THE BREEDS OF HORSES 71 



The inherent qualities of a breed have been put there by one 

 or more of three general agencies, therefore the possibilities in 

 what can be gotten out of a breed are as definitely determined as 

 is the character of a horse's get fixed by his ancestry. The three 

 factors determining breed characteristics and, through them, the 

 economic importance of the different breeds are : 



1. The origin in blood which constitutes the hereditaiy force 

 with which the breed is endowed. 



2. The environment by which these blood lines have been 

 molded. 



3. The purpose for which they have been bred, constituting 

 the ideal to which the breeders have selected. 



The study of the breeds should, therefore, resolve itself into 

 a consideration of the following essentials : 



1. Origin: (a) In blood, (h) Geographical. 



2. Development: (a) Men. (h) Methods. 



3. History: (a) Men. (h) Events, (c) Dates. 



4. Characteristics : Breed tyj^es. 



5. Economic importance. 



Foundation Stock. — The origin in blood is of greatest his- 

 torical interest, if not the most important, of the factors which 

 determine breed characters. The modern breeds have been more 

 or less composite in their origin, involving, to a greater or less 

 degree, those breeds or stocks which had already attained distinc- 

 tion on account of merit. In some cases, the combination of 

 blood lines was intentional, but it was more often incidental or 

 even accidental. These historic horses can in turn be traced to a 

 more limited gi'oup of common ancestors and so on until the 

 blood lines focus in but a very few basic stocks. 



DarAvin believed all races had descended from one common 

 ancestry, and attributed the extreme differences noted between 

 modern breeds to environment. The more commonly accepted 

 theory has been that all modem breeds trace tlieir origin in 

 blood directly or indirectly to one or all of three primordial 

 stocks, the Wild Black Horse of Flanders, the Oriental Horse, 

 and the native pony stock indigenous to E'orthem Europe and 

 Asia. The latter has played a more or less important part. 



The Flemish horse w^as native to what is now a part of 



