BREEDING 37 



lots of fire and courage, what charms me 

 is his lovely shoulder, and the know- 

 ledge that, although by a hackney 

 stallion, he Is actually out of a mare 

 by Hermit ! I must have blood — 

 thoroughbred blood, closely allied one 

 side or the other ; and it Is In this 

 respect the so-called hackney is deficient 

 and a disappointment in nineteen cases 

 out of twenty. 



Nowadays, when everybody rides bikes, 

 the ordinary ride-and-drive horse there 

 was always a certain trade for years ago 

 has become a drug in the market and 

 profitless to breed. Polo ponies have 

 their own registered Polo Stud-book, and 

 beyond expressing an opinion that if you 

 breed long without a pure, small thorough- 

 bred or Arab sire you will soon get 

 wide of the mark, I will dismiss them. 

 A covert hack proper I look upon as 



