IOO 



THE HORSE, ASS, AND MULE 



Perche. The general effect of this Arabian blood on the French 

 horse has been to impart quality, as shown in superior bone, style, 



and finish. Gallipoli, in partic- 

 ular, had a very beneficial in- 

 fluence. Jean Le Blanc (739), 

 foaled in 1823, a grandson of 

 Gallipoli, is regarded as hav- 

 ing had a remarkable influence 

 on the breed in his day. 



The early type of Percheron 

 resulting from this amalgama- 

 tion of races was not so large 

 a horse as is known to-day. 

 The farmer of La Perche re- 

 quired a horse suited to gen- 

 eral purposes, so the early 

 type was smaller and more 

 active of foot than the present- 

 day Percheron. Either under 

 saddle or before gig, Per- 

 cherons trotted with consider- 

 able speed. Records of 

 Percherons show that not in- 

 frequently they have trotted 

 at a rate of about a mile in four minutes. Richardson gives 

 interesting illustrations of the ability of this horse to travel long 

 distances with considerable speed : 



A gray mare six years old which took a heavy gig 56 miles over a heavy 

 road in 4 hours and 24 minutes ; and another, seven years old, drew an 

 ordinary country gig 55 miles in 4 hours, 1 minute, 35 seconds, returning 

 the next day over the same ground in 4 hours, 1 minute, 30 seconds, the last 

 14 miles being covered in 1 hour, and neither in going or returning was she 

 touched with the whip. 



The characteristics of this early type showed less scale, a 

 lighter weight, with a height ranging from 15 to 16 hands. It 

 was a superior general-purpose horse of drafty conformation, 

 yet lacking large size and heavy weight. This type met with 

 such great favor that buyers from various parts of France, 



Fig. 36. Orangiste 29606. First-prize three- 

 year-old Percheron in France in 1902 at 

 the annual show at Paris and at the show 

 of the Societe Hippique Percheronne at 

 Nogent-le-Rotrou. Also first prize in 

 class at International Live Stock Expo- 

 sition, Chicago, 1902. Imported by 

 McLaughlin Bros. Photograph taken by 

 James B. McLaughlin in France 



