CHAPTER XXXI 



THOROUGHBREDS 



npHE word "thoroughbred" means literally piire- 

 •^ bred, and any pure-bred animal, as distinguished 

 from a mongrel, is a thoroughbred. 



But in horse parlance the word has a very restricted 

 meaning. A "thoroughbred" is a running-bred horse 

 whose ancestors on both sides for seven generations are 

 recorded in the English stud-book, or whose ancestors 

 on both sides are recorded in the American stud-book 

 for five generations. A trotting-horse may have a 

 pedigree as long and as good as that of any " thorough- 

 bred," but he is never spoken of as a thoroughbred, 

 except by writers of stories whose heroes always drive 

 "thoroughbreds," if they drive anything at all in the 

 shape of a horse. 



There is a marked resemblance between some 

 thoroughbreds and some trotters. The Duke of 

 Magenta, for example, a thoroughbred horse owned 

 by the late W. H. Forbes, might easily have been 

 mistaken for a trotting-bred stallion. 



But, as a rule, the thoroughbred can be distinguished 

 at a glance from other horses. The modern thorough- 

 bred is a tall, slim horse, standing from fifteen to 

 sixteen hands, and often even taller. He has a fine, 

 short coat, thin mane, a bony head, good ears, a long 

 and usually straight neck, high withers, small feet, 



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