156 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 
erest as was in old Henry Clay, —it lopped over like 
a bag of meal with old age; and I remembered having 
an old Messenger stallion, years before, with exactly 
such a crest, which, falling over in the same way with 
age, was a great torment to my pride. 
“The fetlocks could not be found; there were none. 
The warts at point of ankle were wanting, and the 
osselets were very small. Large coarse osselets show 
cold, mongrel blood. . . . The mane was very fine and 
silky, falling over so as to cause one to believe the 
crest was a knife-blade, with blade up, for thinness. 
. Now for his gaits. JI had Addison lead him on 
the walk to and from me, say a distance of two or 
three hundred feet, that I might see the position of 
his feet in walking. There was no twisting behind, 
nor paddle in front, but straight, clean, elastic step- 
ping. I now had him pass me at the side, that I 
might see his knee, and his hock and stifle action. 
From the walk I had him moved upon the trot, and at 
either walk or trot every movement was perfect. The 
knee action was beautiful; not too much, as in our 
toe-weighted horses, nor stiff and staky, as in the 
English race horse, but graceful and elastic, beauti- 
fully balanced by movement in the hock and stifle.” 
It cannot be doubted, I think, that the Arab horse 
has no superior for what might be called miscella- 
neous saddle use, and in particular for polo. Many 
of the best polo ponies in England are pure Arabs, 
and others are partly of Arab blood. The English 
polo players state, moreover, that the Arab bred 
ponies are instructed in the game more easily and 
quickly than any others. 
In this country the first breed of saddle horses was 
