2IO THE HORSE 



the friends of the breed maintain that any seeming 

 deficiency in bone measurement is due to the fact that 

 the bone of the Suffolk is hard and dense like ivory, or 

 like the bone of the thoroughbred, and not of the more 

 porous, spongy texture commonly found in the coarser- 

 bred horse. The fixed color of the Suffolk horse, his 

 good quality of bone, and his freedom from long hair 

 on the legs — these characteristics are ascribed to the 

 great antiquity of the breed, and to the fact that it 

 has never been crossed with Flemish horses. The 

 Suffolk Punch originated and has always been bred in 

 the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk on the east coast 

 of England, and has been used mainly as a farm horse. 

 Readers of Sandford and Merton will recall the delight 

 with which Harry's father received the present of a 

 pair of Suffolk Punches for use on his farm. 



The original Suffolk was a comparatively small 

 horse, and so late as the year 1786 a stallion of this 

 breed was described as "standing 15.2, of a bright 

 chestnut color, and fit to get good stock for coach or 

 road." 



About this time, however, or a little before, more 

 attention began to be paid to breeding, and since 

 the year 1800 the Suffolk has gradually been Increased 

 in size and improved in quality. Horses of this strain 

 are neither so tall nor so heavy as the Shires or Clydes- 

 dales, but they are quite big enough — and for farm 

 work often too big. The average height is about 

 sixteen hands, and stallions weighing a ton are not very 

 uncommon. Only a few Suffolk horses have been Im- 

 ported to this country, and most American horse- 



