and in the second especially a great 

 many "Taken Up" advertisements appear. In a very large pro- 

 portion of these notices, perhaps a majority of them, all the de- 

 scription that is given is the color, sex and brand, with occasion- 

 ally some natural mark. As a matter of course these are of no 

 value for the object in view. In some cases the size is given 

 without the gait, and in others the gait is given without the size,. 



