ENGLISH EAGER.] MODEEN YETERINAKT PEACTICE. [ekglish haceb. 



away in a race, at a pace of very coBsiderable 

 speed, upon a horse which is presumed to be 

 stout and long-winded, in order to distress 

 those antagonists which are known, or sup- 

 posed to be inferior in stoutness. The object 

 of this is, that such as are fatigued and ex- 

 hausted by long and sharp running, may not 

 have it iu tlieir power to reserve their superior 

 speed for the last push. Amongst horses of 

 equal game, the play may be made by those 

 which are in the best condition. 



Tf''aiti?iff, or malcing a waiting race, is plainly 

 the opposite practice of the above. Here, the 

 rider of the speedy, weak, or jadish horse, 

 always aims to keep in the rear, and go as 

 slowly as possible, until the last few hundred 

 yards, when he well knows his power of speed 

 will be turned to the best account. 



Having thus briefly traced the early history 

 of horse-racing in England, and explained some 

 of the terms of the turf, we now come to speak 

 of the selection made of those sires from which 

 our racing-blood has derived its celebrity. 



The English race-horse, like the game-cock 

 and the bull-dog, are England's peculiar pro- 

 ductions, unequalled for high courage, stout- 

 ness of heart, and patience under suffering. 



Cockfightiog is a wanton and barbarous 

 sport, and is happily now nearly obsolete 

 among the more cultivated classes ; and what- 

 ever cruelties may happen on the race-course, 

 in the punishment administered by some 

 jockeys to their animals, they are at least not 

 very apparent, if they in reality have an exist- 

 ence at all. That the practices of the turf have 

 frequently been such as to degrade its character 

 there can be no doubt ; still, looking at its 

 sport in a national and general way, the emula- 

 tive spirit which is inspired by our races, is of 

 immense importance in maintaining the charac- 

 ter of the EnfTiish horse. The term thorough- 

 bred, as applied to the horse, both in Great 

 Britain and Ireland, indicates him to be either 

 a remote or immediate pure, unmixed de- 

 scendant of the south-eastern courser, Arabian, 

 Barb, Turk, Persian, Syrian, Egyptian, or of 

 the neighbouring countries. The preference 

 given to antiquity and purity of racing-blood 

 has always been considered due to the produce 

 of the Arabian and African deserts. 



In the general outline of the figure, limbs, 

 the shape of the head, and in the countenance, 



the modern Englisli race-horse l)ears the 

 strongest resemblance to the Arabian ; but 

 from the great care and higli keep which he 

 has through so many descents enjoyed in this 

 country, he is of far greater heiglit and bulk, 

 and equally superior in point of power. Art 

 is the handmaid and improver of nature ; and, 

 notwithstanding the boasted speed of animals 

 in the natural state, there is no doubt of the 

 superiority of the trained courser. Thus the 

 British race-horse, even at an equality of size and 

 power to carry weight, is far swifter and stouter 

 in turf phraseology, and more lasting than 

 the natural courser of the desert of the oldest 

 pedigree. Such is the universal experience 

 from trials in this country, and such would, in 

 all probability, be the result, were the rival 

 horses taken young, and trained and tried 

 upon an equi-distant and neutral soil. This 

 opinion may not altogether coincide with the 

 sentiments of those who have been accus- 

 tomed to read and believe in such narratives 

 as recount, without investigation, the speed 

 and extent of the journeys performed in a 

 given time by Arabian horses. A little aid, 

 however, may be given to the judgment of 

 these gentlemen, by recalling to their minds, 

 that there are no mile-posts in the desert ; no 

 clocks or watches wherewith to measure time; 

 no clerks of the course to start the horses, or 

 judges to drop the flag at the ending-post; 

 and that the jockey himself is often the only 

 spectator. He is likewise often the only re- 

 later of his horse's performances ; whilst in all 

 the Eastern writings, ancient or modern, ex- 

 aggeration is the predominant characteristic. 



In the early periods of the turf, recourse 

 must have been had to foreign horses for racers, 

 and also to the bastard breeds, as they were 

 then styled, or mixtures between foreigners 

 and the lightest native breed of the country. 

 Spanish jennets, the descendants of Barbs, 

 were trained: in short, any well-shaped nag 

 with good action in the gallop, was deemed 

 a racer. 



The idea of thorough-breed and its peculiar 

 qualities, had not then taken place ; but was, 

 afterwards, gradually and experimentally de- 

 veloped. The mild climate and gramineous 

 soil of this country, always congenial to the 

 nature of the horse, were found highly to 

 improve, in size and power, the progeny ol 



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