278 CONFESSIONS OP A HORSE DEALER. 



the tail of a Yarmouth bloater ;" for it would be a con- 

 vincing proof that the horse's nature, as well as his cou- 

 rage, was totally destroyed. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



WHT ABE WOT BACEHORSES BRED WITH A COMBINATION" 

 OF USEFUL QUALITIES? 



YES. Why do we not breed our racehorses with mor-a 

 bone and muscle, deeper bodies, and shorter legs, so that 

 they may render the country , as well as the turf, some 

 little service, as some compensation for the enormous 

 sums we grant them nearly three millions yearly, in 

 public purses r What do we get in return for the public 

 bounties granted by our government? Not that for 

 which the money was first given viz., the improve- 

 ment of our breed of horses ; but, on the contrary, we 

 are every year deteriorating the qualities of our saddle 

 horses and troopers, by the reckless mixture of breed 

 with our racers, under the idea that we are infusing 

 blood and staying qualities into their veins. Blood is 

 all very well when allied to a compact, useful form, able 

 to carry men a resonable distance ; but, when it is prc 

 duced by " in-and-in breeding," from shallow forms ot 

 long tottering legs, it ceases to be worth the name of 

 " blood," in the common acceptation of the term. Those 



