OUR SADDLE-HORSES. 51 



That of our thorough-bred and nearly 

 thorough-bred horses, is at present well illus- 

 trated by the greater part of our officers' chargers. 

 If one of these had appeared at the commence- 

 ment of this century its form would have excited 

 universal surprise. Now the downward course 

 of our horses has so long been going on as to 

 prepare people for the sight of these feeble 

 creatures. 



As respects cavalry horses that have to 

 carry twenty stones of weight, not a drop of 

 our present race-horse blood should be in 

 their veins, yet they must not be cart-horses. 

 They should have the compact form obtainable 

 from Arab blood, crossed with that of a stronger 

 but lower bred race, yet superior to that of the 

 cart-horse. It is not long since they bred in 

 Ireland good hunters without recurrence to the 

 blood of our race-horse, but the Irish horse 

 they then possessed has disappeared. I have 

 much to say on obtaining a cross for our race- 

 horses that will produce animals with that 

 strength and activity required for cavalry of a 

 high class, but it is useless to do this unless 

 Government consented to influence the pro- 

 ceedings on our turf. 



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