58 FOREIGN MARKETS FOR AMERICAN HORSES. 



for our horses to attain. I shall take these matters up iu their 

 order, and, from the most reliable information obtainable, not only 

 show how most of our American horses are used in England, but 

 what they sell for and what other and more valuable services they 

 might perform, if, as the Englishman says, "they showed a bit more 

 breedin'." 



I shall first consider the cheapest horse used in London for pur- 

 poses which our American horses could fill, and then proceed to 

 consider, from this starting point, horses used to perform more valu- 

 able duties, and, so far as possible, apply their uses to the horses we 

 now have, and what, in my judgment, we might produce in the 

 United States. 



The hansom or cab horse used in the large cities of Great Britain 

 is a small animal, standing about 15 hands 2 inches high, and weigh- 

 ing from 950 to 1,050 pounds. He may be any color, but he must have 

 good feet, clean limbs, good joints, and a short, strong back. He is 

 always preferred on short legs, and is valuable to his master in pro- 

 portion to the years of service he can give him. This horse resembles 

 a large portion of the American horses, but as a rule he is a little 

 better and stronger built and on shorter legs. He comes chiefly from 

 Ireland, where he can be produced cheaply, and his great endurance 

 has produced among cabmen in London a prejudice in his favor. 

 That we have many good cab horses in America can not be denied, 

 and occasionally, being of the right conformation, they are used as 

 such in London, but it is the exception and not the rule, as some peo- 

 ple suppose. Special inquiry into this matter convinced me that at 

 least 80 per cent of the cab horses of London come from Ireland, and 

 that they are considered the best horses it is now possible to obtain 

 for the purpose ; although it was conceded that in a few instances, 

 where American horses of the proper conformation had been used in 

 the cabs, they had been found to be the equal of the Irish horse in 

 every particular. 



I am glad to state that no real prejudice exists against the Ameri- 

 can horse in England for cab or other purposes, and it stands solely 

 on its merits, but a prejudice did exist for some time, caused entirely 

 on account of the exportation of so many very inferior horses. 



Our exporters may be excused on the ground that they did not at 

 first know what the English trade demanded. This prejudice is now 

 fast disappearing, as our horses exported to England continue to 

 improve in quality. 



I am satisfied America can produce as good a cab horse as Ireland, 

 but it is a trade we do not care for. The aim is not high enough, and 

 the horses are too low in price to be exported at a profit. Ireland is 

 now furnishing them to the cab companies of London at from $95 to 

 $120 per head, which precludes the possibility of the western breeder 

 raising them and saving a profit after paying shipping charges, insur- 



