2 Breeds of Horses \ 



Flemish stallion at Lochlyoch about 1715-20, and the sixth Duke 

 of Hamilton another in Avondale from 1742-58 — the probability 

 is that the " nag " which served the upland farmer in the days of 

 bridle paths was improved in quality as well as in size by the use 

 of sires belonging to an alien race which was larger and stronger 

 than the native breed. We know that an English horse named 

 Blaze was introduced about 1780 by another of the Patersons of 

 Lochlyoch, and this horse is spoken of as late as 1836 as "having 

 founded the famous Clydesdale breed of horses ", truly a somewhat 

 generous tribute to the influence of one horse. It must be borne in 

 mind, however, that careful selection and treatment of the stock 

 descended from him and the native Lanarkshire mares would, nc 

 doubt, bring about a wonderful amount of improvement. 



There can be no doubt that in Clydesdale, Avondale, and 

 Galloway, there was at the time when improvement in the modern 

 sense began to take place, a native breed of thick, heavy, short- 

 legged and active horses which served as an excellent foundation. 

 It seems clear from the accounts that we possess that the develop- 

 ment of the Clydesdale breed of to-day is due not so much to the 

 influence of any one horse, but to the blending of the blood of 

 several horses of the draught type with that of the native foun- 

 dation stock, in which the distinctive characteristics of the modern 

 Clydesdale can be clearly traced. The essential characteristics of 

 the modern breed were in a great measure to be found in the native 

 stock, and were not imposed on the breed by Blaze or any other 

 horse. 



Reference has already been made to Lochlyoch. The Lochlyoch 

 mares had a high reputation in the early part of the nineteenth 

 century, and a mare now famous as "the Lampits mare", descended 

 from the Lochlyoch stock if not actually bred at Lochlyoch, is 

 credited by some with having been the dam of Thompson's black 

 horse Glancer (335). The writer, however, has given his reasons 

 elsewhere for being doubtful as to the truth of this; and for taking 

 the view that too much has perhaps been made of the supposed 

 connection between " the Lampits mare " and the modern Clydes- 

 dale breed through Glancer (335). 



There can be no question as to the influence of the black horse 

 Glancer (335) himself on the breed; it is unquestionable that some 

 of the most noteworthy tribes in the Clydesdale world are descended 

 from this horse. The line of descent is through Broomfield Cham- 

 pion (95). This great horse left a lasting impression on the breed 

 in Clydesdale. He has been identified also with a horse known as 

 Aberdeen Champion in the North of Scotland. His most notable 



