126 THE PERFECT HORSE. 



stand the necessary work to fit them for a race, or, 

 indeed, of any considerable value any way; and the 

 same is true with us. To buy a horse simply because 

 he has a long and noble pedigree is to buy as a fool 

 buyeth. And especially does this hold true in the case 

 of breeding ; for which purpose, none but the best speci- 

 mens of the flimily you desire to cross with should be 

 purchased. A poor horse is a poor horse the world 

 over in all families, and in spite of pedigree. A good 

 animal with a good pedigree is what the breeder 

 needs ; and this rule should be closely adhered to. To 

 vary from this principle is to risk all. 



Beyond this technical sense, the word " thorough-bred" 

 has another and a practical significance, which I will 

 now explain. In the practical sense, the word stands 

 for and symbolizes certain indispensable qualities which 

 give value to the animal, and decide his rank and place 

 in the grade to which he belongs. Among these may 

 be mentioned beauty of form, toughness of bone and 

 muscular structure, vivacity and docility of tempera- 

 ment, intelligence, and above all, perhaps, in value, the 

 poiuer of endurance^ and the desire to do ; what horse- 

 men express by the word "game." All pedigrees are 

 worthless save as they indicate and warrant that the 

 horse with the noble ancestry is noble himself It is a 

 help to the judgment, as to the value of a colt, to know 

 that its dam is a Star mare; because a Star mare is a 

 daughter of American Star; and American Star was 

 sired by Henry, who ran against Eclipse in the famous 



