HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE. 65 



of improvement was zealously pursued ; every variety of Eastern blood was 

 occasionally engrafted on our own, and the superiority of the newly-introduced 

 breed above the best of the original stock began to be evident. 



Some persons imagined that this speed and stoutness might possibly be further 

 increased ; and Mr. Darley, in the latter part of the reign of Queen Anne, had 

 recourse to the discarded and despised Arabian. He had much prejudice to 

 contend with, and it was some time before the horse which he selected, and 

 which was afterwards known by the name of the Darley Arabian, attracted 

 much notice. At length the value of his produce began to be recognised, and 

 to him we are mainly indebted for a breed of horses of unequalled beauty, 

 speed, and strength. 



The last improvement furnished all that could be desired : nor was this true 

 only of the thorough-bred or turf horse — it was to a very material degree the 

 case with every description of horse. By a judicious admixture and proportion 

 of blood, we have rendered our hunters, our hackneys, our coach — nay, even our 

 cart-horses, stronger, more active, a»d more enduring, than they were before 

 the introduction of the race-horse. 



The history of the horse in England is a very interesting one. The original 

 breed — that of which mention is first made in history — seems to have been a 

 valuable one. The Conqueror carried away many specimens of it, and they 

 were long held in repute in every country subjugated by the Romans. The 

 insular situation of Britain, and its comparatively little need of the war- 

 horse, led, under several monarchs, to a culpable degree of negligence ; and 

 although, perhaps, on the whole, the English were not far behind their Conti- 

 nental neighbours, yet at no period, until within the last century and a half, has 

 Great Britain been at all distinguished on this account : but from that time, and 

 especially during the latter part of it, the British horse has been sought after 

 in every part of the world. There is nothing in our climate that can account 

 for this — nothing in our soil, or this superior excellence would have been acknow- 

 ledged long ago. " The grand first cause," says Mr. Wm. Percivall, in his 

 introductory lecture at University College, in 1834, "—that, by the steady prose- 

 cution and scientific management of which this success has been brought about, 

 appears to me to be breeding ; by which I do not only mean the procuration of 

 original stock of a good description, but the continual progressive cultivation of 

 that stock in the progeny by the greatest care in rearing and feeding, and by 

 the most careful selection. On these two circumstances, and particularly on 

 the latter, a great deal more depends than on the original characters or attri- 

 butes of the parents. By these means we have progressed from good to better 

 losing sight of no subsidiary help, until we have attained a perfection in horse- 

 flesh unknown in the whole world beside*." 



The love of the turf, and the anxious desire to possess horses of unrivalled 

 excellence, have within the last twenty years spread over the European conti- 

 nent. Everywhere stud-houses have been built and periodical races estab- 

 lished, and sporting societies formed of persons of the greatest weight in the 

 community, and, everywhere, zealous attempts have been made to improve the 

 native stock. The coursers of the East might have been easily procured— a 

 new supply of Arabian blood might have been obtained from the native 

 country of the Barb : but French, and Italians, Germans, Russians, and Fle- 

 mings, have flocked to the British Isles. The pure blood of the present Barb 

 and Arabian has been postponed, and all have deeply drawn from that of 

 the thorough-bred English horse. This is a circumstance with regard to 

 which there is no dispute. It is a matter of history— and it is highly creditable 



* Veterinarian, vol. vii. p. 3. 



