50 Breeds of Horses 



It is important to notice that a well-bred horse will carry much 

 more weight than his appearance would lead one to suppose, and 

 that an underbred horse cannot carry so much. Amongst Hunters 

 of all kinds well-balanced action is power. 



Thoroughbreds 



[Plates, facing pp. 96, 97) 



The English Thoroughbred horse has filled a unique place in the 

 history of horse-breeding all over the world. He is the only horse 

 of whom there is a systematic record which dates back to the 

 seventeenth century, and which is to be found in print, so that he 

 who runs may read. Perhaps I may be reminded of his relative, 

 the Arab, of whom the records date back to the days of Mohammed. 

 But what are the records? There is considerable controversy about 

 some of them, and Arab pedigrees are sometimes to be taken with 

 much caution, for your Arab has the reputation of being an accom- 

 plished horse coper. 



But even granted that the Arabs have preserved their pedigrees 

 for hundreds of years, that is all that they have preserved. There 

 are stories of wonderful performances, of great pace and courage, 

 and of remarkable endurance shown; but these mainly rest upon 

 tradition. No doubt, however, need be thrown upon their accuracy 

 on that account ; the Arab horse has no greater admirer than the 

 writer, who, however, would point out that the traditions about him, 

 if not exactly vague, have no sort of scientific accuracy. 



Very different is the case of the English Thoroughbred. From 

 the seventeenth century there are records of the races that some of 

 them have run. When we come to the eighteenth century we find 

 the records increasing year by year, we are told the distances they 

 ran, the number of heats they contested, and the weights they 

 carried. 



These carefully-kept records, together with the equally carefully- 

 compiled pedigrees to be found in the General Stud Book, are 

 of inestimable value. They enable us to form a fairly accurate 

 opinion of the qualifications of individual horses; from them we are 

 enabled to learn how certain characteristics are preserved in differ- 

 ent families; and we are also enabled to form some idea as to the 

 results of various theories of breeding, though perhaps it does not 

 do to generalize too much in this direction. And the records of 

 the Calendar give us a good idea of the stamina and constitution 

 of the horse whose performances we are considering, which is, per- 

 haps, the most important thing that we can learn about him. 



