194 THE DOMESTIC HORSE. 



All domestic horses, as now constituted, we con- 

 sider as cross breeds from ancient forms, of which 

 we know at present only a few characteristics : all 

 to a certain extent are improved breeds, though 

 some have lost stature and others spirit ; in most 

 countries, nevertheless, they are adapted to the 

 general wishes and wants of the communities. 

 Varying from race to race, from individual to in- 

 dividual, there is no absolute standard of beauty 

 in a practical view, although there may be a maxi- 

 mum of ideal beauty for the painter and sculptor, 

 physically unattainable, and probably undesirable ; 

 therefore, general qualities of health, age, sound- 

 ness, structure, and temper, being admitted, the 

 horse should be considered in relation to the par- 

 ticular purposes it is bred for, and the social condi- 

 tion and predominant desires of each nation. In 

 Spain, the animal differs in outward appearance 

 from an English race -horse; it is more curvilinear 

 in outline, because this form is most graceful and 

 adapted to cadenced steps and elegant curvettings ; 

 in England, its frame is more rectangular, best adap- 

 ted for impelling the mass with velocity forward : 

 the beauty of the first is not that of the second ; 

 and while courtly notions of display were predo- 

 minant on the continent, the Spanish horse was, and 

 still is, considered the handsomer animal ; though 



of his nation, and a further proof, if proof were wanting, that 

 he had to deal with men in full possession of horses highly 

 valued ; and true enough, horses have been the source of ho- 

 nours, and are a source of wealth to the Arabs. 



