BREEDS OF HORSES 43 



to get a bite beneath it, and drink water through 

 several inches of ice, which they have broken with 

 their hoofs, withstanding the severity of a blinding 

 blizzard at 20° below zero, with never a mouthful 

 of hay or a morsel of grain. It is pretty generally 

 recognized that the horse has the strongest blood 

 circulation of any beast of burden or domestic 

 animal. 



Breeds op Horses. 



The days of the wild-spirited, hardy little "cayuse," 

 or Indian pony, are now practically over, no serious 

 attempt being made nowadays to perpetuate the 

 breed, except to a limited extent among the Indians. 

 The horse stock throughout the West is gradually 

 being improved by frequent importations of animals 

 more suited to the particular work required of them. 

 Pure Shire, Suffolk Punch, Clydesdales, Percherons, 

 and trotting stock from the United States, have all 

 contributed to the present-day blood found on the 

 plains, with the result that the colts now bred there 

 will compare well with any to be found elsewhere in 

 Canada. In hardiness they are, of course, unrivalled. 



To the man who must of necessity commence in a 

 small way, and go cautiously, I would urge the 

 cause of the Percheron, whose ancestors were the 

 old French coach-horse. Anything hardier in horse- 



