98 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. 



was created before man, and after he was created he was told to choose the 

 most heautifiil of all animals, and he chose the horse; upon which (rod said 

 to Adam : " You have chosen that which is a glory to yoli, and will be to 

 vour children." The Arabs profess to know the pure Arabian horse, the 

 descendant of Zad-el-Iiuhb, which Solomon presented to their tribe, by the 

 fiininess of his lips and cartilage of the lower part of the nose ; by the dilata- 

 tion of his nostrils ; by the leanness of the flesh about the veins of his head ; 

 by the clcijjancc of the neck and shoulders ; by the softness of his hair, mane, 

 and skin; by the fullness of his breast ; by the large size of his joints; and by 

 the dryness of his extremities ; and also by his moral indications, for a noble 

 horse has no malice in him. lie loves his master, and frequently will suffer 

 no other to mount him. lie refrains from dning what nature prompts as 

 necessrtry while his master is on his back. Uc will not eat food left by 

 another horse. lie loves to splash limpid water whenever he meets it. His 

 instinct, smell, sight, hearing, intelligence, and address are all used for his 

 master ; and he will light for him. Hence the Arab's love of his horse. It 

 will be well for us all to remember some of the traditions of the Arab, for 

 they describe valuable points in a horse. 



130. Thorough-Bred. — This term does not appear to have any very def- 

 inite meaning in this country. It is generally supposed to trace back to 

 something in the way of pure blood, of a better stock than the common one 

 of the country ; but what that stock is, perhaps not one in ten who owns 

 horses can tell. A writer in the (English) Fari)U'r''s JIagaz'uie says : 



"The term, thorough-bred is an expression not clearly defined as regards 

 any of our domestic animals, but it would be very desirable to have some 

 rule established. It may be accepted as a principle that breeding from ani- 

 mals endowed with certain properties and perfections through several gen- 

 ^erations, constitutes the claim to distinction ; hat there is iio adopted rule to 

 determine hoic many generations are sufficient to establish the title." 



Yet, according to oar understanding of the term, a " thorough-bred" horse 

 must trace back, free from contamination of baser blood, to the pure Arabian 

 stock. The original of that stock in England, so far as ])edigrees are at- 

 tempted to be traced, was the " Darley Arabian," brought from " Araby the 

 blest" by a Mr. Darley. That liorse was the sire of Flying Childcrs, and 

 grandsire of Eclipse, one of the most remarkable horses ever on the English 

 race-course. He was not what would be considered a handsome horse, by a 

 bi'eeder of Morgan stock, but his fleetness and endurance were beyond com- 

 petition, and his stock have followed in his footsteps. He died at the age 

 of twenty-five years, after having begotten a greater number of prize-win 

 ning colts than any other horse that -ever lived. 



If a horse can trace back to old Eclipse, or any of his famous colts, there 

 is no mistake about his being " thorough-bred." So he would be if he 

 traces back to the "Godolphin Arabian," a Barb that was introduced into 

 England at a later period than the Darley Arabian. 



There should be some definite rule established among horse-breeders and 



