In action the gallop is quick with rapidly repeated 

 strides ; the velocity is extreme. 



The speed is extreme, but it is produced by a succession 

 of tiring efforts, and the resources of the horse cannot 

 take him beyond a short distance. It must not be for- 

 gotten that the period of suspension is a period of relative 

 rest, and it is this peculiarity which permits animals built 

 for stayers to sustain their effort over long distances. 



In an " Etude hippique " which appeared in 1904 under 

 the pseudonym of " Sincere," a distinguished officer of 

 the Breeding Department showed that the modification 

 of race programs had little by little destroyed the 

 supremacy of the staying families and had brought about 

 that of animals presenting a model better adapted to 

 extreme speed over short distances. " Sincere " pointed 

 out the evolution, but he did not show that it was fatal. 

 Although he appealed to the evidence of horsemen old 

 enough to be able to judge by comparison, and although 

 he pointed out the extraordinary differences between the 

 old engravings and the portraits of the present-day horse, 

 we fear that in spite of him many are incredulous ; some 

 because they are too young to be able to compare and 

 because the lamentations of age have the privilege of 

 being but slightly echoed by youth ; others, although old 

 enough to have an opinion, are incredulous because they 

 doubt their own impressions and they ask themselves 

 with anxiety whether it is the horses or themselves that 

 have changed. 



It seems to us that the preceding pages should allay all 

 doubts upon the question ; it is absolutely true that there 

 exists a special type of sprinter and that this type is tend- 

 ing to become the type of the thoroughbred under the 

 test of short distance racing. 



One objection suggests itself, however. 



22 



