THE IIoiiS'E. 11 



the Norman, the Cleveland Bay, the Conestoga, the Virginia 

 Horse, the Clydesdale, and the Wild or Prairie Horse. 



1. The Race- Horse. "There is much dispute," Mr. Youatt 

 says, " with regard to the origin of the Thorougli-bred Horse. 

 By some he is traced through both sire and dam to Eastern pa- 

 rentage ; others believe him to be the native horse, improved 

 and perfected by judicious crossings with the Barb, the Turk, 

 or the Arabian. The Steed Book, which is an authority with 

 every English breeder, traces all the old racers to some Eastern 

 origin; or it traces them until the pedigree is lost in the 

 uncertainty of an early period of breeding. 



" Whatever may be the truth as to the origin of the race- 

 horse, the strictest attention has for the last fifty years been 

 paid to pedigree. In the descent of almost every modern racer 

 not the slightest flaw can be discovered." 



The racer is generally distinguished, according to the same 

 authority, by his beautiful Arabian head ; his fine and finely- 

 set neck; his oblique, lengthened shoulders; his well-bent 

 hinder legs ; his ample muscular quarters ; his flat legs, rather 

 short from the knee downward, although not always so deep 

 as they should be ; and his long and elastic pastern. 



The use of thorough-bred and half-bred horses for domes- 

 tic purposes is becoming common in England. The half-bred 

 horse is not only much handsomer than the common horse, but 

 his speed and power of endurance are infinitely greater. 



"The acknowledged superiority of Northern carriage and 

 draught stock," the editor of the New York Spirit of the Times 

 says, " is owing almost entirely to the fact that thorough-bred 

 horses have found their way North and East from Long Island 

 and New Jersey, where great numbers are annually disposed of 

 that are unsuited to the course." 



For the farm, the pure thorough-bred horse would be nearly 

 useless. He lacks weight and substance to give value and power 

 for draught. For road work the same objections will apply, 

 although not to the same extent, perhaps. The best English 

 road horse is a cross of the thorough-bred and the Cleveland. 



