408 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



horses are the greater will be the ratio of their actual work. The 

 light cavalry of Africa has for a long time furnished us with a prac- 

 tical proof of this. Cavalrymen, chasseurs, or spahis do not weigh, as 

 a rule, less than the dragoons ; a large number of them weigh as much 

 as the cuirassiers. In all the campaigns in which they have taken a 

 part with the dragoons and the cuirassiers, in the Crimea, Italy, and 

 France, the chasseurs' horses have always borne the fatigues of warfare 

 better than the others, whilst being employed in a longer and more 

 severe service. ... It is therefore very injudicious, in the selection of 

 cavalry horses, not to lower the minimum of size now exacted to the 

 limit of that which is necessary so that the horseman may retain his seat, 

 even though the latter has to be raised by some such device as that 

 practised by the Arabians, the Cossacks, the Hungarians, etc. The 

 cavalry of these people has always been the most durable and the most 

 indefatigable of all, precisely because it is composed of very small 

 horses. 



" The large and heavy saddle-horses, besides being so difficult to 

 obtain sound and well formed, render the poorest service in the cavalry. 

 They should be reserved as pleasure-horses, which have to perform but 

 very little work. In such service they are well nourished and sur- 

 rounded with the best care, and their principal function is to satisfy 

 the self-pride of the wealthy who use them." 



The race-horse (the English thoroughbred) has been, until the 

 present time, the most successful variety which human industry has 

 developed with reference to speed as the main quality. The prin- 

 cipal characters of his conformation are useful to us in distinguishing 

 our rapid motors from among all others. They should, in fact, have 

 high chests and members ; short and well-supported body and loins ; 

 neck, shoulder, croup, thigh, buttock, leg, and forearm long ; without 

 too much bulk to the body ; strong, dry, and clean members ; wide 

 and thick articulations ; they must be closed in their superior angles, 

 open in their inferior ; have a deep chest ; a small abdomen ; skin, 

 hairs, and mane thin ; an intelligent, expressive physiognomy ; must 

 be graceful, active, excitable' (blood), energetic, impetuous, and of an 

 inexhaustible endurance. 



C. Conditions of the Mixed Motor. (Combination of Force 

 and Speed Realized.) 



The improvement of roads, the construction of railroads, the 

 facility of travelling, and the industrial and commercial activity of 

 our epoch have rendered the use of draught-horses, capable of 



