62 ENGLAND'S HORSES, 



are the best in the world. There is nothing equal to them, 

 as long as a thorough-bred horse can give five or six stone 

 to an Arab, I do not care what the Arab is." 



This is all very Avell, but we can never forget that the 

 first step in the rising of the ladder to the proud pre- 

 eminence which the English blood horse, and those of other 

 countries, derived from him, hold in every arena of sport, 

 fashion, or war, is remotely due to our Eastern importa- 

 tions of Arab and Barb. Though this is admitted on all 

 hands, the idea of again having recourse to the sons of the 

 desert as harem lords is by no means generally popular ; 

 and so far as the primary consideration of the male in re- 

 production goes, the Englishman and his fellow Britons 

 having brought their own horse to the highest state of 

 perfection and ascendancy as illustrated in the sound short- 

 legged class of race horse that we find to-day, not by any 

 means so scarce as biased detractors of the turf are bitterly 

 prone to urge. We naturally look upon the perfect horse 

 of these islands as the improvement upon the improver in 

 our horse stock, and the siimmum bonum of all that is 

 excellent in his kind, and will not adopt the theories so 

 ably and logically urged in favour of the great-hearted, 

 hardy, and indomitable aristocrat of the desert. Indomit- 

 able under the conditions to which the climatic and other 

 influences in his sphere of action submit him. Nor need 

 we do so, whether it is a desirable move or not towards 

 effecting the maintenance of our horses up to their present 

 standard. Let us take care only that the breeders of our 

 general and re-mount horses are not necessarily compelled 

 to supply us from polluted, objectionable, and degenerating 

 sources at home. Be careful that they are aflbrded the 

 best seed for producing a sound and desirable crop. At 

 present the vast majority of country sires, standing at 

 prices such as breeders of general horses would pay, are the 



