HORSE. 



HORSE. 



and not even then, from the eye of the horse- 

 man. The true Percheron, or Norman Dili- 

 gence horse, on the contrary, combines more 

 strength with activity than any horse I have 

 ever sat behind. All travellers, on entering 

 France, are struck with the properties of these 

 horses, as displayed in drawing the ponderous 

 machine called a Diligence, by which they are 

 conveyed through the kingdom at the rate fully 

 equal to the average of stage travelling in this 

 country. English horsemen confess that their 

 road-horses could not hold out the same pace 

 before the same load. 



"The origin of this race, according to French 

 authorities, dates from the occupation of the 

 Netherlands by the Spaniards, who introduced 

 the Andalusian horse, which soon became the 

 favourite stud-horse all over the continent. 

 The Spanish horse is known to spring from the 

 Barb or Arabian, introduced by the Moors on 

 their conquest of that country. All who are 

 conversant with the history of the horse, know 

 that the Andalusian has always been cele- 

 brated for his beauty, and for his great spirit, 

 combined with extraordinary powers of endu- 

 rance. The French horse, upon which he was 

 crossed, was the old Norman draught-horse, 

 which still exists in the country in all its 

 purity, and is perhaps the best of all horses for 

 slow draught. 



"The average height of these horses is 16 

 hands, and they may be described as follows : 

 Head short, wide, and hollow between the eyes ; 

 jaws heavy ; ears small, and pointed well for- 

 wards; neck very short and thick; mane 

 heavy; shoulder well inclined backwards; 

 back extremely short; rump steep; quarters 

 very broad ; chest deep and wide ; legs very 

 short, particularly from the knee and hock to 

 the fetlock, and thence to the coronet, which is 

 covered with long hair, hiding half the hoof; 

 much hair on the legs; tendons large, and 

 muscles excessively developed." 



An English writer in the Pritish Quarterly 

 Jnuriml of Agriculture, thus speaks of the Nor- 

 man horse. After giving an account of its 

 origin, which he agrees in tracing to the Spa- 

 nish horse, he observes, " The horses of Nor- 

 mandy are a capital race for hard work and 

 scanty fare. I have never seen such horses at 

 the collar, under the diligence, the post-car- 

 riage, the cumbrous and heavy voiture or ca- 

 briolet for one or two horses, or the farm cart. 

 They are enduring and energetic beyond de- 

 scription ; with their necks cut to the bone, 

 they flinch not; they put forth all their efforts 

 at the voice of the brutal driver, or at the 

 dreaded sound of his never-ceasing whip; they 

 keep their condition when other horses would 

 die of neglect and hard treatment. A better 

 cross for some of our horses cannot be ima- 

 gined than those of Normandy." 



Whilst lately in Europe, Professor Gibson, 

 of Philadelphia, a passionate admirer of the 

 horse, and well versed in the finest blood of 

 the United States, made close observations of 

 the horses in different parts of England and 

 Ireland. The following passage from his 

 " Rambles" furnishes a condensed view of the 

 results of his observations: 



"The Irish horses have long been consider- 



ed the finest in the kingdom, and certainly 

 I saw none to be compared to them in any 

 part of Europe. In general they are very 

 compact, strong, active, and spirited, but high- 

 tempered, and difficult to manage. They bear 

 a close resemblance to our Vermont horse in 

 style, action, and shape, and might readily pass 

 for the same breed, with the exception of being 

 larger. In England they bring high prices, 

 and it is not uncommon to meet with English 

 dealers at the Irish fairs buying them up, in 

 great numbers, for their own markets. The 

 English horse, indeed, within the last 20 years, 

 has degenerated so much, in some respects, as 

 not to serve the many useful purposes to which 

 he was accustomed at that period, owing to 

 breeders having run too much upon blood. 

 On this account it is now hardly possible 

 to meet with any of the old stock of hun- 

 ters so large and powerful, and with so much 

 bone and sinew; so that even in York- 

 shire I saw but a single specimen, a fine 

 black, in possession of Mr. Whittaker, of Ot- 

 ley, 30 years of age, but which felt under me 

 like a colt, after a ride of 20 miles. Even the 

 carriage horses, indeed, throughout every part 

 of England, are conspicuous for their long, 

 low necks, slab sides, and spindle shanks, and 

 very inferior, as a race, to our own stock, for 

 the same purposes. In London, it is true, 

 large showy animals are to be seen in the car- 

 riages of noblemen and other persons of for- 

 tune ; but they are procured at immense 

 prices, often 400 or 500 pounds each, and 

 even then are deficient in action, and too often 

 have broken knees, to which indeed most of 

 the English horses are so liable, as seldom to 

 be led or ridden out by the groom without 

 having their knees protected by leather or 

 woollen covers or caps. The Irish horse, on 

 the contrary, is not apparently so high bred as 

 the English, and therefore a better animal for 

 draught, saddle, and most other purposes. Yet 

 no blood horses in England have proved supe- 

 rior to the Irish racer in speed, bottom, and other 

 requisites ; and I believe it is admitted on all 

 hands that there is now no horse in the British 

 empire to be compared to Irish ' Harkaway,' 

 bred and owned by a linen-bleacher of Belfast. 

 A great many inquiries were made of me, 

 also, respecting ' Skylark,' an Irish horse im- 

 ported into this country a few years back, and 

 represented, by all that spoke of him, as a 

 most extraordinary animal, and one that never 

 should have been allowed to leave the king- 

 dom. Both animals I had an opportunity of 

 seeing the one in England, and the other in 

 Richmond, Virginia, soon after his arrival 

 and finer specimens of the kind I cannot ima- 

 gine to exist in any country. Through every 

 part of Ireland I travelled,! could not help being 

 struck with the form and activity of all classes 

 of horses; and in Dublin, especially, scarcely 

 passed a day without noticing ladies and gen- 

 tlemen splendidly mounted, the finest teams in 

 mail and other coaches, and carriage horses 

 of beautiful style and proportion ; all which, 

 however, command there as many pounds 

 sterling as American horses excepting, per- 

 haps, first-rate trotters dollars in this coun- 

 try; and it is only surprising some of our 



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