teE THOROUGHBRED. 1«9 



1791, lie was ready to the hand of all who de- 

 sired to quicken material that was too coarse 

 and too sluggish. So far as the general Amer- 

 ican farmer is concerned the Thoroughbred is 

 a good thing to let alone. His temperament is 

 ill suited to the drudgery of agriculture. 



To the Thoroughbred may be accredited all 

 the different coachers in greater 'or less meas- 

 ure, and hunters, polo ironies and other horses 

 in which speed and stamina are required are 

 usually his direct offspring. All colors are to 

 be seen among race horses, save only the pie- 

 bald and skewbald. Grays are very rare now 

 and so are roans, while blacks are not nearly 

 so common as are the remaining hues. This 

 leaves the most of the present-day Thorough- 

 breds chestnut, bay and brown. White mark- 

 ings are plentiful and keep cropping out in a 

 most bewildering manner when the race horse 

 is used to cross upon cold-blooded stock. There 

 is seldom any uniformity of either color or con- 

 formation in the get of a Thoroughbred stal- 

 lion. 



Though he played such" an important part in 

 the evolution of the Tlioroughbred the Arabian 

 horse is not now of much account. He still has 

 his admirers, but for every purpose to which he 

 can accommodate himself the Thoroughbred is 

 vastly his superior. It is popularly supposed 

 that the spotted circus horses are of Arabian 

 origin. This is a mistake, as the Arabian is 



