48 Breeds of Horses 



think is going to make a complete turnover in Hunter breeding 

 and who has been going to do so for some time. There was a 

 great deal said in some quarters about the excellence of the weight- 

 carrying Hunter sires at the 191 3 show of the Hunters' Improve- 

 ment Society, and the premium horses were a very nice lot. 

 Dr. Haslewood's Dalenberg and Mr. E. W. Robinson's The Tower 

 are both Thoroughbred, and Mr. T. Wickham Boynton's Atty, 

 though technically a half-bred, is to all intents and purposes 

 Thoroughbred. He was in training till he was six years old, was 

 a winner in good company at Epsom and Newbury, as well as over 

 hurdles. We should have had all these horses if the half-bred 

 Hunter sire had never been heard of. 



It must not be deduced from what has been said that the 

 Hunter-bred sire is altogether a failure. Some amongst them are 

 really good-looking horses, and altogether on Hunter lines, and 

 occasionally one sees a really good-looking Hunter by them. Also, 

 I have no doubt that some of their stock will carry a man well to 

 hounds, just as those Cleveland Bay mares carried men well to 

 hounds, and for the same reason, viz. that they breed back to some 

 remote ancestor, or, as Mendelians put it, they are pure bred to 

 one of the breeds used in the cross. But considerable care will 

 be necessary in using these sires, and if they are used indiscrimi- 

 nately, there is pretty sure to be disappointment. Great pains 

 should be taken to avoid crossing them with mares that are on 

 the strong side, or coarseness is almost certain to be found in their 

 offspring, and it is unnecessary to emphasize that no one will give 

 a big price for a coarse horse unless he is a very brilliant performer. 

 Very brilliant performers are scarce, and besides they do not do 

 much good to the breeder. 



The difficulty of breeding from two cross-bred animals may 

 perhaps be most clearly exemplified by the following experience. 

 In the middle of the hunting season the person in question was 

 in the unfortunate position of not having a sound hunter in his 

 stable, and he did not want to miss all the sport. It was before 

 the days of the Shire horse — that is, before the Shire horse spread 

 all over the country, and the light, clean-legged cart horse was in 

 favour in North Yorkshire. Amongst this gentleman's farm horses 

 was a grey, named Prince, a big raking horse that was somewhat 

 cross-bred. I do not remember his pedigree, but he had some 

 Coach Horse blood and a bit of Thoroughbred a generation or two 

 back. The hounds met in a hilly woodland district, and the owner 

 thought he might as well see a little sport on Prince. So Prince 

 was trimmed up a bit, the long hairs singed off his jaws and his 



