16 Thk Horse Farrier. 



that tlie Bedouins, whose entire possession consists of a few 

 household utensils, his tent and his mare, should set such enor- 

 mous value upon the latter, provided she be more fleet and endu- 

 ring than the majority of her kind. It will be a subject of regret, 

 to those who admire fine horses, to learn that the Arabian is 

 thought to be degenerating, owing to the decline of the Bedouin 

 tribes. 



The amount of Arabian blood which mingles in the vems of 

 the common horses of the U. S. is probably greater than is usu- 

 al Ij- supposed. The first importation of these horses was the 

 Lindsay Arabian. He was folded in 1762 and landed in 1766, 

 His stock proved very valuable, and he left a numerous 

 progeny. Numerous importations have since been made at vari- 

 ous times, of Arabian horses, and there are several imported an- 

 imals of this stock, owned in different parts of the country. 



In additition to the Arabian blood, imported directly from the 

 east, much has been borrowed through horses imported from Eng- 

 land, which were nearly related to Arabians* 



THE THOROUGH-BRED HORSE. 



Mr. Youatt says : " There is much dispute with regard to the 

 origin of the thorough-bred horse. By some he is traced through 

 both sire and dam to Eastern parentage ; others belive him to be 

 the native horse, improved and perfected by judicious crossing 

 withthe Barb, the Turk, or the Arabian." 



In England a horse is held to be not strictly thorough-bred un- 

 less his pedigree be directly traceable on both his sire and dam 

 side to an imported Barb and Arabian. The English racer is 

 generally distinguished by his beautiful Arabian head ; his fine 

 and finely-set-on-neck ; his oblique, lengthened shoulders ; well- 

 bent hinder legs ; his ample, muscular quarters, his flat bony 

 legs, rather short from the knee to the fetlock, but apt to be a lit- 

 tle narrow below the knee, long and elastic pastern, sound good 

 feet, and a beautiful short and glossy coat. He has been bred for 

 many generations solely for the race course, and in his speed com- 

 bined with ability to carry a heavy weight through a four mile race 

 he has no rival, and has beaten every competitor on his native soil 



A large majority of the best thorough-bred horses are descend- 

 ants from the Darly, or Gudolphin Arabian, the former was im- 

 ported in England by Mr. Darly, in 1703, and the latter was 

 brought into England about 1730. The most distinguished sons 

 of the Darly Arabian, were Flying Cliilders, and the Bleeding or 

 Bartlett Childers, and through Guilders, and Blaze descended. 

 ♦SampsoM is said to have been ilie strongest horse that lias ever 

 apiJCaiod on the turf. 



