24. LIGHT HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



a few years ago, and has once more taken his proper place 

 high up in the list of recognised and popular English breeds. 

 That the Society's efforts have been fully appreciated by 

 the nation is discernible by the fact that Her Majesty the 

 Queen two years ago became its patron ; whilst amongst the 

 names of past presidents who have laboured on its behalf, 

 that of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales is prominent in a list 

 which is full of the names of the leading horse-breeders 

 and enthusiasts of the day. Still, royal and aristocratic 

 patronage, inestimable as is its value when bestowed upon 

 a deserving cause, could never have the power to im- 

 press the horse-loving public that extraordinary combina- 

 tion of sentiment and common sense with any idea of the 

 merits possessed by a horse which, if put to the test, would 

 fail to justify the eulogies bestowed upon him ; and conse- 

 quently the Hackney has been compelled to stand upon his 

 merits. That the horse has amply repaid his friends for 

 their support, the state of the market offers proofs pregnant 

 with silent tributes to his value ; and, moreover, this never- 

 failing testimony to an animal's worth s. d. is supported 

 by the ever-increasing entries at the Society's spring shows 

 in London. Regarding the latter for a moment, it may be 

 pointed out that at the first of these exhibitions, in 1885, 

 there were but 123 Hackneys in the catalogue, whilst at the 

 last, the eighth of the series, held in the spring of 1893, 

 no fewer than 383 entries were secured ; and this, let it be 

 added, in the face of a never-ceasing drain upon the resources 

 of exhibiters and breeders by buyers from America, the 

 Colonies, and every country on the Continent. The greatest 

 possible satisfaction must likewise be experienced by every 

 lover of the Hackney, from the conviction that the soundness 

 of the breed is greatly improving as the merits of the horse 

 are more widely recognised and proportionately valued. 



Having proceeded so far in the consideration of the posi- 

 tion now occupied by the Hackney, one almost begins to fear 

 that readers who have not paid much attention to the ante- 



