THE AMERICAN BLOOD-HORSE. 89 



general maintenance of horses in an unnatural and excited 

 state of spirits has, assuredly, an injurious effect upon the 

 general temper of the animal ; though not, perhaps, so greatly 

 as to account for all the difference to which allusion has just 

 been made. 



Having premised thus much, in general terras, of the history 

 and poculiarities of the general American horse, we will next 

 take up the leading varieties which obtain in this country, 

 commencing with 



THE AMEKICAN BLOOD-HOKSE. 



Unlike the human race of the United States, unlike the 

 ordinary working horse, unlike the cattle and most of the do- 

 mestic animals of North America — which cannot be traced or 

 said to belong to any single distinct breed or family, having 

 originated from the combination and amalgamation of many 

 bloods and stocks, derived from many different countries — the 

 blood-horse, or racer, of America stands alone, unquestionably 

 of pure English thorough-blood. 



What that English thorough-blood is, it is onlj^ necessary 

 here to say that, although it is not possible, in every instance, 

 to trace the great progenitors of the English and American 

 turf, directly on both sides, to Desert blood ; and although it 

 can scarcely be doubted that, in the very commencement of 

 turf-breeding, there must have been some mixture of the best 

 old English blood, probably, in great part, Spanish by descent, 

 with the true Arab or Barb race ; yet the impure admixture 

 is so exceedingly remote, not within fourteen or fifteen genera- 

 tions — since which the smallest taint has been carefully ex- 

 cluded — that the present race-horse of England or Xorth 



