350 THE HORSES OF PREHISTORIC [CH. 



of Tibet, we may safely conclude that the Swedish pied horses 

 are descended from the old European dun-coloured horse, crossed 

 with Libyan blood. How that blood has got into Scandinavia 

 and Iceland we shall see when we have first dealt with the 

 horses of the British Isles. 



Before passing from the Continent to the British Isles we 

 shall briefly sketch the history of the chief Russian breeds of 

 the present day. Russia in Europe contains about twenty-three 

 millions of horses, divided by MM. de Simonoff and de Moerder^ 

 and by Capt. Hayes- into (1) stud horses, (2) agricultural horses, 



(3) horses bred on the steppes under improved conditions, and 



(4) half-wild horses. (1) Of stud-horses the Orlov Trotter 

 is the best. This breed was founded by Count Alexis Orlov- 

 Tchestmensky in the government of Voronej to the south of 

 Moscow. Up to that time there had been no breed of Russian 

 Trotters, but in 1775 Orlov imported from Greece a horse called 

 Smetanka, described as a pure-bred Arab by Russian authorities, 

 though Sanson and other French writers speak of him as a 

 Barb, but of course for our argument it makes no difference. 

 From the union of Smetanka with a Danish cart mare sprung 

 the stallion Polkan, who by a Dutch mare became the sire of 

 Barrs in 178-i. From three sons of Barrs all Orlov Trotters are 

 descended. The Dutch dam of Barrs was of the black hart- 

 draver breed (p. 341) famous for its trotting powers, and which 

 we shall soon find to be related also to the Norfolk Trotter. 

 The dam of the first of Barrs' sons was by an Arab and out 

 of a Mecklenburg mare ; that of the second was an English 

 thoroughbred ; and that of the third was out of a Mecklenburg 

 mare by a horse named Felkerzamchik, who was the son of 

 Smetanka by an English thoroughbred mare. In 1772 Orlov 

 possessed 20 English stallions and 32 mares, 12 Arab stallions 

 and 10 mares, 3 Persian stallions and 2 mares, 1 Dutch stallion 

 and 8 mares, 1 Danish stallion and 3 mares, 1 Mecklenburg 

 stallion and 5 mares, as well as some other stallions and 



1 Les Races Chevalines (cited by Hayes). 



2 Points of the Horse (ed. 3), pp. 540-3; cf. Major J. Moore, "Horses of 

 different countries, and supply with relation to military services," Jour. United 

 Service List. 1905, p. 235. 



