THOROUGHBRED VS. KENTUCKY HORSE 53 



you will seldom be content to ride anything else. In 

 confirmation of which statement I might add that I 

 have heard of many people being converted from the 

 Kentucky type of horse to the thoroughbred, but I 

 never have heard of the reverse ! 



It may be argued that beautifully formed as many a 

 thoroughbred is for saddle work, his manners are 

 usually so far from perfect that he is not the model 

 saddle horse, but this statement, as a rule, only applies 

 to the registered thoroughbred, or more particularly 

 ex-race-horse, and in no way mitigates our statements 

 in regard to the type. We are forced to admit that 

 for the timid, for the novice, the aged, or even for 

 the tired business man, who has neither time nor in- 

 clination to give his mount much attention, the 

 three-quarter or half-bred of the thoroughbred type 

 (termed a "blood one") is a better saddle horse than 

 the more exquisitely bred one. He will be quieter, 

 less apt to shy or buck, and he will undoubtedly re- 

 quire less exercise to keep him from playing up. The 

 registered thoroughbred, although he seldom has a 

 mean hair in his head, and is often so phlegmatic that 

 he has to be roused in order to do his best, is not as 

 lazy or sluggish as he looks and has the peculiar 

 ability to do the most unexpected things at the most 

 unexpected moments, which is most disconcerting to 

 the novice. He can shy and drop a shoulder in the 

 twinkling of an eye, and squeal and kick, all in play, 

 without the slightest warning, with his ears pricked 

 and a smile on his face. If, however, you are fortunate 

 enough to be a good rider — if — whether you be child 

 or grown-up — you possess that "something" that 

 makes you a real horseman or horsewoman, then you 

 have in the possession of the registered thoroughbred 



