A Htmtcr and War Horse. 191 



blood stood the hardships of a European campaign 

 much better than all others ; and in a letter which 

 appeared in 'The Times,' February 24, 1871, giving an 

 account of the entrance of Bourbaki's army into Berne, 

 and the distressing appearance of the men, it was 

 stated : ' The horses present a still worse appearance, 

 seeming more fitted for the knacker's yard than to 

 bear their burdens, although ti7idotibtedly the Arabs 

 justify the established reputation of their breed for 

 endurance by the very tolerable condition they present, 

 and the comparative elasticity of their paces.' 



Although other Governments may be drawing large 

 supplies from this country, and may be well-advised in 

 so doing, it is no proof that they would not do better 

 in procuring purer blood, which they may be doing also ; 

 and certainly no excuse for us to remain satisfied with 

 an imperfect breed, when we might easily obtain a 

 better. 



The head of a horse is the index to his character, 

 moral and physical. A breeder who was lamenting 

 some coarseness or deficiency in the head of a colt of 

 which he had expected great things, in reply to the 

 consolation a friend was offering by pointing out the 

 colt's otherwise almost perfect form, remarked : ' Never 

 mind the rest of his body, if the head had only been 

 all right, the body would have grown to it, but now 

 his body can never get beyond his head.' This is too 

 often overlooked in this country ; indeed, it would 

 appear, the head, the index, is little thought of; but it 

 will, perhaps, explain why so many animals, apparently 



