I INTRODUCTION 11 
Irish carriage horses and hunters are bred by small 
farmers who would be poor men but for this source 
of income. Why is the average Irish half-bred or 
hunter superior to the English half-bred or hunter? 
In my judgment it is the sense, knowledge, and 
appreciation of the breeder rather than anything in 
soil or climate that gives the Irish horse his well- 
deserved name for substance, quality, and hardihood. 
The Irish breeder knows that there is no more 
valuable animal than a strong, well-bred horse, and 
he sets himself to produce one full of activity, 
quality, and strength. By avoiding hairy-legged 
mares, and by using the best sires he can obtain, he 
succeeds in turning out the best and hardiest carriage 
horses and hunters. I regard the average superiority 
of Irish half-breds over English as being due to 
their keeping clear of cart blood. 
Many English farmers make the mistake of 
thinking that they can breed good half-breds off 
cart mares. Here and there there may be a high- 
couraged cart mare with quality that may breed a 
useful half-bred, but cart mares had far better be 
kept for the propagation of their own kind. I have 
little hesitation in saying that 80 per cent of 
English weight-carriers are bred this way; and a 
more ugly, unsatisfactory, dangerous, slovenly, faint- 
hearted animal than the average English weight- 
carrier it is hard to imagine ; and for real wear-and- 
tear harness work the.carting strain is equally bad. 
Such horses not only soon work out their legs and 
lives in fast work on hard roads, but wear out their 
drivers’ whipcord and temper into the bargain. 
The Irish and American carriage horses, free 
