HORSE-BREEDING IN INDIA. * 95 



courage, and fencing, is par excellence the horse. Exactly so. Let 

 us trace his history, and we find he has proved as a young horse 

 too sloio for the turf. The very qualities that give him his 

 long staying powers and big jumping capabilities, militate against 

 the terrific speed required for the modern racer. Again his price is 

 very high, even hunting men with long purses, ready to give fancy 

 suras for blood horses, find it difficult to obtain what they want, the 

 difficulty yearly increasing. In other words, the demand is greater 

 than the supply. One more objection, last, but not least. These 

 horses are castrated. Firstly — because they would be too trouble- 

 some in the hunting field with mares. Secondly — they would not 

 beget the speedy stock required for the turf, for, although faster 

 than anything they meet with to hounds, as before remarked they 

 are too slow, to meet their weedy, speedy relatives for short distances, 

 carrying small boys, on the turf. 



Under these circumstances, I am not an advocate for the indis- 

 crimiuate use of the Thorough-bred Eno-Hsh as a stallion in India. 

 But there is no man in the country who more upholds his employ- 

 ment in a judicious manner, mating him with mares of the proper 

 stamp in suitable districts as a cross. The stock not to be bred 

 from, but utiHzed for Cavalry, riding horses for the public, and 

 light draught, leads in Artillery, etc. The proper stamp of mare to 

 mate the Thorough-bred with is a pure bred, sound, roomy, deep- 

 chested, big-girthed animal, with plenty of bone and substance; 

 height at least 15 hands, age not less than five. To put my opinion 

 in another way, and in fewer words, I consider the Thorough-bred 

 that Government can afford to purchase for India is not calculated 

 to produce, when mated with the indigenous mare, the class of stock 

 required for military, or general utility purposes; but an admirable 

 stallion, if mated with judiciously selected pure bred mares, the 

 produce of a larger, if coarser, pure bred horse. This applies 

 equally to the Arab. If I understand Mr. Hallen's views correctly, 

 these have been the lines he has worked on, in his eff'orts to provide 

 us in India with a good useful stamp of animal. After considerable 

 experience and much thought, I have come to the conclusion, that 

 they are sound, and will give us the best results if he be allowed to 

 carry them on without injudicious interference. A description of a 



