288 POINTS OF ARABIAN 



the strength of loin, the unclouded brain, and the iron will 

 which has begotten and bred the sturdiest, most intel- 

 ligent, and most enterprising race the sun has ever shone 

 upon! The New England farmer has raised men and 

 women ; as for crops — why, they are crop enough. 



Some well -qualified judges maintain that the English 

 thorough-bred, by generations of breeding exclusively for 

 speed has lost bone and structural strength, and it is sug- 

 gested that a cross with the old Arabian desert blood 

 would be a benefit. It is true that the one -mile speed 

 has grown relatively beyond the five, ten, or twenty mile 

 speed ; but this does not necessarily mean that the endur- 

 ance of the thorough-bred has decreased. It takes — teste 

 " Ten Broeck " — as much endurance, in a certain fashion, 

 for a horse to run a mile in 1.39|, as it does for him to run 

 four miles in 7.15f , the average of the latter per mile be- 

 ing 1.49 ; but to breed for short bursts of very high speed 

 has perhaps a tendency to overdevelop the greyhound 

 type. And no doubt there is a certain weediness in some 

 families of racers. Be this as it may, it cannot be claimed 

 that the Southern saddle-horse lacks bone. Many fine- 

 bred ones are up to great weight, and most have large 

 round barrels, and by no means too slender a skeleton. 

 They are as nearly perfect as may be for saddle (not rac- 

 ing) speed, for carrying ability, and for gaits and endur- 

 ance. The racer is quite another horse, but he, too, has 

 more framework than his English cousin. 



There are a number of points which must be granted 

 to the Arabian. Eliminating the wretched little country 

 horse, of small value because overworked and underfed, 

 the average horse of good stock has excellent bone and an 

 exceptionally well-built structure. The shoulder has a pe- 

 culiarly fine slope ; the back is very short above, and the 

 line is very long below ; the reach from top of rump to 



