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lowed Helmleys Turk imported by the first Duke of Bucking-ham, 

 Fairfax's Moroccan and others, these soon wrought a change in the 

 breed of English horses and Lord Harleigh, one of the old school* 

 complained that large horses "were almost disappearing and that only 

 light and fine horses were produced, with a view of obtaining speed. 



Charles the first instituted the races of Hyde Park and New- 

 market, and introduced the use of the curb bit. In the third year of 

 his reign he issued an order confining the use of the snaffle to hunting 

 and racing. 



After the restoration of Charles the second, in the year 1660, horse 

 breeding received new encouragement. Charles the second sent his 

 Master of the horse to Levante to buy stallions and brood mares, these 

 were chiefly Barbes and Turks. 



John the second had little time to devote to horse racing, of which 

 he was a great lover and when, after his abdicatian, he lived in France, 

 imported English horses. 



From this time on to the middle of the past century, the system of 

 ennobling the English horse by crossing was actively continued; every 

 variety of Oriental blood was bred with the English, and the supe- 

 riority of these crossings over the best of the original stock became 

 apparent. In the latter part of the reign of Queen Anne ; Darley took 

 refuge with the rejected blood of the Arab, he had to struggle against 

 prejudice and it was some time before Darley's stallion attracted atten- 

 tion. Finally the value of his gets was appreciated, and now we owe 

 to him a breed of horses, which in beauty, speed and endurance has no 

 equal. 



The recognized superiority of the English horse is due, not only to 

 climate and other characteristics of the country itself, but is the result 

 of scientifically conducted breeding, which means not only the pro- 

 curing of a good original stock, but also the careful raising of the 

 descendants, and above all, the judicious selection, of the individuals 

 intended for propagation. 



