RESULT OF BEAUTIFUL PROPORTIONS. 421 



and dies at his task. But, before reaching this point, his steps are less 

 free, heavy, and uncertain ; he forges. All these signs should be suffi- 

 cient, and their appearance demands an immediate cessation of the 

 experiment. 



Performances or Examples of Endurance. Veterinary 

 annals are full of examples showing the feats accomplished by certain 

 horses. It is interesting to become acquainted with some of them, so 

 as to know about how much an animal is capable of accomplishing 

 in certain exceptional circumstances. 



We know that at a walk the work can be continued almost 

 indefinitely without exhaustion; we have given the physiological 

 reason for this. However, this gait is sometimes maintained with a 

 remarkable velocity. 



De Curnieu has seen, especially, two horses travel 8 kilometres in 64 

 minutes, and he considers the distance of two leagues in an hour as almost 

 impossible. 1 This is also our opinion. 



Still, Youatt 2 relates that in 1793 a hackney mare, named Sloven, travelled 

 at a walk the distance of 22 miles (35 kilometres, 398 metres) in 3 hours and 

 52 seconds, which represents a speed of 11 kilometres per hour ! In the face 

 of such a case, we may well wonder whether the unsuspecting nature of this 

 estimable author has not been imposed upon, or whether the gait employed was 

 indeed truly the normal walk. 



At the trot, De Curnieu considers that 4 kilometres in 7 minutes 

 is the maximum distance which a horse can realize. He asserts that in 

 France a trotter of the first rank alone is capable of travelling over a 

 distance of 7 kilometres in 8 minutes. 



We have noted several instances of speed superior to these. Verny, an 

 Orloff trotter, of the Chainbaudoin (Loiret) stud, has trotted in harness at the 

 Bois de Boulogne a distance of 4 kilometres in 6 minutes and 14 seconds. 



Bedouin, of the same stud, has trotted at Vincennes, October 10, 1881, a 

 distance of 5500 metres in 8 minutes and 41 seconds. 



De Curnieu says that " 4 leagues per hour (16 kilometres, 10 miles) should 

 be done quite easily, upon flat ground, by any horse of a certain value. ... To 

 travel 3 leagues an hour on smooth roads, and maintain this speed for 2, 3, or 4 

 consecutive hours, demands a very good, an excellent horse." 3 



In 1822, M. Bernard rode on a trot, with his mare, 9 miles (14 kilometres, 481 

 metres) in 27 minutes and 40 seconds. (Youatt.) 



Some years previous, Phenomenon, twelve years old, trotted 16 miles (25 

 kilometres, 744 metres) in 53 minutes. (Youatt.) 



1 De Curnieu. loc. cit., 2e partie, p. 379. 



2 William Youatt, History of the Thoroughbred Horse. 



3 De Curnieu, loc. cit., 2e partie, p. 377 



