LIMIT OF HEIGHT. 149 



advantage for a racer, chaser, hunter, hack or hght trapper to 

 be more than fifteen hands three inches, or a heavy cart-horse 

 to be higher than sixteen hands three inches. It is an inter- 

 esting fact that this standard of useful height varies con- 

 siderably in different breeds. I would put it approximately 

 as follows :— English, North American, Australian and New 

 Zealand thoroughbred and half-bred horses, fifteen hands 

 three inches ; ordinary South African horses, fifteen hands ; 

 Arabs, fourteen hands two inches ; East Indians (country- 

 bred without admixture of English blood), and Basuto ponies, 

 fourteen hands ; Mongolian, Yarkundi, Spiti and Bhootiah 

 ponies, thirteen hands two inches ; Baluchi, Herati and 

 Cabuli horses, fourteen hands two inches ; Burma and Deli 

 ponies, thirteen hands ; Manipuri ponies, twelve hands. On 

 Indian race-courses, it has been proved, times out of number, 

 that an Arab of fourteen hands two inches is as good as 

 any other son of the desert, no matter how much he may 

 exceed that height. In fact, there have not been many 

 Arabs which have gone to India, that were better than the 

 gallant little Chieftain, who was only fourteen hands high, 

 and who was the best of his time. The records of the 

 Shanghai and Hongkong races prove that a good Mon- 

 golian of thirteen hands two inches (like Teen Kwang, 

 see Fig. 180, who was the Eclipse of the Celestial Empire) 

 can hold his own with any of his class, even at level 

 weights. In China an allowance of only three pounds for 

 an inch in height is given, and yet the best ones are found at 

 about thirteen hands two inches. In India, on the contrary, 

 an allowance of twelve pounds an inch is given ; but, with very 

 rare exceptions, a thirteen hands one inch or a thirteen hands 

 two inch English, Australian, Arab or " country-bred " has 



