43 



issue, which is : — Whether the racing of horses of 

 any age whatever, so as to crook their legs, does not 

 tend to the deterioration instead of the improvement 

 of the breed, if such horses should be sent to the 

 stud in that state, and one-half of the progeny should 

 be found, by the time they reach the age of five 

 years, to show the same hereditary defect ? That is 

 the question wanted to be answered and explained ; 

 and I have no great respect for the understandings of 

 those persons who cannot see evident proof of such 

 deterioration by a glance at the horse's understand- 

 ings. 



There is a style of talk current of late, to the 

 effect that " our horses can't be so very bad, consider- 

 ing that we beat all the world in speed over the Turf." 

 Granted that you have hitherto almost always done 

 so, yet I very much doubt whether the public would 

 not infinitely prefer indubitable straight legs and 

 good open heels for either purpose of Charger, Hunter, 

 or Hack, even if got by a sire that had never been 

 trained at all, to taking deteriorated legs and feet merely 

 because they had descended from one who had gained 

 even the best of races. If racing has been kept up 

 for the last fifty years for improving the breed of 

 horses, surely by this time we ought to have blood 

 stock not only that is not so very bad, but one-half 



