380 THE HORSE. 



for a single mile in the last century, but there is not the slight- 

 est reliance to be placed upon them. That any race-horse ever 

 ran a mile within the minute, is an absurd fiction ; and it is 

 out of the question to suppose that if Childers could not beat 

 our modern horses over the Beacon Course, he could beat them 

 a shorter distance. Stoutness was undoubtedly the forte of the 

 early race-horses ; they were of small size, very wiry and low, 

 and could unquestionably stay a distance, and could race 

 month after month, and year after year, in a way seldom imi- 

 tated in these days ; but that they could in their small compact 

 forms run as fast in a short spin as our modern three-year-olds, 

 is quite a fallacy ; and no racing man of any experience would 

 admit it for a moment. 



The size and shape of the modern thoroughbred horse are 

 superior to those of olden days, if we may judge by the portraits 

 of them handed down to us by Stubbs, who was by far the most 

 faithful animal painter of the eighteenth century. In elegance 

 of shape we beat the horses of that day very considerably, more 

 especially in the beauty of the head and the formation of the 

 shoulders, which have been much attended to by breeders. In 

 size, also, there has been an immense stride made, the average 

 height of the race-horse having been increased by at least a 

 hand within the last century. This enlargement is, I believe, 

 chiefly due to the Godolphin Arabian, who was the sire of 

 Babraham, the only horse of his time which reached 16 hands, 

 and sire or grandsire of several which were more than 15 hands, 

 much above the average height of horses at that time — as, for 

 instance. Fearnought, Genius, Gower Stallion, Infant, Denmark, 

 Bolton, Cade, Chub, Lofty, and Amphion. Indeed it will be 

 found, by an examination of the horses of that time, that out of 

 130 winners in the middle of the eighteenth century, there 

 were only 18 of the height of 15 hands and upwards, of which 

 11 were by Godolphin or his sons, three descended from the 

 Darley Arabian, two from the Byerley Turk, and two from 

 other sources. It may therefore be assumed, with some degree 

 of probability, that the increase in size is in great measure due 

 to the Godolphin, in addition to the extra care and attention 

 which the horse has received during the same time. Neverthe- 

 less, all the care and forcing in the world will not increase the 



