X TNTRODVCTION 



It is with the object of assisting the uninitiated 

 that The Encyclopcedia of the Stable has been written, 

 and it is hoped that the suggestions and informa- 

 tion contained in its pages, which are the results of 

 many years' close association with the horse and his 

 breeders, at home and abroad, may prove of assist- 

 ance to those who for the first time are indulging 

 in the pleasure of possessing a stable of their own. 



Before concluding, the author is desirous of acknow- 

 ledging the invaluable assistance he has received from 

 those who have both directly and indirectly aided him 

 in his labours. More especially are his thanks due 

 to Mr F. Babbage, whose drawings and photographs 

 serve so effectually in supplementing the descrip- 

 tions appearing in the text ; to Mr G. H. Parsons, for 

 permission so generously granted to reproduce illustra- 

 tions from his unique collection of equine photographs ; 

 to Miss Eleanor Vale, sub-editor of The Horse World, 

 for the invaluable assistance she rendered in bring- 

 ing out the book ; to Professor Cossar Ewart, for 

 permission to reproduce the illustrations of the pre- 

 historic horse, which that great authority upon all 



