GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 413 



If a liorse is required for speed, do not choose one which 

 holds his head high, as such is incompatible with a great 

 stretch ; consequently the style and bearing of a horse in- 

 tended for show and park use is very different from those 

 intended for rapid action ; and these latter always carry 

 their heads low. It is the habit of blood-horses always 

 being trained to go over a smooth and level surface, which 

 is the cause of their not lifting, being unaccustomed to meet 

 with obstruction in their way. The hunter, on the con- 

 trary, being subjected to all kinds of ground, soon acquires 

 the habit of lifting his feet sufficiently high to enable him 

 to surmount all the difficulties which he must constantly 

 encounter. The style of their gallop must also be essen- 

 tially different : that of the racer, a lengthened stretch ; 

 and of the hunter, a rounded gallop. 



C H A P T E E XVIII. 



GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF 

 DIFFERENT BREEDS. 



Plutarch says a good man will take care of his horses and 

 dogs, not only while they are useful to him, but also after 

 age renders them unfit for service. A beautiful illustration 

 of this benevolent maxim is recorded of the Athenians, who, 

 when they had completed the building of the Hecatompedon, 

 set at liberty the animals employed in its erection. It is 

 related that one of these at the head of his fellow-labourers, 

 some time after the completion of the temple, led the way 



