602 THE HORSE. 



other light and elegant vehicles which are every where to be 

 seen. But not only is the modern Coach-Horse largely used, 

 but likewise others taken from the various kinds of saddle- 

 horses with which the country abounds, from the high-bred 

 hunter down through every degree of strength suited to the 

 weight of the equipage ; and universally the tendency is to 

 use horses of lighter form than were thought suited to the 

 heavier carriages and less improved roads of former times. 

 This results from the practice long and extensively pursued 

 all over Yorkshire and Durham, of breeding horses especially 

 for the saddle and the lighter carriages. From this cause 

 horses of some breeding become employed in common labour, 

 and the blood of the Race-Horse is insensibly diffused through 

 the general mass. 



Of the varieties of Coach-Horses, one in general estima- 

 tion for private carriages is the CLEVELAND BAY. It is 

 termed Bay, from the prevailing colour, derived from ap- 

 proximation to the superior races, and Cleveland, from the 

 fertile district of that name situated in the North Riding of 

 Yorkshire on the Tees. About the middle of last century 

 this district became known for the breeding of a superior 

 class of powerful horses, which, with the gradual disuse of 

 the heavy old Coach-Horse, became in request for coaches, 

 chariots, and similar carriages. The breed, however, is not 

 now confined to the district of Cleveland, but is cultivated 

 throughout all the great breeding district of this part of 

 England, although Cleveland yet preserves its pre-eminence, 

 and supplies with stallions the parts of the kingdom where 

 superior Coach-Horses are reared. 



The true Cleveland Bay may be termed a Breed, from the 

 similitude of characters presented by the individuals of the 

 stock. It has been formed by the same means as the Hunter, 

 namely, by the progressive mixture of the blood of the Race- 

 Horse with the original breeds of the country. But a larger 

 kind of horse has been used as the basis, and a larger stand- 

 ard adopted by the breeder. By coupling a Race- Horse with 



