Preface, xv 



to long courses, eyery breeder tries to produce 

 the stoutest horse. A horse which can stay two 

 miles is worth 2,000?. ; a speedy jade is not worth 

 200?. There is no premium more sought for than 

 this. In racing, wind is strength ; a good heart 

 and fine lun^ in a delicate frame constitute 

 stoutness. A hunting man's definition of a 

 stout horse is a square, well-shaped animal up 

 to 15 stone. This class often corresponds with 

 our speedy T. Y, C. winners, generally on a 

 grand scale. I have heard a celebrated Nim- 

 rod remark that the stoutest hunters he had 

 ever known were thoroughbreds, notorious for 

 speed, which could not get beyond six furlongs at 

 Newmarket, In following hounds, when the 

 cocktails were galloping, they were cantering. 

 These great horses increase in numbers every 

 year, because we generally breed by the largest 

 stallions. Large horses, like big men, run fast, 

 and seldom stay a distance, but they can carry 

 weight, and under 16 stone would beat little clear- 

 winded horses like Tim Whiffler, over six miles, 

 when the latter would double distance them at 

 light weights. Horses, like greyhounds, produce 

 three remarkable runners out of 2,000. All 

 stoutness and speed is by comparison — the re- 

 pudiated jades which win short races at light 



