198 THE HORSE 



of the Morgan family. Of the 1,653 horses registered 

 in the first volume of the Saddle Registry as descend- 

 ants of Denmark, all but six are descendants of Gaines' 

 Denmark. 



The Denmark horses are usually dark brown or 

 black, and they combine quality with substance, and a 

 high spirit with docility. The only perfect horse that 

 I ever saw (and he had lost one eye when I first knew 

 him) was a gelding of this strain, the property of 

 Frederick P. Fish of Boston. He stood at least 16 

 hands, and yet was almost a pony-built horse, with 

 great depth of lungs and body. He was very hand- 

 some, high-headed and high-strung, but extremely 

 Intelligent, kind, and docile. He was equally good 

 under saddle and in harness, requiring no check or 

 severe bit, and could trot at least a three-minute gait. 



Not all Kentucky saddle horses trace to Denmark, 

 and not all are of the Denmark type. In fact there 

 is a great diversity among them. Many are small and 

 weedy, many are deficient In brains, many are unsound, 

 especially In eyes and hocks. These defects are due 

 largely to inbreeding. 



Kentucky saddle horses are usually divided into two 

 classes, according to their training. There is the 

 "walk, trot, and canter horse," and the horse that 

 adds to these gaits the fox-trot or running walk and the 

 amble. These last are known as five-gaited horses. 

 Unless ridden by riders as accomplished as themiselves 

 they are apt to mix these gaits, especially as they 

 become older. 



In recent years many breeders of Kentucky saddle 



