1 88 MY horse; my love 



area, and the soil sickens of them, so that peculiar dis- 

 orders break out among foals and yearlings, and this is 

 why large studs are at a disadvantage. 



The history of modern breeding proves the truth of the 

 theory that a stallion can7iot be too old, and that ' stayers ' 

 cannot be bred from young sires, although speedy horses 

 can. Sir John Hawley and Lord Falmouth were both 

 extremely fortunate as breeders, mating their mares on 

 certain principles warranted by experience. Still, the true 

 art of ' nicking ' so as to produce with unerring certainty, 

 colts and fillies that will race, is a secret yet undiscovered. 

 Luck must enter largely into any fortunate result. The 

 union of Stockwell and Blink Bonny produced a fine off- 

 spring, Blair Athol, but when Gladiateur and Fille de I'Air 

 were mated, Eole, their offspring, was said to be ' worse 

 than a selling plater ' ! 



Is there, then, not need for a system that shall supply 

 good and useful horses, sound weight - carrying hunters, 

 good riding - horses for general purposes ? The Govern- 

 ment needs horses for the Array, the sportsman needs a 

 racer, and a national stud is really wanted. In spite of 

 the great esteem in which the thoroughbred horse is held, 

 he cannot be called the saddle-horse of the country. He 

 is not often seen as a cavalry charger, and has not pro- 

 duced good troopers for the cavalry in India. 



The original framers of the stud-book, which was begun 

 before 1760, looked upon the Eastern horse, and /ar ex- 

 cellence the Arabian, as the pure bred horse, and those alone 

 who are descended from Eastern horses and are registered 

 in the book are now considered thoroughbred, an ac- 

 knowledgment of the superiority of Arabian blood. So, 

 when it shows conclusively that the popular horse of Eng- 



