168 THE HQESE BOOK. 



It is undoubted that in this country he is the 

 most easily kept stallion, makes the least fuss 

 and gives the least trouble. He has not, how- 

 ever, had due credit for all he has done. Bred 

 for the most part to mares of Percheron blood 

 the best of his grades have gone into the auction 

 ring as Percherons or * ^Normans,'' and it is 

 only occasionally that full credit is given. This 

 may or may not have been unfortunate of course, 

 but geldings of undoubted Belgian type are now 

 to be seen on the city streets and once in a while 

 in the show ring. This shows that while the 

 Belgian, the importation of which in anything 

 like large numbers is of comparatively recent 

 beginning, has made a place for himself in our 

 equine economy. Furthermore the instances of 

 big geldings by Belgian stallions having brought 

 very long jDrices are so frequent now as to prove 

 conclusively that when properly mated the use 

 of the Belgian is very confidently to be recom- 

 mended. They ship better across the ocean than 

 any other breed and acclimate more readily. 



Belgian horses come in almost all colors, but 

 the most general are chestnut and roan. Bays 

 and browns are also common and black and 

 gray are occasionally met with in the breed. 

 The red-roan and the chestnut are apparently 

 the hues most favored by the Belgian breeders. 



Of late years prices of pedigreed Belgian stal- 

 lions and mares have advanced sharply. There 

 is a great demand for breeding horses in Bel- 



