46 



request, and great attention was paid to 

 the breed. With the increase and improve- 

 ment of roads and coaches, saddle-horses 

 gradually went out of general use, and the 

 breeding of Hackneys was neglected. 



The demand from the Continent for 

 Hackney blood grew up and, increasing as 

 time passed, helped to promote decay, as 

 the foreign buyers made a point of pur- 

 chasinsf the best of the stock that remained. 

 Very few of the old-fashioned type were left 

 us, and of these Performer and Phenomenon 

 were the best. 



It was fortunate, indeed, that this valuable 

 remnant was left, for when the saddle-horse 

 went out of general use, the Norfolk breeders 

 made no attempt to keep their Hackney 

 stock up to the standard accepted as the 

 best in Richard Blome's time. 



From the remnant of the old breed, repre- 

 sented by such horses as Performer and 

 Phenomenon, modern Hackney breeders 

 have succeeded in grading up the old 

 English Hackney strain to i5'i or i5'2 ; 

 and the i5'i to 15 '2 sire may be accepted 

 as the best to produce carriage horses. 



Carriage horses may be bred to any size 

 by judicious selection of mares ; they may 

 be "vanners," weight-carrying hunter mares, 



