40 



HACKNEYS. 



There is probably no finer breed of horses in 



the British Isles — probably no finer breed in tne 



world — than Hackneys, and the purity of their blood 



can be traced as far back, if not further, than 



thoroughbreds. The latter are descended from 



Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin 



Arabian. Those horses were imported between 1689 



and 1730, and have left their mark largely on the 



thoroughbreds and Hackneys of the present day. 



Perhaps the exquisite symmetry of Hackneys is due 



to the prepotency of the beautifully -shaped Darley 



Arabian more than to any of the other imported 



stallions. The action of thoroughbreds is generally 



low and defective in consequence of their having been 



bred entirely for speed during the last two hundred 



years. The action of Hackneys, on the contrary, 



is dashing and magnificent. Lovers of horses enjoy 



nothing better than the straight and stylish stepping 



of a well-trained Hackney. Hackneys are generally 



possessed of hardy constitutions, beautiful manners, 



and are very good-tempered and docile. They have 



splendid conformation, undoubted courage, wonderful 



staying power, and, for soundness, they are probably 



unrivalled by any other breed of horses in the United 



Kingdom, or out of it. If possible, Hackneys should 



be bred whole-coloured, as many people object to 



white markings for matching purposes. Chesnut is 



a colour which is rapidly increasing amongst Hack- 



