HACKNEY HORSE 



Hackney Horse. — The hackney horse, in spite of the 

 opposition of his opponents, is unquestionably the finest 

 harness horse in the world, his value being recognised by 

 the breeders of every nation. So far as the show ring is 

 concerned, he certainly possesses no superior as a harness 

 horse, as hackneys are invariably the winners of by far the 

 greatest number of prizes, whilst the stamina of the breed 

 is proved by the fact that the long-distance road championship 

 of America was held for a considerable period by an English- 

 bred representative of the variety. 



Regarding the antiquity of the hackney there can be 

 no two opinions, as the Stud Book of the breed shows that 

 many a modern horse is a direct descendant of the famous 

 blood-horse Flying Childers, from whom so many thorough- 

 breds are descended, and there are reasonable grounds for 

 believing that there was a connection between the mares 

 which assisted to form the two varieties. This possibility 

 is rendered all the stronger by reason of the fact that until 

 the appearance and spread of railways the hackney was 

 mainly a saddle horse, but since the British agriculturist 

 gradually abandoned the practice of riding long distances 

 to market, the harness properties of the breed have been 

 steadily developed. 



From very early times the merits of the East Anglican 

 trotting horse — that is, the hackney, whose name is popularly 

 believed to have been derived from the ancient word hnegan, 

 to neigh — have been generally recognised, so much so that 

 he soon began to be found in counties adjacent to his 

 native Norfolk, and as a matter of fact the stronghold of 

 the breed has for many years past been Yorkshire. Of late 

 years successful attempts have been made by hackney 

 breeders to increase the height of their horses from the 



15 hands 2 inches, which was formerly the extreme limit 

 permitted at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show, to 



16 hands and over. Whether the breed has benefited by 

 the change is a matter of opinion, but there can be no 

 doubt at all that the value of the hackney as a harness 



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